Worcester Magazine February 18 - 24, 2022

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | CULTURE § ARTS § DINING § VOICES

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Worcester Magazine 100 Front St., Fifth Floor Worcester, MA 01608 worcestermag.com Editorial (508) 767.9535 WMeditor@gatehousemedia.com Sales (508) 767.9530 WMSales@gatehousemedia.com VP, Sales & Strategy Andrew Chernoff Executive Editor David Nordman Editor Nancy Campbell Content Editor Victor D. Infante Reporters Richard Duckett, Veer Mudambi Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell Sanders, Gari De Ramos, Robert Duguay, Liz Fay, Jason Greenough, Janice Harvey, Barbara Houle, Jim Keogh, Jim Perry, Craig S. Semon, Matthew Tota Multi Media Sales Executives Deirdre Baldwin, Debbie Bilodeau, Kate Carr, Diane Galipeau, Sammi Iacovone, Kathy Puffer, Jody Ryan, Regina Stillings Sales Support Jackie Buck, Yanet Ramirez Senior Operations Manager Gary Barth Operations Manager John Cofske Worcester Magazine is a news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement.

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Featured ..............................................................................4 City Voices ........................................................................10 Cover Story.......................................................................12 Artist Spotlight................................................................17 Cannabis Confi dential....................................................18 Next Draft .........................................................................19 4 Things To Do.................................................................23 Adoption Option.............................................................24 Classifi eds ........................................................................25 Games................................................................................26

On the cover Rat poison is threatening to be a deadly solution to Worcester's rat problem.

RICK CINCLAIR/T&G FILE PHOTO

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4 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURED

Blockopoly game brings Worcester streets to life Liz Fay Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

In 2009, Brian Njuguna opened the doors to his empty Worcester apartment after spending a year in Africa with his mother, owning nothing but a bed, a sofa and a Monopoly board.

“I was a huge fan of the game,” says Njuguna, who said it inspired his interest in real estate. He had, prior to relocating to Kenya, been invested in four three-deckers in Worcester.

His life had already been a whirlwind at that point, from moving to the United States at the age of 10, to owning a store in the Greendale Mall while he was still a student at Burncoat High School, to dabbling in the music industry, his life had already been a wild ride, and indeed, for a moment, he thought he had done all he could from Worcester, and it was time to move on.

“I felt like I had done everything,” he said. “Mom gave me ideas to go back to Africa and see what we could do. Mom never wanted to retire in America. She wanted to go back to Africa, so that was what I was working toward.”

That didn’t work out, and he returned to America while his mother remained home. He was broke, and his credit was ruined, but then the Monopoly game inspired him again: “I was not relating to the board,” he said and he realized he wanted to “build my own type of board game, one that could fi t our community.”

The result was “Blockopoly,” a hip-hop alternative to Monopoly for players 18 and older, or as Njuguna calls it, “streets

WORCESTER - Custom board game maker Brian Ngaguna with his Blockopoly game. ALLAN JUNG/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

in a box” — inspired by his own real-life experiences. The game would become a reality in 2016, even as his life and fortunes continued to change.

A Mind for Business Njuguna developed a keen eye for entrepreneurship and marketing in his youth, and by the age of 17, he opened his fi rst business, Ballaz, a retail cloth-

ing store located inside the former Greendale Mall. The store actually evolved from his interest in music, when he and fellow Burncoat graduate David Saint Fleur would travel to New York to meet with record labels.

“That’s where I got the idea to start bringing stuff up,” says Njuguna. The result was his opening Ballaz, which started with nothing and was driven largely by Njuguna’s ambition,

charisma and willpower. He closed his fi rst year of business profi ting $80,000, he said, only to end up selling his store soon after, using the profi t as a seed money to start his next career.

“I bought my fi rst real estate,” he says, “I think it was 19.

I bought my mom her fi rst house.”

He had also kept a foot in the music world, utilizing his industry connections to quickly

become a top-selling promoter, working with multiple renowned hip-hop acts ranging from Dipset, Trey Songz and Jim Jones at venues such as Worcester’s DCU Center and Palladium .

It was around the time of the Songz concert at The Hanover Theatre when he learned that his girlfriend was pregnant.

See BLOCKOPOLY, Page 5

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Custom board game maker Brian Njuguna with his Blockopoly game. ALLAN JUNG/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Blockopoly Continued from Page 4

“I took off my promoter’s hat, and prepared to be a father,” he said, adding that it focused his desire to fi nish creating the game.

“It took me from the element of playing around with life,” says Njuguna. “It changed my outlook on how I was supposed to move on in life. For me, being in business and seeing her take over in the future, that’s how she began to shape me. I wanted to leave something I could leave behind that she could talk over.”

Indeed, her initials, “NBN” can be found in a street sign on the Blockopoly logo, and hidden in other locations throughout the game.

But just a few years after his daughter was born, Njuguna faced another challenge. In 2014, he would be arrested and charged in connection with a shooting in Worcester.

“It completely threw me off ,” he says. “I have a daughter, I’m trying to launch a game, I just got arrested and I’m feeling like I’m about to lose everything.

For about a year, I couldn’t see what I was trying to do.”

Arrested Development Njuguna fi rst served four years of house arrest, before taking a plea deal for three to fi ve years. Ironically, the time under house arrest pushed him harder to develop Blockopoly, much as the COVID-19 lockdown pushed many people to develop career skills and hobbies. Njuguna didn’t want to let his time go to waste.

The game was released in 2016, and while he was still under house arrest, he managed to sell more than 400 copies, aided by a social media push from local hip-hop icon Joyner Lucas, whom Njuguna had known, “since he was in the studio, recording his fi rst mix tape.” In addition to Lucas, the board found its way into the hands of celebrity hip-hop artists such as Dame Dash, Mario and 50 Cent.

According to the game’s instruction manual, the objective of Blockopoly is to become the largest “hustler” in the game by selling “weight” and maintaining “blocks” and “trap houses.”

But according to Njuguna, the true objective of Blockopoloy is to serve as both an educational and entertaining hip-hop art piece. When looking at the board and instructions pamphlet, players will fi nd sublimi-

Brian Njuguna’s custom board game, Blockopoly. ALLAN JUNG/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

nal messages such as “Block the Violence” inside of stop signs, encouraging players to choose a diff erent path, leaving Blockopoly enthusiasts with the freedom to choose their own journey.

Still, despite his burgeoning success, Njuguna knew he had to resolve his legal situation before being able to choose his own journey. In 2018, he took the plea deal, spending three years in prison. Still, while in no way understating the severity of his circumstances, Njuguna managed to fi nd a silver lining in his situation.

“Being in jail, talking to some of those guys, and showing them the pictures of the game, really showed me the opportunity ahead of me,” he says.

Instead of giving up on his dream, he clung to it as a beacon of hope and change.

“When they were seeing my little project those guys made me come at that (the game) with an energy of understanding my position, which led me to pursue this very hard,” he says.

Still in the Game Now out on parole, Njuguna says he’s been transformed by the experience, and is buckling down to grow his game, and not losing sight of where it started, and what he saw missing in the Monopoly game that fi rst inspired him.

“This is my environment,” he says in a 2019 video blog fi lmed inside the apartment

where Blockopoly was born.

“This is everything I learned in the streets, everything I learned in this building. I broke my fi rst 100K in this building and put it all into an art form, I put it in a board game platform.

This is not only real to me but I’m also trying to motivate the next generation, ya”ll ain’t gotta be stuck in the streets … do something diff erent.”

That message is as real to him now as it was then.

“I knew I wanted out from the streets,” said Njuguna, in a phone conversation. “I always knew I was better than that journey and living in a streets mentality.”

Blockopoly Boards are available for pre-order at Blockopolygame.com. Follow Blockopoly on Instagram @Blockopoly.

6 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Contemporary artists explore identity in Worcester Art Museum’s ‘Us Them We’ Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The Worcester Art Museum’s latest exhibition, “Us Them We | Race Ethnicity Identity,” features 47 striking works by diverse contemporary artists.

The works are mostly from after 1995, and include photography, prints, painting and sculpture. The images are themselves diverse, from graphic text to hairbraiding, a gallows to a nude woman, and some of the issues being addressed are from immediate recent events while others take a longer look at history.

The exhibition is also described as an “in-depth look at how the artists have used formal artistic devices in their work to explore socio-political concepts” such as race, ethnicity and identity.

To that end, “Us Them We” is divided into sections, including Text, Juxtaposition, Pattern and Seriality.

The exhibition is co-curated by Nancy Kathryn Burns, Stoddard Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at WAM, and Toby Sisson, Associate Professor and Program Director of Studio Art at Clark University.

“Us Them We” opens Feb. 19 and runs through Juneteenth (June 19). “Not coincidentally,” Sisson said.

“It’s a really visually stunning show.

These are really important works,” said Sisson.

Many are drawn from WAM’s own collection along with several signifi cant loans. A number have been acquired for the museum by Burns, and some are on display for the fi rst time.

“This is a smorgasbord, a feast, and we want invite people to the party,” Sisson said. “I would love audiences to see the diversity of the way artists address identity.”

Burns said that the curators want viewers to “Start with the work. We’re placing our emphasis on the art work.”

With that, she hopes the exhibition will also “generate a new conversation about how identity can be revealed through form itself. An artist’s decision to use certain visual motifs like repetition, movement, language and contrast

Co-curators of “Us Them We”, Nancy Kathryn Burns, Stoddard Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at WAM, and Toby Sisson, Associate Professor and Program Director of Studio Art at Clark University. Worcester Art Museum’s upcoming exhibition, “Us Them We” was installed on Feb. 7. CHRISTINE PETERSON/TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

can serve to emphasize larger concepts about race and ethnicity,” Burns said.

Burns and Sisson were being interviewed last week as the exhibition was painstakingly being installed across two galleries.

“I’m really hopeful people take the time to read some of the labels,” Burns said of the exhibition’s notes accompanying each of the artworks.

Addressing identity as a socio-political issue has been a central theme for artists since the 1970s.

In “Us Them We” there’s a great diversity in the artists, but they are often exploring similar approaches to art to convey identity and other ideas, Burns said.

The Text section includes Edgar Heap of Birds’ Fort Supply (2017), 24 red and white monotypes each with six

lines of one word reading down with messages such as “Custer Re Supply To Kill Cheyenne.” It’s a loud and bold statement.

Karlos Cárcamo’s Untitled (2019), also in Text, is a study of a work of graffi ti that has been removed by solvents. No graffi ti remains. The statement is perhaps in the spaces.

Two screenprints by Dread Scott, #WhileBlack (2018) and #WhileWhite (2020) in the Text section use hashtags to call out the ongoing oppression of Black Americans.

Sharin Neshat’s “My Beloved” (1995), also in Text, is a portrait of herself clutching her son with a gun close-athand as she wears head covering that may for some look like it is decorated but in fact is an excerpt from a poem in Farsi.

Each work has its own narrative, Burns and Sisson said.

Edgar Heap of Birds is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nations, and the exhibition says he rectifi es the history of Fort Supply — a United States Army post in what the government referred to as “Indian Territory” and is now part of the state of Oklahoma. The nearby Native American settlement on the Washita River was the target of a U.S. government winter campaign aimed at the genocide of indigenous tribes throughout the Southern Plains.

With Carcamo’s graffi ti removed surface we might wonder about the identity of the artist.

Dread Scott’s #WhileBlack has rows of lines with words such as “#CashingSee IDENTITY, Page 7

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 7

LaToya Ruby Frazier, “Momme,” 2008, Gelatin silver print. STEVE BRIGGS

Identity Continued from Page 6

CheckWhileBlack” and “#StabucksWhileBlack” indicating things that for some reason appear to be meeting disapproval. In contrast (and in blue, red and white and not the previous black and white) #WhileWhite” has lines with words like “#HuntingABlackmanWhileWhite,” and “#GettingAJobYoureUnqualifi edForWhileWhite.”

The head covering in Sharin Neshat’s “My Beloved” has an excerpt from a poem written by Forough Farrokhzad (1934-67), an Iranian feminist, “I die in you but you are my life!”

Burns said that for those who cannot read Farsi, the calligraphic marks appear ornamental highlighting the fact that a viewer’s identity impacts their understanding of an artwork.

The reaction of viewers to the works is likely to vary quite dramatically.

Sisson and Burns taught a course together last year at Clark University titled Contemporary Directions while also developing the “Us Them We” exhibit.

The course centered on artists from historically underrepresented groups and the impact their work has had on the canon of American visual art and

culture. Among the outcomes for the course, students were asked to select a contemporary artist to research and then to create their own artworks in response to that artist’s style or approach — but drawing on their own lives and experiences. Eleven students who participated in the course will have a selection of their works presented as a companion installation to “Us Them We.” Sisson said what struck her the most about the course was how two students could “look at the same work and come up with very diff erent responses. It was a really great experience for Nancy and myself.”

A work by Sisson will also be on display at WAM during the exhibition, although not formally as part of “Us Them We.” In other exhibition sections such as Pattern, Nafi s M. White’s Oculus (about 2017) draws on her heritage and patterned sculptures as a means to connect across diff erence. Evoking practices as disparate as Victorian hair weaving and African American hair braiding, the exhibition notes that Oculus honors women’s craftwork as well as cultural traditions that value ornate hairstyling as a mark of beauty and pride.

It’s an example of a work of beauty at the exhibition, Sisson said. “It’s not all tragedy.”

In the Juxtaposition section the im-

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, “When I am Not Here/ Estoy Allá, Identity Could Be a Tragedy,” 1995-1996. Composition of 6 Polaroid Polacolor Pro 20x24 in photographs. Framed: approx. 26x22in each (66x55.9 cm) WORCESTER ART MUSEUM

ages are again often bold in their impact on the viewer. Artist Kara Walker juxtaposes the colors black and white and also layers an archival image with a screen-printed silhouette in Scene of McPherson’s Death (2005). Walker places a silhouette on top of a lithograph from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), originally published in 1866. Walker’s partially dismembered fi gure, whose lower leg is being carried by an even smaller fi gure in the lower left-hand corner, raises immediate questions for audiences about the human costs of the Civil War, the exhibition says. This contrasts with traditional North vs. South narratives that may address the end of slavery but overlook the war’s impact on formerly enslaved people.

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’ photo-based series Identity Could be a Tragedy (1995) in the Seriality section has self-portraits that show the artist’s progressive erasure until she has nearly disappeared, leaving a trace image of what was once a clear and distinct individual.

A number of these pieces could overlap in terms of the sections they’ve been placed in, Burns and Sisson acknowledged.

Nafi s M. White (American, b. 1977), “Oculus (Brown, Blue, Blonde, Orange),” 2019, Hair, Embodied Knowledge, Ancestral Recall, Audacity of Survival, Bobby Pins, 27 x 24 x 8 inches. WORCESTER ART MUSEUM

“They could have been in multi-sections of the show,” Burns said.

“Ultimately, it had to land somewhere,” said Sisson.

Sisson praised the Worcester Art Museum for recognizing the importance of these contemporary works both with its acquisitions and the staging of the exhiSee IDENTITY, Page 9

8 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Grant helps Worcester’s E for All expand entrepreneurship program Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

Oftentimes, when you look at the “Our Story” section on a company website, it will start with something along the lines of “it all began with an idea,” or a “spark” or something equally intangible. While ideas and sparks are certainly necessary, what it doesn’t mention is the required funding, business training and consumer research needed to get any venture off the ground.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 20% of small businesses fail within their fi rst year. If every aspiring entrepreneur with a great idea succeeded in realizing their vision, this statistic would be very diff erent. More often than not, even with the best resources, the odds are stacked against you. Now, include factors such as lack of education, being a non-English speaker and a global pandemic with its attendant supply chain issues and economic fallout. Clearly, it takes more than an idea to overcome these hurdles.

Worcester resident Pooja Vishal started out with mixing spice blends for the local farmer’s market, where a co-vender told her to apply to E for All. The “E” stands for “Entrepreneurship” and true to its name, the organization aims to allow anyone acting on a new business venture to have an even playing fi eld.

The organization uses a network of seasoned professionals to pool knowledge and expertise to help entrepreneurs by providing business classes and mentorship. After pitching their ideas, participants are placed in a one-year accelerator program, the fi rst three

Success in other areas like Lawrence has E for All Worcester confi dent about EparaTodos in Worcester. E FOR ALL

months of which is intensive business 101, often taught by professors from local colleges, followed by the implementation and evaluation phase. This consists of regular meetings with assigned mentors to work with the participants to refi ne and focus their ideas.

“It’s like ‘Shark Tank’ without the teeth,” said Miguelina Peralta, referring to the popular reality show. Peralta is executive director of E for All Greater Worcester. Last month, the organization received a $50,000 grant from the Health Foundation for Central Massachusetts.

The grant is to specifi cally increase program off erings in the

Worcester area, including launching a mirror program specifi cally for the city’s Spanish-speaking community, called E para Todos. “We want to reach those who may not be fl uent in English but still have the skills and ideas,” said Peralta. “[The grant] is an amazing opportunity,” said Peralta, who hopes to double the program and eff orts for later in the year.

So far there have been two completed programs, with the fi rst beginning just before the pandemic.

“The pandemic posed a big challenge,” she said. “We pivoted by moving programs to a

complete online platform.”

That required a major technology investment. Now the eight participants in the winter 2022 program can attend classes and meet with mentors via Zoom as well as in person. With the grant money, Peralta says, they will hopefully have room for a cohort of up to 15 at a time.

They are taking new applications for the summer 2022 program.

For Vishal, the organization helped the most with understanding what her customers were looking for and fi nding that niche to fi ll. “My biggest challenge was trying to narrow down my customer segment,”

she said, and how to market her product. Her team of mentors encouraged her to utilize surveys to understand customers’ “needs, wants and problem areas.”

“Customers were just so intimidated with spices,” Vishal explained, “didn’t know how much, what spices and when to use them.” Which led to her product of Indian meal kits — pre-measured spices and ingredients complete with instructions — “no brainer cooking.” Through the meal kits, she was able to get a place in Worcester Public Market, See GRANT, Page 9

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 9

Grant Continued from Page 8

opening Namaste Woo. In fact the meal kits have received such a positive response that Vishal is working to expand to more stores.

She is currently in talks with Whole Foods.

The program is just as fulfi lling for the participating mentors as it is for the budding entrepreneurs. “My favorite part is getting an opportunity to engage with the enthusiasm and excitement that an entrepreneur brings to the challenges that they’re taking on,” said Finn Arnold, who joined a little over a year ago and is currently mentoring his third cohort.

Each entrepreneur has a team of three mentors, industry experts drawn from the community network and can even include graduated cohorts. Arnold brings 35 years of

Identity Continued from Page 7

bition itself.

“This exhibition challenges all of us to examine carefully how we think about identity and the assumptions that we make about where we belong,” said Matthias Waschek, the museum’s Jean and Myles McDonough Director, in an announcement about the exhibition. “An especially compelling component here is the literal diversity of artistic approaches, from fi gurative works to abstraction, and with objects that sometimes convey meaning through written language and other times solely through the power of imagery.”

Concerning whether the works may, for all their striking natures, be dauntingly abstract for some visitors at fi rst, Burns said, “I’m hoping that they feel they have access to

experience in the consumer electronic industry and has worked as part of multiple start-ups.

“The biggest thing that other mentors and I help with is bringing focus and critical thinking to an entrepreneur who is trying to narrow down market segments,” he said, “and think carefully about the areas the business is headed into.”

This was precisely what someone like Vishal needed to take the business to the next level.

“I don’t think I would have ever thought the way I’m thinking now without E for All,” said Vishal. “They really helped me think the right way and put me on the right path.”

And Peralta confi rmed that graduated entrepreneurs, whose initial ideas have formed the basis of a solid business, are the best “example of the impact we are able to make — they are the best voices.”

abstraction.”

Sisson said, “We’re hoping people feel welcomed to think.”

Sisson said that with students, “I tell them to think of contemporary artwork as an experience. What am I experiencing? What am I feeling?

That’s a way to enter contemporary work as an experience.”

“Us Them We” will likely offer lots of experiences and thoughts.

As part of its monthly Master Series Third Thursday program, at 6 p.m. March 17 WAM will present a talk on selected works in the exhibition, by Kimberly Juanita Brown, associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College and specialist in visual culture studies. Registration information for the event can be found on the museum’s website. Also, for more information about “Us Them We” visit www.worcesterart.org.

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10 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY VOICES LANDGREN REMOTE CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS GETTING OUT OF HAND?

FIRST PERSON

Homelessness issue on display at the library Mary Reynolds Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

BAD ADVICE

Creepy boss is her dad’s friend Shaun Connolly Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

DEAR SHAUN: My boss has been hitting on me at work, and making inappropriate comments about my body. Ordinarily, I would just report him to HR, but he’s a longtime friend of the family and he gave me the job as a favor to my dad. What should I do? – No Good Options Dear Options: Your dad is friends with this guy? I suggest you write in for some advice on how to get your dad new friends, because that is clearly something that needs to be done. I will stick to the task at hand. Don’t hit on him per se.

But defi nitely talk about his weird body. If he is a friend of your dad’s then he is an older

gentleman and unless he’s George Clooney, well I’m assuming he hasn’t aged the best. Say things like, “huh, I never noticed how your eyes recede like they are sinking in sand.” Or, “did you always have that much skin?” Or maybe, “thinning hair is really cute, it’s the equivalent of your scalp wanting to show a little leg.” Or even try, “can I see your hands, I want to see if I can fi nd your adorable little liver spots.” This will most likely get you fi red.

But then you can ask your dad if he has any non-creepy friends that are hiring!

DEAR SHAUN: I am unable to read.

Dear Illiterate: Okay, this is fun because you won’t be able to read my response. I actually See ADVICE, Page 11

If you’ve ever taken the time to read it, you will see that the fi rst line of the Worcester Public Library mission statement is to “serve as a gathering place that promotes the free exchange of ideas in our democratic society.” (Bear in mind for later reading that “mission” can also be defi ned as the vocation or calling of an organization.)

If you have visited the WPL any time in the last 20 years, you have obviously noted a dramatic increase in the number of homeless and otherwise needy people socializing outside the rear entrance. For many years, they were innocuous and even friendly. However, in the last few years, many of them have become shockingly aggressive and even follow you to your car seeking cash or cigarettes.

Alas, do not complain or make a comment to a library staff member! They will vigorously defend their civil right to be there, that they “serve as a gathering place.” Amazing what a few words taken out of context produces. And to be fair to the staff , I’m not sure what they can do, anyway.

However, loitering individuals are problem that started years ago, actually in the ‘60s, with a diff erent population — a group we called the library perverts. I was blessed to work at the WPL from my freshman year in high school until my

The main branch of the Worcester Public Library. FILE PHOTO

senior year in college. And I do mean blessed — my mother had instilled in us a love of reading from a very early age — taking us to the Quinsigamond Branch of the Library once a week and letting us get an extra book if we had been “good” that week. (How clever was she ??)

So this was a great job for me — I would hurry and fi nish my work and then sneak into the stacks and read a book.

And trust me, I was not the only page doing this!

Unfortunately, danger lurked. Many of us were Catholic High School girls who came directly to work from school, so we were clad in our uniforms, specifi cally, skirts.

Often while we stood on stools to reshelf books, a “pervert” in the next aisle would push a mirror through the bottom shelf on his side and look up our skirts. While this was quite

unnerving to us, I devised a simple solution that many of us adopted — simply shove a large group of books from the top shelf into that aisle, hopefully landing most of them squarely on his head. Thus the second great use of books at the WPL! Unfortunately, the problem got so out of control that the library fi nally hired the services of a Worcester policeman, the wonderful Offi cer Guittar. (Obviously in plain clothes). He was kind and effi cient, and within months he had cleared out most of the “perverts.”

After I graduated from college, years passed before I visited the library again, but when my brother Paul began volunteering in the library book store, I would stop in now and then to visit him and make a purchase. I was aghast at See LIBRARY, Page 11

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 11

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Eyeing a way to celebrate heritage, diversity Dale Wickenheiser Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

I read with interest Vanessa Joga’s letter (Worcester Mag 1/ 20/21) about immigrants and cultural connection. What my wife and I noticed when we moved to Worcester six years ago were all of the small family run businesses, our multi-ethnic neighborhood, and that nowhere did the City seem to celebrate the cultural diversity that Worcester seems to have.

What we knew before coming here was that Worcester was a poor white city that had once been a mill town. We’ve since learned that a little less than a quarter of the City’s population are relatively recent immigrants from all over the world and that the people who are “from” here are almost as diverse. It’s a broad cultural mix

Library Continued from Page 10

how many of the outsiders had moved inside to bathe in the public restrooms. Now I can understand that this is a place of obvious warmth and refuge for the homeless, however the bathrooms are unfi t for use, and “the free ideas” exchanged

Advice Continued from Page 10

don’t know how you were able to send this email to me in the fi rst place. I’ll assume that you are an adult that is writing in and not a child. If you are a

that we didn’t know existed until we had lived here for several years and actively searched it out.

When the Notre Dame des Canadiens church was scheduled for demolition, I was one of the people who spoke (as part of the Save Notre Dame Alliance) trying to save it. I wondered aloud if, when a city removes the buildings that its people identifi ed with, is it telling those people that along with those buildings, they too have outlived their usefulness and value. Neither are worth saving. Or celebrating. But, as the City moves forward with becoming “New Worcester,” I’m now wondering if it hasn’t been all of those people, with their mom and pop businesses and cultural celebrations, who have kept the City afl oat and put it in a position to become “New Worcester.” The discussion

about saving old buildings is a complicated and it’s not what I’m writing about. But it leads me to the open space where Notre Dame once stood. While the building is gone, could the site be used to celebrate and recognize the history of those who were there?

The same company that built 145 Front at City Square (I believe) have plans on a shelf somewhere for apartments to be built on that site. Frankly, I’ve been expecting someone to build a parking garage and gas station with a Dunky there to service the new ballpark crowd. But with the 300th anniversary of Worcester coming up this spring, and the recent arrival of people from Afghanistan, could we rethink the use of the site as we celebrate the City’s history and welcome new members to our community?

What if we were bold enough to create a new public park? An immigrant park. One that celebrates the history of the people who moved here.

As a park celebrating those arriving in Worcester, what if it had a visitor center? A place that helps those coming here to visit navigate the City. What if it began to tell the history of Worcester and was a starting point for immigrant trails that thread through the city to the various sites and neighborhoods that were defi ned by the groups that have come here?

Would groups like Guardians of Tradition be interested in helping build such a park and facility? It would require the involvement of the City (of course). But this can’t be something we ask ‘the City’ to do by itself. It would, and should, be an investment of all of the people of the city. I’m not sure how

that happens. Or who would lead it.

But if the new ballpark is any indication, big new things can get done here. The Save Notre Dame Alliance dissolved when the fi ght for the church was over. But, as a starting point, the SNDA does still have a Facebook page that people can message.

Worcester was once a bold city. It was built by those who thought big, took risks and welcomed those who worked hard to build a better life. Can we celebrate those whose ancestors built this City, recognize those who’ve carried it to this point, and let them know that they have value as the foundation of Worcester as it strives to move forward.

Dale Wickenheiser lives in Worcester.

in there if you enter when someone is bathing would make a sailor cringe.

I love the Worcester Public Library — I love its staff and its volunteers. In fact, I love all libraries. But has sheltering and defending the homeless and needy become its mission? If so, how do they protect the general public trying to safely enter and exit this beautiful building? And why is it specifi cally

such a problem at the WPL? I have been to other places in the city that the homeless frequent, and they don’t harass or intimidate.

A visit to the library is a reminder to all of us that the city has much work to do in solving its homelessness problem.

Shame on us! While the city brags about all of its new development, especially in the Canal District right around the cor-

ner, we fail to take care of our own and instead lure out-oftowners. At the same time, we are making it woefully diffi cult for long term residents to stay In the city. In fact, many of them have become homeless, and I’ll bet you know now where you can witness that.

Yes, get your books at the Worcester Public Library, but you will get so much more.

Mary Reynolds grew up on

Vernon Hill, graduated from Assumption College, received a Master’s in Education from UNH, and two additional Masters. She worked in N.H. For 10 years, then returned to work in the Worcester Public Schools, fi rst at St. Casimir’s Alternative School, and then at South High for 20 years as an English teacher to students with behavior disorders, and then as the school Literacy Coach.

child I apologize, but this is quick.

Be patient, you’ll learn soon enough. My guess is you have someone helping you. Or even better, you have a computer that reads things back to you. I will give a response for each scenario.

Person: You should learn to

read. While I’m sure the person reading this to you right now is very sweet and helpful, they need to have their own life too.

Plus, you are a person with your own agency that was willing to at least ask someone else to write in to the column for help on what to do next. Start small.

Here’s a little hack. You can ac-

tually sign up for 5 free books from Dr. Seuss if you are a new parent. Just tell them you are having a kid and you’ll get 5 new books to help you start learning to read.

Those are the books I used to learn to read so many years ago.

Computer: Hoogahchaka, Hoogachaka, hooga, hooga

hoogachaka.

That would sound so funny coming from a computer voice, right?

Worcester comedian Shaun Connolly provides readers bad advice in his weekly column.

Send your questions to woocomedyweek@gmail.com.

12 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

COVER STORY

RATS!!!

Worcester is dealing with increased rat sightings in recent months. ANATOLY PAREEV/GETTY IMAGES

Poisoning rodents has long-term impact on Worcester wildlife Veer Mudambi Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Jenny Pacillo is delighted by how much wildlife her family gets to watch in their Burncoat neighborhood.

“It’s such a treat — foxes, hawks. (I) never expected to see so many animals in the city, but it’s very cool.”

The mother of three talked about the two neighborhood hawks and how sometimes they’ll sit on her neighbor’s roof. “And two backyards away from ours, there’s an abandoned shed where a fox gave birth last year. There’s been a little pack of baby foxes.”

She fi nds any kind of bird fascinating. “I love crows, they’ll bring you presents if you get on their good side.

They love peanuts and cashews so if you build up a good relationship with them, they will bring you what they consider to be a gift, like string and elastic pieces.”

But rats are a diff erent story. Initially, she would see one rat at night that would set off the motion sensors.

But it became a bigger issue over the summer, when rats would run by outside in the middle of the day.

“I was lenient at fi rst — it’s a part of city life.” Inspectional services trimmed some bushes, which helped till this winter when the rats came back with a vengeance. Sometimes their traps get three or four a night.

She believed the construction work being done on Burncoat Street might have stirred them up and now See RATS, Page 13

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 13

Jenny Pacillo, with her children, in March 2020.

CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G FILE PHOTO

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Rats Continued from Page 12

there are so many, that her kids will run to the window to look for rats when the motion sensor goes off . It’s hard to stay on top of the rat problem. “We use traps, but (we) used poison a couple of times and it sucks because poison is the easiest choice.”

It may be the easiest choice but it’s not a safe one; in fact, it is downright dangerous because rat poison goes up the food chain and aff ects all the other animals.

Yenni Desroches, former city council candidate and animal rights activist for more than a decade, agreed.

“The four main rat poisons in use are the ones that cause the most problems up the food chain, because they’re the strongest. They block the creation of the protein that controls bleeding and causes animals to bleed out due to organ rupture.”

The animals most at risk

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“There are ways to control the rat problem before resorting to rodenticide,” says animal rights activist Yenni Desroches. RICK CINCLAIR/T&G STAFF

from rat poison rising up the food chain are raptors — hawks, owls, eagles and cats.

“There are ways to control the rat problem before resorting to rodenticide,” according See RATS, Page 14

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A rat runs with a packet of poison pellets as others chase it down in an infested warehouse in Gardner in 2004. RICK CINCLAIR/T&G STAFF FILE PHOTO

Rats Continued from Page 13

to Desroches. Covered bins for trash and recycling will help but the viable options for the city are really only trapping and prevention.

“Trapping is a never-ending battle and it’s not something we’re going to solve because we’re never going to get rid of them,” Desroches said.

With only three animal control offi cers, they don’t have the time, so it falls to the DPW and the major projects like Polar Park have only exposed the problems, which were always there but underground, as it were.

Construction and other conduit replacement projects displace rats, and people see them more because it removes scent trails that the rodents use to navigate and they become disoriented. The chemical treatment of sewers has also been tied to using a deterrent that blocks the scent pathways, which could displace them and lead to more rat sightings.

“It’s not that we can’t engage in construction but we need to be aware that it will lead to seeing more rats. Displacing them can help since it causes a break in their reproductive cycle since they can’t fi nd a safe place to reproduce,” said Desroches.

Chris Spencer of Worcester’s Department of Inspectional

Services, confi rmed that it is defi nitely an issue that needs to be addressed but certainly not at Boston levels or New York City levels.

Desroches acknowledged that those cities required more urgent solutions. “In those kinds of situations, there’s really no other option other than rodenticide.”

But Worcester’s levels are so much lower than other urban areas, she said. “We don’t hear people talking about how rats are gathering in the street. It’s just, ‘oh, I saw a rat.’”

“The methods we use,” said Spencer, “depend on state regulations and what is eff ective.”

The city has always done more See RATS, Page 15

Resorting to rodenticide could have detrimental environmental effects. FILE PHOTO

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 15

Rats Continued from Page 14

baiting and trapping, not only because of the problem with poisons rising through the food chain but one cannot know for certain if it handled the problem because one cannot always see the evidence.

“We don’t want to deal with the rat issue and create another issue,” according to Spencer.

He explained how the city saw the complaints as a metric, which they tracked through online and phone complaint systems and noticed an uptick in the last year. The diffi culty was that complaints about garbage and rats were fi led diff erently and they had to do a word search to fi nd all rat complaints, which were about 128.

They took all of those and applied the geographical information to identify hotspots or repeat calls, then overlaid that map with other information such as construction projects.

Resources will be pooled in those areas, be it education, baiting, etc.

“We’ve been putting this plan together for the past three or four months, beginning in September/October,” Spencer said. Construction now requires an assessment by a pest control expert before work begins and guidelines require restaurants to dispose of food waste so dumpsters don’t attract rodents and landlords must provide weather and rodent-proof garbage containers to minimize the food source for rats. Landlords can be fi ned for not supplying them.

“We don’t conduct an annual rat census so we can’t tell if they’re increasing or not but once we started discussing this, the complaints quickly escalated — possibly that people didn’t know where they could log their issues.”

Mass Audubon Director of Policy Heidi Ricci weighed in on the public perception of rat poison.

“People often look at rat poi-

The EcoTarium's resident skunk, Stormy. Skunks are also vulnerable to rat poison being passed on to them through their prey.

ECOTARIUM

son as an easy solution but it is actually not the most eff ective solution and even counterproductive.” Mainly, because rats don’t die right away. It takes a few days and during that time they become weak and stagger around, becoming easy prey for predators, and there is enough poison in them to provide a lethal dose to the predator that consumes them.” Predators don’t breed as fast as rats so more and more rats and fewer predators.

She agreed with Spencer that what is eff ective is sanitation — eliminating all sources of garbage, refuse and access to food sources like pet food, live-

stock feed, bird feed; exclusion — sealing up holes in foundations; and trapping. Some communities are even distributing rat-proof trash bins, something that can keep numbers down to much more tolerable levels.

Trimming overgrown brush close to structures will also help because rats can stay hidden and probably be more persistent about burrowing into the foundation. “It’s a tradeoff ,” she said, “because we want people to maintain more naturalized yards but maybe not right up against your foundation.”

People living in an urban environment should realize it’s

never going to be possible to eradicate rats but the goal would be to keep them out of the areas of human habitation.

Rat poison should only be used when other methods are not suffi cient since it creates more problems than it solves. Ricci cites the resurgence of raptors in urban areas since the removal of DDT but also notes that one of Worcester’s newly fl edged eagles died this past summer from consuming an animal that had been poisoned.

“We don’t want to lose all those raptors that we worked so hard to restore.”

Rachel Davison, zoological manager at the EcoTarium,

said that all rats in Massachusetts are Old World rats and the domestic rat that is known as a pest around here has been present for approximately 300 years.

“They’ve just been introduced so long ago, that they’re established as part of this ecosystem.” Where there are humans, there are rats and mice, she said. “We’ve just brought them everywhere with us, but obviously, if someone sees a rat or mouse in their home, it’s a more serious problem. But outside, it’s likely due to disruption — all the development See RATS, Page 16

16 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Right: Possums — the only North American marsupial — hunt rats as well. This one, Bear, was rescued and now makes his home at the EcoTarium and is a staff and visitor favorite.

ECOTARIUM

Far right: American kestrals are one of the local predators that include rats in their diet — birds of prey are especially vulnerable to the bioaccumulation effects of rat poison. This one at the Ecotarium is named Newt.

ECOTARIUM

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Rats Continued from Page 15

that’s been happening in the city.” At the EcoTarium, the rats who live on the property are part of the food system and there doesn’t need to be a fear of poisoning for larger predators.

Davison noted how Worcester residents are proud of the Worcester Common falcons and emphasized the eff ect on local apex predators such as mountain lions, birds of prey and coyotes.

“Obviously, when you have a lot of people, you’re going to get pests, but as human and animal habitats merge, larger predators come into contact with humans and rodenticide.”

The process of “bioaccumulation” in rats and mice or even small predators makes more poison for the top predators.

“People don’t think about that,” she said, “they just want to kill rats and mice. One study had

over 80% of mountain lions with evidence of rodenticide poisoning.” She believes it is for lack of education and encouraged people to think about the big picture: Small decisions can have a giant impact on the overall environment.

Both Ricci and Davison noted that a bill in the state Legislature, An Act Relative to Pesticides (H.3991), would decrease the use of rat poisons in the state. And they suggested concerned citizens reach out to their representatives to support the bill.

Desroches bemoaned the fact that the bill isn’t getting much traction but lauded the fact that the EPA has also ordered guidelines, though not offi cially banning the poisons.

The state bill would further regulate rodenticide, making second-generation rodenticides available through pest control companies, and it would require better disclosure of alternative methods and risks associated with pesticides.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 17

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Dwarakesh Nallan

A rustic, fully-customized cornhole board.

Dwarakesh Nallan

DWARAKESH NALLAN

Special to Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

Dwarakesh Nallan says art has been an integral part of his growth. While energy has been his career passion (he currently works as a managing consultant at Daymark Energy Advisors in Worcester), he says art has been something that has never left his mind. As a young artist, Nallan was fascinated with water colors and had the opportunity to win a number of nationallevel painting competitions across India. Fast forward to 2018, after moving to Auburn, Nallan pursued his passion in art by fusing creative painting with his woodworking skills to create The Nallans Workshop.

The Nallans Workshop, founded by Nallan and his wife, Amie Tailor, is a local workshop on the Auburn/

A hand-crafted wooden American flag.

A rendering of the Brazilian flag.

DWARAKESH NALLAN

Worcester line which specializes in making unique, fully hand-crafted wooden creations. The Nallans Workshop was established with a vision of providing the community with creative, artistic, unique wood creations that are designed without the infl uence of large-scale computerized warehouses and mass-producing machinery. Says Nallan, “We ensure that every creation is as special to our clients as it is to us while we make it from scratch.” Visit the workshop online at https://www.thenallansworkshop.com/home.

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18 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CITY LIVING CANNABIS CONFIDENTIAL

Paul Pierce’s ‘Truth’ line worth a shot Eric Casey Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

When I heard ten-time NBA All-Star and Boston Celtics legend Paul “The Truth” Pierce was releasing his own line of cannabis products, I have to admit that I rolled my eyes a bit. I suppose you could call me a skeptic of celebrity-endorsed cannabis brands, as it seems that often the only thing that makes these products diff erent from your typical non-celebrity endorsed brand is the packaging.

Some quick research regarding Pierce’s line of “The Truth” branded products showed this to be mostly true.

The fl ower inside was a strain called Tahoe OG, produced by Sira Naturals, a Milford-based company owned by a large Canadian corporation. It’s not exactly a diffi cult strain to fi nd in Massachusetts, and Tahoe OG is used by Sira in other products that are not related to Pierce’s brand. The ingredients used to make other products in The Truth line (infused pre-rolls, concentrate, etc.,) come from a number of other cultivators in Massachusetts.

On the plus side, The Truth pre-rolls I purchased were about the same cost as other similar products on the market.

Unlike other celebrity brands, there was no upcharge for the Celtics-inspired packaging bearing Pierce’s jersey number, and the product was packaged and sold by Major Bloom, a minority-owned dispensary based in Worcester. Pierce’s comments on why he got into the industry also seemed to be a bit more authentic than some other Johnny-come-lately celebrities; he used cannabis to deal with PTSD stemming from a nearly fatal stabbing he was the victim of back in 2000.

So after a trip over to Major Bloom, I could now answer the two burning questions on everyone’s mind: 1) Was his product line any good? and 2) Would consuming one of his pre-rolls help my

A pre-roll from Celtics star Paul Pierce's Truth line, which is packaged and sold by Major Bloom, a minority-owned dispensary based in Worcester. MAJOR BLOOM

basketball skills?

To be fair, nowhere in any of the promotional materials did Paul Pierce promise that consuming his products would make you a better basketball player, and on fi rst glance, Tahoe OG did not necessarily seem like the perfect strain for basketball-related activities.

Described as an Indica-heavy hybrid that is “ideal for use while staying home on an off day,” it seems more appropriate as an after-game treat than something that would be used as a pre-game performance enhancer.

My own basketball career is not what you would call illustrious. Growing up, I mostly played basketball to just stay active during the long winters. I was pretty much useless with the ball in my hands.

That being said, most of my basketball performance issues seemed to stem from too much nervous energy, so maybe this would be the perfect remedy for

those foul line jitters. There was only one way to fi nd out, so I sorted through the back closet to fi nd a basketball and headed down to my local court.

It took about fi ve free-throws to realize this was a mistake. The temperature was unseasonably warm, but the wind was howling. As I watched yet another shot get pushed away from the hoop by a massive gust of wind, I remembered that I own one of those mini basketball doorway hoops back home. It would have to do.

Back in the warmth of my living room, I went 13 for 25 from the fi eld, aka my couch. Not a great number by any means, but hey, at least it was just as good as Shaq’s career free-throw percentage. Now it was time to see what Paul could teach me.

The Truth pre-roll burned smooth and evenly, which is more than can be said about many of the joints currently

sold in Massachusetts. The Tahoe OG was fast acting and calming as promised, but would it help my shooting skills? Now was the moment of truth, so to speak.

Apparently, someone snuck some Saran wrap over the hoop while I was gone. Shot after shot spun around the rim only to fall out at the last second. I ended up shooting a pathetic 6 for 25 from the fi eld, but thanks to the pre-roll, throwing up brick after brick was more amusing than frustrating.

If this was a dunk contest and I was a judge, I’d be holding up a placard with a big number eight on it for this joint. My experience with The Truth was not mind blowing, but it did surpass the quality of many pre-rolls I’ve purchased around here. If you see it on a menu near you, I’d say it’s worth a try.

Just don’t expect it to help your basketball game.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 19

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Milk Room Brewing Co. in Rutland to open new taproom Matthew Tota Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

RUTLAND — Districted by the grazing bison, smiling camel or general grandeur of Alta Vista Farm, most people visiting Milk Room Brewing Co. never notice it’s missing a taproom.

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There’s plenty to see, hear and drink at the 2-year-old brewery. Owner Kevin Jarvi worked hard to set up one of the most unique farm brewery experiences in the state. Summer weekends in his beer pasture have been legendary — the views, the music and, of course, the bison.

Without a taproom, Jarvi has had to shut down on bad weather days and during much of the winter. But that will

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“We’re going to have a really cool taproom down in the lower barn area, which used to be the horse stalls, donkey barn and where we kept the camel,” Jarvi said. “It will have that nostalgic feel to it.”

It is easy to forget that Milk Room initially opened with a taproom, an inimitable space carved out of a former milking room, complete with a quirky bar built from wooden milk crates. Unfortunately, the brewery never got to use that taproom, as state fi re code required Jarvi spend around $1 million for a sprinkler system.

The kernel of good news was Milk Room could still use the

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20 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

CONNELL SANDERS

Prom queen dreams at Carbonneau’s Bridal Shop

ment Offi cer Peter Dunn popped out from behind a cascade of baker-miller pink balloons and waved hello. Dunn has had a hand in the success of nearly all of my favorite small businesses. Plus, he’s easy to talk to. I knew I could ask him to point out the owner without any fuss.

Dunn led me to a tall blonde woman in a pristine black ensemble. She wore a long strand of pearls wrapped around her neck.

I elbowed my way past a state senator and three city councilors until I was close enough to extend my hand, which she clasped with her perfectly manicured fi ngers for a fi rm shake. The proprietress

listened intently while her PR representative explained why I was there. A sharp-looking associate motioned for her attention with an urgent question.

“Excuse me, Lynn,” she said.

“Can I off er Mayor Petty a glass of wine?”

Lynn Carbonneau Reed nodded her head toward the front desk where a makeshift bar had materialized and then turned her attention back to me.

“What can I help you with, Sarah?” she asked, managing to make me feel very important in a room full of very important people.

I asked for a brief history of the business. She took a deep breath before launching into the rich Carbonneau legacy,

“I’m a fourth-generation business owner,” she explained. “I worked for my dad; his father was the original Joseph Carbonneau. I would go into the business at 13 years old and he would set me up on the lottery table. They taught me how to write out the tickets for shoe repairs. Back then, we sold bridal and dance shoes …”

“I bought a pair of ballet slippers at Carbonneau’s when I was ten,” I told her proudly. I’m not sure why I interrupted her to share this detail. I think I wanted to impress her. In truth, my dance career had been a total disaster — I lacked a certain delicacy the sport required.

“That’s wonderful,” she said, and I could tell she really meant it.

“So, what sets you apart from the big department stores?” I prodded.

“Well, my grandfather was amazing and he taught me the value of how to treat people in customer service, which is why I think we are so successful,” said Reed. “We really genuinely appreciate our clients; we care how they are feeling when they come in and we want to give them attention. I appreciate that old school training a lot of people will never understand if they’re just starting out today; I have the advantage of being trained by four generations

it the destination we wanted it to be,” he said.

A bunch of standalone kegerators would serve the beer and a rotating schedule of food trucks and musicians and hodgepodge of friendly farm animals would keep the crowds happy.

Jarvi doesn’t feel pressure to speed up construction of the 2,000-square-foot taproom.

He’s taking his time with the

project to get every detail right.

He plans to reclaim the oaken horse stalls for bar tops, build another milkcrate bar, add a fi replace and install sliding doors that open up into a covered porch.

“We want to keep it as old school as we can,” he said. “You can’t build a new barn and duplicate a 200-year-old barn; it’s not quite the same.”

Milk Room will open the tap-

room in late spring, Jarvi said.

If you stop by the farm before then, you’ll fi nd a new food truck selling bison burgers, chili and hot dogs. And there’ll be wagon rides off ered around the pastures that take you close enough to the farm’s 13 bison to feed them.

In other words, don’t expect anything radically diff erent out of the brewery that marches to its own rhythm, which sounds

Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

The new Carbonneau’s Bridal Shop on Shrewsbury Street was not at all what I was expecting. For a split second, I could have sworn I bypassed the digital divide and tumbled into a Euphoria character’s Instagram feed — Cassie with a touch of Jules. It was no ordinary ribbon cutting.

Bold colors and a glint of sequins caught my eye from the upstairs balcony where teen girls in elegant prom dresses descended the stairs. They posed under a neon sign that proclaimed, “I said yes!”

At fl oor level, every garment radiated pure white light. One look at Carbonneau’s bridal collection prompted a self-conscious glance down at my boots to make sure I hadn’t tracked in any mud from outside. I startled audibly with the realization that I was standing on the edge of a mannequin’s fragile lace train, and scurried past the billowing curtains to a safe corner of the shop.

All of the usual suspects were there — City Hall types chatting up local entrepreneurs in pressed suits like real estate executive Rob Branca. I breathed a sigh of relief when Worcester’s Chief Develop-

Draft Continued from Page 19

barn for a retail store and meat market.

It was sometime after having to shut down the taproom for a second time that Jarvi realized Milk Room “didn’t have to be like every other brewery out there. We could really make

Lynn Carbonneau Reed is a fourth-generation business owner in Worcester. SUBMITTED PHOTO

who showed me how to own a business.”

In the two minutes since I met her, she had demonstrated an ethos of genuine caring. Unlike my pliés and pirouettes, Reed possessed the delicate touch and superb confi dence of a prima ballerina.

“I hope to have a long future here,” she concluded. “We’ve literally maximized every inch of space, so I don’t know how we’re going to bring anything else in, but we are going to fi gure it out — shoes and accessories for proms and weddings.

My partners from the Batista family are over the moon. They are so excited to have retail in this space.”

Part of me wished I had a prom dress to shop for. I eyed the racks upstairs, lost again in my alternate Instagram reality.

A city bus drove by, smattering slush a few feet shy of the picture windows. The spell was broken. My prom days were over.

I thanked Reed for her time and wandered back out into the February afternoon. The real world felt colder than ever after a dose of Carbonneau’s hospitality.

To book an appointment at Carbonneau’s Bridal for all your formal needs, visit https://www.carbonneaubridal.com.

a lot like the stamping of many hooves.

“So far we have made everything happen within the fencing around our beer pasture.

One-hundred scoops of dirt created our stage for live music.

We’ve kept things simple,” Jarvi said. “I want that same look and feel with this taproom.

We’re not extravagant or overthe-top here. We’re barebones and natural.”

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 21

REVIEW

‘God’ has some explaining to do in satiric WCLOC production

Kevin T. Baldwin Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK

WORCESTER — Worcester County Light Opera Company presents a simple but heavenly show in the funny, irreverent comedy “An Act of God.” As the title implies, it is a single-act show composed of 80 minutes spent with the whimsical yet occasionally surly Almighty Lord God (“appearing in the form” of actress Caitlin Lubelczyk), who is ably assisted by her angels, Michael (Eric Butler) and Gabriel (Erik Gladwin).

Their goal is try and explain to the audience the backstories of the existing Ten Commandments and to announce God’s intention to replace/update them (at least for the next 2000 years or so).

Michael “takes questions” from the audience then poses those “questions” to God. The questions, as the show unfolds, continuously call attention to God’s lack of historical consistency, especially when taking into account God’s proclaimed (albeit conjectured) celestial omniscience, specifi cally in areas of empathy and fairness.

Directed by Chuck Grigaitis, the riotous self-described “one-God show,” written by David Javerbaum, has no great revelations (pun not intended) and feels more like an elongated comedy sketch than an HBO documentary. It is simple comic fare and thank God for that (now that was intended).

However, Javerbaum’s script also serves to thrust God into the spotlight to best “respond” to the concerns raised, at least in the guise of Lubelczyk (who is exemplary in the role).

We learn about God’s “fi rst try” at the Garden of Eden, learning that the FIRST humans were actually the same-sex couple Adam and Steve.

When this attempt failed spectacularly, God decided to do a re-write of Steve to Eve, which thus begat Cain and Abel … and which also did not go quite according to God’s plan.

Caitlin Lubelczyk as God takes a selfi e with Erik Gladwin as angel Gabriel, left, and Eric Butler as angel Michael in Worcester County Light Opera Company’s production of “An Act of God.” CHRISTOPHER O’CONNOR

By the time we get to the story of Noah and the biblical fl ood, we kind of get the sense from Javerbaum’s witty text that God’s been kind of winging it for a while.

When Michael attempts to confront God’s (more than occasional) questionable actions, inactions, moral ambiguity and/or out and out indiff erence, that is when God attempts to forcibly steer the conversation back to the Ten Commandments or at least to a direction

that best suits God. Both Butler and Gladwin are excellent at establishing themselves as God’s corporate sidemen, one maintaining the agenda (Gabriel) while the other (Michael) confronts, making sure things that need to be discussed are brought to God’s attention, regardless of the ramifi cations as a result of those confrontations.

See ‘GOD’, Page 24

‘An Act of God’ 3 stars Written by David Javerbaum. Directed

by Chuck Grigaitis. Performances: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 and 19; 2 p.m. Feb. 20.

WCLOC, Grandview Avenue, Worcester.

General admission tickets $25, $20 for seniors and students.

With Caitlin Sargent Lubelczyk; Eric Butler; Erik Gladwin

22 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

‘Death on the Nile’ tops a quiet box offi ce weekend Film delayed by scandal opens to diminished fanfare Jake Coyle ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK – Hollywood’s Super Bowl weekend largely fi zzled with the muted debut of Kenneth Branagh’s long-delayed Agatha Christie whodunit, “Death on the Nile,” a tepid reception for the Jennifer Lopez romantic-comedy “Marry Me” and modest box-offi ce bumps for Oscar nominees.

“Death on the Nile,” Branagh’s follow-up to the 2017 hit “Murder on the Orient Express,” led all fi lms with $12.8 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Produced under 20th Century Fox before its acquisition by the Walt Disney Co., “Death on the Nile” had been delayed by the pandemic and by scandal that engulfed one of its stars, Armie Hammer.

Last March, Hammer was put under investigation by Los Angeles police in a sexual assault. Hammer has denied the allegation.

After considering other avenues, reportedly including reshooting parts of the fi lm without Hammer, Disney opted to release “Death on the Nile” as it was – albeit with less fanfare on a weekend the fi lm industry often yields to football. The $90 million fi lm, which also stars Gal Gadot, Emma McKay and Branagh, reprising his role as detective Hercule Poirot, had once seemed a reliable moneymaker. “Murder on the Orient Express” launched with $28.7 million in 2017 and ended up grossing $352.8 million worldwide against a $55 million budget. “Death on the Nile” added $20.7 million in international receipts.

Hollywood’s biggest pitch to moviegoers over the weekend wasn’t in theaters but in televi-

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Gal Gadot in a scene from “Death on the Nile.” 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS VIA AP

sion ads. After two years of the pandemic, a heavy-hitting lineup of blockbusters were set to roll out trailers during the Super Bowl broadcast and try to lure still-reluctant moviegoers back to theaters. Last year, when many theaters were still shuttered and few fi lms were being released, Hollywood largely sat out the game. Jordan Peele’s “Nope” kicked off the day with its fi rst trailer early Sunday.

“Marry Me” opened with $8 million while simultaneously streaming on Peacock. The Universal Pictures release, which was timed to Valentine’s Day on Monday, stars Lopez as a pop star who, after fi nding out her fi ancé has been cheating, marries a stranger (Owen Wilson) at one of her concerts. In recent years, streaming plat-

forms have increasingly been the rom-com’s primary home.

Netfl ix, in particular, has pumped out a constant stream of new entries in the genre. On Friday, Amazon Prime Video debuted its own: “I Want You Back,” with Charlie Day and Jenny Slate.

The lukewarm performance of “Marry Me” allowed last week’s top fi lm, “Jackass Forever,” to narrowly edge it for second place. Johnny Knoxville’s sequel dropped a steep 65% from last weekend, coming in with an estimated $8.1 million for Paramount Pictures. Its grossed $37.4 million in total.

Another once dependable ticket-seller at the box offi ce – a Liam Neeson thriller – also struggled. Briarcliff Entertainment’s “Blacklight,” a poorly reviewed action fi lm starring the

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic fi gures will be released Monday.

1. “Death on the Nile,” $12.8 million.

2. “Jackass Forever,” $8.1 million.

3. “Marry Me,” $8 million.

4. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $7.2 million.

5. “Blacklight,” $3.6 million.

6. “Sing 2,” $3 million.

7. “Moonfall,” $2.9 million.

8. “Scream,” $2.8 million.

9. “Licorice Pizza,” $922,500.

10. “The King’s Man,” $433,000.

69-year-old Neeson as a shadowy government agent, opened with $3.6 million.

Few fi lms were set to capitalize in theaters on Tuesday’s

Academy Awards nominations.

As nominations came later than usual this year, most OsSee MOVIES, Page 24D

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 23

4 THINGS TO DO

ARTSWORCESTER COLLEGE SHOW, ORCHIDS AND MORE ...

Richard Duckett Worcester Magazine | USA TODAY NETWORK

ArtsWorcester’s annual College Show

An orchid from a past show at Tower Hill Botan Garden. CHRISTINE PETERSON/T&G FILE

The prize winners of ArtsWorcester’s 18th Annual College Show will have their work exhibited in-person at ArtsWorcester from Feb. 17 to March 27. The whole show is on view online through the end of March, featuring 56 works from students with a broad range of academic concentrations, as well as insights from the artists themselves. The art includes traditional and new media in film, printmaking, photography, paint, and digital art. Juror Jessica Roscio, director and curator at Danforth Art Museum, awarded four prize winners, all of equal merit and receiving cash awards, and six artworks for honorable mentions. For the show Roscio selected the 56 works from over 170 submissions. “The diversity of media and subject were exciting, and many works approached our current anxieties in varied and surprising ways, creating a window into contemporary practice on the college level,” she said. Prize Winners: Wynne Dromey, Clark University; Jori Dudzikowski, Clark University; Shea O’Scannlain, College of the Holy Cross; Mariam Soas, College of the Holy Cross.

“Fragments of Myself” by Shea O’Scannlain ARTSWORCESTER What: ArtsWorcester’s 18th Annual College Show When/Where: Online through the end of March. Prizewinning works can also be seen in person Feb. 17 to March 27 at ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland St., Worcester. www.artsworcester.org

Orchids in spotlight at Tower Hill Tower Hill Botanic Garden has combined dazzling plant displays and vibrant art installations for this year’s orchid exhibit, “Prismatic, An Orchid Exhibition.” Inspired by color and light, the exhibition adorns Tower Hill’s indoor spaces, including the Limonaia and Orangerie, with 1,400 colorful orchids and sparkling works of art. The journey also includes a walk through a rainbow in the Milton Gallery and a view of a shimmering George Sherwood sculpture in the Cafe. In conjunction with the exhibition, Tower Hill will hold Orchids After Dark 6-8 p.m. on Fridays beginning Feb. 18 through March 18.

The after-hours event will feature jazz music, a cash bar and light bites ($28; $20 for members).

What: “Prismatic, An Orchid Exhibition” When: Through March 20 Where: Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston How much: Included with admission. Admission tickets must be reserved online in advance. All who are able must wear masks indoors at Tower Hill Botanic Garden until further notice. Tower Hill is following the mask guidance provided by the CDC. www.towerhillbg.org

Who’s up for an Owl Prowl?

Is spring coming? Our local owls can be very vocal this time of year when they are establishing territory and communicating with their mates. Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary presents a “Family Owl Prowl” Feb. 19. Learn all about owls around a warming campfire, followed by a short hike to A barred owl in a listen and look for owls and tree in other nighttime wildlife who Hubbardston. FILE might be nearby. This program PHOTO is entirely outdoors so dress for conditions, with cold weather gear and winter boots. Suitable for family with children 5 and older. Registration is required.

What: “Family Owl Prowl” When: 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 19 Where: Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, 113 Goodnow Road, Princeton.

How much: Members — adult $15; child $10. Nonmembers — adult $18; child $12. www.massaudubon.org/program-catalog/wachusett-meadow/80381-family-owl-prowl

Gabe Stillman brings ‘blues machine’ to Bull Run The Gabe Stillman Band has been called a “blues machine” that runs at full tilt for every performance. While their sound is unmistakably rooted in the blues, the band draws from the deep well of all American roots music.

Stillman formed his band in 2015, shortly after graduatGabe Stillman. ing from Boston’s Berklee PROMOTIONAL PHOTO College of Music. He went on to prove his talent at the 35th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis, landing in the final eight contestants and winning the esteemed Gibson Guitar Award. Joining Stillman for his show at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley on Feb. 19 will be legendary Texas blues guitarist Anson Funderburgh.

What: The Gabe Stillman Band with Anson Funderburgh When: 8 p.m. Feb. 19 (doors open for seating and dinner at 6 p.m.)

Where: The Bull Rin Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley How much: $24. www,bullrunrestaurant.com

24 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Movies Continued from Page 22

car contenders have been available for weeks, if not months, in the home. But a few fi lms sought a post-nominations lift at the box offi ce, even if the once expected “Oscar bump” is all but dead.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza,” up for three awards including best picture, had its widest week of release in its 12th week of release, playing in 1,977 theaters. It man-

‘God’ Continued from Page 21

Whatever your religious inclination, be it devout, agnostic or full on atheist, this is an

aged $922,500 in ticket sales, bringing its cumulative total to $14 million.

Branagh’s other fi lm in release, “Belfast,” followed up its seven nominations by playing in 928 theaters and adding $285,000 to its $7.9 million gross. Other best-picture contenders – “Nightmare Alley” ($85,000) and “West Side Story” ($235,000) – made only minor blips.

The biggest bumps out there may have been for a few of the international contenders. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” which is nominated for

entertaining show that probably won’t change anyone’s perspective on any of the above.

However, it might actually inspire further discussion on these topics and more after you leave the theater. Any work that inspires such further

four Oscars including best picture, saw a 92% spike in grossing $192,000 from 127 theaters.

Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” nominated for best original screenplay and best international fi lm, earned $255,395 on 49 screens in its second weekend.

The fi lm expected to lead the box offi ce next weekend – Sony’s video-game adaptation “Uncharted,” staring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg – began its release overseas, where it took in $21.5 million in 15 territories.

ADOPTION OPTION

conversations is always worthwhile time spent.

The show’s approximate run time is approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association.

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Pickle was surrendered to WARL due to his owner’s serious health issues. This handsome fella is both friendly and active so would like to live in an active home. He enjoys people and would do best with adults and older kids. He has a lot of energy and loves to play.

He could live with another cat that matches his energy and play type. To meet Pickle, email us at info@worcesterarl.org.

Adoption Option is a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League highlight-

ing their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at (508) 853-0030.

COVID-19 Protocols: The Worcester Animal Rescue League remains closed to walk-in visits with the animals and appointments must be made, in advance, to meet with any of the animals.

Masks are required. Visit https://worcesterarl.org/ for more information.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 25

LEGALS ADVERTISEMENT TO BID THIS PROJECT IS BEING ELECTRONICALLY BID AND HARD COPY BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Please review the instructions in the bid documents on how to register as an electronic bidder. The bids are to be prepared and submitted at www.biddocsonline. com . Tutorials and instructions on how to complete the electronic bid documents are available online (click on the "Tutorial" tab at the bottom footer).

Project consists of: Treatment and disposal of approximately 120cubic yards of lead-contaminated soil.

NOTE: All questions must be submitted in writing to Fuss and O’Neill, Inc. @ wtram@fando.com by noon on Friday, February 18, 2022 for a response via addendum.

The work is estimated to cost $ 25,000 Bids are subject to M.G.L. c.30 §39M and to minimum wage rates as required by M.G.L. c.149 §26 to 27H inclusive.

General Bids will be received until Friday, February 25, 2022 2:00pm and publicly opened, forthwith online.

All Bids should be submitted electronically online at www.biddocsonline.com and received no later than the date and time specified above.

General bids shall be accompanied by a bid deposit that is not less than five (5%) of the greatest possible bid amount (considering all alternates), and made payable to the Building Futures Inc./Worcester Housing Authority.

Bid Forms and Contract Documents will be available for pick-up at www.biddocsonline.com (may be viewed electronically and hardcopy requested) on 02/09/2022 or at Nashoba Blue, Inc. at 433 Main Street, Hudson, MA 01749 (978-568-1167).

Contract documents may be downloaded at no cost from BidDocs ONLINE or may be purchased for a non-refundable fee (including UPS mailing).

Sets may be paid for electronically online at BidDocs ONLINE. The Pre-Bid conference will be held Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. at 38/40 Lewis Street, Worcester, MA (project site).

The Contract Documents may be seen at: Worcester Housing Authority 630A Plantation Street Worcester, MA 508-635-3115 February 11, 18, 2022

Sudoku Answers

PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN PURSUANT TO THE PROVISION OF M.L.C. 225 SEC. 39A THE FOLLOWING VEHICLE WILL BE SOLD FEBRUARY 19, 2022, AT A SALE TO SATISFY OUR GARAGE LIEN THEREON FOR TOWING AND STORAGE CHARGES AND EXPENSES OF SALE AND NOTICE: 2014AUDI A-4 VIN WAUDFAFLXEA062107 2016 DODGE RAM VIN 1C6RR7FT0GS388313 2006 BMW X5 VIN 5UXFA13506LY30648 2008 BMW 335 XI VIN WBAWC73528E063016 2016 TOYOTA COROLLA VIN 2T1BURHE2GC502994 1993 PONTIAC SUNBIRD VIN 1G2JB34T9P7544393 2007 TOYOTA RAV-4 VIN JTMBK32V176014493 THE LOCATION OF THE SALE IS EARLY’S ON PARK AVE, INC 536 PARK AVENUE WORCESTER, MA 01603

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Where do I find such cool stuff and helpful services?

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26 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

J O N E S I N’

Enjoy Fun By The Numbers puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

If you would like to place your ad in our classifieds please call

800-695-1924 or email classifieds@telegram.com

Across 1. Toning result 12. Celebrity gossip website 15. 1993 Mary J. Blige hit that reached #5 on the R&B Singles Chart 16. Elvis’s longtime label 17. Bitter almond, as seen in French desserts 18. Acne wash maker 19. It’s posed for passersby 21. Radcliffe’s group 22. Dear one?

23. Violinist Menuhin 27. Throws out 30. Eldest von Trapp child in “The Sound of Music” 35. Pet Shop Boys’ longtime label 36. Locates 37. Comparable 39. Tomei of Spider-Man movies 40. Where Will Shortz is the “Puzzlemaster” 43. Dish with grapes, walnuts, and mayo 50. Bookstore category that features the town’s authors 53. Squishee purveyor on “The Simpsons” 54. Record the meeting, in a way 55. Blues guitarist Mahal 56. Place where it’s hard to pass 57. “Hold On Tight” group 58. Words before “of smell,” “of self,” and “of right and wrong” Down 1. Cat scratch sources 2. Friends, ‘90s-style 3. Russian infant emperor of 1740-41 (too young to be the “terrible” one) 4. E-mail writer 5. ___ a positive note 6. Chain that merged with AMC Theatres 7. Boy’s name that means “God is my nation” in Hebrew (A MILE anag.)

8. “San ___ High School football rules!” (shouted line near the end of “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) 9. Pearl Jam bassist Jeff 10. Actors Reed and Meredith Baxter (when she took a husband’s surname)

“These Go To Eleven”--and five down.

by Matt Jones

11. Pilots 12. Apparel that gets “dropped,” facetiously 13. CI times XI 14. Former groupmate of Harry and Liam 20. Decoy vessel used as early as WWI 24. Actor Kier of “Dancer in the Dark” 25. Morse code component 26. Provisional terms 27. Old Prizm automaker 28. Australian coat of arms bird 29. Frank McCourt’s sequel to “Angela’s Ashes” 30. On the ___ (running) 31. Garten who had a 2022 moment responding to Reese Witherspoon 32. Canal zone?

33. Guardian Angel Curtis who was the Republican nominee for NYC mayor in 2021 34. Northern Silicon Valley city 38. “Highlights for Children” do-gooder 40. Vacuum hater?

41. Igneous rock that solidifies deep in the earth (like a god of the underworld) 42. ___ hen’s teeth 44. Scottish builder of stone walls (not Dutch, surprisingly)

45. Work alongside “El rey Lear,” “La tempestad,” and “Ricardo III” 46. Furnish a new crew 47. “Breaking Bad” businessman/drug lord Gus 48. Neurobiologist Joshua who developed the “brainbow” by mapping neurons with different colored proteins (and whose name uses letters from “synapse”) 49. “___ un Principio: From the Beginning” (1999 Marc Anthony greatest-hits album) 50. In the wee hours 51. Birthstone that shares a first letter with its month 52. “... a Saint Bernard in his prime, five years old, nearly two hundred pounds in weight ...”

Last week's solution

©2022 Matt Jones (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com) Reference puzzle #1080

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | 27

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28 | FEBRUARY 18 - 24, 2022 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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