August 2008

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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This past weekend, the Humane Society of the United States was involved in the rescue of “nearly 1,000 neglected and abused dogs” from the Whispering Oaks Kennel in Parkersburg, WV.

I mention this because Parkersburg is where I went to high school. My folks still live in the area.

(via Erik Marcus)

Vaguely related: this weekend I was tabling for 4 organizations (!) at the King Street block party. Among other things I was handing out the VegWorcester restaurant guide. Several people had no idea such a thing existed and were excited to take one. So if you know a Worcester vegan or vegetarian, be sure to forward them the link.

Update: I wasn’t able to Google the location of this place (which HSUS said was “rural”). Now I am told it is at “Whispering Oak Lane off Winding Road off of route 50 east of town. That is one of the first exits off of route 50 as you start toward Clarksburg.” So there you go.

Yesterday at dinner at the SS. Francis & Therese CW somebody pointed out that “the hero,” meaning Diamond Dave Maciewski, was on the front page of Friday’s T&G business section.

Here’s a detail from the photo of an SEIU march supporting janitors at the DCU Center:

Also pictured: Laura Suroviak, Catholic Worker Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, and an unidentified man.

Wormtown Taxi points out that the newspaper coverage was light on background details. I think it’s a scandal that neither Indymedia nor the SEIU nor anyone else in the local blogosphere documented this online.

Homily from the Mustard Seed, August 22, 2008. Feast of the Queenship of Mary.

 

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I was in Finland for the last fortnight and visited the following churches there:

• Turun tuomiokirkko (Turku Cathedral): attended a Confirmation Mass
• Pyhän Ristin kirkko (Church of the Holy Cross), Rauma (World Heritage site)
• ruin of the Trinity Church (Kolmilaivainen kirkko), Rauma
• Helsingin tuomiokirkko (Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral)
• Suomenlinnan kirkko, Church at Suomenlinna (World Heritage Site)
• Myyrmäen kirkko (Myyrmäki Church)
• Temppeliaukion kirkko (Temppeliaukio Church): attended a Confirmation Mass
• Uspenskin katedraali (Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition), Helsinki

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:

From Worcester Magazine’s blog:

After 15 years of steady ownership, Worcester Magazine has been sold to the Holden Landmark Corporation, owner of The Landmark, Bay State Parent, Fitchburg Pride, among others.

Update: Jeff Barnard disses the Landmark website, but I gotta say, I have been a longtime subscriber to the Save Fitchburg blog, which the Pride is involved with. To me that’s a good sign. On the other hand, WoMag has gotten somewhat better over the past year (with much room for improvement), and I’d hate to see this sale derail that trend.

Michael T. does not agree with this naysaying.

Another update: Worcester Business Journal article.

Update #3: The T&G coverage has some pluses and minuses. It starts out all wrong:

Worcester Magazine, the city’s alternative news and arts weekly . . . .

What I wrote three years ago about WoMag is still true today–it’s not “alternative.”

A couple interesting passages:

[WoMag is] profitable this year with a 30 percent increase in revenues over last year.

Former editor Walter Crockett says:

“Now, the prospects of having solid journalism and solid arts reporting will be the slimmest they’ve been in the history of the magazine, but maybe they’ll surprise me.”

Jeff Barnard has a couple more comments.

An afternoon with Worcester’s Food Not Bombs.

 

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from Kevin Ksen Polka
(copyright 2008 Nat Needle)

Oh, lots of folks love soccer, they play it every day
But Kevin loves his soccer so, it carries him away
He butts his head, he kicks his legs, and if by chance he falls
The women rush the field so they can play with Kevin’s balls

CHORUS: Oh…
Kevin Ksen, he’s the sexiest of men
Kevin Ksen, he’s the sexiest of men
Kevin Ksen, he’s the sexiest of men
And if you don’t believe him, he will tell you once again
And if you don’t believe him, he will tell you once again

(Happy birthday, Kevin!)

Homily from the Mustard Seed, August 8, 2008. Feast of Saint Dominic.

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