Category: Worcester

508 #49: Asian Longhorned Beetles

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Colin Novick, Anne Lewenberg, Jeff Barnard, and Brendan Melican.

[display_podcast]

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:

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.

mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions

To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:

Email:

We won’t share this list with others.

Unpaid HBML promo message from Lars:

Fletcher to sell Worcester Magazine

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.

Kevin Ksen: sexiest of men

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!)

508 #47: Creative Laundry

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Nat Needle, Jeff Barnard, Brendan Melican, and Bruce Russell.

[display_podcast]

Nat talks about the Creative Laundry art project that will appear and disappear in Elm Park on August 15. (In passing we mention Free Art Worcester.) It rained a lot this week; at least one building was hit by lightning. The city’s trees are under attack from beetles. Rosalie Tirella wrote about the late Richard Preston in this week’s InCity Times. The Armsby Abbey opened. Living Earth will be expanding its restaurant. The ACLU wants info from the Worcester police about the stats of kids arrested in schools. The Cosby Show Idea is happening at HBML this weekend (and probably beyond).

Creative Laundry

mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions

To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:

Email:

We won’t share this list with others.

508# 46: You will live another year

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Tina Zlody, Jacob Berendes, Jeff Barnard, Brendan Melican, and Bruce “Snow Ghost” Russell.

[display_podcast]

Tina finished a triathlon; Jacob went to the George Street Challenge.

Start on the Street is coming up; so is a Cosby Show project at HBML.

Councilor Germain has been feuding with the police chief.

Mike had two bar experiences, one in which a guy got stabbed, the other in which a city councilor did not sing Johnny Cash.

Missoula Oblongata brought their play “Last Hurrah of the Clementines” to Worcester.

We talk about CVS blight and the giant who lives in the downtown AT&T building.

Jacob says the name of Webster Lake.

mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions

To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:

Email:

We won’t share this list with others.

Rosary trial: necessity denied

Our motion for a “necessity defense” in our upcoming federal trial for praying the rosary has apparently been denied.

Telegram & Gazette:

A federal magistrate judge has denied a motion for a “necessity defense” for five people in the Catholic Worker Movement charged with obstructing the U.S. District courthouse when they prayed there for an end to the war in Iraq.

The group had argued that it was necessary to violate the law to prevent a greater evil.

We haven’t received official notice of this yet; I’ll update this post when we do.

Update: “Religion Clause” has a blog post and what seems to be the PDF of the decision, filed a week ago. Meanwhile, nothing’s come in the mail yet.

Second update: Apparently the T&G reporter got word of this through an electronic court filings service they use. And apparently the court is not going to mail us a copy of this ruling.

Scott Schaeffer-Duffy and I explored some of the legal issues in a podcast this morning. You can download the mp3 or see other formats.

[display_podcast]

If you’d like to support this effort, you can meet with the defendants today (July 29, 2008) at the weekly peace vigil in Worcester’s Lincoln Square, 3:30-4:30pm. We hope you can attend our trial, September 23, 2008 at the federal courthouse in Worcester.

Mason Street Musings

I took a call one afternoon from a friend seeking a bed for a woman named “Nancy.” For once, we had not only one empty bed, but three, so I said, “Certainly.” When Nancy arrived, clad in a skirt, blouse, hat, and purple wig, I was surprised to see she had a prominent Adam’s apple, a five-o’clock shadow, and a deep bass voice. Although we have had an enormous variety of guests over the years, people of different nationalities, religions, characteristics, and, on some occasions, sexual preferences, we have never had a man dressed like a woman.
Continue reading “Mason Street Musings”

508 #45: Art heist

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

[display_podcast]

The Worcester police want $4K before sending records about Officer Mark Rojas to the Telegram & Gazette. Also this week: “At least six city police officers are under investigation for fraudulently claiming overtime pay for time spent testifying in court cases.”

There was an art heist in Elm Park.

Some good things in Worcester: the American Antiquarian Society, the Latin Festival, the Worcester World Cup, the Dive Bar’s new patio, and Jeff Barnard’s recovery.

Worcester Magazine had a nice article on street vendors this week. We finish the show with some audio interviews with vendors.

Choice snippet of the proposed vendor regulations:

For purposes of this provision a threat shall include the assemblage of any number of people in the traveled portion of any public or private way within three hundred feet of the vendor, peddler or merchant.

mp3 link, other formats, feed, low-fi versions