State Representative Daniel M. Donahue (16th Worcester) will host office hours next week in the following location:
Thursday, March 27
12 p.m. -3 p.m. at the Worcester Senior Center
128 Providence Street.
Rep. Donahue encourages residents to attend these office hours with any questions about upcoming legislation or any personal matters.
Drop-ins are welcome, but feel free to schedule a time with Rep. Donahue beforehand by calling 617-722-2006.
Carol Claros and her daughter
By Rosalie Tirella
… has us intrigued. We are progressive Democrat all the way, yet we hate the machine that runs Woo local politics … the guys who get their pals in … the guys who get their pals the good-paying city jobs and lock out qualified (un-connected job applicants) … the guys who are arrogant and smooth and polished … the guys who play hard ball and black ball local folks who disagree with them … just because they can black ball folks who disagree with them.
We do, however, agree with them on ALL of the issues. This depresses us. Why can’t we like the people who share our goals and values? The guys with whom we agree when it comes to raising the state minimum wage, creating affordable housing, supporting working parents, etc? We love Jim McGovern and Gladys Rodriguez Parker but … .
Back to the state rep race! Dan Donahue, the Democratic candidate for the slot, is a kid who has worked (unimpressively, we think) for Worcester Mayor Joe Petty. He’s as smooth as a silk tie. Where did Dan stand on the Millbury slots casino issue? The casino would have been located next to the very Worcester neighborhood he lives in! Quinsig Village (same as me). Voters never knew where Dan stood. He did the verbal fancy dance as well as our local city councilors did when the casino was slated for Worcester: no comment … let the people of Millbury decide. Blah, blah, blah. Condescending. Arrogant. And he’s just a kid!
Carol, on the other hand, is refreshingly REAL. I have received pink campaign letters from Carol Claros! Pink! How wonderfully girly girl! But, make no mistake: Claros is a grown up woman! She is a single mom who works as a nurse in our prison system. She is a single mom who cares for her child, runs a home and is the main wage earner of her family. She commutes to Concord every day and says she will not need to be paid by the tax payers of MA for commuting to work. We believe her when she says this.
Claros includes a photo of her and her young daughter in her campaign letters. This, to a woman raised by a single mom who had to do all the things that Carol does every day (on a lot less $$), GETS TO ME! Makes me want to vote for her – even though we don’t see eye to eye on many issues. I wish we did … .
To learn more about Carol, check out her website: http://www.carolclaros.com/
editor’s note: He’s what Wondershit thinks of State Senator Harriette Chandler, one of the most forward-looking legislators in Massachusetts. She was just promoted to Majority Whip. No matter. Wonderpoop loathes her, too. Notice the age-ist remark at the end of his diatribe.
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Harriette Chandler and useless legislation – again
By Wondershit
So why push legislation that’s anti-job creation in the two largest metropoli in the state that needs jobs? Two areas totaling 116,786 unemployed or 48% of all unemployed in MA.
Let’s see, the unemployment rate is 7.6% in Worcester & County, 23k unemployed, or 10% of the state’s total unemployed. Boston’s at 6.0%, 94k unemployed, or 38% of the state’s total unemployed.
Thanks to Harriet Chandler those 117k people have no chance of getting a job because she decided that the residents of Worcester and Boston are not worth her patronage. Go figure. The economics of that decision are staggering – lost jobs, lost tax revenues, more state unemployment payments, increased welfare etc… who’s gonna protect us from politicians like Chandler?
For the 75 year old Harriet Chandler to push legislation that effectively keeps casinos out of Boston and Worcester is tantamount to economic sabotage and in fact was illogical because Boston and Worcester were never really in the running for a casino. Not to mention the timing of such legislation (during a recession) and the fact that out-of-state casinos have already siphoned off the populous’ cash years ago, and outlived their usefulness as a revenue source for the states who have them, clearly leaves one wondering, what the heck is Harriet Chandler thinking? Can she clearly think at her age? Apparently not.
Oughta be a law to keep old people out of politics.
By State Rep. Vincent Pedone
There has been quite a bit of activity at the State House since summer ended, and recently the House passed legislation expanding casino gaming in Massachusetts. The bill, which is designed to stimulate economic growth in the Commonwealth, will establish an independent gaming commission that could license up to three casinos in the state. 123 of my colleagues voted with me in passing this legislation, and it is our expectation that 15,000 jobs will be created in Massachusetts should the Senate and Governor approve it.
While casino gaming has dominated headlines across the Commonwealth, I also want to provide you with an update on another type of gaming legislation that I have been working on this past year – video gaming. In January, I filed a bill that would provide tax incentives to video game companies if they create jobs in Massachusetts.
Like the casino gaming legislation, my video game bill is designed to stimulate economic growth in the Commonwealth. I believe it will help make Massachusetts a hub for video game design and development, a burgeoning industry that is expected to surpass the size of both the music and movie industries by 2014.
By providing financial incentives to video game companies, the Commonwealth could attract and retain successful companies that already provide jobs to thousands of Massachusetts residents. Currently 76 video game companies employ more than 1,200 people here, and I believe we have the educational talent and resources to expand. Fourteen Massachusetts colleges have academic programs or courses in video game design, including Princeton Review nationally-ranked #6 WPI and #10 Becker College. Between those two schools, there are over 325 students in Worcester working toward degrees in video game design.
Massachusetts in the past has successfully nurtured the growth and development of business clusters in fields such as biotechnology, telecommunications, and healthcare. The Bay State’s unique mix of academic institutions, talented human resources, and venture capitalists enables it to take the lead position in different fields, and I believe we now are strongly positioned to be a leader in video gaming.
My bill is currently in the Joint Committee on Revenue, and a tentative hearing date is scheduled in October. By no means will this bill be a cure-all for our state’s economy, but it should stimulate growth in the Commonwealth if it passes.
Casino gaming and video gaming highlight Massachusetts’ necessity for economic stimulus, and both pieces of legislation are evidence that the legislature has already kicked back into high-gear. Much work is yet to be done, but I remain committed to helping our state’s creative economy grow.
By Rosalie Tirella
Wow! We had wanted to mention Joff Smith in our blog about moron’s (see below) because he embodies everything that is creepy about America: Joff Smith thinks he is a TV/movie star! Smith, who is in his late 20s, actually has an agent! Someone who tries to get him into the movies! Someone who actually makes calls on the behalf of Smith’s acting career.
Smith is ambitious beyond belief, but his ambition far outstrips his intelligence and ability. But hey, he looks good in a suit and smiles real nice. Why not vote for him? Why not send him to Beacon Hill? To Washington!
When Joff Smith isn’t trying to break into show biz, he is a Worcester City councilor – a job he doesn’t do at all. He has demagogued the Asian Beetle issue – bad beetles! Bad feds! Evil feds! But other than that, he has done pretty much nothing as Worcester City Councilor. He is lousy at constituent services. When constituent Jeff Richardson asked Smith to have the sidewalk in front of his house repaired 3 years ago, nothing got done. For 3 years! Just last week did he get results – probably because Joff really needs his vote. He also placed a Joff Smith lawn sign on Richardon’s lawn without asking; apparently Joff has been doing this all over the district! I saw him a month ago, wearing of all things white gloves as he gingerly placed a Joff Smith sign in someone’s lawn. Yes, wear those little white gloves, Joffy! We don’t want your precious little movie star hands scarred!
People in Smith’s city council district complain that he doesn’t return calls. When I tried to reach him a few years ago, the phone number City Hall provided me was Smith’s work number (most councilors list their homes as well). He never returned my call – I had to stay on him – and pry another number out of the City Council secretary. Continue reading Morons and Whores, Part 2: Worcester City Councilor Joff Smith and Paul Giorgio