Dear Friend:

As 2008 comes to a close, we can reflect on much good work performed by many people in private and public sectors. We are striving to maintain a positive climate in the city. Officials in departments from public safety and education to public infrastructure and planning are directly or indirectly at the work of keeping the city business-friendly.

And people are taking notice. In this edition, the New York Times, the Worcester Telegram, the Gloucester Daily Times among others are picking up on the buzz about New Bedford. The Worcester Telegram’s recent editorial is worth quoting here, “The recent announcement of plans to build a $10 million, 106-room hotel on the New Bedford waterfront is more welcome news for that traditional seaport city, which in recent years has pulled itself out of the economic doldrums and shed its 1980s reputation ....” Of course, while there is much to celebrate, there is much more to accomplish, and cause for concern for what the economy will bring to businesses and families across the city. In 2009, we will need to bring all of our resources together to forge through some of the most difficult financial circumstances in generations.

Yesterday, we announced that the city won a New England Collegiate Baseball League franchise – the New Bedford Bay Sox. The Bay Sox coming to New Bedford is a boon for our families and fans – and for our bed & breakfasts and restaurants and shops, and importantly, for continuing to increase the number of people visiting our city and leaving as ambassadors.

Sincerely,
Matthew A. Morrissey
Executive Director

  The buzz continues to grow about New Bedford: unlikely national and state media coverage

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Convinced that this storied seaport of cobblestone streets has ended years of economic devastation and crime, a local developer plans to build a Marriott hotel on New Bedford’s waterfront — the first downtown hotel here in decades.

The LaFrance Hospitality Company, a family business in Westport, Mass., which owns eight hotels in New England, a restaurant and catering business, is planning a $10 million 106-room Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites on a 1.6-acre parcel across the street from   [read more]

  City wins NECBL franchise: the NEW BEDFORD BAY SOX

NEW BEDFORD — If summer league baseball is the stuff dreams are made of, then in this city dreams really do come true.

On Wednesday, the New Bedford Bay Sox of the New England Collegiate Baseball League formally announced they will make Paul Walsh Athletic Field off Hathaway Boulevard their home ballpark.

Starting June 4 at 6:30 p.m., the local season-opener will feature the Bay Sox against the   [read more]

  Support grows for baseball team

Baseball lovers, get your peanuts and Cracker Jack ready for the Bay Sox, the collegiate summer league team Mayor Scott W. Lang plans to announce today. If New Bedford is going to host a team, it can only do so with the support of fans from around SouthCoast.

Mayor Lang and his staff deserve a cheer from the crowd for their successful effort to bring a ball team here, especially baseball. In Red Sox country, no sport is more loved. Although the mayor previously lobbied for a team in the Cape Cod League, known as an  [read more]

  Two businesses thrive downtown

The most successful entrepreneurs in downtown New Bedford over the last decade are two 30-something guys who come to work wearing T-shirts.

Jeff Goggin and Craig Paiva, the respective owners of the Green Bean coffee shop and No Problemo taqueria, have found both money and fulfillment where others have often found frustration or delay.

Bop into the upbeat, contemporary art atmosphere of the Green Bean, or the funky, Day of the  [read more]

  City advocates for additional tools for Gateway Cities

NEW BEDFORD — State legislators focused on revitalizing Massachusetts' "Gateway Cities" outside the Boston/Route 128 beltway got an earful Wednesday from New Bedford's mayor and staff about the need for special attention when it comes to economic development tools, education, transportation and housing.

Suggestions included stepping up special tax breaks for development in the 11 Gateway Cities that include New Bedford, Fall River and Brockton in Southeastern Massachusetts, along with Springfield  [read more]

  WGBH Greater Boston features New Bedford company DARN IT!

A reinvented New Bedford company that once manufactured clothing now solves control and logistical problems caused by offshore manufacturing. Darn It! provides services that include everything from garment repairs, alterations, button and snap replacements and trimming to dry cleaning and laundering, mold and mildew removal, spot cleaning and hem reinforcement to pressing, re-packaging and re-labeling. The company was recently featured on Greater Boston aired on WGBH.   [read more]

  Hurricane barrier to be “boardwalked”

The state has awarded the city $1 million to provide people with new opportunities to enjoy views of the water.

The money will help pay for a new park off the Acushnet River and a new walking path atop the city’s hurricane barrier.

“I think it begins to highlight New Bedford’s natural attributes,” Mayor Scott W. Lang said Monday.

The city will receive $500,000 to build  [read more]

  Film industry focuses on New Bedford

Massachusetts is cultivating a taste for the film industry, and Southeastern Massachusetts cities and towns, including New Bedford, are stoking the kitchen fire to get their portion of the meal.

The state's identity as the home of an East Coast Hollywood is getting closer to reality with former Paramount Pictures executive David Kirkpatrick's plan to build a film production studio moving forward in Plymouth, the state's 2007 increase to its film tax credits, and the region's natural variety of locations conducive to filming.
But will the studio become a reality, and   [read more]