AG investigation details decades of abuse allegations in Worcester Diocese
A sweeping state investigation into clergy sexual abuse documented allegations involving 216 survivors and 90 clergy connected to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester. The attorney general’s office said its seven-year investigation found systemic failures that included church leaders failing to act on allegations and warning signs, transferring accused or offending priests without disclosing why and inconsistently reporting allegations to law enforcement. Investigators cautioned that the totals compiled from diocesan records and other sources are not an exact accounting and were not filtered based on an assessment of the credibility of each allegation. Read more
Library director Jason Homer leaving Worcester
Jason Homer is leaving the Worcester Public Library after nearly six years as executive director to take the top job at the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland. Homer’s final day in Worcester will be Nov. 6, and he is expected to begin Dec. 1 overseeing a 19-branch system with roughly 500 employees and a $50 million operating budget. Tressa Santillo, Worcester’s director for Library Innovation and Public Services, will serve as interim executive director while the library board conducts a national search for Homer’s successor. Read more
Police chief says Worcester needs about 60 more officers
Police Chief Paul Saucier told city councilors Tuesday that he wants to increase the Worcester Police Department from its current 478 officers to at least 538. Saucier said Worcester has fewer officers per capita than several comparable cities and described staffing pressures that can leave significantly fewer officers available on the street after vacations, hospital duty and other assignments are accounted for. His goal would be to increase staffing on each shift while also adding resources for traffic enforcement. Read more
39 Worcester fire hydrants are out of service
Thirty-nine of Worcester’s 6,084 fire hydrants are currently out of service, but Fire Chief Martin Dyer told councilors the system is designed with enough redundancy to maintain coverage. Firefighters can see the status of hydrants through their response platform, and known nonfunctioning hydrants are marked with black paint on the bonnet. Dyer acknowledged that some problems are not discovered until firefighters attempt to use a hydrant, while repairs can be delayed when they require water-main shutdowns, outside vendors or coordination with scheduled road work. Read more
Burncoat options carry price tags as high as $710 million
City councilors headed into Tuesday’s meeting with their first detailed look at potential costs for the future of Burncoat High School and Burncoat Middle School. Early estimates range from about $150 million for basic repairs to the existing high school to as much as $710 million for a major renovation and expansion involving both schools, while a completely new combined school is estimated at $635 million to $640 million. No final design decision was before the council, and the administration warned that even with significant state reimbursement, the most expensive options could eventually require tax increases or spending cuts elsewhere in the city budget. Read more
Worcester schools launch Stand Against Racism campaign
Worcester Public Schools formally launched its Stand Against Racism campaign Tuesday with a districtwide assembly at Doherty Memorial High School. The initiative follows racist comments directed at South High student-athletes earlier this year and was developed with the Worcester NAACP and YWCA Central Massachusetts. Students, educators and community leaders were joined by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and U.S. Rep. James McGovern as the district called on students to challenge stereotypes, prejudice and derogatory language. Read more
WPS maintains state accountability status as four schools earn recognition
Worcester Public Schools remained classified by the state as not requiring assistance or intervention, with 31 of 44 individually rated schools receiving the same designation. Columbus Park, McGrath, Midland Street and Worcester Arts Magnet elementary schools were named Schools of Recognition for their progress, while 21 Worcester schools improved their overall accountability scores from last year. Districtwide results remained mixed, however, with continuing challenges involving test performance, chronic absenteeism and the high school graduation rate. Read more
Petition seeks formal gender support plan in Worcester schools
A Burncoat High School teacher and transgender students are asking Worcester Public Schools to adopt a formal Gender Support Plan aimed at establishing how schools support students and protect confidentiality around gender identity. Teacher Andrew Willis told a School Committee standing committee that the district has had access to such guidance for years but has yet to implement a formal plan. The proposal includes establishing how staff discuss a student’s gender identity with others, including caregivers, as well as plans for names and pronouns used at school and in written communications. Read more
Man sentenced to life in 2021 killing of Erica Lara
Kyle Curley, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the 2021 killing of 29-year-old Erica Lara, whose body was found inside the Hotel Vernon after her family reported her missing. Curley was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, according to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office. He also pleaded guilty to assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and received a concurrent two- to three-year state prison sentence on that charge. Read more
Holy Cross receives $10 million for professorships, financial aid
A $10 million gift from alumnus Stephen P. Skinner will establish three endowed professorships and a scholarship fund at the College of the Holy Cross. The 1977 graduate committed $3 million to each professorship and another $1 million to create the Skinner Family Scholarship for student financial aid. Economics professor Victor Matheson will become the first faculty member to hold one of the new endowed positions beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. Read more
Four Worcester colleges make Princeton Review guide
Assumption University, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross and Worcester Polytechnic Institute were selected for The Princeton Review’s 2027 guide to 392 undergraduate institutions. The four Worcester schools are among about 14% of the nation’s nearly 2,800 four-year colleges included in the guide, which does not rank its 392 selected institutions from best to worst. Clark and WPI also appeared on additional lists recognizing areas including value, game design, career placement and student experience. Read more
QCC graduate Joshua Duhamel joins foundation board
Joshua Duhamel, chief of staff for the Worcester City Council, has joined the Quinsigamond Community College Foundation Board of Directors. Duhamel began his college education at QCC before transferring to Worcester State University and has since built a career in municipal government, legislative affairs and community engagement. The foundation supports scholarships, academic programs and other opportunities for QCC students. Read more
Mechanics Hall reports jump in members and giving
Mechanics Hall reported a 30% increase in membership and a 55% rise in annual fund contributions during fiscal 2026, the first full year under Executive Director Meghan Montaner. The organization posted $2.34 million in operating revenue and a $167,000 operating loss, but finished with $17,000 in positive net income after investments, capital support and depreciation were factored in, while reserves rose to a record $5.91 million. The Worcester County Mechanics Association also honored former executive director Kathleen Gagne with its Master Mechanic Award for more than three decades of work at the historic venue. Read more
Golden Grain grows from home kitchen to downtown café
Golden Grain Artisanal Bread Café has settled into its first storefront at 250 Commercial St. after Bryan Faucher and Leidy Cotrina outgrew the home kitchen where their bread business began in 2024. Sourdough remains at the center of the business, but the downtown space has allowed the couple to expand into coffee and an evolving menu drawing from Spanish, French, Italian, South American and American cuisines. They are already considering outdoor seating and a liquor license that could allow longer hours and an aperitivo menu while continuing to operate the Bread Shed farmstand that helped build Golden Grain’s original customer base. Read more
New Smile Gallery gives Worcester icon more room
The Museum of Worcester opens its expanded Smile Gallery Friday, Oct. 2, coinciding with World Smile Day and more than six decades after Worcester artist Harvey Ball created the Smiley Face. The multimedia exhibition completes a renovation and 550-square-foot expansion of the museum’s existing gallery devoted to Ball and the globally recognized symbol he created in 1963. The exhibition traces Ball’s career and the Smiley Face’s evolution from a small Worcester-made button into an image recognized around the world. Read more
Black Excellence Celebration honors three Worcester leaders
Sean Harris, Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu and Worcester Deputy Fire Chief William Mosley are being honored Friday, Oct. 2, during Worcester’s second annual Honoring Black Excellence Celebration at the AC Hotel Worcester. Harris serves as director of community engagement at Quinsigamond Community College, Johnson-Agbakwu is a physician, professor and health equity leader at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Health, and Mosley has risen through the ranks of the Worcester Fire Department. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the event, which is designed to recognize Black leaders while making their accomplishments visible to younger generations. Read more
City Vibes returns with Worcester front and center
Christina Andrianopoulos is bringing back “City Vibes” eight years after her earlier “City Vibes Metro,” this time as a digital-first lifestyle program distributed online, through social media, YouTube and podcast platforms. The program is being filmed at The Vue high above downtown Worcester and will feature local and regional personalities, businesses, culture and community life, with Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tim Murray among the premiere guests. Worcester State University interns and a local high school student are also gaining hands-on production experience through the project, which is expected to premiere in early October. Read more
Railers put single-game tickets on sale
Single-game tickets are now on sale for all 36 Worcester Railers home games as the club prepares for its 2026-27 season at the DCU Center. Worcester opens its home schedule Oct. 17 against the Maine Mariners, followed by a second game Oct. 18 against the Trois-Rivières Lions. Before the regular-season home opener, the Railers will play a preseason game Oct. 10 at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center, with $5 ticket proceeds benefiting the Captain’s Fund for youth hockey families. Read more
Notre Dame volleyball looks to build on championship season
Notre Dame Academy entered this season with a new banner hanging in its gym after going undefeated in league play last fall and winning the Central Mass Athletic Conference C Division championship. The volleyball program is only five years old, and coach Donna Coonan is working with a mix of veteran leaders and younger players as the Rebels face tougher competition. Developing stronger play at the net and taking advantage of a versatile lineup are among the team’s priorities this fall. Read more
Paul Giorgio, longtime Worcester publisher, dies
Paul Giorgio, a longtime publisher whose career spanned more than three decades of Worcester media, has died. Giorgio began his publishing career as an owner of Worcester Publishing Ltd., which published Worcester Magazine and the Worcester Business Journal, and later founded Pagio Inc. and created Pulse Magazine. Earlier this year, he sold Pulse and CM Pride Magazine to Merit House Media, ending his ownership while keeping both publications based in Worcester. Read more
Disco, demons and dogs take over the weekend
The first weekend of October brings a mix of disco, horror, Irish culture, comedy and animals to Worcester and beyond. The Hanover Theatre hosts Bee Gees tribute act Stayin’ Alive, the DCU Center welcomes horror fans for the Rock and Shock convention and Polar Park turns Irish with Gaelic football, hurling, music and food. Sunday brings the 28th annual Pet Rock Fest to the Lancaster Fairgrounds, with rescue groups, live music, animal attractions and other activities supporting animal welfare. Read more
