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$25 million Braga Bridge lights could Have funded the Fall River’s Timao homeless shelter for 100 years
Earlier this year, Fall River’s homeless drop in center the Timao Center closed its doors due to the lack of contiued funding. The center not only provided an alternate place for the homeless to sleep during the cold weather, it offered the most vulnerable a place to use the bathroom, shower, computer use, two meals a day, an address for mail and health check ups. The cost was $25,000 per month to operate, or $300,000 on an annual basis.
I recently read that the blue lights on the Braga Bridge that were installed in 2022 cost $8 and phase 2 (light changing system and safety upgrades) will cost an additional $16.8 million. Let’s call it $25 million total. Per Mayor Paul Coogan, the initial $8 million is money is well spent.
“Eight million dollars is a lot of jobs. It’s a lot of people installing the lights, building the lights, putting them up, again to give the residents and tourists of Massachusetts a nice view as they enter our state,” he said. “But I think it’s $8 million to make the city much more welcoming.”
While it’s nice to have lights on the Braga bridge, $25 million could have funded Fall River’s second homeless shelter that services 339 people for 100 years. The homeless shelter could have operated on $250,000 per year or less. $250,000 x 100 = $25 million
To be fair to Mayor Coogan and the City of Fall River used ARPA funds to extend the normal three months the Timao Center opens each year to six months in 2023/2024. The funding from the bridge is a state issue so Fall River area State Representatives (Alan Silvia, Carole Fiala, Patricia Haddad, and Paul Schmid,) and Senator Michael Rodrigues through the MassDOT are the ones fund the $16.8 million phase two light and safety upgrades to the Braga Bridge. Let’s just take $8 million of the total, that’s enough to fund the Timao Center for 32 years. It’s especially insulting considering your state elected officials are funding migrants in hotels at the rate of $75 million a month or $10,000 per family in the Massachusetts emergency shelter system.
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Horatio
June 17, 2024 at 5:51 pm
100 year is a long time. How many remedial grammar lessons could the 25M have given?
RedPilled
June 17, 2024 at 6:02 pm
We could have bought permanent shelters for all of Fall Rivers homeless with money we have spent sheltering ILLEGALS.
Barrack Warren
June 18, 2024 at 6:59 am
There is no such thing as an illegal human. The money could have been spent building homes for newly arrived Americans or raising awareness about issues relating to Fall River’s marginalized communities and POC who have been held down by the City’s systemic racism, which goes back decades.
Hi
June 18, 2024 at 7:57 am
You sir should stick your head in a plastic bag and zip tie it closed. Your an idiot
You’re An Idiot
June 18, 2024 at 8:40 am
You’re
You are
You’re
The apostrophe takes the place of the ‘a’ in are.
Your is possessive.
We can work on there, their, they’re next time.
Yerakunt
June 18, 2024 at 3:04 pm
Autocomplete/Grammar Nazi
We can work on your relevance, next time.
Michellesole70
June 18, 2024 at 9:48 pm
You sir are repulsive and without balls!So much so that maybe YOU my friend should invest in some zip ties as well. I’ll gather you don’t even live or work in fall river!? You just enjoy being repulsive.
Ralph
June 18, 2024 at 12:38 pm
They are definitely not newly arrived Americans. Illegal aliens or invaders is more like it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is the reason this country is screwed and being destroyed by ignorant liberal fools
Michellesole70
June 18, 2024 at 9:44 pm
Most thoughtful comment I’ve ever read on here! Not that I agree 100% but it’s more productive to give solutions than banter like most. So thank uou!
Angelo
June 18, 2024 at 9:52 pm
They are here illegallyso that is why they are called illegals. I suppose you have a problen with the word alien as well.
Eddie
June 19, 2024 at 1:45 pm
👏 👏 👏 👏
Eddie
June 19, 2024 at 1:46 pm
Wasn’t Fall River and this region built up by immigrants.
Joseph A Messina
June 19, 2024 at 7:43 pm
Yes this country was built up by immigrants. By that logic we should never have stopped slavery. Times change, needs change. Why is it that the people of the United States have to continue to apologize for mistakes of the past 100 or more years. FYI it costs illegals about 10000 dollars to get brought over yet it cost less to just apply and become a citizen legally. I honestly can’t stand all of the self righteous idiots who in reality are actually a walking contradiction.
Trump2024
June 25, 2024 at 1:11 am
,,LEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!not a social grab for a cultural change for votes .
Niki
June 18, 2024 at 8:48 am
🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽 i want know why they find the money for everyone else but not for Americans.
Robert
June 17, 2024 at 7:21 pm
What a complete waste of money all that’s doing is lighting up the bridge that’s covered and trash anyway so now you get to see it lit up at night on the way in and the way out of the city could’ve helped the homeless in the veterans way more than that lighting up a foolish bridge
Kfurtado
June 17, 2024 at 8:07 pm
Take care of out own instead of these invaders
J
June 17, 2024 at 8:24 pm
What a waste of money. Do something good with it. Stop raising homeowners taxes to pay for stupid stuff.
Paul
June 17, 2024 at 9:16 pm
I totally agree that lights on the bridge are a disgrace and an imdult to homeless people. Who cares is the bridge is lit or not.Put that money into helping people not so people can adore a bridge.
RB
June 18, 2024 at 12:03 am
When you offer free money to people rewarding them for not making an effort to better themselves for society or their family, they will line up for it. Some people fall on hard times and programs should be available for that…but in reality, about a quarter of this 25 million would suffice, especially when you have churches to help also. That is taxpayer money. YOUR money rewarding lazy takers. When you throw someone in the water that says they can’t swim, watch how many learn immediately. The lights look great…a gateway to an up and coming city…one people should and will be proud to live and WORK. I’m not even from FR but I know it’s the one to watch over the next 10-15 years. For the ones that actually fell on hard times, I feel aand pray for you and take what you need. For the takers, you should be ashamed of yourselves…you’re the ones taking away from the unfortunate.
Jayne
June 18, 2024 at 1:54 am
Could the lights for the Braga Bridge be funded by a private corporation? Then money could be spent on homeless shelters.
Regarding the illegals, it should be a federal mandate that unless they have a sponsor to house them until they get established here, they should be refused entry to the U.S.
Kia
June 18, 2024 at 3:02 am
What about a solar option for the lights on the bridge?
Once the bridge lights are solar powered and charged. Take the amount of money $25 million that normally funds the lights and help permanently house the homeless w it instead of lighting up the bridge. You would have spent that money anyways. It is time to better ourselves and the world.
Paul
June 18, 2024 at 6:15 am
This is Carol fiola project. I remember when she first introduced this idea of lights on the bridge. She said 8 million is a drop in the bucket.
Hi
June 18, 2024 at 7:55 am
Mayor coogan is a thief. Let’s see billions dollars to upgrade the city and nothing has been done. Millions to make the flint more appealing yet pleasant st road and all roads are a mess. Had to replace yet another tire rod from hitting a pot holes. Devol st even more of a mess and will be absolutely hideous when finished. Should I keep going!
Michael Grayko
June 18, 2024 at 7:59 am
Reading this shit gets old. It’s despicable.
Domi H.
June 18, 2024 at 9:02 am
It’s a little complicated talking about this situation homeless people but this people are drugs users a big problem for the good people in the city danger people
I think it’s a good idea take the shelter far away from the Fall River city and I love the bridge lights💚
Gary Dunn
June 18, 2024 at 9:30 am
All you need to know Blue State and blue City disgusting
Trump2024
June 25, 2024 at 1:17 am
You got that right I say turn Massachusetts Red come 2024 but to many people afraid they might have to work for a living .
Kathleen LaFratta
June 18, 2024 at 12:06 pm
Fall River has been and always will be run by crooks!
Gary TESSIER
June 20, 2024 at 4:28 pm
You are so right. What a SHAME.AT ONE TIME IN.THE MID. 70 S. FALLRIVER WAS THE NUMBER ONE CITY. IN THE USA NOW LOOK. ITS A DUMP..ITS RANKED NO 4 FROM.THE BOTTOM OF THE WIRST CITY S. TO LIVE IN. THIS STATEMENT IS 100 PERCENT TRUE. . NATIONAL LIVEING GUIDE PLACE ED THE RATEING. AND. WE WON THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE IN.ALL OF THE USA. MY HEART IS SADEN ✌️
Change-agent
June 18, 2024 at 12:45 pm
It’s time for greater FR residents to stop treating ourselves like third rate citizens ( residents) of the commonwealth. It’s perfectly fine for the Zakim Bridge in Boston to have a 75 million dollar lighting project, but we should be happy to have any bridge, any old bridge at all, as long as it gets us over the river. Raise your self esteem – a bridge lighted like that spurs economic development and raises our profile. Get on the bus, the bus to prosperity; get off the food stamp shuttle.
LC
June 18, 2024 at 3:33 pm
Meanwhile because of the closure we have people literally sleeping on the street in the Highlands, within stone throw’s distance of where daily groups of summer program children are playing, needing intermittent 911 calls to get shipped to Charlton when they drink themselves into a coma and end up face down with their pants around their ankles covered in their own feces…
Eddie
June 19, 2024 at 1:48 pm
I don’t think it’s from drinking alcohol. But if it is where can I get case for my next party
Rick
June 18, 2024 at 4:44 pm
Lights make more sense
Tim
June 18, 2024 at 5:22 pm
Heres an idea! Lets not put every cent into helping the poor and ignore the consumer that may come into the city to shop or dine, thus proving more jobs, more taxes and help everyone out !
John
June 19, 2024 at 4:36 pm
Very eye opening. Doesn’t appear anything illegal but, “C’mon Man”.
Kj
June 20, 2024 at 3:13 pm
If Mass citizens have to pay for all the illegals. We should be able to vote for or against it.
Enough is enough there are too many illegals to take care of. What about our veterans or homeless families?
The illegals get everything and complain about it.they leave trash every where they go.they want Americans to clean up after them.
I cannot afford to live yet my taxes are going up to pay for illegals.
Make that make sense?
Close the border!!!!!!!
For the safety of all Americans 🌟🇺🇸❤️🤍💙
DAWNIE
June 20, 2024 at 7:27 pm
Thats not a way to have an adult conversation w a person who probably mostly agrees w u. Also we should not literal nitpick people.. u kno what he meant…no place for having a bad attitude because someone does not agree w your opinion.
Trump2024
June 25, 2024 at 1:06 am
Systemic racism is propaganda a lie to keep us divided. Divided=compliance if your happy with the current status quo then just keep being a sheep and watching mainstream media.if you want the uncut truth try turning red and follow X app 44 Billion for uncensored and non government controlled news that will get you to the truth .