Top stories: Portuguese restaurant comes to Swansea; Counting House to open in Fall River

As we kick off a new week, let’s take a look back at the week that was.

Top stories this past week included:

Fall River has opened warming centers for frigid temperatures forecast this weekend.

The Holiday Harmonies Trolley Tour will spread Christmas cheer throughout Fall River today. Here’s how to check it out.

In local sports: Wrestlers to watch in the 2024-25 winter season, high school girls basketball players to watch this winter season, high school boys basketball players to watch this winter season, and how college basketball star Joson Sanon is giving back to his hometown of Fall River.

Need a little help Christmas shopping? The Fall River Historical Society’s Museum Shop and Boutique is open!

Westport’s Buzzards Bay Brewery funds a school in Kenya, and they need help to make it grow.

Tuberculosis is rare in Fall River, though rates of the disease are higher here than the country’s average — and it was classified by the World Health Organization as the world’s deadliest disease in 2023. Fall River has a TB clinic with a constant presence year-round, serving adult and pediatric patients alike.

Over 38 acres of forest in Tiverton is now permanently conserved in a joint effort between the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Bally’s Corporation and the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, for which the purchase marks further reclamation of native tribe lands.

Northeastern University is expanding into Fall River, with a new nursing campus coming in 2025.

A Freetown resident’s quick thinking and call for help led to a holiday miracle for his friend over 1,200 miles away.

Earlier this month, Fall River native and Marine Private First Class Antonio Marcucci was able to come home for the holidays for free, thanks to a non-profit.

These were the most read stories of the week on HeraldNews.com:

A new Portuguese restaurant is set to open at a long-vacant Swansea spot

The former home of Ocean Grove Portuguese Steakhouse on Ocean Grove Avenue in Swansea is about to have new life breathed into it.

Fall River couple Sara and Luis Pagan will be embarking on a new chapter there for the Acores Family Restaurant.

Take a look at what they’ll be dishing up.

Acores Family Restaurant: A new Portuguese restaurant is set to open at a long-vacant Swansea spot. What to expect.

Ex-Durfee High teacher trial ends in not guilty

A jury found former B.M.C. Durfee High School math teacher Tory Meneses not guilty of aggravated rape of a child on Thursday, just hours after closing statements.

Meneses had been accused of having a months-long sexual relationship with a female student, then 14, including having oral, digital and vaginal intercourse. According to testimony, the relationship lasted from May to October 2018 and came to light in 2020.  

During the six-day trial, jurors heard often lurid testimony from faculty and staff in the Fall River Public School system, the student, and Meneses himself, who took the stand in his defense.

The jury came back after about four hours.

‘Developed true, emotional feelings’: Ex-Durfee High teacher trial ends in not guilty

New restaurant serving up nod to Prohibition, Fall River history opening soon

After much anticipation, Counting House, a new speakeasy-themed restaurant and lounge offering a nod to the Prohibition era and throwback to Fall River’s past, is getting ready to make its Pleasant Street debut in the next couple weeks.

Located in the historic Durfee-Union Mills complex, the restaurant has generated quite a buzz with its creative concept focused on upscale turn-of-the-century vibes with a modern twist.

Well now, the wait will soon be over.

Counting House: New restaurant serving up nod to Prohibition, Fall River history opening soon. What to know.

Suspect in death of New Bedford woman found near Rt. 88 tracked by DNA

Simao Farias of New Bedford pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the 2005 beating and fatal strangulation of a New Bedford woman, the first indictment in the nearly 20-year-old cold case.

The body of Suzanna Alvarado, 42, was found Oct. 17, 2005, on the side of the Route 88 off-ramp to Interstate 195 in Westport. Alvarado, originally of Fall River, had been living in New Bedford and had been known to work as a prostitute.

Farias was ordered held without bail.

This is what we know about the case, as of this writing.

‘Gives you a link’: Suspect in death of New Bedford woman found near Rt. 88 tracked by DNA

Highland Urgent Care opens quick health service center in Fall River

Highland Urgent Care opened its doors on Nov. 18, and since then, it has managed to serve and redirect patients, relieving burdened emergency rooms throughout Fall River by treating non-emergencies in a new “boutique” facility.

Herald News Reporter Emily Scherny has the story.

‘We do everything’: Highland Urgent Care opens quick health service center in Fall River

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Top stories: Portuguese Acores Family Restaurant comes to Swansea

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