What’s Up Worcester Is Building a Community-First Newsroom for Worcester and Worcester County
By Jerry Filmore
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, What’s Up Worcester
What’s Up Worcester is beginning a new chapter as a nonprofit community media organization focused on accessible, trustworthy, and community-centered journalism for Worcester and Worcester County.
Our mission is clear: What’s Up Worcester is committed to providing journalism that informs residents, amplifies local voices, and strengthens civic engagement across Worcester and Worcester County.
This new direction is about building trust through consistency. What’s Up Worcester is working to make local news easier to understand, community stories easier to find, and civic information easier to access for residents.
What’s Up Worcester is also recognized as Worcester’s first Black-founded news outlet. That history carries responsibility. It means making space for local voices, neighborhood stories, and communities that have too often been overlooked in traditional media.
As we move forward, we are bringing out our magnifying glass.
That means looking closer at what is happening across Worcester and Worcester County. It means asking better questions, paying attention to details, and helping residents understand how local decisions, community issues, resources, events, and stories affect everyday life.
Our magnifying glass is not about tearing people down. It is about bringing clarity, care, and accountability to the stories that matter.
What’s Up Worcester will focus on local news, public meetings, civic information, youth and family resources, housing, homelessness, substance use and recovery support, food access, mental health resources, small businesses, arts, culture, local events, neighborhood stories, and Worcester County connections.
A major part of this work will be helping residents understand what is happening and why it matters. City decisions, school updates, housing issues, public safety conversations, community resources, and local events all affect everyday life. What’s Up Worcester will work to explain those topics in plain language and connect residents with useful next steps whenever possible.
We will also continue highlighting the people and groups shaping Worcester from the ground up. That includes residents, youth, parents, educators, small business owners, artists, organizers, volunteers, nonprofit workers, recovery advocates, mentors, coaches, and neighborhood leaders.
Coverage of sensitive issues, including homelessness, substance use, recovery, mental health, food access, shelter information, and where to get help, will be handled with dignity, consent, accuracy, and care. The goal is not to exploit people’s struggles. The goal is to share verified information, reduce confusion, and help residents find support.
What’s Up Worcester is also inviting the community to be part of the process. Residents, organizations, businesses, schools, and community members can submit story ideas, events, resources, photos, local issues, public meeting information, small businesses, and people who deserve to be highlighted.
This first phase is about listening, showing up, and building consistency. The work will include regular articles, social media updates, video coverage, community interviews, resource guides, weekend event guides, weekly recaps, newsletters, and founder updates from Jerry Filmore.
Trust is earned over time. What’s Up Worcester is committed to earning that trust by being clear, respectful, consistent, useful, and connected to the community it serves.
This is our city. These are our stories.
What Residents Should Know
What’s Up Worcester is building as a community-first nonprofit newsroom for Worcester and Worcester County.
What’s Up Worcester is recognized as Worcester’s first Black-founded news outlet.
The What’s Up Worcester magnifying glass represents a commitment to looking closer, asking better questions, and helping residents understand what is happening in their community.
Coverage will focus on local news, community voices, civic information, resources, events, small businesses, youth, families, housing, homelessness, recovery support, and where to get help.
The goal is to make local information easier to understand and easier to access.
Residents are invited to submit stories, events, resources, businesses, organizations, public meeting information, photos, and community leaders for possible coverage.
🔎 W.U.W. Verification Box
Sources used:
What’s Up Worcester mission statement, vision statement, internal editorial planning documents, and website content prepared for the new community-first launch.
What is confirmed:
What’s Up Worcester is adopting a community-first editorial direction focused on accessible, trustworthy, and community-centered journalism for Worcester and Worcester County.
What the magnifying glass means:
The What’s Up Worcester magnifying glass represents our commitment to looking closer, asking better questions, checking details, and helping residents better understand local stories, resources, decisions, and community issues.
What is not yet known:
Specific future story assignments, contributor schedules, event coverage locations, and resource guide details will be confirmed week by week.
Photo credit:
What’s Up Worcester file photo, provided photo, or photo by Jerry Filmore for What’s Up Worcester.
Correction note:
If any information changes, What’s Up Worcester will update this story.
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LET’S START WITH THIS! WHY IS THE CITY REFUSING THE MARAN FAMILY OF WORCESTER THE $32,000.00 IN DAMAGES WHEN CITIES RAW SEWAGE WENT INTO THEIR CELLAR. ALL RECORDS HAVE BEEN REQUESTED. The Worcester telegram and Fox 25 news have already did a story on this ALSO! Incident Date: November 23, 2025
Incident Location: 254 Greenwood Street / One Spofford Road, Worcester, MA
Dear Public Records Officer,
This is a request for public records pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10.
I am requesting a complete copy of the investigation file, including all responsive public records, generated or maintained by the City of Worcester Law Department, Department of Public Works & Parks (DPW), or any other city agency, regarding Claim Number CL26-129 filed by Mr. Aisar Maran.
This claim stems from a sewage backflow incident into the cellar area at 254 Greenwood Street on November 23, 2025, immediately following the removal of a main-line blockage by a city employee.
To ensure a thorough search, this request specifically encompasses, but is not limited to, the following items from November 23, 2025, through the date of this request:
1. Investigation Reports: Any formal or informal investigation reports, incident summaries, internal findings, or damage assessments compiled by the Law Department, risk management personnel, or DPW supervisors.
2. Communications: All correspondence, including emails, text messages, internal memos, and letters, regarding Claim No. CL26-129, the incident at 254 Greenwood Street, or Mr. Aisar Maran. This includes communications within the Law Department, between the Law Department and the DPW, and between the city and any third-party adjusters or insurers.
3. Multimedia Records: Any video recordings (including city vehicle dashcams, body-worn cameras, or mobile device footage taken by workers), audio recordings (including dispatch logs, recorded phone calls, or interview tapes), and digital photographs of the cellar, the street, the sewer main, or the blockage removal process.
4. Field Notes & Logs: All handwritten or digital field notes, notebook entries, supervisor logs, and personal notations made by city workers, investigators, or engineers who responded to or evaluated the scene.
5. Work Orders & Operational Data: The specific work orders, service tickets, dispatch records, and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL/GPS) data for the city vehicles and crews operating on Greenwood Street and Spofford Road on November 23, 2025.
As specified by M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(a), the City of Worcester is required to respond to this request within ten (10) business days of its receipt.
If the City asserts that any portion of these records is exempt from disclosure, please provide the specific statutory exemption being claimed for each redacted or withheld document, along with a detailed explanation of how the exemption applies, as required by 950 CMR 32.08(1).
If a record contains both exempt and non-exempt material, please segregate and release the non-exempt, factual portions of the record. Frank lashua Worcester, MA