Update: Mychal Bell's charges overturned

Earlier this evening, Worcester is MAJOR! received information regarding the Jena 6 case, and specifically the motion that will cause Bell's conviction to be overturned and there will be no sentencing on September 20th. Mychal Bell has been in prison since December 2006.

Bell's head defense attorney, Louis Scott, has relayed the official word to a number of websites and blogs that Bell's case has been sent to Juvenile Court. There will be NO sentencing taking place on Sept. 20th, but the rallies will take place on that day since there are 5 more trials to be held.

We, at Worcester is MAJOR! will continue to post information as the case progresses.

Faith and Hope do exist.

News: FCC looks out for the small guy

It appears that there is a friend to the "small guy" and his name is Kevin Martin. If you're not familiar with whom Mr. Martin is, don't be surprised because not many people know who he is either.

Kevin Martin, FCC Chairman, is looking out for you. Or as some would say, "He's got your back." Well, it certain appears that way because earlier this week Mr. Martin was quoted as saying, "If the cable companies had their way, you, your mother and father, or your next door neighbor could go to sleep one night after watching their favorite channel and wake up the next morning to a dark fuzzy screen."

What Martin is talking about is the transition from analog television to digital TV that is supposed to take place in February 2009. The federal government is even getting involved to strike a deal that would assist Americans to buy a digital-to-analog converter box for those that rely on over-the-air broadcasts and have analog TV sets. The rules for cable operators weren't finalized until September 11th. The FCC voted 5-0 to require that cable operators must continue to make all local broadcasts available to their users, even those with analog televisions.

After broadcasters stop transmitting in analog, cable operators will have two signals to work with: digital standard definition (SD) and digital high definition (HD). Neither will work with analog TV sets, which the FCC estimates are still in use in 40 million American homes. After Tuesday's (Sept. 11th) ruling, cable operators will have two choices come February 2009. They can either convert the digital SD signal to analog SD and pipe it across their lines (which means using more bandwidth and carrying three versions of a single channel) or they can offer digital SD only and roll out converter boxes to all their subscribers (which could be expensive).

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association applauded the decision, thanking the FCC for "engaging so constructively and fairly with our industry." It did express worries about "the special circumstances of very small systems," which could face severe cost pressures by complying. The FCC will allow small operators (with a capacity of 552MHz or less) to request a waiver from the must-carry rules.

Thanks to the various FCC actions, analog TV owners are guaranteed a few more years of life out their TVs, though the new cable rules only last until 2012. At that point, the FCC will review them again and decide if they need to be renewed.

News: A hate crime in WV?

On Wednesday (Sept. 12th) it was reported that the six white suspects accused of torturing Megan Williams for almost a week will not face federal hate crime charges. Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said his office would pursue other charges first because they carry stiffer penalties. West Virginia’s hate crime law carries a sentence of up to 10 years.

It was also reported that Megan Williams dated one of her attackers, Bobby Brewster. This may undermine the hate crime law, which applies to crimes motivated by racial hatred and not by non-race-related conflicts.

It was widely reported that Williams was assaulted with a knife, while being taunted with racial slurs. So, just because she dated and knew the attackers this isn’t a hate crime? Some people are saying that this is a good/bad thing.

What do you think?

Related Links:
Hate Crimes Decision Causes Stir (ABC News)
Family Calls For Hate Crime Charges in Rape and Torture Case (WOWK-TV)

Episode 7: Primary election Recap

Click on the Newspaper boy!

Turn Signal: What's that?

Living in New England, specifically Massachusetts, poses certain threats as well as things that you just learn to accept.

Some things that one learns to accept are the brutal winters and the omission of certain letters in common phrases. For instance, some people call the water fountain a/k/a/ cooler that you find in an elementary school a “bubbler”; some people refer to a milk shake as a “cabinet” and a submarine sandwich might be referred to as a “grinder”. Yes, I know some of these words are easily identifiable, while others don’t seem to make a lot of sense. Hey, it’s New England!

Well, in Massachusetts if you ask a driver what a turn signal is, you may get some answers that may surprise you.

In roaming around downtown Worcester recently, I spoke with a number of pedestrians and motorist alike and asked the simple question, “What is a turn signal?” What follows are a few choice quotes:

“It’s the thing that you turn on when you’re making a turn. I forget to use mine until I see a cop car.” – Anonymous Worcester resident who has been driving for 35 years.

“What’s a turn signal? It’s that thing on the steering column.”- Anonymous Holden teenager who has been driving for 4 years.

“I don’t know what it is. Ask my Daddy.”- Anonymous Shrewsbury youth who doesn’t drive.

“I used to use my turn signal until I was in an accident. The person who hit me saw that I was signaling to turn and sped up and slammed right into me!”- Anonymous Grafton resident who has been driving for 21 years.

So, as a driver in Worcester, what are you supposed to do? We at Worcester Is MAJOR strongly encourage you to use your turn signal at all times and if you happen to see someone signaling to turn, don’t speed up. Slow down, so that you don’t become known as a “Mass hole” driver.

Don't drink and drive and be careful with the rotaries.

Primary results: And then there were 12

Comparing Light bulbs

This video was found on Youtube.com and we found it very insightful and easy to follow.
It shows a comparison between regular light bulbs, Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs and the newer, and some would say, more efficient LED light bulbs.

You'll see the dramatic difference in energy usage as well as the amount of light each bulb gives.

Meet me in JENA

Word is quickly spreading throughout the US that Mychal Bell is going before a judge in Louisiana on September 20th, and a number of activist are asking people to make their way to LA.

As posted in an earlier post in August, the Jena Six are 6 black teenagers that are being prosecuted for beating-up a white student over a so called "white tree". Read the August 14th post here.

Rappers David Banner and Mos Def are among the few that are asking for concerned people to join them in Jena, Louisiana for various rallies and events.

Be a part of the change!

The Jena Six timeline

- click to Read!

Executive Privilege

Bitter Sweet

Today is September 11, 2007, and it is a bitter sweet day for us at Worcester Is MAJOR.

This morning we sat quietly in prayer remembering those 2,750 people that lost their life from the terrorist attacks, and it's still shocking that it happened in the first place and then to think that it's been 6-years. Wow! Remember, Love is LOVE......

The opposite side of the wafer is that today is Primary Election all over the US, but it's especially sweet in Worcester! Happy Election Day!

We hope you remembered to vote and don't take the approach that so many take...."it doesn't matter who wins, because they won't change anything" or " I'm not feeling any of the people running for office".



Polls are still open until 8 PM EST, so that leaves a solid 2-hours. Please go out and VOTE, we need you to let your voice be heard.

One more day!

Well, it's been 5 days since I last posted and there has been some noise from various "camps" in Worcester about the primary taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, September 11, 2007.

For one thing, it's hard for me to believe that it's been 6-years since the terrorist attack on the US, because it seems as if it was just yesterday that I was in Wellesley, MA, when I heard the news and received the telephone call from my wife that 7 of her colleagues were on American Airlines flight 11, bound for Los Angeles, CA.

Our prayers and thoughts continue to go out to the families of those that were on the airplanes, in the towers and those men and women that entered the towers, responding to the scene to save those that were alive after the first plane crashed into the North Tower.

In local news, the primary elections are taking place tomorrow, and we strongly encourage all persons registered to vote, to do just that...get out and VOTE! Let your voice be heard and, if you're not registered to vote, you still have time to do so and more information can be found at the Secretary of the State website.

Thoughts about the primary elections will be posted tomorrow throughout the day, so check back often.