The Hired Pen

05/28/2025

Another successful story pitch: This one for the Worcester (MA) Public School’s varsity rugby Wildcats team! https://www.usayhs.rugby/news/worcester-wildcats-rugby-makes-historic-varsity-debut

02/20/2025

Public protests remain potent:

Responding to extreme backlash, the will remove materials that have been criticized over the past week for being .

had distributed and positioned the materials as "resources to help prepare teachers to engage in hard conversations with students about the - war and consider diverse perspectives of the situation."

The MTA released a statement yesterday which said it "does not promote materials that direct hate at any group," and will remove any materials don't promote understanding, including "offensive images" brought to light at a hearing last week in the Massachusetts State House.

The statement featured this oft-repeated trope: "We recognize that the conflict in the Middle East is complex and nuanced with longstanding historical, political, economic and cultural roots. We strive to help our members foster critical conversations and understanding with each other and with their students as they wrestle with the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East."

The Massachusetts Teachers Association vigorously defends the right of all students and teachers to feel supported and included in our classrooms and unequivocally condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia and all other forms of hatred and discrimination.

01/24/2025

On the strength of its live events, Netflix added 19 million subscribers in Q4 2024. The company--which has now surpassed 300 million paid subscribers worldwide--notched 16% revenue growth in 2024.

To "celebrate", Netflix announced an increase in its commercial-free plan--from $15.49 to $17.99/mo. Subscribers of the standard plan with commercials will see a rise from $6.99 to $7.99/mo.

The premium plan, offering the highest quality streaming and multiple simultaneous views, jumps from $22.99 to $24.99/mo.

12/18/2024

Discover our employment and economic prognosis for Central Massachusetts in 2025: Read my article "Jobs & Hiring: 2024 Review & 2025 Projections (National & Regional)".

Please comment and share!

One of your neighbors posted in Neighbor News. Click through to read what they have to say. (The views expressed in this post are the author’s own.)

10/31/2024

to all who celebrate! Discover more about the

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India and for Hindus in particular. It is celebrated across faiths in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora.

10/24/2024

Grateful for this honor, which I humbly accept on behalf of thousands of fellow veterans who engage in service to our country, communities, and neighbors.

10/21/2024

Fantastic organization doing incredibly important work for and their families.

🎉 Exciting news coming soon! 🎉

Our Award subcommittee has selected the 2024 winner of the Carmine A. Casciano Salute to Service Award! 🏅 We're thrilled to recognize this year's hero, who exemplifies extraordinary bravery and dedication both in and out of service.

We can't wait to honor them at the SALUTE TO SERVICE CELEBRATION! on November 2nd at Plymouth Memorial Hall !

Stay tuned for the official announcement in the coming days!

10/03/2024

Published this peer-reviewed article in the October edition of The Rambler, a literary journal circulated online and in print to thousands of residents of Worcester County and Central Massachusetts. Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. Massachusetts Jwv Chaverim Central Mass Bruce Robert Mendelsohn Aviv Shaliach Central MA Hillel International Jewish Lives Matter Times of Israel Bloggers Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

09/25/2024

"There's a sucker born every minute" is a famous phrase about gullibility that's closely associated with P. T. Barnum, a mid-19th century showman. While the attribution to Barnum is debatable, its users include , , and .

The problem has become amplified since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

08/16/2024

Tune in to my interview with Hank Stolz on Talk of the Commonwealth Radio (8/13). We discussed workforce development, career training, and jobs that are being created at the nexus of healthcare and IT.

Join experts at the Worcester Chamber on August 20th to explore the future of IT in healthcare and discuss strategies to meet critical hiring needs.

08/12/2024

is the best state to live in in 2024, says a new study from personal finance website WalletHub. To determine the best and worst states to live in, WalletHub compared the 50 states across five key dimensions: , , and , , and .

Here’s how the Commonwealth ranked in those dimensions:
- Affordability: 44
- Economy: 15
- Health & Education: 1
- Quality of Life: 6
- Safety: 7

, , , and rounded out the top five best states to live in for 2024. Outside of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, no other New England states ranked inside the top 10. , , , , and ranked as the worst states in which to live. So fahk you, kehd.

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-live-in/62617

07/23/2024

ResumeBuilder.com recently surveyed 1,641 hiring managers to assess the prevalence of posting fake job listings. In addition to claiming that fake job postings boosted revenue, morale, and productivity, staff say the top reasons driving the strategy are to alleviate concerns and suggest company growth. More findings:
- 40% of companies posted a fake job listing this year
- 7 in 10 hiring managers believe posting fake jobs is morally acceptable
- 3 in 10 companies currently have active fake listings
- Fake job listings were for entry-level roles (63%), mid-level roles (68%), senior-level roles (53%), and executive-level roles (45%).

Companies posted fake job listings to make it appear the company is open to external talent (67%), to act like the company is growing (66%), to make employees believe their workload would be alleviated by new workers (63%), to have employees feel replaceable (62%), and to collect resumes and keep them on file (59%).

According to respondents, the idea to post fake job listings primarily came from (37%), senior (29%), (25%), (5%), or (4%).

We surveyed 873 buIn May, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 649 hiring managers to assess the prevalence of posting fake job listings.