There is a famous scene in Braveheart where William Wallace rallies his Scottish troops just before a battle with English forces.  Atop a horse, he gave an amazing speech about taking action at that moment or living with regret.  William Wallace, leading a rag-tag group of untrained soldiers, goes on to rout a much larger, well-trained force by out-witting his opposing general.  Does New Bedford have a William Wallace to lead us?

For the next week, New Bedford residents have a chance to finish first in a competition that could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, in economic stimulus over the next decade.  New Bedford has been chosen as one of the 12 Most Distinctive Destinations in the United States by The National Trust for Historic Preservation.  It is a great distinction to even be put on the list, and New Bedford residents should feel proud of their historic city. This nomination has been covered by dozens of major newspapers throughout the United States, and as a result has boosted New Bedford’s name recognition as a place to visit as a tourist.

Since 15 February, everyone has been allowed to visit an online poll and vote daily for their favorite city.  Currently, New Bedford is in third place in online voting, behind Sheridan, Wyoming, and Paducah, Kentucky.  These two cities have significant leads and it is obviously because they are more organized than New Bedford.   Sheridan has a population of 15,000 and Paducah has a population of 27,000.   Right now, it appears these small cities (1/4 and 1/6 the size of New Bedford, respectively) are being lead by a William Wallace, which would put us on the side of the English.  We have until March 15 to change this.  To me, there are two ways to win this competition outright.

First, NewBedfordGuide.com volunteers have made it easy for people to vote by visiting votenb.com.  This URL goes directly to the poll.  We also put out 2,000 business size cards promoting the link throughout the city at high-trafficked locations like the Whaling Museum, Celtic Coffee House, No Problemo, Ginger Grill, The New Bedford Vistor Center, The New Bedford Art Museum, and dozens of other locations.  Take a moment to grab some of these cards and distribute them to friends and family. Ask them to vote daily and pass the cards on to their friends.

Second, and the only real way of winning this contest, is for Mayor Lang (or someone in the city with influence) to contact Barney Frank, John Kerry or Scott Brown, and have them help promote this contest in Boston.  The city of Boston’s Facebook pages have 397,000 and 142,000 fans, and Boston.com’s Facebook page has nearly 40,000 fans.  A few shout outs for New Bedford would help solidify our chances for victory.  Since New Bedford is the only Massachusetts city in this contest (and the only city in the Northeast), we should widen our voting block and make this about Massachusetts pride and its economy.  John Kerry, Barney Frank or Scott Brown could likely use their influence and assist the city where so many of their constituents reside.   Really, the person that can make this happen the quickest is Mayor Lang.  I ask everyone to e-mail him at Scott.Lang@newbedford-ma.gov, and ask him to pull some strings so we can win this award.

It’s up to YOU, the reader, to take action; this award is within our grasp.  Take two minutes to write the mayor and ask him to get our elected officials to lead us to victory by using the city of Boston to take this award home for all of Massachusetts.  The difference from third place and first place can be worth millions.  Voting ends on 15 March, so time is of the essence.

Hopefully, a William Wallace will emerge on our side to lead us to victory.

The English language is one of the most complex and difficult languages to learn, due to all the slang and local phrases.  Depending on where you are geographically, words take on different meanings.  Take the word ‘wicked,’ which literally means “morally bad in principle or practice.” In New England when we use the word ‘wicked, it means, “very.”  For example: “That band was wicked cool!”

One phrase that always reminds me of New Bedford is, “The Stink Eye.”  I learned it from my older brother, who likely learned it from The Most Interesting Man in the World.  If you’ve lived in New Bedford for a decent amount of time, you have likely experienced The Stink Eye.  Whether you have or not is irrelevant, because chances are it will happen at some point.  So pay attention, because the following information may save your life.

Let’s say you are walking around downtown New Bedford late on a Friday night.  You’ve had a few drinks, and you’re heading home after a great time out with friends, when a car full of men approach blasting “Beat It,” by Michael Jackson.  As the car approaches two of the men in the car give you a stare.  This is not a friendly gesture.  In fact, it’s a somewhat hostile move against you.  You don’t realize it immediately, but you have been given The Stink Eye.

So how do you respond?  There are three ways to handle The Stink Eye: The first two may end with you on the receiving end of a beating, but the second one should keep you safe.

First, you could be brave and give a Full Stink Eye back.  This is not recommended unless you are Mike Tyson.  You especially don’t want to do this if you are alone.  Giving a car full of men a full Stink Eye will almost certainly end badly for you.  They will take offense, pull over, and beat you up.

Your second option is to completely avoid  returning the Stink Eye by quickly averting your eyes and looking down at the side walk.  This screams, “I’m a wimp, come beat the crap out of me.”  Have you ever seen a tiger hunting antelope on a nature program?  The tiger doesn’t go after the most physical fit animal in the pack; it goes after the old, the weak, or the injured.  Predators can smell fear. Your inability to return The Stink Eye will make you will look like a wounded animal. This will end the same as scenario #1: The men will pull over and throw a beating on you.

The third option, and possibly your only way out of this situation, is to make a stand and give a partial Stink Eye. This says, “Hey, I may be alone, but I have a spine!” A partial Stink Eye lasts no more than one second.  You must remove all doubt and fear from your eyes, and perform this maneuver with confidence.  Lock onto the weakest of the passengers, hold and release The Stink Eye after one second, and then look forward.  Believe in yourself, keep walking, and you should be safe.

The key component of any Stink Eye situation is to be mindful of the duration of the return Stink Eye; too long and you’re asking for trouble, but you can get in just as much trouble for not returning it at all.  Treat the one-second, partial Stink Eye in the same way you do when a pretty girl walks by while you’re with your girlfriend; it’s alright to stare for a second, but any longer than that could get you in trouble.

Other Stink Eye Tips:

• There is safety in numbers; the bigger the pack you are traveling with, the more you can Stink Eye.
• Even in a large pack, avoid Stink Eye’n people with “Cauliflower ears”.
• To develop a good Stink Eye, watch Clint Eastwood Movies.

Let’s say you are interested in starting your first Financial Portfolio.  Maybe we should begin by asking, “What is a Financial Portfolio?”  For starters, a financial portfolio is a combination of different types of investments intended to grow over a fixed period of time.  For the person who is just starting out, the simplest way to go is to find a financial advisor.  It is also possible to learn how to invest on your own, although it can be very time-consuming.

Which is right for you? In this article we will look at different ways of investing money so you can decide which is best for you, and we will ask professional financial advisor Steven Griffith, who owns a private investment consulting firm in Mattapoisett, MA, questions about the different types and uses of various investment possibilities.

Why does a person need a Financial Portfolio?

Years ago, and up to the mid-‘80s, people depended upon three sources of revenue for retirement: pensions, Social Security, and their individual savings.   In the ’70s, most of the Fortune 500 companies provided their employees with pensions for economic support during their retirement years.  Today that number has dwindled to only about 15% of all Fortune 500 companies, if they still offer a pension at all.  Private pensions are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We are all fully aware of the precarious nature and instability of our present Social Security System’s ability to continue its payout through this generation and the next.  The Federal Government’s social policy is attempting to shift the weight and responsibility of caring for our aging population to the individual, as opposed to private corporations or various types of social programs doing so as in the past.

In addition, people are living longer.  While life expectancy for Americans born in 1938 was around 64 years, those Americans who are currently 65 are projected to live another 18 years to age 83, on average.  And, if you reach age 83, your life expectancy extends to age 90.   Here’s one final thing to keep in mind: While a 60-year old man today has a 20 percent probability of reaching 95 and a 60-year-old woman a 30 percent chance, there is a 40 percent chance that at least one member of a married couple at the same age will live until 95. Retiring couples need to consider this increased probability when planning for retirement.

Because we are living longer, we need to save more money for our retirement years. And we need to manage our money differently during retirement due to the longer lives we now lead. Therefore, we need a Financial Portfolio because it is really up to us to provide for ourselves — don’t count on Uncle Sam or your company or employer to provide for you later in life. Remember: If it is to be, it’s up to me!

At what age should a person begin creating a Financial Portfolio and start planning for retirement?

Yesterday! It is crucial to begin saving as soon as you possibly can in order to maximize the probability of having as much wealth as possible available later due to growth on your initial investments. This is the result of the reinvestment of interest and dividends from your earlier investments. Is it better to put a little money away every month now, or to put a larger amount away every month later in life? The answer is that it is best to start by putting away as much as possible as early as possible. Investing the same amount each month from the start, year in and year out, is known as dollar-cost averaging.   In theory, the end result is that you will purchase shares of stock at varying prices throughout the year.  At the end of the year, you will have purchased all of your shares of stocks at the average cost.   Of course, if you were clairvoyant, you would take all of your money and purchase your shares of stock on the day on which they were selling at the lowest price during any given year. But since most people aren’t clairvoyant, dollar-cost averaging is the next best thing to being able to see into the future.  One should also try to increase the percentage of your investments by 4% annually in order to keep pace with inflation.

To whom can a person speak for reliable financial information? How do you know who to trust?

You can always start with parents or family members who have been financially successful. Or if you have friends who are financially successful, you might also ask them for some hints. Perhaps family members or friends have used the services of a financial advisor, and you could ask if they have been satisfied with that person’s advice and performance.  A key question to ask is: How did their portfolios perform during the most recent bear market? (A Bear market means a persistent or perpetual market in which values are consistently declining). You should be concerned about the degree to which your portfolio sustains losses during a bear market, because every time you lose money, it takes that much longer to get back to where you originally were.  If you lose less money during a bear market over the long run, during periods of growth (which are referred to as “bull” markets), you should ultimately have more money available to you when you’re ready to retire.

The benefit of utilizing a professional financial advisor is that they specialize in studying the stock and bond market trends as well as myriad other investment vehicles which should become part of your portfolio. They can advise and aid you in its design and construction, which will give you a higher probability of reaching your financial goals than you probably would achieve by attempting to synthesize the vast amount of information needed to accomplish this task on your own.

Just what kind of information can a financial advisor share with you?

He or she can explain to you the different types of assets available to you, and also explain how the stock market works — valuable knowledge that would take a long time to learn on your own.  Stocks and bonds are the two most common ways that people invest their money.  When you invest in stocks, you are buying partial ownership of a company.  When you invest in bonds, you are letting that entity borrow your money. Let’s just focus on the various types of bonds one could purchase:

Municipal Bonds

Municipal bonds are issued by states, counties, cities and towns all across America to fund local projects such as roads, sewers, school construction, bridges, toll roads, and hospitals.  The interest earned on this investment is generally free from taxes on the federal, and in some cases on the state level, though the interest may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Corporate Bonds

These bonds are usually issued by major corporations. Corporate interest is generally taxable at all three levels: federal, state and local. Generally, these bonds pay higher rates than government or municipal bonds since the risk is higher.  Corporate bonds have a wide range of ratings and yields because the financial health of the issuers can vary widely.  A high-quality blue chip company might have bonds carrying an investment rating such as AA (with a low yield but a lower risk of default), while a startup might have bonds carrying a “junk bond” rating (with a high yield but a higher risk of default).  If a company goes bankrupt, both bondholders and stockholders can make a claim on the company’s assets, but the claims of bondholders takes precedence over that of stockholders in a liquidation.

Zero Coupons

These are a different class of bonds, issued with a steep original discount and paying NO regular coupon interest, but maturing at full face value of $1000. (Think of buying a dollar in ten years while only paying pennies for that dollar today.)

Treasury Bonds

These are direct obligations of the United States Government and are generally regarded as the safest bonds in the world. Government guarantees provide timely payment of principal and interest, if held to maturity. They do not insure against volatility of interest. Interest from Treasury notes and bonds is not taxed by States, though their interest is subject to Federal income tax.

Certificates of Deposit

CDs are timed deposits created by banks.  Although CDs have similar characteristics to bonds, they are insured up to $100,000 (interest and principal combined) by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  Although banks originate CDs, investors may also purchase them from broker-dealers.

What is an IRA?

The most important difference between these two Individual Retirement plans is their potential for long-term growth and the resulting tax basis that will be created in the future at the time you withdraw your funds. For example, let’s assume that over a two-year basis you contribute a total of $10,000 into a traditional IRA and, hypothetically, over the next twenty years it grows advantageously into $100,000. When you withdraw this money, you will have $100,000 of taxable income. Once again, let’s assume that over a two-year basis you contribute a total of $10,000 into a Roth IRA and, hypothetically, over the next twenty years it grows advantageously into $100,000. Your taxable income when you withdraw this money is zero. There are many other advantages to a Roth IRA, too numerous to mention here.

Why should a person bother to invest at all, as opposed to just putting his or her money into the local Savings Bank? The interest earned on your money in most banks and credit unions will not keep pace with inflation, and you will actually be losing money, although it will not appear so. So it really pays, in the final analysis, to take the time to find a trustworthy Financial Advisor.

These questions were answered by Financial Advisor and Retirement Planner Steven A. Griffith, AIF, of Peers, Inc., and edited by Cherie Thompson, B.A., M.A.  Their office is located at 7 Gosnold Street, Mattapoisett, MA, and they can be reached at 508-758-2213.  You can also visit them at their website, www.peersinc.com. Steven can also be reached at stevengriffith@nfpsi.com. Both Cherie and Steven are open to any questions you may have regarding the information in this article.

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In case you haven’t heard the news, Egypt is having some major protests over economic conditions and human rights.  Egyptian citizens are using social media and text messages to coordinate numerous protests throughout the country.  Yesterday there were even reports of over two million protesters gathering in Cairo!  The mainstream media (and many on Facebook) seems to be wishing for the current Egyptian government to be overthrown and replaced.

If you are a casual observer of these protests, you have likely heard that this is a good thing and that democracy is taking root in Egypt.  This opinion may be true, but it may be naive to jump to this conclusion and blindly support the protesters.  History is full of examples of a dictator being replaced by someone much worse.  While Egyptian President Mubarak may not be a great leader by American standards, whoever ends up replacing him could be much worse.  Americans should do some research and not blindly support movements just because a friend on Facebook told them to.

Let’s jump back to late 1978, when Iranian students protested and eventually removed the  Shah of Iran from power.  The result? Religious fanatics took power, 52 American citizens were held hostage for 444 days and Iran became one of the world leaders in state-sponsored terrorism.  If Iran gets a nuclear bomb and uses it against Israel, Europe, or even America, it will be a direct result of the 1978 movement.

Let’s go further into history.   In 1917, the Communists in Russia toppled the Tsar, and the suffering of the Russian people was magnified.  Lennon and Stalin went on to liquidate well over 20 million people while pushing their Communism on the rest of the world, causing 500,000 American causalities in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.  The Tsar was terrible, but what followed was much worse.

In China, Mao Zedong took on dictator Chiang Kai-shek, who was backed by the U.S.  While Chiang Kai-shek could be brutal at times, he was nowhere near the killer that Mao was.   By most estimates, Mao was responsible for killing between 40 to 70 million people between 1949 to 1976.   The Russian Bolsheviks and the Chinese Communists were both popular uprisings against dictators, but the success of these revolutions caused nearly 100 million deaths.

Of course history is full of examples of popular movements being good for the world.  No one can argue that the American Revolution and the Tiananmen Square protests weren’t good causes.  Gandhi’s peaceful movement for an independent India, as well as the fight to end apartheid in South Africa, were movements worthy of everyone’s support.

What I hope readers will take from this article is that not all grass-root, populace movements are good.  The Egyptian protests may well be a good cause  worth supporting, but you should do your research before blindly getting behind it.  While the ruling monarchy in Saudi Arabia is not democratic, a toppled King would likely result in al-Qaeda type personalities controlling the country, along with much of the world’s oil supply.  The same could happen in Egypt; President Mubarak could be overthrown and replaced by someone much worse.  When it comes to Egypt, do your research and be careful what you wish for.  Ensure you are supporting the next Gandhi and not the next Mao!

For the second time this year the New Bedford Police Department (with several partners) exchanged cash for guns.  It has been hailed a successful program by the media throughout the state of Massachusetts.  In total, 277 guns have been collected through the program in 2010.  At first glance, the goal of the gun exchange appears simple (to get guns off the street), yet I feel the success of this program will difficult to measure.  Is the idea that less guns equals less gun crime an over-simplified formula?  I think so.

The obvious questions that come to mind are:

• Is this an effect way to reduce gun-related crimes in the city of New Bedford?
• Won’t criminals that plan on committing gun-related crimes get guns anyway?
• Are the amount of guns on the streets of New Bedford being reduced? Or are criminals simply selling off old guns to purchase new ones?
• How is the success of the program being measured?
• Where is the money coming from to purchase these guns? If it is tax-payer money, is this the best way to reduce crime in New Bedford?
• Is this program removing guns from law abiding citizens or criminals?
• Are these guns being verified as coming from New Bedford, or are people bringing guns from other cities in Massachusetts?

For me, these are the obvious questions that the city and the organizers of this exchange program should be asking themselves before declaring the program a success.  I don’t think anyone should say, “277 guns have been removed from the streets so this program is successful.”  If gun-related crime statistics in New Bedford remain the same (or even go up) I would suggest that the program may be a waste of time, energy and much needed city funds.  I would even take it a step further and say the program may cause more harm than good by taking guns away from cash-strapped, law-abiding citizens.  In some cases it may mean taking the sole source of protection from a family living in a bad neighborhood.  What happens if a home evasion occurs and someone who sold their gun to the city of New Bedford becomes a victim of crime because they had no way to defend their home and family?

Personally, I have a feeling that people will turn in old guns that were never going to be used in a crime.  A person likely to commit a gun-related crime will get a gun when they need it and never sell their gun to the city.

Regardless of the gun-related crime statistics in the future, the New Bedford gun exchange program can be a successful program if it is privately funded and the organizers find a way to ensure guns are being purchased from criminals and not disarming our law-abiding citizens who are simply in need of cash.  A gun exchange program that purchases guns blindly will fail to be successful in reducing gun-related crime.  Simply purchasing any and all guns is not enough to reduce gun violence.

After all the mudslinging had ceased and the innuendo had subsided, it was time to vote. Now, if I had listened to all the party ads and believed what I had heard, then each candidate was a crook, a degenerate, a liar or worse: a Liberal (heaven forbid!). The barrage of negativity this year was overwhelming. As a rule, I try to ignore this time-honored tradition of bashing your opponent into a pulp, but this year it was nearly impossible to escape.

The frenzy is so dizzying this year, I shut myself off from the whole process about a week ago. Mailboxes full of political flyers hit the recycle bin unread; dozens of messages from Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich and all my other close friends were deleted unheard; Fox News (which I watch occasionally for the entertainment factor), CNN and Local “News” Shows went unwatched; the FM radio in my car was shut off in favor of CDs; the huge newspaper ads went unread. Ahhh! Isolation is attainable when one makes an effort!

I did my homework at my own pace and considered the possibilities. I asked no advice and none was offered. Even in this sterilized environment, it was no easy task to decide between candidates and ballot question alternatives. Sometimes I had to choose between the lesser of two evils.

There is a fire station on Acushnet Avenue that is my polling place. It’s made of brick–I think all polling places should be brick, gives the illusion of permanence. Several people stood outside holding political signs including Councilor John Saunders. We said hello and then I went into the peaceful confines of the little room off to the side of the fire station where it all happens. It was quiet (like the eye of a hurricane) and manned by a few elderly citizens who had donated their time. I was greeted by a smile and a nod from the police officer on duty. After announcing my address and name, I was crossed off the “In” list and handed a ballot.

Off to the serenity of the voting booth: The light was a little dim, but I could read everything. I took my time, enjoying the finality of my decisions and the power I held in my hands in the form a black marker. I made the little unfinished arrows connect, held my nose and voted.

After I placed my ballot into the machine that looks like a macabre jukebox (I was # 389: press play and hear “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield), I made my way back to my car and headed home feeling good about myself, but not so good about what the process has become.

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Editor’s note: this is an opinion piece and is filed until the “Rant” section of our site!

That’s right. I believe many of you people out there don’t deserve the luxury of driving. You’re bad drivers and the worst part is you don’t know it. You think your a good driver because you’ve never had a speeding ticket or never have had an accident (that was your fault).  Or even worse, you think you’re a really good driver!

I don’t care if you drive fast. I do. I don’t care if you don’t know the amount of specific fines.  I don’t. I don’t care if you eat while you drive sometimes. I have.

I care if you’re paying attention and that you actually KNOW the general rules of the road.

Why are there lanes on the high ways?

When can you turn left on a red light?

What does a yellow light mean?

Who’s supposed to yield when coming onto the high way?

What does yield mean!!!??

When are you supposed to stop and let people cross the street?

Yes, that’s my point, you don’t know.

Lanes are for controlling the speed and flow of traffic.  The far left lane is for PASSING.  So if you’re not passing someone, I don’t care if you’re driving 65mph or 100mph, GET OUT OF THE FAR LEFT LANE!  The Middle lane(s) (if there are any) are for the fast drivers.  The far right lane is for the people who want to drive the speed limit or slower and for entering/exiting the highway.

You can go right on red when you are turning from a one way street onto another one way street.

The car that is supposed to yield when coming onto the high way is….. THE CAR COMING ONTO THE HIGH WAY! The people on the high way are driving faster than you, and are not suppose to stop.  If it’s not safe for you to get onto the high way, you don’t speed up and make the person on the highway slow down. YOU DO, YOU STOP and proceed with caution and MERGE into traffic. (I’m not even going to get started on how to merge properly, I don’t want to confuse you any more than you already probably are).

And hey, that’s what yield means, to slow down and proceed with caution, and STOP if necessary, that’s why there are red and stop-sign-LIKE.

And a yellow light is there for two reasons.  First, to let you know the light is about to turn red, so you don’t need to slam on your brakes when the light goes from green to red.  Second, you are supposed to slow down and come to a stop when the light turns yellow, not speed up and try to make it through the light before it turns red.  The amount of stupid people I see on a daily basis running red lights as soon as they go from yellow to red is astonishing.  And yes you can be ticketed for running a yellow light.

Congratulations, you’re now hopefully a better informed driver, you’re still not a good driver, but hopefully your starting to see why you suck at driving.

I’m outta here.  Keep checking back for more rants; God knows I have so much more to complain about.

–R.R.

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For many residents of Massachusetts, spending the summer in Cape Cod would be the perfect scenario.  When you think of Cape Cod, you think of beautiful, clean beaches.  You can picture the quaint, historical homes that line the narrow streets of many downtown areas, like Harwich or Chatham.  You can close your eyes and remember eating a meal outside at any number of top restaurants.  And you can definitely remember the amazing ice cream you bought from a local ice cream stand afterwards.

Speaking as someone who grew up on Cape Cod, I know how thoughts of poverty, crime, and abrasive scenery stay far out of sight and out of mind.  Tourists who travel from near and far to enjoy this great vacation haven in our state don’t consider the the negative aspects of life in the southeast corner of Massachusetts.

Yet not far from our famous vacation destination there are towns and small cities that are quite different.   Towns just off of Cape Cod, the landlocked ones, are mostly rural farmland and cranberry bogs.  The ones with coastline are very small, their beaches lacking the appeal of those found on the Cape. The cities in this area exhibit the usual problems faced when a small piece of Earth is inhabited by many people-crime, poverty, over-crowding.  The cities I am talking about specifically are New Bedford and Fall River, or as the locals refer to them: New Beige and The Rivah.

Recently I graduated from Umass Dartmouth, which is located one town over from New Beige.  I have since moved to The Rivah, and when I tell people this news, their facial expressions resemble those you might find on someone witnessing a murder.  You would think I was recently put into jail!

When a person hears the names of these towns, they immediately think of filth, poverty, old rotting buildings, crime, murder, and disease.  I had always taken these generalizations as truth, but as the old saying goes, “It takes one to know one.”  Since I now call Fall River home, my aim is to disprove some common misconceptions about The Rivah by telling you first-hand what it is like to live here.

In reality, once you have actually lived in these cities you will be happy to find the good that lies between the cracks of these old buildings. Many wonderful aspects of each city reveal themselves when you spend a little time exploring.

For instance, lets take a walk on Union Street in  downtown New Beige. This one street is home to some of the most important whaling history on the East Coast. Cobblestone roads and courtyards lie to the north of Union, and are home to some really great restaurants, like No Problemo and Freestone’s City Grill. No Problemo easily has the best burritos in town, and they have a new bar so its a great place to hang out.  Freestone’s is a bit fancier, but the prices are reasonable, and the place has a great atmosphere.

If you head south from Union Street, eventually you will arrive at the ocean.  You’ll be greeted with multiple viewing areas, as well as several beaches.  If you enjoy history or simply want to take a stroll with your dog, take a drive out to Fort Tabor (originally built as a lighthouse during the thriving whaling days of the 1800’s.) Here you can find panoramic views of the water and surrounding peninsulas.

Now lets travel northwest to The Rivah.  The topography of The Rivah has always been a point of discussion among its visitors, due to the prominence of the rolling hills that the city was built on.  Also of note is the Taunton River, which bisects this vast land of clustered homes. If you’re feeling hungry, head over to Bedford Street and you will find two of the cheapest, most delicious sub shops: Marzillis and Marcuccis.  Want an 18 inch sub for $6? Done.

The Rivah also holds the very popular Fall River Celebrates America. This festival displays a diverse array of Portuguese food and culture, plus there are plenty of activities for children and adults.

Fall River is full of many beautiful and historic buildings.  Saint Anne Parish and Shrine is just one of the towering cathedrals built in middle 1800s and more are scattered along the crisscrossed roads in this town.

Looking for a bottle of wine for your dinner party? Take a trip to Douglas Wine and Spirits, where you will not only be recommended the best choice of wine for your needs, but you’ll also receive a free lesson about some of the local wineries in the area.

These are just some of the qualities that make The Rivah and New Beige great.  What is of even more value, in my opinion, are the people. Welcoming, helpful, and hard working are the first words that come to mind when I think of New Beige.  One never feels judged when walking down the street, and it is common to be greeted by a random stranger passing by.  People have a drive to be happy and healthy, whether it be a business owner or a student at the Umass Dartmouth Star Store grabbing some lunch for the day.

In these South Coast areas people work with what they have and live frugally while enjoying the land and ocean all around them. I have found that my previous assumptions were incorrect about these towns, and truth be told, they are enjoyable places to become part of.  If you find yourself passing by I would recommend stopping in to grab a bite to eat, indulging in the cheap gas prices, and see for yourself what these towns really have to offer.