The street vendor war continues
The continued discussion of how to regulate Worcester street vendors Tuesday may have been the most exciting City Council meeting Worcester has had in some time, but not in a good way. It was a ridiculous exercise in just how juvenile, provincial and poorly informed some of our elected and appointed officials are. In particular, Mayor Lukes and Councilor Palmieri went out of their way to embarrass themselves and the City of Worcester. The eye rolling, face making and insults hurled at colleagues and constituents, you have to wonder if these two even realize people actually watch the meetings at home. Foolishness aside, the opposing armies in this debate have defined themselves and in effect, speak for themselves. It’s actually quite interesting when you look at the lists, as they break out into rather obvious personality types.
Representing Team Bat Shit Insane:
Mayor Konnie Lukes
At-Large Councilor Joseph Petty
District 2 Councilor […]
Original post by Brendan
A barroom full of nonsense
Here are just a few of the completely nonsensical arguments laid out in todays Telegram and Gazette by Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme regarding the cities new and ‘improved’ police detail policy for drinking establishments.
A bar or club may pay a couple of hundred dollars for one police officer to work a detail for four hours, but the city can face hundreds of thousands of dollars in liability if the officer has to use force to subdue an unruly patron and/or is injured while doing so, the chief said yesterday. The new policy should address that issue as well, he said.
So the obvious and immediate result of this policy will be either rebate checks to city taxpayers or increased funding to other city services? I can’t wait to see the savings during next years budget hearings.
“Think about it from this perspective; an officer is hired for $200 and the […]
Original post by Brendan
Th-th-th-that’s Alta folks!
This week Worcester Magazine reports the closing of the Alta Café at the hands of the Worcester License Commission. A mixed blessing for the neighborhood to be sure, as they’re slowly running out of people to blame common bad behavior and terrible public safety oversight on.
As expected, local curmudgeon Billy Breault wins the “I’ll eat my hat” award with this line:
“I think it will make for a much safer area.”
Glad you went on the record with that Billy, now when the area is exactly the same a year from now we can completely discount you and your inane opinions.
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Original post by Brendan
Time to meet Worcester’s Street Vendors
Here are just a few of the individuals Mayor Lukes and Councilor Palmeri insist pose a serious threat to the city of Worcester.
Original post by Brendan
Maxwell Silverman’s invades Union Station
Seems like a mostly good idea, even if the nepotism boarders on grotesque. I just hope the city administration and Mr Giordano realize the true potential of Union Station and keep the disco balls at Maxwell Silvermans.
The five-year lease, with a five-year renewal option, calls for Mr. Giordano to operate Maxwell Silverman’s Banquet and Conference Center and Luciano’s Café in 5,000 square-feet of first floor space formerly occupied by The Restaurant at Union Station. The restaurant closed last August.
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Original post by Brendan
A stupid week of stupid
Wow. This was a hell of a week for those of us who enjoy a good laugh at the expense of local elected officials and other public figures. At last count Worcester took exactly 32 baby steps backward this week, leaving us approximately in 1957. Good work Worcester!
Here’s the highlight reel:
Billy and Babs Up in Smoke
The Wheeler & Woolsey of the Worcester Temperance Movement, Billy Breault and Barbara Haller saw by far the most action this week. Not ones to settle with forcing a private business to pay police to patrol public ways the pair found the time to draft a letter to a whole bunch of local officials regarding the use of Narcan to keep people alive. The letter is ultimately an exercise in patience. If you could imagine an early alchemist attempting to debate a modern day theoretical physicist in the basic […]
Original post by Brendan
Don’t quote me on this
Some interesting happenings in the local booze and boobies markets today, with the City Council Public Safety Committee moving to amend our adult entertainment zoning in such a way that I may be forced to start wearing pants in my own shower. But the interesting thing about today’s coverage in the T&G was not the amendment coverage itself, but one tiny little detail which appears to be the lynch pin in the cities argument.
Back in Jan, when all this was kicking up, Zoback over at WoMag crafted a great story laying out exactly what is at play in this debate. He included a quote from a memo to City Manager O’Brien from Chief Gemme which stated:
“My concern is with the criminal activities associated with adult entertainment establishments. Numerous studies have shown that there is an increase in criminal behavior in the areas surrounding adult entertainment establishments and that […]
Original post by Brendan
Lukes says ¡No Más!
I’m a huge fan of Anthony Bourdains Travel Channel show No Reservations; I believe it may actually be the best thing on TV. If you’ve ever seen the show you realize much of the focus is on inexpensive local cuisine. When visiting urban areas, much of that cuisine comes from street vendors. […]
Original post by Brendan