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 – Tuesday, May 3 – local musicians perform an iconic Springsteen album for charity on Wednesday, Resinate brings back the cannabis community market, Planet Fitness has invited high schoolers from ages 14 to 19 to work out for free, Massachusetts is named the best state for working moms and gas prices are up 8 cents across Massachusetts.
Local Musicians Performs Springsteen’s ‘Darkness On The Edge of Town’ for Charity
The “Turn it Down” All-Stars, a local ensemble formed to perform semi-acoustic presentations of iconic albums for charity, is set to take the stage for the first time.
The All-Stars will perform at the Brickbox Theater at 20 Franklin Street in Worcester on Wednesday, May 4. In its first performance, they will perform Bruce Springsteen’s legendary 1978 album, “Darkness On The Edge of Town.”
Tickets are on-sale now.
Learn more about the “Turn it Down” All-Stars here.
Resinate Brings Back Cannabis Community Market
Resinate, at 1191 Millbury Street, will hold a free, public cannabis community market on Saturday, May 7, from noon until 6 PM.
The 21+ event will be both outdoors and indoors, and in partnership with four local premium cannabis dispensaries: Garden Remedies, Panacea Wellness, Smyth Cannabis Co., and Nova Farms as well as partner brands Wynk and Smokiez.
More than a market, the Cannabis Community Market will provide a unique curated menu of premium products and a showcase of local and regional brands offering apparel, accessories, and wellness products. Event partners will provide limited time product offers and opportunities for guests to win exclusive merchandise and other prizes.
Proceeds from these free Cannabis Community Market events are donated to Worcester nonprofit organizations.
Planet Fitness Invites High School Teens to Work Out for Free
Planet Fitness has invited high schoolers from ages 14 to 19 to work out for free between May 16 through August 31.
The program, called the High School Summer Pass was previously called the Teen Summer Challenge. It was launched in 2019 and saw more than 900,000 teens sign-up and complete more than 5.5 million workouts over a three-and-a-half-month period.
High Schoolers can visit PlanetFitness.com/
Massachusetts Ranked the Best State for Working Moms
A new study that compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia found Massachusetts is the best state for working moms.
The metrics that contributed to the top ranking for Massachusetts include:
- 1st – Parental-Leave Policy Score
- 4th – Avg. Length of Woman’s Work Week (in Hours)
- 9th – % of Single-Mom Families in Poverty
- 16th – Ratio of Female Executives to Male Executives
- 17th – Day-Care Quality
- 21st – Gender Pay Gap (Women’s Earnings as % of Men’s)
- 22nd – Median Women’s Salary (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
- 25th – Pediatricians per Capita
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Wisconsin rounded out the top five states for working moms.
The five worst states for working moms, according to the study, are Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.
To see the full results of the study and its methodology, visit Wallethub.com.
Gas Prices Up Eight Cents in Massachusetts This Week
AAA Northeast reports changes in gas prices across the region on a weekly basis.
Massachusetts’ average gas price increased eight cents from last week, averaging $4.21 per gallon. That price is one cent higher than a month ago ($4.20) and $1.42 higher than May 2, 2021 ($2.79).
Pump prices rose again over the past week due primarily to the high cost of crude oil. The cost of a barrel of crude continues to hover around $100. With the oil price accounting for about 60% of pump prices, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $4.19, an increase of seven cents since Monday, April 25.
“As long as the supply remains tight, it will be hard for crude oil prices to fall and consumers will in turn face higher prices at the pump,” said Mary Maguire, AAA Northeast Director of Public and Government Affairs. “It now costs drivers in the U.S. about $23 more to fill up than a year ago.”
AAA Northeast’s May 2 survey of fuel prices found the current national average to be seven cents higher than last week ($4.12), averaging $4.19 a gallon. Today’s national average price is one cent lower than a month ago ($4.20) and $1.29 higher than this day last year ($2.90).
Comparison to neighboring states, according to AAA Northeast: