Plymouth Independent

09/03/2026

Independent hires new staff writer: Emily Spatz, 22, will cover education and general assignments for the growing online publication covering Plymouth.

The Plymouth Independent welcomes its newest staff member Emily Spatz, who will be enhancing its coverage of education and other relevant issues around town. A recent graduate of Northeastern University, Spatz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and political science. While attending Nort...

09/03/2026

Select Board backs delay of Pilgrim Hall grant funds: A ‘systemic’ oversight failure at Town Hall could stall grant money for months as recipients rush to complete new deed restrictions.

Town officials told their bosses on the Select Board Tuesday the town has doled out nearly $40 million in taxpayer-funded project grants over the last 23 years without the proper oversight and preservation restrictions. Although they took no vote, the board members who spoke supported Town Manager D...

09/02/2026

‘It’s like a bad nightmare.’ Restaurateur Kaisang Ghale grieves family and friends lost in the Nepal flood disaster as Plymouth rallies around him and his family.

The first shards of morning light had not appeared when the call came a week ago. Kaisang Ghale and his wife, Dechen, were still sleeping. A cousin was on the line from the Rasuwa region of Nepal where Ghale was born and raised before coming to Plymouth in 1999. “My wife woke me, saying, ‘Get [....

09/02/2026

Well-known vet facing criminal charges: Popular local veterinarian charged with indecent assault in 2024 is back in jail on charges he was smoking crack in his car outside the Lindsay Clancy trial.

A longtime Plymouth veterinarian – already facing abuse charges from an employee at his practice – was arrested again last week on unrelated drug charges. Arther “Rick” Newman, 77, described on social media as “a legend in Plymouth for his love and dedication to treating family pets,” wa...

09/01/2026

Local primary races uncontested: But Tuesday’s primary will decide the Republican candidates for governor and county commission, and some congressional Democratic candidates.

Unlike hotly contested primaries two years ago, most races for seats in the state senate and house to represent Plymouth on Beacon Hill are uncontested in Tuesday’s primary election. The incumbent, Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for State Senate, while ...

08/31/2026

Scottish music invasion coming to the Spire: Plus, a Burial Hill history tour, King Richard’s Faire, Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward, a night of Queen, First Fridays surprises, a Fleetwood Mac tribute, and a waterfront car show.

This weekend, a bit of Scottish highland spirit comes to Plymouth. On Saturday, September 5, Cantrip brings its high-energy blend of Scottish traditional music to The Spire Center for Performing Arts, 25 1/2 Court St., sharing the bill with American roots trio Low Lily. Cantrip builds on traditional...

08/28/2026

Outside the Clancy trial, a foreign world within Plymouth’s borders: As jurors deliberate, the waiting begins, and a surreal scene persists.

The weekly Farmers Market on the South Street library’s lawn went on as usual Thursday afternoon. Vendors sold organic fruits, vegetables, and homemade goods under pop-up canopies pitched across the tamped down grass. Less than a half mile away on Obery Street, the same type of coverings shielded ...

08/28/2026

Museum pushes back on Town Manager claims: The director of Pilgrim Hall says Town Manager Derek Brindisi’s assertions it has not filed necessary historic deed restrictions are false.

The leader of Pilgrim Hall Museum says claims the museum has not done everything required to preserve the historic integrity of the downtown building are misguided and untrue. In an interview with the Independent on Wednesday, the museum’s executive director pushed back on allegations made last we...

08/27/2026

Lifeguard incident prompts official complaint: Feuding Select Board members David Golden and Bill Keohan are at odds again, this time over Keohan’s comments about an alleged altercation with a teenager.

A brand-new code of conduct adopted to promote civility among Town officials is being tested after a Select Board member filed the first-ever complaint under the new policy against one of his board colleagues. It’s just the latest salvo amid months of tension among the feuding Select Board members...

08/26/2026

The latest Your Art Here submission comes from Helen Churchill, who photographed this rose in the garden of the Mayflower Society House. “About it I could say: A rose is a rose is just a rose- but is somehow magical, with the raindrops on it.”