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| Escape to the Arts! Sunday, June 13 |
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| Franklin's ArtWALK Celebration June 11-12-13 |
Please cast your ballots for your favorite Franklin businesses in the Myfm 101.3 contest!
https://myfmquestforthebest.com/vote/
#FDP
#buylocal
#questforthebest
The 50+ Job-seekers Networking Group is setting up its ultimate event for the Spring 2020 sessions --- Practice Interview With Employers -- to be held on June 24th, 2021; 10-12N [Eastern Time].
We seek employers and recruiters willing to participate by conducting practice interviews.
As we did last year, we will supply some suggested interview questions, but recall how many employers used their own favorites!
Please let me or our director, Susan D Kelly, know if you would be willing to donate your time and talent to help us with this special event that assists mature job-seekers and career-changers.
Susan's contact info is:
Susan has told me that many of the employers who participated last years have already signed on again. I look forward to hearing from more employers during this exciting time as the economy re-opens.
Thanks!
Ed Lawrence
REQUEST - 50+ Program seeks employers for practice hiring event
"THE HOUSE APPROVED a proposal Tuesday that aims to relieve employers this spring from major unexpected unemployment system costs, while punting the decision on whether to deploy one-time federal funds to address a benefits system that sagged under the weight of pandemic unemployment.
In a move that business groups described as a solid first step, representatives voted 157-0 to shuffle the distribution of unemployment claims costs so that they can be covered over two decades of borrowing and so businesses will not be in line for huge bills in the short term.
After weeks of review, the House on Tuesday also revived plans for an emergency paid leave program that would make participants eligible for up to one week of paid leave if they or a family member needs it to deal with COVID-19 issues, including self-isolation, seeking a diagnosis, or obtaining an immunization. The House sent the bill to the Senate after rejecting amendments to the measure sought by Gov. Charlie Baker."
Proud to announce my new office cleaning business is up and running. CleanX Franklin is a local office cleaning business open Monday through Saturday. If you or anyone you know is in need of an office cleaning please contact us at cleanxfranklin@gmail.com
From their About page: https://www.cleanxfranklin.com/
"Our mission at CleanX is simple: to provide high-quality services for our valued clients. Our team goes above and beyond to cater to each project’s specific needs. Through open communication and exceptional service, we hope you’ll find what you’re looking for with our Office Cleaning Service. For more information or general inquiries, get in touch today."
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| CleanX Franklin opens for business |
The Town of Franklin is pleased to share our new Business Guide! This online resource is designed to introduce potential business owners to the process here in Franklin and provide important contacts, links, and guidance.
Find it on our website here: https://t.co/g2sCOSIIhI
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| Town of Franklin, MA: Business Guide |
The Twitter hashtag can be found online #edc0407
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23edc0407&src=typeahead_click
FDP Ladybug Trail presentation doc: https://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/franklin-downtown-partnership-planning-ladybug-trail
Business Guide -> https://www.canva.com/design/DAEN5lnYNIY/xubMHMzbUK7uF--x0mx6Og/view
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| Ladybug trail being planned |
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| Economic Development Subcommittee - Agenda - April 7, 2021 - 5:45 PM |
"The post-vaccine workplace is taking shape, and for many it’s going to be a hybrid model, allowing more remote work but with clear expectations that some days a week will be in the office.
Workforce experts are bracing for a whole new set of post-pandemic upheavals, in some instances more transformative than the unplanned move to working from home last March, with some making efforts to avoid pre-pandemic remote-work mistakes.
“In a lot of ways it’s going to be more disruptive than when we went all remote,” said Brian Kropp, vice president of research at Gartner."
"Since the pandemic sent workers home last year, a slew of modifications have been made to office buildings to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Now, as companies prepare to bring workers back, experts say even more changes are on the way.
Expect expanded gathering spaces and fewer personal workstations, for instance, changes that are being fueled by the success of working from home. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Walmart have already announced proposals for hybrid work models that will allow employees to continue to work remotely at least a few days a week."
"Unemployment insurance bill kicks the can"
"A BILL BEING CONSIDERED by the state Legislature to freeze businesses’ unemployment insurance payments may be a short-term fix, but it does not solve the longer-term problem of how to keep the fund solvent in the future.
“This is a perfectly reasonable, short-term fix for our unemployment insurance shortfall, but it’s a missed opportunity to address the fact that we were underfunding this system well before the COVID crisis,” Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, said after the bill was released."
AS SCHOOL OFFICIALS have been pressuring the state to cancel this year’s MCAS tests, state education commissioner Jeff Riley said the decision is not his – it belongs to the federal government.
“The federal government is still requiring we test our students,” Riley said, speaking at a Tuesday budget hearing before the Ways and Means Committees. “It provides a little wiggle room but won’t allow us to not test kids.”
"CDC links restaurant dining to a rise in cases"
"Even as officials in Texas and Mississippi lifted statewide mask mandates, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered fresh evidence of the importance of face coverings, reporting that mask-wearing mandates were linked to fewer infections with the coronavirus and COVID-19 deaths in counties across the United States.
Federal researchers also found that counties opening restaurants for on-premises dining — indoors or outdoors — saw a rise in daily infections about six weeks later, and an increase in COVID-19 death rates about two months later.
The study does not prove cause and effect, but the findings square with other research showing that masks prevent infection and that indoor spaces foster the spread of the virus through aerosols, tiny respiratory particles that linger in the air.
“You have decreases in cases and deaths when you wear masks, and you have increases in cases and deaths when you have in-person restaurant dining,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said Friday. “And so we would advocate for policies, certainly while we’re at this plateau of a high number of cases, that would listen to that public health science.”
"After a year of hunkering down, the country is about to bask in the biggest boom in nearly four decades. But the scars of the pandemic linger.
By summer, most American adults should be vaccinated, and life is expected to return to something approaching normal as people eat in restaurants, hop on a plane, or catch a game at Fenway Park. Getting out of the house for work and recreation will swell the economy, juiced by another big federal stimulus program and trillions of dollars in savings that consumers are eager to spend.
Yet that rosy outlook isn’t reflected in the sentiments of many local employers who would benefit greatly from a post-pandemic resurgence. Hammered by COVID-19 shutdowns, they remain wary after earlier forecasts about the trajectory of the disease proved too optimistic.
Instead of the rapid rebound projected by economists, these employers — from small business owners to big institutions such as hospitals and universities — expect a more gradual recovery marked by fits and starts. So they’re ramping up slowly and delaying hiring decisions until the picture is clearer."
FM #480 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 480 in the series.
This shares the Economic Development Subcommittee meeting that was held on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid mode; some of the key participants were in the Council Chambers, the Chair Melanie Hamblen led the meeting remotely along with many others via Zoom conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Links to the meeting agenda and my notes are in the show notes. The meeting recording runs about fifty nine minutes. Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/aada591e-6ed2-401b-90de-d949d30e7ab1
Photos captured during the meeting and shared via Twitter can be found in one album https://photos.app.goo.gl/PbwWoeJjCLhCyHDY8
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).
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?
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
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!
------------------
You
can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or
your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| cover of the draft "Business Guide" |
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"A new grant program is available for Massachusetts businesses from @MassGCC. Applications open tomorrow at noon. Find details here https://t.co/mY1d6or3gg"
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| Town of Franklin, MA: new grant program for MA businesses |
"One moment, Governor Charlie Baker is asking people to lobby their legislators for some relatively modest funding as the state’s well of small-business relief funds runs dry.
The next: Baker unveils $668 million for grants, in particular to help several sectors hit hard by COVID-19 such as restaurants, retail stores, gyms, and hair salons.
The sharp turnabout last week surprised many small-business advocates — not to mention the budget writers in the Legislature.
A Christmas miracle, or clever budgetary legerdemain on the part of Baker’s Administration & Finance team?
Maybe a bit of both."
"In 2020, the sports industry in North America was projected to generate $75.7 billion, according to PwC, the accounting firm. Instead, it lost more than a third of its value as leagues suspended play before returning with stripped-down seasons.Television ratings have tumbled for many top sporting events, and advertising, printing and revenue streams connected to the sports business, like concessions, have practically vanished.While the coming vaccine in the United States raises hope that fans will be able to return to stadiums by late spring or early summer, the spread of the virus this winter will only deepen an already cratered sports economy. The modern sports industry has never faced such a prolonged, devastating interruption, and it is premature to gauge when sports will return fully to their pre-pandemic state, or if they ever will."
The members of the EDC will host the third in a series of five Business Listening & Networking Sessions on sectors of the Town’s economy. Anyone is invited to attend and offer public comments.
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| listening session schedule adjusted to include the original #3 session with that of the Dec 9 agenda |
"Today is the day! Think Franklin First gift cards are now available for purchase both online and at Dean Bank!
You can redeem the gift cards at the local businesses pictured below beginning next week!
www.franklingiftcard.com #thinkfranklinfirst #GivetheGiftofFranklin #localsupport #shoplocal #keepitlocal Dean Bank, Random Smile Project"
