CSX

It is a bit crazy reading all the comments over at the Telegram regarding the CSX expansion and the Grafton Hill Business Associations opposition towards it. A few commenting there see it but what the majority is failing to see is that this is a rare opportunity to do it right. Now when I say right I mean really right. Not right for economic development, not right for gentrification (a concept that I fully support in Worcester by the way), and not right for aesthetics, but right... as in really right... worldly right …everything is right with the cosmos right.

Here is an opportunity to usher in jobs, not just any jobs, but jobs for people that need them. People who may not have the good fortune to own a car that is going to take them east to professional jobs. People who may not even have the college education needed to get those jobs. People that for whatever their lot in life may contribute greatly to the make up, appearance and bad rep that our city has.

Let's face it, Grafton Hill ain't no great shakes. You drive down any of those side streets between 290 and Billings Sq and the conditions are very similar to those you see in Main South, Piedmont Village and neighboring Vernon Hill. These folks need work and they need blue collar work. How nice might it be for these folks to have well paying jobs that they can walk to. I am guessing that if the people who live in Grafton Hill that oppose the expansion want to leave the neighborhood folks with new found CSX jobs would love to take their place.

Now, as far as the businesses go, you operate your business in a city. A city that NEEDS to change. I would ask yourself these questions: Does the neighborhood you do business in need help? Does it have a plan? Are you part of that plan? Does your existing business fit in with that plan? If there isn't a plan are you prepared to be there when one is drawn up? If you have never asked these questions you need to get with the damn program because when shit changes it is on YOU not the city, and not CSX. You think the Kenmore is poo pooing over this? You think Choo Choo Charlies is? You own a garage? Get a diesel mechanic! Adapt. There are going to be 100 more trucks a day. These guys need STUFF. When they come asking for it, HAVE IT!

The face of Grafton Hill is going to change. The change is that it's daytime population is going to go way way way up with people with money in their pockets. Now you can continue to whine and carry on about it or you can step up, adapt, and make money along with everyone else.

As far as The Canal District, Washington Sq, and Shrewsbury St go, the negative impact will be minimal and if and when we get those 20 extra trains, the positive impact will far far far outweigh the negative.

So in short, have a little faith and STFU for a change Worcester. This is a good thing, the rare good thing that is a good thing for EVERYBODY.

PLEASE JUST SIT BACK AND LET IT HAPPEN.

The Points North in Sydney Australia 1/21/10

I definitely don't talk enough music in this here blog.

The Points North are a fantastic alt-folk band made up of current and former Central Mass residents Chris Alspach, Regina Peterson, and Dylan Clark. They recently set out on a tour of Australia. This is a video from a show they did last Thursday at the Vanguard in Sydney. They have been known to grace the stage at Nick's on Millbury St from time to time, usually for no cover charge and a pass of the hat. Keep an eye out for their next appearance after they get back home in March.

Sometimes the best things happening in Worcester are happening on the other side of the planet.

Response Time And How The WPD Chooses to Swing The Hammer

On Saturday night I was visiting a friends house up in Tatnuck. A couple of lady friends were outside on the steps smoking when they noticed a car coming down the street. The car sideswiped a neighbors car, went through the intersection and swiped another car. The girls called the police right away and they arrived in less than a half hour. The officers took down the info about the car and took off. Within the hour they had circled back around, told us they had found the car, and requested the girls give them a more formal statement.

So this is nothing spectacular. The police do not deserve huge kudos for this. It was a good job absolutely, but it is a job we should just expect out of them. It is what should be expected by all of us no matter what zip code you call your own and what address you lay your head at. Those of us that live in urban Worcester know that recieving this type of treatment from the WPD is a pipe dream.

I understand that times are tough and that we are short staffed on the WPD. I also understand though that in the coming years there is much money to be made in Fed Sq, North Main, Shrewsbury St, and the Canal District. Money that will help out with these tough times. So as a city I guess we can either get with the program and have the WPD make our primary economic development zones as much a priority as Tatnuck and the rest of the Westside or we can continue to ignore the perception problem and very real response problems in those neighborhoods. Of course every year we have less money coming in off of commercial tax rolls the higher the residential tax rises. Cities just aren't supposed to be paying for the amount of services a city needs to pay for with this much residential money.

Bottom line is that residents need to feel safe to go out and use the neighborhoods they live in for economic development to happen. As citizens who have a vested interest in how this city progresses we need to realize that economic development starts at the residential level. We need to start looking at every neighborhood as it's own village.

Can we do this? Please?

Mudslinging? For an At Large seat on the Worchester City Council? Really?

As reported by Wormtown Taxi yesterday, there has been a video floating around the internet accusing At Large incumbent Rick Rushton of lying about not accepting the council wide pay raise instituted at the beginning of 2008. Rushton fired back today sending out a flurry of emails with documentation proving he in fact did not accept the pay raise.

I am baffled by out and out lying just to obtain a city council seat. Crazy business.

Interview with Bill McCarthy Candidate For At Large City Councilor

What will be your primary job as an at large councilor?

Worcester needs new leadership so that we can turnaround our city’s sluggish economy and reform spending so taxpayers are not continuously overburdened by their property tax bill. For years the Council has let us down by failing to attract new businesses to our community and to keep control of spending. I can make a difference. I believe that it is the job of a Councilor to be a fiscal watchdog for his constituents. It is time that Worcester had a bold new plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. I can make a difference by utilizing my doctoral degree in human resource education and workforce development, employing my experience in criminal justice and instituting a bold new strategic plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. I will aggressively promote our city, one-on-one, to CEOs and entrepreneurs so they will locate here. I will build an Economic Development Action Team to create incentives to keep and grow Worcester’s diverse industries.

What in your opinion are the biggest issues facing Worcester in the coming years and what plans do you have to deal with these issues?

Recently the City Council voted for a tax hike for hotel/motel rooms and the meals tax. I believe that is like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Even with these increased taxes Worcester is still facing a $2 million deficit. It is frustrating to see our friends and families making budget cuts to live within their means while our leaders are taxing us more and more. As a City Councilor, my first order of business would be to rollback the $13,000 pay raises that the council voted themselves. Then I would focus on:

Protecting the Taxpayers: I will put my doctoral degree to work for residents by developing innovative solutions and by finding ways to stretch tax dollars.

Protecting Families: With my experience in criminal justice as a state trooper and professor and as a father of three children, I understand what it is going to take to make our streets safe and I am willing to do the hard work. I believe in stronger tracking of sexual predators and reducing gang activity.

Protecting our City’s Economic Future: It is time that Worcester had a bold new plan to promote economic development that creates jobs. Worcester needs economic triage, the city is bleeding and we need to stop it. To do that, we need more jobs. Our city leaders can talk all they want about these (development) planned projects, but how many jobs have they created? I will work to bring jobs to Worcester by partnering with the businesses that are currently here and finding out what we can do to help them stay here. And then I will work to bring new job opportunities to the city.

How do you feel about the job City Manager O'Brien has done thus far? What do you like about what he has done? Where do you think he needs improvement?

He answers to the City Council and I don't think the City Council has assigned him all the needed performance indicators to really measure his accomplishments and performance in these tough economic times. When elected I would work to revamp those performance indicators and then really assess his performance from these needed measures and baseline.

The perceived lack of public safety in Worcester is a definite image problem for the city. Since in many instances perception is reality, what are your ideas on how to improve this perception and make not only our citizens but people from outside the city feel secure when they are out in our neighborhoods?

With my experience in criminal justice as a state trooper and professor and as a father of three children, I understand what it is going to take to make our streets safe and I am willing to do the hard work. I believe in stronger tracking of sexual predators and reducing gang activity.

On the issue of neighborhood's, many other cities have had success defining their neighborhoods and marketing them separately as different cultural options. How do you think Worcester might benefit as a city by doing something similar?

I like that idea and will work to bring that about. However, Worcester needs economic triage, the city is bleeding and we need to stop it. To do that, we need more jobs. Our city leaders can talk all they want about these (development) planned projects, but how many jobs have they created? I will build an Economic Development Action Team to create incentives to keep and grow Worcester’s diverse industries. Take a moment to look around our city. Why would a business open in Worcester? The amount of empty store fronts in downtown Worcester really says it all. We need to find a way to rent out over 4.75 million square feet of office space. I propose we offer some meaningful tax incentives for businesses to locate here. Many towns in the southern US are offering anywhere from 1 to 10 years of municipal tax-free status. Many towns are offering assistance in obtaining the necessary licenses, permits, and approvals by shortening the process to just a few months. This is another type of model I would implement to encourage job growth too.

How do you envision the urban core of Worcester at the end of 2011? How will you lead us to that vision?

I look at it this way. The previous presidential elections contain some lessons that should be applied to the upcoming Worcester election. “It’s the economy stupid”. Worcester’s economy has been failing and continues to fail. “Are you better off now than you were”? The staggering number of people who have left Worcester would answer no. The large number of residents who do not feel safe in their own city would answer no. “It’s time for a change.” “If we do not learn from history, we are destined to relive it”. It’s time for sweeping reform and change in the government of the city of Worcester. I will work to bring jobs to Worcester by partnering with the businesses that are currently here and finding out what we can do to help them stay here. And then I will work to bring new job opportunities to the city.

In Response to Common Culture Clash

There was an article by Diane Williamson today in the Telegram about the percieved lack of safety in the common. This was my response. Not sure if it is going to show up on the website or not.

"Common Guy, I applaud your comments. I live at 50 Franklin and luckily have Mondays off so I have the opportunity to enjoy the tables if I want. If I were to live in the neighborhood and work a M-F 9-5 shift I would NEVER have th opportunity to enjoy the tables. And before you think there might be special circumstances think again. These tables were locked during the Latino Festival, hands down the most attended annual City Hall event in the city. If they aren't unlocked during that then ask yourself when will they be unlocked. Also, if your a Worcester citizen who doesn't use the common often so you think this doesn't affect you, think again. These tables cost $39,000. That is a teacher who could be making a difference in your child's life. I applaud the purchase of the tables but like most good things with this city, it is not the idea, it's the execution. The citizens of Worcester, namely the citizens of Federal Sq are not getting $39,000 of use out of these tables. This may appear to be a small issue, and in the grand scheme of things it is, but if you step back and really look at it, these tables are symbolic of almost everything that is wrong with our city and everything that hinders our city from even coming close to it's potential.

Ask yourself why the tables aren't unlocked and locked back up on Saturday and Sunday and most likely holidays. Ask yourself why the answer to that question wasn't foreseen by someone in City Hall. Ask yourself why in God's name we payed almost 40 grand for tables that are getting 40 hours of use a week.

In a nut shell, City Hall, from Council, to Admin, to individual departments has no clue what city living means. None whatsoever. They know city visiting, not city living."

2009 Mayor/City Council Elections Episode 2: District 2 Council Seat

This guy right here is running unopposed in District 2. He's my district councilor. He is the councilor of Federal Sq, Downtown, North Main, Shrewsbury St and The Canal District. He chose not to respond to my interview. I'd print his name, but you know, screw him. Shutting the hell up is probably the smartest thing dude has done all term. I mean the guy who thinks that young people and their ideas are bad for Worcester should probably shut the hell up right? Hooray Phil, Worcester's apathy gets you another term! Congrats. Thanks for not growing a pair and answering my interview!