Another vote for Redemption Rock here

How do these cars pass state inspection? Isn't stopping this kind of stuff the reason we have inspection in the first place?

Which is why wealth needs to be heavily taxed.

I'll take anything that's not stale and sickly sweet at this point. These places both serve 'cornbread' that tastes more like three day old cake with a tiny bit of cornmeal mixed in the batter.

I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that the courts have often inferred driving to imply consent to various kinds of searches that would be unconstitutional if you were just walking around. No person has to drive, so when you make the choice to do so, you consent to submitting to certain procedures designed to ensure the safety of the public. Don't want your property or person searched in this manner? No problem - take the bus or walk instead of driving.

EDIT: obviously I know that's not realistic for everybody, but it's the logic the courts have used to justify this kind of search.

What are people who are at work during 6-730am legal window for putting them out supposed to do? What about people who work in bars or restaurants until midnight and need to be sleeping during that time?

The whole system is predicated on the assumption that everybody works 8-5 and can easily put their bags out when they're supposed to. It's a flawed assumption and you can't blame people for putting their bags out when it works in their schedules. If we had raccoon-proof wheeled carts like other cities do, this wouldn't be an issue.

Good post. It's really incredible how far behind Midwestern cities Worcester is on basic livability.

BT's is fine. West Side is better, except for maybe the brisket. Somehow they both have terrible cornbread, which is weird because good cornbread is not hard to make.

Cool. Glad to know her business was doing well.

Pretty good summary. I moved here in my late twenties as well under similar circumstances. We have found things to like here and will likely be here for a while. The outdoor spaces nearby are great. The restaurants are fine, unremarkable but there's something for everyone and a few hidden gems. Still, there's a lot we don't like, and counter the post above, we're not from a yuppie white suburb. We came from a city in a different part of the country and it's been extremely disappointing to see how much worse the urban infrastructure (sidewalks, bike paths/lanes, street design, etc.) is in Worcester.

What's most frustrating to us it that this city is not walkable, and the infrastructure and the drivers themselves are extremely hostile to pedestrians, cyclists, and anybody who's not using a private motor vehicle (such as trying to get around in a wheelchair or even waiting for a bus).

People park on sidewalks all the time. Lots of streets don't have sidewalks and many of those that exist are in ankle-breaking condition. We now live in one of the 'nice' west side neighborhoods, but even there, pushing our stroller around the block is a total adventure because many of the sidewalks are in execrable shape. Our kid would get shaken baby syndrome from all the cracks and tree roots if we used the sidewalks in some spots - again, this is the 'nice' part of town, and they're even worse in poorer neighborhoods. We end up using the street for walking most of the time, resulting in arrogant entitled drivers in their F-250s buzzing an inch away from us and our baby at 40+ mph on a residential street. It makes my blood boil but the police and city government don't seem to care at all. When it snows (not this winter evidently), it gets even worse because many people don't bother to clear their sidewalks, and even when they do, the plows push the snow back onto the sidewalks making it impossible to use them. Again, the city doesn't care. No matter how many times I report residents and businesses for uncleared sidewalks, they keep not doing anything about it. We have concluded that the city just doesn't care about you unless you're in a car, which really sucks. And I'm an able bodied person in my mid-thirties. I can scarcely imagine how hard it must be to get around for folks with limited mobility.

This city has so much potential but in our view, it's failing to live up to it because it doesn't meet these basic livability standards. Even if you don't personally bike/walk much, the lack of infrastructure for these activities makes city life worse because it prevents local neighborhood business nodes from flourishing. There's a spot about a half mile from us with a coffee shop, barbecue joint, bakery, and bodega all right next to each other. But we can't walk there safely with the stroller, so we don't use those businesses much. The bakery's about to close, in fact - and while I don't know the specific reasons, it's pretty evident that they'd have done better financially if more of the relatively affluent folks who live nearby could enjoy a safe and pleasant walk down for a pastry on a weekend morning. But the city makes that kind of thing impossible for many.

I hope you're wrong, but even if you're not, we can also make a great change for the city by pressuring Petty not to appoint her to this position next cycle.

Yeah, I worry that the chairperson of the city council that oversees the police thinks her texts matter more than honoring victims of police murder.

What I hope to accomplish is getting her off the city council.

Any other questions?

You're gonna be pretty disappointed in just about any local government meeting you attend, in that case. Nonsectarian prayers are extremely common. Given the historical importance of the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement and Black movements more generally, there is going to be a religious voice in the movement for police reform for a long time.

I know you're looking to buy, not bake, but the recipe below is seriously foolproof. I am not a baker - the only two things I bake are chocolate chip cookies and this bread. Despite my lack of skill, I make it twice a week and it turns out perfectly every time. I usually use half white flour and half whole wheat (Bob's Red Mill brand is my favorite). It also works with all whole wheat flour; I just prefer the half/half flavor and texture. All you need is a dutch oven, a cooling rack, and a reminder on your phone to make the dough the night before you want the bread (making the dough takes two minutes).

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour

1-5/8 cup water

spoonful active dry yeast

salt to taste

​

TECHNIQUE:

1. Mix flour, water, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Cover with towel or plastic wrap and let rise 12-18 hours (18 is better if you have the time) at room temp.
2. 2 hours before baking, remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Cover loosely and let rise two more hours.
3. 30-45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 and insert your dutch oven to get it hot.
4. Put dough in (hot) dutch oven; score if you like; cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove lid from pot and bake an additional 45 minutes. Set on rack to cool.

You can also sprinkle oats or seeds on top before baking with no ill effects if you want extra nutrition. This bread is seriously so simple and delicious that you will not have to buy grocery store bread any more once you get in a rhythm of making it regularly. It's not quite perfectly shaped for sandwiches, but that's a minor sacrifice I'm willing to make given how much money this saves and how delicious the bread turns out.

Over 90 isn't unfortunate, it's reckless. Please stay safe out there friend.

In other states they have overhead signs telling you what lanes are turn only. In Massachusetts, or Worcester anyway, often the only markings are on the pavement. Which means if there's other traffic on the road, you literally can't see the marking until it is too late to adjust.

Law should require that turn-only lanes be delineated with overhead signage visible at least 100 ft before the intersection.

Public transit is a public good. It should be funded through taxation robust enough to pay the people who run it attractive and livable wages. This wouldn't necessarily require raising taxes; a better option would be to divert existing tax revenue from the excessive spending we currently allocate to military and police.

Accumulating on grass the the roads are just wet. Must be just above freezing. But be careful; if the temp drops a couple degrees it could turn very nasty fast.

Thanks but that is still a solid 20 minutes from where I live unless it’s 5am traffic levels. I love Trader Joe’s too but no way am I driving that far for groceries.

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like a good store, but I'm still surprised by the hype. It's just a grocery store.

If there were one in Worcester, I'd like to try it out. No way I'm driving to Shrewsbury for groceries, though. It baffles me that people would drive 20 minutes to a grocery store unless they have to, but to each their own.

Can somebody explain why people are so excited about this particular grocery store? What is so great about it?

And if it is so great, why don’t they have a location in Worcester? Do they not want the 200,000+ people who live here as customers?

This is good policy. We need more housing and this is a way to provide a little of it. More changes to our zoning and land use restrictions are necessary, but this is low hanging fruit and I hope it's approved quickly.

Because that would a) require actual work, and b) mean they had to send actual dealers to prison, instead of whatever person they happen to have a petty grudge against.

You live in a society. Get over it.