With a roomful of abutters looking on and full of questions, the Rochester Conservation Commission Tuesday opened a Notice of Intent hearing on a plan to place a ground-mounted solar array system within a 100-foot wetlands buffer zone. Project technical consultant Stacy Minhane began the hearing by reporting this will be a 2.3-megawatt […] Read more »
The Marion Select Board met on Tuesday for its first post-election convening with Carleton “Toby” Burr taking the seat previously held by Norman Hills. Burr had been on the Select Board until the 2025 Town Election, when he decided not to run. There was standing room only in the Police Station Conference Room, with […] Read more »
For a comprehensive look at Town Meeting results, see the end of this article. Monday’s Rochester Annual Town Meeting ran smoothly for most of its three-and-a-half-hour length until residents loudly shot down efforts to rezone areas of Mary’s Pond Road and County Road from residential/agricultural to limited commercial. The 294 voters in […] Read more »
Marion held its Town Election on Friday, May 15. There were two contested races: that of the Select Board with the seat occupied by Norman Hills and a seat on the Old Rochester Regional School Committee. In the end, there were 847 votes, including those from early voting. As candidates gathered, waiting in […] Read more »
The Marion Open Space Acquisition Commission met in person in the Police Station on May 7 for discussions on the land swap between the commission and the Select Board, tree removals, and other updates. Following the approval of the minutes from the commission’s April 16 meeting, Chair John Rockwell moved to discuss the Land […] Read more »
On May 12 the Mattapoisett Select Board held a hearing at the request of Tracey White for licenses to operate a recently vacated restaurant located at 33 County Road. The Select Board questioned White about the number of occupants anticipated, if the footprint would change, hours of operation, and outdoor dining. An abutter asked […] Read more »
The Rochester Planning Board Tuesday approved a minor modification of the Site Plan Review application for 0 Cranberry Highway that would allow the use of a propane tank instead of a public gas line for the site’s 10-contractor-bay building’s heating system. The tank that the applicant Sealord Enterprises proposes will be located off […] Read more »
The Marion Select Board quickly approved two new police officers and a shellfish constable during their May 12 special meeting in the Police Department. First, Police Chief Richard Nighelli announced the passing of Michael Paolella on May 8. Paolella served in the U.S. Air Force and was formerly Assistant Harbormaster in Marion. Next, […] Read more »
For a comprehensive tally on Town Meeting results, see the end of this article. Marion held its annual Town Meeting on Monday night. On the docket for the direct democracy vote were 43 Articles and two Special Articles. Beginning promptly at 6:00 pm, Moderator Brad Gordon began with an introduction before turning it […] Read more »
The first motion of the Mattapoisett 2026 Spring Town Meeting came from the moderator, Liz Anne Campbell, who asked the voters to declare her decisions on whether or not a simple majority or a two-thirds majority had been decisively achieved, versus declaring the actual hand count or, motion to allow the moderator to call […] Read more »