Worcester Magazine July 12 - 18, 2018

JULY 12 - 18, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Worcester task force takes aim at chronic homelessness With a continued goal of eliminating chronic homelessness – this time for good – a task force created by the city manager is set to put a plan in front of the City Council with a focus on getting the homeless into housing as opposed to shelters. 4 Cozy on the Common I met a handsome lunch date for Real Food Rx taco salads last Thursday in what I hope becomes a part of our weekly routine, and enjoyed chilled glasses of holy basil green tea from community herbalist and botanist Rachel Ross of Hillside Herbals in Jefferson. 21

in this issue J U LY 12 - 18, 2018, 2018 • V O L U M E 43 I S S U E 46

the cover

A lifeguard watches swimmers in Worcester’s Bell Pond as sunbathers relax on the beach.

Story on page 13 Photo by Elizabeth Brooks, Design by Donald Cloutier

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news

Worcester task force takes aim at chronic homelessness W BILL SHANER

ith a continued goal of eliminating chronic homelessness – this time for good – a task force created by the city manager is set to put a plan in front of the City Council with a focus on getting the homeless into housing as opposed to shelters.

The Task Force for Sustaining Housing First Solutions, assembled by City Manager Ed Augustus Jr., will deliver 26 specific recommendations to City Hall to curb homelessness. The recommendations are expected to focus on implementing models of one-on-one counseling, rapid rehousing in apartments, case management, and data systems to help measure and sustain progress.

The full report becomes public Friday afternoon, and the City Council is scheduled to review it next Tuesday. City officials were scheduled to hold a media briefing on the plan after the Wednesday deadline for print.

The online version of this story will be updated with information from the meeting.

The report comes as chronic homelessness – those who have gone months or years without permanent shelter – has slowly crept back from a low in 2011, when the number hit an effective zero and city officials declared the problem of homelessness over.

Currently, officials estimate there are about 60 people who meet the criteria for chronically homeless in Worcester, though the number is constantly in flux. The homelessness population in general is estimated at 1,111, of which 392 are adults without children, 207 are families and 37 are unaccompanied youth, ages 18 to 24, according to a city study published last year. An esti-

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A homeless encampment in Worcester mated 115 are estimated to be veterans.

Augustus appointed the task force earlier this year, and it got to work in March. A team of 28 members representing nonprofits, service agencies and government agencies from around the area was split into three working groups. One worked on

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gathering data about the issue as it stands in Worcester, another worked on housing, the third on case management.

With a $25,000 grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, the task force also retained a heavy-hitting consultant on the issue. Barbara Poppe, for-

mer executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and a nationally renowned expert on the issue, was brought on to help the task force assemble the report.

Jan Yost, president of the HFCM and member of the task force, said Poppe helped the task force hone in on the fine details of housing first policy, which Yost advocated is the clear way to address the issue.

“It is the evidence-based approach, especially for the chronically homeless,” said Yost. “The housing first model reduces health care costs, so the savings to society is worth the expense of providing these service.”

The recommendations are expected to focus on five key areas: crisis response, housing supply and rental assistance, support services, housing stabilization and datadriven decision-making.

The recommendations come after two well-attended public forums where residents gave suggestions for what they wanted to see the city, nonprofits and other agencies do. For the residents struggling with homelessness, high rents and the lack of affordable housing were common grievances, as were the lack of quality addiction treatment and temporary shelter.

Landlords and property managers also spoke, saying they’d like to build more small, affordable apartments, but state building codes can make it cost prohibitive to do so.

A representative of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce asked the task force look at panhandling, and an employee at the Worcester Public Library said the main branch downtown could be a useful resource if funded properly.

Among the draft recommendations released by the task force in June, after the public meetings, were about 100 more housing units over the next year, includC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

news

Worcester to review applications for pot shops all at once BILL SHANER

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ather than handle all potential pot shops on a case by case basis, Worcester officials are putting out a call to all prospective retail cannabis shop owners at once: put in an application, and we’ll see if we want you for one of the 15 available pot shop licenses in the city.

The process, called a Request for Interest, will give the city the ability to review all applicants at once, picking the ones best suited, according to a statement from the city. The request went out Friday, July 6 and companies have until Aug. 24 to respond. Through this process the city intends to issue host community agreements, a piece of documentation necessary for stores to get a license from the state Cannabis

Control Commission.

Earlier this year, the City Council passed a cap on retail stores to 15 citywide, along with a set of zoning requirements intended to keep marijuana retail largely in commercial and industrial zones. The 15-location cap only applies to retail marijuana stores, not to cultivation, manufacturing, research or lab testing facilities.

Important factors for the city include location, diversity of applicants, feedback from community meetings and capacity to meet state and local requirements. In its discussion of the new industry, the City Council has made clear its primary focus is making sure the shops are spread evenly throughout the city, and not clustered in certain neighborhoods.

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A P P L I CAT I O N S

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Councilors, especially District 3 Councilor George Russell, District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera and District 2 Councilor Candy MeroCarlson, expressed concern the pot business would be focused in the east side and south Worcester, and not impact the west side much at all.

Jake Sanders, the assistant to the city manager charged with overseeing the roll-out of retail cannabis, said the RFI process will allow city officials to spread stores throughout the city evenly.

City officials are asking applicants to submit documents provided to the Cannabis Control Commission, and the applications will be reviewed by the city’s Cannabis Review Committee. The applications that pass the screening process will then move on to negotiations for a CHA. Worcester officials previously told Worcester Magazine they’ve received an overwhelming number of calls from prospective busi-

nesses, and it seems the city is not alone.

Across the region, there’s been a major uptick in recreational marijuana activity. Leicester may see the first recreational store in the state, with Cultivate, which received a preliminary license from the Cannabis Control Commission last week. More recently, a plan to open a research center is Leicester went before Selectmen. Uxbridge signed at least five community host agreements with shops and cultivators, and Charlton is set to be the site of a large greenhouse cultivation center, although some neighbors there have contested it, even filed legal action.

Cultivate will likely be the first store to open in part because it previously had state approval to grow and sell medical marijuana. The license process allows companies with prior approval for medical a fast track for recreational approval.

Though none have yet opened, Worcester has four medical marijuana businesses that fit the criteria, and they will probably be the first to get approval from the city and the state.

The four businesses are as follows: Good

Chemistry at 9 Harrison St.; Temescal Wellness, a cultivation center, at 141 SW Cutoff; Medicinal Alternatives at 1191 Millbury St.; Prime Wellness at 0 Pullman St.; and Mission Massachusetts at 640 Lincoln St. Good Chemistry is scheduled to open Aug. 2 as a medical marijuana dispensary – Worcester’s first.

But as far as recreational business goes, the city has been tight-lipped on where the negotiations stand, or to which businesses they’ll issue community host agreements.

“Discussions are ongoing with the medical marijuana companies regarding potential co-location at those sites, but we don’t have anything to announce at this point,” said city spokesman Mike Vigneux when asked earlier this week.

A new page on the city website, worcesterma.gov/marijuana, offers more information on recreational pot in Worcester: Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-749-3166 x324 or at wshaner@worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

HOMELESS

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4

ing donating city property and targeting properties where the number of units could be expanded. It also included a “crisis response” component to catch people falling into homelessness before it becomes chronic. That, according to the draft recommendations, would include a homelessness prevention fund, a diversion system and a “rapid rehousing” model, that passes over shelter stays in favor of apartments. To help the homeless into privately-owned apartments, the task force recommends a tenantlandlord insurance fund, which would reduce the perception of risk for property owners. Helping the homeless access state services like health insurance, SNAP benefits and social security is also a focus.

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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worcesteria

COULD THIS BE IT? A federal judge this week threw out a lawsuit brought by two state troopers against their bosses, including District Attorney Joe Early Jr. (who, don’t forget, is up for reelection). The lawsuit stems from the whole Alli Bibaud thing of yore, which has been thoroughly buried by a dizzying series of more salacious scandals coming from the Massachusetts State Police in the months after. The federal judge threw out the case on the grounds there was no federal claim to be made. But the case is still open in Worcester Superior Court.

Will the Superior Court judge follow suit? If so, it would effectively kill this story once and for all, and it would help Early’s election bid a great deal, as he’s facing a challenge from the… left? … or the right?... hard to tell … with Blake Rubin, who has called in the past for him to resign.

Perception is reality in politics and the longer this state lawsuit stretches into the fall, the worse it is for Early, regardless of the merits of the case or, even, the outcome. Now, a state judge can’t throw this case out on the grounds there’s no federal claim, so we’ll just have to wait and watch Superior Court. While we’re on the subject, Early appears to be taking the campaign seriously, though many are quick (too quick, I’d say) to write Rubin off. On Saturday, Early is launching a grand opening of his campaign headquarters, at 258 Park Ave., and a day of campaign action.

Get involved, the Facebook flier asks in this “critical election year.” Emphasis on critical.

GO LEICESTER: Not only is Leicester the site of the Cannabis Control Commission’s first

provisional-licenses purveyor of pot, it’s looking at approving a research facility as well. Research! That component is, in my opinion, the under-sung benefit of legalizing cannabis. You can actually research its effects, medical benefits, industrial and agricultural uses, etc. etc. and experiment. Find new uses, make breakthroughs. No one has been able to do that on any sort of scale before legalization. I’ve talked to people much smarter than I who envision a cannabis research and product development hub clustering ~somewhere~ in the United States as cannabis slowly becomes fully legal (and it will, if slowly, everywhere but Jeff Sessions’ back yard, mark my words). Industries relying on a brain trust tend to cluster, these people-smarter-than-I say. Think Silicon Valley. Why not make a bid now to have that cluster be in Central Mass., where the combination of available farmland and colleges in a 100-mile radius is like, better than anywhere in the world probably. Just a thought. It really would be good for this area to hop aboard the Pineapple Express with a one-way ticket.

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME: Worcester officials are getting serious about trash. So serious, they’re considering bringing back the stocks but online for habitual trash dumpers, per City Manager Ed Augustus Jr.’s directive. That’s right. The city is threatening to publish names and addresses of people and businesses caught illegally dumping trash to the city website. Now, am I opposed to people who don’t take care of their trash getting dragged endlessly online for being monsters? No, not really. I have no sympathy for those people. But, at the same time, am I entirely comfortable with city government deciding who to clasp into these digital stocks, awaiting the onslaught of rotten digital vegetables? Absolutely not. We tried this before, and I don’t think the theocratic criminal justice system of our puritan ancestors is much to aspire to. So, not to belabor the point, but illegal dumping is definitely bad and I encourage the city to do all it can to curb the practice. But, at the same time, public shaming as a penal tactic is something Worcester can live without. Let’s be careful here.

EYES ON THE 17th: David LeBoeuf, one of three Democratic candidates for the 17th Worces-

Worcester-Boston Full Service Radio for New England

ter District State Rep. seat, seems to have consolidated the perception of being the Progressive Choice for the seat, vied for by fellow Dems Stu Loosemore and Pam Gemme (whoever wins takes on Republican Paul Fullen in November). A set of endorsements this week seems to solidify LeBoeuf ’s position further. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association both endorsed LeBoeuf for the seat. This quote from MTA President Barbara Madeloni on why: “When he met with educators, David clearly articulated his firm commitment to our public schools, colleges and universities. We can count on him to be a strong voice for working families and communities throughout Massachusetts.” So there ya go. That primary, by the way, is sneaking up on us. Mid September. Expect to see a lot more posts such as this in Bill Shaner, reporter the weeks to come. wshaner@worcestermag.com Twitter: @Bill_Shaner

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the beat

According to a study on municipal governance conducted by WalletHub, Worcester ranks among

the best-run cities in the nation, at 50 out of the 150 studied, and 42 in public safety, its highest-ranked category. Worcester ranked higher than Boston, at 81 overall, and Providence, at 100 overall.

The Abby Kelley Foster Charter School has an environmental problem on its hands. Recent air qual-

ity tests have detected higher-than-allowable levels of TCEs, which are harmful and possibly carcinogenic chemicals. The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered further air testing last week after TCEs were first detected in June.

Cases of West Nile Virus have been detected in Mosquitoes in Worcester and Auburn. City officials

announced the news late last week and encouraged residents to take extra precautions against mosquito bites, including bug spray, long sleeves, avoiding buggy areas and taking steps to remove standing water on or around property.

Technetics, a manufacturing business, is set to close its facility in Oxford this summer.

The closure is expected to leave 97 workers without jobs. The company sold its facility on Old Webster Road for $26 million.

Worcester officials capitalized on World Cup fever this week, when they streamed the

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semifinal match between France and Belgium on an 8-foot-by-16-foot screen at the Worcester Common. The screening was accompanied by pick-up soccer games and food trucks.

The Worcester Housing Authority recently received an honor from the

Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment for its “Step Up” program. The program offers apprenticeships to residents of the Great Brook Valley and Curtis Apartments complexes, with the assistance of job coaches. In the past five years, 35 people have graduated the program. The WHA received the Outstanding Agency Award.

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Speaking of job training, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce recently partnered with Worcester Public Schools to launch a free summer job skills program for

the manufacturing trades. Skills include basic machine work and blueprint reading. The program will run July 23 to Aug. 16. The Chamber is currently accepting applications.

Clark University was named one of the “best and most interesting” colleges in the United States, Canada and the U.K., according to the Fiske Guide to Colleges, an independent review

of higher education. The Fiske ranking touted Clark’s education model as one designed to prepare students for success after college by combining a liberal arts curriculum with intensive world, workplace and personal experiences. It also called Worcester a city of hidden gems, so that’s good.

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editorial

opinion

Summer not just fun and games

W

ith several drownings in Massachusetts already this summer, the message should be as clear as ever: while summer is a time for fun and sun, it is rife with danger when it comes to being in the water. That’s not to play fear monger, but the recent spate of drownings signal the need for vigilance in and around lakes, ponds and pools.

Worcester has felt the sting, most recently with a 13-year-old boy dying after being pulled on the Fourth of July from Bell Pond. A little over a month earlier, a recent South High graduate celebrating in Webster drowned in Webster Lake.

This week’s feature story in Worcester Magazine zeroes in on the dangers of drowning and importance of safety while swimming.

The statistics tell us there is a critical need for heightened awareness of water safety as well as for swimming lessons. Many of the drowning incidents happen to young children and teens, revealing their vulnerability to water dangers. There is a need for greater access to swimming lessons for young people.

Here’s hoping area cities and towns, perhaps in partnership with local organizations such as Worcester’s Boys & Girls Club, can create more of those opportunities.

Another aspect, however, involves adults.

The day after the young teen was pulled from Bell Pond, a number of older swimmers took to the beach long before it officially opened at noon. One swam clear across the pond. Two men, both of whom appeared to be strong swimmers, expressed frustration with not being able to swim in deep water. The city beaches, when they open to the public, are roped off, with only a shallow portion avail-

able for swimming. The men said they can only swim when there are no ropes. Is there a way for the city to accommodate adults who are looking to escape the heat - and who may want to do more than wade waist deep into the water?

Of course, drownings do not just occur in lakes, oceans and ponds. Swimming pools are just as dangerous if the right precautions are not taken. No matter where children are swimming, supervision is a must, but particularly at home swimming pools. Ladders should be secured when the pool is not in use, as should any gates that lead to the swimming area. When children are in the pool, adult supervision is a must. Children who are not yet capable swimmers should use floating devices or life jackets and should be accompanied by adults. Even those who have learned to swim should be monitored.

At beaches and other public swimming areas where lifeguards are used, swimming should take place only when they are on duty.

Even then, children should not enter the water without the supervision of a parent, family member or other caretaker.

Summer is a time to unwind and have fun - particularly for kids on vacation from school.

But in an instant, fun can turn to tragedy. In many cases, it is preventable. Obeying rules and regulations, going in the water only under the right circumstances (i.e. don’t swim or go boating while impaired) and possessing swimming skills are among the steps that can be taken to help decrease the risk of a swimming tragedy this summer.

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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Open borders would cause chaos, destruction To the Editor: The people calling for the elimination of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) are remarkably misguided and amazingly naïve.

They want open borders and amnesty for all

who have entered this country illegally, the outcome of which would be chaos and destruction, not to mention a catastrophic cost.

There is a naïve utopian fantasy infecting the liberal progressive political persuasion in the United States. I call it the “the world is family” philosophy. The world is not one big happy family. It’s full of people with the widest possible range of beliefs, philosophies, desires and motives. Many in the “world family” hate U.S. That’s you, the American citizen. They resent the prosperity, freedom and opportunity available to American citizens. Some would like nothing better than to terrorize you and

Have fun and be safe.

Photographer Elizabeth Brooks x323 Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Jim Perry, Corlyn Voorhees Editorial Interns Samantha Bratkon, Sophia Laperle

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

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WORCESTER MAGAZINE is an independent news weekly covering Central Massachusetts. We accept no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. The Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement.

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Distribution WORCESTER MAGAZINE is available free of charge at more than 400 locations, limited to one copy per reader. Unauthorized bulk removal of Worcester Magazine from any public location, or any other tampering with Worcester Magazine’s distribution including unauthorized inserts, is a criminal offense and may be prosecuted under the law.

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opinion destroy your American way of life. Others want to make their fortune selling drugs, trafficking people and smuggling weapons. These people are numerous. We don’t know the identity of these people, but the sheer numbers who want in demonstrate the absolute necessity of controlling our borders.

Opening the border to all who wish to cross would quickly devalue American citizenship, threaten our security and force existing citizens to involuntarily subsidize people who have no stake in this country and view crossing the border as access to a free ride.

America is not perfect, but we have freedom and prosperity found nowhere else. Those who feel their country has failed them, or somehow failed “the world family,” should consider their alternatives. Read the American Constitution thoughtfully and consider what a brilliant blueprint for society it is. You’ll quickly discover the value of your citizenship. Don’t squander it in this era of liberal political hysteria.

Richard Chapel Worcester

No need for signs with paintings at art museum

Why should sitters’ relation to slavery be the only thing that matters about them? How many of them (or their spouses) fought in the American Revolution or Civil War? How many made valuable contributions to local civic, charitable, intellectual or cultural life, or to New England’s economic prosperity?

Contrary to the curator, whatever one’s race To the Editor: or ethnicity, it is no more “interesting” or artistically relevant to learn how many slaves some The addition of labels to portraits in Worcester sitter owned than to categorize sitters by their Art Museum’s American art collection identifypolitical or religious beliefs, their wealth, or ing all subjects who were somehow implicated their domestic situations. Is it really news that in the slave trade (“Worcester Art Museum those who posed tried to present themselves signs shine light on American slave trade,” June “in the best possible light”?

28, Worcester Magazine) constitutes an absurd Why not append entire biographies to each politicization of the museum itself. portrait (including those of the artist as well Most museum visitors come to appreciate as the sitter)? Better yet, why not skip the onethe work of great artists from various eras sided history “lesson,” stay home and read a and civilizations, and (in the case of older or book instead? remote societies) learn something about the civilizations themselves. Normally, those now- David Lewis Schaefer, Holy Cross professor obscure figures who typically sat for portraits Worcester are of no contemporary interest in themselves.

But to highlight only their relation to slavery is to reduce them to stick figures, and the portraits to mere artifacts of propaganda.

Letters to the Editor Policy

Have something on your mind? Don’t keep it bottled up, put it in words and send it to Worcester Magazine! Letters to the editor are a great way to share your thoughts and opinions with thousands of readers and online viewers each week. There is no word limit, but we reserve the right to edit for length, so brevity is your friend. If handwritten, write legibly - if we cannot read it, we are not running it. Personal attacks and insults don’t fly with us, so save them for when someone cuts you off in traffic. A full name and town or city of residence are required. Please include an email address or phone number for verification purposes only. That information will not be published.

Make sure your letter makes it into Worcester Magazine in a timely fashion — send it in by the Monday of the next issue. Please note that letters will run as space allows. Send them to Worcester Magazine, 72 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604 or by email to editor@worcestermag.com.

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feature DROWNINGS SPOTLIGHT SWIMMING DANGERS

WALTER BIRD JR. PHOTO

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feature WALTER BIRD JR. AND BILL SHANER

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ust days after Worcester’s beaches officially opened, but after they had closed for the day, a 13-yearold boy died in Bell Pond. The incident happened on the Fourth of July, and served as a tragic reminder of the dangers of swimming as people start turning to beaches and swimming pools to escape the sweltering heat of summer.

Sadly, it was not the first drowning death of a Worcester teen. Early last month, just days after he had graduated from South High Community School, 18-year-old Christensen Agnant drowned in Webster Lake. And while it did not appear to be related to swimming, a man’s body was pulled from Dorothy Pond in Millbury Friday, July 6. The man had reportedly been kayaking.

There have been a number of drownings in and around Worcester over the past several years, including: May 3, 2013: Shimi David, 10, drowned while swimming in Worcester’s, Bell Pond with his brother and friends.

Aug. 11, 2016: Joy Jamilowski, 49, drowned while swimming in Coes Pond in Worcester.

May 27, 2017: Annie Krantz, 18, of Oxford drowned in Whitin Reservoir in Douglas.

July 2, 2017: Ishe Conception Lanoy, 17, drowned while swimming in Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester.

June 2, 2018: Christensen Agnant, 18, who had recently graduated from Worcester’s South High School, drowned in Webster Lake.

July 4, 2018: A 13-year-old boy died after being pulled from Bell Pond, where he had been swimming.

July 6, 2018: A man’s body was pulled from Dorothy Pond in Millbury, reportedly after he had been kayaking.

The tragedies have shined a light on the dangers swimmers can face, particularly when they do not adhere to the rules and regulations in place at recreational spaces such as Bell Pond. The boy who died there on July 4 is believed to have gone into the water after the beach closed at 7 p.m. There were no lifeguards on duty after that time. Early the next morning, before the beach opened at noon, a few swimmers, including two older men, were seen swimming far out into the water. One of them swam across the pond and was ordered out by a lifeguard who had shown up to help

Worcester Smiles women’s soccer

A sign lists the rules and regulations for swimming at Bell Pond in Worcester’s Bell Hill Park.

WALTER BIRD JR. PHOTO

open the beach. The worker had to paddle to the other side because the man did not respond to orders over a bullhorn from the aquatics director on the beach.

Both men, who spoke little English,

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expressed frustration with not being able to swim in deep water. When the city beaches are open, they are roped off, creating a small and largely-shallow swimming area. In

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Worcester, the city beaches are Bell Pond, Coes Pond, a small beach at Indian Lake and Shore Park. The latter is also on Indian Lake, across from the smaller beach. The city also is home to Lake Quinsigamond, which is run through the state.

In the wake of the Bell Pond drowning, City Manager Ed Augustus Jr. offered his condolences, while highlighting the need for watergoers to follow the rules.

“We were saddened to hear of this tragic drowning and extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victim,” Augustus said. “Incidents like this are a reminder that water safety is of paramount importance. We encourage residents to take proper precautions, ensure supervision of young children and inexperienced swimmers, to review the rules and regulations of City beaches and ponds, and only swim when lifeguards are on duty.”

Others have pointed to the sobering statistics related to drowning, while citing the importance of knowing how to swim. That skill, some say, is particularly needed in areas of color, given data revealing the drowning rate for minorities is significantly higher than that for whites. Overall, children ages 1-4 have the

highest drowning rates, which some say only further demonstrates the need for swimming lessons and overall knowledge of water safety.

Per Worcester Fire Department records, there have been 11 drowning fatalities over the past 10 years in the city. In total, the department responded to 16 drowning incidents and made five rescues.

“The accidental drownings, they usually end up as a result of people that don’t know how to swim,” said Deputy Chief Martin Dyer, spokesman for the Fire Department. “They end up, for whatever reason in a situation that

puts them over their head. Parents or people watching may not see them right away. They go down and it results in tragedy.”

And it’s not just Worcester. There have been nine drowning deaths across the state since June. In 2011, a bad year for drowning deaths in the state, there were 40 accidental drowning deaths and 148 near drownings, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Drowning was the leading cause of death that year among Massachusetts children at or under the age of 14. For young children, the DPH warns drowning can happen in unlikely

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Across the United States, about 10 people a day die from unintentional drowning. Of them, two are 14 years old or younger.

Drowning is the fifth-leading cause of unintentional injury death in the U.S. From 2005-2014, there were an average of 3,536 fatal unintentional drownings each year in the U.S. (about 10 a day). An additional 332 people died each year from drowning in boating-related incidents.

Roughly one in five drowning victims are children 14 and younger. For every fatal drowning of a child, another five receive emergency care for nonfatal submersion injuries.

More than 50 percent of drowning victims treated in emergency departments require hospitalization or transfer for additional care. Those injuries can cause severe brain damage resulting in long-term disabilities, including memory problems.

places, like buckets, toilets and wading pools.

Children under the age of 4 most commonly drown in backyard pools, whereas adolescents most commonly drown in natural bodies of water, according to the DPH. For adults, there are other factors at play.

The consumption of alcohol is involved in 25-50 percent of deaths involving water recreation, according to the DPH. And many of the adults and adolescents who drown do not know how to swim.

“I think it’s a very complex issue with many contributing factors,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester. “Lack of swimming skills and not being taught water safety techniques are certainly a big part of the problem. We need to make sure that swim lessons are accessible to all youth.”

There are barriers to that, she said, including lack of transportation, no nearby swim instruction and cost of lessons.

“In addition,” Hamilton said, “I think we need to treat swimming similar to driving a car. You wouldn’t want someone on the road without having instruction; it should be the same for swimming.”

At beaches, she continued, even when lifeguards are present, parents should be C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

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feature DROWNING

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

responsible for their children. Kids, including young teens, should not be left alone to swim.

“We need to make sure our kids know that if there is not a lifeguard present, they are never allowed in the water, and if a sign says ‘No swimming’ obey it, “Hamilton said.” If your child is not a strong swimmer, he or she needs to wear a life jacket, particularly if on a boat or at a beach.”

Missy Julien agrees. The mother of three boys resides in Uxbridge, but brings them to Worcester frequently to swim. Their beach of choice is at Indian Lake off Clason Road. She was there Thursday, July 5, her eyes trained squarely on each child - 9-year-old Amir and 6-year-olds Kedar and Isaiah - as they played in or at the water’s edge.

“That’s why my eyes are always peeled on them, even though there are lifeguards,” Julien said when asked whether she worried about drownings. “It does scare me. It’s always a risk when they’re in the water. For me, I feel like I’m so alert. I’m constantly watching my kids.”

Although her two 6-year-olds have had some swimming lessons, the oldest has not, she said.

It has led Julien to make some tough decisions when it comes to where he children go.

Eriberto Mora, a lifeguard and swim instructor at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, helps a young swimmer.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

“We’re always avoiding pool parties, unless I’m there, because I don’t want them swim-

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ming if I’m not watching them,” she said.

Learning to swim, Hamilton said, is crucial

and can save lives.

“I believe swimming is an important life skill, just like cooking, driving and riding a bike,” she said. “People are never completely safe fishing, or at a pool party, etc., unless they know how to swim. If they are around water at all, they must know how to swim.”

The need is particularly acute among youth of color, she added, noting statistics that show children of color are five times more likely to drown white children. African-American boys ages 11-12, she noted, are the most at risk.

They are 10 times more likely to drown than their white peers, Hamilton said.

“I think there are barriers to learning swimming proficiency in an urban environment,” Hamilton said. “Access to swim lessons and pools is a challenge, and once a family finds a venue, can they afford it?”

Some organizations, such as the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, offer free swim lessons. The Boys & Girls Club also offers free lifeguard certification courses and a competitive swim team to all members who complete swim instruction.

“We teach hundreds of kids to swim every year,” Hamilton said, “many of whom would not be able to afford lessons elsewhere.”

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 21

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feature RISK FACTORS Males: Nearly 80 percent of all drowning victims are male Kids: Children ages 1-4 have highest drowning rates. In 2014, among children ages 1-4 who died from unintentional injury, one-third died from drowning. Among children in that age range, most drownings occur in home swimming pools. Drowning is responsible for more deaths among kids 1-4 years old than any other cause except birth defects. Among children ages 1-14, fatal drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes.

Minorities: Between 1999-2010, the fatal unintentional drowning rate for African-Americans was significantly higher than that of whites across all ages. The disparity is widest among children 5-18 years old, and is most pronounced in swimming pools, where African-Americans ages 5-19 drown at rates five-and-a-half times higher than those of whites.

Access to swimming pools, the lack of desire to learn how to swim and choosing water-related recreational activities may contribute to the racial differences in drowning rates.

Swimmers enjoy the water at Bell Pond in Worcester.

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While it no longer is offered, she said, “Back in the day, all the Worcester Public School [boys] used to receive free swim lessons at our Boys & Girls Club of Worcester’s Ionic Ave. Clubhouse. It was a great collaboration. The schools would transport the students and the Club provided the instruction.

“I’d love to see the return of our Club providing swim lessons in the mornings during the school year to Worcester Public School students. I’m sure it would require a grant, as transportation and staffing would be needed, but it seems to me it would be money well spent.”

Worcester School Superintendent Maureen Binienda, who said she learned to swim as a youngster at Girls Inc., is on board with the idea of partnering with the city and other organizations and schools to focus on swimming and water safety.

“About 15 years ago, South High students taught water safety to elementary school students through the Red Cross,” Binienda, a former South High principal, said. “It was a great program.

Binienda this week said she planned to speak with someone at the city level about teaching water safety this summer to partici-

and organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc., the YMCA and YWCA, all of which could each allow youngsters to access water and learn how to swim safely.

“These are all institutions that really want to celebrate kids and make sure they’re safe,” Binienda said. “Bring in colleges, tie into Rec Worcester, the city manager’s program.

Youngsters play ball while swimming in Indian Lake at That would be Shore Park in Worcester. ideal.”

WALTER BIRD JR. PHOTO She also noted pants in the popular Rec Worcester program. the importance of teaching parents about She said it did not necessarily have to be water safety, so they could help better protect taught in the water, but in the parks, including lessons on how far out to swim, the buddy their children and also learn how to keep safe.

As for the price tag associated with swimsystem and other potentially life-saving tools. ming and water safety programs, Binienda The superintendent also noted the city’s lakes, ponds and pools as well as local colleges said grants might be available. Donors might also step up to help, she said.

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

“I think it’s important,” she said. “We don’t want to lose any more lives. We don’t want to have any lost lives people care for due to water. It’s all preventable.”

Dyer also stressed the need for swimming lessons.

“People should do everything they can to get access to swimming programs,” said Dyer, adding they’re offered by the city, the state, the YMCA and the YWCA. In its fiscal 2019 budget, the city added swimming lessons at Crompton Pool after cutting the program years ago. The lessons are $50, run for a week, and take place Monday through Friday at 10:30 a.m.

The rules of the swimming holes and hours of operation are just as important, he said.

The roped-off area is designed to keep people steep drops in ground elevation and other pitfalls that could lead to a drowning. But lessons and abiding by the rules are not enough.

Young children still require constant vigilance when around water, Dyer said.

“Parents and guardians, they need to be very observant,” said Dyer. “It takes literally a second of looking away for something like this to happen. And I don’t mean to vilify anyone.

We’re all one glance away from something like this happening.”

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culture

A creative spark for Worcester creatives JOSHUA LYFORD

F

or over 40 years, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation has looked to enhance the city and its community through grants and supporting initiatives near and dear to its core values. While it has long supported the arts tangentially - in addition to its support of other programs through more than $90 million in awarded grants - now, through its Creative Worcester Initiative, the GWCF is directly affecting area creatives through grants with programs like its recently rolled out Creative Spark pilot program.

The aptly-named pilot program works to spark creative efforts throughout the city, with an ear toward diverse, unheard and often underserved individuals and small organizations working in the arts and culture sectors. At the tail-end of June, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation announced that Creative Spark had awarded $69,000 to 11 area individuals and organizations.

“We funded 11 different projects at base level.

All of those projects actually happened,” said Jonathan Cohen, a program officer at the GWCF

Crocodile River Music performs.

FILE PHOTO, STEVEN KING.

and staff person for the Creative Worcester Initiative. “Some have already happened, some are a year or two years out in terms of goals and delivery. Number one is that the projects happen. Number two is that they, in whatever ways they are designed to, generate positive

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energy for the organizations or around the work.

We want them engaged in ways that wouldn’t happen. We’ve already been experiencing a lot of nice energy and enthusiasm about this new arts grantmaking in general.”

The Creative Worcester Initiative is a funding partnership between the GWCF and the Barr Foundation, a Boston-based organization.

“They are a large private foundation that invests in many areas. Arts and creativity is one of their priorities,” said Cohen. “They approached us and four others around the state to invite us to work with them to strengthen the arts and creativity sector in their creative communities.

It’s a mix of funding and technical assistance. It provides resources to strengthen the arts and culture sector overall.”

As part of the partnership, the GWCF unrolled three initiatives. Two of the initiatives are grant programs: the Creative Spark program and another grant program that has not yet been announced to the public. The third is a coordination effort, to develop a cultural plan for the city in partnership with the Worcester Cultural Coalition and the City of Worcester.

“City leadership over the last several years has really shown good positive enthusiastic support for the arts and cultural sectors and the role that plays in the city,” Cohen said. “It’s been awhile since they had a physical document saying what they are committed to. Over the next six months, we will work with the city manager’s office and the cultural coalition. Over the next six months, we are going to develop a meaningful plan and strategy that the city can sign off on and the community can rally around.”

With Creative Spark, the focus is on having a direct, boots-on-the-ground impact on local arts and culture. “[The purpose] is to provide small grants to artists, arts organizations and other organizations that use arts and culture to advance their missions, to fund new small projects that would make new art and creative endeavors that would J U LY 1 2 - 1 8 , 2 0 1 8

The Royal Treatment, with percussionist Eli Mateo.

STEVEN KING PHOTO.

spark opportunities to engage the arts,” said Cohen. “The focus is on underserved populations and unheard voices. That’s been our mantra.”

The Barr Foundation approached the GWCF a year ago March, the grant planning began over last summer and the strategy was developed over the fall. The hope is that the grant-awarding can bolster Worcester already strong arts presence.

“First of all,” Cohen said, “as much as there are lots of good and robust funding for established arts organizations, it is sometimes hard for individual artists and very small organizations to get access to funding to do what they want to do around arts and creativity. We wanted to put money out there and see if funds being available would make things happen that might not otherwise.”

Twenty-seven applicants put their projects forward for grant-awarding and 11 were selected. A committee of community volunteers voted on those selected. The in-

dividuals and organizations selected were Ansaar of Worcester, Crocodile River Music/African Arts in Education, musician Eli Mateo, Future Focus media Cooperative, Girls Inc. of Worcester, Mass Leap Inc., Music Worcester Inc., SAORI Worcester, Seven Hills Foundation, artist Steven Schwartz and Worcester Earn a Bike.

“Ultimately,” said Cohen, “what people were looking for was honest engagement of underserved population, the applicants had to state who and why they were serving. There was an honest effort on the part of the organization and individuals, we were looking for things that really if we were not involved wouldn’t happen. If it was a major organization that was looking for funding, that wouldn’t happen. This was a committee attracted to small organizations and individuals using arts and creativity to stimulate creativity and energy. I think you see an intentionally diverse list that each, in their own way, engage the community in an endeavor. It’s hyperlocal, most are hands-on and let people experience the part of creation.”

Patrick Goguen, a shop manager for Worcester’s Earn-a-Bike.

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Lyford Files JOSHUA LYFORD

ABOUT LAST WEEK: If you read last week’s column, then you noticed that it was a

substantially different feel than what I usually get into in this side of the paper. If you didn’t, well, you aren’t alone. The reader’s poll a few years ago let me know I am not high on the list of line inches that need to be included here, but too bad, I’m not going anywhere. Or, perhaps, you were just on vacation. In which case, fair enough, I hope you enjoyed yourself. If you missed it, I wrote a very rare Joshua Lyford straight-editorial about the newsroom shooting in Maryland. I do not plan on doing this often, so fear not! This week it is back to my usual buffoonery and nonsense and maybe even some outdated references with little to no context. Hold on to your butts!

IS THIS WHAT GEN-XERS ARE INTO?: I have no idea, I’m not a Gen X-er, it’s

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just the way the coin flipped and the timing of when the Pat Benatar soundtrack kicked on when my parents were sitting in their hatchback at what I imagine was a romantic overlook that brought me into this world. Being born at the tail end of ‘84 makes me a vanguard Millennial. Congratulations, fools. Anyway, I get a lot of emails. This probably isn’t surprising to hear. One such email was an event presented by Loudwire called “Gen-X Summer,” which features Buckcherry, P.O.D. and Alien Ant Farm. The show is coming to the Worcester Palladium on Friday, July 27 and for whatever reason, that combination of bands is absolutely hilarious to me. Thinking of a sea of folks my age and up singing “Crazy Bitch” at the top of their lungs is reeeeally something. So, without making myself look like even more of an elitist asshole, if this is your thing, enjoy yourself.

GET RAILED (x5): x5 you say? Yes, because I am exactly that unoriginal and have used that subhead at least five times. Sue me, my column, my rules. The Worcester Railers resigning announcements keep stacking up, this time with Holden-native and defenseman Connor Doherty. Doherty earned five points with one goal and four assists in 40 games for the team last year. I know people are psyched to have a hyper-local guy on the team, so it’s nice to see him returning. The start of the ECHL season is way off and while playing HUT, Be a Pro and EASHL in EA’s NHL ‘18 helps a little, it doesn’t help much. Largely because I am almost as terrible at fake hockey as I am at real hockey. Hey season, hurry up would ya?

HIGH COMEDY: Damn, did I think I was witty with that headline in the Culture section a few weeks ago. I did a full article on the Summit Lounge Comedy series with host and promoter Paul Cyphers, but just to make sure you don’t miss it (perhaps you were vacationing when the issue released? Hmm?), here is a little reminder. The Summit Private Lounge on Water Street, with its members and guests-only marijuana conception, is hosting monthly comedy nights. The kick-off last month was a big success and the next iteration takes place Friday, July 13 with Alan Fitzgerald, Tyler Moore, Bryan O’Donnell, Matt Woodland, Allie Dick, Jesse Burlingame and Tricia D’Onofrio. It’s 21-plus, you buy a pass and boom, you’re smoking weed and enjoying some great comedy. While I have never indulged in cannabis (as far as our conservative editor Walter Bird, Jr. needs to know), I have heard that it pairs well with hilarious events.

WOOCHELLA: I’m not coming up with a witty subhead for this one. Nope. No sir. There is

a zero-percent chance you have made it this far in my column and aren’t savvy (or self-loathing) enough to be unaware of the Coachella music festival. Well, apparently Worcester is getting its own mini version at the Bull Mansion Saturday, July 14. It will be interesting to see how a massive outdoor festival translates into an indoor event, but I can only imagine the fashion and sunglasses styling will be top-tier. Long story short, there will be seven hours of music and art with DJs, live performers, dancers, artists and more. There is also something called the U N I C O R N R O O M, which I assume is much more fun than a decapitated horse’s head with a goat horn glued to it.

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TRAILS AND TINCTURES: Would be a great album title if my band was the polar opposite of what it is. I digress. Herbalist Amber Kennedy is hosting the third in a series of herbal preparation classes called Herbal Preparations-Tincture Making Workshop and damn does it sound cool. It takes place on the Ohana Farm in North Brookfield on Friday, July 13 and Kennedy will teach attendees about the fundamentals of herbal medicine and the folkloric method of preserving and preparing herbs for tinctures. Seriously, if you read that and didn’t think, “I have to buy a robe like Joshua Lyford Gandalf would wear and stick my nose in a bunch Culture editor of herbs,” I don’t know how you tolerate my writ@Joshachusetts ing style.

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culture

July 14

Lifestyle

BY SARAH CONNELL

Cozy on the Common

I met a handsome lunch date for Real Food Rx taco salads last Thursday in what I hope becomes a part of our weekly routine. We enjoyed chilled glasses of holy basil green tea from community herbalist and botanist Rachel Ross of Hillside Herbals in Jefferson. Live bands, dancers, poets, artists, farmers, food, and crafters had gathered on the Worcester Common for the Out to Lunch Concert Series, which is set to continue every Thursday all summer long from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Movies on the Common are also in the cards this summer, including “Wonder Woman” on July 12th at 6:30 p.m. Bring chairs and Community herbalist and botanist Rachel blankets to stay comfortable.

What happens in the Unicorn Room stays in the Unicorn Room

Ross served up iced tea at the Worcester Common Oval during last week’s Out to Lunch concert series.

Woochella had its own Fyre Festivalesque saga last summer (minus the government cheese slices.) However, IgWorcesterMa + Entertain Mass had the foresight to do what Ja Rule did not by postponing Woochella in favor of a hiccupless 2018 rendition. Last year’s ticket holders were reimbursed and granted a plus-one voucher for July 14. The resulting Woochella festival is expected to be a seven-hour music and art studded affair at Bull Mansion including live performances, DJs, and dancers. Just like Coachella’s various tents and stages, Woochella will offer a bevy of experiences for guests. Wander through the glow-in-the-dark EDM room, then take a hard turn into the Reggae + Alt Hip Hop Rhasta Room, and before you know it you’ll wind up in the Unicorn Room covered with body paint.

To my knowledge, Kendall Jenner has not yet lent her endorsement, but I think it’s only a matter of time.

Rosé Riot

What does your rosé wardrobe look like this season? The graphic tees have run rampant. I slay rosé. Rosé all day. Hurray rosé. Yes way rosé. And best of all: Rosé Soirée. On July 19 you can put your money where your tank top is and attend The Citizen’s rosé patio party. The menu includes Creole crawfish dirty rice arancini, grilled lamb meatball summer vegetable skewers, cumin mint grilled shrimp, Angus hanger steak with mango lobster salad, lazy peach cheesecake and much more. Tickets are still available for $75.

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All You Can Meat Buffet

Last week we told you about Kummerspeck’s recently-instituted fried chicken Mondays. Now, here comes all you can eat Sunday brunch buffets. The menu is mostly southern, including dishes like biscuits and pork sausage gravy and a porchetta carving station. The cost is $24 and promises more grief bacon than you can imagine.

Get up, dust off the old stretch pants, and eat your fill on Sunday mornings from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

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

at ed Live Stream rMag.com ste Worce

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508-471-5265 Sarah Connell contributing writer

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

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Great Food . . .

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culture

MamaRoux’s One Man Show 34 Green St., Worcester

I

t might surprise you to find that some of the best food in the city comes out of a Cart Concepts food trailer parked behind a “dive.”

Then again, it’s no longer a novel idea for an accomplished chef to set up shop in a mobile unit.

Heck, legends with Michelin stars have done it (see: Daniel Humm).

The unique thing about MamaRoux Trailer is that it was not designed by a cook facing the changeover of his career. On the contrary, Jonathan Demoga has found a way to carry out a singular vision by his singular hand. And while he may not have any Michelin stars to speak of, he isn’t an empty suit who got tired of his desk job and conjured up a food truck fantasy either.

MamaRoux is the passion project of a classicallytrained chef and it shows.

If you want to witness the magic in full color, drop by on a Thursday night after 10:30. This is when the industry crowd comes to play. Your favorite barback, hostess, sous chef, and the rest of the lot are bound to turn out at 34 Green St. after their shifts in hopes that Demoga hasn’t sold out of whatever he’s labored over that week. These are serious food people fawning over serious cuisine.

Before you turn your nose up at the idea of cashing in your date night on a food truck, you should know MamaRoux’s digs are cute as a button.

Demoga’s shiny trailer plays home to a chef who graduated from Johnson & Wales and cut his chops with the legendary Brennan Family in New Orleans.

His tiny empire sits in the shadow of Worcester’s Hibernian Cultural Centre, woven into a tangle of twinkling lights and hop trellises that characterize The Dive Bar’s longstanding beer garden.

Let’s be clear, The Dive Bar only serves up aces and MamaRoux is no exception. To say The Dive Bar’s owner Alec Lopez has particular standards is a gross understatement. When it comes to beer, he only serves the best. A bevy of national accolades will confirm. This has undoubtedly shaped Demoga’s yardstick for acceptability. Nothing leaves the kitchen without his consent and in a one-man operation, this is an unusually feasible practice.

A freshly-minted mural rounds out The Dive Bar’s locus of southern fare. Murals are living works, flexible creations inevitably painted and repainted to transform our spaces anew when the time is right. Demoga’s menu is equally dynamic, his concept in constant motion. He offers between four and five dishes each week, all of them on-brand. For under $50, you can typically order everything on the menu - most people do.

His restraint is clever, beckoning customers to sample the unfamiliar while subsequently eliciting cravings for the recurring buttermilk fried chicken sandwich ($12) and the parade cheese & firecrackers ($8). MamaRoux has unearthed a New Orleans subculture in the Canal District that exists

Top, the shiny MamaRoux trailer plays home to Jonathan Demoga, who graduated from Johnson & Wales and cut his chops with the legendary Brennan family of New Orleans.

Inset, MamaRoux’s chili stuffed cheeseburger in honor of Independence Day. only because Demoga has willed it into reality.

With a year’s worth of chicken sandwich endorsements in circulation, the populus no longer balks at doling out a dozen singles for Demoga’s organic thigh marinated in buttermilk, “secrets” and spices. The thigh is dredged in creole-seasoned Four Star Farms flour and fried until crispy then served on a butter-toasted potato roll with Regal Pickles (RIP) and a packet of Duke’s mayo.

Eugenia Duke laid claim to the southern invention of mayonnaise over a century ago when she began making sandwiches for soldiers during World War One. Duke’s cult following finds kinship among the beer savants who gather regularly at The Dive.

Dress your buttermilk fried chicken sandwich with a dollop of hot sauce and order a Hill Farmstead Marie ($7) to see what I mean. The parade cheese & firecrackers are an introduction to another staple of Southern Living. Dip your twicebaked Creole seasoned saltines and nose-tickling local radishes into a blend of smoky gouda, sharp cheddar, green onions, toasted pecans and roasted jalapenos to experience southern bliss.

In honor of Independence Day last week, Demoga put out a chili-stuffed cheeseburger ($16) worthy of its own fireworks display. The fatty burger patty held a molten chili center topped with sharp cheddar, red onion, jalapeno, bacon, and broiler sauce on a butter-toasted sesame bun.

Poetry on a paper plate.

MamaRoux is open Thursday-Saturday, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., or until supplies run dry. There are no servers. Demoga will deliver orders to your table and have a quick chat about the food if it’s not too busy, but once things pick up it’s best to stay close and listen for your ticket. On my last visit with two friends, we ate our fill for $48 and paid separately at the bar for our drinks.

Explanation of Stars: Ratings are from zero to five.

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

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

Food: HHHH1/2 Ambience: HHHH Service: HHH Value: HHHH

Ant-Man gets the bugs out

A

BY JIM KEOGH ny movie titled “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is broadcasting exactly what it is before you’ve seen a second of it. A man is capable of shrinking himself to the size of an ant (smaller, actually) and a woman can fly through the air like a wasp. They team up. They fight bad people. Good triumphs over evil.

Need more?

You probably don’t, but since I need to deliver a few hundred more words to get paid, let me backtrack a bit. “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is a fun and silly adventure yarn — a Marvel Universe product without the ponderousness of the Avengers films or the righteousness of “Black Panther.” Except for the advanced CGI, it would have been perfectly suitable in a 1950s Saturday double feature alongside any number of cheesy movies involving people reduced or expanded to inhuman dimensions.

It’s also better than its predecessor, 2015’s “Ant-Man,” which introduced the character of the divorced ex-con, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), who becomes involved in the body-altering experiments of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly),

aka Wasp. Here, Lang is finishing up two years of house arrest for his escapades with the Avengers; he’s been estranged from Hank and Hope, who are struggling with a family crisis. Thirty years ago, their wife and mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp, disappeared into the subatomic world known as the Quantum Realm. They now believe Janet may still be alive, and they recruit Scott to help locate her.

There are obstacles, of course, including a tele-transporting woman called Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who steals Pym’s lab (an entire building he zaps to the size of a carry-on bag), and a creepy black marketeer who wants to get his slimy hands on the futuristic technology. He’s played by Walton Goggins doing

his Walton Goggins thing — even his teeth look evil.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” is slow to launch, though I did enjoy Scott’s byplay with the magicloving federal agent (Randall Park) who’s tasked to monitor his house arrest. Once Scott begins changing sizes and swapping quips with Hank (a few are laughout-loud), the pace picks up considerably. As a fan of San Francisco chase scenes dating back to Steve McQueen’s “Bullitt” (1968), I especially appreciated the sight of a giant-sized Scott rolling over the city’s hills while using a flatbed truck as his personal scooter to pursue Goggins and his thugs.

Not much about this movie is overly serious — the stakes aren’t all-consuming, the planet

culture is never in danger, and the baddies are either tortured souls or bumbling idiots. Rudd carries the film with his usual diffident charm. He’s not so much a do-gooder as he is a good man just trying to get through. Without him, I’m not sure the character of Ant-Man works, because the concept must be played for laughs at least half the time, and he makes that tricky dynamic work.

I think of the “Ant-Man” movies as palate cleansers, a gulp of cold water between the heavier Avengers courses. This is a B-level superhero who embraces his role in the Marvel ecosystem. Not everyone can swing a mythical hammer or metamorphose into a green rage machine. Those dudes suck the oxygen out of a room.

Sometimes you just need a guy who walks among the insects and punches the clock.

Jim Keogh contributing writer

The Next BIG Thing in TALK RADIO

Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-2 p.m., UNITY RADIO and WORCESTER MAGAZINE stream live at worcestermag.com

Listen Live Every Weekday

6-10 a.m. Talk of the Commonwealth with Hank Stoltz

ORC

12-1 p.m. The Worcester Magazine Radio Hour with Walter Bird Jr.

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10 a.m.-12 p.m. The Economou & Rosen Show

1-2 p.m. Unity Radio Presents ...

Programming rebroadcasted 2-10p.m.

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calendar

Thursday, July 12 Out to Lunch 2018: Crocodile River Music

CA R LT O N

Worcester Common, 455 Main St. The weekly lunchtime music, food truck and vending experience downtown returns, this time with Crocodile River Music performing African and Africaninfluenced music.

Friday-Sunday, July 13-15 3rd Annual Wootown Wakefest

EATO N P H O TO

Lake Quinsigamond, 10 N Lake Ave. The wakeboarding and wakesurfing competition returns! Welcoming all skill levels, from amatuer to professional, with live entertainment, food, drinks and more.

Saturday, July 14 Cinema-Worcester: The House of Seven Gables & Homecoming The Park View Room, 230 Park Ave. An animated short double-feature with local animator Ben Wickey’s ‘The House of Seven Gables’ and ‘Homecoming’ at the Park View Room. Following the films, Wickey will be onhand for a live Q&A.

Saturday, July 14 The Hard Times Chopper Show

Ralph’s Diner (outside), 148 Grove St. The third annual chopper show returns to Ralph’s Diner with food, drinks, vendors and live music from High Command and more TBA.

Saturday, July 14 Food Truck Festival

Wachusett Mountain, 499 Mountain Road, Princeton With live music by The Bohemians and Dan Cormier & Ethan Caouette, the Wachusett Mountain Food Truck Festival is bringing food trucks, craft beer and a skyride to the mountain’s summit.

LIVE & LOCAL Jim Polito 5-9 am

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WTAG.COM

Jordan Levy 3-6 pm

calendar Saturday and Sunday, July 14, 15 Star City Games Presents: Magic the Gathering DCU Center, 50 Foster St. The Star City Games Open M:TG tournament heads to Worcester, with prizes up to $7,500 for the winner. Stop trying to make that Shivan Dragon deck work and start getting on that annoying Festering Newt train.

Sunday, July 15 The Faceless

The Worcester Palladium, 261 Main St. The Faceless perform upstairs at the Worcester Palladium with special guests Lorna Shore, Dyscarnate, Dead Eyes Always Dreaming, White Lights, Aversed and Attacking the Vision.

Friday, July 20 Hot Night in the City

Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road The Worcester Center for Crafts summer block party returns with Hot Night in the City. With hands-on experiences and glassblowing, raku-firing, wheelthrowing, flameworking, blacksmithing demonstrations and more, it’s a night not to be missed.

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sports p

Fan favorite Woody Hudson ready for second go-round with Railers JOSHUA LYFORD

W

orcester Railers forward Woody Hudson quickly became a fan favorite during the team’s inaugural season last year, and when the announcement came on June 23 that he had re-signed with the team, there was an audible sigh of relief through the Worcester hockey community.

With several months before the hockey season returns to the Heart of the Commonwealth, Hudson and his teammates have some much-needed time off, even if much of the right-winger’s days will be spent lugging couches up and down the stairs of Worcester’s numerous triple-deckers.

“To be honest, I remember the meetings at the end of the year and [saying] I’d be interested in resigning and getting good vibes from [head coach] Jamie [Russell]. As far as the contracts and dates go, I’m just as aware as you are,” Hudson recalled of the re-signing process. “I focus on the hockey. I’m thrilled to be re-signed here.”

The conversations surrounding re-signing come around the same time conversations around player development take place. In any professional hockey league, be that the ECHL, the AHL, the NHL or anywhere else, there is turnover, and while that presumably creates tension for the individuals on the team, it is all a part of the job.

“There’s tension. It’s a professional environment,” explained Hudson. “You do a rundown of the year, the coach explains how they thought you did and you respond in-kind. He’ll ask you questions about how you felt as a player on the team. The feedback, generally, the conversations kind of develop further into what your goals are for next year. That’s how that works.”

Despite the professional attitude the players and administration have, when a player clicks with his team and teammates, there is a very real sense of excitement when finding out they would return in the coming season.

The Score

Worcester Bravehearts July 3 The Bravehearts won a walk-fest, downing the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, 17-11, on the road, and improving to 14-13 on the year.

July 4 The Bravehearts won their fourth in a row, beating the Nashua Silver Knights, 5-1, at home on Independence Day. July 5 With a 3-2 win at home over Bristol, the Bravehearts improved to 16-13 and won their fifth game in a row.

“It’s huge,” Hudson said. “It’s a good crew of players, beginning at the start of last year. It’s a great way to match dreams and aspirations with the lineup and go further and that was huge for me. It was great to work that out in Worcester and be in an environment that has everything a player can ask for and then some.”

Hudson’s professional career began with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel in the 2016-17 season before signing with the Railers last year. Playing 67 games in a team’s kick-off season, complete with a playoff push, holds its share of lessons for young players, and Hudson and the dominantly youth-driven Railers learned many.

“Because we have so many young players on the team, I think everyone kind of jumped into their roles well and fast,” Hudson said. “Going into the summer, losing in the playoffs, I think everyone 100 percent wants to go deeper. They went into the summer knowing what it would take to get that confidence through the summer and next year we won’t be grasping at straws come playoffs, so we’re good early.

“That’s part of the maturity process of being a rookie on an inaugural team, getting used to the professional lifestyle. The vets are used to it, but I’m sure that took a lot of patience. They did a great job leading us and keeping us in line, that’s what I think.”

In Hudson’s 67 games with the Worcester Railers, he scored 19 goals, with 10 assists for 29 points on the regular season. In the team’s first-round playoff series against the Adirondack Thunder, which they lost, 4-2, Hudson tallied two points, one goal and one assist. Hudson was also named to the ECHL All-Star team.

Anyone familiar with the team will likely be familiar with three aspects of Hudson’s game: his hard hits; his stone-wall, net-front presence; and his ability to mix it up with opponents when necessary.

That hard-nosed playstyle has earned Hudson some time to heal up before the July 6 The Bravehearts once again topped the Blues, this time on the road, 8-0, for their sixth win in a row.

July 7 At home, the Bravehearts saw their win streak end, losing to the North Shore Navigators, 14-7.

July 9 The Bravehearts returned to their winning ways with a 9-5 win on Martha’s Vineyard over the Sharks.

July 10 The Bravehearts won again, with Mike Dellicarri launching two homers, as they downed the Brockton Rox, 8-4, on the road to improve to 19-14 on the season.

(Upcoming: The Bravehearts played the Pittsfield Suns at home Wednesday night. The team is on the road Thursday, July 12 to take on the Navigators and Friday, July 13

team’s second season begins.

“I kind of split up the summer. Recovery. By the end of the hockey season, you have injuries, strained muscles, stretching, getting your flexibility back and cardio,” he said. “Then you kind of move into powerlifting. You’re not really doing that at the end of the season. You want to maintain and then up the ante. Powerlifting and cardio are the summer workouts.”

In addition to getting his body back to where he wants it by puck drop, Hudson will skate and shoot with teammate Barry Almeida and others around Massachusetts. In his downtime, he visits friends and family and enjoying his time. He remains in Worcester in the off-season and works for a moving company to keep the lights on.

“In these 95-degree days, we’re just going upstairs with boxes and 200-pound pianos and stuff,” the forward laughed.

The Railers’ first home game of the season will be played at the DCU Center Saturday, Oct. 20 against the Maine Mariners. The Mariners find themselves in a similar situation to where the Railers were just months ago: a debut team playing their inaugural season.

“I didn’t play the inaugural game, but I got to watch,” said Hudson. “Everyone is excited to see what their team has to offer. Everyone is buzzing about and has their pamphlet of who they think is going to be really good. There’s a lot of energy. You don’t really know how good your team is until you play another team. A lot of that might not translate if you’re playing a veteran squad, or players that have been in the league for awhile. They know certain things. Butterflies and everything, the pressure is really on the inaugural team. I knew my teammates were nervous for sure. You’re proud of the team and the people, but there’s a lot at stake.”

against the Silver Knights. The Bravehearts return home Sunday, July 15 to play the Navigators before the All-Star break.)

Massachusetts Pirates July 7 The Pirates took care of business on the road, downing the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, 62-35, improving to 9-4 on the season.

(Upcoming: The Pirates host the Carolina Cobras at the DCU Center Saturday, July 21.)

Worcester Smiles July 7 The Smiles fell, 9-1, to the Long Island Rough Riders on the road.

(Upcoming: The Smiles play host to the Connecticut Fusion Sunday, July 15 at Worcester State University.)

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Round-Up

Continuing a recent string of player signings, the Worcester Railers announced last week they re-signed defenseman Connor Doherty for the 2018-19 season.

Massachusetts Pirates defensive back Kiante Northington last week was named a player of the week by the National Arena League.

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culture

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

This week’s hunk is Rocky. Rocky came into the shelter when his family lost their home and they were unable to care for him. Rocky is a shy dog, taking introductions and new adventures slow. Once he feels comfortable, his sweet nature really shines through. Rocky loves to be outside catching some rays or taking in all the smells. He loves to snuggle and once he knows you he will give you hugs. The best home for Rocky would be one with no other animals or possibly a very aloof dog. Small children may be too much for Rocky to handle in his new home. Rocky would do really well in a quiet home, where he is able to relax and get all the attention he deserves. Rocky is 4 years old, neutered, healthy and ready to go home!

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games “A Noble Effort”--dropping those last few.

by Matt Jones

JONESIN’ Across 1 4 8 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 23 24 25 28 29 32 33 35 36 39 40 41 42

Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test!

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

43 47 48 49 50 54 57 58 59 60 61

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62 63 64

Faucet Self-referential, like this clue American realist art school Sorta, in suffix form Planetary path Mr. or Ms. Right General linked to chicken Company named for a goddess 1955 pact city Sky viewer used at an airline’s main airport?

Atlanta university Catan resource Org. with a tour Lucille’s co-star Cargo carrier Diamond call Rita of Netflix’s “One Day at a Time” LPs and 45s The origins of singing wordlessly?

George of “Star Trek” and Twitter Excited Finished “Fiddler on the Roof” matchmaker Follow commands “Indubitably!”

Scribble (down) Sudden onrush Scratch some statuary?

Music organizer on a wall, maybe Modern cheesecake ingredient ___ Interwebz (intentional online misspelling) Onetime Sidekick maker Helicopter designer Sikorsky Country set to share the 2026 World Cup Lounging chair Multiple-day music gathering, e.g.

Dir. at 202.5∞

Down 1 2 3

Paid to the church Jump to conclusions Innermost of Mars’s two moons

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 22 25 26 27 29 30 31 32 34 35 36 37 38 39 42

Coinage Heinous Seize Microbrewery brews On the job Geometric figure In this location Prefix with play, at some cons Tennis’s Ivanovic Just out Weed whacker, e.g.

Shell in a “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” running gag Early Atari game Start of a Frank Loesser title Just over 99%?

Low number in Naples Word misspelled in a tattoo meme Part of ACLU Discover Kimono sash “C’est la ___!”

Hold’s partner HI-strung instruments?

“The Puzzle Palace” org.

Kids’ meal prize Terrier type, informally

J U LY 12 - 18, 2018

44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53

“Julius Caesar” conspirator Way out Cowboy’s yell Game with a bouncing ball Cricket, say Wailuku’s island Updo, e.g.

Entreat They share the same season as Geminis 54 Sine’s reciprocal, in trig (abbr.)

55 “Well, that’s obvious!”

56 Head producer for the Wu-Tang Clan

Last week's solution

©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Reference puzzle #892

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Come to the FLEA! 242 Canterbury St. Every Saturday during the summer. 8 am - 2 pm. Giant Yard Sale. Vintage, Building and Office Items. LITTLE STORE is also open for clothing! Tables avail. $15.

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last call Ryan Canuel game developer R yan Canuel is the co-founder and CEO of Petricore, Inc., an interactive software development company in Worcester.

Canuel’s team specializes in games, a fact which made him extraordinarily popular during a recent Q&A with 30 perspective developers ranging in age from 9-10 years old.

I tagged along to watch him inspire the next generation of Central Mass. artists, programmers and game designers. The questions are all theirs.

What is your favorite game that Petricore has created? My favorite game is called Mind the Arrow; it’s a matching puzzle game. It’s a lot like Simon Says. You can find it on both the Apple Store and Google Play. The goal is to match a pattern in the corner of the screen with a pattern in the middle by tapping dots to mirror the design. You’re trying to do as many puzzles as you can in a short amount of time. Once you get to a certain point, it starts to get harder and it begins to twist and spin around. You have to use the arrow to gauge which way the dots will line up. We did another game, called Gelato Flicker, that’s also a matching puzzle game. You swipe through to sort different gelato based on orders that older dogs. At Touch Tomorrow, we showed come in from customers. off the game for people to come play and I was dressed as a dog from the game. Touch Have you ever eaten the gelato at VIA? Tomorrow is a STEM event that WPI hosts No, but maybe I should talk to them about a every year with a mix of industries, including partnership.

NASA. Are any of your games based on stories from your own life? Well, some of us are big gelato fans, but we usually make our games about other people’s stories. Especially when we work with museums. We made a game where you played as a Native American through three periods in history to help players understand what the Native Americans went through. We’ve done over 40 projects at different museums. The farthest one away was in France.

Have you created games for the Nintendo Switch? Not yet, but we are working on a game right now to bring to Nintendo Switch. It’s called Dog Fight and you play as a puppy fighting against a bunch of cats flying in planes who have captured all of the

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Is your job fun? It is, I love my job. When we made our first game, Mind the Arrow (that was the first game that made our hard work really feel worthwhile) we put the game up and it launched and we got feedback from around the world. About 200,000 people downloaded that game from all over the place. It was such a cool feeling. A few months went by before we discovered a Youtube video that was 10 minutes long of a father and son from Russia playing our game. We asked someone we knew who spoke Russian to translate what they were saying, and we got to hear how much fun the father and son were having. It was so cool to learn that people on the other side of the planet, who we never would have met or interacted with, were playJ U LY 1 2 - 1 8 , 2 0 1 8

ELIZABETH BROOKS

together. We went to school for four years at Becker College in Worcester. After that, we decided we wanted to start building our own games.

Do you make a lot of money?

A lot of students your age have asked me that question. You can do very well in game development as a career path. Also, as a programmer. Even artists working in games do very well.

Games bring in a lot of money. so it’s a career where you can become financially successful. We’re a smaller company.

For example, Microsoft pays a lot more than I can pay my employees. But we’ll get there eventually.

If you become a billionaire, will you take a picture of yourself swimming in a pool filled with money? I’m not sure about that …

ing and enjoying our games. That made us all feel really good.

How does your game Battery Boy work?

The game actually changes based on the battery life of the device you are playing on. As your battery starts to die, the game will get harder. You touch and hold down to move the character and try to travel as far as you can.

We’re still working on this game. It’s only out in China right now. The way that we come up with our games is that we do a game jam. We come in to the office, lock ourselves in a room and throw out as many interesting ideas as we can. We pitch around different games and then build a prototype. A prototype is a very basic version of the game that won’t look anything like our finished product, but it allows us to test things out and see what will work and what won’t.

How long have you been in this business?

We’ve been running the company for three years now. Before that, we were in college

Do you own the company? Everybody within the company owns a piece of it. We are 100-percent owned by people within the company. We don’t have any outside investors.

Do you have a boss? I don’t. That can be dangerous, so I have advisers that I go and meet with to make sure I’m doing the right thing and staying on track. I had to fire our original art director. I fired myself. I did the art for our first game, but I realized I could hire an artist who would do much better. I stepped away. I’ve heard you have to keep firing yourself from things until all you do is golf.

When I grow up, can I work for you? Sure, but you’ll have to go through some interviews first. We’ve had interns who were just 17 or 18 years old. Once you are a senior in high school and you have learned how to do some programming or some art, you can apply.

— Sarah Connell

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