WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.000 Why? 00:01.000 --> 00:02.000 The funding that it gets through the contract? 00:02.000 --> 00:03.000 Yeah, but why? 00:03.000 --> 00:04.000 Why? 00:04.000 --> 00:05.000 Yeah, why it's going to lose that? 00:05.000 --> 00:06.000 This is the current contract. 00:06.000 --> 00:07.000 Because that's what they've covered, that's what it looks like, is PIP contract being 00:07.000 --> 00:08.000 proposed on the decision. 00:08.000 --> 00:09.000 I know, but that's not correct. 00:09.000 --> 00:10.000 The contract addresses it. 00:10.000 --> 00:13.000 Oh, it does, but you won't have a contract if they don't sign it. 00:13.000 --> 00:19.000 Yeah, but we keep extending it, so that is the contract by default. 00:19.000 --> 00:20.000 They'll extend it again. 00:20.000 --> 00:21.000 I hope so. 00:21.000 --> 00:22.000 Really? 00:22.000 --> 00:23.000 You want them? 00:23.000 --> 00:27.000 Hi everybody, welcome to Soapbox, I'm Maro DiPasquale. 00:27.000 --> 00:33.000 Soapbox is produced right here at WCCATV 13, the People's Channel, we're located at 415 00:33.000 --> 00:36.000 Main Street in beautiful downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. 00:36.000 --> 00:41.000 And, again, if you're interested in being on this program, we invite anyone to just 00:41.000 --> 00:46.000 give us a call at 508-755-1880, extension 10. 00:46.000 --> 00:48.000 We'll be happy to schedule you for this program. 00:48.000 --> 00:51.000 Now bear in mind, we do videotape on the last Monday of the month. 00:51.000 --> 00:56.000 Now, if that schedule doesn't meet your needs, if you have an important event or announcement 00:56.000 --> 01:01.000 or festivity you want to get out to the public, we have many opportunities, including hundreds 01:01.000 --> 01:05.000 of programs that are produced by your own neighbors here, community members, who are 01:05.000 --> 01:09.000 very welcoming to the various guests to be on their shows. 01:09.000 --> 01:15.000 So please give us a call at 508-755-1880, and be sure to connect and reach out to our 01:15.000 --> 01:17.000 city through WCCATV. 01:17.000 --> 01:24.000 Speaking of, one of the hundreds of producers happens to be my guest today. 01:24.000 --> 01:29.000 She's here and she does her own TV show called Coffee with Connie, and I'm sure she's 01:29.000 --> 01:33.000 looking for guests from time to time, so you can also give her a call to be on her show. 01:33.000 --> 01:34.000 Connie, good to see you. 01:34.000 --> 01:35.000 Hi, Paul. 01:35.000 --> 01:36.000 Mayor of Worcester, Madam Mayor, I'm sorry. 01:36.000 --> 01:37.000 Thank you. 01:37.000 --> 01:38.000 And one of your neighbors. 01:38.000 --> 01:39.000 Yeah, literally. 01:39.000 --> 01:42.000 It's always a pleasure to see you. 01:42.000 --> 01:43.000 Well, thank you. 01:43.000 --> 01:44.000 It's a pleasure to be here. 01:44.000 --> 01:45.000 You know, so many people call. 01:45.000 --> 01:50.000 When we did the citywide survey, we did an entertainment survey regarding the cable 01:50.000 --> 01:53.000 franchise stuff we were talking about earlier. 01:53.000 --> 01:56.000 You know, your show is one of the top five shows that people watch. 01:56.000 --> 01:57.000 I didn't know that. 01:57.000 --> 01:58.000 Why didn't you tell me that? 01:58.000 --> 01:59.000 Yeah, Coffee with Connie. 01:59.000 --> 02:01.000 I've been intending to. 02:01.000 --> 02:02.000 Oh, okay. 02:02.000 --> 02:03.000 So congratulations. 02:03.000 --> 02:04.000 Well, thank you. 02:04.000 --> 02:05.000 That's a pleasant surprise. 02:05.000 --> 02:10.000 And we did, it was actually a Maryland communications company did the survey citywide. 02:10.000 --> 02:15.000 And, you know, one of the questions was, you know, do you watch? 02:15.000 --> 02:21.000 71 percent of the people said they watch WCCA frequently, and out of those, the poll came 02:21.000 --> 02:24.000 back with your favorite shows, and you were one of the top five. 02:24.000 --> 02:27.000 Oh, well, that's a pleasant surprise. 02:27.000 --> 02:29.000 So it's a good surprise. 02:29.000 --> 02:31.000 How did your show rank? 02:31.000 --> 02:32.000 I'm not really surprised. 02:32.000 --> 02:35.000 We weren't even one of the, actually, I think we were like six. 02:35.000 --> 02:37.000 Oh, well, why am I sitting here? 02:37.000 --> 02:38.000 Get out of here. 02:38.000 --> 02:42.000 No, I think we were like six or something like that. 02:42.000 --> 02:44.000 Yeah, it's high because I know I watch it. 02:44.000 --> 02:45.000 Yeah. 02:45.000 --> 02:46.000 No, a lot of people do comment. 02:46.000 --> 02:49.000 I get comments all the time about this show, and I'm sure you do too. 02:49.000 --> 02:50.000 Oh, yeah. 02:50.000 --> 02:55.000 You know, it may seem or appear anecdotal, but I bet you a lot of times people come up 02:55.000 --> 02:57.000 to you and say, I see you on TV or watch the show. 02:57.000 --> 03:02.000 As I was just coming into the lobby this morning, somebody said that to me. 03:02.000 --> 03:03.000 Is that right? 03:03.000 --> 03:04.000 Yeah. 03:04.000 --> 03:10.000 So you know the people watching, and I think they enjoy, in your particular case, the show 03:10.000 --> 03:11.000 was in a different location. 03:11.000 --> 03:18.000 Yeah, we like to go to coffee shops and promote local businesses and go into the neighborhoods, 03:18.000 --> 03:25.000 although I've had the use of conference rooms if I was interviewing a CEO. 03:25.000 --> 03:31.000 We did it over at the T&G once when I was interviewing Bruce Bennett because that's 03:31.000 --> 03:36.000 where he had his coffee and the Worcester Club. 03:36.000 --> 03:38.000 So we've been out and about. 03:38.000 --> 03:39.000 Yeah. 03:39.000 --> 03:40.000 Yeah. 03:40.000 --> 03:42.000 Do you find people, is that part of your program? 03:42.000 --> 03:44.000 Do you ask, like, where do they normally have coffee? 03:44.000 --> 03:45.000 Yes. 03:45.000 --> 03:46.000 Do you show, you do. 03:46.000 --> 03:47.000 That's it. 03:47.000 --> 03:48.000 Some people say, I have it in my kitchen. 03:48.000 --> 03:49.000 All right, we'll be there. 03:49.000 --> 03:50.000 Put the pot on. 03:50.000 --> 03:51.000 We're coming over to your kitchen. 03:51.000 --> 03:52.000 Well, that's nice. 03:52.000 --> 03:53.000 Yeah. 03:53.000 --> 03:57.000 So there really are a lot of really kind of quaint places in the city for coffee. 03:57.000 --> 03:58.000 There are. 03:58.000 --> 04:02.000 I've learned about a lot of places, and the people that run the businesses, it's very 04:02.000 --> 04:04.000 tough being in the food service business. 04:04.000 --> 04:05.000 Oh, yeah. 04:05.000 --> 04:09.000 Whether you're in a restaurant or a little coffee shop in the neighborhood, because my 04:09.000 --> 04:14.000 parents both were immigrants and they worked in a family restaurant. 04:14.000 --> 04:20.000 So I grew up in a family restaurant, and it was one of those seven days a week, 24 hours 04:20.000 --> 04:22.000 a day, constantly there. 04:22.000 --> 04:24.000 You couldn't take a vacation. 04:24.000 --> 04:27.000 And the failure rate is very high among those businesses. 04:27.000 --> 04:32.000 So when we talk about Worcester and the great success on Shrewsbury Street and now Water 04:32.000 --> 04:36.000 Street and Green Street area, you know, that's hard work, and I'm very sympathetic to those 04:36.000 --> 04:37.000 folks. 04:37.000 --> 04:38.000 Yeah, absolutely. 04:38.000 --> 04:43.000 Now, do you find from doing a program like that where you take, you know, kind of, I 04:43.000 --> 04:48.000 don't want to say forces you, but you have to commit a certain amount of time every week 04:48.000 --> 04:49.000 to sit down with somebody? 04:49.000 --> 04:52.000 Do you find that that drives you closer to your constituents? 04:52.000 --> 04:56.000 Does it give you something different that you may not have had years ago? 04:56.000 --> 05:03.000 Well, you'd be surprised how often people feel very similar on certain issues, because 05:03.000 --> 05:05.000 we discuss Worcester on the shows. 05:05.000 --> 05:12.000 And my attempt, even though I may have, like Roy Lucas from The Surge, talking about his 05:12.000 --> 05:19.000 football team, we still talk about his experiences in Worcester and what his feelings are about 05:19.000 --> 05:24.000 what basically was his hometown and what he'd like to see happening in the future. 05:24.000 --> 05:28.000 And a lot of people overlap on their opinions about Worcester. 05:28.000 --> 05:31.000 They think it's a great location, a great place to live and work. 05:31.000 --> 05:35.000 They love the cultural and ethnic diversity. 05:35.000 --> 05:39.000 The location is always a plus rather than a minus. 05:39.000 --> 05:44.000 And everybody has strong feelings about downtown Worcester, and that's where this building 05:44.000 --> 05:46.000 is located, in downtown Worcester. 05:46.000 --> 05:52.000 And lots of folks remember what it used to be like, and they really have a strong yearning 05:52.000 --> 05:55.000 for a return to a bustling, busy downtown. 05:55.000 --> 05:59.000 And I don't think you can really do that unless you make it a neighborhood. 05:59.000 --> 06:01.000 You've got to have people living here. 06:01.000 --> 06:04.000 And that was part of the city square concept, mixed use. 06:04.000 --> 06:08.000 You have retail, commercial and residential. 06:08.000 --> 06:14.000 Unfortunately, it's been off to a very slow start, and we haven't seen the cranes yet 06:14.000 --> 06:18.000 or the shovels in the ground or the mall going down. 06:18.000 --> 06:21.000 So we're still waiting eagerly for that. 06:21.000 --> 06:25.000 I can remember back as far as two or three years ago, we've been thinking, 06:25.000 --> 06:28.000 is this the summer we're going to get the crane? 06:28.000 --> 06:30.000 Is the wrecking block out? 06:30.000 --> 06:31.000 So it does take a while. 06:31.000 --> 06:39.000 Are we pulling away from that concept of the downtown neighborhood kind of residential? 06:39.000 --> 06:41.000 Well, with all the big projects that we've had going on, 06:41.000 --> 06:45.000 and our attention is always drawn to those big, sexy projects, 06:45.000 --> 06:50.000 whether it's the courthouse or a DCU or the convention center or the new hotel 06:50.000 --> 06:54.000 or the walkways connecting the hotel with the convention center, 06:54.000 --> 06:58.000 which now is a pipe dream because we can't afford it right now. 06:58.000 --> 07:01.000 But they're still working on it. 07:01.000 --> 07:06.000 Those, I think, detour us a little bit from the real strength of this city, 07:06.000 --> 07:13.000 because once you look at any kind of revitalization, you have to start from the strengths. 07:13.000 --> 07:16.000 Don't say, oh, we're weak here, let's fill that gap. 07:16.000 --> 07:18.000 Let's say, where are we strong and how can we build on it? 07:18.000 --> 07:23.000 In spite of our big-town agenda and our big projects, 07:23.000 --> 07:28.000 what I think is the saving grace here is that we have a small-town attitude. 07:28.000 --> 07:31.000 We have hospitality. We have closeness. 07:31.000 --> 07:36.000 And in all the events that I've been going to in the four months I've been mayor, 07:36.000 --> 07:42.000 I am still pleasantly surprised at the number of people that volunteer in this city 07:42.000 --> 07:45.000 and that work in various institutions or for causes, 07:45.000 --> 07:50.000 literally thousands of people who give hundreds and thousands of hours for free. 07:50.000 --> 07:54.000 And it is amazing that if you didn't have those volunteers, 07:54.000 --> 07:56.000 I mean, things would come to a dead halt in Worcester. 07:56.000 --> 08:02.000 So the small-town attitude, the closeness, the strength of the neighborhoods, 08:02.000 --> 08:09.000 is all something we should, I think, draw on and make stronger. 08:09.000 --> 08:14.000 Everyone cites Providence as a great example of revitalization. 08:14.000 --> 08:20.000 Well, the strategy in Providence was to dedicate all their dollars 08:20.000 --> 08:24.000 into a specific geographical area in downtown. 08:24.000 --> 08:28.000 You go beyond those boundaries and you see decaying neighborhoods. 08:28.000 --> 08:35.000 And you see crime and you see the kind of degradation of a city that should not exist 08:35.000 --> 08:37.000 and does not exist here. 08:37.000 --> 08:39.000 Look at all the great things that... 08:39.000 --> 08:41.000 So it's kind of like a facade. It's like a signature, a signatory facade. 08:41.000 --> 08:43.000 Yeah, or we don't have a facade. 08:43.000 --> 08:48.000 And part of the disappointment is that we've had so many large projects in downtown Worcester 08:48.000 --> 08:51.000 that we don't have that strength of neighborhood. 08:51.000 --> 08:55.000 We don't have the residential atmosphere that we should have 08:55.000 --> 08:59.000 that brings people, that keeps people in downtown Worcester for 24 hours a day, 08:59.000 --> 09:02.000 never mind 18 hours, 24 hours a day. 09:02.000 --> 09:03.000 And we should have that. 09:03.000 --> 09:06.000 And hopefully with some of the new development going on, 09:06.000 --> 09:10.000 we'll see more of the condos, the townhouses, those kinds of concepts 09:10.000 --> 09:13.000 coming in closer to the heart of the city. 09:13.000 --> 09:16.000 When we look at what some of the neighborhoods have been doing, 09:16.000 --> 09:22.000 if you've done any work at the South Worcester Industrial Park area, 09:22.000 --> 09:26.000 there is an enormous amount of positive work being done 09:26.000 --> 09:29.000 and probably was one of the worst parts of the city. 09:29.000 --> 09:33.000 New homes going up, just clearing the way. 09:33.000 --> 09:38.000 Clark University is a very good neighbor because they've been participating in the effort. 09:38.000 --> 09:42.000 And the South Worcester Community Development Corporation 09:42.000 --> 09:47.000 has been on the cutting edge of design and energy efficiency. 09:47.000 --> 09:50.000 Long before, we were talking about it in government, 09:50.000 --> 09:55.000 long before it even became trendy in this part of the country, 09:55.000 --> 09:59.000 because the northwest part of Seattle, Washington, Oregon, 09:59.000 --> 10:07.000 even parts of California have been leaders in the country on green building and energy efficiency. 10:07.000 --> 10:11.000 Here where we need it most in the northeast, in New England, 10:11.000 --> 10:17.000 where we rely heavily on energy and where we have old industrial cities 10:17.000 --> 10:24.000 that needed to be revived but in a very environmentally friendly manner 10:24.000 --> 10:28.000 and looking at energy efficiency goals. 10:28.000 --> 10:30.000 We haven't done that until recently. 10:30.000 --> 10:34.000 Now all of a sudden, members of the city council are so aggressive on this subject 10:34.000 --> 10:37.000 that I am pleasantly surprised. 10:37.000 --> 10:41.000 When I suggested that we go green on City Square, 10:41.000 --> 10:45.000 I had to sit down with Young Park and he basically told me, 10:45.000 --> 10:48.000 and this was three or four years ago, 10:48.000 --> 10:54.000 that he could not go green because it affected his bottom line and it was not marketable. 10:54.000 --> 10:55.000 He can't say that today. 10:55.000 --> 11:02.000 In fact, he is saying he is going to try and do as much of Leeds strategies as possible. 11:02.000 --> 11:11.000 Leeds is an industry-based certification process in building. 11:11.000 --> 11:17.000 It is leadership in energy and environmental design and it is used throughout the country. 11:17.000 --> 11:21.000 So when we talk about Leeds, we are talking about a standard and practice 11:21.000 --> 11:29.000 that dictates what is environmentally appropriate in building and design and energy efficiency strategies. 11:29.000 --> 11:35.000 Unfortunately, Gateway Project doesn't seem to have that built into it right now. 11:35.000 --> 11:43.000 That is unfortunate because WPI is on the cutting edge when it comes to teaching their students these principles. 11:43.000 --> 11:49.000 Although WPI has applied some of those principles in their campus buildings, 11:49.000 --> 11:56.000 they have not done that major commercial endeavor in Lincoln Square, which is unfortunate. 11:56.000 --> 12:02.000 Do you think there may also be some federal funds that might be available to help move that forward? 12:02.000 --> 12:06.000 I don't know that there are a lot of federal funds for anything anymore. 12:06.000 --> 12:12.000 As we speak, Congress is still dealing with the funding of the war in Iraq. 12:12.000 --> 12:14.000 That has been a drain. 12:14.000 --> 12:18.000 I think it is soon to come though because it is just on so many people's minds, 12:18.000 --> 12:20.000 especially with gas prices now over three bucks. 12:20.000 --> 12:27.000 All the current surveys indicate that people are less optimistic in this country than they were ten years ago or five years ago. 12:27.000 --> 12:33.000 We have this general feeling of unhappiness. 12:33.000 --> 12:38.000 It is showing over and even in this budget that we are dealing with on the City Council, 12:38.000 --> 12:42.000 I have more people who are telling me don't raise taxes. 12:42.000 --> 12:47.000 I have had it because they are being burdened with increased energy costs. 12:47.000 --> 12:50.000 We are going to have increased food costs. 12:50.000 --> 12:58.000 The weather patterns are changing and are changing farming habits and techniques. 12:58.000 --> 13:02.000 I think in the next ten years we are going to see more local farming. 13:02.000 --> 13:05.000 Unfortunately, our seasons are now unpredictable. 13:05.000 --> 13:13.000 We are going to see people buying smaller cars, more energy efficiency just using light bulbs. 13:13.000 --> 13:19.000 These are very simple, basic things to more sophisticated design issues. 13:19.000 --> 13:27.000 I went to a farmer's market a few weeks ago and stopped at a table and they had this beautiful pottery. 13:27.000 --> 13:29.000 I said to the woman, this is nice. Did you make it? 13:29.000 --> 13:31.000 She said, yes, I made it. There was yon there. 13:31.000 --> 13:35.000 She said, yon is from my sheep. I make the pottery. I grow my own vegetables. 13:35.000 --> 13:37.000 You guys can buy some vegetables. 13:37.000 --> 13:40.000 I thought this must be where we are all headed because things are changing. 13:40.000 --> 13:41.000 I hope it is not a trend. 13:41.000 --> 13:44.000 In the early 70s when we had the oil embargo, that was the trend. 13:44.000 --> 13:49.000 Everybody was going to get back to the earth and do things and be more self-reliant. 13:49.000 --> 13:58.000 Then all of a sudden when the price of gas went down, the big cars came back and our habits got lazy and sloppy again. 13:58.000 --> 14:01.000 We can't have that kind of rebound. 14:01.000 --> 14:06.000 I think it is different now though with the climate action plan that the city has developed. 14:06.000 --> 14:12.000 We are very sensitive to the issue of energy savings and recycling. 14:12.000 --> 14:25.000 Now we have the EPA angry at the city or demanding that we spend another $200 million in terms of the Blackstone Canal and the sewage that is pumped into there. 14:25.000 --> 14:31.000 You are seeing everybody on the city council and I think in the general public educating themselves. 14:31.000 --> 14:43.000 I tried to get some, this is a commercial name, the Hardy Board installed on my house. 14:43.000 --> 14:47.000 That is a cement based product rather than wood or vinyl. 14:47.000 --> 14:51.000 I had the hardest time finding somebody who knew how to install it. 14:51.000 --> 14:55.000 While you may have these products out there, there is a gap. 14:55.000 --> 15:01.000 We have to teach our vocad students, our tech students, the name has changed. 15:01.000 --> 15:14.000 Those techniques we have to have an educated workforce that deals with those green issues, energy savings and efficiency issues. 15:14.000 --> 15:21.000 Knows how to do the practical installations and renovations. 15:21.000 --> 15:25.000 Is this what inspired you with the Green Awards to move that forward? 15:25.000 --> 15:27.000 Part of that, yes. 15:27.000 --> 15:32.000 I think we need to really highlight that this is more than a trend and it is more than a cute idea. 15:32.000 --> 15:37.000 We gave the award to seven different categories. 15:37.000 --> 15:41.000 There were overlapping, one category had three winners. 15:41.000 --> 15:49.000 We started with some homeowners in the city who had installed solar panels and the energy efficiency there. 15:49.000 --> 15:55.000 We even cited Dougherty High School when they had to replace heating and ventilation systems. 15:55.000 --> 16:04.000 How they did it in an energy efficient way and had as high as a 70% savings on the usage in that building. 16:04.000 --> 16:16.000 So it can be done and since installers and manufacturers are becoming much more sensitive to the issue, I think they are ready now to do that. 16:16.000 --> 16:21.000 I would like to see more energy efficient houses actually being constructed as new homes. 16:21.000 --> 16:29.000 We are going to have to do much more with our zoning and design and building codes to spur that on. 16:29.000 --> 16:31.000 We haven't done that yet. 16:31.000 --> 16:33.000 There is one or two companies that I am aware of. 16:33.000 --> 16:38.000 I have a friend who has a company up in New Hampshire that dig these thermal wells. 16:38.000 --> 16:42.000 Thermal? That is going to be very trendy but you can only do it with new constructions. 16:42.000 --> 16:46.000 It has to be new from the start up and they dig down into the ground. 16:46.000 --> 16:47.000 Geothermal. 16:47.000 --> 16:48.000 Geothermal. 16:48.000 --> 16:51.000 It is an idea worth pursuing. 16:51.000 --> 16:53.000 No energy cost at all. 16:53.000 --> 16:55.000 I don't know, no energy cost. 16:55.000 --> 16:57.000 It is going to reduce it. 16:57.000 --> 17:10.000 In the winter it will keep it warm and in the summer cool because of that constant heat or temperature you get when you go five or six feet under the surface. 17:10.000 --> 17:15.000 So your constituents are telling you to not raise taxes, property taxes. 17:15.000 --> 17:17.000 Oh absolutely and that doesn't make any difference. 17:17.000 --> 17:24.000 If they are working in the system or out of it they are still upset with the cost of living in Worcester and it is mostly the housing costs. 17:24.000 --> 17:30.000 And the housing costs still haven't, my son is getting married and he is looking for a home. 17:30.000 --> 17:40.000 And I am amazed that people still have high expectations of the value of their real estate even though the market and the foreclosures are driving prices down. 17:40.000 --> 17:55.000 So we are going to be seeing I think many more foreclosures from the subprime mortgages that were out there, the predators who are out there looking for people who really couldn't afford to pay the loans and the mortgages that they were applying for. 17:55.000 --> 18:01.000 Now I know a lot of our budget depends on state funds. I think it is over half is state funded. 18:01.000 --> 18:03.000 I don't have the figures right in front of me. 18:03.000 --> 18:06.000 Well usually about 53, 54 percent. 18:06.000 --> 18:15.000 Right. Now has there ever been any proposals on the council to say let's keep our spending down to what the property tax income is? 18:15.000 --> 18:21.000 That is sort of difficult to do because 85 percent of our budget is salary and entitlements. 18:21.000 --> 18:33.000 And so if we are going to be serious about keeping expenses down since only 15 percent is non-salary related, we have to look at the way contracts are bargained. 18:33.000 --> 18:37.000 And that is going to take cooperation from the bargaining units. 18:37.000 --> 18:44.000 And that is difficult to get because the bargaining units are mostly staffed by people who are seniors in the system. 18:44.000 --> 18:53.000 I mean in terms of seniority, they have been there the longest, they benefit the most from contracts going up because it is calculated in their retirement figures. 18:53.000 --> 19:04.000 And when we, for example, look at all the slots that we unfortunately are going to be cutting on the school side and lament the fact that we are losing our younger people, 19:04.000 --> 19:23.000 the phrase has always been used that we eat our young over there without any kind of attempt to look at how we bargain, what our pay rates are, our salary rates, etc. 19:23.000 --> 19:29.000 I always ask for every year the 250 highest paid employees. 19:29.000 --> 19:39.000 And we don't compete with the private sector anymore. We are better than the private sector, especially when you look at the benefits that are attached to it. 19:39.000 --> 19:49.000 We had to bargain long and hard in our last round of negotiations to convince unions to have a 20 percent contribution rate on the health insurance premium. 19:49.000 --> 20:02.000 20 percent. Most private employers are increasing that percentage. So if it is 50-50 at least, that is the rate. 20:02.000 --> 20:07.000 But we also got 25 percent for our new employees who are hired after a certain date. 20:07.000 --> 20:14.000 But what good does that do when health insurance goes up? 10 or 15 percent a year. And that is a budget buster and it is a crisis. 20:14.000 --> 20:20.000 If we didn't have a war going on in this country, we weren't supporting a war. 20:20.000 --> 20:30.000 I think we would recognize that that is a crisis that is going to drive this country basically into almost a bankruptcy. 20:30.000 --> 20:34.000 Of course countries don't go bankrupt. They just print more money. But it is a crisis. 20:34.000 --> 20:44.000 And that is an overused word. But health insurance has never gotten reformed and it doesn't look like it is going to for a long time. 20:44.000 --> 20:49.000 And as a result, the cost is going to skyrocket more and more, cut into budgets. 20:49.000 --> 20:58.000 I mean we raise taxes just to pay for salaries, pensions and health insurance. How does that get you any more services? 20:58.000 --> 21:04.000 How does that make the city a better place to live? How does that provide for better education for the kids? 21:04.000 --> 21:15.000 It doesn't. And we are struggling with that overwhelming burden without making the quality of life significantly better. 21:15.000 --> 21:23.000 Now, has there been any thought to the issue? I know we are lucky we have what they call school choice here in Worcester. 21:23.000 --> 21:30.000 And there is a lot of busing going on. And we have a very high level of diversity in all our neighborhoods now. 21:30.000 --> 21:37.000 I would say pretty equal in most of the places. Has there ever been any thought to maybe eliminating the busing? 21:37.000 --> 21:48.000 I had suggested that casually and the response was that if you make kids pay for busing or make them walk, they won't go to school. 21:48.000 --> 21:50.000 Oh, okay. We used to walk. I don't know. 21:50.000 --> 21:57.000 I walk too, yeah. It's a good thing because that's the only thing that's kept me from getting really old and decrepit. 21:57.000 --> 21:59.000 It's good to get some fresh air. 21:59.000 --> 22:07.000 It is, yes. I know. And kids don't get it in school. I mean this is a very sedentary group of children that we're raising. 22:07.000 --> 22:13.000 They spend most of their time in front of a computer. They don't go out and play anymore because it's dangerous to do that. 22:13.000 --> 22:24.000 It is dangerous because you don't know who's in the neighborhood and all the publicity about predators and sexual abuse is somewhat frightening. 22:24.000 --> 22:36.000 If I were a child being raised now, I think I would be overwhelmed by all the fears that are pounded into kids. 22:36.000 --> 22:47.000 So as a result, parents keep them inside. They go in front of a computer and who do they meet there? Predators and strangers who you've let into your house even though the house is bolted like a prison. 22:47.000 --> 22:52.000 Right, yeah. It's ironic. We have to keep our eyes on the kids the whole time. 22:52.000 --> 22:54.000 Absolutely. 22:54.000 --> 23:02.000 The issue of the traditional Mayor's Walk came up recently. We talked about that I thought a few shows ago. 23:02.000 --> 23:08.000 You're going to continue that tradition and you still kind of do it through your TV shows too. 23:08.000 --> 23:13.000 Looking forward to something soon. Do you have any plans to go out and walk? 23:13.000 --> 23:17.000 We've been requested, the Mayor's Office has been requested by a lot of folks to have Mayor's Walks. 23:17.000 --> 23:24.000 I've talked to a few counselors about it. It's a matter of where to go and how to set it up. 23:24.000 --> 23:34.000 Finally, the weather has settled down because any time before now it would have been very risky given the unpredictable nature of the weather. 23:34.000 --> 23:39.000 But that was an unfortunate discussion on the City Council. 23:39.000 --> 23:45.000 The item was filed by Councilor Rushton to have the City Manager take at least seven walks. 23:45.000 --> 23:57.000 I was concerned that we were then turning the Manager into a pseudo-Mayor who was going to have to deal with his own political base and act like the voice of the people. 23:57.000 --> 24:00.000 That is clearly the job of the City Councilors. 24:00.000 --> 24:11.000 Everyone who supported that particular order then decided it was better as Councilor Rushton decided to withdraw it. 24:11.000 --> 24:17.000 I think you're probably going to see a lot of other items that don't make sense being filed. 24:17.000 --> 24:27.000 As Nick Katsop was saying in his Sunday column, silly season and people are likely to do things during the election cycle they wouldn't normally do. 24:27.000 --> 24:29.000 Unfortunately, that was one of them. 24:29.000 --> 24:33.000 It's some exposure time, I guess, or whatever. 24:33.000 --> 24:41.000 From my recollection, past walks always included members from the administration who came. 24:41.000 --> 24:45.000 If not, the City Manager wasn't tagging along, there was the Chief of Police or somebody. 24:45.000 --> 24:55.000 It's the Mayor who invites everyone and the Manager is always cooperative and lets members of his administration participate in those events. 24:55.000 --> 25:03.000 They're mostly for the benefit of the neighbors and for the public officials that need to have that kind of input. 25:03.000 --> 25:17.000 In the last few minutes I thought we'd talk about the Mayor's youth philanthropy and civic involvement council. 25:17.000 --> 25:21.000 Why is this important and tell us what's going on with this? 25:21.000 --> 25:29.000 As you know, for many years our voter participation rate has been dismal. 25:29.000 --> 25:33.000 It's been awful and it's embarrassing and it's been troublesome. 25:33.000 --> 25:41.000 When we look at how to get more voters, we have to look at young voters. 25:41.000 --> 25:48.000 Getting them involved is a crucial part of having them understand what government is all about 25:48.000 --> 25:59.000 and what they can do in terms of acting as a real force of change in their city, where they live and where they go to school. 25:59.000 --> 26:08.000 I thought the best way to do that, by the way, this has been a program that's been growing under the leadership Maureen Benyenda down at South High. 26:08.000 --> 26:16.000 I was fortunate enough to attend some leadership sessions they had teaching them about government. 26:16.000 --> 26:22.000 As a result, a few of the kids are volunteering regularly in the Mayor's office. 26:22.000 --> 26:30.000 When they were looking for some real involvement in City Hall, we thought it would be appropriate to get them physically in there, 26:30.000 --> 26:37.000 have meetings in there, a meeting place where they could deal with the issues that were on their agenda. 26:37.000 --> 26:47.000 So we got them a meeting place in room 303 where they can hold scheduled meetings to deal with grantsmanship. 26:47.000 --> 26:53.000 They have a grant from Worcester Community Foundation and they dispense that according to guidelines. 26:53.000 --> 27:02.000 So they learn how to deal with grants and how to deal with the various agencies in the city and what the goals of those agencies are. 27:02.000 --> 27:12.000 They're also on at least a half a dozen, they serve as members, at least a half a dozen advisory boards for various agencies in the city. 27:12.000 --> 27:21.000 And they're getting involved in the kind of work that really forces them to understand how the city works and how they can make a difference. 27:21.000 --> 27:23.000 And I am really impressed with the kids. 27:23.000 --> 27:26.000 What are their age requirements? 27:26.000 --> 27:27.000 They're high school students. 27:27.000 --> 27:27.000 High school? 27:27.000 --> 27:28.000 Yeah. 27:28.000 --> 27:29.000 That's fantastic. 27:29.000 --> 27:30.000 It is. 27:30.000 --> 27:36.000 And the manager is coming out with his own recommendations for having a youth coordinator. 27:36.000 --> 27:37.000 Yeah. 27:37.000 --> 27:40.000 So is that something that you think is an important step to do? 27:40.000 --> 27:42.000 Would you agree with that, with a youth coordinator? 27:42.000 --> 27:45.000 I think if you don't start now, you're going to lose folks. 27:45.000 --> 27:52.000 And it's already proven that most people feel cut off from their government. 27:52.000 --> 27:59.000 They don't feel like they can make a difference and they don't feel that involvement, even voting, is an important part of their life. 27:59.000 --> 28:00.000 Yeah. 28:00.000 --> 28:06.000 I know we had some kids here that they just finished because they're going, you know, summer's here and they're done with their program. 28:06.000 --> 28:09.000 But they did a fantastic job. 28:09.000 --> 28:14.000 And they learn, they really do get excited when they can interface with the community. 28:14.000 --> 28:15.000 It makes their life meaningful. 28:15.000 --> 28:16.000 Yeah, right. 28:16.000 --> 28:21.000 And even just to go, like some of them will go and they cover, you gave an award, they go and they cover that, they get excited. 28:21.000 --> 28:22.000 Or they'll go to the convention or something. 28:22.000 --> 28:23.000 It was great. 28:23.000 --> 28:24.000 We're out of time, Marla. 28:24.000 --> 28:26.000 Oh, we were just getting started. 28:26.000 --> 28:27.000 I know. 28:27.000 --> 28:28.000 It's good to see you. 28:28.000 --> 28:29.000 Thank you, Marla. 28:29.000 --> 28:31.000 We look forward to seeing more of you on Coffee with Connie. 28:31.000 --> 28:32.000 Thank you. 28:32.000 --> 28:33.000 Thank you for being here. 28:33.000 --> 28:35.000 I want to thank Mayor Lueck for joining us on Soapbox. 28:35.000 --> 28:37.000 I'm Marla Diepersquale. 28:37.000 --> 29:06.000 Until next time, I look forward to seeing you on WCCATV13, the People's Channel. 29:07.000 --> 29:26.000 Thank you.