Gov 2.0 Camp - great discussions started

Gov 2.0 Camp was held at the Sorenstein Center at Harvard on Saturday, March 6th. In an unconference format, it brought together a diverse group of folks all interested in improving government.

As part of the unconference, each attendee introduced themselves and provided three words. Someone was quick enough to capture all the three words and produced the following Wordle:



Note: if you click on the image, it will take you to the original and a larger version


My three words were: conversation, content, community.

More about the Gov 2.0 event can be found on the wiki page here
http://gov20ne.pbworks.com/

Can't go? Watch on the web!

What is Government 2.0?

Government 2.0 Camp New England is an unconference about using social media tools and Web 2.0 technologies to create a more effective, efficient and collaborative government.

Who should attend the Gov 2.0 Camp New England?

Anyone interested in improving government through social media and Web 2.0 technology should attend, including government employees, elected officials, students, researchers, and citizens of all types. The purpose of the conference is to share innovative projects and brainstorm new ideas.

Watch Gov 2.0 Camp New England live: http://bit.ly/gov20ne

PS - I will be attending and will report back during the day, if connections are available, or at least a recap after.

 

This we know

Found this cool search engine of government data about a place in the USA. You input the place name, or zip code to see what it finds.


Here are the Franklin results



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Found via

This We Know - Government Data About Your Town

from Free Technology for Teachers by noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Byrne)

Government that you can trust

With my work here on Franklin Matters to share information and to create an informed community, the fact there is still mistrust of government is an issue to be addressed. The ethics changes made by Governor Patrick and others are a step in the proper direction for the state level. This Common Cause effort should help us on the national stage.



What change would you like to see to enable a government you can trust?

Slideshow: Government and its role in the economy

Pictures from the panel discussion on Government and its role in the economy are now available.




The audio recordings were posted previously here.

Panel on Government and its role in the Economy (Summary)

The panel discussion on Monday morning, Mar 9, 2009 at Franklin High school was an instructional moment in politics and civics. The discussion was recorded and is available for listening in three parts.

Part One

Vice Principal Joe DiLorenzo provided the welcoming remarks and the introduction of the panel.
The panel included:

• Congressman James McGovern
• State Senator Scott Brown
• State Senator Karen Spilka
• Majority Leader of the House, Representative Jim Vallee
• Town Administrator Jeff Nutting
• Town Council Chairperson Chris Feeley

The moderator for the discussion was Franklin High School Senior April Crehan.

The first question that everyone on the panel got to answer was summarized as: "What is the proper role of government in our economy?" They spoke in the following order so you can make out who's voice belong to who. McGovern, Spilka, Brown, Vallee, Nutting, and Feeley.

Listen to Part One here

Part Two

Question - Senator Brown, you spoke of reform in your response, indicating that Governor Patrick has been in office for 2.5 years and has not done any meaningful reform, if you were in charge what reform would you make?

Answered by Brown, Spilka

Question - How do you think that market panic has contributed to the economic downturn?

Answered by Feeley, Nutting, Vallee

Question - How do we help people with mortgage foreclosures and business on Wall Street with bailouts?

Answered by McGovern, Brown, Spilka

Listen to Part Two here

Part Three

Question - When you are creating bills to help people in the foreclosure crisis, do you plan on differentiating between predator lenders, those who made poor choices and those with unfortunate circumstances? or do you plan on doing so?

Answered by Brown

Question - Have you agreed to a salary freeze for next year?

Answered by Nutting, McGovern, Vallee, Brown, Spilka, Feeley

Question - What's your opinion on the stimulus package that was recently passed?

Answered by McGovern, Brown, Spilka

Interesting side note: Brown challenged McGovern on the number of earmarks supposedly in the package. McGovern came right back with "There are none." Brown insisted there are and that they would take it offline to resolve. This occurs about 9:50 into the recording.

Senator Spilka gets cut short as the bell rings.

Listen to Part Three here

Pictures from this event can be found here

FM #35 - Panel on Gov't and Economy - P3

This is #35 in the series of podcasts on what matters in Franklin MA. This is the third part of a three part panel discussion recorded at Franklin High School on Monday Mar 9, 2009.

Time: 13 minutes, 57 seconds



MP3 File


Session Notes: FM #35

Music intro
My intro

This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 35 in the series.

This session is a special one. On Monday morning, March 9, 2009, there was a panel discussion on the government and its role in the economy. The panel included Congressman James McGovern, State Senator Scott Brown, State Senator Karen Spilka, Majority Leader of the House, our own Jim Vallee, Town Administrator Jeff Nutting, and Town Council Chairperson Chris Feeley. The panel was held at Franklin High School and put together by Michael Walsh. The moderator was FHS Senior April Crehan. The session was well attended by students but only a handful of citizens took part.

Now you can share in that opportunity. What follows is the audio recording of the panel discussion split into three parts.

The first part covers the introduction of the panel and moderator and the first question which all had a chance to talk to.

The second part covers three questions. This third part also covers three questions and the closing is cut off by the bell for the students to change class periods.

Thanks to all the panelists for sharing their thoughts in this forum.

Thanks also to Mike Walsh for the opportunity to provide this recording for those who missed to take part.

--------------

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

FM #34 - Panel on Gov't and Economy P2

This is #34 in the series of podcasts on Franklin, MA Matters. This is the second part of the panel discussion on government and their role in the economy recorded at Franklin High School, Monday, March 9, 2009

Time: 21 minutes, 32 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes: FM #34

Music intro
My intro

This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 34 in the series.

This session is a special one. On Monday morning, March 9, 2009, there was a panel discussion on the government and its role in the economy. The panel included Congressman James McGovern, State Senator Scott Brown, State Senator Karen Spilka, Majority Leader of the House, our own Jim Vallee, Town Administrator Jeff Nutting, and Town Council Chairperson Chris Feeley. The panel was held at Franklin High School and put together by Michael Walsh. The moderator was FHS Senior April Crehan. The session was well attended by students but only a handful of citizens took part.

Now you can share in that opportunity. What follows is the audio recording of the panel discussion split into three parts.

The first part covers the introduction of the panel and moderator and the first question which all had a chance to talk to.

This second part covers three questions. The third part also covers three questions and the closing is cut off by the bell for the students to change class periods.

Thanks to all the panelists for sharing their thoughts in this forum. Thanks also to Mike Walsh for the opportunity to provide this recording for those who missed to take part.

--------------

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

FM #33 - Panel on Government and the Economy

This is #33 in the series of podcasts for Franklin Matters. The panel discussion was recorded at Franklin High School on Monday Mar 9, 2009 and split into three parts for ease of listening. This is part one of three.

Time: 24 minutes, 12 seconds


MP3 File



Session Notes: FM #33

Music intro
My intro

This internet radio show or podcast for Franklin Matters is number 33 in the series.

This session is a special one. On Monday morning, March 9, 2009, there was a panel discussion on the government and its role in the economy. The panel included Congressman James McGovern, State Senator Scott Brown, State Senator Karen Spilka, Majority Leader of the House, our own Representative Jim Vallee, Town Administrator Jeff Nutting, and Town Council Chairperson Chris Feeley. The panel was held at Franklin High School and put together by Michael Walsh. The moderator was FHS Senior April Crehan. The session was well attended by students but only a handful of citizens took part.

Now you can share in that opportunity. What follows is the audio recording of the panel discussion split into three parts.

The first part covers the introduction of the panel/moderator and the first question which all had a chance to talk to.

The second part covers three questions. The third part also covers three questions and the closing is cut off by the bell for the students to change class periods.

Thanks to all the panelists for sharing their thoughts in this forum. Thanks also to Mike Walsh for the opportunity to provide this recording for those who missed to take part.

--------------

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow citizens of Franklin, MA

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

The American Form of Government

A good ten minute explanation of the American form of government:



Enjoy!


Thanks to WXPNews for the link.