Jobs in Amercia

Many economists and analyst have boldly stated that the recession is over and and things have turned around. 

While 431,000 jobs have been added in May is being reported, the fastest increase in 10-years, that increase is below analyst's expectations.

There are many families that continue to struggle to put food on the table. 

With the average person working multiple jobs in order to live, it's a wonder the foreclosures haven't been more dramatic for Worcester & Worcester County.

Everyday, as I drive throughout the City, I notice more and more of the yellow and black "Auction" signs.  Have you noticed them?

What does this say about Worcester?

Also, if you're looking for a job in the City, now more than ever, you'd better know someone because it's hard get your foot, much less your toe, in the door.

So, where are the newly created jobs in Worcester?  Please let me know if you see one and I can present at least 5 people that are very qualified.

Silly Bands: Fittin' to be banned?

The rubber bands are everywhere and, of course, there are a number of "knock-offs" that have popped up all over the world and certainly right here in Worcester.
What am I referring to?  They are the silicon rubber bands aptly named the Silly Bandz.

Remember a few years ago when it seemed like everyone and their grandmother was wearing Crocs?  I know you remember the Crocification of the United States.  Well, the Silly Bandz trend is even more popular than Crocs and they don't cost as much as a pair of the rubberized, hideous-looking slides.

I knew they were BIG when my daughter came home from school one day, miraculously with 4 of them attached to her right wrist. 

Later on that afternoon while running errands, we were at Lincoln Plaza and she asked if we could go into AC Moore to buy some.  I agreed and was pleasantly surprised to find that a kid could buy a pack of 12 for $5.

Some of them are more limited than others and are available in cool shapes such as shoes, animals, genies and fish, to name a few.

What baseball cards or comic books were to me back-in-the-day, Silly Bandz are the in thing.  My daughter has traded a number of the ones she bought, and she even nabbed the elusive genie-shaped band that she had her sights set on.

Having grown in popularity all over the United States, so popular that a number of schools have decided to ban them because teachers call them a distraction, I wonder if Worcester will follow suit and ban them in Worcester Public Schools? 

In Boston, a number of schools have already made the move to ban them, but with the school-year coming to an end in a few weeks, I wonder if Dr. Boone feels it's too late to do something for this academic year or sees the Silly Bandz as just another passing fad?

Well, one thing is for sure, if you have children or grandchildren don't be surprised to see their wrists decorated with these rubber bands and trades brokered as if in some boiler room, investment house, on Wall Street.

Dianne Wilkerson: Pleading Guilty

I wrote about Dianne Wilkerson in 2008 and in 2009 and said that she needed to just "man up" and say that she did it. 

Well, it looks like her conscience and some influential Black ministers in Boston  convinced her to do the right thing.

Read the full story on Boston.com.

World Cup 2010: Stadium

Beginning on June 11, 2010, the World Cup kicks off in South Africa and what is being billed as "Soccer City is the best", the 69,070-seat Cape Town Stadium is nearly soundproof.

Thanks to engineering, the open-air stadium, which German design team Schlaich Bergermann assembled, the stadium features the world's largest glass ceiling.

The 398,265-square-foot roof consists of 9,000 half-inch-thick glass panels, arranged in a ring above the stands, and a Teflon and fiberglass mesh suspended below the glass. Together they reflect the crowd's roar back onto the field and stands (potentially handing an advantage to the team with the loudest cheering section) to prevent noise from escaping through the roof's central hole.

Innovative Business Model?

I wonder if Clark University alum, Ron Shaich, would be willing to try this concept in Worcester?

Memorial Day: Grateful

Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day, is often viewed as the "unofficial" start of summer.

Many have the day off from work and school, and few give "thanks" for the men and women that have made the "ultimate sacrifice" for the country that we call home.

We are free to make decisions and exercise our "free will", all the while knowing that there is collateral damage: women and men have died that allow us to live as we do today.

We can all agree that in life, we human beings, individually, will achieve various levels of power and accomplishments, but we all die and our legacy will live for a short period of time. 

Yes, some politicians, actresses, athletes and other so-called celebrities's death may have an impact on a large number of people, but their life is just as important as the family that sees their son dispatched to fight the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.

So, today, I say thank you to all the people that serve in the military and everyday I give "thanks and praise" for the life that I have and the people that worked to provide it.

Thank you!