police union

By Rosalie Tirella

Last night I sat before a little TV set mesmerized - absolutely mesmerized! - by all the whackiness that was flying around the august City Council chambers. You should have been their, folks! OR: You should have at least watched last night’s Worcester City Council meeting on your TV set! You could have sliced the rancor and the nuttiness with a meat cleaver! It was “Reno 911″ Worcester style! What a gas, gas, gas!!!!

Here we go: Nutty Scene #1: Sam Rosario. Rosario, a duplicitous blowhard whom everyone in Worcester thinks is a duplicitous blowhard, is representing the liveries in their quest to become taxis. Sammy is a guy who once told political opponent Joe Cassella to step out of a three-way city council primary race because he (Cassella) had no chance of winning - it was really a race between him (Rosario) and the incumbent (dope Joff Smith). That was before Cassella trounced him and then went on to run against Smith in November and do fairly well - and seemingly (thank God!) put an end to Rosario’s political aspirations. Well, last night Sammy went bonkers. Click to continue »

By Chris Horton

[Governor] Deval Patrick is no longer a suitable leader for the common people of Massachusetts, no matter where he came from. The people are done with waiting for change and listening to excuses why the promises that were made can’t be kept. They won’t vote for him, and we will only destroy our own credibility with them by working for him. Appeals to all Democrats to stick together around Patrick are utterly misplaced in the context of the Convention and the Primary election because what is at issue is whether he is appropriate as leader of the Commonwealth’s Democrats. Which he is not.

The heavy-handed tactics of his supporters to intimidate anyone who might go against him at the convention even before there was any opposition inside the Democratic Party - which I saw first hand - are an indication that he’s running scared. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

Well, here it is: crisis time again. Last week the Worcester City Council and School Committee met to discuss finances. Next fiscal year’s municipal budget looks grim, with a $26-million gap projected for the Worcester Public School system.

Right off the bat, City Manager Mike O’Brien needs to: CONVINCE THE WPS TEACHERS’ UNION TO EMBRACE REALITY!!!! Embrace reality and join the majority of working Americans and our other municipal unions and start paying (immediately) 25% of their health insurance premiums. Plus higher co-pays.

Teachers! This simple step - paying 25% of your health insurance premium - will save the City of Worcester $3 million! Like I said, the 25% contribution is something that’s been accepted by workers in the private sector for a while now, and the City of Worcester’s clerks and other groups have joined the rest of America. Click to continue »

By Rosalie Tirella

I got my hands on some police union minutes - juicy stuff, when it comes to pols and which political candidates the police unions are backing.  The minutes of a recent meeting of IBPO Local 504 have the cops deciding to hell with District 4 City Counilor Barabara Haller who has worked with them to make Main South and the rest of the inner-city safer - to hell with her and onwards and upwards for Grace Ross, Haller’s opponent. becaise Ross will fund the Quinn Bill and more. The minutes (which are several pages long) state: “Grace Ross is running in District 4. She is totally pro-labor … .” Barbara Haller, according to the police union minutes, “filed an order requesting that the City Manager provide the [City] Council report explaining the steps necessary for the City Council to revise its 1987 vote [editor's note, more like 2006!] relative to the Quinn Bill. President Cummings said that this means only one thing - that Barbara Haller has taken a posititon in direct opposition to our best interests. We need to work in the upcoming election to see that she is defeated.” Click to continue »