Worcester Magazine March 8 - 14, 2018

MARCH 8 - 14, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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insidestories news

Some question police costs for anti-gun violence rally Page 4

hockey

NCAA tourney sparks championship memories Page 22

last call

Dianne Williamson, memories and what’s ahead Page 38

Worcester’s Kilby Street shedding its stigma

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M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

Activists planning an anti-gun violence march in Worcester have taken to crowdfunding to pay police fees some say are exorbitant and unprecedented. 4

in this issue M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018 • V O L U M E 43 I S S U E 28

the cover

Worcester’s Kilby Street shedding its stigma Story on page 13

Bring the family to BirchTree: You may not want to leave. 27

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Last call: Sarah Connell gives Dianne Williamson a homework assignment. 38

Photo by Elizabeth Brooks, Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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news

Some question police costs for anti-gun violence rally BILL SHANER

A

ctivists planning an anti-gun violence march in Worcester as part of the national March For Our Lives event later this month have taken to crowdfunding to pay police fees some say are exorbitant and unprecedented.

Police told organizers of the march and rally, which is scheduled for March 24, they would need to pay the department $3,638.12 for a police detail involving 17 officers, including two SWAT officers, a sergeant and a lieutenant.

While a police spokesman said billing activists for police details at rallies is a common practice, others have raised a red flag. Charging for public protest may infringe on First Amendment rights, they argue, and, they say, if the detail is in an effort to maintain public safety, it should be a task performed as part of the duties of a police department, not as outside detail work.

“I don’t recall at any time ever having to pay for permits or police officers,” said Ron Madnick, a former director of the Massachusetts ACLU and, more recently, an activist involved in organizing rallies like the March for Science last April. For that march, which brought out about 300 people, he said he only paid for a sound system and a charter bus to take Worcester activists to the main Boston march later that day.

“Money should not be any barrier for people exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Madnick. “I see this as something that could have implications down the road.”

The Worcester Police Department, however, maintains billing activists is a common practice. Any time an organization has an event that involves blocking major streets, a police spokesman said, the organization pays the cost of police details.

“This is common practice,” Lt. Sean Murtha

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The fundraiser page put up by March For Our Lives activists. said via email.

At contentious events with potential for conflict, the department deploys some officers to “ensure the safety of everyone on both sides,” he said.

But Madnick and others argue public safety is the stated purpose of a police department, and organizers shouldn’t be billed for it.

“That’s what police do,” he said.

The March For Our Lives rally is one of hundreds across the country scheduled to take place on March 24. The rallies are in response

M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. that left 17 dead.

The rallies are planned in conjunction with school walkouts around the country and in Worcester on March 14.

The chief organizer of the rally, Allison MacMillan, said she wanted to make sure Worcester played its own part in the national movement.

“It’s something that’s been near and dear to my heart,” she said. “We’ve been talking about how the students were going to organize this

March For Our Lives and we said, ‘You know what? Worcester. We’re the second largest city in Massachusetts. We need to have a presence.’”

But, MacMillan said, she ran into problems at both City Hall and the police station. She said a police sergeant told her the 17-officer staffing level would be needed in part because of the controversial nature of the protest, and C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 6

news

City Council targets wage theft C BILL SHANER

ing is that it would make good sense for us to be aware of the fact we have no mechanism, ity officials are considering measures one, to know when it happens, and two, to do anything about it,” said Bergman. to penalize companies found to Russell offered that the same concept be commit wage theft via tax exemption expanded to all businesses that hold building deals and building permits. permits.

An order filed by Councilor At-Large Moe “It shouldn’t only be for TIFs, it should be Bergman and modified by District 3 Councilor for anyone who pulls a building permit here in George Russell is off to a legal review after Worcester,” said Russell. a discussion Tuesday night in which every Though no councilor mentioned a specific official who spoke favored implementing it. case the policy would address, there have been Bergman’s order centered around a developprominent wage theft stories in Worcester ment incentive package known as tax increment financing, or TIF. The policy allows cities over the past year.

At the 145 Front Street development, which to attract development with a property tax recently opened, there are five open U.S. break that last for a certain number of years.

Department of Labor wage theft complaints Bergman suggested the city should look at either withholding or revoking the tax deal for filed against a carpenting subcontractor that worked on the development. Union members companies found to commit wage theft.

“I’m not suggesting that we’re giving TIFs to and labor rights activists rallied outside the anyone that does that, but what I am suggest- development for months last year, demand-

didn’t have a specific coming the five carpenters be pany in mind, but said the paid their fair share. The order would help with larger carpenters, they allege, were employers, the ones more promised cash payments for likely to have development overtime work, but never deals with the city. received the money. The “I think the misnomer is subcontractor, P&B Partithat it’s small employers who tions, worked under Erland don’t often pay their employConstruction. But the project ees. I can tell you sometimes as a whole is financed by it’s big employers,” he said.

Mack-Cali, with roughly $94 The measure, he said, million in public money via would protect employees, a District Improvement FiCouncilor At-Large who face a long and difficult nancing deal. The complaints Moe Bergman have not yet been resolved by FILE PHOTO/ELIZABETH BROOKS process reclaiming stolen wages, as well as taxpayers. the Department of Labor.

“I don’t think it’s overbearing and I think Recently, the Attorney General’s office anemployers should be expected to pay their nounced it ordered Worcester-based staffing agency Southern Mass Staffing to pay $95,000 in employees,” said Bergman.

District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson restitution for wage theft at a Dudley factory.

In explaining his order, Bergman stressed he C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

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news V I O L E N C E R A L LY

you, I don’t have $4,000. Wish I did,” she said.

A fundraiser linked on the event’s Facebook C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 page has raised about $1,600 as of press time the chance it could attract counter protesters. from 27 donors.

He gave her the tentative estimate, $3,638, but MacMillan said she doesn’t think the cost said it could be higher, she said. At City Hall, will deter her from going forward with the the Parks Department asked for $450 for a event, but she’s worried high detail costs permit, she said. could tamp down other demonstrations.

“This is over $4,000,” she said. “I gotta tell “I’m concerned that this will set a precWomag Junior page.qxp_Layout 1 1/24/18 3:52 PM Page 1

edent,” she said.

Activists and city officials were scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon, after the deadline for this story, to discuss the rally and the charges. Read the online version of this story for any new information from the meeting.

MacMillan and Madnick are two of several voices to emerge as critical of the bill from the

Together we can build a better Worcester

police department. Others organizers have said the charge is unprecedented.

Worcester Magazine this week filed a public records request for any police detail invoices related to the past three major demonstrations in Worcester: the anti-racism rally last August, the March for Science last April and the immigration rally last January.

City staff did not respond to the request by press time, but any information ultimately provided will be added to the online version of this story.

Organizers involved with each of those rallies independently told Worcester Magazine they were not billed for police details.

The situation has attracted the attention of outside civil rights advocates. Carol Rose, the executive director of the Massachusetts ACLU chapter, said the issue of stiff fees for protests concerns the organization.

“Any policy that discourages active participation by residents of the Commonwealth must be carefully drawn in order to withstand constitutional scrutiny and should be reevaluated to ensure that the free speech protections in our state and federal Constitutions are not violated,” said Rose.

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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said the order makes sense.

“If we’re dealing with tax dollars we should definitely make sure people are paying their employees,” said Carlson.

Councilor At-Large Khrystian King likened wage theft to “school-yard bullying.”

“We know that when there’s wage violations that’s a direct attack on the city of Worcester,” said King.

If implemented, the proposal wouldn’t be the first time the city has altered TIF policy to impose restrictions on developers. In 2016, city officials added language to its TIF policies that jobs be filled by people of color at a rate of 10 percent, women at 5 percent, as well as making all jobs available to city residents. The policy change also stipulated that companies work toward paying a $15-minimum wage.

Language was also added to force companies to make an effort to hire Worcester workers.

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

ELIZABETH BROOKS

WAGE THEFT

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5

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WHAT DIFFERENCE A DA MAKES: District Attorney Joe Early was in the Boston Globe over

the weekend, but probably not for a reason he’s particularly thrilled about. Apparently, his challenger, Blake Rubin, is part of a national trend of progressive candidates running for district attorney seats on a platform of criminal justice reform. Marian Ryan in Middlesex County faces a challenge from the left, and in Suffolk County there are three progressives running for a seat left open recently by Dan Conley. Rubin is pushing for a citizen advisory board, community listening sessions and reform to the cash bail system among other things. Being honest, I haven’t paid much attention to this race. It’s just the DA, after all, and Early has won easily every four years since 2006. He hasn’t even had a challenger, according to the Globe. But Rubin’s bid in the context of a national criminal justice reform movement? Now it’s interesting. Between this and the intense interest in the register of deeds role, it’s shaping up to be a strange season in Worcester politics.

BERNIE 2020?: Who even knows anymore. But hey, some folks in Worcester want it. Bad enough, it would seem, to make a whole Facebook page about it. We Want Bernie - Worcester was created recently to advocate for another run by the aging progressive. Hey, like I said, strange season.

CORRIGAN 2019: What’s that I said about strange season? The City Council has its first challenger in 2019. Evan Corrigan, a young Worcesterite soon to be fresh out of college, called us up the other day to say he’s running for Council next year. He wanted to announce early, he said, because he’s known he’s wanted to serve in the role for some time. My personal advice is this is a tad early to announce, but hey, can’t knock the hustle, and whatever it takes to get young people into local politics, I’m down with.

TO ARM OR NOT TO ARM: The Worcester area, it would seem, is split on the rotten-to-thecore idea of arming teachers to prevent school shootings. As with nearly anything that really polarizes the general public, it’s worth noting this is essentially a proxy war in the neverending battle between the #Resistance and the Fox News red meat conservatives. Boring. Let’s hope this debate dies out and we all just forget about this ridiculous idea. With that said, it should come as no surprise that places like Auburn and Oxford have police chiefs that would like to see teachers armed, where places like Shrewsbury, Worcester and Barre are opposed. A map put together by the Telegram graphics team last week puts it into perspective. The urban-rural divide and all that. But, it’s worth noting police chiefs in Leicester, Sturbridge and Dudley said they have no opinion. See, I like that. Why should anyone have to have an opinion on such a stupid idea?

Never have an opinion.

A MAJOR AWARD: Feel like I’ve used this subhead before. Unfortunately for all of you, it’s my

opinion that ”A Christmas Story” references ripen with age and/or use. So. Congratulations to the finance folks at Worcester Public Schools, who recently won the Meritorious Budget Award from the International Association of School Business Officials for the fifth consecutive year. Brian Allen tweeted out the news, saying the award is the highest for budget presentation and transparency. Good for them. The more I learn about what goes into balancing that spreadsheet, with a massive ($96 million) backlog of state aid, multiple school building projects going out, and schools in a seemingly constant state of disrepair, not to mention constant union pressure for better pay, that’s a lot to deal with. You could say it’s a Fra-Gi-Le process. Must be Italian.

Worcester-Boston Full Service Radio for New England

BREACHER, NO BREACHING: Casella Waste Management, the company that manages the soon-to-close and likely toxic Southbridge landfill, is trying to back out of its contractual commitment to provide trash pick-up service to the town until 2027, per the Telegram. The contract between the town and the company very clearly states that Casella will provide free trash service to the town, regardless of what happens with the landfill, at least by my interpretation and many others. In fact, if I were to dig up my notes and recordings, I likely have Casella’s spokesman on record committed to that. Casella owes it to the town to honor the commitment and provide the trash service. Southbridge has retained legal counsel on the matter and set aside $250,000 to fight the company on it. This could be one to watch.

Bill Shaner, reporter wshaner@worcestermag.com Twitter: @Bill_Shaner

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news

DON’T REPLACE. REFACE

KITCHEN CABINET REFINISHING FACTORY FINISHES APPLIED IN-HOME

the beat

Terrible, terrible, no-good news out of West Brookfield,

REFINISHING

where over the weekend a young mother and her three children were burned alive. No word yet on a suspect, but police are searching for a yellow gas can and any information that could produce a lead.

Three cheers for District 1 Councilor Sean Rose, who secured last Friday a demolition order for the old and dilapidated Barber’s Crossing building on West Boylston Street. Rose and Tony Economou before him had long identified this building as an eyesore that curbed the potential of an up-and-coming part of town. As Rose put it, West Boylston Street has the potential to generate Shrewsbury Street-level life. Let’s hope so.

PAINTING REFACING

Three opposite of cheers for another demolition that got the go-ahead late last week.

The Cabinet

The Notre Dame Church is officially coming down, and probably this year. The City Square developers acquired the demolition permit from the city and are looking to start the work this spring. The historic building has long been a landmark in the downtown, but has been vacant since the mid 2000s, and is falling into disrepair, according to Nick Kotsopoulos at the T&G. Preservationists would rather see the building repurposed, but it appears the developers don’t see the value in the proposition.

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Dianne Williamson published her last column in the T&G Sunday.

It was a heartfelt goodbye to both the fans and the haters, which you have to respect. The column, predictably, generated a lot of animosity from the fair citizens of this city, who appeared, at least on Facebook, more than willing to kick the woman on her way out the door. Are we sure Worcester’s the heart of the Commonwealth?

Her son is worried.

She may have lost her life savings of $15,000 … to someone who convinced her she had won a high stakes lottery.

South High saw significantly beefed-up security, including back-

pack searches, on Monday after an apparent threat made by a student. School officials have been mum on the details, but a 14-yearold student was arrested for threatening to shoot classmates.

The Grid developers strike again.

This time, they acquired the vacant Metro PCS building on Main Street, just around the corner from the stretch of Franklin Street they’ve pretty much completely redone. The 517 Main St. building is slated for mixed use retail and residential. The sum: $450,000.

She or her son should call RSVP’s Senior Fraud HelpLine.

1-800-297-9760

School attendance has been a focal point of Superintendent Maureen Binienda’s tenure at

Worcester Public Schools, but some feel the district might be going too far to improve attendance. Families of students with medical and religious absences went to a School Committee subcommittee meeting this week to complain, and committee members said they’d take a look at it, according to the T&G.

Worcester got its worst storm of the year very late in the season, or so it seemed

at deadline. The city was slated for 12-18 inches, but will it pan out? That’s up to you to decide, print readers, who are likely picking this up after the snow has fallen.

What callers to the HelpLine say:

“I just wasn’t sure if I should invest in a work-at-home business.”

“The volunteer who spoke with me was kind and knowledgeable.”

“Now I know what not to do the next time I get a call like that.”

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opinion letters

editorial

Arming teachers not the answer ‘Listen to the young folks’

A

s Worcester moves toward building a new South High School — and others after that — school safety is a necessary part of the discussion. At-Large Councilor Moe Bergman recently raised the question of how much security is a part of the planning for new school buildings. No expense, he was told, is spared when it comes to making schools safe. Many of the details, for safety reasons, can’t be revealed, but the state, City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. said, wouldn’t sign off on any new school project that didn’t include the best safety measures possible.

What they don’t call for, of course, are armed teachers. And while the case could be made for measures that are not being included in the new South High School, such as bullet-resistant doors and windows, it is much harder to make the case for putting guns in the hands of teachers.

There are, of course, those in favor. In the wake of the latest school massacre, this one in Parkland, Fla., talk of heightened school security has veered into whether to arm teachers. Armed and properly trained, proponents say, they could provide another line of defense in the case of an active shooter inside school walls. Opponents label it an overreach that could make things even worse.

The truth is, many schools, including here in Worcester, already have armed personnel in the form of school resource officers or security guards. In fact, there was an armed guard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when Nikolas Cruz gunned down 17 students in cold blood. He never went inside.

In Worcester, there has been a growing sentiment that school resource officers are a positive presence at schools. School arrests and

charges are, as the Telegram & Gazette’s Clive McFarlane noted, trending downward. School officials are trumpeting declining student suspensions. While school resource officers are not the only factor, they cannot be ignored.

Worcester expanded police in schools a few years back in response to a series of violent incidents – nothing on the level of what happened in Parkland, Fla. In fact, Massachusetts has been lucky to have, so far, avoided the kind of mass school shooting that has ripped apart communities such as Newtown, Conn. and Columbine, Colo. Stringent gun control has no doubt played a part. But that doesn’t render the state — or Worcester — immune.

Having armed security guards or resource officers in schools, no matter how much it shatters our notions of what school life should be, makes sense now more than ever.

Arming teachers does not.

We absolutely should spare no expense when it comes to keeping students and teachers safe in school. While some of Bergman’s questions were met with promises that his concerns are addressed as a matter of course when it comes to new school construction, he was right to ask them. And the truth is, no matter how many steps are taken to prevent a mass school shooting, there is no surefire prevention. But if there is something that seems practical, no matter the price tag, it should be attempted.

What shouldn’t be done, however, is catering to the fantasies of those who think every Tom, Dick and Jane can be a gunslinger. Sure, you can train someone to shoot a gun. We have those already. Let teachers teach and students learn. Let police and trained armed guards and security personnel protect them.

Photographer Elizabeth Brooks x323 Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Jim Perry, Corlyn Voorhees Editorial Intern Bridget Hannigan

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, Colleen Mulligan, Wendy Watkins Ad Director Helen Linnehan x333 Media Consultants Diane Galipeau x335, Cheryl Robinson x336, Sarah Perez x334 Media Coordinator Madison Friend x332 Classified Media Consultant Rachel Cloutier x433 M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

To the Editor: Concerned citizens across the nation attending “town-hall” assemblies confronting local legislators and politicos have been receiving more-or-less straightforward explanations from their local Democrats regarding recent lack-of-gun-control tragedies. However, not surprisingly, Republican replies to similar queries were clouded, indifferent, or indistinct.

The main reasons are simple: their general associations with weapon manufacturers or gun lobbyists of whom business would be pockmarked, and individual fanatics ranting about Second Amendment rights and such, especially in their own voting districts.

It matters little to them how much blood is spilled, how many innocent lives are slain, how many families, schools or churches are split apart. The usual convoluted “solution” their cronies respond with is to arm everybody. So many fallacies with this argument are too numerous to itemize here; anything in conformity would be mainly an excuse. Fight fire with fire? Ka-ching! Businesses boom (and

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opinion referral to medically-appropriate substance use disorder treatment. Studies published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” and “Addiction” asserted that SIF utilization is associated with an increase in referral to addiction treatment, including a 30-percent increase in the rate of detoxification use and an increase in initiation of methadone maintenance therapy.

Moreover, data shows SIFs reduce overdose mortality by 35 percent in the area served by Insite. Since Insite opened in 2003, not a single overdose death has occurred on its premises.

The Massachusetts Medical Society, of course, does not condone the use of illicit drugs, and we view the establishment of a pilot SIF under the auspices of agencies and health care professionals with the experience and resources to safely oversee the facilities as one evidence-backed element of a multi-faceted approach needed to reduce the harm and death caused by this public health crisis.

rat-a-tat)! I’d rather fight fire with water.

An initial action to be taken would be to put the crosshairs (ironic pun intended) on criminals and those with long histories of priors, not conveniently ignoring their cases.

Next, search for and close loopholes and behaviors of gun glorification, such as weapon shows and hunting hootenannies. Then graduate to age limits and specify certain types of weapons and their features.

An obscure, but excellent country-western song of back in the day proclaimed, “Maybe we should listen to the young folks” (Freddie Weller). It is from the Vietnam era, but now (it is) time to listen again.

Ramsay Mac Innes Cherry Valley

Mass. Medical Society looks at injection sites

Dr. Henry L. Dorkin President, Massachusetts Medical Society

To the editor: Walter Bird’s Jan. 25 editorial (“Scrutinizing Injection Sites,” Worcester Magazine) on the prospect of establishing in Worcester a supervised injection facility, of SIF, as a measure to combat the city’s opioid crisis stated, “There is no concrete evidence that supervised injection sites would truly help people find recovery.”

In April 2017, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Task Force on Opioid Therapy and Physician Communication published a report on the establishment of a pilot supervised injection facility in Massachusetts. The findings of the report, including data collected from Insite, a SIF currently in operation in Vancouver, Canada, concluded SIFs lead to an increase in

Open letter to U.S. Congressman McGovern To the Editor: Dear Mr. McGovern, name is Joyce L. Freeman and the reason why I am writing to you is in regard to my situation.

I am 87 years old and have been a resident of Worcester all of my life. During my years

here I have witnessed many changes in the city: some good, others not so good. But the one thing that has been constant is the lack of support for seniors like myself who have worked hard all of their lives, and tried to budget on finances when there was little to no money to budget.

I raised four children as a single mother who didn’t have a high school diploma, working two jobs most of my life. I achieved my GED and obtained a master’s degree by the age of 55. This was no easy task and many sacrifices had to be made not to become a statistic and depend on the welfare system for financial support.

As a woman of color, many doors were closed to me in my youth that no longer impact today’s generation. I was able to retire from the Worcester Public School System as a school adjustment counselor who founded “The Martin Luther King Welcoming Committee” at 67 years old.

I have always believed hard work and saving when you can will go a long way. I have worked hard not to depend on the system or my children to financially support me as they try to make their own way in their lives. I am currently living on a fixed income, which is $2,898 per month. Some would see that as something to brag about, such a high amount, but I assure you it is not. My rent is $1,309 a month, which doesn’t include heat or electricity. It leaves me less than $1,589 to pay all the other bills, such as lights, heat, food, medication, doctors’ visits, gas and other essentials. I assure you I am not a lone voice in this situation, with more bills than money at the end of the month. This is a concern for many of the people who are in their “Golden Years.”

Which brings me to the reason for this letter; we would like to know if there are any bills that will be put forth in the near future to assist the elderly for rent control, or subsidy

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housing for those who earn too much according to the current regulations to get assistance.

I am currently $200 over the amount annually to receive any support, yet my rent keeps going up each year. The medical bills go up, food goes up, electricity goes up, heat goes up and my Social Security check stays the same. If you can work with someone on behalf of those of us who are struggling to be independent and not drain the system to assist in some of these areas, it would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to hearing a response from you in regard to what relief you can provide and what is in the works to be done.

Joyce L. Freeman Worcester

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

feature

Worcester’s Kilby Street shedding its stigma S T O RY B E G I N S O N PA G E 14

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feature ELIZABETH BROOKS

I

n a national climate teeming with violence, one of Worcester’s most notorious crime-ridden neighborhoods is creating a new identity for itself. Residents, past and present, are feeling a great deal of ownership. The local perception of Kilby Street in the city’s Main South neighborhood has unequivocally shifted. Kilby Street now serves as a gateway to the Boys & Girls Club and a safe home for working families.

Stigma can’t flourish in a neighborhood that takes great pride in the next generation.

But it wasn’t always that way.

Mike Earielo was born and raised on Kilby Street, just like his mother.

He comes from a long line of what he calls “Kilby Street citizenship.” Earielo knows how he will defeat the stigma he believes he helped to create on Kilby Street – and it has nothing to do with the name on his old street sign.

“It was more or less a war-zone environment,” he said of growing up in the ’80s on Kilby. “A lot of violence and a lot of drugs.”

It was never his intention to join a gang in the conventional sense.

“We never sat down and said, ‘We are going to become a gang,’” Earielo said. “It was just a bunch of kids that grew up in a neighborhood that was tight knit. Every time there was a stabbing or a shooting, the paper called us the ‘Kilby Street Posse.’ We already had the mentality of a gang, I could see that, but we were very protective of our territory back then, it was a goldmine. There was a lot of money flowing through there for individuals in the drug trade.”

“

We never sat down and said, ‘We are going to become a gang.

It was just a bunch of kids that grew up in a neighborhood that was tight knit. Every time there was a stabbing or shooting, the paper called us the ‘Kilby Street Posse.’

“

SARAH CONNELL

- Mike Earielo, director of Everyday Miracles, of growing up on Kilby Street in Worcester.

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

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

When he and many of his friends became their own best customers, Earielo said, a vicious cycle took hold, sending the old posse in and out of prison. Lately, a few of the faces that remain from those early days have been turning up at Earielo’s place of work: Everyday Miracles Peer Recovery Support Center on Pleasant Street.

“I have an obligation to my community,” he said. “I have friends that were in the same gang who are now coming to me, interested in changing their lives around because they see all the positive stuff that I’m doing. That’s how we defeat the stigma of Kilby Street. That’s how we are going to change people’s perceptions.

It’s not how they see Kilby Street. It’s how they see us doing the opposite of what they know of us doing.”

Earielo has a debt to pay and he insists Kilby Street is destined to carry a brand new connotation for the next generation if he has anything to say about it.

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION

S

tigma can be difficult to quantify, but gun violence is not. As the second largest city in New England, Worcester’s crime rate is nothing short of remarkable. According to the Worcester Police Department, there wasn’t a single gun-related homicide in 2017, nor were there any gangrelated murders.

Three years earlier, in 2014, the WPD reported 38 shooting incidents in the city of Worcester. In February that same year, the Worcester Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative released a document titled “Worcester Youth Violence Prevention & Reduction Strategic Plan: Needs and Resource Analysis.” The report acknowledged a youth and gang violence problem in the city and examined how systems had previously failed in preventing youth violence among proven-risk young men.

Steve Teasdale, executive director of the Main South Community Development Center, one of the driving forces behind the physical redevelopment of the Kilby Street neighborhood.

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feature In June 2015, the city published an overview of the Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, which revealed the WPD had identified close to 500 males under the age of 25 as ganginvolved. The city pledged to reduce youth violence through policy and system change and to promote trust, safety, healing and opportunities for Worcester’s highest risk youth.

By that time, the physical condition of Kilby Street had been drastically altered, but the violence associated with the Kilby Street name had not. Social media quickly grew into a powerful tool for gang members to promote themselves with wider geographic reach. Videos were used to taunt one another and assert dominance, with the caveat that the WPD was then able to identify a lot of gang members.

In some ways, the videos aided a heightened effort by police to reduce youth violence in the city of Worcester.

Ike McBride, director of community engagement at the Boys & Girls Club, turned the platform around in the summer of 2015. In a Youtube address filmed on Kilby Street, McBride called out the brazen actions of neighborhood gang members saying: “We as a community need to step out. Police those kids. Put them on blast. Let them know they can’t do that stuff around here. And the other side of that is that some of you old brothers, you older gangsters in this city, you know your lifestyles, you know what you’ve done. Now is your chance to start getting yourself back into heaven. Let’s give back a little bit. Reach out. Let them know to lay their weapons down. Because that’s not what it’s all about. At the end of the day what we need to remember is that we matter.

The whole city. Everybody that’s in it. And if we keep going down this road, it doesn’t end well. So I’m asking all of you, get on your social media pages, get out there, challenge, tell them all, lay their weapons down. We matter.”

Kilby Street as a location no longer had any bearing on the members of a gang of the same name, but a tenacious stigma remained.

For too many people, perception was reality.

Simply put, relaying the stigma about Kilby Street had become a catalyst for the precise issues it had intended to caution the community against.

BATTLING PERCEPTION

W

hen Jennifer Plante bought her house on Kilby Street in 2008, she was not showered with the customary congratulations of a new homeowner. Instead, she recalled, “People who were native Worcesterites, who had been around for a while, audibly breathed in and

said, ‘Why would you want to do that? Kilby Street is very dangerous.’”

The truth was, a notorious reputation for violence had not reflected the character of Kilby Street’s residents in along time. Still, a stigma persisted. Plante recalled a December 2017 neighborhood meeting at the Boys & Girls Club, where the Main South Community Development Corporation gathered residents to talk about neighborhood issues. At the meeting, Plante learned faculty members and students from Clark had been surveying people from the neighborhood to capture their perceptions.

“The immediate Main South neighborhood still thinks that Kilby Street is dangerous, and that really surprised me,” said Plante.

Plante believes Main South is a place where people know each other and look out for one another on a daily basis. It saddens her to hear otherwise.

“I’m a single woman and I’ve never had a problem here,” Plante said of living on Kilby Street, adding, “We’re going to have our problems, every major city will, but the most threatening problem I’ve seen on Kilby Street is that cars fly up and down the road with a lot of kids around. It’s so safe. I feel so safe.”

At the moment, Kilby Street is an archetype for rejuvenation where community partnerships, attention to public space and opportunities for police-youth dialogue are working in harmony. So, why doesn’t the rest of the city seem to know it?

BY ANY OTHER NAME

K

ilby Street’s given name comes from a wealthy real estate mogul who hailed from the town of Holden.

According to Ivan Sandrof ’s, “Your Worcester Street,” Col. James Estabrook “remembered two graceful Boston streets - Kilby street and Beacon street; transplanted the names to Worcester.” Kilby Street was added to local directories in 1857. The name bears no historical legacy in Worcester.

Plante recalls someone raising the idea of changing the name “Kilby Street” at the December 2017 neighborhood meeting. It was a suggestion intended to alleviate some of the stigma. The street name is often associated with the neighborhood gang, which no longer holds ties to the geographic street itself. Plante doesn’t have strong feelings either way about changing the name of Kilby Street.

“Those of us who live on the street were talking about it at that meeting at the Boys & Girls Club. The narrative is juicy. People like a good, juicy narrative,” she says.

Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent plays basketball with kids attending the police deptartment GANG Camp.

FILE PHOTO/STEVEN KING

If anything, Plante thinks the juiciest narrative is the police presence on her block.

“From the PAAL (Police Athletic & Activities League) basketball games in the park, to walking around the neighborhood, the police are really engaging with the entire community, but the youth in particular,” she said. “Good on them for seeing the importance.”

Worcester Magazine reached out to The Boys & Girls Club on multiple occasions regarding the discussion of Kilby Street’s name change, but they would not provide a comment.

When asked whether changing the name of a specific street could impact youth violence, Worcester Police Lt. Miguel Lopez said, “I can’t see that happening; however, there might be just as good a reason to change the name for the fact that none of those gang members live in those areas and the residents are stigmatized by those street names. That might be a reason to kind of evaluate whether you want to change that name, but I couldn’t see it as a strategy to stop youth violence.”

PREVENTION THROUGH PRESENCE

T

he positive police presence in Main South is no coincidence. Casey Starr, director of community initiatives for the Main South CDC, oversees the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Initiative, which operates under a grant from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The project works to decrease crime and improve the perception of safety in the Main South neighborhood by focusing on public spaces and opportunities for youth.

Starr is making sure families in the community feel comfortable and safe in public spaces like sidewalks and parks.

BCJI is a data-driven initiative, intended to constantly review crime statistics and look at their root causes to address issues as holistically as possible.

“A big part of the grant is focusing on policeC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

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feature C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 17

community relations,” said Starr, who has facilitated the last three sessions of the youthpolice dialogue program aimed at improving relationships between youth and police in the Main South neighborhood.

“It’s not at all something in which the police come and talk to the kids,” she said. “This is something that the police and the youth go through together.”

The same officers and youth team up for six straight weeks during the program and engage in a structured curriculum that has proved highly effective in building authentic relationships.

The grant also funds additional police presence in the neighborhood, mostly through community policing initiatives.

“Extra officers are walking the neighborhood in uniform, introducing themselves and being present at neighborhood events and in schools,” Starr said. “They’re getting to know the residents.”

The CDC sees residents taking back public spaces and building community in an effort to create a safer neighborhood.

THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS

M

ost of Worcester’s gangs are still associated with small neighborhoods.

“There are lots of cities [that] have problems with different types of national gangs and motorcycle gangs, but our gangs are generally locally-based gangs,” Lopez said.

“They typically form out of small relationships, usually family relationships or geographic connections. They grow from that.”

Over the last 10 years, the gang typography in Worcester has changed quite a bit.

“Shifts in housing policies caused a lot of people to be evicted and thrown about,” Lopez explained. “Slowly, many of those individuals found homes on the east side of the city. Lots of small gangs began clustering on the east side of the city and found a home under a unified umbrella, even though, traditionally, they may have been associated with gangs further to the northeast or central east sides of the city.”

Geographic commonality became a unifying condition and a powerful factor for gang membership.

“The divide,” Lopez said, “became Main South vs. East Side.”

Worcester’s gang unit formed in 1994.

“When we first started, it was definitely

18

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Jen Plante, a local professor at Clark University and current resident of Kilby Street, speaks of her peaceful experience living in the neighborhood.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

about suppression and everything from identifying who these gang members were, to providing the whole gamut of services, from working with community members to educating institutions,” explained Lopez.

These days, half the unit works on providing programming for at-risk and high-risk youth, while the other half focuses on suppression work like arrests and search warrants.

In 2006, the state started rolling out funding for the gang unit’s programming efforts.

“Through our Shannon grant, we formalized a lot of our community partnerships, including the Boys & Girls Club, the Youth Center, Friendly House, Straight Ahead Ministries, and obviously, the Worcester Public Schools,” Lopez said.

In 2011, the state released another round of funding for gang units and municipalities to work with “proven-risk” youth: those under the age of 24 who are probably the most likely to be involved in violence as either a victim or a perpetrator.

“That was challenging,” Lopez said. “We definitely had to rely more on our community partnerships than ever before.”

As Main South underwent its physical transformation, “proven-risk” youth from the M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

neighborhood began to benefit from a variety of programs. Gang Awareness for the Next Generation, or GANG, camp proved to be one of the police department’s most successful efforts.

“Summer GANG camp fosters teamwork and healthy competition and establishes positive role models for 300 at-risk kids aged 10 through 13,” according to Lt. Sean Murtha.

“Youth from gang-impacted neighborhoods. often rival turf, are teamed together by WPD ‘counselors’ to show that they can play and work with kids who might otherwise be rivals.”

“The camp emphasizes relationships between police and youth as well as talking about gang prevention and awareness,” Lopez said.

According to the Worcester Police Department, research shows most of the youth who end up in gangs are already thinking about joining by the time they’re 13 or 14. Most of them join willingly.

“For a kid who doesn’t feel safe in his own neighborhood, the gang is probably one way to provide that protection,” said Lopez. “I’ve heard a lot of that in my 20 years throughout the gang unit. A lot of kids thought that joining the gang would be a good idea because it’s

their neighborhood and they’re going to be associated with that gang regardless.

Sometimes, joining the gang means the opportunity to have risk, adventure, reputation, and even an ability to make money.”

For some, it’s generational.

“It’s like, ‘My dad was a gang member, my uncles were gang members, I knew I was always going to do this. I’m a gang member,’” Lopez said.

Some of the biggest challenges, even nationwide, he acknowledged, are bringing back a sense of legitimacy to police. A lot of it has to do with the perceptions people have about one another.

“It’s about what people in our community think about the police and what the police think about the youth in the community,” Lopez said, citing the Main South CDC’s police-youth dialogue initiative as a way to bring officers and young people together in a controlled environment to talk. “It was structured, but it was a straightforward talk.

The police got as much out of it as the youth.

I hope that that program continues. That’s a wonderful program.”

feature PROGRESS IN PRESENTATION

“The Ionic Ave. facility was falling down, dilapidated,” he said.

The CDC saw an opportunity to deal with the vacant lots that could offer affordable housing units, designed for both ownership ain South CDC Executive Direcand rental. tor Steve Teasdale is constantly Clark University likewise thought constructchampioning the bold physical ing a new track and field facility would not transformation that has taken only benefit its athletes, but also deepen the place in the neighborhood, but he does not connections between university students and minimize Kilby Street’s storied past. youth from the Boys & Girls Club.

“If you came through here in 2000,” he said, “There had been no green space for kids in “it was somewhere you probably wouldn’t feel the neighborhood, so having that first-class particularly safe. The corner of Gardner and Kilby was a significant problem for gang activ- athletic field space was a tremendous addition ity. The basketball court was gang tagged. Lots for Clark and for the Boys & Girls Club,” said Jack Foley, Clark University’s vice president for of buildings were burned up. It looks totally government and community affairs. different. It was a tough place. We see empiriThe CDC, Clark University and the Boys & cal evidence of change.”

Girls Club banded together to form a partnerIn many ways, two decades of progress can ship aimed at dealing with comprehensive be traced back to the initial consequence of premature action by the city under former City revitalization of a 30-acre tract bound by Kilby, Gardner and Hammond streets. At the Manager Thomas R. Hoover. time, the area included 34 vacant lots and In April 1995, area residents were made $600,000 in back taxes. The CDC became the aware of the city’s plan to develop a new vocational school in the Main South neighbor- managing entity.

“All three parties hoped to remedy what was hood when they read about it in a Telegram often seen as a blighted and crime infested & Gazette story by Nick Kotsopoulos, titled area by the rest of the city,” Teasdale said. It “Beacon Brightly is Voke Choice.” took great compromise and strong partner“A little map accompanying the article ships to find a solution. revealed that their housing was going to be “What was attractive about that, why it knocked down to make way for development,” became an acceptable proposition for all Teasdale said.

Public outcry ensued. A well-attended meet- partners, was that Clark would get the land for the facility at a discounted price because of ing at St. Peter’s Church was held on April federal grant funding, as long as they agreed to 18, 1995 and it became clear residents would not stand to lose their neighborhood. The city shared usage of that recreational field facility with the Boys & Girls Club,” Teasdale said. backed out.

Foley emphasized the balance in use beTeasdale was subsequently told, “You show us what the vision is for redevelopment in this tween the two institutions, saying, “We hope neighborhood.” It was auspicious timing for the kids from Boys & Girls Club feel like it’s the Main South CDC. Teasdale had recently their field. We want them playing on the same been in talks with the Boys & Girls Club, which field as Clark students, so they can have the was in desperate need of a new building.

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 20

M

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feature C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 19

house, creating a lot of quality of life issues for residents on the street.”

The acquisition of 1 Kilby St. was the last piece, allowing for nine units of housing, with three of them reserved for veterans from Veterans Inc. The CDC aims to provide both affordable and “working” housing.

“We see people who are buying these houses and bringing something to the area without gentrifying it,” Teasdale said. As he sees it, “Working people are buying homes in the area, and they finally can afford to buy a home because they are not priced out of it.”

That, said Starr, is a big part of how Kilby Street is changing and why the stigma is being lifted.

“There’s a sense of neighborhood pride and ownership,” she said. “It’s a funny little indicator, but it says a lot about the commitment and value in the neighborhood.”

opportunity to say, ‘I could be here on a college campus. I belong here.’”

The late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy announced the kickoff with U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern on Gardner Street in May 2000. McGovern fulfilled his immediate support to help procure necessary federal grant funds and earmarks to help support the acquisition of the sites as well as their cleanup.

Specialists and environmental consultants helped deal with cleanup and ensured the brownfield remediation necessary for the project. From there, the CDC assisted firsttime home buyers and made sure to bring architectural consistency to the designs for housing in the area, incorporating solar and green energy sources.

By the time all phases of the project had been completed, 16 years had passed, and the neighborhood was unrecognizable, save a consistent volume of kids on bikes.

“And now,” said Teasdale, “to think that we’re just putting the finishing stamp to all the pieces that were originally envisioned.

That is, the completion of the building at 1 Kilby St. which used to be really a problem. It was being utilized as an unlicensed rooming

A local Clark graduate and director of community initiatives for Main South Community Development Center, Casey Starr is among those who lead the physical construction of Kilby Street

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For some Railers, NCAA tourney sparks championship memories JOSHUA LYFORD

T

he NCAA Division 1 Men’s Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championships return to the DCU Center March 24-25.

The winning team from each of the four regionals (the three other regionals take place at the APPL Center in Allentown, Pa.; the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.) will advance to the Frozen Four, taking place at the Saint Paul Xcel Energy Center, for a shot at the National Championship.

The event is a massive opportunity for teams, their players and staff, and fanbases.

This year marks the regional championship’s return to Worcester for the first time since 2016, and while fans get a chance to see the future of hockey in-person, for several members of the ECHL’s Worcester Railers roster having won both the regionals and National Championships, the experience is something special.

“My senior year, winning that National Championship, the last game, it was just something you think about, but it’s kind of crazy,” said Railers left wing Barry Almeida.

“You want to win that last game. My last game in a Boston College uniform, we won. That’s something my classmates, my teammates, we

can take that with us for the rest of our lives.”

Almeida and his Boston College Eagles teammates won two National Championships during his college years: 2010 and 2012.

After his college career, Almeida signed with the AHL Hershey Bears and, furthering his connection to Worcester, would score his first professional goal in his AHL debut against the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center.

Almeida recalled his experience at Boston College as a formative one.

“You grow up as a person, not even as a hockey player, you learn how to incorporate school and living and hockey, because you’re spending a lot of time at the rink,” he said. “It grew me as a person. I grew a lot as a person in college. It was a great experience for me.”

In both 2010 and 2012, the Northeast Regional Championships were held at the DCU Center, a location Almeida would become quite familiar with when the Worcester Railers dropped the puck for the first time.

“Both times we won the National Championship, our regional championships were here,” said Almeida. “Both times we won, we were playing here. We were in the Worcester Sharks locker room. It’s unique that I’m back in that locker room, playing. It goes even further than that. My first professional game with the

Hershey Bears was here against the Worcester sharks and I scored in that game. My first goal in pro hockey was here. It’s kind of crazy.”

In 2015, the Providence College Friars took home the NCAA National Championship for the first time in the program’s history. Three current Railers players were on the ice during the battle for the championship: left wing Nick

Saracino and defensemen Kyle McKenzie and Josh Monk.

According to Saracino, after a successful season of hockey, things began to heat up just prior to the regionals.

“When we got in, when we won, we had a 90-percent chance of making it, but all of a sudden it got really down to it,” he recalled.

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culture To have the experience of winning a national championship is a special one, but to continue your professional career with some of those same teammates is particularly unique.

“To have three of us on the same team right away, it’s a lot of fun,” said Monk. “Kyle and Nick were good buddies of mine. It made the transition easier. We spent a lot of time together. Living with them, it’s almost like we never left school. When you come to a new team or league, it’s nice to have people you know and you’re familiar with.”

Railers head coach Jamie Russell recruited a number of players from his former years as assistant coach of the Friars.

“It’s really special. Kyle and Josh came in my sophomore year and in summer school, Kyle was paired up with me as a roommate, so that’s when I first started hanging out with him and created a friendship,” said Saracino.

“Same with Josh. It’s really cool Jamie was able to get us all here. It’s been really cool.”

While the NCAA Championship experience was a special one for the current Railers players, it can also be easy to allow the stress and preparation for the games to mask the enjoyment of the moment.

“If I had advice, it would be, ‘Enjoy it. Don’t worry. Be in the moment and enjoy it,’” said Saracino. “Before you know it, it’s gone. I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. You’re always thinking, what if, what if, what if, instead of enjoying what you’re going through.”

And for those teams and players about to duke it out at the DCU Center on March 24 and 25, enjoy the ride.

“I think it’s going to mean a lot,” said Monk.

“For some kids, it will be the first time they’ll play in that environment. For some it will be the only time they get to play in that environment. You just realize that you’re on TV and there’s a lot more eyes on you. It means a lot to the program to be able to play in the tournament. The opportunities that can come from there are just enormous.”

Nick Saracino (opposite page), Kyle McKenzie (left) and Barry Almeida chat about their NCAA memories.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

“We bought all the championship games. The Big 10, Hockey East was on NESN, the ECAC one, we were sitting with like four computers watching them. We were waiting until the selection show. Our coach got a text telling us.

It was pretty crazy.”

That experience of winning the National Championship for the first time in the program’s history, would stick with the players for life.

“It was one of the best moments of my life, up to this point,” said McKenzie. “Finally being done with the season and having that outcome, that was something special. Once playoffs start, it’s a whole new season. You get to press the reset button and the team comes together even more. It’s really special.”

“Probably the best hockey experience of my life,” added Monk. “It was awesome. The last month or so, the Frozen Four, it was awesome.

It was a lot of fun. Looking back, you don’t realize while you’re in it, you’re in the zone, looking back you realize how much fun it was. You’ll always be involved and you see how much it meant to the school and the area, it’s cool to hear people talking about it when you go back.

That’s cool, you’re always going to be able to go back and be a part of the team that won the first national championship there.”

M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

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M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

Lyford files JOSHUA LYFORD

ROME IS BURNING: Or, the tires are at least. The Worcester Railers announced that

forward Ashton Rome is heading up north to his previous team, the dreaded Manchester Monarchs. Rome was a fan favorite, previously a Worcester Shark and the captain of the team for much of the early part of the season. Chris Langkow has filled the captain role for some time and Rome hadn’t been on the ice in awhile, so the move is not a massive surprise, but it is still a shame to see the bearded badass moving on. The Railers acquired defenseman Justin Agosta in the trade. Agosta notched 18 points in 45 games for the Monarchs. That’s two more points than Rome, in 15 more games. The team must have seen a need for stronger defense as they struggle to put themselves into the playoff picture. The Railers additionally acquired defenseman Josh McArdle, a former Brown University player. Get that back end tightened up. Finally, it’s good to see the Railers website is active again after some brief trouble. To find out more, check out my story on some former NCAA National champions on the team in advance of the Northeast Regionals coming up on March 24-25 at the DCU Center and learn about forward Woody Hudson in our sports section. Thus concludes our Railers news.

THE DA VINCI CODE: It’s probably pretty obvious when reading my stories about art

that I didn’t take any art history courses. “These scribbles are salacious” isn’t a headline they’d advise you to write in the class, I’d imagine. So, you’ll have to bear with me as I try to write this in a way that makes sense. The Worcester Art Museum’s “Miracle of Saint Donatus of Arezzo” has been in the collection since the 1940s and has been attributed to Lorenzo di Credi in that time. WAM puts forward that the painting should actually be attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. There are a couple pieces the museum say prove their point: the painting is in oil, not tempera as Lorenzo was known to use, and the way the light breaks on the fingers of the painting’s subject is a Leonardo trait, among other points. According to reporting by online and print publication The Art Newspaper, WAM museum director Matthias Waschek has said that the museum is “not afraid of any controversy.” Interesting stuff. Find out more at “The Mystery of Worcester’s Leonardo” running March 10-June 3.

YOU GOTTA RISE ABOVE: Here’s a quick feel good one: you may recall a story on the

Rise Above Foundation a few months back. Well, the nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of Massachusetts foster kids has done it again. The service has helped provide area foster kid Mackenzie (no last name for obvious reasons here) with the ability to join her class on a trip to Europe. She gets to visit places like Paris and Madrid and, according to a press release, “She has been through so much in her life with coming into care and never thought this would be an opportunity she could experience.” Have fun Mackenzie, and if anyone wants to help out, find out more at Weriseabove.org.

FLAPPER TIMES CALL FOR FLAPPER MEASURES: Ugh. I hate myself for that subhead, but I think I’ve been pretty decent lately with getting it together. Not award-winning-headline-writer decent, but sleepless-lunatic-ginger-with-a-diarrhea-spray-firing-hound-dog decent. With that said, the Fitchburg Art Museum is hosting a cool event (props to FAM, they do a fantastic job all around). This time around it is A Night at the Museum: Eleanor rocks the 1920s Saturday, March 10. Ticket purchases benefit the museum and folks are encouraged (strongly so) to dress up in vintage attire and enjoy cocktails, music and snacks. As the museum says, “It will be the monkey’s eyebrows.” Think “The Great Gatsby” with a bit less tragedy and a lot less tragic acknowledgement of the evaporated American dream. Ya know, just think fancy party and dance your ass off.

A MYSTERY IS AFOOT: Though it really shouldn’t be. A few years back I wrote about the Chandler Street Papa Gino’s hosting an exhibition and, it would seem, they haven’t stopped. I will tell you, I love the idea of using unusual spaces to showcase art and a pizza haven is certainly unusual. Here is what I know: the exhibition is called “Gargoyles & Graveyards: An Exhibit of B&W Photography

by Paul Szlosek.” Now, according to the decrepit Socialweb website, this should have ended on March 5. However, there is a running calendar item through March 10. There is no other information provided. I love gargoyles and I love graveyards. I also happen to be quite partial to photography. Here is my suggestion: set aside a night to indulge in some pizza and maybe you see some photographs.

Joshua Lyford Culture editor @Joshachusetts

culture Lifestyle

SARAH CONNELL

Molson Mania

This week marked another edition of the Fly-

ing Rhino Eating Extravaganza: Fork Yeah! These fresh culinary

experiences have taken attendees around the globe in a series of casual cocktail

Flying Rhino served up a smoke salmon nicoise salad to guests on Tuesday at their “What the Puck” dining event.

SARAH CONNELL

style dinners. This month’s “What the Puck?!” rendition channeled the culinary loves of the hockey subculture, starting with veal consommé, duck poutine and a smoked salmon nicoise salad. Guests finished with a classic chicken cordon bleu and ‘moose milk’ for dessert. The series will feature one more event before the Rhino launches into their busy patio season. The End of Winter Beach Party (All of the fun, no bathing suits required) will take place on Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Challenge

Here’s your chance to give me a run for my money. I’ll be racing the Guinness Celtic 5k on Sunday, March 11. The field takes off at 11 a.m. beginning in Elm Park. (Don’t forget to change your clocks.) Shenanigans to follow!

It’s in the Vault

Lunchtime options for the downtown Worcester set continue to multiply. Introducing Fooda: a daily pop-up restaurant. Fooda will bring in a different local eatery everyday for an onsite, popup lunch at “The Vault” located at 100 Front St. Beginning on March 6, Fooda is setting up shop at the former bank, adjacent to Mercantile Center’s lobby on weekdays from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Initial offerings will include Basil and Spice, Meze Greek Tapas, Figs and Pigs, Chik-Fil-A, and Chinese Mirch. Charles (Chip) Norton, manager of Franklin Realty Advisors, says, “Fooda will bring a very welcome variety and easy access to an ever-changing array of local restaurant favorites, a terrific new amenity for downtown Worcester office workers and residents alike.” Currently, Fooda operates in 15 markets in the U.S. and works with more

than 1,000 restaurants nationwide. “The Vault” at Mercantile Center marks Fooda’s first venture in Worcester.

Every Night is Pizza Night

Crust Artisan Bakeshop hosted

its first Thursday pizza popup last week, a trend we hope will continue every Thursday from 4 - 8 p.m.-ish. Order the “Big Picture Pizza,” made with a mozzarella blend, balsamic reduction, arugula and the creamy, nutty Big Picture Farm sonnet – a Machego-like goat cheese from Townshend, VT. The bacon jam, smoked gouda and apple pie or “just cheese” are available as well. Add bacon, sausage or arugula for a small upcharge. For individual portions, try the Sicilian slices or some garlic bread crumbled with bright, brothy Jasper Hill cave-aged “vault” cheese. This means, you can have half-off Neapolitan pies at Volturno on Mondays and Tuesdays, BirchTree pizza nights on Wednesdays and Fridays, Crust artisan pop-up pizza on Thursdays, and woodfired Dacosta’s on the weekends. All is officially well in the world of Worcester.

Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day

Join the team at Volturno as they welcome Jameson Irish Whiskey and Two Roads Brewing Co. for a five-course beer and whiskey dinner in honor of St. Patrick’s Day (Italian Style.) The event takes place on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

All Aboard the Hype Train

This week, the documentarians of Dooster Films released a short about “NP Woo,” the free fitness movement that attracts hundreds of athletes of all abilities to Holy Cross every Wednesday morning. I have to say, Worcester has never looked better.

Filmmaker Dylan Ladds was on hand at the premier and he made sure to praise Worcester’s ”tribe” for its inclusivity, tenacity, and heart. Find out what November Project is all about at 5:30 or 6:20 a.m. on Wednesdays at Fitton Field.

Sarah Connell contributing writer M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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culture

Artist spotlight

Melinda Goodhue blends a lifelong search for divinity and emotion in her paintings, instilling a bit of herself in the captivating works.

Goodhue spent much of her youth searching hidden, abandoned and forgotten spaces in the suburban ruins surrounding Detroit. That sense of interest and wonder continues to thrive in her pieces. Utilizing oil as well as acrylics with oil glazing, she gains inspiration from Northern Renaissance paintings, pop-surrealism and the occult. You can find more of Goodhue’s work online at Melindagoodhue.com, or on Instagram @Freyabelly. Prints and original art will be available soon on her Etsy store, Melinda Goodhue.

Goodhue will be joined by others at Noir: Contributing Artists of Cirque du Noir X at The Sprinkler Factory through March 25.

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M A R C H 8- 14, 2018

culture Restaurant opening soon!

Bring the family to BirchTree SANDRA RAIN

and pat your tummy in great satisfaction after the last bite. Salami, ham, aged provolone, kale & almond pesto and pickled veggies live between two thick slices of rosemary ciabatta. Mangiamo!

From time to time, I bypass the bread to order yogurt and granola ($6). Once, when the girl behind the counter inquired if I prefered skim or whole milk yogurt, I asked her what she recommended. She said, “Always spring for the whole

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irchTree Bread Company’s warm counter service and welcoming layout attract a lot of hangers-on. Quick wifi is as important as a prevalence of caffeine, but that’s Birch Tree Bread Company’s chicken wings served not to minimize the role with citrus marmalade, ginger-coriander-carrotof either as they pertain puree and radish salad. to BirchTree’s devoted fan base. What holds the most bearing for BirchTree’s adoring entourage is the milk, trust me.” I never looked back. I also enjoy overwhelming sense of ownership one feels as a a drizzle of local honey on top, along with fresh customer. dried local fruits and toasted grains. I should also The bakery opened in 2014 with a fast-casual note the specialty coffee, obtained from Dave model, which required guests to order and comFullerton at Acoustic Java Roastery, will send plete payment at the counter before selecting vibrations down your lumbar spine ($2.50 for a their own seats. Owners Avra Hoffman and Rob bottomless mug).

Fecteau have filled their corner of this 1860’s-era By establishing pizza nights on Wednesday textile factory with a capacious meeting place and Friday evenings, BirchTree was able to actiteeming in sunlight. The work of local artists vate an additional scene that has allowed them adorns the walls, a natural extension of small lo- to further incorporate local farmers and purveycal retailers who inhabit Crompton Place. ors into their menu. The funghi e tartufo ($15) Just as visitors don’t feel rushed if they linger is fired with a white sauce, Laurelwood Farms at long wooden tables or cushy booths, Fecteau mushrooms, fontina, pecorino romano and is never hasty at the hearth. His bread dough truffled sea salt. If it’s red sauce you’re after, the is prepared in a drawn-out process that begins fennel sausage pie ($15) makes the grade, topped with natural leaven, destined for peak fermentawith roasted peppers and onions, mozzarella, tion. The craft toast trend has endured since pecorino romano and crushed red pepper. On my BirchTree’s opening because it allows the staff last pizza night, our server delivered the wrong to play with eclectic and fresh ingredients in a variety to our table and we dug into the slices beforum that is as simple as it is nostalgic. fore realizing his error. He insisted on bringing us You’re a treasure to us all, BirchTree Brittany. I an additional pie to remedy the mistake, a kindfind your toast bold, masterful and ever-evolving. ness that we appreciated. Fast casual concepts “Brittany’s Toast” ($5.50) proves more stirring put customers in the peculiar position of tipping each week than the last. Take, for example, her pre-service. On occasion, the staff has a difficult dark chocolate cream cheese, topped with caratime identifying which dish belongs to whom. mel pecans and sea salt, served on challah. Or If crowds don’t bother you, BirchTree is the a more savory expression like the Welsh rarebit most family-friendly restaurant of its caliber in Cabot aged cheddar ale spread thick on caraway the city of Worcester. Dishes are rustic and delirye. cious. The environment is as energizing as the BirchTree’s daytime menu is intended to coffee. The only problem is you may not want to highlight bread. The breakfast sandwich ($6.50) leave. combines North Country ham, sharp cheddar, and a fried farm-fresh egg on a bacon fat brioche Food: HHHH bun. I like the yolk left runny, prime for indulgent Atmosphere: HHHH 1/2 sopping, but tell them to cook it through if you Value: HHHH must. The Marcello Italiano ($10) is the sort of Service: HHH 1/2 sandwich that will make you want to lean back

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culture Cinema 320 reanimates for spring JIM KEOGH

With this level of firepower, it’s no surprise the short won an Academy Award. I am a major nonfan of Bryant, so it pains me to admit his movie is pretty damn good.

If basketball isn’t your thing, no worries. The beauty of “Show of Shows” is how it plays to our fickle nature. If the animation style or subject matter in one short doesn’t work for you, just wait a few minutes for the next one (not unlike New England weather, I suppose). Have patience.

Remember, they’re short.

ts winter dormancy over, Cinema 320 kicks off the spring schedule this week with “The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows,” a compilation of 16 international shorts that typically would fall under the radar, but which this year is earning significant attention. That’s because an unlikely celebrity is attached, and, sure enough, he shows up about halfway in as star, producer, and egotist-in-residence.

“Dear Basketball” is Kobe Bryant’s love letter to his sport – and himself, following him from childhood, where he shoots rolled-up socks into a bedroom wastebasket, through his glory days with the L.A. Lakers, and into retirement “when the body knows it’s time to say goodbye.” The film is dynamically animated by Glen Keane and scored by no less than blockbuster conductor John Williams.

Some of my favorites: “Hangman” (U.S.). The restored version of a 1964 film set to a poem by Maurice Ogden, “Hangman” spins the tale of a stranger who wanders into a town and begins executing the residents one by one. The macabre slice of Americana is reminiscent of the famous Shirley Jackson story “The Lottery,” presenting the worst repercussions when we practice unquestioning compliance in the face of terrible injustice.

“My Burden” (Sweden). Fish dressed in terrycloth bathrobes lounging in the hallways of a no-tell motel; orangutans working as telemarketers in a cubicle maze; mice sweeping stale french fries from the floors of a late-night fast-food restaurant. The connective thread to these scenarios: all the animals break out into song and dance to lament the angst of their overlooked

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lives and unsatisfying careers while mired in an impersonal consumer culture.

“Unsatisfying” (France). A collection of visual cosmic jokes to make you smile and wince with recognition: the arcade claw that never seems to snatch the stuffed animal; the vending machine that won’t drop a treasured bag of chips; missed basketball shots, broken yolks and other assorted frustrations. The entire thing is set to the ultra-

in Village households

somber “Adagio for Strings,” the same score that ushered a shot-up Willem Dafoe out of this world in “Platoon.” Who would have thought poor Willem’s death-song could trigger such big laughs?

“The Alan Dimension” (UK). A retired accountant is convinced he can see the future, though his forecasts are hopelessly mundane ( for instance, what he’ll be served for breakfast).

Alan’s “abilities” may only be glorified déjà vu, as his exasperated wife insists, or they could be something far more advanced. In a sweet way, their disagreement allows husband and wife to rediscover each other.

“Show of Shows” also delivers an overstuffed chameleon wrestling with his gluttony, a 15th-century battle brought to raging life, and a symphony of nature’s sounds more calming than any instrument. It’s worth a watch.

“The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University. The film is part of the Cinema 320 series.

Jim Keogh contributing writer

Celtic CELEBRATION

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M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

Awesome

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Saturday, April 21st Mechanics Hall, Worcester

Featuring:

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“Always Something There to Remind Me”

and from the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas

MJ The Legend & his Michael Jackson tribute Tickets on sale to the general public Friday, March 9th at 7am

Click the link at www.WXLO.com to purchase tickets.

Must be 21 or older to attend.

M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

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culture

MARCH 10 A Musical Taste of Irish Culture

What to do ...

Saturday, March 10, 2-3:30 p.m.

Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square Free Get your Irish on with Tim Loftus, who will share traditional Irish tunes, stories and slide presentations, and Irish stepdancer Norah Garvey.

MARCH 9 Ladies Night Out Worcester

Friday, March 9, 7 p.m.

Sprinkler Factory, 38 Harlow St., Worcester $10 (plus Eventbrite fee) Support local, women-owned businesses. More than 60 businesses are participating. Features live music by The Green Sisters as well as workshops like Paint a Wine Glass and Make a Crystal Wine Charm. There’s a whole lot more in store.

MARCH 9-10 Harlem Globetrotters

Friday, March 9, 7 p.m. & Saturday, March 10, 1 p.m.

DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester $19-$84 The Harlem Globetrotters hit the road - and bring their show into Worcester, where kids and adults alike get in on the fun.

Stick around after the game for autographs, photographs and high-fives with the players.

MARCH 9-10 Our Town

Friday, March 9-Saturday, March 10, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Calliope Productions Inc, 150 Main St., Boylston $20 (17 student/senior) Catch the classic drama by Thornton Wilder.

Learn more at calliopeproductions.org.

MARCH 9 Air Supply

Friday, March 9, 8 p.m.

Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester $39.50-$85 Soft-pop legends Air Supply bring their songs about love to Worcester. Get “Lost in Love,” fall “All Out of Love” and find “The One that Your Love” and more.

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M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

culture MARCH 10 SLOW ROLL WSTR

Saturday, March 10, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

City Hall Common, Worcester Free A youth-led cycling organization, SLOW ROLL WSTR presents its first ride-out: slow, free and open to anyone on a bike, skateboard and rollerblades. Want to know more? Check out worcesterearnabike.org.

Want to know more? Check out worcesterearnabike.org.

MARCH 10 Round Midnight

Saturday, March 10, 7 p.m.

Canal Restaurant & Bar, 65 Water St., Worcester Get hooked on jazz, blues and r&b with the duo Round Midnight.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

MARCH 11 St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Sunday, March 11, 12 p.m.

Park Ave, Worcester Don’t miss this annual tradition. Rain or shine, sun or snow, Park Ave in Worcester comes alive with the Irish spirit in a parade that starts at noon, at the intersection of Mill Street and Park Ave. The procession ends at Highland Street and Park Ave. about two-and-a-half hours later.

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31

sports p

ELIZABETH BROOKS

On ice, Hudson causes trouble for rivals WALTER BIRD JR.

T

he Worcester Railers’ Woody Hudson freely admits he was sort of a problem child growing up. Whether putting thumbtacks on his classmates’ chairs or swiping all the pens and pencils from his teachers’ desks, he often caused mischief. He also liked to fight – a lot. Being on the smaller side, however, he was somehow able to get away with it.

“I was really good at getting away before actual trouble ensued,” Hudson said recently over the phone as he cooked up lunch, another of his favorite things to do. “No one thought of me as a bully because I was the smallest kid in my class.

People would say, ‘Woody kicked me down the stairs,’ and nobody would believe them. Plausible deniability was my motto.”

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

RAILERS VS. ADIRONDACK 3PM

ECHL playoff spot.

In his first full ECHL season, Hudson is doing his part to help the Railers find their way into the playoffs – and doing what he has been doing since he was 7, when his parents finally broke down and got him a pair of hockey skates.

“My parents wouldn’t get me skates the Now 25 and significantly bigger at 6-feet previous two Christmases,” said Hudson, 3-inches, Hudson is still causing trouble, this time on the ice for his opponents as a rookie with who is from Rochester, N.Y. and grew up in the Railers in their inaugural season. Although he Greece, N.Y. “They weren’t a hockey family. isn’t quite in the same league as teammate Yanick They didn’t get it. I just wanted to go fast. They got me rollerblades. That wasn’t fast enough.

Turcotte, who as of last week had racked up 162 penalty minutes, Hudson has mixed it up enough One Christmas, they got me ice skates. I was to be sent to the box for 71 penalty minutes. He is zipping around Midtown Park. A coach gave my not afraid to get down and dirty, but fighting isn’t mom a list of hockey gear and told me to come to tryouts.” the only part of Hudson’s game.

Hockey has always fascinated Hudson, he said.

Heading into a three-game set last weekend, “It was way faster [than other sports],” he said. he was second on the Railers in goals with 16, “I used to think slap shots were the coolest things and sixth in points, with 22. Hudson added to ever. Then there’s the fighting. That was a huge those totals with a game-tying goal on Saturplus for me.” day against the Wheeling Nailers as time was Hudson, the older brother to three sisters running out in regulation, helping the Railers to — ages 24, 16 and 12 — went to high school at an eventual overtime, shootout win against the team they’re chasing in the standings for the final McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, N.Y.

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He also played at Milton Academy and went on to skate for the Indiana Ice in the United States Hockey League. From there, he was traded to the Chicago Steel, where he played 30 games. After that, Hudson went to college at St. Lawrence University, where he majored in history and minored in sports studies. He said he plans to either go into coaching or head back to school for his master’s in the future.

When he finished his college season at St. Lawrence, Hudson made his pro debut at 24, playing 11 games with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel.

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M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

sports Then came the call to join the Railers in their first season, playing under coach Jamie Russell.

“I had already known Coach Russell and a bunch of guys coming to play here through my hometown of Rochester or playing,” Hudson said.

“I knew it would be good. I got extremely lucky being able to play here.”

And popular. Hudson has become a clear fan favorite in Worcester. It is not uncommon for fans at the DCU Center to break out in chants of “Woody! Woody! Woody!” It has only enhanced what Hudson says is the “incredible” hockey culture in Worcester.

“It’s huge,” Hudson said of the fan support.

“You’re nervous as a rookie who needs to get into a game. There’s nothing better to get you going than 3,000 people screaming your name. There’s so much energy, it makes you want to play better.

It’s makes you want to make sure they’re cheering for the right person.”

Hudson doesn’t quite know why fans took so quickly to him, but he hopes it’s because of his play on the ice. He is not, however, above currying favor.

“I gave away a couple sticks. Maybe I bribed

College sports Baseball

Anna Maria March 9 vs. WPI @ Auburndale, Fla., 2:45 p.m., 5:15 p.m.

March 10 vs. Wentworth @ Auburndale, Fla., 9:15 a.m.

March 10 vs. Wentworth @ Auburndale, Fla., 11:45 a.m.

March 14 @ Dean, 3:30 p.m.

Assumption March 8 @ Rollins @ Alfond Stadium, 2 p.m.

March 9 vs. Concordia @ Winter Park, Fla., 11 a.m.

March 11 @ Rollins @ Alfond Stadium, 12 p.m.

March 13 vs. Merrimack @ Haverhill, 3:30 p.m.

Becker March 10 vs. Gordon @ Leesburg, Fla., 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m.

March 11 vs. Eastern Conn. St. @ Auburndale, Fla., 1 p.m.

March 12 vs. Central (Iowa) @ Auburndale, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 14 vs. UMass Dartmouth @ Auburndale, Fla., 4:45 p.m.

Clark March 9 vs. Thomas More @ Auburndale, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 9 vs. Thomas More @ Auburndale, Fla., 11:30 a.m.

March 13 vs. Rivier, 3 p.m.

Holy Cross March 9 @ Charleston Southern, Charleston, S.C, 6 p.m.

March 10 @ Charleston Southern, Charleston, S.C, 2 p.m.

March 10 @ Charleston Southern, Charleston, S.C, 5 p.m.

March 13 @ Boston College, 3 p.m.

Nichols March 9 vs. UMass Dartmouth @ Winter Haven, Fla., 5:15 p.m.

March 10 vs. Ohio Northern @ Winter Haven, Fla., 1:15 p.m., vs. UMass Boston @ Winter Haven, Fla., 4:45 p.m.

March 12 vs. Fitchburg State @ Winter Haven, Fla., 10 a.m.

March 14 vs. Amherst @ Port Charlotte, Fla., 4 p.m.

Worcester State March 10 vs. Bates @ Northboro, 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

March 13 @ WPI, 3:30 p.m.

Hockey presents challenges not just to Afrithem,” he said with a laugh. “Even going to games can-Americans, Hudson said, noting the intense as a kid, [the players] would bang on the glass in my general area. That made my night. if I can give travel regimens often tied to the game.

“To this day, I have no idea why my parents some kid or person a fifth of that feeling, I think let me play hockey,” he said. “There were times that’s what you want as a fan.” during my teenage years I wasn’t even at home.

As a Black player in a sport that, traditionally, I lived at my coach’s home for like six months in has not seen many of them, Hudson said he is keenly aware of the importance of showing other Canada. That’s tough for kids.”

With his team in the middle of a playoff push, Black and African-American kids they can do Hudson is focused on making the most of the what he does. opportunity. Each game, he said, takes on added “There’s certainly more African-American importance. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t given players now,” said Hudson. He and Turcotte are a thought to next year. There is no guarantee two players of color on the Railers. “When you Hudson will be back, but he is optimistic. get started in hockey, it’s expensive. I have been “I have no idea, I hope so,” he said of returnextremely lucky because of the amazing things at ing to the Railers in 2019. the YMCA and various free programs in Rochester and the ECHL. A lot of my coaches helped me “I love Worcester. I don’t think there’s any better out with things like gear, and that’s not available to everyone. If you’re an African-American player team setup in the league. or parent, you’re like, ‘I can invest in hockey, $900 I’m excited. I hope I’ll be back next year.” for a pair of skates he’s going to outgrow in six months,’ which was a nightmare for my parents, because I wear a size 14 skate now. You can buy Walter Bird Jr., editor a $300 pair of sneakers and a basketball and keep them for a long time.” wbird@worcestermag.com WPI March 9 vs. Anna Maria @ Auburndale, Fla., 2:45 p.m.

March 9 vs. Anna Maria @ Auburndale, Fla., 5:15 p.m.

March 10 vs. St. Joseph’s @ Winter Haven, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 10 vs. St. Joseph’s @ Winter Haven, Fla., 11:30 a.m.

March 13 vs. Worcester State, 3:30 p.m.

March 14 vs. Brandeis, 3:30 p.m.

Men’s Lacrosse

Assumption March 10 vs. St. Michael’s, 1 p.m.

Becker March 12 @ Rivier, 7 p.m.

Clark March 10 vs. Saint John Fisher @ Clearwater, Fla., 12 p.m.

Holy Cross March 13 vs. Bucknell, 1:05 p.m.

Nichols March 8 vs. Emerson, 4 p.m.

March 12 vs. Keene State @ Davenport, Fla.

Women’s Lacrosse

Assumption March 9 @ Saint Leo, Fla., 6 p.m.

March 11 vs. New Haven @ Davenport, Fla., 12 p.m.

March 14 vs. Mercy, 4 p.m.

Holy Cross March 13 vs. Richmond, 3:05 p.m.

Nichols March 9 vs. Framingham State @ Vendetti Field, 3:30 p.m.

March 12 vs. Northwestern - St. Paul @ Hilton Head, S.C March 13 vs. Swarthmore @ Hilton Head, S.C Worcester State March 9 vs. Colby-Sawyer, 5 p.m.

Women’s Rowing Assumption March 10 @ Cocoa Beach, Fla.

The Score

Worcester Railers March 2 Railers shut out Wheeling Nailers, 5-0, in first of three weekend home games March 3 Railers top Wheeling Nailers, 3-2, in shootout at DCU Center March 4 Railers fall to Manchester Monarchs, 4-1, at home (Upcoming: After a road game this week in Wheeling, the Railers return home Sunday for tilt against the Adirondack Thunder.)

Worcester 78s (Upcoming: The 78s take on the Jersey Express in Paterson, N.J. Saturday in the ABA playoffs. The winner advances to division finals.)

Round-Up

The Worcester Railers on March 1 picked up rookie goaltender William King from the Brampton Beast.

The Railers on Monday announced the trade of forward Ashton Rome to the Manchester Monarchs for defenseman Justin Agosta.

Holy Cross March 8 vs. Boston College & Connecticut March 14 @ Knecht Cup

March 9 vs. Ohio Northern @ Kissimmee, Fla., 3:45 p.m.

March 10 vs. TCNJ @ Kissimmee, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 10 vs. Centenary @ Kissimmee, Fla., 11:15 a.m.

Softball

Men’s Tennis

Anna Maria March 14 vs. Elms, 3 p.m., 5 p.m.

Assumption March 8 vs. Bridgeport @ Clermont, Fla., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m.

March 9 vs. Cedarville @ Clermont, Fla., 11:30 a.m.

March 9 vs. Minn. St. Moorhead, Clermont, Fla., 4:30 p.m.

March 14 @ American Int’l, 3 p.m., 5 p.m.

Becker March 11 vs. UMass Boston @ Clermont, Fla., 4:30 p.m.

March 11 vs. UMass Dartmouth @ Clermont, Fla., 7 p.m.

March 12 vs. Lasell @ Clermont, Fla., 2 p.m.

March 12 vs. Wis. River Falls @ Clermont, Fla., 4:30 p.m.

March 13 vs. U. of New England @ Clermont, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 13 vs. Bethany @ Clermont, Fla., 11:30 a.m.

Holy Cross March 9 vs. Tennessee-Martin @ Deland, Fla., 11 a.m.

March 9 @ Stetson, Deland, Fla., 4 p.m.

March 10 vs. Tennessee-Martin @ Deland, Fla., 11 a.m.

March 10 vs. Manhattan @ Deland, Fla., 1:30 p.m.

March 11 vs. Manhattan @ Deland, Fla., 12 p.m.

Nichols March 10 vs. Geneva @ Naples, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 10 vs. Brockport @ Naples, Fla., 1 p.m.

March 11 vs. Pitt-Bradford @ Fort Myers, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 11 vs. Swarthmore @ Fort Myers, Fla., 11 a.m.

March 12 vs. Salem St. @ Fort Myers, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 12 vs. Newbury @ Fort Myers, Fla., 11 a.m.

March 14 vs. Blackburn @ Naples, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 14 vs. Knox @ Naples, Fla., 11 a.m.

WPI March 8 vs. Westminster @ Kissimmee, Fla., 9 a.m.

March 8 vs. Bluffton @ Kissimmee, Fla., 11:15 a.m.

March 9 vs. Simmons @ Kissimmee, Fla., 1:30 p.m.

M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

Assumption March 8 vs. Ferris St. @ Hilton Head, SC, 8:30 a.m.

Clark March 8 vs. Stonehill College Nichols March 10 vs. Union March 13 vs. Earlham @ Orlando, Fla.

Women’s Tennis

Nichols March 14 vs. Stevens @ Orlando, Fla.

Men’s Track & Field

Worcester State March 10- 11 vs. NCAA DIII Championships @ Birmingham, Ala. Nichols March 9-10 vs. NCAA DIII Championships @ Birmingham, Ala.

Women’s Track & Field WPI March 9 -10 vs. NCAA DIII Championships @ Birmingham, Ala. Worcester State March 10-11 vs. NCAA DIII Championships @ Birmingham, Ala. WPI March 9-10 vs. NCAA DIII Championships @ Birmingham, Ala.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Adoption option Meet Simba and Tiger! These handsome fellas are Simba

(below) and Tiger. They and their two brothers were surrendered when their previous honors moved out of the country. The two elder cats have already found loving homes, but Simba and Tiger are still looking for their forever homes. Simba and Tiger must be adopted together, but you’ll love hanging out with these two bosom buddies. Simba is adventurous, but Tiger likes to soak it all in. Tiger has slightly impaired vision due to a deformed eye, but that doesn’t stop them from talking to each other across the room and playing tag on the floor. Simba and Tiger’s reduced adoption fee is $250 as a pair.

Ask a WARL staff member to meet these handsome devils today.

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. at 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at 508-853-0030.

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games JONESIN’

"An Increasing Problem"--it's in all the papers.

by Matt Jones

Across

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1 6 9 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 26 27 28 31 35 36 40 41 43 44 45 46 49 50 52 54 57 60 61 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

Young 'un "Monsters, ___" (2001 Pixar film) Prehistoric squirrel in "Ice Age" "SNL" alumna Cheri "Boyz N the Hood" actress Long Coffeeshop lure START OF A ONE-LINER Road shoulder Plays first Helper, briefly PART 2 OF THE ONE-LINER "The Wind in the Willows" creature Scouring items Part of the acronym NASCAR Shingle replacer "Mr. Holland's ___" (1995 movie) Adjust, as text Comedian Chappelle Classic Chevy, for short PART 3 OF THE ONE-LINER Hit the floppy disk icon Mag. positions Growing-sprouts-on-terra-cotta gift Hosp. facilities Held up "All in the Family" creator Norman END OF THE ONE-LINER British comedian known for his one-liners (like this one) Laughfest Plane steerer Chemistry class model "If all ___ fails ..."

23rd of 50 ___ pot (sinus-cleaning apparatus) Ending for pun or hip "Watching the Detectives" singer Costello Nicholas II was the last one

Down 1 "Today" co-anchor Hoda 2 "Am ___ only one?"

3 John with a green-and-yellow logo 4 Eugene O'Neill, for instance 5 Ending for human or planet 6 Place for two (or more) peas 7 S.F. NFLer 8 It makes felines go nuts

9 2012 AFTRA merger partner 53 ___-garde 10 Vanilla-flavored soft drink 54 Uno + dos 11 "Arrested Development" 55 Mr. Chamberlain actress Portia de ___ 56 Make a call (even though nobody 12 "Caught a Lite Sneeze" singer Tori physically does it) 13 President with a specially 57 "Home" author Morrison made bathtub 58 "___ creature was stirring ..."

18 Big trip 59 Qatar ruler 19 Heavenly home of the Norse gods 62 Deck count with two jokers, 24 Jake Busey, to Gary Busey in Roman numerals 25 "Much ___ About Nothing" 28 Go from place to place 29 Impersonated 30 Doesn't hold back Last week's solution 32 They may get played 33 At all times 34 Baby ___ (some potato options) 37 ___ tai (rum cocktail) 38 Period for the history books 39 Kathmandu's country abbr., if they were in the 2018 Winter Olympics 42 ___ Cooler ("Ghostbusters"-themed Hi-C flavor) 44 Educational acronym sometimes paired with the arts 47 Bailout request 48 Influential groups ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Reference puzzle #874 51 In pursuit of

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last call Dianne Williamson I think we’re headed in the right direction.

We’ll never be Boston, but who wants to be Boston?

What are the most marked changes the newsroom has undergone in the digital age? Well, the biggest change, of course, was our move from the old Franklin Street building, which had loads of character, to offices on Front Street that could double as an insurance agency. We’re owned by a chain and our numbers have been depleted, which is sad. And we’re — I mean they — are trying to focus on online subscriptions, because that’s the future of media. But, the people who work there are deeply devoted and the newspaper is in fine hands.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

– Sarah Connell

As a rookie writer, I’m learning that sometimes this job leads me to disappoint people. Have you always had a thick skin, or did that accumulate with time?

Yes, a thick skin is an absolute necessity as a newspaper columnist. I’ve been called lots of names that can’t be repeated in a newspaper, and it’s become much worse in the age of Trump, likely because I was very critical of him. I suppose when I was younger I took the jabs more to heart, but I don’t remember being overly-bothered. I always realized that it’s part of the job. The only time criticism bothered me was if a reader called to my attention something I got wrong, or if I used the improper word or phrasing. Otherwise, if you didn’t tick anyone off, you didn’t do your job.

Looking at it that way, I did a great job.

What is your fondest memory of growing up in Worcester? My fondest memory of growing up was being lucky enough to live in a great Newton Square neighborhood with lots of friends. We played kickball in the street for hours, sometimes raised holy hell and yeah, only went home when the street lights came on. I was surrounded by large, boisterous Irish Catholic families: Mullaneys, Kenarys, Kellehers, Sharrys, Riordans. Most of those kids from back in the day are my friends Have you ever missed a deadline? Hmm. I don’t remember ever missing a deadline, but still, and I adore them. my memory isn’t great and I probably have.

I’ve likely put it out of my mind.

Do you like the direction we are headed in as a city? The first column I ever wrote, Do you write for pleasure anymore? No, I I quoted a cop named Bobby Lotsbom who haven’t written for pleasure because pendescribed Worcester as a “nice place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit.” I always thought ning three columns a week was quite enough for me, and I find writing to be hard work. that was a great description of Worcester, Some writers love it; it’s in their blood. I was and never minded that we weren’t a tourist never that way. I guess I considered myself a destination. But things do seem to be changreporter first and was always hesitant to call ing and there’s lots of good momentum and new development downtown. The restaurant myself a writer. scene is booming. It’s exciting for sure and

38

What is your top aspiration as you enter retirement (White House communications gig aside)? Everyone is asking me about my plans, and I’m rather ashamed to admit I don’t have any.

I should probably make something up. At some point, I’m sure I’ll turn my attention to a new task, perhaps freelancing or teaching, but for now I’m just going to settle into this new phase of my life and enjoy it. I’ve been working since I was 16. It’s time.

M A R C H 8 - 14, 2018

FILE PHOTO/STEVEN KING

D

ianne Williamson worked at the Telegram & Gazette for 35 years, 25 of which she spent penning a popular column. Her final installment “And in conclusion, what a time it’s been,” ran in the paper Sunday, offering up a nostalgic glimpse at her extraordinary career in journalism. A highlight role titled “Dianne Williamson through the years” ran with the piece, including a 1997 shot of her sporting a bright floral blazer and another of her landing a solid punch at a 2005 celebrity boxing match for the Boys & Girls Club. Williamson is known for leaving both ambition and guts on the page. Her hunger for honest storytelling has always been coupled with a quick wit. It gave me great hope to learn that none of her essays or poems were published in the Happy Time pages as a child either.

In her farewell column, Williamson thanked readers for making her a part of their daily routines and encouraged their continued support of local journalism. I couldn’t resist giving her her first homework assignment of retirement, and she was kind enough to oblige.

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