Dear Friend,

Economic development is a complex mix of activities undertaken day in and day out by dozens of organizations, hundreds of businesses and thousands of people. In this newsletter we have stories ranging from development, clean technology, policy recommendations, new retail and new restaurants in the city. As these stories illustrate, we are realizing the benefits of working together.

Sincerely,

Matthew A. Morrissey
Executive Director
 

  Important seafood addition to downtown waterfront opens

NEW BEDFORD — The Waterfront Grille on the site of the former Louie's on the Wharf and Twin Piers officially opens for business on Friday at 4:30 p.m. with off-the-boat seafood served ready to eat — something missing from the city's working waterfront for about 15 years.

The Waterfront Grille plans to open with 80 pounds each of scallops, swordfish and cod. It also plans to have 60 pounds of salmon and 50 pounds of tuna, along with oysters, little necks and assorted other edibles, including beef.

Executive Chef Tony DeRienzo said he will [read more]
 

  Respected men’s and women’s clothiers want to be where it’s “happening”  and choose New Bedford!

NEW BEDFORD — A pair of parallel men's and women's clothing shops that have been SouthCoast fixtures in Dartmouth for a decade plan to pull up roots this summer and, in the words of one of the owners, head for a "happening place" — downtown New Bedford.

The Bay and The Cottage — men's and women's upscale clothing stores — anticipate opening in September in the red brick building at 89 N. Water St., bounded by Elm and Bethel streets and across from the Candleworks Restaurant, just off Route. 18.

The Bay and The Cottage will take over the first [read more]
 

  Economic Development Council advocates for project
Paper endorses progress on Victoria Riverside

NEW BEDFORD — In an extraordinary move, a group of the area's most prominent business leaders who head the New Bedford Economic Development Council have attacked the Zoning Board of Appeals and its chairman as obstructionist and damaging to the city's reputation as a place in which to invest.

Zoning board Chairman Barry Sylvia and another board member counter they are working to protect the public interest and their diligence is being unfairly criticized.
At the center of the controversy is a [read more]
 

  Still number 1 fishing port in country

NEW BEDFORD — The value of the Port of New Bedford's seafood catch dipped a bit in 2007, but it was still strong enough to make it the nation's most valuable port for the eighth consecutive year.

In 2007, fishermen landed $268 million worth of scallops, fish and other seafood in New Bedford — more than any other port in the country, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. The data is part of a report on the state of the nation's fisheries that is released annually [read more]
 

  City continues to interest and impress sailors

NEW BEDFORD — The city has hosted its first sailing rendezvous of the 2008 season and judging from the comments of some of the participants it was an overwhelming success.

The Cape Dory Sailboat Owners Association arrived in New Bedford-Fairhaven Harbor on Sunday and departed Tuesday morning. During their stay, the sailboat owners and crew along with Cape Dory owners who drove to the city gathered for dinners, a tour of local boating gear manufacturers and a party atop the New Bedford Whaling Museum [read more]
 

  New Bedford clean tech firm positions itself for growth

A New England company that makes electric scooters is getting a boost from the high price of gasoline. Vectrix Corp., which is based in Middletown, R.I., and has an engineering plant in New Bedford, said its dealership total nationwide has increased from 5 to 50 in the past 100 days.

Since last year, Vectrix has shipped just 1,000 of the scooters, but that number could soon rise dramatically, given consumers' increased interest in alternatives to gas-powered vehicles.

The company said it costs about 1 cent a mile [read more]
 

  Local business outfits the stars

NEW BEDFORD - You may not notice Hilary Duff's Girl Scout vest, complete with merit badges, in the upcoming film "Greta." Ditto for Sir Ben Kingsley's vintage '50s duds in "Ashecliffe" the thriller based on Dorchester native Dennis Lehane's book, "Shutter Island."

But Chris Duval will. That'll be his stuff on the screen, bigger than life and hailing from his vintage clothing store, Circa, tucked into the New Bedford waterfront. Duval, 50, has run the store for 22 years, coming off part-time careers as a pro bicycle racer and a warehouse worker for UPS. [read more]
 

  New Bedford means business

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. Officials here are making a hard sell, trying to convince developers and investors that the city is a choice location in which to start or to relocate a business.

They point out that the old whaling city has a growing community of artists, lofts carved out of old mills, cobblestone streets, a picturesque harbor and stunning views from its coastline.

“If you are looking for waterfront, you are talking about New Bedford,” Mayor Scott W. Lang told about 70 [read more]
 

  Keeping the tools of redevelopment in cities

It is sometimes said that a city is a constant negotiation, but House Bill 1770, introduced by Rep. Marty Walz of Boston, will stop much of that negotiation dead in its tracks. Over the past three years, similar legislation has been introduced in at least 25 state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, many of which have already passed, and which radically curtail the public's ability to negotiate with private property owners over urban redevelopment projects.

This legislative backlash is a response to Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., decided by the Supreme [read more]