WORCESTER -- Almost half of Worcester's 181,000 residents are registered to vote. But 86 percent of those residents chose not to take part in the most recent municipal election. For those who do vote, options are limited.

WORCESTER - What would a truly representative city government look like?

That question and other springboards of discussion got people talking Monday at the second of seven planned community discussions on race being held in the city through July.

As elite college basketball teams were vying for a national championship early this spring, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau put its own spin on March Madness: policy ideas competing against each other.

Nine of the 10 members of Worcester's City Council are white. Five of the six School Committee members are white. Looking at the list of possible candidates for the city council, six minorities are running for District seats and five are running for an At-Large seat. However, only two minorities are running for a school committee position.

Worcester has long exhibited an apparent paradox — given how many college students are here, why doesn't it feel like a typical "college town"?

WORCESTER — The city has been wrestling the past few years with an issue often referred to as "the elephant in the room" at City Hall, namely, Other Post-Employment Benefits, also known as OPEB.

When it comes to public participation in Worcester's municipal government, the numbers certainly leave a lot to be desired. In fact, they are downright poor.

On Thursday, the Worcester Research Bureau released a report Bureau Brief - Worcester's Unfunded OPEB Liability that revealed the city of Worcester owes $727 million in unfunded post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities.

Worcester's unfunded Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability is more than $727 million, which is common knowledge among city residents who don't mind sitting through sometimes boring finance discussions, such as the one in last week's City Council meeting. A Worcester Regional Research Bureau (WRRB) report released today supports a more proactive approach to dealing with the liability, predicting a $2.1 billion liability 30 years from now if the current method of payment continues.

When President Barack Obama spoke at the Worcester Technical High School graduation last June, he encourage the graduating seniors to engage and participate in government at all levels.