USPS: Mo Money...Mo Money

If you're not aware of the pending price increase to mail a regular,
now you know.

The United States Postal Services rate to mail a first-class letter
goes from costing .41 cents to .44 cents come Monday, May 11th.

If you're like me, you buy and have bought the FOREVER stamps, but
find yourself using them occassionaly. You see, with the creation of
the Internet, I pay many of my bills online.

So just as the USPS raises their rates, I wonder how many people will
turn to paying their bills electronically and forego "mailing"
anything but that Mother's Day card?

The Future of Journalism

The Boston Globe reportedly struck a deal with its largest union today to keep the paper going - but how long will it last? Young journalists are now acting as reporters, photographers, videographers and computer programmers - all wrapped into one. Is the all-platform journalist the answer? Or will these young minds come up with a new form of journalism? Our guests are Sara Gregory, a junior at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Joel Stonington, a grad student at Columbia Journalism School in New York; and Brian Boyer, a computer programmer turned new media journalist who recently graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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Education: Stand for Children

Earlier this afternoon I received information about Stand for Children having their agenda item approved for next week's City Council School Budget meeting. Here are the details:

Dear members and friends,

Congratulations! Voting members have unanimously approved our issue agenda. Thank you to those who voted for taking the time to weigh in on our next campaign.

We will be working on the following issues this year in Worcester:

*
Keeping allocated state and federal stimulus education funds in the school budget.
We'll be opposing Worcester's increased grant administration percentage and addressing the city's proposed take-back in above-minimum funding that Stand helped acquire last year.

*
Educating the public, our members, and city councilors on the school budget.
We aim to increase understanding of potential funding gaps caused by uncertainty around the federal stimulus & the city's cut in its contribution, and the need to invest in schools now to avoid future funding crises.

*
Educating members about the Worcester Public School system & building relationships.
We'll learn about the organizational structure of WPS and continue to build relationships with the City Council, School Committee, teacher's union and school administration. Our goal is to promote transparency, oversight, cooperation and more efficient use of school funding to ensure that more money is directed to the school/classroom level.

In these tough times, it is more important than ever that we take action for our kids!

*
Worcester has already cut over $60 million dollars in funding to our schools, laid off nearly 700 school employees and closed 8 schools.
*
Worcester gives less than 1% above mandated minimum to the schools (while the state average is 14%). We rank 12th of 13 in school funding among Massachusetts' urban schools.
*
City officials are proposing fee increases that would allow the city to divert portions of school grants - including stimulus money meant to bring relief to our schools.

Take Action - save the date for the City Council's School Budget hearing on Tuesday, May 12th at 6:30 p.m. The City Council will be voting to approve the City Manager's proposed budget right after our hearing. This is the time to show up to city hall and show your support for the kids of Worcester Public Schools!

Thank you for your continued support. Stay tuned to your email for news about other upcoming advocacy opportunities!

Standing with you,

Isabel Gonzalez
Worcester Organizer

For more information, visit http://www.stand.org/ma.

Carnival: Virgin Islands Style

This is what you're missing in the month of April on St. Thomas (USVI). And don't forget about Love City, a/k/a/ St. John, in June leading up to the 4th of July!



First up in the video is the world famous Rising Stars steel band.

At the 2:15 mark, you'll see Governor deJongh dancing in the street behind the JDPP Jammerz, which is a band comprised of children and sponsored by the Virgin Islands Police Department. It's a CELEBRATION!!!

The Future

I was having a conversation over the weekend about all the things we
"had" to do as a kids. You know, the chores, taking care siblings,
working part-time, or running a business. (If you think long enough,
you probably have a neice, nephew, son or daughter that runs their own
business.)

I can recall being a stock-boy, cashier, waiter, bartender (the rules
were very lenient in the Virgin Islands), and the occassional farmer
& garbage man. I wore many hats and I learned something from every
job I've ever held.

So, when many who are in their late-30's, such as myself, think about
the "next generation" we may think about them being raised by MTV, BET
and 24-hour sports (ESPN) and quickly cast them aside and label them
"soft". That may be partly true, but we've also allowed the "Next
Generation" to make excuses and not know what it means to "loose".

"Lossing" is a good thing and it teaches life-needed lessons! We
can't win all the time, and that's a lesson better learned at a young
age. Don't get me worng, I'm not proposing that parents stop
encouraging their child or children to play, have fun and strive to
win, but guess what? The kids are keeping score, as it's one of the
most innate things that we human beings do....keep score!

We need to continue to encourage a child to do their best, and it's OK
to let them loose so that they can grow up to become better, well-
rounded adults who strive for greatness, all the while knowing that
it's unattainable.

Boston Globe on the Brink?

The largest union at the Boston Globe and the paper’s management have stopped negotiating. The paper wants contract-concessions from the Newspaper Guild; without them, the paper says it will close. The New York Times owns the Globe. Curt Nickish updates Here & Now host Robin Young on the latest in the Globe negotiations.

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