508_034 audio 508_worcester audio_podcast audio_misc 508 is a show about Worcester. This week's panelists are Cha-Cha Connor, <a href="http://www.radioball.net">Brendan Melican</a>, and <a href="http://www.wccatv.com/snowghost">Bruce Russell</a>. The show begins with an excerpt from Fr. Bernie Gilgun's <a href="http://www.PieAndCoffee.org/2008/05/05/tom-lewis-memorial-mass/">homily</a> at the memorial mass for <a href="http://www.PieAndCoffee.org/2008/04/05/tom-lewis">Tom Lewis</a>. Cha-Cha was part of a <a href="http://worcester.indymedia.org/node/26783">Real Solutions press conference</a> this week looking to change people's attitudes towards "sex workers" and "drug users," among others. Real Solutions has asked the City Manager for information about the state of rooming houses and "SROs" in Worcester over the past decade. The license commission <a href="http://telegram.com/article/20080509/NEWS/805090687/1008/NEWS02">suspended the city license for a gun range</a> and will <a href="http://telegram.com/article/20080509/NEWS/805090686/1008/NEWS02">allow alcohol to be served</a> at an event at Green Hill Park. City Councilor Joff Smith has suggested the city <a href="http://telegram.com/article/20080509/NEWS/805090713/1116">start a lottery</a>. <a href="http://renegadeblogspot.blogspot.com/">"Renegade blogger" Marc Reece</a> had a bad experience with <a href="http://www.ksmmonline.com/">Karon Shea Modeling</a> and started a blog about it. Mike ties this to some of the ideas in Clay Shirky's great new book <a href="http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/"><em>Here Comes Everybody</em></a>. <a href="http://www.wormtowntaxi.com/2008/05/empty-advice.html">Jeff Barnard</a> and <a href="http://www.wtag.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=137313&article=3659767">Jordan Levy</a> have criticized some of the recommendations the Research Bureau made about the city's finances. Mr. Levy's blog now has an <a href="http://www.wtag.com/script2/rss.php?f=137313">RSS feed</a>. Jeff: <blockquote>They recommend that the city sell, among other things, <em>the airport</em>. . . . the city's been trying to sell the airport since the beginning of time . . . They'll probably recommend in some future report that the empty mall on Front Street should be redeveloped . . . .</blockquote> We experiment with reading Mr. Levy's blog aloud. <blockquote>Brendan: You, Mike Benedetti, just fixed everything that's wrong with Jordan Levy. Mike: As Muhammad Ali said of someone else, he's "too old and too ugly to be the champion. Look at me! I'm pretty!"</blockquote> The <em>Telegram & Gazette</em> spammed Mike this week. Jeff Barnard pointed out that blogging for the <em>T&G</em> is <a href="http://www.wormtowntaxi.com/2008/05/t-ripoff.html">a rip-off</a>. This week's best online discussion threads include <a href="http://radioball.net/2008/04/30/but-think-of-the-children/">this one about school funding</a> and <a href="http://worcesteria.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/wrta-budget-questions/">this one about WRTA funding</a>. Fitchburg is <a href="http://progressivefitchburg.blogspot.com/2008/05/people-need-dictionaries.html">cutting library services</a>. <a href="http://papastraighttalk.blogspot.com/2008/05/budget-saving-grocery-shopping.html">Papamoka </a> and <a href="http://www.wormtowntaxi.com/2008/05/papamoka-pricerite.html">Wormtown Taxi</a> posted some interesting info about groceries. Mike encourages you to hike the <a href="http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~benedett/hikes/mmt/">Massachusetts Midstate Trail</a> and read his <a href="http://www.archive.org/download/midstate/midstate.pdf">thru-hiker's guide (PDF)</a>. 2008-05-09 2008 508; Worcester; podcast 2008-05-09 14:06:49 2008-05-09 14:05:54 mike.benedetti@gmail.com 2008-05-09 14:07:48 Mike Benedetti