Thanks for your reporting on the housing situation, Bill. Grim. 30% - 50% AMI housing cannot be built in the current economic climate without deep subsidies and the work of dedicated housing advocacy non-profits. We get it.
A more realistic approach would be for the city council to focus on something within reach, such as "Rent Control" for those in the 30% - 50% group already housed. Security, stability and peace of mind have become a luxury for this large, but somehow, marginalized group. Unfortunately, the voting majority of the city council doesn't care about this group. That's why they got elected. We get it.
On a related note, petition 20b. on the City Council's agenda for Tuesday, 06/02, is an interesting development. The council will likely, as noted in the agenda, refer this item to the Planning Board. This item is significant. It requests the Zoning Ordinance be amended, essentially changing the off-street parking requirement from 2 spaces / DU to 1 space / DU. The petitioner is Mark A. Borenstein, a local attorney specializing in real estate and regulatory law. It's no secret Mr. Borenstein is associated with pro-development, Chamber of Commerce type initiatives in Worcester.
What makes this petition interesting is the petitioner is Mark A. Borenstein, 80 Barry Road, Worcester, MA. I can't believe that resident Borenstein is concerned with off-street parking on Barry Road. Rather, it's likely the petition is on behalf of the above-mentioned, pro-development interests. If this item reaches the City Council, the votes for approval have been in place since the morning of November 5, 2025.
There's much to consider and discuss about this petition. Worcester residents and neighborhoods will be impacted differently. Developers will do what they always do. The greater concern is that pro-development interests such as the Chamber of Commerce are aggressively pursuing an agenda of policy reforms favoring the real estate industry and business community.
Freezing the Specialized Stretch Code failed, not because the votes in favor were not there, but because none of proponents did their due diligence.
Amen to the bit about dual language programming! Should be standard operating procedure! In preschool and elementary schools, when language acquisition is easiest Tus humans.
Just YAY for the plug for Aislinn's piece in Commonwealth Beacon. I saw it there. I just spent 3 days volunteering at MATSOL, the state-level organization for ESOL teachers, where those talking about dual language programs knew that they were preaching to the choir, but at the same time we know that we have SEI encoded in state legislation. Sigh. "From your lips to the policymakers ears" was the line. Yeah, we had a presentation from the Office of Lang. Acq. in DESE. What was surprising was the map showing where students are earning the seal of biliteracy *without* dual language programs. That's impressive for those school systems.
Thanks for your reporting on the housing situation, Bill. Grim. 30% - 50% AMI housing cannot be built in the current economic climate without deep subsidies and the work of dedicated housing advocacy non-profits. We get it.
A more realistic approach would be for the city council to focus on something within reach, such as "Rent Control" for those in the 30% - 50% group already housed. Security, stability and peace of mind have become a luxury for this large, but somehow, marginalized group. Unfortunately, the voting majority of the city council doesn't care about this group. That's why they got elected. We get it.
On a related note, petition 20b. on the City Council's agenda for Tuesday, 06/02, is an interesting development. The council will likely, as noted in the agenda, refer this item to the Planning Board. This item is significant. It requests the Zoning Ordinance be amended, essentially changing the off-street parking requirement from 2 spaces / DU to 1 space / DU. The petitioner is Mark A. Borenstein, a local attorney specializing in real estate and regulatory law. It's no secret Mr. Borenstein is associated with pro-development, Chamber of Commerce type initiatives in Worcester.
What makes this petition interesting is the petitioner is Mark A. Borenstein, 80 Barry Road, Worcester, MA. I can't believe that resident Borenstein is concerned with off-street parking on Barry Road. Rather, it's likely the petition is on behalf of the above-mentioned, pro-development interests. If this item reaches the City Council, the votes for approval have been in place since the morning of November 5, 2025.
There's much to consider and discuss about this petition. Worcester residents and neighborhoods will be impacted differently. Developers will do what they always do. The greater concern is that pro-development interests such as the Chamber of Commerce are aggressively pursuing an agenda of policy reforms favoring the real estate industry and business community.
Freezing the Specialized Stretch Code failed, not because the votes in favor were not there, but because none of proponents did their due diligence.
Worcester Equivocates.
I love the "Fearless Local Journalism" slogan.
I think Toomey confusing ADU with ADA is the real "chef's kiss" moment.
Amen to the bit about dual language programming! Should be standard operating procedure! In preschool and elementary schools, when language acquisition is easiest Tus humans.
Just YAY for the plug for Aislinn's piece in Commonwealth Beacon. I saw it there. I just spent 3 days volunteering at MATSOL, the state-level organization for ESOL teachers, where those talking about dual language programs knew that they were preaching to the choir, but at the same time we know that we have SEI encoded in state legislation. Sigh. "From your lips to the policymakers ears" was the line. Yeah, we had a presentation from the Office of Lang. Acq. in DESE. What was surprising was the map showing where students are earning the seal of biliteracy *without* dual language programs. That's impressive for those school systems.