Mayor of the City of New Bedford

Issue No. 021 | July 30th, 2015 | New Bedford, Massachusetts

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City of New Bedford Going Green with New Fleet Of Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicle replacements part of a broad city effort to establish leadership position in the Green Economy

New Bedford, Massachusetts – Under the Initiative, the City is replacing 15% of the cars in its municipal passenger car fleet of 70 vehicles with new Nissan LEAF models.  With the addition of ten electric vehicles, New Bedford now has more EV’s in its passenger car fleet than any other municipality in Massachusetts.

The cars are being assigned to New Bedford Health Department inspectors that operate in city neighborhoods.  The super efficient vehicles achieve the equivalent of 126 miles per gallon on city roads.  The move will also allow the City to retire ten older models that long ago exceeded their useful life, having been purchased in the early/mid 1990s… read more

Mayor Mitchell Marks Arrival of First Cargo Ship At New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal

New Bedford, Massachusetts – At an event alongside the city’s Hurricane Barrier near Gifford Street, Mayor Jon Mitchell joined by other leaders, watched the arrival of the 409 foot-long *MV Thorco Svenborg*, the first vessel to offload cargo at the new $113 million New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. The 28-acre, $113 million New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal was built over the past two years by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center with the support of Mayor Mitchell and the City of New Bedford to handle heavy project loads like the wind turbine components arriving today.

A one-of-a-kind facility in North America, the purpose-built Terminal is capable of handling both traditional heavy cargo and serving as the staging area for offshore wind energy projects presently proposed for federally designated areas of open ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and Rhode Island… read more

Summer Sound Series on Pier 3 is Back

New Bedford, Massachusetts – The Summer Sound Series featuring live musical entertainment on Pier 3 in Downtown New Bedford is back! Residents and visitors are invited to dance to live music, enjoy beverages available for purchase, and relax along New Bedford’s beautiful working waterfront. Remaining waterfront concert dates include Friday 6-8PM on July 31st, August 7th, August 14th, rain dates for cancelled performances are August 21st, August 28th.

Mayor Mitchell said the city’s efforts to reconnected the vibrant downtown with the waterfront have been embraced by the community and visitors alike: “We have had great success since we started the Summer Sound Series three years ago. So I invite everyone to come to the New Bedford waterfront at the end of the work week to unwind, have some ice cream or lemonade at our new ice cream shack on Pier 3, and enjoy live music and good company.”… read more

Mayor Jon Mitchell’s Green Energy Initiative Reaches New Milestone; Original Goals Exceeded

Tenth and final solar project in city’s ambitious plan begins operating in business park.  More than half of local government’s electricity needs now met with solar power.

*New Bedford, Massachusetts*—Mayor Jon Mitchell was joined by clean energy partners to mark the commissioning of a new 4.1 megawatt (MW) solar power facility, the “Tom Davis Solar Project,” located in the New Bedford Business Park. The Project will supply the City of New Bedford with clean, affordable energy.

Under Mayor Mitchell, the City of New Bedford has pursued an ambitious, nation-leading effort over the past few years to reduce city government’s utility costs and its carbon footprint by securing deeply discounted “green” power from both solar and wind sources. With today’s commissioning, the City now has ten large-scale solar projects totaling 16 megawatts in operation. The original goal of the Initiative had been to secure 10 megawatts of solar energy … read more (PDF)

Weekend Happenings

101st Feast of the Blessed Sacrament
Thursday, July 30 – Sunday, August 2
Madeira Field

Whaling City Triathalon
Sunday, August 2 @8am