Worcester Magazine July 5 - 11, 2018

JULY 5 - 11, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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MADAM PRESIDENT Inside the office of the most powerful woman at the State House

Who has The Bravest Heart?

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Patients, others on edge as Plumley Village health clinic closing looms: The center is expected to close next Tuesday, and many — if not most — of the patients there have yet to find a primary care physician to replace the two clinic physicians. 4

in this issue J U LY 5 - 11, 2018 • V O L U M E 43 I S S U E 45

the cover

Madam President: Inside the office of the most powerful woman at the State House Story on page 12 Photo by Elizabeth Brooks, Design by Kimberly Vasseur

Teachers and First Responders Get First Dibs on Kummerspeck’s Fried Chicken: Fried chicken Monday at Kummerspeck guarantees half a bird “with fixins.” 21

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news Patients, others on edge as Plumley Village health clinic closing looms BILL SHANER

A

s the closing looms, it’s down to the wire for many of the roughly 2,000 patients of the Plumley Village Health Center.

The center is expected to close next Tuesday, and many — if not most — of the patients there have yet to find a primary care physician to replace the two clinic physicians.

Local advocates are calling on UMass Memorial Medical Center to honor commitments made to the patients and do more to help them find new doctors. They argue that many patients are still on waiting lists and still some that need assistance navigating the system enough to find new doctors. Though it’s confirmed that a few hundred patients have received new primary care doctors, the fate of many others remains up in the air.

“They’ve made promises. We’re asking them to stay true to that and to document it, in a sense, that that indeed has happened,” said Lou Soiles, a local pastor and member of the Plumley Village Health Coalition.

UMass, however, rebukes the notion they’ve not done enough. The administration laid out in a lengthy statement several steps to help patients find new caregivers in the UMass system.

We are committed to helping these patients transition their care to new providers,” said Tony Berry, a spokesman.

UMass has assigned staff to assist patients, overseen by interim President Jeff Smith, and the Plumley Village staff themselves have worked to help, he said. UMass officials, he added, made special considerations for pregnant women, high-risk pediatric patients and chronic opioid patients, and transferred 200 of the 2,000 patients to Dr. Katharine Barnard, who worked with them at the clinic.

UMass first announced in March it would close the clinic. At a forum in May, interim UMass Memorial Health Care President Jeff Smith said the clinic can no longer stay open because rising staff costs across the UMass

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system have forced administrators to consolidate. The closure is part of a $50-million plan to increase efficiency, according to UMass.

Of the roughly 2,000 patients it services at Plumley, 70 percent are Latino and more than half speak only Spanish.

The clinic, with its small and community-focused staff, was better suited to serve such a population than the UMass system on the whole, activists have argued. Doctors knew their patients, could communicate with them and made navigating the healthcare system easier.

Advocates have argued, at forums and City Council meetings, that the Plumley Village Health Plumley Village Health Center at 116 Belmont St. Center is an ideal model for curbing disparities in Rivera asked how, given confidentiality restrichealth care that lead to statistically worse tions, they can confirm that every patient has health outcomes for people of color. found a doctor.

Those sentiments were echoed in a recent Castiel said it’s tough, and requires open report authored by Worcester Health and Hucommunication with the UMass administraman Services Commissioner Mattie Castiel. tion.

The clinic, opened in 1992, has served as an Committee member and At-Large Counanchor for the community for three decades. cilor Kate Toomey said the other alternatives “It is certainly a loss that will be felt by those who have come to know and respect the physi- offered could prove hard to get to for some of the patients, especially those without cars. She cians and their staff who have treated them and their families,” Castiel wrote. “The relation- also said many of the doctors made available do not speak Spanish. ship between a patient and physician is one “This is so convoluted and so lacking of care built on trust and communication.”

At a recent Health and Human Services City and concern for the patients,” she said. “I’m very concerned about that.”

Council Standing Committee meeting, many She also said the wait list for primary care spoke, doubling down on the need to ensure doctors effectively puts patients on an emerthat families serviced by the clinic find new gency care system until they find a doctor. doctors.

“This is not acceptable. This is not okay,” Chairwoman and District 4 Councilor Sarai

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

Toomey said.

Advocates and city officials spoke of the necessity of gathering data from UMass on how many patients have found doctors and are on waiting lists.

“If UMass is willing to say these are the doctors who have accepted patients and these are the number of patients they’ve accepted, then we can follow up and make sure that’s really true,” Soiles said at the hearing.

Committee member and District 1 Councilor Sean Rose probed the possibility of a legal problem. He asked to write the city solicitor to ask if the way in which UMass closed the clinic doesn’t breach any laws or regulations.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag..com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

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news

Leicester shop first in line for state’s retail marijuana license T BILL SHANER

he Cannabis Control Commission this week voted unanimously to approve its first provisional license – to Leicesterbased Cultivate Holdings, Inc. That’s right: More than two years after recreational cannabis passed in Massachusetts, the first bonafide legal pot shop is set to open, pending inspection, a town over from Worcester.

Last week, the CCC issued its first cultivation license to Sira Naturals in Milford. But the provisional license issued to Cultivate on Monday was the first retail license the CCC has issued. The CCC also issued two more licenses to Sira: one for product manufacturing and one for transportation.

Cultivate, which also has a license to dispense medical marijuana, will open up to retail sales at 1764 Main St., Leicester, pending final approval. Final approval, per the CCC’s rules, comes after a site visit and final inspection.

It remains unclear when the store will actually open for retail sales. The commission did not provide a timeline for inspection or the final license at its meeting Monday. After the meeting, Sam Barber, president of Cultivate, told reporters he expects to be open in a few weeks, according to a State House News Service report. Barber could not be reached for comment for this story.

For months, the target date for opening retail shops per the recreational marijuana law passed in 2016 was July 1. Though the CCC didn’t hit that target date, the provisional license for Cultivate comes a day later.

The 23,000-square-foot facility opened late last year as a medical marijuana dispensary.

The company employs a seed-to-sale method, in which they grow the product, prep, package and sell it on site.

Cultivate’s license was one of about 60 in the queue for the first wave of CCC approval. Of those, 16 potential applicants are in Worcester County, far surpassing any other county (the closest is Middlesex, with five applicants).

There’s been significant interest in other area towns as well. Uxbridge has signed five host agreements with potential adult-use cannabis businesses, there is a large greenhouse cultiva-

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tracked in the regulatory process. In fact, most of the roughly 60 first-round applications, 41 of them, are from existing medical license holders.

The other group of applications set to be fast tracked are those filed as “economic empowerment” applications. These are reserved for small businesses run by stakeholders in communities affected by the mass incarceration that came alongside the criminalization of pot.

Of those, there are are three in the first wave.

In total, the CCC has fielded 1,694 applications, according to Collins. As for which business will be next in the queue for approval, the CCC meets again on July 12, and may approve more businesses – information they’ll make known when they post an agenda, likely next week.

tion proposal in Charlton, which is being met juana licenses, which were issued by the state Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 with resistance, and such a large amount of Department of Public Health. Per CCC rules, x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag.com. Follow interest in Worcester that officials there are existing medical license holders are fasthim on Twitter @Bill_Shaner. considering all proposals at once via a request for qualifications process.

The commission approved Cultivate’s license with little discussion after a long breakdown of the merits of the applicant from Executive Director Shawn Collins. CommisELIZABETH BROOKS sioner Shaleen Title praised the company’s commitment to giving 10 percent of its profits, once profitable, to charities. But she urged that the charities be based in communities disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of marijuana. She also touted the hiring goals set in Cultivate’s application to bring on a diverse team. She asked that the commission staff follow up to see whether the commitment had been followed through on.

Applying for a recreational marijuana license through the CCC is an extensive process, requiring four stages, a community host agreement from the town and several levels of state clearance. After the first two stages are complete with the commission, a company needs permission from the town, in the form of a community host agreement and several public hearings, before returning to the CCC to finish the application.

Both Cultivate and Sira Naturals had a leg up over other potential businesses, however, because they previously had medical mari-

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worcesteria NOT THE END BUT THE BEGINNING: Well. we all basically know better now, but for a moment there some in Worcester politics were ready to write the Worcester Red Sox an obituary (I really hate WooSox, guys, we gotta come up with something better). Hyper-focused on the Rhode Island legislative process, there was an impulse around here to conflate a signed funding bill with a done deal. But no, just because the Rhode Island state government has consented to spending the money, that doesn’t mean the PawSox have consented to accepting the money. It looks like, based on statements from the PawSox and City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. last week, the game has really just begun. Now, the PawSox know they have a deal in Pawtucket, and they’ve known for a while they have a deal in Worcester (though we, the public, do not yet know what that deal is) and they have a choice to make. When they’ll make that choice – that’s the real question, and anyone’s guess is good as mine.

A BOOKSTORE (!!!!!): Rejoice! Worcester is getting a real, bonafide, independent bookstore.

Sure, it’ll be a juice bar as well, but close enough. This has been a sorely-missing component of downtown retail for some time, and this venture could be a signal of more exciting small business investment to come. Opening soon at the Crompton Collective building on Green Street, which is really the small-scale retail hub of the city, Bedlam Book Cafe will open sometime soon. The store will offer a small, but thoughtfully-curated selection of books, specializing in the academic and esoteric side of things, which is cool with me. They’ll even buy used books from customers, which is objectively awesome. In their mission statement, the owners, Nicole DiCello and Patrick Warner, assessed the Worcester scene as having “everything, except a cool used bookstore.” Right on.

IF YOU CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT, GET OUT OF CHARLTON: It looks like Charlton is the stage for the NIMBY heavyweight fight of the decade, as locals continue to pull out all the stops, and espouse all the vitriol, in trying to stop a marijuana cultivator from buying the Charlton Orchard property on Old Worcester Road to use for greenhouse pot growing. The next front in this fight to “preserve the town’s character,” as they say (BRB, laying down in traffic) will come in the form of a special town meeting, put up by citizen petition called solely for the purpose of the vote. It will take place later this summer, in early August. The question asks residents whether they would ax Charlton’s recreational marijuana zoning regulations. The argument is that allowing pot to be farmed on agricultural land, as the zoning allows, opens up 80 percent of the town to the marijuana businesses. The horror. It is unbelievable to me, honestly, that a town like Charlton, which is no Weston, would turn its nose up to a new industry expected to bring in millions in tax revenue, which could then be used on schools, roads, infrastructure improvements and town services, just because the product is dona Juanita. Valley Green Grow, the company hoping to set up on the orchard, is bringing about $6 million in town revenue and 300 jobs in high-tech, modern horticulture. Good jobs. Career jobs. What town in their right mind would say no to that? I wish the business, and the Benjamin family, who are farmers looking to retire and actually believe in Valley Green Grow’s mission, the best of luck.

A REBEL WITH A CAUSE: The Great Spray Paint Bandit is back at it. If you’ve seen a lawn sign spray painted over with a big “NO” symbol – usually a circle with a line through it — you’ve seen his handiwork. The Great Spray Paint Bandit is a vigilante of sorts, taking to the streets to enforce a useless city ordinance with his own bare hands. The Great Spray Paint Bandit, we believe, is upset with lawn signs and the like, as they are technically against city rules. But there are a lot of things that are against city rules that happen every day. I mean, remember when the city banned dogs in parks? Remember when it said no more than three unrelated people could live in the same unit? There are a lot of things on the city books that are either impossible to enforce or the city administration does not have the will to enforce. Maybe this is the main motivator fueling the Great Spray Paint Bandit, that character so cloaked in mystery. If the city’s not going to enforce a dumb, useless rule, he will. I’m so enraptured with who this individual may be that I’ll offer a reward: email me at wshaner@worcestermag.com with a good tip, and I will send my Venmo account balance.

Bill Shaner, reporter It’s almost always $0.00, but wshaner@worcestermag.com hey you never know. Could Twitter: @Bill_Shaner be like $15.

news

$100 Special

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Month of July

Remember the Olympic Theater? Not many would, and it’s not something that’s talked

about often, but sitting on Pleasant Street is a lovely old 1,300-seat theater from the Gilded Age. MassLive took a look inside and at its development prospects last week, and found that there’s interest in rehabbing the mid-sized theater, but it’s also on the city’s list of properties set to be taken by eminent domain if there aren’t improvements. If taken, it would likely be demolished. With the fate of Notre Dame des Canadiens church all but sealed, could this be the next big preservationist fight? We shall see.

Just down the street, across City Hall, and atop

17” Double Strand Sterling Silver and Rose Necklace Also available in Sterling Silver and Yellow

the lot of another theater that was recently demolished (the Paris Cinema, for which “theater” may be generous), the long-awaited beer garden will have us waiting a while longer. The Brew Beer Garden original anticipated a late spring opening, but now they’re saying more like the fall. They hope to open for Octoberfest. Along with it, a pie place, restaurant and comedy club are expected to open along with it.

Quite the extension for the folks at The Grid as the investment group continues to change Franklin Street.

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wheelchair access to both the beach and the water with specially-designed mats designed to enter the water. The system will be available 12 - 7 p.m. every day, so long as the beach is open.

Deb Sayer of Worcester wheels her way along a special mat at Binienda Memorial Beach at Coes Pond in Worcester. Ahead of her is a special, water-ready chair for handicap use.

WALTER BIRD JR.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority approved about $5 million in repairs for the Challenge and Reach Academy on Harlow Street. Of the funding, $1 million will come from city coffers. City officials hailed the decision as one necessary for the continued maintenance of existing buildings, an issue that often gets overshadowed by the school building projects on the horizon.

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e g d i r b r u t S p i r t y a d a more than THIS MONTH IN STURBRIDGE

Come see “The Charlotte’s Web Experience” at Old Sturbridge Village this July and August

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The State Police overtime scandal hits close to home as one

of the three troopers charged with embezzling pay is a resident of Charlton. David Wilson, a former lieutenant at the department, was arrested at his home last week. He faces federal charges related to $12,450 that federal authorities say he was paid but did not earn.

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earlier this year narrowly avoided a total pot shop ban. Selectmen there are entertaining the idea of a community host agreement for Prime Wellness Center on Route 20, an existing medical marijuana dispensary, to open for retail sale as well.

antiquing

Come experience “Uncle Sam’s Patriotic Jazz Band” during out Thursday Concerts on the Common Series Shop at our NEW Sturbridge Farmers Market Sundays 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Follow us on Twitter @visitsturbridge

Right on the heels of Leicester in the race to get a pot shop, it seems, may be Shrewsbury, which

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editorial

opinion

letters

We must find answer to violence, hate Letters to the Editor Policy

T

here can be no place in a civilized society for what transpired inside the Capital Gazette offices in Maryland last week. Nor is there a place for what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February. Or at the Pulse nightclub in 2016. Or at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

None of the horrific, mass executions that have taken place over the past several years can be tolerated as the new normal. Yet, when you listen to students at high schools around the country, many of them are resigned to wondering not if another school shooting will take place, but when it will happen.

We cannot ignore that, as a society, we are becoming more and more violent – and it has not happened overnight. We can argue the reasons why, and we can wag our fingers at whichever person or corporation we hold responsible at a given moment. We can blame politics. We can blame greed. We can blame mental health. What we can’t do — not unless we bury our heads in the sand — is deny the violence that is so pervasive in our society today.

In Worcester, just recently, a wild melee on Pleasant Street sees a 16-year-old girl allegedly wield a knife, a cop draw his gun on her and other women use brake rotors — yes, brake rotors — as weapons.

In Maryland, a man walks into the Capital Gazette and slaughters five people, allegedly because he was upset over something written about him previously.

The rhetoric is also disturbing. We are hearing increasing hateful speak from different corners. And if we don’t think that has something to do with the actual violence we are witnessing, think again.

On an almost daily basis, we hear the president himself espouse hatred of anyone who dares challenge or disagree with him. His disdain for the media, for example, started on the campaign trail and has only grown more intense. We hear a congresswomen encorage people to surround members of President Trump’s cabinet anytime they see them in public. We have heard and seen celebrities say and do the most heinous things, from posing with the fake severed head of the president, to calling his family members vile and disgusting names.

We see it not just from Hollywood and politicians; those are just the high-profile examples. Look at the hate that must exist for someone to wield a knife or assault someone else. Or to unleash the violent fury displayed in Maryland.

Hatred has filled the souls of so many people, political party be damned. Why? There’s a question that must be asked more often.

The answer isn’t as simple as the person who currently resides in the White House. We saw hatred aimed at his predecessor. And his. And his. And so on.

No, the answer lies somewhere much deeper than that. The hate has turned to aggression, and that has in many cases turned to violence. Just as those who grew up with the fear of atomic war on their minds, we are becoming a society accustomed to frequent and grotesque acts of violence. And that is simply not acceptable. What is the answer?

This space does not profess to be in possession of that. But if we do not keep asking and searching — and if we do not somehow find it — we will continue writing one of the darkest chapters of modern American history.

Photographer Elizabeth Brooks x323 Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Jim Perry, Corlyn Voorhees Editorial Interns Samantha Bratkon, Sophia Laperle 72 Shrewsbury St. Worcester, MA 01604 worcestermagazine.com Editorial 508.749.3166 x322 editor@worcestermagazine.com Sales 508.749.3166 x333 sales@worcestermagazine.com President Paul M. Provost Publisher Kathleen Real-Benoit x331 Editor Walter Bird Jr. x322 Culture Editor Joshua Lyford x325 Reporter Bill Shaner x324

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Director of Creative Services Don Cloutier x141 Creative Director Kimberly Vasseur x142 Creative Services Department Becky Gill, Stephanie Mallard, Wendy Watkins Ad Director Helen Linnehan x333 Media Consultants Diane Galipeau x335, Cheryl Robinson x336, Sarah Perez x334 Media Coordinator Madison Friend x332

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opinion Let’s go to the movies JANICE HARVEY

I

’m stressed – and only Fred Astaire can fix it.

It’s true that each one of us deals with stress in our own way. Some become insomniacs, while others pull the blanket over their heads and stay in bed until the storms pass. Others drown themselves in booze, while many find the “perfect” drug to numb and free them from reality. Still others, like world traveler and eternal bad boy Anthony Bourdain, choose the most direct and irreversible escape route by leaving this world permanently.

While the current pickle we are in as a nation seems to be worsening by the day (I write this as Donald Trump orgasmically addresses a rabid crowd after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement was announced), I’ve decided against the aforementioned options. Instead, I find myself taking a page from the history books — particularly the chapter covering the Great

Depression. After all, we’re in one — even if the stock market hasn’t tanked yet. The psychological toll Trump’s presidency is taking on many of us is certainly causing depression.

I’m increasingly drawn to films as a relief from the onslaught of doom and gloom headlines. As a confessed news junkie, I can’t and won’t tear myself away completely from the daily tsunami of updates and chyrons crawling across my screen, but I have become sorely in need of an escape hatch. That “hatch” comes in the form of films — particularly light and breezy stuff — the kind of movies made during the 1930s to allow audiences a brief respite from the stark realities they faced. I temper a dose of grim pundits with a couple hours of Gene Kelly singing in the rain and Fred Astaire beginning the beguine.

During the Great Depression, American audiences flocked to musicals, even as Adolf Hitler was sketching out his blueprints for world domination. Dust and drought decimated farmland, while soup kitchens fed the hungry unemployed and their children.

Those who had a dime to spare spent it at the movie theater, where 10 cents bought a ticket to Fantasyland, if only for an afternoon. One could head to the candy counter during the newsreels and toss Milk Duds at the screen when Hitler’s face appeared. I tried that with popcorn recently when the president was on TV; however, there was no usher to sweep it up, so I nixed this as a form of protest.

Am I a modern-day ostrich? Maybe. I only know that in order to go about the business of living life while watching democracy take a vicious beating, I need to rest my brain occasionally. Musicals lift my sagging heart, which is why I attended the Worcester County Light Opera Company’s production of “Chicago” last week. Twice. Second-row seats.

It’s no surprise that 2016’s “La La Land” was a big hit. Critics called it “retro,” and that word explains its appeal as surely as the proliferation of ‘50s-style turquoise blue kitchen appliances on store shelves. We need yesterday to help us through today, because tomorrow is too scary to contemplate. One critic

said “La La Land” would “slap a mile-wide smile across the most miserable of faces.”

That’s what musicals do during bad times: they toss lifelines to a sinking audience, even if there’s no anchor on the other end.

My Turner Classic Movies t-shirt arrived in the mail the other day, the gift I received for joining the TCM Backlot club. I figure membership to something that keeps me from guzzling a gallon of cheap wine is money well spent. I might celebrate Independence Day by watching Jimmy Cagney hoof and ham his way through “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” I’ll steer clear of watching “Cabaret” anytime soon. I love the movie and own the DVD. But the handsome Nazi youth singing “Tomorrow Belongs To Me” might send me over the edge, and I’d have to clean up the mess myself.

Janice Harvey contributing writer

Your turn - Notre Dame: what should have been, what could be

H

ey, Hanover. In 2013, when your CitySquare documents began to hint at destroying Notre Dame — more than two years before you announced demolition plans — you could have made a public appeal for collaboration, which might have looked like this: “Hey, Worcester community, we’ve tried for three years to find a way to redevelop Notre Dame, but we can’t make the numbers work for a private developer alone. If you want to save this place, it’s going to take a community effort. Let’s work together and see if we can get it done.”

I don’t know why that never happened, but it should have. And with viable, affordable new ideas emerging for Notre Dame, it can still happen now – and it should. We’d rather work with you than fight you in court. We are mindful of your importance to Worcester, and we’ve been respectful and civil, even as we’ve criticized your demolition plans. There have been no picketing on Lincoln Street, no calls for boycotts, no shareholder actions, no civil disobedience, none of that. You asked us to be respectful, and we have been. Notre Dame is still standing, and we’re still eager to work with you. When can we start?

Until then, our lawsuit will continue, because you’ve done everything you can to avoid the required state-level review, and the

public participation that goes with it, by failing to disclose Notre Dame’s historic status or its planned demolition on critical documents. Notre Dame is part of the state-funded

FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH BROOKS

CitySquare project, and state-level review is mandatory before its demolition because it is on the state inventory of historic assets.

None of your legalistic arguments to the contrary pass the laugh test. Think about it:

In 2017, you argued that demolishing Notre Dame requires no state review because it’s part of CitySquare, and therefore covered by a 2005 review done years before it was part of CitySquare. Now you argue it requires no further review because it’s a private parcel, separate from CitySquare - although you added it to CitySquare in 2012, and CitySquare II owns it. Separately, those arguments are unconvincing. Together, they are ludicrous.

Many of us wonder if the reason we can’t get any traction to save Notre Dame, even though it wouldn’t be that hard, is that power brokers have traded the demolition of this building for something else they consider to be of public or private benefit. No one can say for sure if that’s true, and we may never know. But if it’s true, whatever that deal is, is it really worth losing this beautiful historic landmark? Really?

It’s an open secret that the much-vaunted downtown renaissance is tenuous, that the city took a big risk subsidizing all the new construction of CitySquare, and that the new luxury apartments next to Notre Dame aren’t renting as fast as some hoped they would. So are you going to destroy Notre Dame out of fear that it’s a detriment to its neighborhood, based on the smallest of small-minded ideas, that a vacant lot would be better? Or will you have the vision to see that Notre Dame, J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

redeveloped as the centerpiece of an urban botanical garden, would be exactly the kind of unique destination that draws people into the neighborhood? People visit Europe for empty cathedrals. Why not here?

If you really want CitySquare to succeed, we don’t need more hotels, commercial buildings, or vacant lots; there’s plenty of vacant space in downtown Worcester already. What we need is new, exciting, outside-the-box ideas that will make downtown special and draw people in.

It doesn’t take that much imagination to figure out that when Notre Dame is made beautiful again, it will add both cultural and dollar value to everything around it — because when demand for those apartments and hotel rooms rises because the neighborhood is so cool, they’ll be worth more. OK, which is a cooler neighbor: a beautiful public garden surrounding and within a monumental architectural masterpiece, or a vacant lot? Or another shiny new commercial building or parking garage? No matter what might end up there, this should not be that hard to figure out.

It’s not too late to save Notre Dame. Let’s do it together.

Ted D. Conna of Worcester is co-leader of the Save Notre Dame Alliance.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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feature

MADAM PRESIDENT Inside the office of the most powerful woman at the State House SARAH CONNELL

“H

ELIZABETH BROOKS

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e’s resigning? Resigning why?” asks Senate President Harriette L. Chandler when Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Strategy Scott Zoback ducks into her office to share the news that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire this summer.

“Because he’s your age and he has a worse work ethic than you,” Zoback responds.

It’s true the senate president does not give up easily.

At 80 years old, her work ethic is nothing short of extraordinary.

“That’s too bad,” she says, “I would have stayed.”

“I know you would have,” Zoback replies.

Chandler sits at a carved wooden desk, more modern than the one left by Calvin Coolidge in a dormant office down the hall. She is surrounded by plants, six of them, the tallest of which is a white orchid that frames her face as we speak. She wears a large golden dragonfly around her neck, a symbol of adaptability and change. Her blouse extends bold emerald zebra stripes from beneath a pinstripe blazer with matching slacks. When she stands to greet me, I notice her turquoise belt buckle and the shiny earrings she wears to match. Her lips are red, drawing my attention to each careful word that comes out of her mouth.

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“This means that RBG is going to have to stay on forever,” Chandler says, referring to 85-year-old associate justice of the Supreme Court and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“She’s my role model,” Chandler adds.

“You’re Massachusetts’ RBG,” Zoback tells her.

“Do you understand that she was in my husband’s law school class?” Chandler asks, leaving us thirsty for details. Like everyone else in America, we want the scoop on RBG. “She was one of the seven women in his class. I always wanted to go to law school and my husband said, ‘You’re never going to get a job,’ because out of the women in his class, none of the seven — including Ruth Bader Ginsburg — could get a law job.”

Chandler lives out a decade in every syllable of the Supreme Court Justice’s name. It pains me that the most powerful woman in the State House feels as if she hasn’t reached her potential. This is the consequence of her tenacity.

“Back then, they got jobs in other corporations; they were glorified nonprofit jobs, but they weren’t lawyers and he knew that would really be a problem for me,” she explains.

The Senate president’s husband, Burton “Buddy” Chandler, has been recognized as one of the best attorneys in the country at various points throughout his career. He has served as lead counsel on a number of high profile cases, in one instance representing a woman rejected from the U.S. Air Force because of her physical appearance.

He won that case in federal district court, ensuring the government’s qualifications be the same for women and their male counterparts.

He calls the new “RBG” documentary one of the best films he has seen in his lifetime.

“I think I will always want to be a lawyer,” Chandler conclude.

Unfortunately, there’s no time for that now. Press Secretary Kevin Connor has appeared at the door to indicate the hour has come for Chandler to call into NPR to talk about adding a non-binary gender designation on state ID cards.

Chandler tells me to stay for the interview. She feels there is nothing more powerfully motivating than watching a woman at work. I tend to agree. In fact, she informs her staff I’ll be tagging along for the rest of the afternoon. I do my best to keep up.

On our short walk to and from the offices of MassINC, Chandler is stopped no less than four times by men in crisp suits wishing to say hello.

“She’s quite the celebrity, isn’t she?” I remark to Connor.

“I have a feeling this sort of thing will stop in a few weeks,” he says, gesturing to our latest interception on the corner of Bowdoin and Beacon.

In just 25 short days, Chandler will vanish from the opulent third-floor office of the Senate president and hand over her gavel.

She never asked to be named Senate president in the first place.

Chandler rose up as a matter of courtesy.

feature

Senate President Harriette Chandler, right, and former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were classmates and friends at Wellesley College.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

UNDEFEATED

“I

t’s nothing I’m ashamed of, but I started as a Republican,” Chandler tells me in the car the next morning.

Torrential rainfall has led to a number of road closures and traffic is slow. We need to be at a 10 a.m. press conference about gender “X” designations, followed by a bill signing at 10:15 a.m. intended to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15. Chandler sits patiently in a shiny red rain slicker that matches her strong red lips.

Chandler became a Democrat when the Republicans took a hard right turn, particularly in regard to women’s bodies. Over the course of her political career, she has fought body part by body part for women who feel like they do not have a voice. She has surrounded herself with a battalion of strong young women, including her chief of staff, Laura Paladino, who she picked out of the crowd as a promising page nine years ago.

“Don’t rush,” she tells her legislative aide, Zoe Magid, who is at the wheel. “If I miss it, I miss it. Keep us safe.”

This seems to be Chandler’s modus ope-

randi. She is deliberate in her movements, never careless. It is her strategic pacing that sets her ahead of the pack.

Not everyone in the State House operates with such control. For starters, the gentlelady from Ashland.

State Sen. Karen E. Spilka, D-Second Middlesex/Norfolk, is chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and on July 23 she will make an awkward transition into the role of Senate president. The tangle of power between Chandler and Spilka emerged in March, when Spilka announced she had enough support to assume the position of Senate president and effectively oust Chandler, who had stepped up in December following sexual harassment allegations against then-Senate President Stan Rosenberg’s husband.

Chandler will tell you her heart still breaks for Rosenberg. At the time, Senate Democrats welcomed Chandler to the role. A Dec. 6 headline in the Boston Globe bragged, “The acting Senate president has a PhD, an MBA and won 24 straight elections.”

Chandler was clear she had no intention to seek reelection in the position and would simply serve the rest of Rosenberg’s term, delivering us to January 2019. “Acting” was removed from her title in February. Spilka emerged

unexpectedly in March with the claim that she had amassed enough votes to take over.

Chandler, who has never lost an election, speaks warmly about her successor. Still, I imagine the takedown must sting.

A less-inspiring Boston Globe piece penned by columnist Joan Vennochi in April attempted to exacerbate what she called a “spat” between the two women, stating, “Men might have settled this with a heart-to-heart stroll around the Hooker statue. Instead, Chandler and Spilka are fighting over the timing of a baton pass like bargain-hunters battling over a markdown at Filene’s Basement.” Yuck.

This is far from the impression I get when speaking with Chandler, who praises Spilka’s mediation skills and recognizes how the duo has managed to work together over the last few months given the unique circumstances.

“Usually, the Senate president doesn’t have his or her own pieces of legislation,” Chandler explains, “But because I am in a very unusual position, I do have mine. I have a lot of them, in fact. And it’s complicated now, because for the last six months I really can’t speak to this legislation and people have to speak on my behalf if the legislation comes to the floor.”

We pull into the Senate president’s prime parking spot at the entrance to the State House. Magid tells me Chandler refused to park there until recently, insisting on using her old space in the garage. I identify what I suspect is Spilka’s red convertible based on

her campaign bumper sticker. Chandler is only the second woman ever to have held the title of Senate president, Spilka will be the third.

COOPERATION OVER CREDIT

A

t the press conference, Spilka is wearing a cherry red blazer with black pants and a black shirt. The frames of her glasses are thick and stylish, negating the need for any makeup. She wears a red beaded necklace that falls past her blonde shoulder length hair.

Spilka tells the story of Ella, a high school junior who wrote her a letter about the trials of obtaining a driver’s license for those who do not fit neatly into the categories of “male” or “female.” She welcomes Ella to the podium to speak about the struggle of “picking and choosing” a gender based on the circumstances of the day. Spilka’s compassion for those impacted by her gender “X” bill is evident.

The room is tight and when one of the reporters, who has sprawled himself out on the carpet, raises his hand to inquire about anticipated issues with the bill, she looks down to where he sits on the floor, and in an C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 14

Chandler meets with members of the Mass Municipal Association in her office in March.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

13

feature CHANDLER

do the right thing. If you don’t care who gets credit, then you can get a lot done.”

Chandler needs to make a few quick calls before we head into session downstairs. I wander down the hall to what was apparently Calvin Coolidge’s favored haunt during his time as the 68th Senate president. A letter written on July 16, 1919 lives permanently on the desk.

To Leo A. Spillane, state secretary of the American Legion, Coolidge writes, “The great achievements of the world are brought about by co-operation. It is necessary to have leaders, but there can be no leader without a follower and no progress without cooperation.”

Chandler’s shared sentiment echoes in my ears. A hundreds years later, the role of Senate president still hinges on making others feel heard.

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 13

unforgiving tone tells him she has already addressed his question in her remarks.

From there, we are ushered to a ceremonial office in a different wing of the building. On the way, Chandler stops Connor to say, “Thank you for helping me find the most beautiful words to say in there.”

I follow close behind Zoback as we approach our destination. A tall woman in a pencil skirt stops me at the door and grabs my upper arm with more force than I am expecting.

“I’m sorry, but no,” she says, blocking my entry.

Chandler escapes my line of sight. Today she is wearing a ruffled cheetah print blouse beneath her charcoal suit. The sound of the chunky chain link bracelet jangling around her wrist fades into the distance. Zoback has been waylaid as well. He points to a reporter in front of me and instructs me to follow. The tall woman objects and Zoback tells her, “She’s press.”

The reporter I am following turns back to me and says sternly, “I have no part in this if you get caught.” I tell him I am from Worcester Magazine, but he doesn’t seem to believe me, nor does he particularly care.

Everyone in the room is vying for the best shot. Apparently, it pays to hire tall staffers.

Once again, a gaggle of journalists with cameras sit with legs criss-crossed on the floor. I can identify the press by their shoes: Converse, Dr. Martens, Hunter galoshes. Just then, a new stream of 20-somethings in blazers claw their way through a heavy white door I hadn’t realized existed.

The walls are the color of key lime pie. Chandler and Spilka stand behind a desk, along with House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and state Rep. Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, waiting for Gov. Charlie Baker to arrive. A painting of a grey day by the seashore hangs above their heads. The room is absolutely silent.

When he enters, everyone’s arms raise up into the air with cell phone cameras in hand, snapping away while he squeezes his giant frame down into the ceremonial desk.

Baker looks up at Chandler, who stands over his left shoulder. She says, “There were so many people involved in this. Many of them aren’t even in the room at this time. They made it possible. It shows what happens when a Commonwealth comes together and everybody wants something. We’re grateful that you sign it, governor.”

“Someone’s going to have to remind me what day it is,” he jokes. The room breaks its silence long enough to get in a chuckle as he clicks his pen into action.

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GIVING IT BACK

B

Chandler addresses the Raise-Up Coalition outside her office as they advocate for raising the state’s minimum wage to from $11 to $15 an hour.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The “grand bargain” bill comes after six months of negotiations. The bill promises to raise the minimum wage from $11 to $15 over a five-year period. Simultaneously, time-anda-half pay on Sundays and holidays will slowly disappear and the state will institute an annual tax-free weekend in the month of August.

As soon as the bill signing is complete everyone packs up their microphones and cameras all at once. A mustachioed radio reporter from WBZ nearly bowls me over in his effort to get in a word with the Senate president, but stops himself long enough to apologize for the jostling.

“It’s OK,” I tell him, still dazed to have finagled my way into the room in the first place.

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“It’s not OK. I’m so sorry young lady. I need to be more careful,” he says, and then dashes out a side door.

When we arrive back at the Senate president’s office, she tells me, “In accomplishing this, we had to ask, ‘How can we get everybody something?’” adding, “It’s been like a great 3D puzzle with so many moving pieces.”

I inquire if she had any reservations about how much she would be able to accomplish given the unique circumstances of her appointment.

“We’ve gotten a lot of major legislation through this year despite initial doubts of others,” she says. “I’m not worried about getting re-elected, so people trust that I’m able to

ack in Chandler’s office, she catches me inspecting at a photo on her wall taken with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

“Madeleine Albright is my classmate and my friend,” she explains.

Both women graduated from Wellesley College in 1959. Chandler studied political science.

She met Buddy, a senior at Harvard University, on the first day of her freshman year. Buddy got a job right out of law school in his hometown of Worcester and has never left. When I ask her how she ended up in Worcester, she responds, “As a bride.”

Chandler served as a swim instructor for the Jewish Community Center in her early days.

She went on to become one of the first married women hired as a history teacher at North High School.

“I only taught for two years because I went back to school, pregnant, to get a master’s degree. You had to have it. Do you still have to have it to teach?”

I tell her you do. She went on to earn a Ph.D. from Clark University (for which she learned German) and later, an M.B.A. from Simmons College.

Her political career began after her mother fell sick with a terminal illness.

“We brought her up to Worcester from Wilmington, Del., where I grew up, and I spent a lot of time with her at the Jewish Healthcare Center,” explains Chandler.

She gestures to the framed quote on her office wall that reads, “Hillel says, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?’”

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 16

Grand ReOpening!

July 28th,

2018 10 am to 5 pm

Support the store that builds homes and hope.

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We are so excited to be opening our doors on July 28th 2018. We thank all of our Customers, Volunteers, and Donors for waiting for this exciting event to take place. We could not have done this without your support. Music, door prizes and amazing merchandise will be available all day.

Come and join the fun! Proceeds help build Habitat for Humanity homes in your community and around the world.

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640 Lincoln Street | Worcester, Ma 01605 779-2-DONATE Visit our website for more information. www.LetsReStore.org and Facebook@ReStoreWorcMA

SHOP. DONATE. VOLUNTEER. J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

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15

Congratulations to Kelly Lizotte ...named a top mortgage originator by

feature CHANDLER

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 14

Congratulations to Kelly Lizotte, Senior Mortgage Advisor at Security First, for being named a top mortgage originator in Central Massachusetts by the Financial Services and Real Estate weekly magazine, Banker & Tradesman.

Buying a home can be very stressful. Trust in Kelly and our team of originators at SFMF to help you with your home loan financing needs.

Call today for a free pre-approval!

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Unity Radio is a new radio station in Worcester with local Talk, Music, Sports & Weather.

~ Listen Live Every Weekday ~ Talk of the Commonwealth with Hank Stoltz 6-10am

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508-471-5265 Contact: info@UnityRadioMA.org to share your story, community event or set up a time to talk about fashioning an underwriting message for you.

16

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J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

“I thought, ‘How could I best give back to the Worcester community?’ It had been so good to me,” Chandler says. “We were told in the paper every day how real estate agents were saying people weren’t moving to Worcester because the schools weren’t good. And it was just very distressing and depressing. And I thought, I had a wonderful education, I bet I could give back by running for the School Committee. And so I did, without a thought in the world about what that really entailed.”

She didn’t consider the cost or the size of her base.

“As you know, women get scared off more easily than men do,” she says. “Men don’t think about those things at all. It just didn’t occur to me that those were real problems that stood in my way. And so I ran and, um, I won.”

Her stint on the School Committee led to her election as a state representative in 1995. In 2001, she became the first Worcester woman ever elected to the Massachusetts Senate.

I have found more in common with this iconic woman than I ever thought possible. I share that my first job was also as a JCC swim instructor and now I too am a public school teacher. She confides that, for a time, she wrote the restaurant beat for a local paper – another part-time vocation of mine. In two short days, she has made a profound impression on my self confidence.

“I had no role models when I started,” she tells me. “None.”

She urges me to get involved.

Never before have I felt more sure of myself than on our walk down to the Gardner Auditorium for formal session.

“You can make it to Senate president,” she says, “But if you’re not involved, if you’re not in the pipeline, how would you ever expect to get anything done? If you’re not at the table, how do you expect to have your voice heard?”

Before taking up her gavel, Chandler makes two stops. First, to greet a group of sixth-

graders from the town of Everett. “I am so glad to see some girls in the crowd today, because I want you to see that you can be Senate president someday, too,” she tells them. Second, she greets Counsel to the Senate Jennifer Miller.

In 2014, Miller argued before the U.S. Supreme Court to defend Massachusetts’ abortion

Chandler marches with her grandchildren in the 2011 Columbus Day Parade in Worcester.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

clinic buffer zone law, to which Chandler was integral. Chandler eyes Miller’s candy bowl for chocolate caramels before ascending to her venerated perch empty handed.

Not only does Chandler have a seat at the table, she has the seat. Her chairback is nearly 6 feet high, but it’s the perfect fit for her in so many ways. Chandler is a model politician.

She’s not in this for herself. My only fear is she may be one of a kind.

Screaming Females hit Ralph’s Diner

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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culture

Screaming Females hit Ralph’s Diner JOSHUA LYFORD

S

ince 2005, Screaming Females have established themselves as a punk band with their own sound and ethos. While they can fit on bills across the indie and punk spectrum, they have no issue standing out. It has been three years since the band performed in Worcester, but on Sunday, July 8 Screaming Females returns, this time playing at Ralph’s Diner, 148 Grove St., with New Jersey’s Spowder and Worcester’s own Goddard.

Screaming Females got their start in New Brunswick, N.J., a location they still call home.

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The band cut their teeth in the DIY and basement show scene across the East Coast, a punk community that Worcester is no stranger to. “[The DIY community] means a lot to us,” said vocalist and guitarist Marissa Paternoster. “I think it’s the foundation of how we understand shows and what they’re like and how much they can mean to you in your personal life and your life as a working artist. We didn’t play Worcester early on, we played it more recently. We all really liked it because it reminded us of New Brunswick.

It reminded us of a small city that had some DIY places and a core group of people that run shows and do awesome things.”

Paternoster was calling Worcester Magazine from the band’s van. She and her bandmates, drummer Jarrett Dougherty and bass player King Mike, are on their way to practice before their July tour begins. They are enjoying some brief leisure time during their time at home. The band will be supporting their latest album, “All at Once,” via Don Giovanni Records.

“We recorded it last spring with Mat Bayles,” said Paternoster. “He did the album preceding it.

We recorded it in Seattle for about a month. We spent over a year writing it because we were still touring a lot. Once we felt we had a good batch of songs that were close to being fully realized, we talked to Matt and started sending demos back and forth. After a few months of that he came to J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

New Jersey, where we did pre-production and got ready to get in the studio and lay down the tracks.”

Paternoster explained that once a song concept is realized, the band fleshes it out and acts on it. In the rare instance that the concept doesn’t come to fruition, there is no delay in scrapping it entirely.

“It’s weird for us to write a song that we don’t record and release,” she said. “There’s only been a few instances of songs we’ve written and then threw in the trash. Most of the time it’s trying to complete a composition, if it doesn’t work, we abandon it. Working within the context of what an LP can provide, once we have a batch of songs, at that point it’s fair to say we feel ready in some way, and since “Rose Mountain” (2015 release) we’ve started demoing things a lot more. It’s easy to keep track of how much music you actually have ready and the flow of the songs. If you realize it as an album, that’s easier.”

The three members of Screaming Females have been writing and playing together for over a decade, a rarity in the often difficult-to-navigate realm of near-constant touring.

“We all grew up playing in this band together and I think that 13 or 14 years of being in a band and spending almost every day out of every year traveling together, it has a familial vibe to it,” said Paternoster. “It’s a big part of my persona and how I identify myself and how I exist in this

world. Making this music is one of the more effective forces for good in the world that I have.

Using my skills to make something that can help people. It’s like any relationship, if someone has a problem, they’ll talk about it. Maybe they’ll fight and then you make up. It’s like a relationship with a significant other, your boss, your mom or whatever except it has more guitar solos.”

Still, within the context of playing shows in a largely DIY community, the act of performing live is joined be the feeling of giving back and that keeps things exciting for Paternoster and the rest of the band.

“I really enjoy the actual act of playing, I like the physicality of it and the way it feels is nice even if there is no one there,” said Paternoster.

“It’s nice to hear when your music has meant something to someone. I like to think I’m a pretty good person, and I think music and DIY and punk had a lot to do with it. That’s how I try to exist in this world.

“There’s so much stuff about music that isn’t necessarily sonicly related. Like traveling or meeting people or meeting new friends. All of that has a lot to do with being in a working band or whatever. Even though traveling doesn’t necessarily involve music all the time, sometimes you’re just sitting in the van staring out the window, that in and of itself is exciting. Maybe you see a weird roadside camel or whatever.”

culture

Adoption option

Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League, highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at 508-853-0030.

Meet Marley! This sweetheart came to us when his owner’s health declined and he could no longer care for him. Marley is a very easygoing guy who is happy to be outside on adventures or cuddled up on the couch next to you. He gets along well with low key dogs, but his previous owner suggested no cats. He’s easy to walk on leash and will make a great companion for some lucky family.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

19

culture Lyford Files JOSHUA LYFORD

I

Unity Radio is a new radio station in Worcester with local Talk, Music, Sports & Weather.

~ Listen Live Every Weekday ~ The Economou & Rosen Show Making Worcester Talk Radio Great Again 10am-12pm Tony Economou

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508-471-5265 Contact: info@UnityRadioMA.org to share your story, community event or set up a time to talk about fashioning an underwriting message for you.

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J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

hope everyone reading this enjoyed their Independence Day celebration, though I understand for many this may be a difficult time to wave the red, white and blue. Still, perhaps you barbecued with friends and family and cracked a beer around a campfire. Those moments are still important.

I tend to stay away from politics in my column. Not because I don’t care; I care deeply about the issues that face this country. I choose to stay away from politics because this column is designed to be lighthearted and fun, characteristics that I’ve long valued. To pull back the curtain further, I find this column to be cathartic. It’s a rare opportunity in this world of journalism to be able to have your own — albeit often nonsensical — voice be heard. I am not, however, feeling very upbeat while I type.

I am writing this immediately following the deadly shooting in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md., that claimed five lives and wounded several others. I am very aware of what my breaking away from traditional Lyford Files wackiness entails. I am also aware of the lunacy of considering a tragedy such as this “political.”

While I don’t discuss my political bent here, I don’t doubt you could come to your own (and likely accurate) conclusion as to what the feelings of an arts writer, musician and entertainment humor columnist are.

Still, it is during these experiences that I would like to believe we can transcend politics and the drawing of partisan lines in the sand, though, alas, I know this not to be true.

We as a nation have witnessed so many mass shootings that we have, largely, become numb to them. The media coverage is born, lives and dies in mere weeks or days.

I still remember what it was like to sit in a classroom, discussing the Columbine High School massacre, just after it occurred. It feels like eons have passed since we were naive enough to believe Columbine was a single tragic example of humanity lost.

I remember the first of the recent music festival shootings and the concurrent tragic events in places like the Bataclan in Paris and the Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. Before journalism, I made my living as a musician, often playing very similar shows and festivals. I can still feel those places, if I stop to think about them.

The Capital Gazette newsroom shooting has brought these events closer home. I work in a newsroom every day with men and women I have, in many cases, known and trusted for years.

I know what a newsroom feels like. I know the long hours and dedication reporters put into their craft. A craft that pays next to nothing and that very few outside the industry appreciate. A craft wholly necessary to democracy, nonetheless. A craft almost any reporter will tell you (when they aren’t beating their head against their keyboard on deadline) means the entire world to them.

If you’ve ever read my column before, I joke — almost weekly — about the hate mail and phone calls I get. I would venture to guess most of my fellow journalists receive the same sorts of emails and phone calls. You learn early to thicken your skin and laugh. I have been told more times than I care to admit that I am garbage, that I am deserving of “being slapped around” or hurt in more interesting ways. You learn to let those roll off your back.

I’m not sure the thickening of skin is enough preparation for what the United States is dealing with currently, not by a long shot. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has called for violence against the media often and eagerly. If you’d prefer to think of this as fake news, take a second to Google it. Or not, perhaps you’ve already made up your mind. Perhaps you’ve decided that, as the president calls it, the press is “the enemy of the people.”

For that, I am deeply sorry.

You see, Trump isn’t the only one calling for violence against the media. NRA representative Dana Loesch has parroted the same narrative, as have many far-right conservative voices and pundits.

On Thursday, June 28, that call to action was heeded and five were killed following a disagreement over an editorial decision years before. Regardless of personal politics, that should trouble you. I know it troubles me.

I would like very much to return to a time when we didn’t have to worry about shootings on a mass scale. I also know that unless the rhetoric is stopped, unless political punditry is simmered, and unless access to guns is very thoroughly modified, we are likely only seeing the beginning of this terrible nightmare.

I genuinely hope I will live to see the day that we can agree that no matter our personal politics, we deserve better, our kids deserve safer and none of this is worth a human life.

Until then, I will continue to live my life as I always Joshua Lyford have; with my windows down and my doors unlocked, Culture editor telling the stories of as many strangers as I can, because @Joshachusetts that is what a reporter does.

culture Lifestyle

SARAH CONNELL

Teachers and First Responders Get First Dibs on Kummerspeck’s Fried Chicken

ELECTRIC HAZE

CSA-Okay

Lettuce Be Local’s new “Cooking at Home”

service is different than your typical CSA (Community Supported Agriculture.) This share of locally-grown produce allows participants to select the food they want and need every week from local farms. Lettuce Be Local compiles your box and leaves it for pickup at one of three restaurants around the city. This program allows the flexibility to skip weeks or bulk up orders for special occasions. Pickup sites span the city, including Lock 50 in the Canal District, simjang on Shrewsbury Street, and deadhorse hill downtown.

Don’t think you can handle all that lush produce? Take up canning or pickling. Athome preservation is dreamy.

FRIDAY

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David Bazin’s MOJO RIDE AT

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Cherry Pickers

It’s cherry picking season and Tougas Family Farm has the crop of a lifetime thanks to the rain covers and bird netting that allowed for proper ripening. Strawberry season is winding down, but fields are still open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Take a wagon ride to the cherry orchard, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday-Sunday for dark sweet, blush sweet, and Jubelium “sweet” tart pie cherFried chicken Mondays at Kummerspeck ries. Clear your schedule, the cherry season guarantee half a bird “with fixins” for typically lasts only a couple of weeks.

$14 or all you can eat for $20. Kummerspeck returns from their Independence Day hiatus on July 13.

Fried chicken Monday at Kummerspeck guarantees half a bird “with fixins” for $14 or all you can eat for $20. Typical sides include biscuits, cornbread, hot honey, potato salad, collards, and slaw. The best part is, first responders and teachers get 10 percent off their bill (excluding alcohol) on fried chicken Mondays all summer long. Get there early or make a reservation because the house gets packed. If you’re in luck, there will even be boozy root beer floats.

Kummerspeck returns from their Independence Day hiatus on July 13th.

Aww Shucks

Don’t fear the $1 oyster, there’s nothing to be suspicious about. Dollar oyster deals are simply designed to get you in the door. Waving affordable luxury works on me everytime. Try Bull Mansion on Fridays, 4-6 p.m. with the added bonus of Mauro DePasquale’s Jazzed Up Duo. Or, stop by The Civic Kitchen & Drink on Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m. for $1 oysters and clams.

While you’re at it, don’t miss The Civic’s “Dogs on Deck” event on Sunday July 8 when adoptable pups will be in attendance 1-4 p.m.

MOJO RIDE

Escape to the Empire State

I took my first Jet Blue flight to NYC over the weekend for an incredibly hassle-free jaunt to the big city. Flights depart from Worcester every morning at 6:04 a.m. and return from JFK at 10:30 p.m. On the way down, it took me exactly three minutes to make my way through security before immediately boarding the plane for departure. Our chariot sailed into the sunrise fifteen minutes early. We were in the air for just over 30 minutes and before I knew it, I was brunching in Brooklyn. Most flights hover around $60 if you buy tickets two weeks in advance. The return trip can get trickier given that JFK is a much larger airport to navigate, but nothing beats hopping off the plane just miles from your front door. I suggest everyone treat themself to at least one NYC getaway this summer (even if it’s just for the day.)

Worcester-Boston Full Service Radio for New England Sarah Connell contributing writer J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

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T

he story goes Howard Sobel’s demanding career in the hospitality industry left him feeling as if he was absent for too many moments in his children’s lives. I’d like to think that the dishes he and his family have begun to serve at Legacy Bar and Grille are the dinners he missed out on all those years ago. The stuff that Sunday supper is made of.

Howard’s son, Michael Sobel, is Legacy’s co-owner and chef. His affinity for American Comfort Food is unpretentious and hearty. It also draws a crowd. On my most recent visit, I entered the restaurant to find Worcester’s longest standing food writer, a respected local chef and one of the city’s most accomplished politicians all dining at respective tables. No frills. Plenty of food. Relaxation required.

Legacy’s bartop bears a resemblance to the gray fuzz of an untuned television set. There are six actual TVs (with crisp pictures). The backsplash is made up of ornate copper tiles. Above the bar a sign reads, “Home Sweet Home,” and I get it. An owl and two bird figurines watch over the restaurant intently. The chalkboarding on Legacy’s draft list reads clearly. Everything is spotless. Every high backed stool in its place.

Frosty glass partitions separate the bar area from the dining room. Each panel features the silhouette of a cattail, reminding guests this is waterfront dining – or close to it. With such intense proximity to Coes Reservoir, I imagine someday Legacy will add an outdoor patio. I hope it happens sooner than later.

Inside, the Coors Light digital clock display emits a headache-inducing blue glow beckoning guests to use their time at Legacy wisely.

The refreshing Passion Mojito ($8) includes rum infused with Tazo passion tea, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, mint and soda water. Wine averages $8 dollars an icy glass.

If you’re doing this thing right, you’ll order the poutine pulled pork ($10.95) to begin. Get into the pile of thick french fries topped with melted cheese curds, a rich demi-glace and barbeque

pulled pork. It’s okay to eat these french fries with a fork and knife. The calamari ($9.95) is equally warming, a tender plate of rings and tentacles deep fried and tossed with cherry peppers. I prefer the Thai chili dipping sauce, though marinara is available as well.

Don’t get fancy with the entrées. Legacy is about good home cooking. Try the meatloaf ($12.95) for a mixture of ground chuck wrapped in bacon and drowned in mushroom gravy with onion strings on top. Garlic mashed potatoes and freshly grilled zucchini and peppers come on the side for a wholesome touch. The lobster mac and cheese ($18.95) is serious with claw meat as far as the eye can see. The mac itself is served with cavatappi pasta coated in cheesy lobster sauce and topped with herb bread crumbs.

If you’re looking for light and healthy fare, there aren’t many options. The southwest salad ($8.95) is a good start, made with chopped romaine, grilled corn, roasted red peppers, red onion, cherry tomatoes and avocado with a roasted

Try Legacy’s meatloaf for a mixture of ground chuck wrapped in bacon and drowned in mushroom gravy with onion strings on top.

jalapeño dressing. Throw on a few grilled shrimp for $2.95 a piece. I do find it awkward when I have to decide how many individual shrimps I shall order. I trust you chef – pick a portion size and stick to it.

Legacy Bar and Grille is exactly what the west side of Worcester needs – a pristine family spot with an accessible menu. Furthermore, the staff makes you feel as if you’ve made it home in time for dinner. They’ll be pleased to see you walk through the door.

On my last dinner for four, our bill came to $126.45.

Explanation of Stars: Ratings are from zero to five.

Zero is not recommended. One is poor. Two is fair.

Three is satisfactory. Four is good. Five is excellent.

Food: HHH Ambience: HHH1/2 Service: HHHH Value: HHH1/2

culture Give me liberty — and movies, too JIM KEOGH

C

onsider this column the launch of my Repatriotize Massachusetts tour. Apparently, the prestigious (okay, vaguely familiar) WalletHub website has declared our state the least patriotic in the union, a sad state of affairs for the Land of the Freedom Trail and Home of the Bravehearts. My suggestion on this Fourth of July holiday is that you watch these very patriotic films, salute the flag, and, dammit, get your act together. WalletHub must be appeased.

“Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011): The sequel, “Winter Soldier,” was a better movie, but as origin stories go, this one does a nice job of explaining the mythology behind the red, white and blue hero. Steve Rogers’ transformation from skinny weakling to super soldier

speaks to our national fondness for reinvention stories.

“Independence Day” (1996): A ragtag army led by the president beats back an alien invasion, armed only with jet fighters and Will Smith’s wisecracks. Twenty years later, “Independence Day: Resurgence” revealed what we were truly fighting for: the freedom to make horrible sequels.

“1776” (1972): If you attended elementary school in the ’70s, chances are good your history class made a field trip to see this musical retelling of the Founding Fathers’ campaign to create a new nation.

Ben Franklin speaks my favorite line to John Adams, who is appalled by Thomas Jefferson’s randy behavior with his wife: “John,” Ben smiles, “not everyone’s from Boston.”

“Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942): Jimmy Cagney sings and dances, and sings and dances, as famed composer-performer George M. Cohan.

If you don’t have this movie on the list for the title alone then the terrorists have won.

“Miracle” (2004): “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” The 1980 U.S. hockey team under coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) skates its way

to one of Olympic history’s all-time upsets. Brooks’ pregame speech — “This is your time!’’ — is one of cinema’s most memorable pump-up moments, and his loud plaid sport coats are glorious.

“Born on the Fourth of July” (1990): Tom Cruise plays Ron Kovic, the paraplegic Vietnam veteran turned anti-war activist. The film illustrates that serving one’s country and agitating against it can both be patriotic acts.

“Born” also exposed the wretched conditions faced by wounded soldiers in veterans’ hospitals, a continuing battle.

“Red Dawn” (1984): Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen and a team of Midwestern teenage misfits repel the invading Soviet army by jumping out from behind haystacks and trees with hunting rifles. The premise proved so irresistible, “Red Dawn” was remade in 2012 with Chris Hemsworth doing the honors against, yes, our friends from North Korea.

“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939): Ah, remember the days when a single person

J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

could shift the ugly tenor on Capitol Hill and turn our body politick into a cohesive, missiondriven unit that wants to root out corruption and restore dignity to the office? Me neither. Frank Capra’s film about an idealistic senator (James Stewart) is more a fantasy than the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy — but it’s a nice fantasy.

“The Right Stuff ” (1983)/“Apollo 13” (1995): Two wonderful films from a time when the U.S. looked skyward, asked “What the hell is up there?”, then decided to go find out. “The Right Stuff ” is the saga of the space program, detailing the grit, courage, ingenuity, and sheer nerve it took to launch men into orbit atop rockets. “Apollo 13” recounts the heroic efforts to rescue an astronaut crew aboard a crippled ship. When a NASA official suggests it could be the agency’s worst disaster, steely flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) replies, “With all due respect, sir. I believe this is going to be our finest hour.” It was.

Jim Keogh contributing writer

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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calendar Thursday, July 5 Out to Lunch Series 2018: The Furies

Worcester Common Oval, 455 Main St. The weekly Thursday event returns with The Furies, the Northeast-based rock band is set to woo visitors to the common. Also featuring food trucks, a farmers market and local vendors.

July 5-Aug. 26 The Charlotte’s Web Experience

Old Sturbridge Village 1 Old Sturbridge Village Road Sturbridge The unique reimagining of the beloved children’s classic comes to life at Old Sturbridge Village. On Wednesdays through Sundays, shows begin at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and last just under an hour. The shows take place on the village’s Freeman Farm. For ticket information, head to Osv.org.

July 5-9 Karen Reid’s Mental Notes

Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge St. Karen Reid’s solo exhibition of oil and wax paintings wraps up gallery hours through July 9.

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calendar Sunday, July 8 Screaming Females

Ralph’s Rock Diner, 148 Grove St. The New Brunswick, N.J. punk-indie favorites head to Ralph’s Rock Diner with New Jersey’s Spowder and Worcester’s own Goddard.

Thursday, July 12 Movies on the Common: Wonder Woman

Worcester Common Oval, 455 Main St. The free all ages event on the common begins at 6:30 p.m. for seating, with the movie beginning at dusk.

Vendors will be on hand with food and beverages.

Friday, July 13 Summit Lounge Comedy

The Summit private Lounge, 116 Water St. The members and guests private cannabis lounge hosts its second night of comedy. This time around, the show features Alan Fitzgerald, Tyler Moore, Bryan O’Donnell, Matt Woodland, Allie Dick, Jesse Burlingame and Tricia D’Onofrio.

Friday-Sunday, July 13-July 15 Third Annual Wootown Wakefest

Lake Quinsigamond, 10 N Lake Ave. The annual wakeboarding and wakesurfing competition returns to Lake Quinsigamond.

Entrants of all skill levels compete for victory with live entertainment, food and drinks and plenty of spectator viewing for fans.

Friday, July 13 Puddle of Mudd

Worcester Palladium, 261 Main St. The alt rockers hit Worcester’s Palladium with Inherit the Earth, Bad Marriage, Mammothor, Blind Revision, Carpathia, FRNEMY, Without Warning, Algo Rhy+hm, SPC and Sixteenx20.

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sports p Dellicarri a stable force during Bravehearts’ rocky start WALTER BIRD JR.

a little bit of a gamble in that. When it works, there’s run production. When it doesn’t the result is a quick at bat.” n a season that has been plagued by inconThis year, the approach appears to be paying sistency, particularly on defense, right fielder Mike Dellicarri has been one of the constants off. And, Pyne said, Dellicarri is eager to learn.

Dellicarri has been playing ball since he was for the Worcester Bravehearts. about 3 or 4 years old.

While he has suffered his own defensive woes “I played Little League and my dad was the (the team had committed 41 errors as of June 28), Dellicarri, who turned 21 on June 23, has emerged coach,” he said. “I was 10 years old, there was a tryout for our town travel team. I went to try out, as one of the Bravehearts’ most consistent permade the team and loved it. I just kind of stuck formers. with it.”

Heading into the final weekend of June, with The son of Tony and Ginny Dellicarri, and his team at 10-12 and six games out of first place brother to older sister Allison (while playing for in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, the the Bravehearts, he is staying in Worcester with native of Rockland County, N.Y. and soon-to-besenior at State University of New York at Oswego his sister’s friend), Dellicarri enjoyed a successful high school campaign for Clarkstown High had played in every game (he finally took a breather Saturday night, June 20). He was batting School North in New City, N.Y. He ended up a robust .295, with 26 hits in 88 at-bats, including catching the eye of coaches at Division III Suny Oswego, where he was the designated hitter as a two home runs and 12 runs batted in. He had sophomore. As a junior, he started in right field also stolen five bases.

While the Bravehearts work to find their foot- and has played every game since.

Last summer, Dellicarri expected to play for ing — Dellicarri admits the team may have taken the Pittsfield Suns in the FCBL, but one of his things a little too lightly to start the year — he coaches at Suny also ended up coaching there. has established himself as a reliable hitter and Under league rules, a player and coach can’t be good teammate. assigned to the same team. Pyne said the Suns “I think he’s fit into the clubhouse really well,” called about sending Dellicarri to Worcester, but Pyne said of Dellicarri. “He’s a great kid, got a “We just didn’t have a spot and it wasn’t going to good sense of humor. He can laugh at himself. work out here.”

That always helps ingratiate yourself to your He ended up going to the Wachusett Dirt teammates.”

Dawgs, but as Dellicarri tells it, that experience As a hitter, Dellicarri has been the “lynchpin” did not work out. of the Bravehearts’ offense, Pyne said.

“It wasn’t the right fit for me,” he said. “I didn’t “He’s sort of been the stabilizing force,” he get along with the coach too well. I wasn’t really said, making note of Dellicarri’s rather simple playing.” approach to hitting.

It amounted to roughly a week’s stay in the “He’s a true fastball hunter,” Pyne said. “Sometimes, that can sort of take him out of at-bats, but league for Dellicarri, who ended up returning more often than not, he’s able to hunt something home, getting a job and playing “random summer ball at home with 50-year-old men.” early. He doesn’t go super deep into counts.

That fall, the Bravehearts and Pyne remem“It’s sort of a simplified approach, in terms of bered Dellicarri, who ended up being one of the see the ball, hit the ball. He’s trying to ambush fastballs early in counts and drive the ball. There’s first players signed to this year’s roster. Ironically,

I

The Score

Worcester Bravehearts June 29 The Bravehearts won their third in a row, an 11-2 decision at home over the Pittsfield Suns.

June 30 The Bravehearts fell on the road to the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, 6-3.

July 1 (Upcoming: The Bravehearts were on the road Tuesday, July 3 to take on the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks. The team

26

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returned home Wednesday, July 4 to play the Nashua Silver Knights. The Bravehearts play the Bristol Blues at home Thursday, July 5, before heading to Connecticut to take on the Blues Friday, July 6. The team comes back home Saturday, July 7 to play the North Shore Navigators, with two road games, Monday, July 9 and Tuesday, July 10, against the Sharks and Brockton Rox, respectively.

The Bravehearts take on the Pittsfield Suns at home Wednesday, July 11.)

Massachusetts Pirates June 30 The Pirates fell on the road to the Columbus J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

enough, Suny Oswego, which had made it to the New England Regionals at Harwich, ended up playing at Clark University because of inclement weather. Pyne happens to be the men’s baseball coach there, and was representing Clark for the tournament.

“I had a chance to meet his family briefly,” Pyne said. “He also hit a grand slam in that game, so I was like, ‘Alright, we’re pretty excited about him.”

Dellicarri had wanted to return to the league and the Bravehearts, he said, have been a good fit.

“It’s a lot of fun. I’m really enjoying it,” he said.

“It’s serious, but there’s a summer ball aspect to it, where, like, it’s not that serious. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to play, but there’s not a crazy amount of pressure. The guys are really cool.”

Dellicarri has his own personal reasons for wanting to succeed. He was very close to his uncle, Gerard Benderoth, his mom’s brother. He was, Dellicarri said, “a big part of my life.”

“He was a powerlifter and won all these competitions and stuff,” he said. “He got me into lifting, and I think it really helped me with baseball.

It made me a lot stronger, made me the player I am today.”

Last March, Benderoth died suddenly and unexpectedly.

“It was really tough,” Dellicarri acknowledged.

“He was, like, one of my best friends. It was really out of nowhere. We had no idea. That kind of, like, I decided everything I do for baseball was going to be for him, from that moment forward.”

As for the Bravehearts’ struggles to this point in the season (the team improved to 13-13 after sweeping a double header in Bristol, Conn. on Sunday, July 1), Dellicarri, who has been to the College World Series twice, said he thinks the team can turn the corner.

“I think we have all the pieces. We’ve just got to put it together,” he said. “I think we’re a very talented team. We’ve got very good pitching, very Lions, 63-62.

(Upcoming: The Pirates, 8-4, stay on the road to take on the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Saturday, July 7) Worcester Smiles June On the road Sunday, July 1 the Smiles were blanked, 7-0, by the Inferno Rush.

(Upcoming: The Smiles head to Hofstra University Saturday, July 7 to take on the Long Island Rough Riders.)

Mike Dellicarri ELIZABETH BROOKS

good hitting. If we can figure out fielder, I don’t think it’s bad.”

He also pointed out many of the players, including himself, are playing a higher caliber of baseball and in front of larger crowds than they are used to.

“I think it’s just a bit of a learning curve we’re getting over,” he said.

Personally, Dellicarri said he wants to go as far as he can in baseball – and with a little help from his uncle, who knows?

“I use my uncle’s death as a little more motivation,” he said. “I want to prove myself, I guess, and make something out of baseball. I look at it as he’s looking down on me and helping me out any way he can.”

Round-Up

Massachusetts Pirates QB Sean Brackett named offensive player of the week last week for National Arena Football League. Against the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Brackett threw for 288 yards, seven TDs and an interception.

The Worcester Railers re-signed 25-year-old defenseman Kyle McKenzie for the 2018-19 season.

games “You Are Correct”--some well-known pairings.

by Matt Jones

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Ego-driven Disney film set in China Pt. of CBS or CNS Ambulance team, briefly Word that’s considered an alternative to the last word of each theme phrase

Down 1 2 3 4

Mojo ___ (“Powerpuff Girls” villain) Ones, in Juarez Salmon seasoning Overdo it

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 22 24 26 27 28 29 30 33 34 35 37 38 40 41 42 43

44 Tennis racket string material, Funny duo? once Enlightenment, to Zen Buddhists 45 Borough for JFK Airport “In ___ of flowers ...”

46 Sunburn-relieving plants Just ___ (small amount) 47 Overly sedimental?

Language instruction company 48 Rescinds a deletion, in with a “Method” proofreading Fast-food chain founder Wilber 51 Claylike soil Letter-shaped girder 52 J.K. Rowling attribute, for short?

Big name in farm machinery 54 Rights-defending org.

Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy” 55 ___ Farm (clothing line founded She has a singing backpack

by Russell Simmons) Canyon effect 56 Phnom ___, Cambodia Relaxation room 59 Network that airs reruns of “Beowulf,” for one “Reba” ___ Mountains (dividers of Europe and Asia) Last week's solution It may be created in a pit Background distraction Candy aisle stuff that’s not actually eaten Element in electrodes “Behold!” to Caesar Deejay Rick Bout enders, for short “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” extra Fix eggs, in a way Away for a while Itty littermates Out of commission (abbr.) ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com)

J U LY 5 - 11, 2018

Reference puzzle #891

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Wachusett House is an independent living facility for those with low to moderate income. These quaint and quiet units are tucked into the woods of Princeton, MA, close to the center of town. All 16 units have one bedroom and are located in one of four buildings set around a central office and community space. We are currently accepting applications for residency. To qualify, an applicant: • Must be at least 62 years or older or handicapped/disabled (regardless of age) • Must have an adjusted income no greater than $54,500 for one or $61,500 for two WHC abides by the equal housing opportunity standards and does not discriminate. The institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

For further information or to obtain an application for residency, contact: Wachusett House Manager (978) 464-2637 TDD 1-800-439-2370 or Email: wachusett.house@aol.com J U LY 5 - 11, 2018

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last call Joy Rachelle Murietta Main IDEA J

oy Rachelle Murietta is the driving force behind the local nonprofit Main IDEA, where she serves as executive director.

You may have also spotted Murietta in the Canal District, where she frequently performs as a solo artist.

What drives you to increase youth arts programming in Worcester every year?

When I was a kid, I was given an opportunity to be involved in a summer drama camp for free. Because of that opportunity, I was able to be a part of art programming that my family probably couldn’t afford otherwise, and I feel like that shaped a lot of who I am today and helped me gain confidence in myself.

It gave me a voice and artistic expression. As an adult, I want that same opportunity for kids in my neighborhood. Our whole mission statement at Main IDEA is to empower youth through the arts.

I stick with Main IDEA because someone gave me an opportunity and I want to pass that on.

How did you end up in Worcester? I moved to Worcester when I graduated college, which was in 2009. I went to a very small school, called Crown College, in Minnesota near the Twin Cities. My family moved a lot when I was growing up. So, when someone asks, where are you from? It’s a loaded question. I grew up on the Cape in Sandwich until the third grade, and then we moved to Colorado to be close to my mom’s family. I lived there until I graduated high school, and then my family moved back to Massachusetts to Central Mass so my dad could work at a church in Worcester. They moved here

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ditional income.’ I found I really, really liked it.

The more I worked with kids, the more I realized I enjoyed it. My private business grew so much that I couldn’t do both the administraWhat was your career trajectory from that tion part and the teaching one-on-one part.

I merged my business with Worcester Music point? I graduated with a degree in music Academy, which is just right up the street performance with a vocal concentration. I also did a lot of charity work and intercultural here on Irving. They did the administrative part and I could just focus on teaching. I also work, but my technical major was music. started a few ensembles through Worcester When I graduated and I moved back to Massachusetts, I didn’t really know what I wanted Music Academy. I started a teen rock band program. We did a girls rock band program, to do. I taught private lessons. I worked ELIZABETH BROOKS and then we did a girls a capella group. This summer we’re doing a children’s sing and play class at the library. at the same time I left for Minnesota, and then I moved back to Massachusetts after I graduated.

How did Main IDEA start?

Main IDEA started in 2011. A group of artists who were living in Main South at the time noticed a lack of accessibility for youth art classes for kids in our neighborhood. So, we thought, ‘We’re artists, if we can somehow provide for this need in our neighborhood, we can put our heads together and figure this out.’ It started as an idea, an experiment that worked.

We began a one-week summer program.

How did you recruit kids? We sent out applications through the Worcester Public Schools.

The first day we had like 10 or 15 kids, and then the next day it tripled. Main South operates by word of mouth. I think we were exhausted by the end of the week, but there was such a good community response that we knew it was meeting a need. That was seven at Guitar Center and then I taught music years ago. This will be our eighth summer reprivately in my own studio. I never thought I wanted to work with kids or teach kids, which living an experiment that worked and trying to improve it every year. is really funny because now it’s what I do. I remember the music-ed majors that I went to college with were so stressed out all the time. Where do you host your programming?

I remember thinking, ‘That does not seem We’ve moved through a couple of spots belike a lot of fun.’ But then I was like, ‘OK, I’ll cause we’re a startup and we’re grassroots, so try teaching private music, you know, for adwe don’t have our own building. We started at J U LY 5 - 1 1 , 2 0 1 8

the Woo Church, which is actually no longer around, and then two years later we moved to Clark University and they allowed us to use the space for free. This coming summer, we’ll still be doing our one week program there, but we’re expanding to half-day programming with Creative Hub as well for the IDEA Hub Youth Arts Program.

What is your operating budget? It changes every year because we grow every year. When we first started out, none of us really knew much, if anything, about nonprofit management. Seven years later, I have completed a core certificate in nonprofit management at Tufts. We got incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2015. This year I feel like we are the most organized we have ever been. Our projected operating budget for September 2018, which is the beginning of our fiscal year, is $75,000.

The more we do, the bigger that budget is going to be.

How many kids do you serve over the course of the year? About 100 kids per year, including events.

What percent are getting scholarships? All of our programming has historically been free of cost. This year at the IDEA Hub Youth Arts Program, we will give 20 full scholarships and 23 slots will be available at a cost.

What can people in the community do to help? We’re looking for people to help us continue to provide accessible free arts programming for youth and families, and to do that we need people to contribute. Main IDEA is made possible by people who are willing to invest in the community and every little bit helps. We also have a showcase coming up on Friday, Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. at Atwood Hall at Clark University. It’s going to be a culmination of youth performances. We’ll hang youth art. Everything that we’ve done during our program will be showcased. The city manager is going to speak. It will be a fun time and we want people to come and see what’s happening here in Worcester.

— Sarah Connell

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