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.
Top stories this past week included:
Taunton High student basketball referees are getting valuable experience.
Tom & Jimmy’s announced that it’ll soon be scooping up ice cream at a fourth location.
With the MBTA starting commuter rail service in about a month to Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton, riders may want to start checking to see if they’re eligible for some savings.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South has been honored with the Bronze League of Eagles Award.
Middleboro has hired six new firefighters, and South Station is to be open 24/7. Learn more, here.
The Berkley Police Department is seeking help from the public in identifying two suspects in connection with recent vehicle break-ins.
The Homes2Suites Hotel in Raynham, located on Commerce Way, will officially cease operating as an Emergency Assistance (EA) family shelter for the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) by Dec. 31, 2025.
These were the Top 5 stories of the past week, according to Gazette readers:
Carol Doherty, Taunton state rep and ex-school board member dies; remembered for uncommon ‘dignity,’ ‘grace’ and ‘humor’
Last weekend, Taunton State Rep. Carol Doherty died at the age of 82 after “a brave battle with pancreatic cancer,” her office announced.
Doherty, a former longtime Taunton School Committee member, has served asstate representative in the 3rd Bristol District since 2020. The district includes parts of Taunton and Easton.
State Rep. Carol Doherty celebrates at her headquarters in Taunton after winning re-election to the 3rd Bristol state representative seat on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
In the days since her death, Doherty’s loved ones, friends, and colleagues are remembering her for leading with uncommon “dignity,” “grace” and “humor” until the very end.
‘An incredible legacy of service’: Taunton’s Carol Doherty led with uncommon ‘dignity,’ ‘grace’ and ‘humor’ to the very end
Will special election be held to fill Carol Doherty’s state rep seat?
Doherty’s death leaves a sudden vacancy in the 3rd Bristol state house district she represented.
According to the Massachusetts secretary of state’s office, it is up to the House to order a special election in the 3rd Bristol to fill the vacant seat.
Here’s how it would work.
3rd Bristol state house district: Will special election be held to fill Carol Doherty’s state rep seat? How that works
Three arrested in Taunton home burglary
Three men from Taunton were arrested and charged with breaking and entering, larceny, and drug trafficking, in connection with a home robbery on Winthrop Street in Taunton.
On Jan. 13, 2025, a home on Winthrop Street in Taunton was burglarized. One of 3 perpetrators, seen here via the home’s security cameras, went upstairs and would eventually retrieve a safe. He’s seen here rolling the safe down the stairs. Taunton PD arrested three on Feb. 3 in connection with this home burglary.
This is what we know about the break-in, as of this writing.
Three arrested in Taunton home burglary: What we know about the Winthrop Street break-in
Taunton restaurant’s liquor license suspended, hours slashed after cops allegedly assaulted
Fusion Kitchen, a restaurant in Taunton serving Japanese cuisine, had its liquor license suspended for four days by the city’s License Commission after police officers were allegedly assaulted at the restaurant on Sunday, Feb. 9.
A photo of a sign outside of Fusion Kitchen, taken on Friday, February 14.
Gazette Reporter Emma Rindlisbacher has the story.
Fusion Kitchen: Taunton restaurant’s liquor license suspended, hours slashed after cops allegedly assaulted
Alleging discrimination, Taunton restaurant sues board of health
Hong Kong City, a restaurant on Broadway in Taunton, has filed a lawsuit against the Taunton Board of Health.
The restaurant, at 174 Broadway, alleged in a lawsuit that the board of health retaliated against the owner, Philip Fei Pan, for not doing business with a cleaning company owned by a relative of a heath inspector.
The lawsuit further alleges that an inspection report of the restaurant contained a “forged” signature of someone who did not conduct the inspection, that the executive director of the health department made “racist statements” at a public meeting, and that there were “falsified facts and records” related to health violation reports made against the restaurant.
In contrast, the board of health said they had “ample evidence of” what they described as Hong Kong City’s “significant health violations.”
This is what we know, as of this writing.
Restaurant files lawsuit: Alleging discrimination, Taunton restaurant sues board of health. Here’s what we know.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Top stories: State Rep. Carol Doherty dies, remembered for ‘grace’
Read the full article here