I live in NJ. The state of NJ, in both percentage and absolute terms, lost more manufacturing jobs than any other state in the union and it's not even close. Every single NJ county lost more jobs than the US average, and most lost >58% of jobs And yet, nobody interviews "the forgotten man" here.

Over the past decade, The City of Austin, Texas has permitted more housing in a typical year than the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 2022 alone, Austin approved 24,227 units, about 1.5× the number permitted across Massachusetts that year.

All the dudes out there with two $1600/month loans on their lifted pickup trucks when gas hits $6/gal

Me enjoying truffle-flavored anything knowing full well no actual truffle has ever passed within a hundred miles of the factory that produced the flavor compound

Arrgh.

Seemingly another in Mike Johnson’s “I didn’t see that” series, this time with the president saying “it’s a war.” Or maybe Johnson is reclaiming Congressional authority to declare war! Who knew!

> @javierblas.bsky.social @bloomberg.com

Federal government employment is down 324k since the start of 2025 amidst DOGE cuts—that's more than 10% of the Federal workforce The large drop in October was caused by many workers who had been on deferred resignation becoming officially unemployed

NEW US JOBS DATA: Non-farm Payrolls: -92k Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (+0.1%) Prime Age (25-54) Employment-Population Ratio: 80.7% (-0.1%) Average Hourly Earnings: +0.4%

it's the 256th anniversary of the Boston Massacre.

Again the supreme court ruling would have been the perfect moment for the Trump administration to save face and retreat on the tariffs, which haven't worked and are immensely unpopular. Instead he's doubling down. www.apricitas.io/p/the-suprem...

I know this is small potatoes, but why does Planet Fitness now have tablets playing ads on its sinks?? “Sinkside billboards” they said. I’m sure this will become more common over time but it’s gross gross gross

The US has a multi-party Democracy, its just like everything we do: kinda dumb or needlessly complicated. In this case: both. In America the parties are effectively governing and opposition coalitions, and you don't declare what "party" (caucus) you're with until after you're elected.

A little book haul from Bedlam Books today

Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war.

Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.

The state of the union address was like 72 hours before the US and Israel chose to attack Iran’s capital and call for regime change, and Trump did not even mention his policy toward Iran before Congress, much less ask for a declaration of war.

Remember when Congress authorized the use of force against Iran? Me neither. Any U.S. attack on Iran would violate U.S. and international law.

I’m extremely curious how casella is ahead of schedule. Did it do some Wednesday routes on Thursday, see that there was no recycling, and then say “we’re done! we‘ll get the rest tomorrow!”

Forget a dome, Worcester is under a snow globe

democrats should internalize that this is what their colleagues think of them and act accordingly

The fight in Holden over multi family zoning is ludicrous. They picked a QUARRY to rezone, it seems. it’s never seeing development. “new residents will overcrowd our school” ok build new ones with the new tax revenue from prop 2.5 “worcester should be doing more“ Worcester IS building. you’re not.

Skynet AI doomerism? Overhyped. This shit is the real doom - people who don't care about learning willingly turn their brains off. We don't need terminators when we have self-termination.

in america, if you go over your 3 minute allotment to speak, men with guns come to take you away.

People really do think it's an infringement on their rights to punish them for speeding. Also, insurance premiums won't go up if people simply...don't speed (and if we redesign our roads to lower speeds). www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/19/n...

Hey check out this new series of maps on the 2025 Worcester election — including data you can download! New but now in a version that works on desktop and mobile experience.arcgis.com/experience/c...

The Death Star board room scene is low key the funniest scene in cinematic history. It’s a work meeting with an evil samurai wizard everyone else finds mildly annoying and when his manager tells him to stop killing a coworker with his magicka, he has to listen.

i‘m using it for a column but i want to share here this line from lincoln on jefferson because it is applies to our situation as well. you can find it in his april 6, 1859 letter to henry l. pierce.

“The U.S. no longer has emission standards of any meaning,” said Margo T. Oge, who served as the E.P.A.’s top vehicle emissions regulator under three presidents and has since advised both automakers and environmental groups… “Nothing. Zero,” she added. “Not many countries have zero.”

Just outrageous behavior

i’ll end this little brainstorm by just asking what it is, exactly, that the MAGA right likes about the United States, since it explicitly rejects those things that make this nation distinctive — its pluralism, its revolutionary heritage and egalitarian aspirations, and its republican institutions

interesting to think that revolutionary era americans understood themselves as making a break with the “old world” and establishing a new civilization. and crucially, this new civilization rested on republican self-government, not “sovereignty.”

One of the funniest things I've seen on this site in some time

Wooden bakery slaps

I’m probably late to the party, but this is super cool housingdata.app

Ok I’ve only been going to see things here this season, but this, Dracula, and Our Town have been bangers

Yes! one continuously from high school, another I became friends with afterwards, and a few others I recently reconnected with. On top of some college friends. My partner has even closer friends from high school

Glad to have a local theater, like the Worcester County Light Opera Company, to see fun productions! Here tonight to see “Eureka Day” which this past month feels especially prescient

That’s lame as shit. lots of problems with the Mandalorian’s story choices, but man, the N-1 he acquired was sleek and consequential. Why can’t we just keep that???

Because this administration lies all the way up and down… and their enablers in the House and Senate gobble it all up

(1) regionalizing seems great… but idk how to get around existing regional districts also losing students, (2) individual towns and districts oppose regionalizing even if it’s to their detriment to do so, (3) funding these schools would solve a lot of problems! www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/13/m...

Shoutout to GOP Senator Cassidy, who was the deciding vote to destroy health care research in the US

You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.

without a doubt, I think Yume Dumplings is the best lunch spot in downtown Worcester

what

some of the key findings: biking in Cambridge has increased by 250% between 2004 and 2024, with a 283% increase in the number of kids biking between 2014 and 2024. But the bike network has only increased 128% in size. for all the Worcester bike lane Opponents: build it and they will come

I was extremely heartened by the meeting. YES there were quite a few concerns about traffic — traffic that exists and will continue to exist as long as most people drive — but MANY people spoke in support of the redesign and specifically in favor of alt. 1, the separate and raised bike lanes

I’m at the Newton Square / Highland St redesign meeting (or will be as soon as I go in) and I fear that this modest proposal — an additional bike lane on highland st (without removing any travel lanes!) and MARKED paths at the otherwise unmarked roundabout — will be torpedoed somehow