PRIMARY BREAKDOWN: Woohoo! Worcester went for Bernie Sanders in the state Democratic Primary election last week. The rest of what we might consider the Worcester area, save for Northbridge (arguably Worcester area), did not. No, every town surrounding Worcester went for Joe Biden, despite his complete lack of ground game here and, seemingly, everywhere else.

When leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, got rid of bus fares earlier this month, they made headlines across the country and the decision was roundly hailed as an innovative investment.

TRASH SHOWDOWN: Well the plastic-bags-for-recycling debacle finally came to a head at council this week. Many, many people came out in opposition, most notably a particularly articulate 13-year-old, who made the case for the contradiction of using single-use plastic bags for recycling while working to ban single-use plastic bags from Worcester stores.

The transportation scene in Worcester is a dynamic one. There’s construction going on everywhere and new businesses sprouting up all over the place. Trains, planes, buses, taxis, private cars, bikes, scooters, wheelchairs, etc. are all moving people in and around our city. Transportation is the lifeblood of a city. We need to be involved in our transportation landscape and one of the best ways to do that is by being a part of the transportation planning process. Here are some of the recent activities in the world of transit to considered as we plan the city’s transportation future.

When the Worcester Regional Research Bureau dropped a report last week advocating for the Worcester Regional Transit Authority to move to a fare-free system, the idea seemed to take hold in the community.

City Councilor Gary Rosen is pushing for public hearings on whether or not the WRTA is, in his words, “possibly obsolete,” and whether the city should continue to fund it. He opened the conversation at City Council Tuesday night, but not without opposition.

Ah, March Madness. That time of year when even the most casual sports fan gets a little extra giddy-up in their step. We’re talking, of course, about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. A time when employees hide their printed tournament brackets from the boss’s view and put off filing that report on deadline to instead do the important work of determining the ultimate national champion.

In Worcester, the argument we have a problem with our local elections is easy to make.

Worcester should not trash its Pay As You Throw trash collection model and, no, a return to the days of pigs eating the city’s garbage is probably not the way to go. Instead, as the city struggled to clean up its streets and sidewalks, and deal with illegal dumping, more stringent penalties for violators could help. A free trash drop-off site might also boost compliance.

One of the most significant and most contentious actions the City Council takes every year is just around the corner, and while the city does not yet even have the information it needs to provide for debate, the battle lines are being drawn.