“We’re not trying to change the law that was passed by the voters in November to decriminalize the use of marijuana,” Mr. Petty said. “We fully respect their decision, and all we are looking to do is add some standards to the law. How could we have a standard that prohibits the possession of open (alcohol) containers on city property and not have some kind of similar standard for the use of marijuana?”
Well, you could start by eliminating that prohibition of open containers on public property.
I’ve read and reread the Jan 8th story in the Telegram regarding the City Councils intention to implement a set of prohibitions on public marijuana consumption and I still feel like I’m missing something. On the surface it’s an undeniably benign proposal, one I don’t totally disagree with. It’s based on historical precedent and I don’t expect anyone to change that overnight. Long before I was born, Worcester decided it did not want anything resembling fun to be seen in public. From skateboarding to alcohol and now weed, if you look like your having a good time on city property chances are good your doing something the city considers illegal. The exception of course is a public festival which will cost you, depending on it’s size, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in police detail costs; I’ve always considered that the ‘Worcester Tax on Fun’ or ‘WTF’ for short.
It makes you wonder if any of our elected leaders have ever been to New Orleans or Las Vegas and more importantly, what did they think? As a city we seem to be genuine in our desire to get people to come to Worcester. What we practice is a completely different ideology. We’re a city of very scared and timid people who don’t like change, even if stagnation kills us. Opposition to public consumption of alcohol and now marijuana is no different, based not on good science or bad experiences but basic and hollow indoctrination to prohibitionist thinking. How can we talk about 18 hour cities and the promise they hold in terms of economic development when remain scared of the very things people tend to do outside of normal business hours? Of course, I could be wrong and am more than wiling to concede that. But if I am, I’d rather admit I’m wrong after seeing an actual problem in public spaces as a result of the changes question 2 made to marijuana’s classification in MA. Just accepting conjecture from elected officials who have nothing but the lessons learned via the D.A.R.E. program, is exactly what got us into this cyclical mode of thinking in the first place.
This proposal will not change much of anything, with or without the passage of Question 2. It’s one of many weird concerns the Council has been working on as of late that have little bearing on life in Worcester. I can’t really imagine anyone who doesn’t already smoke weed in public now, starting as a result of a ballot question. It’s not like we’re the first state to adjust our classification of a controlled substance, is Maine or California now dealing with rampant public weed smoking? And if so what problems does it cause beyond upsetting the sensibilities of the overly sensitive? If we’re going to allow or ban something is it really too much to ask that we do so based on actual research? Has the Council done this? Have Councilor Petty and Mayor Lukes been doing site surveys of other states to examine their experiences, or are they just assuming the sky is falling?
The sky is in fact falling in Worcester. Look at the problems we have today, right now. Things we all know need work, which off the top of my head include:
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Housing: A boom in the types of low income housing that are nothing but money factories for less than stellar developers
Development: A downtown that is being kept alive by less than a handful of bars and restaurants after the sun goes down
City Square: A development project of historic proportions with an ironic lack of actual development
All of district 4: An urban core that has become a dumping ground for those at the bottom of the economic ladder with little opportunity to climb up and out
Airport: Could be working but may just as easily experience another collapse
Public Schools: Disastrously underfunded
WPD: A department that seems to be incapable of policing itself
Commuter rail: Only slightly better positioned for success than the airport
Infrastructure: Thats an essay unto itself
And what has the the Council been most vocal about this past year?
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Hot dogs
Knives
Weed
Now, I know there are plenty of good, smart people working on all the important issues the city has on it’s plate. This isn’t a knock against them. But it boggles the mind that any of those subjects were even discussed by the Council. Why does it not seem possible for the Council to put even a third the time it spent on hot dog venders into tax classification? And more importantly, why do they seem less ashamed of that than I am for them? I simply can not imagine having such a pathetic existence as to allow these kinds of petty issues to dominate my thought. We have public intoxication laws that protect against these things, that’s more than adequate for me. I wish it was equally adequate for the council so they could spend their precious time on shit that actually matters.
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
where does one begin on this thread?? would love to read a CC responding before anyone..so that some substantive debate could take place
The substantive debate ordinance bans substantive debate anywhere within the downtown area, Paulie. It also forbids City Counselors from engaging in substantive debate online. Studies have shown that substantive debate in any community prevents public officials from doing anything the public doesn’t want.
The reality is, I don’t have a problem with any level of Government reacting appropriately to any proven threat to society, including drugs. But lets be honest here, even if the discussion was drugs and only drugs shouldn’t we be focused on the problem ones? Paulie, you likely see the literal open air drug market that runs through D4 on a constant basis, probably the only aspect of Worcester that could be considered a true 18hr city. How much of that is weed, would you guess? Shouldn’t we put our efforts on the crack and heroin that continue to make us look like the Paris of the ‘80, before we attempt to tackle weed?
Or are we still going to pretend that all drugs are equal?
Did you ever see a hot dog with a knife stuck in it? Did you ever see one ON WEED?
I think you are totally downplaying a very scary threat to our fragile urban ecosystem that our city councilors have bravely addressed.
The weed thing aside, what do you mean by “underfunded”? Every classroom of 25 pupils receives a quarter of a million dollars of public funds every year. And that’s based on just $10,000 per pupil, which is the figure from 2006.
The schools are “under”-something, but certainly not underfunded.
>>I meant the below – we have a police department that is funded to handle drug issues
Housing: A boom in the types of low income housing that are nothing but money factories for less than stellar developers
Development: A downtown that is being kept alive by less than a handful of bars and restaurants after the sun goes down
City Square: A development project of historic proportions with an ironic lack of actual development
All of district 4: An urban core that has become a dumping ground for those at the bottom of the economic ladder with little opportunity to climb up and out
Airport: Could be working but may just as easily experience another collapse
Public Schools: Disastrously underfunded
WPD: A department that seems to be incapable of policing itself
Commuter rail: Only slightly better positioned for success than the airport
Infrastructure: Thats an essay unto itself
And what has the the Council been most vocal about this past year?
Hot dogs
Knives
Weed
@ lincoln, I’ll be the last to argue money is ever the problem. I’ve said plenty of times here and elsewhere, Worcester has exactly the funds necessary to do exactly what it needs. It’s where we spend that is atrocious, at large and within most every department of the city. By underfunded I don’t mean ‘just shovel more money on the fire’, but spend on things that matter. Building upgrades, technology and maybe a pencil or two.
@ Paulie, did I miss anything? Feel free to add to the list.
Agreed. The fraud, waste and abuse that occur in public education are a National (and more so in MA, a local) disgrace.
Of course, the only solution EVER posited by the advocates of Pub. Educ. is more money. Maybe they should try more education instead?
is the council capable of handeling any additions:>)
I’d say you hit the nail on the head & sides..if we could get just one of the above solved we may be on our way..housing and schools would be my 1a. and 1b.
right now the housing in the urban core is subpar to attract young professionals,baby boomers blah,blah..however the no-income housing we are building is incredible…just look at May & Main, Piedmont & Chandler..Main & Chandler and all in primo locations that in my opinion will hinder private housing development in those locations now..
Fraud, waste and abuse? FYI Worcester is 12 1/2 million dollars under the 2 1/2 cap that’s show’s a fiscally responsible Council and Manager! Iron Mike O’Brien is a real Fiscal Conservative he has put the City on good financial ground and I can assure any one that the Iron Man does not tolerate waste! By the way it is the Council that gives him his orders! I agree that the issues discussed by the Council at times can be a JOKE but when it comes to the budget this council and Administration is SPOT ON!
Gordon you continue to have yer head up yer arse-sorry BuckPaxton
Get on yer BigWheel sometime and check out the other cities of New England..we are closer to Springfield than any on the rise..but I would not put this on Mick O’Brien who in my opinion is working with a fixed deck
who gives a shite if we are under a bogus cap..it means nothing when folks decide where to move, raise kid’s and send em’ to school..just ask the free loading New Yorkhas living next door to me or the house full of sexy 8’s behind me..Mass Health, Foodstamps and where they can buy their dress pajamas is all they care about
You don’t even come from Worcester or central Mass.Paulie you come from Slumerville don’t you? You should take a look at Cambridge your neighbor the ONLY other City under the cap in the Commonwealth!I wonder if Slumerville raised your property tax by more than 2 1/2% how bogus the cap would be? Say hi to all my friends in Davis Square!
like I said Gordon..you have yer head up yer arse:>)
oh BTW..probably more young educated kid’s from Central Mass moving to Somerville than WooTown El Gordo..few with a cap on their minds or heads:>)
I may be wrong El Gordo but I believe Mick O’Brien is from Chicopee..and one of his top department heads is from the South Shore..you keep suggesting that those not from WooTown and not a member of your marching band leave and someday you may have no one but the Kilby Street Gang behind you:>)
I think Worcester and central that are Growing in population are well positioned for the Obama economic stimulus package so well positioned that I think Worcester will become the place to be weather you’re a home owner, renter just starting out or a business!Read it!
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090112/NEWS/901120330/1101
That’s central Mass.
we sure are growing in population El Gordo….WooTown, Fitchburg, Holyoke & Springfield are getting the creme of the crop when it comes to SSI, Mass Health, foodstamp federal & state housing recipients
El Gordo..do you think WooTown will ever stand on it’s own two feet and be less reliant on stimulus packages and federal housing market money? If WooTown lost the federal housing moolah..I’d reckon it would see 20-30% of it’s urban property owners running 100% vacancy.
I think it was two years ago that there was a front page story in the T&G that informed the populus that WooTown had 7000 less cars registered in the city from the prior period..I am curious if this was WooTown residens being ahead of the energy crisis we had this past year or if that many with jobs had fled the city..
Like Gordon said, we’re prime for a bailout. Our leadership sucks so bad it’s good under the O-face.
Remember, in this coming error…sorry…era, the more irresponsible you are, the more money you make…so here’s hoping that you all really suck to the worst of your abilities. I’ll be envious as I continue to pay my mortgage and bills on time.
Listen there are more low income people and families in Slumerville than Worcester by a long shot.
Tom it’s a stimulus package not a bailout, it was all your GOP heroes in banking and real estate Wall St. and K street that received a bail out!
Anyway this is starting to get off topic!
Paulie 2 years ago try to catch up to 09! the t+g reported last month that Worcester’s population is growing!
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090113/NEWS/901130337/1020
“Listen there are more low income people and families in Slumerville than Worcester by a long shot.”
if you are going to discuss urban cities El Gordo then you really should get a lesson on them first because it is quite obvious that you know very little about either..living in one is not enough.
“get the foreclosure list for each city” – you’ll need plenty of paper in the printah for WooTown..1st day homework assignment
Only Gordon would find something beneficial about running your City into the ground to the point where you need to be bailed out.
Do the math, Gordo. 250,000 dollars per classroom, per year. Say 60 grand goes to paying the Teacher and each room requires $15,000 of utilities/upkeep. Throw a couple grand at textbooks for those 25 kids and maybe a few grand towards Admin. (where the bulk of the waste and fraud resides) and you’re still wasting about 150 thousand dollars of “education funds” per class, per year. More money goes to T.U.-garbage than to education. It’s an unconscionable and perpetually corrupted system. No wonder you like it so much.
Ran the City into the ground? Worcester will fare better than all other cities in the Commonwealth!
Anyway it was your neo-conservative so called fiscally conservative G.W.Bush and the GOP controlled 107th,108th and 109th Congress that drove the U.S. economy into the ground.
You and Paulie lincoln are so out of touch with whats happening in Worcester and Massachusetts your posts read like fools posts! There is NO CORRUPTION IN WORCESTER name ONE Councilor,Dept. Head or Manager that has been arrested for crimes? The answer o zero none in the last 50 years! And by the way USA Today just did a survey on the most corrupt States in the Union Massachusetts wasn’t in the top 5 or 10 not even in the top 20! We have Honest politicians here in Worcester and the Bay State! you guys blow a lot of HOT AIR! Get real!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-10-corruptstates_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Fiscal Conservatives, WHAT A JOKE! When you hear it fiscal conservatism sounds so thrifty and level headed it was all SPIN, COVER FOR THE BIGGEST RIP OFF IN AMERICAN HISTORY TRILLIONS RIPPED OFF AND WASTED BECAUSE OF INDIFFERENT PUBLIC SERVANTS AND THE GREED AND AVARICE OF UPPER CLASS ELITE AMERICANS AND THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE!
again El Gordo, you have yer head up yer arse..I live within urban WooTown and have for quite awhile now:>)
you are just anoher internet chattah bug with nothing behind you substantive to back up yer rhetoric but links-any real life experiences El Gordo?:>)
All this great rah rah about honest WooTown’ers … most are afraid to actually live wihin it or send their kid’s to the schools:>)
Paulie you’re the one with no facts, I live in Worcester and have for 30 years and know the facts!
You said my head was up my ass during the 08 Presidential election Obama in a landslide Question 1 goes down BIG! I was right you were the one with your head up your ass Paulie!
Anyway back to the topic at hand The Worcester City Council does a good job on the budget anyway and public safety Worcester is the safest City in New England!
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090112/NEWS/901120341/1008/NEWSREWIND
Worcester the city on the Move read it and weep Nay Sayers!
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090113/ALERT01/901130283
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090113/FRONTPAGENEWS/901130277
it sure is El Gordo..good folks moving out and shite moving in
How lame!
only if you don’t live or have a business (I have both down here and for a very long time) on Chandler or in the urban core El Gordo ..then yah it’s lame..but for those of us actually involved ..it’s is more of the same that we have seen continue to draw more and more good folks away from Worcester
Somehow these threads become all about you and your life story! The thread is about the City Council and the Junk they talk about how does that translate into your life story as a slum lord in the urban core? Bring some substance to the debate and try to stay on topic Paulie. Question 2 is good for people like you, you can get high on something other than YOURSELF!
nice slant El Gordo..Wooown can do this to you:>)..bottom line is that many of us have listened to guys like you and like minded City Councilors for years..many with little or no investment what so ever except a job with the city..not to mention an original idea-you would fall into this category:>)
BTW El Gordo..the thread has a whole list of ideas for the CC to tackle instead of foolish issues and all issues I agree on with the auhor
what a surprise El Gordo of your take on the urban core – slum landlord:>) Hah, many things I am..this not being one of them but a classic example of a 30 year Worcester residents thoughts on a huge part of the city..a big slum run by slum landlords and inhabitated by it’s tenants:>)
Gordon, are you a home owner? Do you own any personal investments? What qualifications do you have that Paulie doesn’t when it comes to investing in the future of Worcester?
A set of pom poms, bad grammar, a tendency to yell and scream, and the inability to accept any idea except your makes you nothing but a political dilettante.
By the way, good job elevating the conversation to “slum lord”, et al.
Thanks!
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090118/COLUMN27/901180388- Worcester home sweet home!