Before we begin the new week in earnest, we’re taking a look back at the week that was, and the stories that led the news with Taunton Daily Gazette readers.
The bird really was the word this past week, as sightings of a Steller’s Sea Eagle along the Taunton River drew hundreds of people to come out and try to catch a glimpse at the eagle that was half a world away from its native habitat.
Other top stories this past week included the opening of Taunton’s first retail shop for recreational marijuana; the Bridgewater-Raynham honor roll list; and the latest real estate report.
Rounding out our Top 5 was a look at where the long-stalled Taunton casino project is these days.
These were the Top 5 stories of the past week, according to Gazette readers:
Eagle half a world from home draws birders to Dighton, Somerset
Birders flocked to Shaw’s Boat Yard in Dighton on Monday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Steller’s Sea Eagle rumored to be visiting the Taunton River. Native to Eastern Asia and Russia, the eagle is “vagrant,” meaning it has ventured far from its usual range.
Dee McKee, who works at the marina, said more than a hundred photographers and birders turned up.
Where have the wild birds gone?:3 billion fewer than 1970
Taunton’s first recreational retail pot shop is open
On Monday, Commonwealth Alternative Care became the first of up to eight marijuana dispensaries licensed to sell pot to recreational users. The 30 Mozzone Blvd. business has been selling marijuana to folks with medical cards for more than three years.
Dave German, general manager of Taunton operations, gave a tour of the recreational and medical shop at the front of the company’s sprawling location, which includes 100,000 square feet where they grow weed and manufacture pot products.
What’s next for pot in New England?:VT sales starting, MA equity issues and more.
Bridgewater-Raynham honor roll
Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School recently released its first-quarter honor roll list. These are all of the students who made honor roll in the first quarter.
Greater Taunton real estate report
The top-selling house for the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 in Taunton was on Bryan Drive, where a 2,200-square-foot home with five bedrooms and four bathrooms sold for $565,000. Meanwhile, the top-selling home for the week for all of Greater Taunton was in Berkley, where a 2,200-square-foot home on the Assonet River sold for $660,000.
We’ve got that and more, in the latest real estate report for our area.
Real estate report:Home in ‘exclusive’ Taunton neighborhood sells for more than $500,000
Mashpee Wampanoag haven’t given up on building a casino in Taunton
The First Light Resort & Casino is still just a P.O. Box and a stalled construction site, but the Mashpee Wampanoag haven’t given up on building a casino at Routes 24 and 140, according to city officials who recently met with the tribe and its multinational development partner. The Mashpee Wampanoag have long planned to build a $1 billion resort casino in East Taunton. The complex was to have three hotels, two restaurants and 3,000 slot machines. The tribe estimated the resort would provide 2,600 full- and part-time jobs.
Those plans could still come to be, especially in the wake of a decision released late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which reversed a Trump administration order that rescinded the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s right to 321 acres of reservation land that helped establish them as a sovereign government.
‘This news is so welcome’:Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe can retain reservation land
Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.
