Category: 508: A Show about Worcester

This morning I stepped off a Greyhound in Worcester, turned on my phone, and saw this text message: “Everybody is fine but stone soup had a big fire.”

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Kevin Ksen photo

Stone Soup, Worcester’s beloved arts, activism, and community center at 4 King Street, was damaged by a fire late Thursday, March 26. The fire began in the basement–the cause is as yet unknown. No one was injured.

The Stone Soup community is committed to continuing and rebuilding, whether at King Street or another site. The building is currently unusable, and member groups are temporarily meeting at the Pleasant Street Neighborhood Network Center, 301 Pleasant Street.

Stone Soup is in need of donations of time, money, and other items. Donations can be mailed to Stone Soup c/o Pleasant Street Neighborhood Network Center, 301 Pleasant St., Worcester, MA 01609. Lists of specific needs are being compiled, and will be posted at stonesoupworcester.org.

More photos and news updates at Indymedia.

Fujichia: FIRE AT STONE SOUP, NATURAL MODIFICATION

Telegram & Gazette, March 28: Stone Soup plans next story

Worcester Magazine: From the Ashes

Fundraiser: HBML closes forever April 1, with all proceeds going to Stone Soup.

NECN news story:

WCCA story:

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This is the final episode of 508, a show about Worcester. The panel is DeJongh Wells, Tracy Novick, and Scott Zoback.

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We talk about the ice storm, the response from the authorities, the reporting of WTAG, and Kate Toomey’s helpful Facebook updates with official info on the situation.

Jeff Barnard found that while the City Councilors want people to shovel their sidewalks, they’re doing a poor job with their own sidewalks.

The Snow Ghost Community Show also wraps up today. You can get a DVD set of all 24 episodes + extras with your $50 donation to WCCA TV13. Sets are available at WCCA (415 Main St.) and HBML (420 Pleasant St.).

Tracy talks about the tree loss at Cascading Waters and other Land Trust properties.

In honor of the absent Brendan Melican, we make bold predictions about what Mike will find when he returns to Worcester in May.

• Wells: There will be movement on downtown redevelopment. Demolition will start in July or August.
• Zoback: The various police scandals will be dragging on. Earliest beginning to a City Council/mayoral campaign in history, with record numbers of people tossing their hats into the ring. A newcomer will be the mayor.
• Novick: Ditto on the elections; we’ll also see this with the School Board. As well, people will have their electricity back….
• Benedetti: T&G offered up for sale. Jeff Barnard buys it with one day’s cabdriving tips.

We finish up by discussing our upcoming plans. For my part, I will spend the first part of 2009 on the 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Cha-Cha Connor talks with a guest about the politics of HIV/AIDS prevention in Worcester, especially as regards unprotected anal sex.

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To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

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

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Sunday, December 7, from noon-5pm at Worcester’s Union Station is the “stART in the Station” arts festival.

Seth Godin, from his “Holiday Shopping Guide”:

Buy handmade items from people you like.

stART can hook you up.

There was actually some news on the PILOT/BILOT front this week, with the pharmacy school making a small annual donation to the library.

Worcester will be remembering homeless residents who died in 2008 at this year’s “Longest Night” events, leading up to Dec 21. Watch this space for details.

Worcester has a contract with a new superintendant of schools. There have been delays in the release of the Mark Rojas records.

Mike continues his local journalism case studies. Kevin says the T&G has a new investigative team, or “I-Team”, with Jay Whearly as John “Hannibal” Smith.

The City Manager recognizes Colin Novick’s good work.

Dave Winer on the death of newspapers:

They see the cliff, they know they’re headed for it, but they don’t ask how to turn the car. They don’t really want to know. I think sometimes what they want is to be missed when they lie dead in a crumpled car at the bottom of the cliff. But we don’t want that to happen. Not because we love them, but because life without them is pretty hard to imagine.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week Mike is in West Virginia, and Brendan Melican and Bruce Russell are in Worcester.

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Headline: Elk Collecting Deer Hides for Veterans

Mike is comparing blog coverage of Worcester news to the Telegram & Gazette; his first case study shows the blogs doing surprisingly well.

Headline: Fly Gets 40 Years in Prison

Are New Englanders friendly?

We listen to the City Manager talking about the challenges of snow removal, and look forward to having the same discussion this year.

Also: Bruce tells jokes.

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To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week we talk with Brendan Melican.

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How is the Worcester City Council like the movie Groundhog Day?

PILOT vs. BILOT?

How dark is the future of Worcester journalism?

Would local bloggers like to video themselves for TV?

Just how charming are holiday shoutouts?

Also: Last weekend Kevin Ksen went to a KOMBI event at Coral Seafood to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the standardization of Albanian spelling.mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions

To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel features Brendan Melican and Kevin Ksen.

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The Telegram & Gazette continues to be in financial trouble; things look awful for their parent, the New York Times. Nevertheless, they continue to bird-dog local police misconduct and write about downtown retail.

We briefly discuss the election, which Brendan predicted with some success.

Some local college students aren’t happy with downtown Worcester.

Mike is going to DC next year to work against torture, and local Catholic Workers were sentenced to community service for praying the rosary.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, we feature a conversation with Telegram & Gazette News Editor Mike Elfland about telegram.com, the paper’s website.

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Some links mentioned:

• Volohk complains about Slate’s corrections policy a couple years back. I still like their basic format.
• Example: Andrew Sullivan continuing the conversation
• Example: Robert Scoble responding in his comments section

I may have been wrong in my description of how links to old T&G story revisions work. Looking at this moose discussion thread, the old links just seem to break, rather than linking to an old revision.

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To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

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

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FROM THE COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC AND PARKING – Request City Manager and the Economic Development Office provide City Council with OVERWHELMING evidence that provides the Standing Committee on Traffic and Parking SUBSTANTIAL facts that economic development would be a net gain and public safety would be held in balance in making Millbury Street a two-way street

Back in May, we sort of joked about the City banning knives; now the City is actually trying it.

Bruce, author of the Snow Ghost Book of Scary Jokes (pdf), comments on this week’s Womag “People in the Street”.

Brendan predicts Question 1 (eliminate the income tax) will barely fail, Question 2 (marijuana decriminalization) will pass handily, and Question 3 (ban dog racing) will narrowly pass.

The InCity Times came out against Question 2:

Marijuana decriminalization would embolden the punks and pukes of the neighborhood.

Brendan sees Spellane and Fresolo holding onto their state rep seats, and Moore winning state senate.

The show finishes with a conversation with Scott Schaeffer-Duffy about an upcoming hearing to determine the penalty he’ll pay for his “rosary arrest.”

But first Mike talks more about Mystery Band. Below, his band I Am Sexy Russian Girl ;) performs “Glenn Gould Goes to Leningrad”:

Typically quirky Glenn Gould video:

As it happens, this week’s “Open Source” is a wonderful conversation about Bach with Andrew Rangell, and features a major digression about Gould.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Gabe Rollins gives a guided tour of the downtown block bounded by Franklin, Main, Federal, and Portland Streets.

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To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

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