Month: June 2009

What’s made in Worcester?

I’ve heard it said that, time was, part of every product in the US was made in Worcester.

Now, of course, this is hardly the case. But Worcester still has its share of factories and the like.

I’m trying to compile a list of things, especially consumer products, made in Worcester. Feel free to e-mail me or add a comment with your suggestions.

Sports equipment

Weapons

  • Kahr handguns (a href=”http://www.portfolio.com/careers/features/2007/09/17/Unification-Church”>background)

Garment/Fashion

Hardware

  • Saint-Gobain sandpaper

Furniture/strong>

Prepared food

  • Polar beverages
  • Table Talk pies
  • Dr. Gonzo’s condiments
  • Pickle factory on Mason St
  • Bay State Bakery

Agriculture

  • You can buy produce from YouthGrow’s garden in Main South

From 1914: A ready reference hand book of Worcester made products

Thanks to Brendan, Tracy, Dr. Gonzo, 4rilla, Greg, WBJ, and Destination Worcester for suggestions.

T&G circulation down 3.6%; nationwide papers down 7%

According to numbers in today’s Telegram & Gazette (available in April but not published anywhere till now), daily circulation at the paper is down 3.6% from the same period last year, from 81,437 to 78,479.

Newspaper circulation nationwide was down 7%. The T&G has been loosing circulation faster than average for the past few years; this much-better-than-average showing is a welcome surprise.

508 #73: Pikachu

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panelists are Tracy Novick and Brendan Melican.

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508 is now arguably the first local program to be an equal citizen of both the internet and TV. You can watch it on Worcester cable channel 13 Tuesdays at 12:30am and 11:30am. Plenty of local programs from traditional media have some internet component, in most cases, unfortunately, on the periphery of what they do, rather than near the core.

We touch on shopping locally, then delve into this year’s school budget. Mike promotes the upcoming Blogger Beer. The restaurant Quan Yin is closing. (You should watch at least a few minutes of Supreme Master TV.)

The Worcester City Council’s CORI vote was apparently delayed by an unreported screw-up by people in the Clerk’s office.

The InCity Times has an angry, personal rant inspired by an unlikely issue.

Brendan had a great time at Worcester’s Pecha Kucha.

Our conversation about urban “open space” takes a turn when Mike brings up the article “US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive.”

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508 #72: The Woodchuck of Main South

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

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Colin Novick’s ordination is tomorrow (we got this wrong last week); the Save Our Poolz movement looks back at the past year and considers new strategy; Worcester may be getting CORI reform.

This week’s Worcester Magazine covers our nation’s hard times by noting the stories of Foothills Theater, Lujon, and Papamoka.

The Telegram and Gazette is up for sale–Mike had predicted this would happen by May 1. Scott Zoback predicts the sale price will surpass $1,000,000.

T&G does a sorry job covering the latest Rep. Spellane gossip compared to the Herald.

Rushton to buy NWA album for son?

Scott Zoback enjoyed the Dive Bar’s 100th Thursday Music Night and the haberdasher trailer.

Mike suggests Worcester Magazine imagine how they could cover a large, local story 100%, then post the “assignment list” and try to engage the community in reporting it. (Inspired by Jay Rosen’s idea for Brooklyn.

Mike also notes the Uighurs are finally getting out of Guantanamo.

Worcester’s “vegetarian renaissance” has lasted a month now, continuing with Drew Wilson‘s WoMag article “Top places to get mock-meats.” We note Drew’s idea for mock dodo, mock tyrannosaurus rex, etc.

HBML has been replaced by the “Fuck Yeah Center.”

City Council Candidate Joe Casello should appear on 508.

We finish with a report from the year’s first Main South Farmer’s Market, and the story of the Woodchuck of Main South.

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Do Catholic Workers go to church? and other items

Last week, a friend asked: Do Catholic Workers go to church? His impression was that the answer was No, and that “not going to church was part of the thing.”

I would say, by-and-large, the answer is Yes.

  • The Catholic Worker movement is decentralized, and there’s nobody in a position to enforce these things.
  • Many folks in Catholic Worker communities are not Catholic or not church-goers.
  • That said, based on visits to dozens of communities and meetings with hundreds of Catholic Workers, I think that most Catholic Workers are at least occasional churchgoers.
  • Some Catholic Workers make churchgoing a priority. Co-founder Dorothy Day attended mass every day. There are Catholic Workers who are priests, nuns, and deacons. On this website, we have archived many homilies from masses at the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker in Worcester. I think most of those who go to mass there on Fridays also attend at their own churches on Sundays.

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Catholic Worker banking: a question and some answers

The Question

Dear Catholic Workers and friends,

The Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker community was founded in 1986. We did not want to be tax exempt and we did not want to receive any interest, so we opened an non-interest bearing checking account under the name “SS. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker.” Our bank called the account a club account and took my name and two other members of our community as signatories. For the past 15 years, my wife Claire and I have filed a tax return listing our personal income (from free-lance writing and public speaking) and have attached a letter on house stationary telling the IRS that our personal income was deposited in our house account and that we live and work in the Saints Francis & Therese Catholic Worker along with our four children, we do not receive salaries, but do have room and board which come out of private donations to our community. We also reported to the IRS how much was income was donated to our community and deposited in that account that are Fully-Verified and how many people were sheltered each year with those donations. The IRS never audited us or even asked us any questions.

Unfortunately, the manager of our bank called today and told me that our checking account was going to be closed in two weeks because it is no longer legal to have an account under a group name unless that account is a business account with a tax number different from my social security number. I called the IRS to ask them about this and a very nice woman listened to me explaining the Catholic Worker philosophy and our desire not to be tax exempt status or to receive interest. She suggested that we file to become a non-profit organization without tax exempt status, and I quoted Peter Maurin that the Catholic Worker is an organism not an organization. She dutifully referred to our community for the rest of the conversation as an organism. She told me that there was a form of nonprofit status that was not tax exempt, but admitted that it required considerably more documentation than we currently keep. She suggested that I talk to an accountant or tax attorney. I know neither.
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508 #71: Dime bags

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panelist is Brendan Melican.

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Worcester Magazine has a great article and slideshow about our screwed-up taxi system. Cab driver Jeff Barnard has a brief comment; Brendan has proposed solutions in the past.

The “vegetarian renaissance” in Worcester continues. VegWorcester has installed 5 newsracks and distributed 1000 veg dining guides in the past couple weeks.

Our friend Colin Novick is being ordained a Catholic deacon tomorrow June 13–but the local priest shortage continues. A former street vendor is running for City Council. Craigslist is too nice for newspapers to compete with.

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