On Group Blogging

Carrie had created a site for Worcester group blogging on posterous on Sunday afternoon, and had a great amount of success with contributions in just 24 hours.

I had (and continue to have) no luck accessing posterous on a Mac, which is (unfortunately) a dealbreaker for me, but that in no way diminishes what Carrie has created.

There are plenty of people out there who read this blog, or other blogs, who might like to contribute something to a blog, but who don’t really want to have to worry about having to post daily or weekly.

You might be missing posts like these (goodness knows I do), and you might be willing to contribute to a series of posts about sidewalk-shoveling (or lack thereof) but don’t know how to go about that.

Among other things, that’s what the Worcester bloggers posterous site is for.  You can find out more here.

Jeff is irreplaceable, and, if there’s one thing I appreciate more and more each day, it’s that for a few years there was someone out there snapping pictures and writings posts, short and long, funny and angry, in a voice uniquely his own, in a voice I miss very much.

I’ve said this to journalists who’ve asked, and I believe that Mike said something similar as well: there is no Wormtown Taxi beat.  There is no assignment editor telling one person to start snapping pictures of Phil Palmieri’s unshoveled sidewalks, another person to write a short rant about Jim Polito, and a third to eviscerate a columnist at the local daily.

I miss those things.  I miss the bump installation crews, I miss the camera phone pictures, I miss someone referring to MOB as the “City Dictator.”  I miss knowing that someone out there was posting four or five times a day.

I think you do, too.

I am not the next Jeff Barnard.  No one is.

But if you feel like there’s a need to confirm whether a prominent city official has shoveled a sidewalk, if you feel the need to complain about something you heard on AM radio during your morning commute, if you’ve heard about a great local band, then we need you to contribute.

Start a blog, or get your feet wet with the Worcester bloggers on posterous.

Edward C. Maher, of interest

Eric’s post on North Main in general and the AT&T building in particular made me think of Edward C. Maher.  Well, every time I see that building, I think of Maher, but I’m not sure everyone’s familiar with him, so what follows are links to familiarize those of you who aren’t acquainted with his vision.

If there’s anything you hate about the downtown, you’re likely not a fan of Edward C. Maher.  If you’re grateful that Notre Dame des Canadiens was preserved from the original mall’s wrecking ball, you can thank Edward C. Maher.  If you think Union Station is a multi-million dollar white elephant, you’ve got a compatriot in Edward C. Maher.

Maher died six years ago at the age of 85.  (To access this link and subsequent links, click here first.)  Among other things, Maher can be credited (or held responsible, depending on your point of view) for the Galleria (and its associated buildings and garages), the Pearl-Elm garage, the Centrum, Plumley Village, and, yes, the AT&T building.

This Mark Melady interview from 1994 with Maher is of especial interest, if only for his prediction that Union Station would “be a $30 million white elephant.”

This is a summary of Home Federal Savings & Loan, of which Maher was president from 1951 to 1979.   When he passed away, a column and editorial eulogized him.