Webcam: Last fall there was an illegal memorial of 2,000 crosses installed behind Worcester City Hall to commemorate the first 2,000 US troops killed in the latest Iraq War. I used the City Hall Webcam to make a 4-minute movie in Windows Media format (wmv). The movie is now available as Quicktime and MPEG-4.
Las Vegas: The latest Catholic Agitator (PDF) has an article by Catholic Worker Julia Occhiogrosso about how Las Vegas used zoning to shut down one of their buildings:
The very ancient and noble practice of hospitality is under siege. It is being
replaced by greed, bureaucratic technicalities, and blatant misuse of power. No one is addressing the question, Why are we being penalized when we give expression to the deepest longings of the human spirit—the longing to care for the vulnerable, to be compassionate, to serve? There are no city ordinances or zoning laws that can adequately respond to models of service that begin with the movement of the Spirit in the human heart and are incarnated in the simple gestures of human beings showing kindness to a brother or sister in need.
Television: COPS is in Worcester.
Ireland: A verdict is expected Monday in the latest Pitstop Ploughshares trial.
Los Angeles: LA Catholic Workers blocked a truck sent by the city to roust street dwellers.
Have a nice day: Good article on the smiley face over at On The Commons. One of the smiley innovators was Worcester’s Harvey Ball.
Rat attack!: From this past week’s Worcester City Council agenda:
75. Request City Manager request Department of Public Health to report to City Council any and all efforts that are planned to be taken to protect the public health and safety against a possible infestation of rats when the demolition of the majority of the Worcester Common Outlet mall is undertaken. (Rosen) (Attachments)
Podcast attack!: Also:
83. Request City Manager consider including podcasting as an option for information about Worcester that is posted on our web site, and be it further requested that podcasting be added to previously voted requests that concern how we upgrade our communication through technology. (Toomey) (Attachments)
Technorati: Here’s the results of Technorati searches on some local sites.
- Worcester Indymedia: 17 posts linking to it in the past 27 days. On the first results screen, we see nine of these from Pie and Coffee, five from other Indymedias, two from other local sites, one from a non-local site.
- Telegram & Gazette: 20 posts linking to it in the past day. On the first results screen, we see three of these from local sites and sixteen from non-local sites. All but two of the non-local links seem to be from fake blogs.
- Worcester Magazine: 20 posts linking to it in the past 58 days. On the first results screen, we see four of these from Pie and Coffee, five from other local sites, and eleven from a non-local site. Some of these non-local sites seem to be fake blogs, but I don’t have time to count right now.