City Council

By Allie Simone, Acting Director, Worcester Animal Rescue League

The Worcester Animal Rescue League has received considerable feedback from the public in response to Monday’s T&G article regarding the proposed muzzling ordinance. Clients, volunteers, WARL supporters and county residents are deeply concerned about the negative impact such an ordinance will have. Should this ordinance come to pass, we are certain that many dogs will be abandoned and consequently seized in record numbers.

And, where will they go? There is no official, city-financed “dog pound” in Worcester. The only facility in the city capable of accepting lost or abandoned animals is the Worcester Animal Rescue League. The Worcester Animal Rescue League is a private, non-profit, limited intake animal shelter, accepting pets only when space is available; Adoptable pets are not euthanized because of time or space constraints. This is our firm policy, and we have worked hard to make this a positive reality for the homeless animals of Worcester County. The Worcester Animal Rescue League currently has only 96 kennels for dogs and 41 cages for cats, plus a very limited number of foster home caregivers. On average, the WARL receives over 2,600 homeless animals each year. And, in the current economy, adoption rates have dropped while surrender rates have climbed.

We are very concerned that the City Council has not thought through the ramifications of the passing of this ordinance. Animal control officers were not consulted. County shelter administrators were not conferred with. What will happen to the numerous pit bulls, pit bull crosses and others mistakenly identified as pit bulls, all of which the city finds itself newly in possession of?

The Worcester Animal Rescue League values the long standing relationship it has built with the City of Worcester. However, it is not currently held by a contract to accept impounded dogs found in Worcester. If this ordinance passes, the Worcester Animal Rescue League will no longer accept dogs from Worcester. The dedicated staff and supporters have worked too hard and advanced the organization too far in the quality of care given to its animals to suddenly reverse our no-kill, limited intake policies. This ordinance would be asking us to take a giant step backwards, becoming once again a kill shelter. We wish to be very clear: The Worcester Animal Rescue League will have no part in euthanizing dogs or any other animal due to breed discrimination.

We all know that each animal is an individual. The staff and volunteers at the Worcester Animal Rescue League care for thousands of animals each year (including many wonderful pit bulls, which happily find forever homes throughout the county and beyond) and do not believe in discriminating against a specific breed of animal. What’s more, most animal behaviorists agree that humans are the cause of the vast majority of behavior issues.

Alternatively to the City Council’s proposed plan, the Worcester Animal Rescue League believes establishing a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for pit bulls would be a much more effective program. We are convinced that a muzzling ordinance in Worcester will ultimately fail. Why? Muzzling does not prohibit breeding; what it does do is make a dog look more intimidating, which only satisfies the social/cultural needs of irresponsible owners who use the dogs as a status symbol.

According to the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), 75% of dog bites are caused by intact (that is, unneutered) male dogs. It is no wonder than that a proactive bite prevention program begins with a stricter enforcement of spay/neuter practices. This is simply common sense.

The Worcester Animal Rescue League has nearly 100 years of experience in such matters, and it welcomes members of our community and the Worcester City Council to tour the shelter, meet the staff and new director, and visit with all the great pets waiting for a home. Additionally, The Worcester Animal Rescue League hopes to work collaboratively with the City of Worcester in developing practical pet ordinances that serve all residents (both two and four-legged) of our community.

By Jim May

POINT ONE: EMBRACE THE BLACKSTONE.

To a geographer, the most compelling aspect of greater Worcester is the Blackstone River. It’s our river. We ain’t got much else, really. Farming was so bad here that Worcester County was the last county populated, and even then, the town of Sutton surpassed Worcester’s own population until the mid 1840s.

But people aren’t farming here anymore. Still, the Blackstone River remains the dominant landscape feature no matter how many Walmarts surround it. The Blackstone River is the thing that singularly most identifies our place in the terra firma, our place on Mother Earth.
And because it’s a river, it’s water. And water represents Life. And Life is what we want in our downtown.

We have long stopped embracing the River. To be blunt, we shit on it. We have almost polluted it beyond recognition. The intense industrial usage of the Blackstone left a legacy of pollution. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

We will see if this bullshit continues at tonight’s Worcester City Council meeting: the not-so-latent attempt to pull the rug out from under the sturdy feet of Dr. Melinda Boone, Worcester’s new school superintendent.

We know that City Counilor Frederick Rushton was a big fan of “connected” school superintendent candidate Steve Mills (now working in some Boston suburb), and that he wanted his boy to get the superintendent job big time. Infact, last year Rushton was the city council member who was most vocal in his opposition to Boone. And he pushed for Mills, who thought he was a shoe in because he worked on Tim Murray’s first political campaign and all that crap.

But, hey, Rushton was powerless and then Worcester Mayor konnie Lukes wasn’t. As then-chair of the Worcester School Committee (as is for all of Wormtown’s mayors), Konnie created a professional search committee comprised of community intelligent non-biased community folks who would look at all super candidates. The search committee recommended the best candidate - Dr. Melinda Boone, a female, Black educator from Norfolk, Virginia. Our school committee OK’d the recommendation and - voila! Worcester actually looked smart, cool and progressive. … Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

Some how the Worcester Public Schools teachers’ union has got it all upside down: Last City Council meeting teacher union head Cheryl DelSignore stood before the Worcester City Council and whined. 124 WPS teachers are getting their pink slips! she announced to our city leaders! Mon Dieu! No art for the kiddies! No extras!

Bull shit.

What concerns this union rep most - and I guess the teachers themselves - is the fact that some of these newly laid off teachers have been in the WPS system for years!

“Twenty three years in the system,” Delsignore gasped to the city council.

This made me think: the teachers’ union is getting nervous. Now, instead of laying off the young, just hired teachers, like they used to when they went toe to toe with the city over contract negotiations, the teachers’ union is starting to lose the “connected” old timers, the people and hacks who have been sucking up precious space in the WPS system for two decades, but maybe hung around because they knew their seniority would be protected. WPS teachers who thought they would never see the day because … the young neophyte teachers would be the first to be let go by the Worcester Public School system. Click to continue »

By Cheez Whiz

In Massachusetts you might actually call it a “Coming Out Party.” I am talking about previously unknown folks (all white males natch) announcing themselves as candidates for U.S. Congressional seats. I am talking about all the new challengers to the once (still) dominant Democratic party here. While the challengers are going for seats in the U.S. Congress, the domination of one party rule is still happening at the state house level. That is why it has been so difficul;t for any governor in the last six decades to make meaningful things happen
　
Watching a guy like Bob Spellane position this past year has been about as interesting and gutwrenching as watching a Christian thrown to the Roman lions. About 6 months aga he wrote a piece in the Telegram and chose to call his union supporters “working families”. That’s wrong, Bob, because “working families” are the type who have total household income in the $40-80K range. Almost any one of your supports has at least one member making that much. At the very least, it’s misleading. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

Watching the Worcester City Council meeting Tuesday nights is like watching the battle of the mini-me’s. (Mostly) third-rate characters, with not a whole lot to contribute, jostling for #1 spot - mayor of Worcester. (not such a big deal, in most folks’ opinion)

So Kate Toomey ran for mayor last election cycle - and lost - big time. She came behind Konnie Lukes, former mayor of Worcester and, of course, Joe O’Brien, current mayor of Wormtown. Both these candidates - at least in voters’ eyes - seemed more mayoral than Toomey. Toomey, while getting lots of votes for City Council, doesn’t seem like she’s ever gonna be endorsed as mayor by Worcesterites. They just don’t see her as mayor.

That is her problem to fix. Click to continue »

By Distrcit 4 City Councilor Barbara Haller

A day rarely goes by without my thinking and remembering Janice Nadeau. Her legacy of public service inspires me to keep plugging to find those windows of opportunity to “accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative” in our City, and especially Worcester’s District 4.

Janice was an activist long before she was District 4’s first councilor. She knew first hand of the frustration that always seems come with working with elected officials and government administrations. She also knew first hand about financial struggles and the never-ending challenges to raising a family. She knew about blight, job loss, and cars that won’t start. And boy, did she know how to inspire hope and bring people together.

Through her excellent activist work with Fair Share she came to realize, like Tip O’Neil, that all politics is local. For Janice this didn’t mean that hopes for a political career depended on fixing people’s pot holes and sidewalks or getting someone’s kid into a particular school (although she understood this for sure). For Janice this meant that for her agenda of neighborhood respect and protection she (or someone close to her) needed to be elected to government power. Janice realized that access to elected officials and having one or two that would roll up their sleeves and actually work with you - at least on some issues – was critical to real progress. Click to continue »

By William S. Coleman III

The month of February is celebrated as Black History Month in the United States and Canada.

Celebrating the accomplishments, past struggles, trials and life-giving sacrifices of African American communities and those who along the way who fought for their equal rights, reminds us of the greatness of the American Spirit. Just think it wasn’t that long ago that African Americans could not legally cast a vote or be educated in public colleges throughout many parts of this country, simply because of the color of their skin. On our journey to equality we have jumped many a hurdle. When I think of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to help all Americans fulfill the promise of America as handed to us in the wonderful document of our Constitution of United States of America, it brings renewed pride for me to say, “We are a great country.” Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

… she shouldn’t run for governor of Massachusetts.

I have known and worked with Grace Ross for a while now. InCity Times endorsed her for governor last time around (I put her on our cover and ran a huge story, too!). I also endorsed her for Worcester City Council three years ago, when she ran for an at-large seat. She would have made a great at large city councilor. I mean, look who we ended up with instead: a totally incompetent nabob - Mike Germain.

I remember going to her “support Grace meetings” when she ran for that at large seat council seat - when she really had a chance of winning (until Mayor Joe O’Brien’s wife, Lisa Weinberg, began her smear campaign against Grace, calling her anti-semetic - the last thing Grace would ever be). Grace had so many great folks backing her then - all the city’s neighborhood activists, it seemed! She was so inspirational when she spoke! You just wanted to get up and clap after one of Grace’s beautifully worded speeches. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

this past Worcester City Council meeting made me think: this guy isn’t gonna give anything to “the people.” His campaign was just a lot of hot air.

Case in point: O’Brien FINALLY got out of his mayoral chair, took the mic and talked on an issue: the city manager and DPW head Bob Moylan were giving councilors an update on the work that will be done at the new Crompton Park pool. Mayor Joe O’Brien got up and pretty much rubberstamped what the city administration did/said all along. In a very quiet tone of voice O’Brien said: we will, as money permits, try to open more city pools. Then, as if to throw a bone to the Save Our Poolz folks, he said the Wheels to Water program will be broadened, hopefully with more jobs for folks.

Nice back-pedalling, O’Brien! Click to continue »