508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Janeezzii Nyamekye, Jen Burt, Matt Feinstein, Clifford Reiss, and Brendan Melican .[display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Today’s the 1-year anniversary of the Stone Soup fire . We talk about the past and future of the artist/activist center. Also: the Joe Martin murder trial is over, and Councilor Rushton reopened the panhandling issue at this week’s City Council meeting....
Mar 26, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican and Jen Burt. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info CitySquare II, a subsidiary of Opus Investment Management , itself a subsidiary of Hanover Insurance, has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with Berkeley Investments to take over demolishing the empty mall downtown and build something else. This announcement may or may not mean that, after 6 years, some...
Mar 19, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike and Brendan do the show on a frozen pond. ( Today’s weather .) [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info If you want to get involved with the effort to bring Google Fiber to Worcester , you can get started with this map . Mike recommends the Central Mass Striders weekly 5k. Meet 8:30am Saturdays inside the Worcester State College gym. The School Committee raised the CFO’s salary to...
Mar 12, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike, Brendan, and Jim Dempsey talk with a class of Clark University students about campus and city issues. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Today’s topics are union activity at Clark, and trends in campus crime....
Mar 05, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info This week, Mike and Brendan begin with a recap of city government’s efforts to bring Google Fiber to Worcester . The Whiskerite charity beard competition raised almost $1000. Check out the video . We have learned of the origins of the “Right Place, Right Time” song . ( Video here, too .) Anyone have a copy of Worcester’s 1972 theme ? CSX wants to expand th...
Feb 26, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican , Scott Zoback , Jen Burt , and Jeremy Shulkin .[display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Inspired by Jeremy’s Worcester Magazine cover story “Selling Worcester: Who will take the lead to market our city?” , we discuss the rich oral tradition around Worcester’s many slogans , including the long-lost “Right Place, Right Time” and Bruce Russell’s “This City Shoul...
Feb 19, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester . This week’s panelists are Tracy Novick , Brendan Melican , Mike Benedetti, Jeff Barnard , Drew Wilson , Nicole , Bruce Russell , Matt Feinstein, Paul Levitsky, Kevin Ksen, Jesse Pack, and Jacob Berendes .[display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info This week, we ride the #2 and #16 buses and record the 100th show. Other posts: Bringing Google Fiber to Worcester Signs of Worcester: At least weâ€ve go...
Feb 14, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester . This weeks panelists are Greg Opperman , Tracy Novick , Brendan Melican , and Mike Benedetti . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Tracy , a School Committee Member, talks about fundraising efforts for the vandalized Belmont Street Community School. You can help . We spend most of the show talking about the upcoming city school budget, and why there always seems to be a funding crisis. Greg...
Feb 05, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panelist is Brendan Melican . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info There was a big rally for (now-Senator) Brown at Mechanics Hall ; the City’s considering banning plastic bags , though Mike has long advocated non-governmental action on this issue. Vegetarian Renaissance: vegan mac’n’cheese cookoff coming up; veg fest coming up; creative Dunkin Donuts event . (Non-veg: Dr. Gonzo m...
Jan 29, 2010
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican and Drew Wilson . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info We talk about a Brazilian policeman charged with the killing of a Worcester man , Salvation Army people denigrating the Worcester schools , and Planned Parenthood ads being kept off city buses . In veg news, there will be a Buddha Hut buffet Saturday, a vegan mac’n’cheese cookoff later in the month, an...
Jan 06, 2010
Not long before he retired, Fr. Ed Bell began his Christmas homily by asking if anyone remembered any of his past Christmas homilies. After an embarrassed silence, he laughed and said he didn’t remember any of them, either. That’s OK–Christmas isn’t about homilies. (Or blog posts.) mp3: “If I Had One Christmas Wish” Words by Bruce Russell. Music by Mike Benedetti. Performed by Benedetti and Russell with Sarah Assefa. From today’s homily by a different priest at the same parish: I don’t care if W...
Dec 25, 2009
This week: the 508 Christmas Spectacular! The panel is Julius Jones and Mr. Brendan Melican . Theme song: “If I Had One Christmas Wish.” Words by Bruce “Snow Ghost” Russell, music by Mike Benedetti. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Buddha Hut buffet Saturday ; Stone Soup party Friday; Winter Mystery Band signups happening now. The NYT is not selling the Worcester Telegram & Gazette . Top suggestions for the T&G...
Dec 11, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Scott Guzman, Heather Mackenzie , Drew Wilson , and Brendan Melican . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info This week is the 10th anniversary of the Cold Storage Fire ( photos ). Brendan explains the city maintaining its current tax structure . There’s an “energy barnraising” weatherization event at the Woo Church, 911 Main St, Worcester, Saturday, December 5th, 11-5pm. Dr...
Dec 04, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, we talk with legendary Telegram & Gazette columnist Jim Dempsey and his WPI class about the state of Worcester journalism and whether bloggers can help. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Two possible inspirations for Worcester amateurs: the NYT’s Virtual Assignment Desk , Clay Shirky’s “Let a thousand flowers bloom”...
Nov 27, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike and Brendan discuss a skateboarding accident. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info This week’s top story: US Rep. Jim McGovern skateboarded with Stephen Colbert . Mike compares his falling off the board to former Worcester Mayor Tim Murray’s disavowal of metal . (We previously tried to help Mr. Murray with his metal problem; we will make efforts to help Mr. McGovern as well.) ...
Nov 20, 2009
Last night there was a forum on “Shaping a Local Green Economy” at Clark University in Worcester. People experimenting with Worcester green initiatives, along with institutional players, spoke briefly about their work. The keynote speaker was Omar Freilla of the Bronx-based Green Worker Cooperatives . [display_podcast] My video of the event was only so-so, so I’m posting the audio of the Worcester speakers here for anyone curious about the range of local green things happening. mp3 link , more f...
Nov 19, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week Brendan Melican and Drew Wilson talk about a bald eagle. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Also: Buddha Hut’s vegan meatballs a top 10, Saturday is a VegWorcester buffet , Stone Soup porch burned , Rosen’s Roundtable talks taxes , and Hermis Yanis starts a podcast after his radio show is “terminated.”...
Nov 13, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Kevin Ksen, Brendan Melican , and Tracy Novick . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info We talk about the City Council election . We talk about the School Committee election. We talk about a new Worcester video site Mike’s playing with (and you should, too). We talk about a $10 million lawsuit against Worcester for an incident during the taping of the Fox TV show COPS in 20...
Nov 06, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Gabe Rollins . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info We talk about Gabe’s attempts to send his own survey to the City Council candidates; the “performance oval” behind City Hall; the Worcester energy barnraising ; and the pros and cons of voting ....
Oct 30, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Aria DiSalvo and Brendan Melican . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Aria DiSalvo tells us about the “Stop Spewing Carbon” anti-biomass incinerator campaign. Election molehills: Mayor Lukes’s husband has cars registered outside Worcester! Candidate O’Brien linked to his boss! Brendan talks about the police department’s latest feud with the newspaper. Mike talks about t...
Oct 23, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican and Drew Wilson . This week, we are snowed upon. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Fresh injera is available at Fresh Farm Deli, 560 Lincoln St, Worcester, Massachusetts. Big Y is carrying conspicuous amounts of locally-sourced food. The McDonald’s vegan “feed-in” was popular; there’s a bike ride to a local farm sanctuary picnic this weekend. We revisit...
Oct 16, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester . This week’s panel includes Drew Wilson and Brendan Melican . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info Brendan describes the recent city election debates . Drew talks about Worcester residents opposing cruelty to circus animals , another Buddha Hut buffet , and an upcoming event outside McDonald’s on Main Street; see also Futuristic Brunch . Annie loaned us a Worcester Bicentennial coloring book....
Oct 09, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, we talk about Worcester Magazine News Editor Scott Zoback leaving , what it would take to beef up accountability journalism in Worcester (inspired by a Clay Shirky lecture ), and legalizing medical marijuana in Massachusetts. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats 508 contact info In the coming weeks we will be interviewing Bill McCarthy and Rob Diaz. Feel free to suggest questions in the comments be...
Oct 02, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Brendan Melican and I talk with Grace Ross , candidate for District 4 City Councilor. [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed Video : Downloads and other formats Also: Mike reads a great letter in Worcester Magazine and begins a Clay-Shirky-inspired rant he doesn’t have time to finish. The “85%” number suggests 2 projects I didn’t have time to mention on the show. Figure out how the number was calculated, then apply it to our local situ...
Sep 25, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes Brendan Melican , Tina Zlody , and Worcester City Council candidate Mary Keefe . [display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed , lo-fi versions for slow connections Video : Downloads and other formats Gary Rosen plans to run for State Rep; Bill Coleman plans to run for U.S. Senate. Tina talks about the upcoming stART in the Street art fest and last week’s Pecha Kucha night. Mike recaps his analysis of City Council websites. Ma...
Sep 18, 2009
508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Brendan Melican and Bruce Russell talk with Kate Toomey about running for mayor of Worcester.[display_podcast] Audio : mp3 link , other formats , feed , lo-fi versions for slow connections Video : Downloads and other formats Also: no new info on political sign thefts; discussion of the pools issue and a curious incident with the City Manager; Dianne Williamson’s latest cry for help ; absurd self-parody from Jordan Levy. We never do get around to discussi...
Sep 04, 2009
