Ben Berke

South Coast Bureau Reporter

Based in New Bedford, Ben staffs our South Coast Bureau desk. He covers anything that happens in Fall River, New Bedford, and the surrounding towns, as long as it’s a good story. His assignments have taken him to jails, factories, city halls, fishing vessels, bakeries, environmental cleanup sites and the homes of hundreds of interview subjects. Ben joined the bureau in February 2021 after three years in Brockton reporting for The Enterprise. His freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Providence Journal. When he’s not working, Ben can often be found near the beach hiking, surfing and collecting the strange things that wash ashore.

bberke@ripr.org

Recently published
At a press conference announcing plans to reopen the building’s art studios, the new owner asked local artists to get involved in planning the renovation
A deed filed on Thursday shows that the Star Store’s longtime owner, Paul Downey, is transferring the downtown property to the Arts & Business Council Of Greater Boston. New Bedford’s mayor will announce the redevelopment plans at a press conference Monday morning
The state’s public defender agency said an alleged sexual relationship between a judge and prosecutor, first described in a series of anonymous letters, could taint more than 3,700 criminal cases if proven true
The payment resolves a federal lawsuit against former patrolman Michael Pessoa, who was convicted in 2023 of punching a handcuffed suspect in the face and filing false reports to cover up the incident
From Martha’s Vineyard to New Bedford to Salem, Massachusetts towns that bet big on offshore wind now face economic and environmental uncertainty as the Trump administration halts new projects and permits