Category: Worcester

Items

Gambling and Worcester
Mayor Konnie Lukes:

“I’ve never been impressed by the expectations of loads of money being made by casinos,” Ms. Lukes said. “It’s my understanding from previous research that the more casinos there are in a geographic area, the less profits and less revenue generated.

“Gambling is one of those industries that doesn’t produce a product, doesn’t produce any skilled labor positions and just redistributes income,” she said. “It’s sort of an admission that everything else is hopeless.”

You know, I’d say the same thing about Wal-Mart.

A stinkier durian
DurianSeth Godin:

Will stinkless durian revolutionize the marketplace? Possibly. I’ve been wrong before. But if I were a durian farmer, I’d work hard to make durian stinkier.

Bye, Larry
Larry Gottlieb, who I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with a time or two, is leaving his job at Worcester’s Community Healthlink and taking a similar position in Lexington, MA. This T&G article about the move is notable because:

  1. The first sentence gets across the most-notable point: he’s leaving.
  2. The last sentence has the second-most-notable point: he played pro basketball in Israel!

The T&G needs to get its priorities straight.
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Coffee of Worcester: Dunkin Donuts

This week we focus on the Dunkin Donuts at the corner of Pleasant and Main, the heart of Downtown Worcester. This store used to be across the intersection. A Honeydew Donuts will be moving into the old Dunkin location. For businesses like this to have some smooth operations within the state, records like that file boi report in indiana can help them by ensuring compliance with state regulations and maintaining active status.

Dunkin Donuts, Worcester

Bruce: I think when we went down to Dunkin Donuts, that was very nice in there.

Pie and Coffee: You think so?

B: I think it’s a little more organized than it was when it was across the street. Across the street it was a little crowded, there’s not a lot of room to walk around.

P: See, I got a very different impression from you. My feeling was, the only good thing about this Dunkin Donuts was that it was full of dirtbags, so I felt right at home. But it was dirty, it was crowded, the registers are not set up good. I feel like I should write a diagram and show them how to lay out the cash registers. Because we were both standing at one of the registers, and people could hardly get to the other register because of the way it’s set up.

B: Yeah.
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Good Friday, Worcester

Way of the CrossSeveral groups walked the “Way of the Cross” in Worcester today. Among them was a group of eighteen Catholics who observed the annual “Contemporary Way of the Cross.” (T&G report of another group.)

Photo essay.

In Roman-occupied Palestine, executions were not merely public events, but often times were preceded by a public scourging and parade, in which the condemned person was forced to carry the instrument of their own death. Jesus did not suffer in some far away place, but in the streets of the city of Jerusalem, where He was seen by many.

For Christians, the suffering of Jesus represents the greatest testimony to His love. For centuries, Roman Catholics have reenacted Christ’s agony on the last Friday of Lent by carrying a replica of His cross through the streets of their own communities. This “Way of the Cross” has been seen both an aid to understanding Jesus’ experience and as a public proclaimation of His love.

In recent years, socially concerned Worcester Catholics have tried to carry on this tradition with a special emphasis on how His suffering still continues in our city and world. Jesus preached that He would remain with us in a special way incarnated in the poor and oppressed. The reflections we are making today in Worcester are a small attempt to seek out the still-suffering Christ and to pray for the grace to respond as God wills.

CitySquare: money being spent, streets being named

A tipster points out that documents show the names of four streets in Worcester’s CitySquare project: an extension of Front Street, Mercantile Street, Eaton Place, and Trumbull Street.

Telegram & Gazette:

City Manager Michael V. O’Brien said all the conditions of the General Development Agreement with Berkeley Investments Inc. of Boston, the project developer, have now been satisfied, enabling the city to proceed with its first disbursement at the negotiated sum of $6.1 million.

Mr. O’Brien said the amount, nearly $1 million less than originally projected, comprises expenses in the approved DIF program — such as tenant relocations, engineering, land transfers and design — that must be done for the new public street and block pattern, the public underground parking garage and other public amenities.

Continuing our struggle, and remembering El Salvador’s

Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Óscar Romero, which happens to coincide with antiwar demonstrations across the country.

In honor of the former, here’s a prayer from Bob Waldrop.

As regards the latter, here’s a report from Bruce and I at the huge peace march in downtown Worcester, which drew as many as 250 people.


Click To Play

Much more coverage at Indymedia

Items, many about journalism

Thanks for the outpouring of support after I wrote I was sick! Some people would claim nobody reads this site, but I’ll tell you, at least my pals do. I’m feeling a little better today.

Binnacle of the week#
At Hooting Yard.

Tom Crouse watch#
From a rant about literacy:

There might not be a worse sign for country.

Zombies of Worcester#
I love the photo that illlustrates the Elm Park-Lincoln Estate Neighborhood Association’s article With Warm Weather Comes New Crime Concerns. What’s up with that guy’s hand? With warm weather comes—zombie attack!

elmpark.jpg
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“Your Right to Know” panel

I was honored to be on a televised panel about openness in government this week with T&G City Desk editor Jay Whearly, blogger/businessman Bill Randell, ADA Patricia Smith, and Vocero Hispano’s Jaime Flores. WCCA’s Mauro DePasquale was the emcee.

You can watch it on WCCA’s site or the Internet Archive.

whearly randell smith flores mauro
benedetti

I’ve had positive and negative feedback on the panel, but I gotta say it was the most interesting panel about open meetings law and governmental information requests that I’ve ever participated in. I had a lot of fun.