Worcester City Manager Eric Batista drilled down on issues he is working on including the war on litter. In August the city launched a coordinated, multi-departmental "blitz" in to aggressively tackle litter before the start of the school year. An expansion of the residential drop-off program in August was highly successful, with over 1400 appointments made, indicating a strong community desire for accessible disposal options.As Batista said "If we provide the access to our community, they will take advantage of that, of the resource... And so we want to take a step back and re-look at that program, how can we enhance it? How can we provide more access? Because we know that people are willing to take advantage of it.
The City Manager acknowledged that Worcester has a significant housing shortage He said it is  driven in part by a population increase of 20,000 people over ten years without a corresponding increase in housing units. He points to 1600 affordable housing units in the pipeline, part of a broader strategy to create a spectrum of housing options, including senior housing, tiny homes, and permanent supportive housing.
The conversation segued from housing to homelessness. The city's approach to homelessness is rooted in providing shelter and housing first, but Batista stresses that success dependes on intensive, wraparound supportive services to help individuals adapt and manage daily life. "It is not just simply placing someone in an apartment and letting them go and say, see you later. No, no. It's what are the wraparound services and the supportive services that can be provided to this individual so they can start to learn and adapt and understand what it is to live under a roof." 

Worcester City Manager Eric Batista

Starship with Mickey Thomas lands at the Hanover Theatre, Friday Oct. 3rd. Foghat is also on the bill. Hank got to talk with Mickey Thomas, the voice behind #1 hits such as Jane and We Built This City. He talks about Starship and what we can expect from the show at the Hanover. Foghat original member, drummer, Roger Earl is on the call as well telling stories about his days in rock and roll going back over fifty years. Along with touring with on double bills with Starship, Foghat has just released the 50th Anniversary Edition of Their Fool for the City album. This special edition includes two live shows from the 70's.  

Starship and Foghat at the Hanover Theatre

The Radio Roundtable, Hank and Ben along with Randy Feldman and Guillermo Creamer, look at  how the five contested district races can affect turnout this November. The Roundtable discusses how hotly contested district races can affect candidates vying for At-Large City Council seats. More than one District race has a left-right dynamic in these non-partisan races. They particularly look at how those vying for the sixth At-Large seat can be affected by heavy turnout in District races.
Another topic on the agenda looks at how sports, festivals, restaurants and more, give Worcester its own identity. Do people think about going to Worcester the same way they think about going to Boston or Providence?
Holy Cross student Bryce Maloney wrote a thought provoking op-ed in The Holy Cross Spire about how many students look at Worcester. The panel discusses town/gown relations.

Radio Roundtable

Griffin King, the Community Relations Coordinator for the Worcester Railers hockey team, discussed a unique charitable program initiated by the organization. He explained that each of the 20 full-time staff members was given $1,000 to donate to a local nonprofit of their choice, totaling $20,000 for the community. In addition to the monetary donation, each employee was also given a paid day off to volunteer with their chosen organization. King detailed his personal choice, the Friendly House of Worcester, and mentioned other nonprofits selected by his colleagues. He also spoke about the team's broader philosophy of community engagement, their "Railerize Worcester" campaign, and promoted the upcoming season's opening weekend events, including a block party and a special appearance by the character Bluey.

For the Railers Charity Begins at Home

On this edition of The Rundown Tom Marino presented data from a public records request showing that 133 citizen petitions were denied between January and August 2024, a dramatic increase from the 66 petitions denied in the preceding two-and-a-half-year period.
Marino argued that the city solicitor was providing spurious legal arguments to justify these denials, with the clear intent of protecting the City Council from having to take difficult or politically inconvenient votes.
He contended that the process was becoming inaccessible, requiring citizens to first be lawyers to write a petition correctly and then lobbyists to get a councilor to sponsor it if it was arbitrarily denied.

Mark Henderson countered that the City Clerk had previously asked the City Council for clearer direction on how to handle petitions and was told to continue making the decisions, placing the clerk in a difficult position as the arbiter.
Henderson also suggested that an increase in citizen activism and political engagement was a contributing factor, creating new procedural challenges that the city had not anticipated.
Both guests acknowledged that past controversial petitions, specifically one concerning Israel and Gaza, had complicated the rules and set a precedent for what could appear on the agenda.

The Rundown Looks at Resident Petitions

Billy May, who performs as Paul Stanley in a KISS tribute show called "One Live KISS" is opening The Cannery Music Hall in Southbridge on Friday October 3rd. Hank previously spoke with the new owners about re-opening the venue. https://radioworcester.com/cannery-music-hall-reopens-in-southbridge-with-new-owners-josh-and-julie-fitzgerald/
Billy May tells Hank he became a KISS fan as a child in the 1970s, drawn in by their ubiquitous presence in media and merchandise. May said "When you're a little kid you get taken in by the makeup and the costumes and everything, but you can't put that into an album and as you grow older, you really love the music and you love what that means to you."
His tribute show, "One Live KISS," is unique because it recreates Paul Stanley's solo tours from times he was away from KISS. Concerts KISS fans may have missed.  
https://www.cannerymusichall.com/

Paul Stanley Tribute to Open the Cannery

District 2 Candidate Rob Bilotta joins Matt Wally, Guillermo Creamer and Randy Feldman to talk about the local issues of the day including issues specific to District 2. 
Among the topics are if endorsements really matter and how they help or hurt a candidate. General agreement that they can help voters get a sense of the candidate and what they might stand for but as Bilotta said ultimately it comes down to the face to face contact. 
The Roundtable talked about an initiative this week to get people to walk more. That led into a discussion of is Worcester a walkable city? The Fare Free WRTA was talked about with a discussion about how to have it better publicized. 
Bilotta was asked questions on housing and affordability. The issue of decorum also came up.    

District 2 Candidate Rob Bilotta Joins the Radio Roundtable

Hank Stolz speaks with Stacey Forrest, Chief Operating Officer of Thrive Support and Advocacy, focused on the organization's Family Support Center on Grove Street. Forrest described the center as Thrive's largest program, serving over 500 families in Worcester County by helping them navigate the challenges of supporting a person with an intellectual or developmental disability. "There's a lot of research behind the fact that people with disabilities have much better health outcomes, both physically and mentally, if they are involved in their community and can identify that they have friends, which I think is really powerful."  She explained that the center offered free, comprehensive support to the entire family unit, including assistance with accessing community resources and managing the complex application process for state services. "So you'll have a dedicated family support coordinator, one specific person who will help you both with the application and keep track of it, tell you how it's going, if anything's needed, so that you really have a partner the whole way." says Stacey. 
icanthrive.org

The Thrive Family Support Center on Grove St

Tim Foley, the voice of the Worcester Railers, stops by the Talk of the Commonwealth and speaks about the team's recent and upcoming community engagement initiatives and gives us the details about the start of the new hockey season. Foley discussed the success of the "Railerizing Worcester" event, where staff visited over a hundred local businesses. He then announced a new program called "October Overtime," a $5,000 donation to a fan-nominated local nonprofit. The conversation shifted to the upcoming season, detailing the start of training camp, public access to practices, and a free preseason game that would raise funds for the family of a deceased local college hockey player, Evan Armit. Foley said "It's all one hockey community. That's something I've seen happen time and time again whenever tragedy strikes this sport, and I'm always amazed by the response that comes out with stuff like this."
Foley gives us the scoop on the opening weekend festivities, which include a block party, a special halftime performance, and a "Bluey Day" for kids.
The team's training camp is set to begin and some practices at the Worcester Ice Center will be open to the public.  "I'm excited to see this team take to the ice and I think it's going to be a really competitive camp, and those are the things you want to start a year off.
RailersHC.com

Railers Go Into Overtime on Giving

Bigger and better. The Irish Festival will take place at Polar Park on Saturday October 4th but as event organizers Caitlyn and Gareth tell the Talk of the Commonwealth they are also expanding the number of events including Irish Trivia at Moynagh's Tavern on Thursday. The festival aims to be a comprehensive cultural experience, offering workshops on Guinness history and the Irish language, a performance by an Irish historian, and traditional Irish food and drink.
A major component of the festival will be the sports with three matches scheduled: ladies' Gaelic football, men's hurling, and a men's Gaelic football game featuring the New York Police Department's team. Asked to describe Gaelic football Gareth said , "So Gaelic football is the best way to describe that is if you put soccer, rugby, street basketball, volleyball, all in one sport."
There will also be music throughout the day including a performance by Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones. "So some great games, some great entertainment, something for everybody. So if you're into sports, great. If you're into music, great. If you're in the history, we'll have something for everybody." 

Worcester Irish Festival Comes to Polar Park

Radio Worcester is the home of Talk of the Commonwealth with Hank Stolz morning program as well as radio programs and podcasts for the top organizations in Central MA.  Find them all at www.radioworcester.com

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