Tag Archives: Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

… that we wrote about a week or so ago when we were posting on the Brady Sullivan deal and the former Worcester County Courthouse. … I wanted to add it to the other two Murray fund-raising scandal stories I had posted, but I couldn’t locate it … I have made some sentences bold.

– R. Tirella

Murray’s exit good news for Democrats

By Scot Lehigh

Globe columnist January 18, 2013

In his six years as a statewide office holder, Tim Murray has pulled off an astounding feat. He has become that rare politician who seems too small for the lieutenant governor’s job.

It’s not just that Murray never grew in the job. He actually seemed to shrink there. That reality makes Murray’s announcement that he won’t run for governor good news for the Democratic Party and a victory for common sense.

In his letter to supporters, Murray invoked the usual malarkey that politicians resort to when they decide retreat is their best course: Running would require too much time away from his family.

But everyone knows the real reason Murray is bowing out. After his entanglement with ethically challenged Middlesex County rogue Michael McLaughlin, the lieutenant governor was and is a severely damaged figure.

When the Globe reported that McLaughlin, then the hugely overpaid Chelsea housing authority chief, was raising political funds for Murray, in possible violation of federal law, Murray and his team seemed utterly clueless about how to handle it.

Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, Murray claimed he hadn’t realized that McLaughlin was raising money for him. He further complained that no one had told him about McLauglin’s unsavory reputation. Had that latter assertion been true, the best one could say is that it made Murray look like either a dope or a dupe. But as I’ve previously reported, several credible sources say that Murray had indeed been warned about McLaughlin.

His political team seemed to think that ducking into a gopher hole and leaving the impression that Murray was somehow constrained from discussing the matter because McLaughlin is under investigation was a savvy strategy. Actually, that made Murray seem like someone with something to hide, an elected official unwilling to level with the press or the public.

Inside the administration, meanwhile, there were regular worries about the political allies Murray pushed for government posts, all with an eye to his political future.

A prime example of Murray’s propensity for playing pack-a-hack was his recommendation of McLaughlin’s son Matthew for a $60,000 post on a state board that hears appeals from people who have lost their licenses. That appointment came despite Matthew McLaughlin’s own spotty driving record. After the larger McLaughlin scandal broke, the Patrick administration broomed the younger McLaughlin from that job. Murray also embarrassed the administration by larding up various housing authority boards with his cronies.

Still, despite his many political liabilities, Murray would have occupied a certain political space in a Democratic field: That of a reasonably well-funded insider with a network of party regulars and strong ties to organized labor. In this day and age, those are only middling assets, but they could have made him a factor in the Democratic field.

But even in the unlikely event that he had emerged as the nominee, he would have been easy picking for Republican Charlie Baker, if, as expected, he runs again.

At this early stage, the Democrats lack a particularly persuasive gubernatorial hopeful. But Murray’s announcement at least means they won’t be embarrassed by a thoroughly unpersuasive one.

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog

The Tim Murray shit-machine

April 6, 2015 admin

By Rosalie Tirella

Or: BACKROOM, INCESTUOUS WORCESTER POLITICS! AGAIN!

Well, looks like BRADY SULLIVAN will get its way re: developing the old Worcester Courthouse, now that Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce head and failed/disgraced former lieutenant governor Tim Murray has put the screws on Mayor Petty, Woo City Councilor Ric Rushton and all the other small time politicians in this town.

Did you read The Boston Globe articles about Tim Murray’s main fundraising guy – Michael E. McLaughlin? Like THE WHOLE POLITICAL WORLD KNEW MURRAY’S GUY WAS CROOKED AND BREAKING LAWS! SO DID MURRAY! But he chose to hitch his wagon to the guy cuz he wanted to WIN and didn’t care how rotten the means were to his political ends. Says a TON about Timothy Murray and ambition gone rogue.

Here are The Boston Globe stories:

1. CLICK HERE

2. AND CLICK HERE

Did you know this factoid?

From CITY of WORCESTER WORKER and former Worcester city council candidate MIKE LAVIN:

Several years ago, another Worcester city worker, part-time, a young guy IN A WHEEL CHAIR, got on the Internet to support Tim Murray’s OPPONENT – when Murray was running for Massachusetts lieutenant governor.

Well, little Timmy (little in stature AND spirit!) found out that this kid in a wheelchair was not drinking the MURRAY KOOL AID. Murray flew into a rage and DEMANDED THAT THE KID IN THE WHEEL CHAIR BE FIRED FROM HIS PART TIME CITY OF WORCESTER JOB. Because he was not supporting Tim Murray for lieutenant governor.

Mike Lavin had to talk Murray down. He said: TIM! THE KID’S IN A WHEELCHAIR! Please!

Thank God for Mike Lavin. Murray backed down.

Now Worcester is once again stuck with this asshole, a guy who should be in jail but makes $200,000 a year at our chamber of commerce. Talk about nerve: Shortly after Murray was hired at the Chamber, he hired Christina Andreioli to essentially DO HIS JOB, creating the new chamber vp job especially for her. This means she does all the real work and Tim gets to run around town acting like a politician. So NOT WORTH $200,000 a year!

And I’ll tell you what: this chamber job will NOT reignite Murray’s dead as a door nail political career, no matter how many Worcester County businesses line up behind him and give him $$$$$. The Boston media will insist on uncovering the truth last time around, and the truth could land Murray in jail. It will be a blood bath. And his wife and daughters will drown in the blood, along with him. The Worcester press continues enabling Murray. Totally unhealthy for the city and, ultimately, for Tim Murray.

So … MURRAY HAD CHRISTINA WRITE AN EMAIL tonight URGING ALL CHAMBER MEMBERS TO PUSH FOR BRADY at tomorrow night’s Worcester city council meeting.

Murray also made THE CALLS to Mayor Joe Petty, City Council Economic Development Subcommittee head Ric Rushton and all his other boy buds on the city council.

Naturally, they all fell in line.

The economic development subcommittee meeting has been moved up to like 2 minutes before the city council meeting so Rushton and members can rubberstamp Murray’s demands.

Then onto the Worcester city council meeting, where Mayor Petty, who has just email-blasted a letter of support for the developer (cuz Tim told him to), will urge his colleagues to VOTE YES.

Because TIMMY TOLD HIM TO.

When Murray was in the thick of his criminal state campaign fundraising shit storm, a BOSTON GLOBE columnist wrote a brilliant column about Murray. About how Murray was making the governor’s race and office small. As in small time, ward boss petty small, political hack small, greasy haired pols who wanted their palms greased for delivering the goods small, old time Boston politics small, backroom deals small. Tim Murray had made a world class state race … feel crooked and provincial. SMALL.

And that was a shame.

But tonight, just like when he got the Worcester city council to dump former Worcester City Manager Tom Hoover, Tim Murray moved BIG but acted SMALL. He made his behind the scenes phone calls, twisted arms off the council floor, mailed last minute letters to WIN. SHUT OUT the opposition. Put an end to real DIALOGUE …

Worcester government in action. Transparent as dog shit.

The Tim Murray shit-machine.

InCity Feature, InCity Voices, Uncategorized

Worcester FOOD HUB meeting today at Hanover Theater! FREE! Please attend! Fight for food justice! Fight for economic development in Woo! ALSO: ICT Food Hub story by Congressman Jim McGovern

February 18, 2015 admin

Food hubs grow our local economy, especially immigrant and first-generation endeavors, and they bring produce at affordable prices to inner-city kitchens!

A FOOD HUB FOR WORCESTER!

Once again, from REC …

Building A Sustainable Worcester: Taking Regional Food Hub from Vision to Reality

TONIGHT!

FREE!

HANOVER THEATER

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

We invite you to attend a free presentation TODAY, Thursday, February 19, co-hosted by the Regional Environmental Council, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Hanover Theater for the Performing Arts

Come learn more about the role food hubs can play in promoting Food Justice while fostering economic development.

FREE tickets can be reserved by calling the theater box office at 877-571-7469 or register online.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Regional Environmental Council of Central Massachusetts [aka REC] has received a planning grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts to explore the feasibility of establishing a Worcester Regional Food Hub in partnership with the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Food hubs are broadly defined as facilities that manage the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution or marketing of locally and regionally produced food.

We are thrilled to explore opportunities with diverse community stakeholders to dramatically increase access to healthy, affordable, local food in Worcester, while helping local farmers access new markets.

FOOD HUB Advisory Committee members include:

Central MA Regional Planning Commission

Central MA Workforce Investment Board

City of Worcester Division of Public Health

Clark University, Community Development & Planning Program

Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Smart Cities & Wellness Project

Lettuce Be Local

Northeast Organic Farming Association

Office of Congressman James P. McGovern

UMass Memorial Medical Center

UMass-Amherst Stockbridge School of Agricultural Extension

Worcester County Food Bank

Worcester Food & Active Living Policy Council

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Sustainable Food Systems Project Center

Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce

REC – Regional Environmental Council

P.O Box 255

Worcester, MA 01613

To learn more visit: http://www.recworcester.org/

*********

InCity Times is passionate about FOOD HUBS! Here’s Congressman Jim McGovern’s InCity Times kick-ass Food Hub cover story! He wrote it for us in 2013. – R. Tirella

WORCESTER COULD BE HOME TO STATE’S NEXT FOOD HUB

By Congressman Jim McGovern

What if I told you that within a quick drive of Worcester lies an incredible agriculture community you have never seen, touched, or tasted?

In 2010, there were nearly 8,000 farms in Massachusetts, according to the United States Census—the highest number in the state dating back to at least 1978. And that doesn’t count hundreds of additional community and personal operations that fall below the size threshold.

That’s thousands of farmers, right in our backyard. It’s a testament to the long endurance of some family farms, as well as a sign of the returning, growing impact of farms on our local economy and society.

It’s a move that parallels the so-called “locavore movement” towards locally-grown food over the past decades; a demand that has grown as we have all learned about the economic and health benefits to buying and eating local.

Yet, despite the breadth and increasing number of farms in Massachusetts, in our urban centers such as Worcester, there remains a huge physical and emotional disconnect between the producers (the farmers) and the consumers (us).

Despite the presence of some truly admirable local farmers markets, there is a gap in our food infrastructure that prevents food produced in the state from getting to the consumers who want and would benefit from it the most.

As I’ve travelled around the 2nd Congressional District, visiting farms across Central and Western Massachusetts, the most oft-cited challenge relayed to me by small to mid-sized farmers and producers is a lack of processing, packing, and storage space to get their products ready to sell and ship.

It leaves us with a major question: What if we could drastically improve the economic output of local farmers, allowing them to grow their businesses, while simultaneously making good, fresh, healthy, locally grown products more available to consumers who want them in cities like Worcester? It’s clear that if we could bridge that gap, there would be a huge impact on our local, regional, and state economies, as well as a huge societal benefit.

I believe that Worcester can be the epicenter of that impact by being the home of an innovative concept known as a “food hub.”

The word “Food Hub” can encompass a variety of operations, both in terms of size and scale, but the National Food Hub Collaboration defines regional food hubs as “a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.”

In essence, food hubs allow small and midsized farms reach markets and consumers they’ve never had access to. They provide a central collection point for products from a variety of farms; they provide space and equipment for processing, packing, and storage. And they provide an economy of scale, allowing smaller local farms to pool their products and sell to larger consumers, such as grocery chains.

In many ways, food hubs are a return to the traditional economic values that made Massachusetts and New England so strong. Food hubs allow for a stronger local food economy based on closer relationships between farmers and consumers. They allow institutional buyers, such as hospitals, a greater opportunity to provide the healthy, local food they want to, but can’t always access.

Though food hubs are relatively new, there is a demonstrable positive economic, social, and environmental impact where they are located. Based on the 2011 National Food Hub Collaboration Survey, food hubs gross nearly $1 million in annual sales on average, with many reporting double and triple-digit annual sales growth.

That same survey reported that, although the majority of food hubs have been in operation for five years or less, there is a clear and immediate impact on job opportunities. For example, the Local Food Hub in Virginia, which opened in 2009, had already created 15 paid jobs at its distribution and farm operations. And that says nothing for the spin-off job growth at the farms that utilize the hub. Green B.E.A.N Delivery, a food delivery business that serves Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, estimates that since 2007, the company has invested more than $2 million in local food economies and helped create more than 100 jobs in the Midwest.

I look at those stunning numbers, combined with the growing demand for local food, and it’s clear that a regional food hub belongs here in our city. This is an idea I am passionate about, and one that I plan on continuing to talk about with local, state, and national partners in the coming year.

Food hubs must be a critical piece of how we think about our broader economic development strategy in Massachusetts, and I believe that Worcester is the right location. We have strong local leadership on local food issues, through groups such as REC, and we have a geographic location that makes us an enviable location for any statewide distribution network.

The question for me isn’t whether we’ll see a food hub built somewhere in Central Massachusetts—it’s when and where. We’re a state with agriculture resources beyond what many of us have traditionally realized, and a consumer base chomping at the bit to take advantage of those resources. If we can only build the bridges, we’ll be healthier food wise, and economy wise

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Hope gov-elect Charlie Baker reads this editorial …

November 8, 2014 admin

… because this is how it feels for most of us Worcesterites! Read this editorial from The New York Times because the right-wing Telegram and Gazette editorial board won’t print the truth for ya and former Democratic hero and Mass Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray, now making $200,000 a year at the Chamber of Commerce, urged everyone to VOTE WRONG ON THE BALLOT QUESTIONS, shitting all over working people (and the environment). Murray, this past election, was anti-living wage, anti-expanded bottle bill, anti-earned sick time … what a whore.

– Rosalie Tirella

Job Growth, but No Raises

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

NOVEMBER 7, 2014

The employment report for October, released on Friday, reflects a steady-as-she-goes economy. And that is a problem, because for most Americans, more of the same is not good enough. Since the recovery began in mid-2009, inflation-adjusted figures show that the economy has grown by 12 percent; corporate profits, by 46 percent; and the broad stock market, by 92 percent. Median household income has contracted by 3 percent.

Against that backdrop, the economic challenge is to reshape the economy in ways that allow a fair share of economic growth to flow into worker pay. The October report offers scant evidence that this challenge is being met. Worse,the legislative agenda of the new Republican congressional majority, including corporate tax cuts and more deficit reduction, would reinforce rather than reverse the lopsided status quo. …

To read entire editorial, CLICK HERE

Green Island Grrrl, Rosalie's Blog, Uncategorized

Tweaked: This St. Patrick’s Day weekend Tim Murray gets amnesia

March 14, 2014 admin Leave a comment

By Rosalie Tirella

Cynical people in Worcester knew this would happen. I was a wee bit optimistic. I was hoping former lieutenant governor and now present-day chamber of commerce head Timothy Murray would transcend his 2014 job title and do the right thing, do what he would have done if he were still Massachusetts lieutenant governor: support the call for a hike in the state’s minimum wage. Before he let his ambition run ram shackle over his morals. Oh, well, it was Tim’s political life to lose …

But now our disgraced former lieutenant governor is head of the local chamber of commerce, hauling in an obscene $200,000 a year salary! Wow! How lucky can you get?! You’d think the least the little twerp could do was throw a bone to the working stiff/stiffette and back an increase in the state’s minimum wage, from $8 to $9 an hour (the first year). Half the people in Worcester seem to be making it! 8 bucks an hour. You try raising your family on that chicken scratch, Tim!

But forget empathy! Tim is all about ME! Is he supporting his former friends in the state house? DeLeo and company – the state LEADERS who are saying: Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states in the country in which to live and raise a family. Working people need to make more than $8 an hour! They need to make at least $11. We’ll start them off with $9.

Paltry increase, really. Forget chicken scratch – more like chicken shit. Yet Tim Murray, a guy who could, as chamber head, make a difference in the conversation Woo is having, make a compelling case for the increase, DO THE RIGHT THING, has clammed up. The little mollusk!

Shame on you, Tim! And on St. Patrick’s Day weekend when so many parade marchers or observers were/are maid or housekeepers or factory workers or the sons or grandsons of maids or housekeepers or factory workers. Your people, like my people (Polish and Italian immigrants), had it grindingly hard when they first came to America. Our people know how brutal and exploitative and racist the American economy can be!

Yet this weekend, you get amnesia. You have forgotten your roots! You didn’t forget them on the campaign trail several years ago! When you were running for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts you made it known in every one of your political brochures, push cards, speeches and TV and radio ads: THAT YOUR ROOTS WERE HUMBLE. THAT YOUR GRANDPARENTS WERE WORKING CLASS. THAT YOU WERE REAL. NOT A PHONY.

And voters believed you.

But that was then. This is now.

So embodying the sleaziest aspects of BEING A GOOD POLITICIAN you change your tune, or you shut up all together. You let working families dangle because you’re playing for the other team. You’re representing Worcester business these days, not the working poor, of which Worcester has many. Tons, actually!!!!

Maybe you can come out for the minimum wage increase if you look at it like this, Tim: Worcester’s downtown is a ghost-town. Our inner-city neighborhoods are struggling. By putting more money into the wallets of the very people who live in or near these Worcester neighborhoods, you will help revive the very Worcester businesses you aim to help! More money for the working poor means more money poured into the local economy, often the restaurants or shops RIGHT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS OR DOWNTOWN.

The money will flow back to Worcester businesses, Tim. An increase in the minimum wage will make Worcester families AND local businesses stronger.

But you don’t get it.

You were never too smart.