Ben Berke

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority proposed service reductions to nearly all of its bus routes on Thursday as it tries to balance a budget deficit. The proposed cuts, which are laid out in detail on RIPTA’s website, would affect 58 routes total, 17 of which would be eliminated entirely.  In an interview after announcing […]

The Star Store, a former university arts campus in downtown New Bedford that closed abruptly in 2023, has been sold to a nonprofit that develops housing and workspace for artists.  The Arts & Business Council Of Greater Boston purchased the Star Store for $1 on Thursday, according to a deed filed with the Bristol County […]

Since taking office in January, President Trump has worked to fulfill a campaign promise to shut down the young offshore wind industry in the U.S. He stopped all federal permitting, and this week, his administration issued a stop-work order to a project under construction off the coast of New York.  These actions have sent a […]

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell wants his city to do more to promote its connection to one of the great American novels.  Mitchell unveiled the design for an eight-foot bronze statue of Moby Dick author Herman Melville at a press conference on Friday morning.  The statue portrays Melville in a heroic pose with his mouth […]

After a yearslong review process, state health regulators have granted final approval to the proposed sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, opening the door for a nonprofit to take over ownership of the struggling Rhode Island hospitals from a for-profit private equity firm. Otis Brown, a spokesman for the […]

When UMass Dartmouth announced the sudden closure of its downtown arts campus in New Bedford last year, just three weeks before classes began, politicians and university officials were quick to point fingers.  Conflicting allegations created a confusing tangle of blame, as movers emptied two decades worth of art and studio equipment from the sprawling beaux […]

Rhode Island officials have set a goal of meeting the state’s electricity needs with 100% renewable energy by 2033, and there’s still a long way to go. Last week, the three southern New England states were hoping to procure enough offshore wind to make serious progress toward their climate goals. But Rhode Island only secured […]

Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it’s a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times,…

UMass-Dartmouth will be closing its arts school at the Star Store in downtown New Bedford, and relocating all classes and studios to the state university’s main campus in Dartmouth. The school's chancellor, Mark Fuller, announced the closure in an email to faculty on Monday, less than two weeks before the start of the school year.

Rent control was eliminated in Massachusetts by a close statewide referendum in 1994. But now, as many cities face a cost of living crisis, politicians in Boston are asking the state legislature for the right to cap rent increases again. In New Bedford, city councilors are wondering if they should do the same.