October 05, 2008

Nick K

Good story today in the newspaper Nick K. How can the City Manager possibly recommend the addition of two positions to Neighborhood Services when he:
  • Forced retirees to go on Medicare, which I agree with
  • the Beattle Invasion
  • the cost of the sewerage upgrade by the EPA
  • collections by the Commonwealth are below expectations
  • Question 1
  • credit crunch

There is no other way to look at this decision then simply being bad management. The hidden cost of two employees, benefits etc, can not be overlooked and kudos to the City Councilors to insist that we make these contracted positions.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nick is always a good read, agree or disagree with the issue or various positions on the issue.

But Nick didnt really grab ny attention in Sundays paper the way the lead, front page, Sunday paper story did. THE SUMMER NATIONALS... and the topic of the story was the city only realizes $4M in spinoff vs the reported $20M.

T&G has to be kidding me! Now I know why I didnt even pick the paper up until 11:00 pm sunday night. This topic is Sunday headlines in October? The personalities involved aside, WT+ is with this hatchet piece and why? One man is responsible for bringing $4M of economic activity to the city including $30K directly to city coffers...all of this on major summer holiday weekend when Worcester is emptied out. Anyone ever take a ride through downtown on any major holiday weekends lately and notice how the streets & sidewalks are teamings with thousands of shoppers, walkers, gawkers, pushcart vendors, etc?

Christ almighty, if the T&G doesnt like the north Main st. activity on 4th July weekends, then maybe they should check out the south Main St activity on 4th July weekend or on any weekend. Start at Dunkin Donuts.

This piece is beyond ridiculous. Maybe a 3 paragraph story buried in the business section somewhere would suffice.........but front page Sunday T&G news? Surely, as Rosalie would say, the powers that be at the T&G must be jesting? With crap like this tossed across the Sunday T&G front page, how long can it be before the MILLBURY T&G, like the Boston Herald, is outsourced to Chicopee? Sad part is, that much of the article is based on analyzes by the T&G (WT+ do they know?) and by local economics professor who has probably never ventured off a college campus and probably only deals with textbook issues like Von Thunen's studies, Adam Smith, and the Kondratief Wave Theory.

Local restauranteur crying about the lack of spinoff to his Shrewsbury St. restaurant and dubbing the Summer Nationals crowd as the NASACR cooler (BYOB) bunch. Gimme a break and give this whiner some Kleenex. Maybe if there was a place for these old car afficianados to SAFELY park their $50,000+ classic and antique cars, then they would come to his restaurant. (Anyone ever see the auction prices on TV that these cars are fetching?). Sorry Mr Restuaranteur, but your lack of parking in general and secure parking in particular aint the Summer Nationals problem. BTW, do you suppose they fill their coolers locally or do they tranship warm beer to Worcester from Cow Hampshire?

Rather than concentrating on the over reporting economic of spinoff from the SUmmer Nationals, T&G s/b writing about the lack of any spinoff from Worcester Airport and ADDITIONALLY the $2M annual Black Hole the place has been, is and continues to be.


How about a piece on the The Hand It Over Theatre? City, state, & feds give the place about $8M in handouts.....the city gives the Summer Nationals nothing.......so where the ++++ is:

a. the pay back of the $8M?

b. the econ spinoff?

c. the $750,000 in ANNUAL property taxes that they sscrewed the city out of by moving the real estate to a non profit holding company?


God was I PO'ed late last night when I read this story. I could go on and on, but I have other things to do this morning. Let's get the investigative reporters over to the concrete Bunker at Lincoln Sq. and start busting on the WPD re: Paygate or the their responsibility for this weekends latest stabbing murder. Chief Gemme said in August that WPD is responsible for the "quiet summer" so WPD has to also be responsible for the autumn happenings as well....right?? Got to take the bitter with ther sweet. Frankly, I am beginning to wonder if maybe the "quiet summer" was the result of rains storms every night for 7 continuous weeks...as even the criminals are smart enough to come in out of the rain....right?

Time for the T&G to realize what side their bread is buttered on. This attack is reprehensible.

For the record, I am not a gearhead nor have i ever been to a racetrack or even a demo derby....someday I would like to...just to checkout the "scenery".....maybe that Prof from Mount St James would like to accompany me........get some grease under his nails and imbibe some Busch. I have been the Summer Nationals a number of times...what can I say..I did enjoy it. I will probably never go The Hand It Over Theatre.

Anonymous said...

What does theept. of Neighborhood Srvices do?

In terms of my 'hood................DPW plows, sands, picks leaves, patches, cut trees (doesnt pave my street).

Fire Dept covers me for whatever it is they do.

Police dept patrol drives over the street sometimes.

Building dept sents me a constable delivered letter b/c they say I had an unregistered caaaah once. Tbey dont realize that just b/c there are leaves on the car and they cant see see the rear license plate......doesnt mean it aint registered......dunderheads!!


What Does Neighborhood services do for my neighborhood. Can they get me paved?

Anonymous said...

Now today (Tues.) we get more Summer Nationals ink on the editorial page. What in gods name is wrong with the T&G.......a guy triggers a $4,000,000 econ. stimulus into the city every 4th July weekend for the last 19 years and gets ripped on the Front page of teh Sunday paper and again on the editorial page today.....that's 2x in 3 days.

Kind of reminds me ofWOMAG and how they have been known to rip into a former Worc banker/real estate tycoon.

Maybe the Summer national didnt pay their T&G advertising bill for last summer yet? What gives anyway?

How about some real investigative reporting instead of thsi borderline Yellow Journalism, masquerading as a story on under-reporting.....or maybe underreporting is now a crime? Is this one of the T&G's last gasps before the NYT's pulls the plug on this daily rag.