May I swim here? NO, because you're.......

The weather has made it difficult for some of Worcester's youth to swim, and the lack of open pools also pose an issue as well, but at least we don't have blatant discrimination situations such as that which took place in Philadelphia, PA taking place in Worcester.

Sixty (60) Black camp goers from The Creative Steps Camp of North Philly were turned away by John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club because "there was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."

What?!


Read the full story here.

Massachusetts to sue the Federal Governement over DOMA

Today in a Superior Court in Boston, a group from Massachusetts filed a suit against the Federal Government over the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which they state interferes with Massachusetts definition of marriage, as it's defined by the state.

As you know, Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same sex marriages on May 17, 2004, when then Governor, Mitt Romney, ordered all town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders filed their lawsuit in March 2009 and questioned Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines the word "marriage" as "a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."

Yahoo! News is reporting that Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, will be filing a similar lawsuit today as well.

Summer News

Some folks consider the summer to be a slow period where you get
caught-up on projects and plant seed that are intended to grow during
the winter months. I know, how dare I type the word 'winter' when
we've barely had a summer. Bare with me, please?

Well, with the 'news' being dominated by the death of Michael Jackson,
I've officially tuned it out and, quite frankly, I'm sick of it!

That's why I say that I'm glad to return to our regularly scheduled
programs about nuclear weapons, President Obama's visit to Russia and
the political shake-up that's taking place in the good 'ol
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

So, I ask you,"What news are you following closely?". What's
important to you? Does it matter that Mayor Luked is going to be
challenged for the BIG seat in Worcester by the likes of Gary Rosen
and others? Well, I say it's good to see the heat being turned up, but
now if we can only get the people of Worcester to pay attention to the
platforms and ultimately vote!

The news will be broadcasted loud and proud and we at Worcester Is
MAJOR! will be in the game! Stay tuned and let us know what news
you're following.

Michael Jackson Madness: LA Style

So the guys that run The Hundreds, a lifestyle clothing and sneaker brand based in Los Angeles, posted this video earlier today, detailing their quest to get their Michael Jackson memorial wristband.

Why am I posting this video? Well, these guys have built a brand that is recognized by sneaker aficionados and street wear savvy customers all over the world, and right here in Worcester by many youngen's.

Check out the madness as The Hundreds boys make their way to Dodger Stadium to get their Michael Jackson-silver inspired wristband.

So as most of the world knows, the Michael Jackson Memorial is taking place this morning at Staples Center / Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. But to score tickets to the event, you had to enter an online lottery over the weekend. Over 1.6 Million people registered their names for merely 17,000 seats, with people flying in from around the world to be here for the service.

We had no intentions of going. In fact, I was planning on just watching it on TV if anything, although TH HQ is just down the street from Staples Center. But then yesterday afternoon, a nice kid named Bryant from St. Louis emailed our site to let us know that not only had he won the lottery, but he wanted Ben and I to have his tickets.

The only rub was that to combat ticket-scalping, you had to print out your lottery voucher and drive it to Dodger Stadium by 6pm to claim your official Memorial tickets and accompanying wristband. By the time Bryant had emailed us our voucher, it was 5:30 and we were on the other side of town. So now, all of a sudden, we were the biggest Michael Jackson fanatics on the planet, jumped in Ben’s ‘lade and put the pedal to the metal. Did we get our tickets???

Jazzing up the Joint!

Saw this post on the 4Rilla blog and thought I'd check it out and post on Worcester Is MAJOR!.

Paulie's New Orleans Jazz & Blues Festival 2009:



Benefiting the National Autism Association's FOUND Project!

Technology: Boston's mobile application

When I heard the news that Boston City Hall was rolling out a
application for the iPhone for city residents to take pictures and
report problems, I thought it was a great use of technology. Then,
after a few minutes of deeper thought about who would use the iPhone
application, I wondered if the City of Boston researched the number of
people living in Boston that have an iPhone?

I have no idea of what that number could potentially be, but I would
guesstimate that many of the complaints that Boston City Hall and the
complaint line receive are from older citizens who don't have or care
to buy an iPhone. So, what does this say about City Hall and the
spending of $25,000 on a mobile application that targets a presumed
small portion of the demographic living in the City of Boston? The
bottom line is that Mayor Menino is running for re-election and the
two 39-year old candidates looking to dethrone Menino have and will
continue to push that Menino is antiquated. Now, Menino can stick his
tongue out at the competition as if to say,"Who's not hip and in touch
with technology?".

Time and the use of the Citizen Connect iPhone application will tell
if the response time to remedy an issue is reduced or, better yet,
where the money will come from to fix that gapping hole on Stuart
Street in the Back Bay. That 'killer app' could be just that, a
'killer' of Menino's aspirations for retaining the throne!

Read the full article on Boston.com:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/06/boston_to_debut_8216killer_app8217_for_municipal_complaints/