Mediocre Worcester City Manager Has Few Clothes

Mediocre Worcester City Manager Augustus Is A Joke With Few Clothes

City Manager Edward Augustus is a mediocre City leader when compared to others. He is to some extent a fake.  However it can be said that many others in the City and around the country are mediocre and fakes.

Let us start with his great plus, the development of downtown. He certainly has taken credit for it and yet the evaluation of its success for Worcester has not been made. Many others had the foresight to see that the Galleria would be a failure when the Wrentham Outlets opened. Others wanted to reopen Front St. 

The issue of the development of downtown and other areas of Worcester has led to the Affirmative Action goals for construction jobs. No one in the public really knows how successful this effort has been. The Manager’s office is not releasing significant or timely data.  Also missing is where do people apply and what types of jobs are available.

The City Manager has taken credit for Affirmative Action through the Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Carter.  The success of this office and the number of jobs going to unemployed Worcester residence has yet to be evaluated.

The City Manager unlike some other officials in the State has maliciously prosecuted Black Lives Matter protestors. The judge in the case said that the very premise of the complaint filed by the City Manager was wrong. The judge ruled that there was NO criminal action. At least one of the protestor was found not responsible of even the civil complaint.

The City Manager failed in this area of race relations. He also failed in selling immediately the Mosaic Center which has a long history in the Black community. This was perceived as racist as other unused and essentially abandoned City property, such as the corner lot at Sunderland Road and Lake Ave. which are a hazard and an eyesore.

The City Manager gets failing grades for snow removal. How is it possible that anyone can give Mr. Augustus an “exceeds expectations” when he cannot keep City streets open and safe during a snow storm. Any competent executive can do this. If he can’t he does not belong in office.

The issue of lack transparency has been around for decades. Mr. Augustus has again failed overtly failed the City and its residents when he refused to release the report on the racist hate speech by a City employee, Mr. Traynor. This is sign of the institutional racism in the City. Mr. Traynor is one of the people who is supposed to accomplish the Affirmative Action goals.

The lack of transparency continues into the Police Department where Chief Sargent has indicated that he has a policy for the City based on the “Broken Windows” theory. The policy used in other cities has resulted in racist practices such as “Stop, Question, and Frisk” in New York City.  When will the Chief and the Manager make known the details of this policy?

City Manager Augustus is no one special. He is quite ordinary in his bending to disparate impacts on the “minority” community. He seems like, the many others who run city governments, to be mistake prone in providing the essential services such as ‘snow removal”.

The Department of Justice hearings were a joke. In this case the emperor has just enough clothes not to be a laughing stock.  

Chief Sargent's Broken Windows

Broken Windows

What does the police policy of Broken Windows mean for Worcester?  We will certainly soon find out.

Recently the new Chief of Police, Steven Sargent, and Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus were interviewed by a local new paper. During the interview Chief Sargent revealed that he will police Worcester based on the Broken Window Theory. This was somewhat of a surprise.

The Chief had not to my knowledge revealed to the public what his thinking on criminology, race, or body cams.

The Broken Window Theory has several parts. One part is the cleaning up of the physical environment which gives people the perception that an area is cared for and surveilled. Another part of Broken Windows Theory has been called Zero Tolerance. A third part has been the removal of “undesirables”.

The removing of “undesirables” has been in effect in Worcester for over a decade. The so called “aggressive” panhandling ordinances of the City are examples of this. The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that Worcester’s ordinances on this issue are unconstitutional. In some instances this practice has been the intentional precursor of gentrification.

One can only wonder what Chief Sargent and his boss, Manager Edward Augustus has planned for these people. Whatever it is the public should know.

The City Manager, after being ruled against by the Supreme Court, spoke from his bully pulpit demanding that the residents of Worcester give money to charity and not to panhandlers.

 Zero Tolerance is the practice of arresting people for minor or non-existent violations such as “disorderly”. Many statutes regarding “disorderly” or disturbing the peace are vague and give the police arbitrary and discretionary powers. This practice eventually evolved into New York City’s infamous Stop, Question, and Frisk policy.

 There is evidence that the Stop, Questions and Frisk practices of the New York Police Department was racial profiling and violations of the Fourth Amendment. The police stopped hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers annually; the vast majority are Black and Latino.

I would like Chief Sargent say there will be no Stop, Question, and Frisk policy in Worcester.

I actually agree with the first part of the Broken Windows Theory. Property owner should be made to maintain their properties. This includes the City of Worcester which has essentially abandoned its empty lot at the corner of Lake Ave, and Sunderland Road. I personally complained, but the City has not taken care of its property.

In a 2005 Harvard University Study conducted in the “ hot spots” of Lowell MA it was determined that improving the physical environment such as the better enforcement of building codes is the most effective part of Broken Windows Theory. It was also the least unlawful.

Almost all of the Police does in the City is secretive. Statistics, reports, and records of police misconduct are impossible to get.

Chief Sargent and Manager Augustus have a duty to meet with the residents of the City to explain what is in their Broken Windows Policy.

 A discussion of how Broken Windows will affect the Black and Latino communities and other residents of Worcester is needed. This should be a real discussion. The racist creeps and the gang of three racist City Councillors should be excluded. 

The Politics of Cavities

The Politics of Cavities

Senator Harriette Chandler has been busy in the State House. Besides proposing an increase statewide fines for jaywalking, Senator Chandler has amended the State budget for 2017 to include a new level of dental care. Being proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chandler helped to ensure the approval of the amendment by a 39-0 vote.

The amendment will create an “Advanced Hygienist Practitioner”.   

 “who is a graduate of a registered dental practitioner education program of not more than 18 months provided by an accredited post-secondary institution, who has been certified by the Board to practice as an advanced dental hygiene practitioner pursuant to section 51B; and who provides oral health care services, including preventive, oral evaluation and assessment, educational, palliative, therapeutic, and restorative services as authorized.”

There seems to be some overlap between what a dentist can do and what an advanced hygienist practitioner can do. The amendment is being opposed by the Dentists’ association.  During a telephone survey I had to say “I do not know enough to have an opinion” for many of the questions posed on the issue.

It is clear that Advanced Hygienist Practitioners do not have to go through a dentist to be paid. The amendment specifically establishes that government payments go directly to the advanced practitioners.

“Advanced dental hygiene practitioners shall be directly reimbursed for services covered by Medicaid or the commonwealth care health insurance program.”

However the relationship with a dentist or hospital is required for the Advanced Practitioner, how that works is seeming left to the parties to figure out. 

 An advanced dental hygiene practitioner shall not operate independently of a dentist, except for an advanced dental hygiene practitioner working for a local or state government agency or institution or practicing in a mobile or portable prevention program licensed or certified by the department of public health. 

The amendment seems to imply that the writer of the amendment was not sure if the new Advanced Hygienist Practitioner is needed. There is no evidence that it would improve oral health in the so called poor “underserved” communities. So called “minority” and disabled communities have been mentioned several times in the media as targeted communities.

“The Board of Registration in Dentistry, in consultation with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, shall develop an evaluation process that focuses on assessing the impact of advanced dental hygiene practitioners in terms of patient safety, cost-effectiveness, and access to dental services. The process shall focus on the following outcome measures: (1) number of new patients served; (2) reduction in waiting times for needed services; (3) decreased travel time for patients; (4) impact on emergency room usage for dental care; and (5) costs to the public health care system.”

I ran into my dental hygienist at a retirement party for a friend.  I found out that besides being a dental hygienist in a dentist office, she worked as a coordinator for families with children at Head Start. She did say that many of the children did not get proper dental care and that she would follow up with the children after they went to the dentist. For these children there was access and affordability.

She said that bad teeth as a child usually means a mouthful of trouble as an adult. The children in Head Start all were required to have their oral health evaluated and cared for as a condition for school.

It looks like the real issue is affordability for adults. Medicaid has restrictive benefits for adult oral care.

MassHealth has limited dental insurance for adults. We bought the Dental Insurance from MassHealth several years ago. It did not cover anything. So, not wanting throw good money after bad, we cancelled the MassHealth dental insurance. Medicare does not have dental coverage.

Senator Chandler’s amendment seems to be noble effort, but details are consequences of it are a little fuzzy.

A program at community colleges will have to be developed. Then the course have to be taken which will be at least 18 months. So there will be no Advanced Practitioner for at least 3 years.

I think it would make as much sense to have Medicaid, Medicare, and MassHealth  increase their coverage of dental care.

An alternate purpose of the amendment might to cut dentists out of the school care loop. Presently as my hygienist said all children in Head Start and on Medicare are referred to a dentist and their parents must provide a certificate of compliance. A visit to a UMASS clinic. Advanced Hygienist Practitioner might do as well at a lower cost.

I am not certain about how this will turn out. I am certain that it will be difficult with our present economic to provide the dental and health care that people need.

Hate Crimes

Hate Crimes

The mass killing at the Pulse night club in Orlando Florida has had a more profound impact on me than the mass shootings of 26 people in Newtown Connecticut. In Newton 20 of the victims are six and seven years old children. The death of the children is so sad, I find it hard to think of it even years later.

The greater impact of the Pulse night club killings is that it seemed to be a hate crime. As a boy I was most afraid of someone harming me. 

The fear of being harmed because of hatred of a protected class is something I still experience. The murder of the Black church goers in South Carolina and now the mass killings in Orlando have brought those feelings once again to the surface.

The mass murders based on protected class are like the lynchings of the 19^th and 20^th Centuries.

At least two people were a little disappointed in the vigil held Wednesday at Worcester City Hall. No one really talked about hate crimes or gun control. The rally did send a good message that many in Worcester accept the LBGT community as a part of us. As one person once said to me, “I here, I am queer. Get used to it”

In Massachusetts a hate crime is defined in M.G. L.  c. 265, s. 39. “Criminal conduct motivated by bias against one of the following protected classes is a hate crime, race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.”

 Everyone has a protected class.

There are criminal and civil penalties for hate crimes.

The Attorney General of Massachusetts has been authorized to pursue legal action against those who deprive others of their civil rights through intimidation, threats, coercion or violence. The Attorney General may file a civil injunction to enforce Massachusetts civil rights laws.

The local police and district attorneys may also add a count of hate crimes to a criminal complaint.

There is a Crime Reporting Unit consisting of a joint project of the Massachusetts State Police and the Department of Justice. This reporting unit is tasked with collective data about hate crimes. The Unit is supposed to publish the report annually. The last report I could find on line was 2013.

Criminal acts based on the following biases are included in the report.

Crimes Reporting Act covers these forms of bias:

Racial/Ethnic/National Bias:

Anti-Black

Anti-White

Anti-Asian

Anti-Hispanic

Anti-Arab

Anti-Other

Racial/Ethnic/National Group

Religious Bias:

Anti-Jewish

Anti-Catholic

Anti-Protestant

Anti-Islamic (Muslim)

Anti-Other Religion

Sexual Orientation Bias:

Anti-Gay (Male)

Anti-Lesbian

Anti-Other Sexual Orientation

Handicap Bias:

Anti-Persons with AIDS

Anti-Physically Disabled

Anti-Mentally Disabled

Gender Bias:

Anti-Female

Anti-Male

Anti-Transgender Bias

The 2013 report has the following information.

 There were 491 criminal offenses reported in 2013, the most frequent offense was harassment (33%). Acts of vandalism were second (19.1%). General civil rights violations were third (18.9%)  There were 18 aggravated assaults reported in 2013.

In 2013 prejudice against race/ethnicity or national origin was the most widely reported bias motivation, representing 49.8% of the total. Bias against sexual orientation is the second most frequent bias motivation, with 27.3% of the total. Religious bias was third with 19.1%.

 Males were the most frequent victims (60.3%) and offenders (70.1%) of hate crimes. Females were victims in 39.7% of incidents. Females as a percentage of offenders were 29.9%. Whites were also the most frequent racial category as victims (51.4%), and also as offenders (62.7%). Black victims of both genders composed 38.0%% of the total victim population. Black offenders comprised 30.0% of offenders.

Victims were reported to have some type of injury in 21.8% of cases.

Over the past 14 years, the numbers and the categories of bias motivations has remained fairly consistent. Between 2000 and 2002, approximately 500 bias motivations were reported each year. From 2003 through 2013, the number has declined to an average of about 350 bias motivations per year.

Over this time period, the most frequently reported bias motivations have remained similar: anti-Black bias has consistently been most frequent (roughly 30% of the total), followed by anti-gay (19%), anti-Semitic (14%) and anti-White (10%).

Because of the Trump and Gaffney effects the statistics are likely to have changed significantly.

Since the time of the Nat Turner fight for freedom in the 19^th Century many in America have armed themselves against the periodic rebellions by enslaved and oppressed people. It is unlikely that this fear of mostly Black and Hispanic men will disappear until the time that economic disparities and racial injustice are eradicated.

Trump, Gaffney, and the National Rifle Association have used this fear to divide us, gain power, and make a profit.

Disparate Impact

Dr. Carter

This blog is an update of a blog from 2016. 

Unfortunately this writer predicted during summer of 2015 that the  Department of Justice “dialogues on race”. were a joke and would fail. This writer said that the position of Chief Diversity officer would be just a joke or a crumb for “minorities” to fight over. 

Ms. Chacko with write

Ms. Williams

Disparate Impact is Discrimination

Disparate Impact discrimination is the legal term that describes discrimination without animus. It usually is found as a policy that results in an adversely negative impact on a protected class based on a so called neutral or nondiscriminatory policy. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled that criminal records disclosures can be considered disparate impacts. It and other organization have created new policies to ensure that people who have been formerly incarcerated or arrested will get at least a chance for an interview when applying for work.

Another example of disparate impact is the so called School to Jail pipeline which many people consider racist because it affects a disproportional number of Black Latino and poor students. The institutional mechanism and policies of School to Jail Pipeline negatively affects all students.

The school to jail pipelines’ policies are racist, not because it is based on any negative animus, but because it has a disproportional negative impact it has on Black, Latino, and other students. The solution to the disproportionally negative impact is a rewrite of policies. For Massachusetts the change has seemingly come in M.G.L. Chapter 222.

The opponents of the efforts to reform the policies leading to disparately negative impacts sometimes use the pretext of colorblindness.  We have seen this use by a local columnist to defend a lack of effective programs, the City police, and people working in public schools. In her recent column she said that White teachers are the victims.

A good teacher is a good teacher regardless of protected class or race. We should instead look at the policies that have the negative impact on our children.

It has been pointed out to me that the recent promotions of City and School officials could be an example of Disparate Impact.

The present Commissioner of the Department of Public Works in Worcester, Mr. Moosey, was, before he was appointed, the next in line to replace the then Commissioner Mr. Moylan.  

The present, Ms. Ledoux, Clerk of Worcester was next in line when she was promoted.  

The new Chief of Police, Chief Sargent, was next in line when he was promoted to replacing the retired Chief Gemme.

All the people mentioned above are White and they were all well qualified for their experience and promoted to the top positions with in their respective departments.

There is one exception to this apparent policy of promoting the employee next in line. The Assistant Superintendent of Worcester Public School District was passed over in favor of a less qualified candidate. In this particular case the Assistant Superintendent is Latino and the less qualified candidate is White.

In terms of unlawfulness this might not be disparate impact as the hiring process of department heads was not the same or similarly done as was the hiring of the School Superintendent. The School Committee made the decision regarding the Superintendent. The department heads were appointed by either the City Manager or elected by the City Council.

The School Superintendent is hired by the School Committee.

However the hiring of the Mrs. Benienda as School Superintendent certainly was not in compliance with Affirmative Action policies of the City or their intent. The policies were written to ensure that when a person in a protected class has the same or better qualifications as a candidate not in the protected class, the person in the protected class would be hired.

This Affirmative Action policy has worked very well for the Worcester Police Department for the protected class of armed forces veterans. One hundred percent of police cadets are veterans.

Is there animus in Worcester’s hiring practices? Maybe there is. Is there an adversely negative impact in Worcester’s hiring policies? Yes, there is as seen in the statistics.

All of the promotions to department heads have been White. The better qualified Latino candidate for School Superintendent is Latino and he was passed over.

Dr. Carter, the recent hire for the newly created Chief Diversity Officer position does not seem to have any power to do anything significant.  I believe she is a good person in a position requiring moral courage.

 Unfortunately this was predicted during last summer Department of Justice “dialogues on race”.  This writer said that those “ dialogues “ are a joke and that the position of Chief Diversity officer would be just a token or crumb for “minorities” to fight over. 

What a Black Man had to do in Racist America

 What a Black Man had to do in Racist America

This is a question that we all face in one way or another. What does a woman need to do in a man’s world? What does an immigrant need to do in the land of majority natives?

Muhammad Ali is being buried today, June 10, 2016.

The death of Muhammad Ali compelled me to think of his experiences and the experiences of other Black men. Ali is a hard person to write about as he was to say the least multi-faceted.  It is a condition that our alienation from the society in which we live forces itself onto us.

I liked Sonny Liston in 1964. He was a Philly fighter and I thought he would beat the crap out of the loud mouth self-promoter known as Cassius Clay.  Clay to a certain extent reminded me of the buffoons that Black men had played in the movies in order to survive in a racist society.  It was quite a shock when Clay beat Liston. Buffoons were not supposed beat Philly fighters.

When Clay changed his name to Ali, he seemed to have intentionally alienated himself forever from what is now called the mainstream.

Ali joined a group that was calling for separate societies for Black and White folks. 

Almost everyone else, in the mainstream, was called for an integrated society. He had this continuous contradiction in his life, as he had White friends and worked with White people in the boxing industry.

He was able to maintain this contradiction better than other Black men, especially with his talent for boxing. It was this ability that made him important to Black people. How to be defiant in a racist America without being beaten down to levels of great indignity.

We Black people admired him for this reason. In the bosses’ America all working people which are the majority of Black people live under the fear and threat of impoverishment for speaking out of turn or speaking truth to power.  We only have to look at MOSAIC to see this.

Almost every Black person in the City of Worcester knows this and have to some extent made compromises or sacrificed our dignity.  Some of us have gone silent. Some of us pretend to love the boss. Others continue to fight against racism and economic injustice.

When Ali lost his ability to speak as a result of his illness, he could no longer defy the system of racial and economic injustices that all working class people face. It was during his last years of relative silence that bosses in American began to express their love for Ali. 

I know that Ali was a charitable man and did good for humankind. Most of all he gave us hope and an example of defiance of the powers that be without being beaten into shame and poverty.

He did it his way. 

Stop the Bosses' War on the Poor

Stop the Bosses’ War of the Poor

City Manager Edward M. August Jr.’s bullying of the people of Worcester not to give donations to other people of Worcester (panhandlers) is problematic. It was tried before by other City bosses and failed. The failure led to the expensive lawsuit regarding “aggressive panhandling” which the City will have to pay over $1,000, 000 in legal fees.

First let me say I have not noticed an increased in “panhandling” in Worcester. I have witnessed a person asking for help at the corner of Belmont and Shrewsbury Streets being arrested on May 21, 2016. I suppose the cops have not read the Supreme Court ruling.

This man asked me and others for donations on June 4 2016.                                                                                                            He was polite, well groomed, and thankful.

Going back to the same old failed policies as the City tried in the 2000’s is problematic. It is a legal problem, a moral problem, an ethical problem, and a social problem.

It is legal problem as the City Manager is using his governmental authority in an attempt to bully people. This issue of asking for help in public has been decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. People asking for help in a public place are protected from negative governmental actions. This might include City Manager Augustus speaking as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer and telling people it is better not to donate to “panhandler”. I suppose it would be different if he said that was his “personal” opinion and not that of the City Manager.

It is unethical for City Manager Augustus to speak from the bully pulpits of his office attacking a group protected by the First Amendment. It also might be unlawful and actionable.

It is a moral problem as we have been taught to be charitable. There are somethings that government should stay out of. One of them is the bedroom. Another area government should stay out of is our choice of charitable giving. The government should not tell people to stop giving money to a church collection basket nor should it tell people to stop putting money into the coffee cup of a person asking for help in public.

It is a social issue as not all of the charities are set up to help the homeless or others asking for help in public. When City government tried to get people to give money to charities and not to “panhandlers” in the 2000s several of the charities indicated that they had no programs for them.

 At that time I asked the charities, “How did they intend to make sure that money that people wanted to go to the homeless or others asking for help in public got the money?”  Their responses were that they intended just to keep the money for their ongoing projects.

The situation is the same today. City Manager Augustus assertion that money given to charity will help the homeless and others seeking help in public is pretext and a joke.

The City Manager’s response is not dissimilar to his response to BlackLives Matter. The Manager’s intimidation and then the joke of the so called Race Dialogs  did more harm than good.

I am not surprise that the racist gang of 3 City Councillors, Rosen, Lukes, and Gaffney seems to support the City Manager’s continuation of the War on the Poor.

I am surprised that the City Manager has ignored his Jesuit training of Men and Women for Others. A training that emphasizes personal charitable works.  There is nothing charitable about the City Manager’s work at this time.

It would be a good thing to end homelessness. It is clear that City government is unable and unwilling to do so. This is especially true when City Councillors who are trying to help people are confronted by the bullying tactics of Billy Breault, Ed Augustus, and the Gang of 3. Mr. Breault made intimidating utterances to Councillor Rivera who heads up the Sub Committee on Homelessness.

The issues of homelessness does not seem solvable within the present economic system. So it makes sense for those seeking help in public to, on their own, seek their respective solutions without negative governmental interference. 

Charter Schools, The Real Race Dialoque

Charter Schools, The Real Race Dialogue

On June 1, 2016 there was an organizational first meeting for the Worcester Chapter of Save Our Public Schools (SOS). There was a coalition of people who came together because of their concerns for Worcester Public Schools.

Although not immediately obvious, the SOS organization was set up to defeat the Ballot Initiative of raising the cap on Charter Schools in the State. There will be door to door canvassing this Saturday, June 4, 2016.Dante Comparetto is the organizer for the group and its efforts.

Dante Compsretto

The organization Jobs with Justice and the Education Association of Worcester are also supporting the defeat of the raising of the charter school cap.  Members of the Msss. Human Rights, Progressive Labor Party, and Socialist Alternative also attended the meeting.

One of the officials from the EAW pointed out that this meeting of the SOS was a one issue meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to defeat the increase in Charter Schools. She did not feel that the discussion of race or the racist school to jail pipeline was appropriate.

Her comments were in response to the back and forth between several Black and Hispanic people and some people who called themselves teachers. Michael Jerry a local activist who host the Voice of the Voiceless radio show felt that the Public Schools were failing Black, Hispanic, and other poor students. Others in the audience mentioned the so called school to jail pipeline.

Ruth Rodriguez pointed out what she considered the racist draining of money from the public schools which caused the State to put into receivership three mostly Hispanic school districts, Lawrence, Holyoke, and Southbridge.

Michael Lyons who said he was a teacher for 12 years in Worcester denied that there was a racism problem. He said that all the students were treated the same. Many in the audience disagreed and a shouting match ensued.

Another person who claimed to be a teacher said that the real issue was that the disciplinary measures taken against students were not harsh enough. He blamed parents. Again like with Mr. Lyons, this man was shouted down.

It became clear the organizers and sponsor did not want to lose the teachers who seemed to be, at least in the eyes of the Black and Latino people in the room, anti-students and racist.

Councillor Khrystian King supports the cap on charter schools.

C

Councillor King

Brian Allen, Chief Financial Officer of the Worcester Public School, gave an all to short talk, but very informative talk. He described ballot initiative and the funding of Public Schools in Bill 2220. He said that Worcester Public School will be underfunded by 60 million dollars, compared to the recommendations determined by the Foundation Budget Review Commission.  About 30 million dollars of the shortfall is for special needs students.

A parent from the audience pointed out that when she wanted her special needs daughter to go a charter school, the charter refused to accept her. The parent said that the treatment of her daughter was discrimination.

A gentleman pointed out that Charter Schools in Massachusetts has its origins in the 1974 desegregation of Boston Schools. Because of desegregation many White parents in Boston set up private schools. Kevin Bulger, brother of Whitey Bulger, pulled some legislative trickery to allow charter schools in Boston and Worcester. This was done in the middle of the night and no one from Worcester knew about the maneuver.

I am in favor of the cap on charter schools, because those schools are separate and unequal. They have not shown that academically they are better that Worcester Public Schools. The charter schools have certainly drained significant resources from the Worcester Public Schools District at a time its so called minority population of students is increasing.