City Of Worcester

Creative Economy Council Passes in the Mass. Senate
Bosley Bill Advances to the Governor's Desk

WCCA TV, public access, is an important, vital part of the Creative Economy. WCCA TV facilitates a free speech platform which represents a free flow of information which any creative economy depends upon. WCCA also encourages citizen participation, civic engagement, open dialog, fresh and diverse ideas essential to creativity and an creative economy. We hope our city leaders ( councilors and administration ) are opened minded to the value of WCCA TV, as we share the following good news from MAASH.

"Dear Friends,

This week the Massachusetts Senate passed Rep. Dan Bosley's bill to create a statewide council on the creative economy. The council will work with the Office of Economic Development to “develop a statewide strategy for the enhancement, encouragement, and growth of the creative economy in the commonwealth, and to promote through public and private means responsive public policies and innovative private sector practices.”

MAASH thanks Senate President Therese Murray, Senator Ben Downing and the entire Senate for their hard work and support on behalf of our creative economy.

Rep. Dan Bosley (D-N. Adams), House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, sponsored the bill and guided it through the House legislative process. Senator Ben Downing (D-Berkshire County) successfully shepherded the bill through the Senate.

“Massachusetts is the national leader in innovation and in growing the creative economy. By establishing this council, we will be able to identify strategies, effective practices and ideas so that the non-profit cultural organizations, the for-profit businesses and creative individuals can thrive.” Chairman Bosley said.

The council will consist of 23 members including legislators, the director of MAASH, the director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and other leaders in the creative economy movement.

The text of the bill is posted on the MAASH web site:

http://www.maash.org/news/creative_economy_council_bill.pdf

The creative economy council bill now moves to the Governor for his consideration.

Thank you,

Dan Hunter
Executive Director
Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences, & Humanities (MAASH) "

Thanks for supporting WCCA TV, "The People's Channel"

It just takes city leadership to fight for it.

During the cable franchise ascertainment period, WCCA held a focus group as part of the process. Respondents cited the need for WCCA to be seen outside of Worcester, in neighboring communities as their number one recommendation for improving WCCA services.

Subsequently, in consideration to our community needs assessment, WCCA has asked the city of Worcester to consider requesting that Charter Communication, the cable provider, allow us to distribute WCCA's channel county wide (on any available channel).

This would bring substantial value for Worcester citizens and for those who work in Worcester but live outside of it. During public hearings, at City Hall, Charter representatives said it could not be done. WCCA believed that it was technically possible. We pointed out that it is done in other areas. we've been hoping the new cable contract, which expired in 2006, will address this. We are still without a contract.

Jump ahead about two years. This afternoon, a resident of Paxton phoned us today asking for a way to view WCCA programing in Paxton. They also asked about our facilitation of the council meeting, which we partner with volunteers from Indymedia, to facilitate archiving it on line. During the conversation I learned that, for quite some time, Paxton cablecast the Worcester Public School cable channel 11 on its own Paxton system. Another resident of Paxton later confirmed this to be true. As Marvin Gaye sings it, “What's going on?” All the time this has been going on and no one brought this to the city's attention? Did anyone realize that if it can be done with one channel it could be done with others. WCCA TV programming could really be an asset to our city, if supported properly.

With sixty-eight percent of the participants of our focus group ( Worcester business and organizations) having less than $10,000 per year for communications, these groups and agencies face interesting challenges. Imagine WCCA's programming promoting all that is Worcester and helping all these community groups reach out to surrounding communities. Wouldn't that be useful to our cultural groups, event promoters, business'?
Here is a chance for our leaders to really step up and do something great. WCCA TV county wide before it's too late.

Doug Grindle, one of WCCA's volunteer Community Producers (Government Issue, series on WCCA) is currently in north Afghanistan. I intentionally left out his location. Here is what he writes:

Hello All:

Here is the latest NewsNote.
It is in the form of a story. I'll be cutting them back in legnth for your reading ease next time. But this is the story of northern Afghanistan, so i figured it is worth the whole treatment.
The bottom line - it's working there all right but it is a snail-like progress.
And its' not guns, it's money that makes the difference.
---------
Combat Outpost Najil, Laghman Province, Afghanistan - Soldiers of 158th Infantry watch as mortar shells explode against a hillside about a half mile away. The sun beats down, the temperature is over 100 degrees on the soldiers who have walked over two miles from their base to get here. They are happy to take a break.

The soldiers are spotting for the mortar rounds after walking up to the edge of the impact zone to make sure it is clear of civilians. They shooed several herdsmen and their cows and sheep away. Now the mortars echo across the valley and the four villages near the base. A few minutes later the Afghan artillery soldiers fire their big guns from the base. The shells zip overhead and explode, sending more echoes across the valley.

Lobbing shells is good practice for the real thing. It is also a show of force designed to keep insurgents off the slopes near the base, and give them second thoughts about attacking. Insurgents favor attacking with mortars or rockets, but lately it’s an infrequent problem.

"It is pretty quiet around there," said Spc Chad Halstead, a National Guardsman from Honolulu. "I'm not worried about any big attacks. They do occasional hit and runs and we respond to that."

Soldiers are working to get the villagers on their side. That's why they carefully clear the area before firing. They are also pushing a slew of development projects in the province designed to win over the locals. They are also widening road between here and Methar Lam, the provincial capital. And just up the road from the base, civil affairs soldiers are paying to rebuild a river crossing. Lately the strategy of an iron fist in a velvet glove has been working as attacks drop off.

But it is not absolutely quiet here. Attacks do happen. A few days before, two men in a nearby village opened fire on a passing convoy of humvees. They soldiers caught one of the men. They say headman of the village decided to show the soldiers he does not approve of their presence. Luckily no one was hurt. But less than two months before, this unit, the 1-158th Infantry from Arizona, lost a soldier who died in an attack by a roadside bomb in Methar Lam.

"At first when it happened I was just really frustrated. We're out here trying to help them and they're trying to kill us," said Sgt Jose Rodriguez of Ewa Beach HI.

If this area is not completely pacified, the problem increases exponentially the farther north you go. The soldiers are forbidden to venture more than a few miles along the road past the base because it is deemed too dangerous.

But that is where they most need to go, soldiers say. Taliban and other insurgents - al Qaeda and a fundamentalist Afghan movement called the HiG - exist in strength in villages farther north. They also pay local fighters to attack the American and Afghan soldiers.

Combat Outpost Najil does not have enough soldiers to confront the nest of insurgents in the valleys further north. So the soldiers here try to extend government influence in their little valley, building roads and other projects.

The Americans have no plans to increase their troop numbers in this valley. Instead they are engaged in a two-pronged strategy to quell the violence.

They will wait for the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police to grow in numbers and effectiveness and eventually extend their influence north. "My battalion's main focus is the buildup of the capacity of the Afghan security forces," explained Ltc Alberto Gonzalez, commanding officer of the 1-158 Infantry battalion. "Ultimately it's their country and it's their responsibility to get into all those areas and provide the security people need in order to support the government."

And secondly, the soldiers will rely on development to tamp down the violence. Americans hope the locals will eventually turn away from insurgent money and toward regular commerce, as the number of jobs rises when new roads and development projects are finished.

Soldiers say this strategy is already working in the areas it has been tried. But it will take time. And with the limited number of troops here, it is the only one available.

We continue to pray for peace and Doug's safety.
MD

I wrote a blog back on May 7th titled WCCA Matters
and here we are today, past mid September, finding ourselves still in the dark regarding the future of true public access in the city of Worcester. We try to remain hopeful but nothing has changed except that we have received a second extended contract. A contract which is short equipment and facility funds that Charter originally agreed to in 1997. That means it appears that WCCA is being short changed. WCCA needs to desperately replace and upgrade nearly all of it's equipment.
We could use words of encouragement.

I am asking those who utilize this station, those who believe in free speech and independent media, those who believe in participation, those who believe that empowering citizens with do it yourself participatory media , those who believe that providing a relevant free flow of information is important to a community, to all join together to take a stand and write a letter (or another letter) of support or perhaps an editorial commending WCCA for the work our staff and volunteers are doing.

Many of you have already written such letters. We appreciate it very much but it is apparent more is needed.

Thank you
Mauro

John S writes:

Whatever became of the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park 5-1438? http://www.fallen-heroes.org/Memorial/ Has any work been done since the winning design was chosen? When was the last time you heard anything about it? Is there a Worcester city park with the name Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park 5-1438? Why doesn't the park, even without a simple memorial plaque, exist? http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/dpw/parks_rec/city_parks/home.htm What branch of the city of Worcester government is responsible for creating city parks? The Parks and Rec department? The city counsel? The DPW? Why hasn't this public entity in WORCESTER made an effort to remember the WORCESTER firefighters who gave their lives to the city of WORCESTER?

From the Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park web site
The Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Committee was created in the aftermath of the tragic fire that claimed the lives of the six Worcester firefighters in December 1999....This project will help revitalize (economically and environmentally) the city of Worcester...
:
In 2002, the committee selected a site for the memorial and the memorial park. The site will be named Worcester Fire Fighters Memorial Park
:
In the spring of 2004, the committee began a two-stage, national, open competition to produce a design for the memorial.
:
In September 2004, the jury chose the winning design...

The last entry in web site progress page is 2005 http://www.fallen-heroes.org/Memorial/progress.html
Like so many potentially good things in Worcester there was lots of energy when this project was in its infancy but, like too many potentially good things in Worcester, it has stalled. Will it ever be brought back to life?

When the Worcester Public Access television station airs its production "Surrounded By Love" a tribute to the fallen fighters, it would be great if an announcement could be made with an update that the Worcester city government has taken action to remember these six Worcester firefighters who gave their lives to the city of Worcester.
The broadcast of the special or any update about the memorial won't be possible if the station's funding is reduced or eliminated.

The reduced funding for WCCA would be yet another case of the city of Worcester forgetting about something good for the city of Worcester.

John Simakauskas