Top Stories: NFL dreams, Superbowl commercials, police staffing
As we head into the weekend, let's take a look at the news from this past week.
It appears New Bedford School Superintendent Thomas Anderson won't be headed to Newton after all. On Friday morning, the Newton School Committee unanimously picked Natick Superintendent Dr. Anna Nolan to be their next superintendent. While all committee members expressed positive feelings about both candidates and disparaged neither, they indicated that Nolan would be a better fit for Newton's unique characteristics as a school district.
Community members who were appalled and/or disheartened by comments that have been made relative to racism, gender issues, and local non-profit Tri-Town Against Racism took the opportunity at Monday's Old Rochester Regional School Committee meeting to address them. Public comments pertained to sentiments that have been expressed by ORR School Committee member Joe Pires in recent months.
Keep up with high school sports with scores, game highlights, and player of the week voting at https://www.southcoasttoday.com/sports.
Then there are the most-read stories of the week on https://www.southcoasttoday.com:
Two Wareham graduates made it to the NFL
Wareham’s past and current connections to the NFL will come together this week during “A Night to Remember,” presented by Wareham High School and Simply You Productions to benefit the Wareham High School Booster Club.
Former San Diego Charger Stephen Cooper always took pride in his journey from Wareham to the NFL. He returned to his hometown on Thursday night to give a motivational speech at his alma mater. Cooper was joined by 2016 Wareham High graduate Joshua Onujiogu, who was signed last year as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks.
Football: Two Wareham graduates made it to the NFL. Now they are coming home to inspire others.
New Bedford Police: Residents need to know staffing levels down
The New Bedford Police Union is taking to social media to bring "decreased staffing levels" to the public's attention.
The union's been posting alerts on its Facebook page since Feb. 2 stating that the New Bedford Police Department was operating "at a decreased staffing level per order of the Chief of Police."
The purpose, according to the posts, "is to keep city residents and visitors aware of the decrease in the number of officers on the street and a possible decrease in the expected level of service promised to them by city officials."
Awareness: New Bedford Police: Residents need to know staffing levels down
'It's a part of history now': New Bedford actor is in controversial Super Bowl commercial
Since landing his first big role with an appearance on “NCIS: New Orleans,” Whaling City’s postal worker-turned-actor Earl White is now featured in one of the Super Bowl’s most controversial ads.
“It’s a major thing. It's a part of history, in a sense, whether it's negative or positive, it's a part of history now,” White, 33, said about his appearance in the “Love Your Enemies” commercial.
He is the first face seen, yelling at a policeman in riot gear, in a commercial for the “He Gets Us” coalition, which created a message that "Jesus loved the people we hate."
'It's a part of history now':New Bedford actor is in controversial Super Bowl commercial
New Bedford's Ash Street Jail records chronicle 100 years of criminal history.
Jail records dating back more than 100 years, including charge lists and glass plate negatives of inmate photos, are currently collecting dust in the Ash Street Jail's attic.
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is working with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office to take possession of these vintage items and make them a collection unto themselves, providing insights into Bristol County's criminal history over multiple past generations.
Due to the sensitive nature of the collection, however, if it were transferred to the Museum it would likely be maintained as a closed research collection with certain restrictions around usage, circulation, and replication. Slipp added Museum officials look forward to continued talks with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office, which are in the early stages.
Crime through the years: New Bedford's Ash Street Jail records chronicle 100 years of criminal history. Now what.
Hoax threat made to New Bedford High School: What we know
The city school department and police confirmed Wednesday that a call making threats to New Bedford High was received in the early afternoon, and that it was subsequently determined to be a hoax.
"On 2.15.23 at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Bristol County Sheriff's Office received a call from a male claiming to be armed and outside of the New Bedford high school," New Bedford Police Lt. Scott Carola told The Standard-Times via email Wednesday, noting a patrol response was sent out. "These threatening calls have been received all throughout the region in the last several days. Patrol officers quickly arrived on the scene and were able to confirm this call as yet another hoax.
The call came during a third day of like-calls made to schools around Massachusetts and all across the U.S. On Tuesday, similar threats were received relative to Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, prompting a lockdown of all Fall River public and Catholic schools.
What we know: Hoax threat made to New Bedford High Schoo
All of these stories can be found in their entirety at SouthCoastToday.com.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Top stories this week police staffing, community outrage, school threats
