New Study: Kids Say School Is Too Easy

Ken O’Brien

According to a new study out today from the Center for American Progress, which picked over three years of data collected by the Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, 37 percent of fourth-graders say their math work is “often” or “always” too easy, 57 percent of eighth-graders says the same about their history work, and 39 percent of seniors say they rarely have to write papers on what they read about in class.

Almost a third of eight-graders say they read less than five pages a day, and are only required to write long answers on reading tests twice a year or less. 

Listen To Your Momma!!! (Video)

Robber busted by his own mother

Published : Friday, 06 Jul 2012, 7:25 AM EDT

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) — Police in Brandon say a convenience store robbery was stopped when the suspect's mother intervened.

The Tuesday morning robbery attempt was reported at a store on Highway 80.

Republicans: Size Doesn’t Matter

Ken O’Brien

Way back in my high school days I participated actively in debating.

One of the fundamental components at the start of a debate was for the first speaker to define the key terms of the debate. Unless challenged, this guaranteed that all participants were talking about the same thing.

Unfortunately that practice doesn’t apply to political campaigning. 

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.12

Ken O’Brien

Well, the local elections are over and we are settling into the dog days of summer.

While the new school committee has shown it has a bite, it’s beginning to look like the town council will be just more barking.

While temperatures are tending to moderate after yesterday’s swelter, we may have to crank up the A/C Monday night around 7 pm to stay cool.

But right now it’s Sunday morning. So sit back, relax and unwind. Enjoy those eggs Florentine along with that mimosa or bloody mary. Then you can get to work making enough of those refreshing jello-shots to get you through Monday night’s council meeting.

Breaking News: Oil Spill at West Street School

Ken O'Brien

UPDATE: Worcester Telegram July 10, 2012 - Spilled heating oil quickly cleaned up


Early indications are that there has been a spill of approximately 500 gallons of heating oil in the basement of West Street School.

Local officials as well as officials from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Affairs are on site overseeing the cleanup.

More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Analysis of Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Shows Scope of Voter Suppression

Ken O’Brien

Ten days ago The O’Zone pointed out that the true goal of nationwide Republican efforts to enact voter ID laws were not what was claimed.

In that article we ran a video of the Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) proudly proclaiming that the state’s new voter ID law would ensure a victory for Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania.

We immediately received pushback that these were “common sense” laws designed to prevent voter fraud. 

Southbridge Town Council Meeting July 9, 2012

Ken O’Brien

The Southbridge Town Council Meeting of July 9^th, just as its School Committee counterpart, will consist of two components.

First, there will be the reorganizational meeting.

That will be followed by a regular Council meeting.

These are the posted agendas for both.

A shameless plug

Ken O'Brien

I’m not going into business creating my own list like Angie or Craig.

But, when you find a local tradesman you’re happy with, then I think they deserve a plug.

For the first time since I moved back to town I found myself in need of a plumber.

I called a couple of friends and got a referral to a gentleman by the name of Shawn Sandgren.

He came over quickly, evaluated the situation and came back a day later and fixed the problem at a very reasonable price.

June Employment Situation Report

U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is struggling three years after the recession ended.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent.

The economy has added just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That's one-third of 226,000 a month created in the first quarter. Job creation is also trailing last year's pace through the first six months of 2012.

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JUNE 2012 - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Nonfarm payroll employment continued to edge up in June (+80,000), and the

unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics reported today. Professional and business services added jobs,

and employment in other major industries changed little over the month.

The Anti - Americanism of the Right

Ken O’Brien

“We the People of the United States…”

Those are the first seven words of the Constitution of the United States.

From its very birth the United States was a collective enterprise.

It was not an exercise that celebrated the individual. It was an affirmation that free people who shared ideals and dreams of a common future could work together for their realization. 

Southbridge School Committee Reconstituted – Moves Aggressively for Change - Ely's Contract Extended

Ken O’Brien

The Southbridge School Committee held its reorganizational meeting tonight following the June 26^th town elections.

Committee member Scott Lazo was excused from the meeting.

Patricia Woodruff was elected as committee chairman and Mary Ellen Prencipe was elected as vice chairman.

The committee also eliminated the collective bargaining subcommittee. Preference regarding the latter seemed to lean toward a negotiating panel consisting of a member of the school committee, the school superintendent, the school business manager and, when appropriate, a legal advisor. It established a new subcommittee on Communication and Family Engagement to facilitate community wide communication and enhance citizen participation in school affairs.

Hey Southbridge - Wanna Blog? Classic Site Available

Ken O’Brien

Banned, blamed and belittled by some Speak Out Southbridge was for years the dominant public forum in Southbridge.

Creator and author of Speak Out Southbridge, Dennis Martinek has decided that his tenure in that role has come to its end.

Despite having discontinued actively blogging several months ago, the site still receives numerous hits from internet search engines. 

Chief Romney Spokesman: Obamacare Penalty Is Not A Tax

Ken O’Brien

 Eric Fehrnstrom

MSNBC - Eric Fehrnstrom, the Romney spokesman made famous for his 'Etch-a-Sketch' comment, illuminated the struggle his candidate has had in explaining his evolving position on health care reform while appearing on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown Monday.

Republicans, including Speaker of the House John Boehner, have used the Supreme Court's ruling on  the Obama administration's health care law to criticize the president for a new tax on Americans. (The justices ruled the law was constitutional because the government is allowed to levy taxes; The law includes a fine for those who do not comply.) But this causes a problem for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign, which is anti-tax, because Romney passed a very similar health care reform law that included a penalty fee when he was governor of Massachusetts.

Talking Trash

Ken O’Brien

On Saturday the Worcester Telegram ran an article titled “Southbridge landfill foes say delay in environmental master plan is costly - Landfill seen as victim of delay” by Brian Lee.

The article focused primarily on dissatisfaction by local and state environmental activists with the state’s management of solid waste planning. 

Sunday Photo-‘Toons 1.11

Ken O’Brien

WOW! What a week!

We had Southbridge Smack Down 2012. We had a decision in Robamneycare. We even had a little local hissy fit.

As always, our crack team of photo elves have been busily crafting a bottoms-up compilation of the week in review.

We hope you can suspend judgment and find humor in our efforts.

So sit back, relax, and put a big dollop of Sambuca in your Sunday morning coffee.