More pics from the Dive debate
Mike Benedetti has some more great photos from the debate this past Monday.
Public relations and a giant load of BS
Today’s T&G has coverage of Worcester State Colleges push for armed police on campus. Now anyone who’s familiar with me is sure to know I have no problem with guns. In fact I’d argue, we need more, not less of them. And if WSC wants guns I say we buy them a case of MP5’s just for fun; but can I kindly request that we fire WSC President Janelle C. Ashley and use her salary to buy the new armaments? PR and marketing is front line work, you can’t be a mindless boob and expect to do yourself any favors. So let’s ignore for a second Ms. Ashleys director of public relations and marketing Michael Wronski evoking September 11th as need for armed campus security; I’m a WSC neighbor as is Worcester Airport, I have a had time believing six shooters are going to make a worthy air defense system to protect school property from the Cessna’s which are apparently flying into the Learning Resource Center on a regular basis. And as a neighbor I’m going to be real pissed if someone does shoot down a plane to protect the school and it instead crashes into my head. Unless of course Mr. Wronski is talking about another September 11th, one that didn’t involve planes. In either case you’re just another douche who can find nothing more creative than fear to push an agenda.
No, lets ignore the apparent terrorist threat to the school and instead focus on the money quote from Ms. Ashley; the one I’m sure WPD Chief Gemme was thrilled to wake up to today.
“As you know, Worcester State borders the outskirts of the city and we calculate that the state police would take up to 20-30 minutes to respond and the Worcester city police 15-20 minutes. We have learned that a rapid emergency response is a critically important factor in containing serious incidents in which students or staff are in danger.”
Hmmm, 20min? Are the WPD being dispatched from Framingham now? Because a look at the WSC 2006 Jeanne Cleary Disclosure of Campus Security
Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act clearly states:
The College Police also maintains a close working relationship with both the State Police and the Worcester Police Department. In the rare event that it is necessary to request assistance of either agency, the average response time is less than five minutes.
Right. So here’s today’s lesson kids. PR and Marketing, like firearms, are very dangerous in the hands of amateurs.
wha?
All good ideas start in a bar
Somehow last nights Mayoral debate at the Dive Bar in Worcester actually happened. By 7pm tech issues with the audio and three cameras were worked out by Duncan Arsenault. Kaz Gamble was on hand to capture video and audio. Mike Benedetti had come through with an extra camera from WCCA . And Andrea Ajemian, Scott Zoback and Chris Kanaracus were all ready to unleash the fury of a thousand angry suns on the would-be Mayors. It really was a beautiful thing. Sure the night was goofy, full of clichés and there were no revolutions to be had, but for me that was the point. Present day Worcester has allowed itself to compartmentalize politics in a way that keeps it separate from everyday life; I feel like a little bit of that wall came down last night. So thank you to everyone who made this happen; the bar owners and staff, the moderators, the candidates (especially Mayor Lukes who blew off a previously scheduled fund raiser to be with us), the local press for helping legitimize something they could have easily ignored and most importantly the room full of Worcester voters who came down to drink a few beers and listen to what the candidates had to say.
And here’s Jeff the Taxi guy’s take (great meeting you Jeff)
photos courtesy of Duncan Arsenault
Sutner on Monday’s debate
A big thank you to the T&G and especially Shaun Sutner for coverage of this Mondays Mayoral debate at the Dive Bar in downtown Worcester.
Mr. Kanaracus, 33, now a technology journalist, joked that the contenders might loosen up a bit in the freewheeling atmosphere of a landmark local pub that has become known recently for its ample selection of micro-brews, craft beers and exotic foreign imports.
“Maybe if the candidates have a few, they’ll be more candid,” he said. “I know these candidates. I’ve locked horns with them before.”
Big News for Worcester Political Junkies
I’ve taken it upon myself to schedule a Worcester Mayoral debate for Monday, Oct 22nd at 7:30PM at the Dive Bar, 34 Green St in Worcester. The event will be co-hosted by my good friend and journalist extraordinaire Chris Kanaracus, along with some special guests. The debate will obviously be open to the public and being that it is a relatively small room I suggest you get there early. We’ll also have our pals Andrea and Kaz from Worcester Love on hand with all sorts of whiz bang video gear to record the night for broadcast on the web as well as WCCA, who appear interested in running the footage in the final week leading up to the November election.
And of course, all 16 taps and 70+ bottles of delicious, craft brew goodness will be available for your drinking pleasure. So please join us in welcoming Worcester politics back to its rightful place, the local watering hole.
15 Beaver
This giant bag of broken bottles has been sitting in front of 15 Beaver St in Worcester all day. Can one of you douchebags pick that up, please? Maybe someone from our newly christened “Clean Team“?
Game over on City Sq
Today the big T&G story was the apparent ‘grilling’ of City Sq developer Young Park. The whole thing is your typical don’t loose hope fluff, so much so that the actual lede of the story is buried way down deep where I’m sure it was missed by many.
Once tenants have been found, Mr. Park said, construction could get under way in about three years.
That should have been the headline right there. Sorry folks, it’s no secret how much I love this town and how big of a supporter of this project I’ve been; but we’ve been had. Three fucking years? That’ll put us in spring of 2011 for groundbreaking; at the very earliest. Fuck that noise, what we have here is some serious take to the streets bamboozling. It’s great to see that the council is appeased by that time line, but as residents we should be rolling Park and friends next time they’re in town. We have given away the keys to our downtown with no return on investment in sight and all we have to show for it is a fancy website. Shameful.
