Easy To Be Hard

Ken O’Brien

As I was watching the early part of the Southbridge Town Council Meeting last Monday night I was genuinely excited.

There were two reasons for this.

First, and perhaps foremost, was that I was finally going to be able to say something positive about our town’s Economic Development and Planning Department. Followers of The O’Zone know that I have been a relentless critic of this office and its Director. But, really, they make it so easy to be hard. Most recently I pointed out their failure to have the Southbridge Technology and Environment Park mentioned in a web-site devoted to promoting business-ready sites in Massachusetts.

Southbridge Consultant and EDC Member Cite Greenfield and Northampton as Models - Both Have Mayors

Ken O’Brien

Today’s Southbridge Evening News features a front page article titled “‘Compelling story’ needed for downtown development”.

Ted Carman of Concord Square Development, recently hired with state grant funds to do strategic financial planning necessary to make the town’s long-term downtown redevelopment effort possible, told the new Economic Development Commission:

…he saw the same thing in Greenfield, where several landlords made no effort to maintain property and some sat vacant for many years. Over the last five [years] or so, though, the city has used a variety of funding sources and sometimes eminent domain to renovate and re-tenant five major buildings, with four more still somewhere in the “ridiculously complicated” funding process, he said. 

Local Education in the 21st Century

Ken O’Brien

Three articles that appeared in the local press this week got me to thinking about where education at the local level is heading.

The most recent appeared today in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette and was titled “Local leaders get first tour of new Southbridge school”.

The other two articles appeared in the Southbridge Evening News. On February 17th they published an article with the headline, “DESE slams school improvement process” and on February 13th another front page article informed us that, in Charlton, “School committee discusses impact of virtual schooling”.