Tag Archives: City of Worcester

Music

🎼🎼🎹 to our ears!

*******

20170209_130840_HDR-1
pics: R.T.

Here is the Latest Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church Update!

By Mauro DePasquale, MPS +

http://www.preserveourladyofmountcarmel.org

1. Our Board is working diligently behind the scenes on a daily basis.

2. We have submitted our Canonical Appeal in response to the Bishop’s rejection of our earlier appeal.

3. We are working on printing up a new time-line spreadsheet of activities and fundraisers.

4. Thanks to the members of the First Unitarian Church, especially Linda Wyatt, for reaching out to us and hosting a fundraiser for our benefit on March 11. It was a huge success. Details will be shared asap. Look for our next fundraiser TBA.

5. As we have informed in our last update, we had sent a letter to Msgr Pedone and members of his parish council asking for a response regarding the consideration of preserving Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Mulberry Street as a Shrine. We have yet to receive a response from anyone.

6. We are also working on coordinating our engineer with the Diocese’s facility manager. Remember Msgr Pedone asked us to provide any pay for a certified engineer to walk through and inspect the building to determine whether or not it can be occupied and repaired. The Monsignor also is asking MPS to pay for repairs, if needed.

7. In our effort to further encourage broader participation to our fundraiser, one of our members paid for a display ad in the bulletin seeking support from whomever may read the church bulletin. The display ad was to run through April. We were informed that Church leadership had the ad removed in February.

So please be sure inform parishioners, friends, and community members, that our MPS continues our quest to work with our entire parish and friends of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

8. The City of Worcester still has not yet signed of on the facade “make safe” work. This is because, we are told, the Architect of record has not yet submitted a signed affidavit to the City’s building Commissioner, needed as a prerequisite to allow the City inspection process to move forward.

9. Our Sunday prayer Vigil continues at 10 a.m. at the Mount Carmel Apartments.

10. ST. JOSEPH FISH FRY is Monday night. Mass will be celebrated in the Mount Carmel Apartments and the fish will be served in the Recreation Center on Mulberry Street.

11. Keep those donations and support letters and editorials coming. http://www.preserveourladyofmountcarmel.org

We are moving forward. Stay tuned for more. A general meeting is being planned I will let you know when we have a date available for it.

God Bless you, and God Bless Our Lady Of Mount Carmel!

Sincerely,
Mauro

*********

festival pdf

*******

20160517_095529_HDR-1

My Patriotic Duty! To run for Worcester City Councilor at-Large – Again!

By Ron O’Clair

Hello again, InCity Times readers! I pulled out nomination papers on the 7th of March 2017 to run a second time for Worcester City Councilor at-Large, after having finished next-to-last in the last Municipal Election. I want to explain to our readers why I feel qualified and motivated to go out and collect the 300 registered voters’ signatures required to get my name on the ballot once again this coming Municipal Election!

I care deeply for the City of Worcester and its unique collection of eclectic types! Individuals from around the world who make up our population. We are a cosmopolitan city on the rise, and I believe I can guide our city to a better and more prosperous place. For all who choose to make their homes here among the natives.

Worcester is near and dear to my heart, and having travelled extensively (leaving this country and returning seven times) with the US Military when I was a Reserve Staff Sergeant gave me a unique perspective on what makes our city the place that it is. No matter how far I went or for how long, I yearned to return to the city of my birth. My roots.

I travelled extensively within the Continental United States as well and even stopped off for an overnight in the Puerto Rico possession coming back from a 37 day Temporary Duty Assignment in Honduras back in the mid-1980s under President Ronald Reagan.

There is not much that goes on in my hometown that I don’t have a handle on, after studying it, and the people in it for the last 30 years of my life. I am an honorable man who was a victim of an uncaring system that is supposed to champion the rights of ALL THE PEOPLE EQUALLY. When I saw with my own eyes that Worcester had a long standing habit of favoritism, nepotism and cronyism in public sector jobs stretching back generations in which corrupt members of the old Worcester County Administration could abuse their authority and deprive unsuspecting individuals of their due process rights to be allowed to go on about their legal and lawful business without undue interference and get away with it, I vowed to check into the matter.

There was at that time in Worcester (Sept. 30, 1986) a great “Good Ol’ Boy” network of characters who felt their political and legal connections gave them the right to deprive other citizens of theirs for no valid reason, other than perhaps you may have gotten on the wrong side of a man with a gun, a position of quasi-authority and a network of thoroughly corrupted people who could enforce only those laws they felt like enforcing. And take their ire out on innocent people at whim.

Prior to my involvement first hand, these people had been able to sweep incidents under the rug, preventing the public from getting justice, so as not to upset their apple carts, and keep the cushy jobs in the “family.” I never believed the stories about this being true, until they tried to deprive me of my due process rights! Until I was slapped with trumped-up charges of an erroneous nature which were a blemish on my otherwise clean record of service, integrity and honor.

They caused me to investigate them all these years and now that I have the knowledge I sought, I want to ensure that it never happens to another person here in the Worcester County.

I am running for Worcester City Council on a platform of truth, equality of treatment under the LAW, and true JUSTICE for ALL WHO RESIDE HERE, regardless of ethnicity, sexuality, age, or anything else. We are ALL worthy of the respect the human condition deserves, and NO ONE is above the law, not even – and especially! – those folks who are charged with the duty to uphold these sacred rights for ALL – EQUALLY UNDER THE LAW.

A Vote for Ron O’Clair for City Councilor at-Large will ensure that every Worcester resident has an equal opportunity for advancement based upon their qualifications and drive to succeed, rather than who their “Uncle” is. Elect “Ron O’Clair for City Councilor At-Large” and like the Facebook page with that name to support my Candidacy.

Thank you for reading the above! Ron O’Clair, Worcester, Massachusetts USA.
ronaldoclair@hotmail.com Call (774) 242-1468 to donate time or money to the Campaign Headquarters and help end the unfairness in the City of Worcester political apparatus!!!!

Animal Issues

Worcester news you can use!

festival pdf

WORCESTER STORM INFO:

Parking ban in effect early Tuesday, City offices closed, trash collection delayed

Worcester prepares for 18+inch storm!

In anticipation of Tuesday’s snow storm, predicted to drop 18-plus inches on Worcester, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. on Monday made the following announcements:

CITY STORM RESPONSE

· Public works crews began pretreating the city’s streets at noon Monday and will continue through the evening. Morning crews will be ready to go starting at 4 a.m. Tuesday, with more than 350 pieces of equipment ready to plow, salt and sand.

· The city’s Customer Service line, 508-929-1300, will be staffed starting at 6:30 a.m. through the end of the storm.

· The City’s Emergency Operations Center at the new Regional Emergency Communications Center will open Tuesday morning and stay open throughout the storm, to allow representatives from various City departments, public utilities and the Worcester Public Schools to coordinate their response.

PARKING BAN

· A declared winter parking ban will go into effect at 2 a.m. Tuesday. Residents can check the city’s website to find out where to park on their street. The parking ban is an essential part of keeping the city’s streets clear in a snow emergency, and the Worcester Police Department teams will be enforcing the ban as soon as it begins, with tickets and tows where necessary.

· All municipal garages will be open and free to the public starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, through the duration of the storm, until 8 a.m. Wednesday.

TRASH/RECYCLING COLLECTION

· Trash and recycling collection will be postponed for Tuesday. Collection across the City will be delayed by one day. Tuesday’s collection areas will be picked up on Wednesday; Wednesday areas will be collected on Thursday, and so on. This will allow for all available resources to be put towards plowing and clearing the roads.

SCHOOLS

· The Worcester Public Schools have canceled classes for Tuesday.

CITY OFFICES CLOSED

· City Manager Augustus has ordered all municipal offices closed on Tuesday, in keeping with Gov. Charlie Baker’s call to keep as many people as possible off the roads. City Hall, the Worcester Public Library, the Worcester Senior Center will all be closed to the public, and to all non-essential city employees.

· All City Hall meetings, including City Council, will be postponed.

· City Manager Augustus also urged all Worcester businesses to consider closing if possible on Tuesday, or to encourage employees whose jobs allow to work from home.

SHELTERS

St. John’s [Church on Temple Street] will again open its emergency overflow homeless shelter Monday evening.

The St. John’s food pantry will remain open throughout the day Tuesday.

The city’s emergency shelter at Worcester Technical High School will be ready if needed for large-scale power outages or other emergencies requiring the sheltering of a large number of people.

*****

Fred Astaire called her “beautiful dynamite” …

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

Worcester news for you! … Dickens and (CDBG) demo!

First the fun stuff!

20161201_101846-1
pic: R.T.

From Doherty High School

Highland Street

December 7 and 8

Next week the Doherty Performing Arts Department will be presenting “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

The show will be performed by more than 70 Doherty students, 1 Forest Grove student and 3 Midland Street School students!

We will also be performing an elementary school matinee December 7 for students from Midland, Tatnuck and May Street schools.

The bulk of the show will be performed by the Theatre 2-3-4 classes, with help from the Madrigal Singers and the Jazz Band.

The show starts promptly at 6:45 p.m. and tickets are a mere $5.

Hope to see you there.

Jim Fay
Theatre Director

********

Now the muckety muck …CDBG DEMOLITION GOALS, the process …

20161127_140504
Cece says: Can’t we all just chase string and cuddle?? pic:R.T.

From the City of Worcester …

FYI

(Rose has made some sentences bold.):

TO THE WORCESTER CITY COUNCIL

FROM THE WORCESTER CITY MANAGER

Re: Council Questions Concerning the Recommended Finance Item for Demolition Purposes

In response to the City Council’s questions regarding the recommendation to transfer 126 190 00 from and to various CDBG accounts to provide sufficient funding for anticipated project costs for the demolition of six buildings, please accept this report.

List of [the CDBG-demo] Properties:

11 Dixfield Road —The Estate of Amelia and Lincoln Crozier

15 Uxbridge Street The Estate of Rose Jordan

147 Belmont Street S. Paquette, Trustee of Belmont 147 Realty Trust

20 Alvarado ROLLO The Estate of Rocco and Lame Mercadante

18 Charlton Street Edilson Souza

89 Austin Street Iglesia Cristiana de la Communidad

… The city has a responsibility to maintain safe neighborhoods. The demolition of dilapidated, dangerous or decadent buildings falls under that role.

Demolition of such properties is an eligible expenditure of block grant funds because one of the national objectives of the ONES program is the elimination of spot slum and blighted properties.

The annual block grant allocation includes a sum set aside for demolition of eligible properties.

The City [of Worcester] places a lien in the amount of the demolition expenses on the property by recording a lien in the Registry of Deeds shortly after demolition.

The lien is then included with the annual tax bill, just as any outstanding water, sewer charges and betterment assessments are included in the tax bills).

The city tax lien takes priority over any mortgages on the property.

Therefore, the bank or person taking a mortgage on a property subject to a demolition order, not the city [of Worcester], takes the risk that there will be no surplus value after the city lien is paid.

(In the case of tax exempt property, the demolition lien is committed to the treasurer who treats the property as taxable for purposes of either collection or foreclosure to satisfy the lien).

… The city [of Worcester] uses two avenues to assess fines to property owners who fail to maintain their property in compliance with building, health and safety codes:

The first is the ” clean and lien” process whereby the city causes repairs to be made and then records a lien on the property for the amount expended.

This process is used to address emergency situations (no heat, imminent structural failure, etc.), where the property is in foreclosure, or, where the responsible party fails to appear in court.

This process is also used to clean weeds and trash from properties creating a nuisance to the neighborhood.

Secondly, the city fines property owners for code violations through the code enforcement/housing court process. That process involves a sequence of code inspections and enforcement orders, a referral to the law department for housing court action, the imposition of a preliminary injunction commanding that repairs
be made, and, if necessary, a series of court actions where the court imposes
fines on the owner to secure compliance and, failing that, the court will hold the owner in contempt and commit them to jail until repairs are made.

While properties with debilitating code violations can be condemned to demolition, properties without any pre- existing code violations, but which have
suffered substantial, structural damage due to fires are eligible for demolition.

(In fact, four of the six properties listed above are being demolished because of structural fire damage).

It would be fair to say that, in all cases, the property involved is “made safe” per order of the [City of Worcester] Code Commissioner.

This is typically accomplished by boarding windows and keeping people at a safe distance with fencing.

The policy in this program is to make every effort to save properties from
demolition through private rehabilitation.

There is usually a period of several
years between the recording of a demolition order and the actual demolition of a property.

Cases with extreme deterioration or fire damage move to the top of the list and, to the extent that funding sources allow, are demolished more quickly.

Except to determine the owner for purposes of the issuance and service of
orders, the city [of Worcester] does not perform periodic title examinations of properties condemned to demolition. As noted earlier, the city lien takes first priority over encumbrances recorded both before and after the recording of the demolition
order. The economic risk falls substantially with the private financier.

Respectfully submitted,

Edward M. Augustus, Jr.
City Manager

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

On dogs and the proposed City of Worcester dog park/s

  • 20160913_174316-1
    Rosalie’s Lilac!!! pic:R.T.

By Rosalie Tirella

I’ve owned dogs – four to be exact! – for years – 23 years to be exact! What has surprised me about me and dogs: I LOVE THEM – THEY ARE AND HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST JOYFUL PARTS OF MY LIFE! They bring the natural world  into your life so deeply; they are uncannily intuitive; they are great, fun loving companions. My two dogs, Jett and Lilac, go everywhere with me. I mean EVERYWHERE! They jump into the jalopy with me and are my extra layer of skin all day – the buffer that makes it easier to glide through life. They are my exclamation point at the end of a happy moment!  They pull me out of funks. Everyone should own a dog. They are life changers – like raising  kids, like taking care of an elderly/sick parent, like birth/death….What they teach you, allow you to experience, runs deep!

They love to run! Or walk or trot or … prance. Get a dog and walk him or her every day and you’ll lose 10, 15 pounds EASY. I WILL HAVE A DOG – EVEN IF IT’S A TINY TEA CUP POODLE IN MY DOTTY OLD AGE – UNTIL THE DAY I DIE. Most dog owners feel the same way.

I have friends who are dog crazy too and have shared their dog stories with me through the years.

Here are some of my personal pup ideas/tips – mostly learned from experience (plus a few gleaned from  my pals’ pup “tales” ). They are for our esteemed Worcester City Council to “chew on” as it comes up with a dog park plan – in earnest this time around. For the city. For the dogs – especially those without a fenced-in back yard, our canine heroes who adjust to cramped, concrete-filled inner-city life with a wag of their tails because they love their masters so much and because dogs, if raised with love, are naturally ebullient, optimistic souls!

It’s only taken the City of Worcester 10 years to get serious about building dog parks. And believe me: build them and dogs and their owners will come! Wiggle your bums everyone, wag your tails everybody!!! Be like a pup!

Ideas:

1. Build 2, 3 or even 4 municipal dog parks:

one for toy/small dogs

another for our average mutts

another for our senior/older dogs or dogs with disabilities/cancer

and another for big/or very athletic/ very strong dogs

Dogs follow pack rules and spend much of their lives negotiating and renegotiating their rank in the pack. Usually, the strongest and biggest and smartest dog is #1. He or she is in their physical  and mental prime: they’re around 3 years old  – wicked healthy, fast, and strong  and, mentally, they’ve lost their puppy naivete/inexperience but haven’t entered old fart grumpiness. Any dog who meets another dog will immediately work to figure out who’s top dog. If the dogs are well socialized by their owners, this usually involves smelling butts and playing, sometimes a bit rough. Poorly socialized dogs will fight. That’s why the City of Worcester must create fairly level playing fields for the dogs and to “expell” the combative dogs from the dog parks until they are properly socialized.

Greyounds and Huskies have very high prey drive. But they are friendly, nice dogs a la my Jett. HOWEVER, if you mix them with tiny toy dogs, they may think the teeny toy dogs are little, tail-less squirels and give chase, savoring the exhilarating hunt, and kill the little guy or gal. Dogs hunt efficiently. It will be a blood bath but it will be over quick. People will be traumatized; they will be begin calling their lawyers IMMEDIATELY.

20160803_103314-1-1-1-1
Jett!!!!! Most Huskies love the hunt!

My first dog Grace was the sweetest dog in the world. But when I took her to parks, meadows or fields, Grace, in her prime, stopped being my gentle loving companion and became GRACE QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE, huntress extraordinaire. It was like she was in a kind of spell … She ran down and killed: squirrels, chipmunks, mice, woodchucks, skunks!!!, huge crows. She once came back running to me, blood dripping from her muzzle, with what looked to be a big joint…from the pelvis area…I went to the vet. Stop this blood lust! I cried! He said: Impossible, Rose. Gracie has a high high high high prey drive. Walk her on a leash. Which I did. For the next 8 years.

2. All Worcester dog parks dogs MUST HAVE ALL THEIR VACCINES, plus the shot to prevent kennel cough. Dogs, like my friend’s puppy, can die from parvo if they are not vaccinated and run into a dog that has the disease. Kennel cough is catching and painful! The dogs hack and hack and their coughs are deep and painful. One year I didn’t vaccinate Jett against kennel cough – it’s not mandatory unless you board your dog. He caught this doggy flu and was miserable. The vet fixed him up with antibiotics, etc. When Jett felt stronger I got him  kc vaccinated.

Spaying or  neutering is good, too. Unneutered male dogs are more aggressive – especially with other dogs. Also, two unfixed dogs = a litter of puppies! Ooops! You’re a granny or grandpa!

* The dogs should be walked before entering a dog park – exercised, otherwise they are gonna explode with energy at the park. Ideally, a dog park is for dogs to socialize and have fun with each other.

* Dog owners, be aware! Don’t flirt or gab your way to oblivious-ness. Dog owners are usually as friendly as their dogs – and have fun dog stories to tell. People may even fall in love with each other –  or at the very least hook up – at Worcester dog parks! I know years ago, at Institute Park, walking Grace I met a tall handsome guy walking his tall handsome dog and fell head over heels in infatuation – with the guy! Needless to say, for the next two years I walked Grace (off lead) in Institute Park every day looking as cute as I could muster while running after my dog who had a screaming squirrel in his clenched teeth, she had just broken it’s neck! – me screaming DROP THE SQUIRREL GRACE! OH GOD! DROP THE SQUIRREL GRACE!!! A  love affair is great, but always keep at least one eye on your dog.  She – like you! – works fast and can get herself into trouble! Like you. Fast. Like you.

* Bring water…

… And poop bags. Always clean up after your dog!  Sorry to say this writer is  sometimes remiss. It is just that I have so much other “shit” in life to deal with!  Exhausting. Jett and Lilac are little poop factories, too! Plop. Plop. Icky. BUT I WILL BE GOOD. I WILL BRING SHAWS AND PRICE CHOPPER PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS to pick up the poo. Promise.

That’s it for now!

Go, Worcester dogs, go!!!

InCity Voices

FREE SUMMER FUN FOR KIDS! Thanks City of Worcester and friends!

IMG_0659

IMG_0669

IMG_0655

Recreation Worcester is a free program for youth ages 7 through 13.

It includes free, supervised, recreation programming at 10 parks across the City, Monday through Friday from June 27th through August 19th from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.

Drop in any time! Come for a few hours, a few days or the whole week.

Parks will be staffed by trained Youth Workers who will facilitate sports, literacy and arts programs.

Programs will be offered at the following sites:

Beaver Brook Park
9 Mann Street

Burncoat Playground
526 Burncoat Street

East Park
180 Shrewsbury Street

Grant Square
21 Northampton Street

Greenwood Park
14 Forsberg Street

Kendrick Field
40 Brooks Street

Lake Park
281 Lake Avenue

Logan Park
539 Mill Street

University Park
965 Main Street

Vernon Hill Park
43 Ames Street

REGISTER now!

Registration is now available online, or can be filled out at the following Worcester Public Schools:

Belmont, Canterbury, Chandler Magnet, Gates Lane, Goddard, Lincoln Street, Midland Street, Norback, Quinsigamond School, Rice Square, Roosevelt, Tatnuck Magnet, Woodland Academy, Worcester Arts.

Also at the Worcester Public Library’s children desk at any of the One City One Library locations and/or the main library on Salem Street.

You must register before participating in Recreation Worcester.

All Worcester youth are welcome between ages 7 and 13.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Can the child go to any park, or do they have to go to the one in their neighborhood?
A: Yes, they can go to any park.

Q: Can they go to different parks each time, or are they locked in once they choose?
A: They can attend any park.

Q: Will food/snacks be provided?
A: Yes, both lunch and dinner.

Q: What happens if the parent can’t pick up their child on time?
A: All parents must pick their children up by 5:30 PM, however if they are running late they must call the Program Director.

Q: Can children walk to and from the park, or do they need a parent to drop them off/pick them up?
A: Children may walk to and from the park. That is to the discretion of each parent.

Q: Who should we call with questions? Who is Customer Service’s contact person?
A: John Genkos, City Manager’s Office.

Q: How many employees will be at each site?
A: Between 5 and 6 staff at all times.

Q: Is there a cost to the program?
A: No, this is a free program.

Q: Is there a deadline for registration?
A: No, there is a rolling admission.

Q: Do children register once at the beginning of the program? Once for each park? Once per visit?
A: Children are registered only on the first visit to the park and at any park; it’s a universal application for the program.

Q: Will parents be notified if a day is cancelled?
A: The City of Worcester and WPS will notify parents ahead of time of any cancellations via a text or phone call.

Q: Why would a day be cancelled (severe weather/heat)?
A: Programs will be cancelled due to severe weather such as thunder storms, tornado warnings, hurricanes, etc. Emergency shelters will be provided.

– from The Mayor’s Office and City of Worcester website

Animal Issues

City of Woo parked in A.I. … RECREATION WORCESTER! Free Summer Fun for kids!!!

But first …

image030

*******

Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty & City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. …

… invite you to an exciting announcement of …

RECREATION WORCESTER SUMMER PROGRAMMING
& YOUTH JOBS INITIATIVE

Tomorrow!!!Tuesday, June 21

4 PM

Vernon Hill Park
43 Ames Street

Yipee!

InCity Voices

District 4 needs daily trash pick up

Pics+text by Rosalie Tirella

… Or free yellow garbage bags

Or … something! This visual pummeling can’t continue! This public health disaster hurts our kids – many poor and already behind the 8 ball!

We here in D 4 are not the suburbs! We’re not even the West Side or Burncoat – we are true city, lots of inner-city spaces.

We need SOLUTIONS NOW!

I took these photos in Green Island, lower Vernon Hill, even Stafford Street, during these past few weeks. This says EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR CITY – OUR VALUES, OUR WORLD VIEW, our relationship to outsiders. This urban messy piss pot cancels out all the accomplishments. People leave the Hanover, drive to the expressway … and see discarded tattered office chairs or even bureaus on our streets and on-ramps. They see green leaf or contractor bags filled with crap that the city ignores on trash pick up day because the bags are not official, City of Worc.-sanctioned garbage bags. JUST PICK THEM UP ON TRASH DAY, CASSELLA GUYS! Please! They decompose on the sidewalks over time! And with summer here, the stench will be unbearable. Rats galore …

The Worcester trash problem discourages solid folks from buying homes or renting apartments here, the second largest CITY in New England; it keeps small businesses at bay. Visitors remember the negative – and tell their friends! And laugh! We are not the utility closet of New England any longer – but its Dumpster.

I’ve never seen it so bad! And I grew up poor on these streets years ago!

We are killing our city, Mayor Joe Petty and city council! This is so heart-breaking for responsible residents who clean, pick up after neighbors, call city hall to get some help – EVERY DAY. Every day! And let’s not get started on discarded syringes!

20160526_144016

20160526_143748

20160522_194050-1-1

20160522_194042-1

20160520_154732_HDR-1-1-1

20160520_154811_HDR

20160520_144049_HDR

20160511_175133_HDR-1

20160511_175154_HDR-1

InCity Voices

City Manager Augustus, Double Standards Mean Racism! Rally TOMORROW before City Council meeting! Be there!

By Gordon Davis

On April 1, 2016, City of Worcester Chief Development Officer Michael Traynor got out of his car at Worcester City Hall and berated a Black man who was letting his family off on Front Street.

Mr. Traynor admits saying to the Black man “Fucking Asshole.” Mr. Traynor denies he called him a “Fucking Asshole Nigger.”

Of course, the Black motorist complained to the Worcester City Manager’s Office and to Dr. Carter, the recently hired City of Worcester Chief Diversity Officer. 

There was an investigation conducted.

We soon found out that Dr. Carter has no authority or power on racist incidents of which City of Worcester employees are accused.

We also found out that the City of Worcester Human Rights Commission also has no authority to investigate complaints against the City of Worcester.

It is not clear who conducted the investigation into the alleged racist and vulgar slurs said by Mr. Traynor.

During the investigation Mr. Traynor admitted saying “fucking asshole,” but he denied saying “nigger.”

The City of Worcester has not made a copy of the investigation public. It only released a sort of summary to the victim-motorist.

This whole process is a racist double standard.

Most double standards are indications of some sort of discrimination.

In this case, it indicates the racism still rampant in Worcester City Hall. Please recall the malicious prosecution by Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus of the BlackLives Matter protestors, when the WPD police at the scene said there was no criminal activity. The judge in the case also dismissed all criminal complaints and made the matter a civil case.

Also consider that the City of Worcester released to the public private personnel information about the Black workers at Mosaic. The investigative report is not a part of a personnel file and, even if it was, the City of Worcester has released the personnel data of non-City Black workers at Mosaic.

The investigative report on Traynor is a public document, given the public records laws of Massachusetts, and should be made public.

Mr. Traynor has admitted his unprofessional actions by confessing to a road rage incident that included vulgarity.

This unprofessional behavior in itself is sufficient for termination. 

Although he has denied the racial slurs, there is a perception that he is a racist and should no longer be in what should be a public space free from racism – Worcester City Hall.

TOMORROW, TUESDAY, May 17, 2016, a coalition of activists and concerned people, including Mass. Human Rights Committee and the Progressive Labor Party, will hold a protest rally in front of Worcester City Hall, Main Street, at 6 PM.

At 7 PM the group will take their demands to the Worcester City Council.

The demands include releasing the Traynor investigative report, appropriate discipline for Mr. Traynor, and the Worcester City Council adopting a policy of releasing investigative reports to the public for cases involving alleged racism by City of Worcester employees. 

InCity Yum Yums

Gordy parked in yum yums!

Judge Dismisses Defamation Case

By Gordon Davis
 
Judge Brian Davis threw out my defamation case today May 10, 2016. Judge Davis made it clear – in a nice way – that we were not related! I cannot say that lawyer Margaret M. Melican was a nice person. I suppose she, like Aiden Kearney, cannot help their obsession with mocking people. She also posts comments in TurtleBoy Sports in rhyme, besides being its attorney.

When I asked the court to allow my wife to help me with my papers because of my low vision, Ms. Melican mocked us by saying, “I wish I had a wife.”

This ridicule and mockery by her did not escape the attention of the Judge, who rhetorically asked Ms. Melican, “So she could help you with your papers?”

He also said he read my complaint and could not find that Aiden Kearney nor TurtleBoy Sports libeled or defamed me. He based his ruling on the general tenor and context of the defendant’s blog.

The Judge ruled that there was some political content to the blog. In so many words his ruling was: People can say the most outrageous things, and it is not defamation, as long as it has a political context.

Although disappointing, the ruling will give guidance to other publishers and writers in Worcester.  You can call any politician or public figure, such as Worcester City Councilor Michael T. Gaffney, anything as long as you mention some political issue which the politician has taken a position or not. The ruling will help in my case against Gaffney.

I was somewhat comforted that the Judge said no reasonable person could believe anything that the defendants wrote, especially when they called me crazy and mentally unstable. The Judge implied that I was neither. However, there is a danger to the words of a racist blogger like Aiden Kearney and TurtleBoy Sports. The danger is seen in the racist ranting of a city boss against a dark-skinned Hispanic man on April 1, 2016. He was upset that the dark-skinned man was dropping his family off at Worcester City Hall and had blocked his car. Words were exchanged and the city boss allegedly shouted: F##cking a##hole n#gg#r.  
 
Kearney and TurtleBoy Sports has made it OK to be racist in Worcester.

This is seen nationwide, as the Donald Trump effect where the Ku Kluxers openly support Trump.

In Worcester, I call it the Michael T. Gaffney effect.

City Councilor Gaffney has been perceived to be a racist, due to his many actions having disparate impacts on Black people in Worcester.

For now, we will have to fight the racists and their bloggers with words. Those are not the only weapons in our fight for equality and justice. The fight may be fought in the streets, such as we’ve seen in the BlackLives Matter civil rights movement.

The City of Worcester has investigated the incident I have described, above. The City has refused to make public its investigation. There should be demonstrations and other events to force the City of Worcester to release the documents.