Ben Berke

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week fired its previously reinstated probationary workers, including many who worked at local facilities in Narragansett and Woods Hole. NOAA employees in Rhode Island and Massachusetts told The Publics Radio that they received a mass email on Thursday informing them their jobs had been terminated – again. The […]

One of the most iconic pieces of artwork associated with Providence is a black and white poster with comic book panels that makes the city look like a film noir. Some people know it’s text by heart, which ends with a classic line: “Rich folks live on Power Street, but most of us live off […]

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,…

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.

Half the land within Fall River’s city limits is a pristine forest that protects the municipal water supply. After a century of pushing residents out of this bioreserve, the city is inviting them back in as hikers.

The candidates running to represent Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District debated a variety of issues in a forum hosted by The Public’s Radio and The Providence Journal at the University of Rhode Island on Monday night. The biggest topic of conversation was the cost of living in the district, wh…