In today’s daily 5 Things You Need to Know feature, ThisWeekinWorcester.com explores five important items and stories that Worcester and Central Massachusetts residents should keep a close eye on.
These five things can cover a whole range of subjects and issues that we feel are pertinent to understanding what’s going on in the city and the cities and towns surrounding Worcester.
In today’s edition – Wednesday, March 3 – if you own a Peloton, take it for a spin with the Herren Project today, the Worcester Family Resource Center celebrates a year of COVID relief efforts, Assumption University announces a cybersecurity challenge, the next Worcester Chamber Music Society Talk is Thursday and Worcester is ranked among the worst cities to own an electric car.
Take Your Peloton for a Spin with the Herren Project Today
ThisWeekinWorcester.com is a proud community partner for the Herren Project’s Wellness Week with Herren.
Wellness Week runs now until Saturday, March 6, and each day has special programming with a unified theme. The week celebrates wellness and its importance to prevention and recovery, as well as supporting, inspiring and empowering those affected by substance use disorder.
Herren Project is a national nonprofit organization providing free resources and support for the treatment, recovery and prevention of substance use disorder.
Here’s a List of Events for Wednesday, March 3
- Peloton Ride for Wellness – 8:35am EST
- Webinar: Healthy Coping Strategies for Overall Wellness & Long-Term Recovery
- Herren Project LIVE with Fitness Trainer Nick Correia – 8:30pm EST
- Creative Expression and its Positive Impact on Wellness & Recovery
Check out the full calendar events here.
Worcester Family Resource Center Marks Anniversary of COVID-19 Relief Efforts
The Worcester Family Resource Center of YOU, Inc., an affiliate of Seven Hills Foundation, marks its first anniversary this month as a central family resource and referral hub helping families weather the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.
The Family Resource Center has served as a resource and referral center that guides families to the supports when they are in need.
The referrals include behavioral health options and employment services.
The Center is part of Worcester Together, and often makes specific service referrals for families to other Worcester Together partners.
More than 4,600 individuals and families in need have received services. Of those, 450 families that gained access to hot meals and roughly 1,000 have received free Lyft rides to work or essential services.
Assumption University Challenges Issues High School Hack Challenge
Assumption University Professor and Director of the Center for Cybersecurity Raymond Albert, Ph.D., has developed the inaugural Assumption “WiFi Hacking Capture-the-Flag [CTF] Adventure,” which will take place on Saturday, March 13, from 10 AM to 4 PM
According to Dr. Albert, while there are several CTF competitions, Assumption’s is unique because they focus it on WiFi hacking in an authentic environment.
The contest represents solutions as ‘flags,’ which are special values hidden inside the environment, and participants must discover the ‘flags’ by employing various defensive WiFi hacking techniques. For example, in one challenge, participants must crack the hat is required to access a WiFi access point.
Participation for Assumption’s inaugural CTF event is limited and registration is required. To learn more and register for the event, contact Dr. Albert at [email protected].
Worcester Chamber Music Society Talk Series Continues March 4
The Worcester Chamber Music Society continues its new WCMS Talks series on Thursday, March 4 at 7:30 PM, with a live presentation by WCMS pianist Randall Hodgkinson.
The event features Hodgkinson for a discussion and performance of one of the landmarks of Romantic piano literature.
Randy plans to focus on Robert Schumann’s roles as pianist, composer, and writer/music critic, and how they converge in the genesis of this piece.
To make a reservation, click here.
The Best Place to Own an Electric Car
A study by Lawnstarter has ranked the top 200 best cities to own an electric car and ranked Boston, Worcester and Springfield in the study.
Boston was the first Massachusetts locations in the list, ranking #121. Worcester came in at #150 and Springfield at #158.
Lawnstarter named Irvine, CA as the best city in the country to owns am electric car. Irvine’s ranking got a boost from the city’s #1 infrastructure rating and its 89th highest cost ranking.
Of the top 15 cities on the list, most are in California. Fort Collins, CO (4th), Salt Lake City, UT (5th) and Rochester, NY (15th), were the exceptions.
