Ted Cormier-Leger and I met via Zoom on Tuesday, Oct 24, 2023 to record this candidate interview.
video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q40eu4F_PU
Candidate Interview: Ted Cormier-Leger, incumbent candidate for Town Council (video) |
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Ted Cormier-Leger and I met via Zoom on Tuesday, Oct 24, 2023 to record this candidate interview.
video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q40eu4F_PU
Candidate Interview: Ted Cormier-Leger, incumbent candidate for Town Council (video) |
one of the FPS slides used for the budget update |
In this episode, Raye Lynn Mercer, the founder and director of Franklin School for the Performing Arts and Franklin Performing Arts Company, chats with Broadway star Clay Rice Thomson, who's currently starring in Moulin Rouge on Broadway.
He has performed in shows such as Newsies, Matilda, King Kong, and Moulin Rouge. They talk about Clay’s experience from his Broadway debut in Newsies, his experience working with different directors and choreographers, his advice for aspiring performers, and his involvement with the Franklin School for the Performing Arts.Recorded at FPAC’s THE BLACK BOX theater in Franklin, MA.
The measure was approved by 4-0 to bring to the Town Council at the next meeting (Sep 6).
map showing location of the 2 lots in question on King St |
You may access the agenda and links for this meeting here: https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/edc_agenda_aug_23_2023.pdf
Mr. Hanna filmed a roundtable discussion with our three class presidents.
Watch it here: https://t.co/gtFpYp6755
Earth Movie Theater presents: Life on Earth - So Amazing! Yes, we live on a marvelous planet. These views from above align perfectly with the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, with words adapted by Jeff Vogel and the NY City Labor Chorus. A glorious combination of Earth and music. ============== Earth Movie Theater – Watch Earth from space. . .and listen to joyous music. Astronauts on ISS take photos of Earth, that we convert into movies and combine with world-class music: guitar improv, Bach in Space, classical music, jazz and more. Created by Association of Space Explorers, TERC and Windows on Earth, in glorious 4K and high-quality audio, based on photos from NASA, Crew Earth Observation (CEO) and the International Space Station (ISS). These Astronaut favorite movies are great entertainment, and for Earth science and music education. Explore Earth from Space and experience the Overview Effect. See all the continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia and the edge of Antarctica. See cities at night, clouds, islands and Aurora. New movies released about weekly. Please subscribe! #EarthMovieTheater For more visit: EarthMovieTheater.org
FM #1036 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1036 in the series.
The Franklin (MA) School Committee met on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 as scheduled. Five members were present (2 absent). The 5 provided quorum to enable official business. They did break for an Executive Session, and returned to open meeting to authorize a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the cafeteria workers “as discussed" (in the executive session) before closing the session.
Let’s listen to the School Committee meeting of August 8. The time they left the room for their Executive Session was shortened for airplay and replaced by a brief audio bit. The total meeting audio runs about 49 minutes.
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School Committee page -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee
Franklin TV Video link -> https://www.youtube.com/live/iSxi_lTYFe4
You can find the full agenda doc
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/scagenda_8-8-23.pdf
My notes captured via Twitter can be found in one PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QjbZCZ5vs2CHatsKM6MEUOBGdNiTFRs5/view?usp=drive_link
The Superintendent’s report and presentation are supposed to be posted to the packet folder the day after the meeting. As we go to post this, they are not yet public. https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/august-8-2023-school-committee-meeting-packet
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
"I will not hate, and I will not fearIn our darkest hour, hope lingers here"
"In our darkest hour, hope lingers here" |
"If you look at the wake behind a duck, or a kayak, or a ship, you might notice two things: first, it’s a feathery, rippled pattern, and second, that pattern looks the same regardless of whether it’s made by a duck, kayak, or ship— even though they’re all moving at different speeds and the waves are different sizes.
How is this possible? Minutephysics digs into the Kelvin wake pattern."The 4+ minute video explains the math -> https://ed.ted.com/best_of_web/kEQUGWqB?s=03#review
How are boat wakes related to duck wakes? |
All access -> Franklin, MA All-Access TV - YouTube https://bit.ly/3JURLCl
Pride TV -> Franklin Pride TV - YouTube https://bit.ly/3JTQhYY
Town hall -> FRANKLIN TOWN HALL TV - YouTube http://bit.ly/43lBwVE
Or go to Franklin.tv and click on the individual channel image ->
Franklin.tv |
"On July 5, 2023—160 years after the Battle of Gettysburg—the unthinkable happened.We came to @Gettysburg to launch a movement, bringing together 650 conservatives and liberals on equal terms to clarify differences, find common ground where it exists, and strengthen our nation.It was hard to pull off.How do you bring people of opposing viewpoints together during such an intense time of division?We leaned on a small, scrappy staff and a dedicated group of volunteers who put everything they had into making the convention happen.And then, it did."
Read the full thread in this PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/188dE76N8YydAEV743jbqwyZ-aDyTAgwb/view?usp=drive_link
witf.org, the public news service for 17 communities in Central PA provides some video of some of the conventions goers. -> https://www.witf.org/2023/07/14/hundreds-gather-at-gettysburg-college-to-bridge-political-divides-through-constructive-conversations/
For more about Braver Angels, the group that organized this event -> https://braverangels.org/our-mission/
"We were led by our two co-Chairs, Erica Manuel ( @ericut ), CEO & Executive Director of @InstLocGov and Wilk Wilkinson (@wilksopinion ), host of @DeratetheHate podcast" |
Master Plan Update Committee met June 28, 2023 beginning at 6:42 PM |
This discussion continues our journey understanding the MA roadmap toward net zero and while it helps me “make sense of climate”, we hope it helps with your understanding as well.
If you have climate questions or Franklin specific climate questions, send them in and we’ll try to answer them in a future session.
Video link -> https://youtu.be/myUzRaFXpsI
Making Sense of Climate #27 - Dave helps us understand how energize Franklin works! (video) |
Franklin, MA: School Committee Meeting Agenda for June 13, 2023 |
License corporate formalities
Zoning Bylaw for Accessory Dwelling units
The set of zoning bylaws was moved to a second reading with modification to one of the three measures in the set of three. There are three as one covers the bylaw language, one covers the definition, and one covers the use table. The use table received the modification to revert the language to what originated from the EDC Plus committee.
The Town Council in their actions during the April 12, 2023 meeting modified the use table to expand coverage for 'by right' for additional residential zones. The Planning Board did not like the expansion and in turn recommended the 'original' language over the modified. The Town Council after some discussion agreed to the original language and moved that to second reading
Resolution 23-39: FY2024 Budget AdjustmentResolution 23-40: MECC Stabilization Account Transfer to MECC Appropriation FY24
- Folks may recall that at the end of the Finance Committee budget hearings and repeated at the end of the Town Council budget hearings, Town Administrator laid out the plan for providing additional funding for the school budget. The MA Senate passed their version of the State FY 2024 which set into play this "plan b" earlier than Jamie had outlined. The two resolutions passed unanimously. The additional funds restore 8 of the 30 positions targeted to balance the budget. Of the 22 that remain to be cut, some number (I recall it was 16) were going to be cut anyway as the result of declining enrollment. Stay tuned for the School Committee meeting scheduled for June 13 where they will approve the 'final' budget and confirm the number affected
- Interesting to note that while most if not all of the Town departments that gave up the funds to enable this transfer were present, only Dave McNeill, the School Committee Budget Subcmte Chair spoke to acknowledge the transfer to increase the school budget and express appreciation for this action. If other members of the School Committee were present virtually, they remained quiet. (They at least were not in the Council Chambers.)
Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda for June 7, 2023 |
via US Poet Laureate Ada Limon:
"A week from today (June 1), I’ll be unveiling my poem that will be sent to the second moon of Jupiter, engraved on the spacecraft called the Europa Clipper. Come join us at the Library of Congress! Tickets are still available! The link is in the bio. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little anxious!"
For the poets and friends of poetry among us |
"Some of the United States’ most widely used food pesticides are contaminated with “potentially dangerous” levels of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, new testing of the products finds.The Environmental Protection Agency has previously been silent on PFAS in food pesticides, even as it found the chemicals in non-food crop products. The potential for millions of acres of contaminated food cropland demands swifter and stronger regulatory action, the paper’s authors say.“I can’t imagine anything that could make these products any more dangerous than they already are, but apparently my imagination isn’t big enough,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which co-authored the study. “The EPA has to take control of this situation and remove pesticide products that are contaminated with these extremely dangerous, persistent chemicals.”