It's a three-day weekend — a good time catch up on news you might have missed.
This past week was one marked with tragedy, as the nation mourned the 21 people killed at a school shooting in Texas. Within hours of the attack, local school leadership and law enforcement began to plan for school the next day. See how they responded.
As the country prepares to honor its fallen service members this Memorial Day, we spoke with Gold Star families about what this holiday means to them. And if you you are looking for ways to observe locally, we've compiled a list of Fall River-area events.
In food news, we have the latest update on the much-anticipated opening of Chick-fil-A and what that will mean for traffic at Fall River's south end shopping plaza.
Also, did you know that once upon a time, downtown Fall River was a literal war zone? Our latest SouthCoast Wonders looks at the question: Was there a real Battle of Fall River?
But the most read stories of the week on heraldnews.com were the following:
FRPD cleared in sexual discrimination suit
A Bristol County Superior Court jury in Taunton ruled that the Fall River Police Department did not discriminate against a female environmental police officer because she was a woman, denying her request for a $2 million settlement for future wages and emotional distress.
Fall River resident Lisa Ann LeFleur brought a lawsuit against the city in 2017, lodging a number of allegations of discrimination that included she was denied overtime and shift changes and was forced to work alone after she lodged a complaint against a fellow officer. She also alleged a former chief of staff had sent her inappropriate text messages.
After a weeklong trial, it took the jury of four men and four women less than an hour on Monday, May 16, to clear the city of allegations of sexual discrimination due to her gender, sexual discrimination under a hostile work environment and retaliation.
Jury rules in favor of city:Fall River police department vindicated in former officer's $2M lawsuit
Meet the city's new top cop
Paul Gauvin, a local kid who grew up in one of the city’s public housing developments, is now officially the city's police chief, heading up a department of more than 250 employees.
The City Council gave the final OK to Mayor Paul Coogan's appointment of Gauvin with a unanimous vote.
"I think he's going to be an asset going forward by building some innovations and morale and getting some key positions in the department," said Coogan of the veteran police officer who was appointed interim chief in early December.
Gauvin, who joined the Fall River Police Department in 1997, said he is ready to take on the challenge.
'I absolutely love the challenge':Paul Gauvin is appointed chief of the FRPD