10 | JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 3, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
CITY VOICES LANDGREN WORCESTER'S RAT POPULATION ON THE RISE
HARVEY
WORCESTERIA
COVID-19 surge mess could have been avoided Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
There are a few common refrains that I hear regarding vaccination and boosters: A.) “Why bother with the vaccine — people are getting sick anyways — it’s not working!” B.) “Why do we have to get a booster? It can’t be that eff ective.” And my personal favorite, C.) “My decision to not get vaccinated doesn’t hurt someone else who does.” Worcester Health and Human Services Commissioner Dr. Mattie Castille had something to say about that: “We would never have had this sit-
uation if the majority of people were vaccinated.” You hear that? This could have been avoided. Omicron very well may not have happened. So yes, not getting vaccinated does indeed aff ect those around you who made a more enlightened decision — because you are acting as a testing site for future variants. According to Castille, about 55% of the community is vaccinated. That’s nowhere near close to the coveted “herd immunity” that could be our ticket out of this mess. According to the data scientists at the New York Times, as See MESS, Page 11
Thom McAn in the Worcester Galleria Jan. 7, 1983. T&G FILE PHOTO
Remembering when The Galleria was ‘a great place to be’ Janice Harvey Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
Of all the gifts I received this past Christmas, none was a bigger surprise than the one that caused an instant nostalgia rush. Searching the internet, my daughter found a Tshirt that reads: “THE GALLERIA at Worcester Center.” Beneath a lime green arch is the slogan “We’re a great place to be.”
For a time, it was. For those of us attending its much-ballyhooed opening, the Galleria was a marvel. It was as if L. Frank Baum, P.T. Barnum and William Filene had struck a deal to dazzle us. A replica of a hot-air balloon hung from the glass ceiling, and I remember thinking Dorothy Gale should be on the bridge with the city dignitaries. The event evoked the climactic scene from the "Wizard of Oz," when the magical kingdom’s citizens gath-
ered round in awe. Little did we know that just like the movie, the balloon would drift away without any of the native denizens of Oz on board. The T-shirt represents personal history for me. It was in the Galleria that I held my fi rst real job (baby-sitting didn’t count) at Hickory Farms. “America’s Leading Cheese Store” paid me two bucks an hour to shill summer sausage See GALLERIA, Page 11
