Fall River Now

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. This is our weekly recap for the week ending September 11, 2026, where we cover the most significant local government news. Topping the news, the Fall River City Council met Tuesday and once again tabled a five hundred eighty-six thousand dollar cable funding request during its regular session. Councilors also held a public hearing regarding utility pole petit...

Meeting summary The City of Fall River held its annual Rite of Reflection ceremony on the grounds of the Battleship Massachusetts to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The event commenced with the traditional striking of the four fives by Mike Arruda to render final honors to fallen first responders, followed by the national anthem sung by Rachel Raposo a...

Meeting summary The Fall River School Committee Technology Subcommittee met on September 10, 2026, to review district software usage, school opening operations, technology infrastructure, and administrative systems. The committee reviewed an executive summary detailing over 3.5 million recorded student engagements across ten major platforms during the previous school year, with discussions highlig...

Meeting summary The Fall River School Committee's Facilities and Operations Subcommittee met on September 10, 2026, to discuss multiple district capital, operational, and facility matters. Chief Operating Officer Ken Pacheco provided an update on the administration building window replacement project funded in part by Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, explaining that bids for installation ca...

Meeting summary The Fall River Planning Board met on September 9, 2026, to address several old and new business items concerning subdivision approvals, surety releases, and roadway reconstruction applications. The board reviewed a proposal by Tiverton Investments, LLC to reconstruct approximately 550 feet of roadway on Spring Street extending into Tiverton, Rhode Island, utilizing pervious asphalt...

Meeting summary The Fall River Commission on Disability met on September 9, 2026, to address funding requests, elect officers, and review departmental updates. Superintendent-Director Brian Bentley of Diman Regional Vocational High School presented a request for approximately $3,000 to purchase a Stryker evacuation chair for Diman's new four-story facility, supplementing three existing chairs prev...

Meeting summary The Fall River Library Board of Trustees met on September 9, 2026, to review meeting minutes, operational statistics, annual reporting procedures, and administrative updates. The board approved the minutes from the June 10 regular meeting and the July special meeting, with minor date corrections noted. Library Director Fellisha Desmarais presented the library's recent statistics an...

Meeting summary The Fall River City Council held a public hearing, a Committee on Finance meeting, and a regular City Council meeting on September 8, 2026. The public hearing covered multiple National Grid and Verizon pole petition requests, an auto repair shop license, a curb removal application, and a license for the relocation of the Savers secondhand store to 133 Mariano Bishop Boulevard. A re...

Meeting summary The Fall River City Council Committee on Public Works and Transportation met to address curb removal requests and ongoing access and maintenance disputes regarding Arruda's Lane. The committee first approved the meeting minutes from July 2, 2026, and noted that no residents signed up for citizen input. The committee took Item 4 out of order regarding an after-the-fact curb removal...

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. Here's your look at the week ahead in Fall River city government. Tuesday evening at 5:55, the City Council takes up a heavy agenda headlined by big-money proposals and local business hearings. Mayor Paul E. Coogan has submitted a ten-million-dollar loan order for street construction and improvements across the city. Councilors will also review a proposal to a...

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. This is our weekly recap for the week ending September 4, 2026, where we cover the most significant local government news. Topping the news this week, the Fall River Park Board met on Wednesday, September second, taking action on several municipal park matters. The board approved park usage permits and reviewed capital project submissions, along with requests...

Meeting summary The Fall River Park Board met on September 2, 2026, to address permit requests for park usage, capital project submissions, cemetery alterations, and tree removal requests. During citizen input, Westport resident Alex presented a proposal for an October 10th charity food drive and car show at Kennedy Park, receiving guidance on department coordination with the city's events coordin...

Meeting summary The Fall River Board of Health met virtually on August 31, 2026, and approved previous meeting minutes as well as multiple licensing applications. The Board approved a tattoo establishment application for Christina Fazzina Aesthetics at Biomed Spa located at 400 Rhode Island Avenue, along with tattoo practitioner licenses for Christina Fazzina and Andrea. Additionally, the Board vo...

Meeting summary On August 31, 2026, the City of Fall River held a ceremonial event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the Portas da Cidade (Gates of the City) monument on Ponta Delgada Boulevard. The celebration aligned with several major milestones, including the 50th anniversary of political autonomy for the Azores and Madeira and the 40th anniversary of the Great Feast of the...

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. Here's your look at the week ahead in Fall River city government. The Board of Health meets this afternoon, Monday, at 3:30. Board members will consider business and practitioner licenses for Kristina Fazzina Aesthetics at BioMedSpa on Rhode Island Avenue. They will also review a separate practitioner license application for Andreea Furtado at the same locatio...

Meeting summary The Fall River Redevelopment Authority meeting began with a unanimous vote to enter an executive session to approve minutes from July 29, 2026, and to discuss real estate strategy for 45 Annawan Street. Upon returning to the open session, the board unanimously approved the open session minutes from July 29, 2026, and the August warrant totaling $230,305.18. Project Manager Karen Ma...

Meeting summary The Fall River School Committee's Policy Subcommittee met on August 26, 2026, to review several key district policies. The most significant discussion centered on the student attendance policy. The administration presented data showing a decrease in chronic absenteeism from 37.3% to 25.4% and an increase in daily attendance to 91.6% over three years. A major point of contention was...

Meeting summary This video is a promotional piece celebrating the 80th anniversary of the United Way of Greater Fall River. Kim Smith, the Executive Director, and Rachel Medeiros, the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, narrate the video, reflecting on the organization's history of building partnerships and connecting resources since 1947. They emphasize the United Way's role in supporting l...

Meeting summary The Fall River City Council's Committee on Public Safety met to discuss traffic issues, downtown lighting, and fire department equipment. The meeting began with public input from several residents of Progress Street, including David Burns, Gerald Montigny, and Saima Beer, who detailed significant problems with traffic, parking, littering, and public nuisances related to the Letourn...

Meeting summary The Fall River Board of Assessors held a brief public meeting with members Richard Gonsalves and Nancy L. Hinote present; Richard B. Wolfson was absent. Due to Mr. Wolfson's absence, the board was unable to approve the executive session minutes from June 17, 2026. The members reviewed an invoice proof list and noted they had already signed the motor vehicle and supplemental warrant...

Meeting summary The meeting was a ceremony to present plaques to various Fall River organizations that had received Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding for projects. The plaques were intended to be displayed on the buildings or sites to acknowledge the CPA's contribution. The presenter called up representatives from each recipient one by one to receive their award. The projects were broadly c...

Meeting summary The Fall River Tax Increment Finance Board held a brief meeting on August 25, 2026. The board began by approving the minutes from their previous meeting on June 12, 2026, with a unanimous 6-0 vote. The primary agenda item was an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by Collin R. Dias. The complaint alleged that two board members, Ann O'Neil-Souza and Frank Marchione, had not filed their...

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. Here's your look at the week ahead in Fall River city government. We start with downtown real estate and city development. The Fall River Redevelopment Authority meets Wednesday evening at 5. The board will go into a private executive session to discuss a potential real estate transaction at 45 Anawan Street. Later in the public session, they will debate poten...

Meeting summary The Fall River Zoning Board of Appeals, chaired by Joseph Pereira, convened on August 20, 2026, to review a series of property development petitions. The board approved several projects, including two revised proposals on Durfee Street. The first, at 333 Durfee Street, was unanimously approved to convert an auto repair shop into four residential units, creating a nine-unit property...

Transcript Welcome to Fall River Now. This is our weekly recap for the week ending August 21, 2026, where we cover the most significant local government news. Topping the news this week, official minutes released by the city confirm the City Council has officially passed a revised municipal budget for Fiscal Year 2027. Councilors had previously rejected a continuing budget because of missing docum...