Category: 508: A Show about Worcester

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s pundits include Brendan Melican and Bruce Russell.

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Our in-depth discussion of Question Three is pushed off a week; instead, we talk about the Q 1-3 advertising we’ve seen. (Related: Seth Godin on undecided voters, the T&G editorial board on marijuana decriminalization.)

Mike has spent the past week shopping only at locally-owned businesses.

We discuss “Payment In Lieu of Taxes,” also known as “Taxes.” (Guidestar info on the Art Museum.)

Brendan mourns the WANT ADvertiser.

Bruce joins us for a “Bruce Is Incorruptible” segment on the Armsby Abbey.

We unwisely discuss the T&G website; this topic always turns out to be a quagmire of negativity. Related: ShrewsBuried, Worcesterite, Real Worcester.

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508 is a show about Worcester. Due to technical limitations, this week’s show consists of various subsets of Kevin Ksen, “Diamond Dave” Maciewski, Brendan “Buck Paxton” Melican, and Bruce “Snow Ghost” Russell.

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This week in Worcester, the authorities shot a moose.

Image by Duncan A.

Kevin talks about protesting the “Spirit of America” pageant (though not the spirit of America) in 2004 and 2008. Mike critiques the new Worcester Magazine feature “Two minutes with …” and skims the InCity Times. Dave and Mike are saddened by Daniel Yarnie’s arrest. Brendan considers the City Council’s proposed anti-party ordinance. Mike goes negative on the library.

Mike is shopping only at local businesses for the next week. Brendan mentions Polar Classic Sodas.

Bruce is both unintelligible and entertaining.

Finally: tasers.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Bruce Russell, Brendan Melican, and “Diamond Dave” Maciewski.

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We discuss Question One, which would eliminate the Massachusetts state income tax, and conclude it’s a bad idea. Question Two would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, and the panel supports it. (Here’s the study Brendan mentioned on “marijuana as a gateway drug.”)

We don’t know much about Question Three.

Next topic: How much can Bruce bench?

Bruce and Mike attempt to share an anecdote about Tom Lewis.

Despite his focus on serious issues, Tom was also known for a fine sense of humor. Just after his codefendant Father Phil Berrigan was sentenced to six years in jail for his part in the Baltimore Four, the judge asked Tom if he had anything to say before sentencing. Tom said, “No, your honor.” The judge pressed him, “These are serious charges, Mr. Lewis. Don’t you have anything to say?” Tom said, “No, I’ve said all I want to in my testimony.” But, when the judge persisted, “You could be sent to jail for years Mr. Lewis, are you absolutely sure there’s nothing you want to add?” Tom began to suspect that the judge wanted to scapegoat Phil as the priest mastermind of the protest and hoped Tom would make a last minute appeal for mercy, so Tom said, “Since you press me your honor, there is one quote which is important to me.” The judge leaned forward and said, “Yes, yes.” Tom straightened up and said soberly, “You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead. That’s from Laurel and Hardy, your honor.” The furious judge gave Tom six years too.

Mike talks about his federal trial and WCCA’s funding situation.

Brendan says the new wind turbine is worth checking out.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes Worcester Magazine’s Scott Zoback and Brendan Melican.

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Scott describes seeing some more Asian Long-Horned Beetles. Brendan points out the irony in this article about police details at construction sites:

One potential scenario could have city councilors taking up as soon as Tuesday a new municipal ordinance that would carve out an exemption from Mr. [Governor Deval] Patrick’s plan for Worcester police; such a move could proceed without a public hearing because it would not be the result of a recommendation from City Manager Michael V. O’Brien.

Detective Thomas G. Daly, secretary of police union local 911 and regional vice president of the New England Police Benevolent Association, expressed frustration with a recent Statehouse hearing on Mr. Patrick’s plan that he said was rigged against police. He and other Worcester officers attended, but were not able to testify.

Scott opines on the recent changes at WM and the upcoming changes at the T&G.

Mike talks about his federal “rosary trial” next week. An appropriate quotation from Nassim Nicholas Taleb: “Wear your best for your execution and stand dignified. Your last recourse against randomness is how you act — if you can’t control outcomes, you can control the elegance of your behaviour. You will always have the last word.”

We follow-up on the republished-then-unpublished InCity Times article that has caused some controversy, and spurred ICT editor Rosalie Tirella to e-mail vague legal threats to Worcester Indymedia. Relevant links at Worcesteria, Radioball, and Indymedia. We draw some slight parallels with the hacking of Sarah Palin’s e-mail account.

In sunnier ICT news, this week’s issue features a cover story on sometime 508 panelist Jesse Pack!

Brendan and Scott will be on WTAG radio Monday from 6-7pm, and will likely violate FCC regulations.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Tina Zlody, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.

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Tina talks about the upcoming arts festival stART on the Street, Sunday September 21, 2008, 11am – 5pm, Park Avenue, between Highland and Pleasant Streets, Worcester, MA.

We talk about agenda items for Worcester in the coming year. Jeff agrees with Jordan Levy that swapping out our old city councilors would be helpful. Brendan would like to see councilors focus on improving owner-occupancy rates rather than criminalizing hot dogs and marijuana. Mike would like city government to admit that it has a transparency problem, then fix the problem, perhaps beginning by making city meetings available on the web. (Related: Begging states to try to enforce ridiculous assertion that the law is copyrighted.)

Yesterday’s protest at Worcester’s Bank of America got complicated. Our friend Sarah Loy clarifies the situation of the local ACLU. The InCity Times is standing on the verge of getting a website. Comments from Worcesteria, Brendan, and Worcesterite. (Sometime this morning Rosalie began phoning around with legal threats–see the updated Worcesteria post.)

Mike recommends this video of a Bone Zone show.

In the new segment “Bruce Is Incorruptible,” Mike and Bruce Russell review Burrito Taylor’s Major Burritos.

Theme song: “Angels Soaring Past (I Realize It Now)” by Stale Urine.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Mark Lund, Cha-Cha Connor, Kevin Ksen, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.

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We revisit the story of Karon Shea Model Management. Mark ran their 2008 International Modeling and Talent Association program (see Pulse article) and has mixed feelings about the experience. If you have feedback on this issue, you might want to send it to renegade blogger Marc Reese.

We talk about the Republicans’ bizarre attacks on community organizing with community organizer Kevin Ksen. We mention that Drew Wilson was arrested at the RNC.

Cha-Cha says the Transgender Emergency Fund, first mentioned on 508, is up and running.

We talk about the new Worcester Magazine, Rosalie Tirella’s attacks on Allen Fletcher in the InCity Times, ICT readers defending the late Richard Preston, and boring commenters.

Discussion of the impending T&G layoffs turns into a general discussion of print journalism in Worcester and the various publications serving the city’s subcultures. (WoMag in 2001: “Buyouts and belt-tightening herald an uncertain future for our local–and no longer independent–daily”.)

Next week’s show is #52. We’ll be setting an agenda for the city in the coming year. If you have suggestions or ideas, e-mail pieandcoffee@gmail.com or leave a message at 508-471-3897.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes former Worcester Magazine News Editor Noah Schaffer, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.

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Worcester Magazine has been sold. We discuss why Allen Fletcher sold it and what this will mean for the future of the magazine. Key documents: memo from new publisher Gareth Charter, Jeff Barnard’s overview of WM history, Fletcher’s farewell editorial, and Mike’s old analysis of WM. Outgoing editor Noah Bombard probably bcc’ed half of Worcester with his farewell letter, but since nobody else has taken the time to post it you’ll find it here, below the fold.

So what is Worcester Magazine’s role?

Jeff Barnard: Filling in the backstory.

Noah Schaffer: Today you’ve got podcasts, like the one we’re on now. You’ve got blogs. So it’s not just a matter of providing another voice. Because, you know, if someone wants to get a viewpoint out there, they have plenty of channels these days. But what’s really hard to do, unless you’re a full-time reporter, is to find the stories that aren’t being told in the blogs, or on talk radio, or in the daily paper, and to really fill them in in a rich, detailed way.

We discuss “Brendan Melican, celebrity blogger” and his appearances on the Dianne Williamson radio show and as the last interviewee in One On One.

Also mentioned: Dianne Williamson’s FCC violations, Konnie Lukes and Brendan talking about ICANN.

City Councilor Gary Rosen is back teaching school; City Councilor Rick Rushton is gonzo blogging from the DNC. People have marched on behalf of DCU janitors. (Old article by Mike on day labor in Worcester, which mentions cleaning up at the DCU.)

The Research Bureau is standing on the verge of having a blog. Joe the Dispatcher Guy is blogging a lot: “I have been thinking of doing just a summary of the entire day versus every hour or every 2 hours.”

We discuss the prolific, boring commenters who hang out at Brendan’s blog, and also traffic.

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Continue reading “508 #50: Worcester Magazine”

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Colin Novick, Anne Lewenberg, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.

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Sadly, Bruce “The Snow Ghost” Russell was unable to be on the show to talk about seeing Motörhead live at the Palladium last week.

Colin and Anne, as part of the Greater Worcester Land Trust, talk about what’s being done to combat Asian Longhorned Beetles in Worcester.

Worcester has some good info on Asian Longhorned Beetles:

• ALB – Regulated Area (PDF 584KB)
• Asian Longhorned Beetles: FAQs (PDF 273KB)
• Asian Longhorned Beetles: Local Business Notice (PDF 409KB)
• Asian Longhorned Beetles: Pest Alert (PDF 250KB)
• Report a Possible Asian Longhorned Beetle Sighting
• US Forest Service – Asian Lonhorned Beetles
• USDA Newsroom – Asian Longhorned Beetle
• Wanted: Asian Longhorned Beetles – Presentation (PDF 5.6MB)

We talk about the sale of Worcester Magazine and the mysterious claim that “like mainstream newspapers, alternatives are confronting surging competition from Web-based media outlets, for both news and arts information”. (Note that this is a paraphrase of something Paul Giorgio said, not necessarily the reporter’s opinion.)

Mike dares the panel, and all Worcester journalists, to say something new and interesting about the Worcester vendor debate.

This week’s InCity Times has some nice photos of old postcards.

There’s some controversy about the Cable Advisory Board’s behavior regarding their report to the City Manager.

Good stuff in Worcester: Friday afternoon block party on Hawley Street, Saturday afternoon block party on King Street, Canal Fest coming up, HBML is still taping a shot-by-shot remake of a Cosby Show episode, there’s a video of the amazing Creative Laundry event, and Jeff will be back to driving a cab before too long.

Bad stuff in Worcester: Mike is suffering from stress.

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Unpaid HBML promo message from Lars:

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Nat Needle, Jeff Barnard, Brendan Melican, and Bruce Russell.

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Nat talks about the Creative Laundry art project that will appear and disappear in Elm Park on August 15. (In passing we mention Free Art Worcester.) It rained a lot this week; at least one building was hit by lightning. The city’s trees are under attack from beetles. Rosalie Tirella wrote about the late Richard Preston in this week’s InCity Times. The Armsby Abbey opened. Living Earth will be expanding its restaurant. The ACLU wants info from the Worcester police about the stats of kids arrested in schools. The Cosby Show Idea is happening at HBML this weekend (and probably beyond).

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