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 *
Monday, June 24, 2024
When is my road going to get fix? Check out the road report
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Town Administrator's Report on the Migrant Housing Status - 09/20/23 (audio)
FM #1065 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1065 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Town Administrator’s Report segment from the Town Council Meeting of Sep 20, 2023. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen provides an update on the Migrant Housing status.
The report segment runs about 27 minutes. Let’s listen to this segment of the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1065-tc-segment-town-admin-report-09-20-23
Video link timed to start of Town Administrator's Report -> https://www.youtube.com/live/bF13Dgn_6qs?si=P49HB-MYPrGfpeym&t=5122
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Town Administrator page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator
Town Council agenda doc ->
Update from Sep 6 meeting ->
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/09/town-administrators-report-on-migrant.html
Notification on migrant temporary housing
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/08/ma-notifies-franklin-of-plans-to-house.html
Franklin TV video of 09/20/23 meeting -> https://www.youtube.com/live/bF13Dgn_6qs?si=UQh6elNMORZvbLln
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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/ 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!
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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"
Town Administrator's Report on the Migrant Housing Status - 09/20/23 (audio) |
Friday, May 26, 2023
MIAA Executive Director's Report - May 25, 2023
https://t.co/tvW9qZyOZh
MIAA Executive Director's Report - May 25, 2023 |
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Franklin Police: Weekly Recap from May 7 - May 13
WEEKLY RECAP
The attached google drive link has the Weekly Recap from May 7 - May 13,
This recap provides some greater detail about the calls we responded to: https://t.co/TqgexwYwJm
Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/franklinpolice/status/1658273388907880449
Franklin Police: Weekly Recap from May 7 - May 13 |
Friday, May 12, 2023
CommonWealth Magazine: "New study calls WooSox stadium a bad deal for Worcester"
"The WooSox may have hit a home run with huge attendance numbers at their new home in Worcester, but a study says the city has whiffed when it comes to shelling out public dollars to fund the team’s new stadium.The Red Sox Triple-A farm team moved from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Worcester in 2021, setting up shop in Polar Park, a new $160 million stadium owned and largely paid for by the city of Worcester.Last season, the team’s second year in Worcester, the Worcester Red Sox drew more than 500,000 fans, second among all 120 minor league teams in the country. And the WooSox arrival has unquestionably contributed to the upbeat buzz about the state’s second-largest city.But Robert Baumann, an economics professor at College of the Holy Cross, says the stadium still adds up to be a loser for the city’s finances. In a new paper, Baumann and co-author J.C. Bradbury, an economist at Kennesaw State University, conclude that Polar Park will cost the city $40 to $60 million over 30 years."
CommonWealth Magazine: "New study calls WooSox stadium a bad deal for Worcester" |
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Franklin Police publish their weekly report for activity through April 29, 2023
"WEEKLY RECAP
The attached google drive link has the Weekly Recap from April 23- April 29.
This recap provides some greater detail about the calls we responded to: https://t.co/WmBxsHpe8g"
Franklin Police - weekly report through April 29, 2023 |
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Rausch Report: Earth Month Recap (April 2023)
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Thursday, April 6, 2023
Board of Health efficiently conducts meeting, includes reports in Agenda doc (audio)
FM #968 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 968 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Town of Franklin Board of Health Meeting held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Two board members participated, 1 in room (Cochrane), 1 remote (Sweet); hence roll call votes, with 1 absent (Harris). Health Dept staff present were in the 3rd floor training room.
Quick Recap:
With a short Board present, shifted the tobacco regulations to the next session
Inspector’s report, Nurse’s report, Epidemiologist report all touting volume and some issues but nothing major, copies of their report pages are now included in the meeting packet
Question on new inspection alignment; not implemented yet, still using same process as before
Question on when the Health Fair is scheduled? May 24 at the Franklin Library from 3 to 6 PM
The meeting runs about 15 minutes. Let’s listen to the Board of Health meeting Apr 5, 2023. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-968-tof-board-of-health-mtg-04-05-23
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The Board of Health agenda can be found ->
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/04.05.23_agenda_and_packet.pdf
My notes collected in a Twitter thread PDF ->
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UVJozV_zimvunaFHBADhoj2LJypzaDr3/view?usp=share_link
--------------
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/ 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"
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Franklin (MA) Police - Weekly recap for 3/12 - 3/18/23
WEEKLY RECAP
The attached google drive link has the Weekly Recap from March 12- March 18.
This recap provides some greater detail about the calls we respond to: https://t.co/asbEgTchOi or https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ec9bXQyyrSSqrmVoloONQCPjXV1nln_y/view
Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/franklinpolice/status/1637825071220760581
Franklin Police - Weekly recap for 3/12 - 3/18/23 |
Friday, January 27, 2023
UN Report: "Our world is in a state of fracture – the social contract is broken"
"There is perhaps no stronger evidence of the pressing need to redesign our global system than the fact that a global health crisis doubled the wealth of the 10 richest men in the world while sending upwards of 120 million people into extreme poverty."Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/LocalReturnRI/status/1618665173698629632
UN Report: "Our world is in a state of fracture – the social contract is broken" |
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Franklin Police begin publishing a "weekly recap" for more details than the daily information logs provide
Starting this week, we will be posting a “Weekly Recap” which details our weekly calls for service in more depth than our traditional public information daily logs.
The attached google drive link has the Weekly Recap from January 1st – January 7th: https://drive.google.com/.../1p3JQP9gqB4j1jHahKLH.../view...Not all calls for service are documented in this recap. A full list of our calls can be found at: https://www.franklinma.gov/.../public-information-logs...
Franklin Police begin publishing a "weekly recap" for more details than the daily information logs provide |
Sunday, January 8, 2023
"the combined pressure of drought and overconsumption is proving to be more than it can bear"
"Without dramatic cuts to water consumption, Utah’s Great Salt Lake is on track to disappear within five years, a dire new report warns, imperiling ecosystems and exposing millions of people to toxic dust from the drying lake bed.The report, led by researchers at Brigham Young University and published this week, found that unsustainable water use has shrunk the lake to just 37 percent of its former volume. The West’s ongoing megadrought — a crisis made worse by climate change — has accelerated its decline to rates far faster than scientists had predicted.But current conservation measures are critically insufficient to replace the roughly 40 billion gallons of water the lake has lost annually since 2020, the scientists said."
Follow up on Supreme Court report "What Went Unsaid in the Chief Justice’s Report on the Judiciary"
“A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear,” Chief Justice Roberts added as he thanked Congress for passing a law last year to protect judges. The new law was named in honor of Daniel Anderl, the son of Judge Esther Salas of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, who was murdered in 2020 in an assault meant for the judge at her home. The law screens from the public the personal information of federal judges and their families, including identifiers such as license plate numbers and addresses. Leaders like the chief justice deserve praise when they highlight the dangers all public officials now face.Focusing on the Brown decision was nonetheless surprising. After all, the court appears poised to reverse a decision upholding affirmative action in school admissions, one of the very remedies that the Brown decision spawned, and which all nine members of the court stood squarely behind in 1954 and reaffirmed in a subsequent case in 1958.In past years, the chief justice sometimes used his year-end report to describe substantive reforms in the federal courts, like the task force created in 2018 in response to allegations that federal judges had harassed their staffs sexually and in other ways. Not so in his latest report, which was four pages long with a five-page appendix. Chief Justice Roberts did not mention any of the many issues that made the news about the court last year — the lack of an effective recusal requirement for justices whose actions or those of family members raise questions about impartiality, the leak of a draft of the court’s decision overturning abortion rights, the insufficiency of financial disclosure and questions about fund-raising for the Supreme Court Historical Society."
J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press |
Thursday, December 1, 2022
"The commission’s report also highlighted the many challenges that stand in the way of decarbonization efforts"
"A COMMISSION that spent the last 11 months studying ways to help the state meet its emissions reduction requirements by shifting to cleaner buildings and addressing heating fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions released its final recommendations Wednesday, but was not able to come to consensus around a timeline for phasing out new fossil fuel heating equipment.The Commission on Clean Heat’s final report recommends that Massachusetts develop and implement a “clean heat standard” that could incentivize cleaner heating technology and promote the electrification of building stock, encourage joint natural gas and electric system planning, and reorganize existing energy efficiency and clean energy transition programs to be more user-friendly for residents, businesses, and contractors.The commission’s report attached some urgency to the recommendations. The residential and commercial building sector-specific sublimits established in keeping with the state’s 2021 climate law require a 28 percent reduction in emissions by 2025 and a 47 percent reduction by 2030, all compared to the baseline of 1990 emissions. As of 2020, the commission said, emissions for the residential and commercial buildings sector were 18 percent below 1990 levels."
A heating oil truck makes a delivery in downtown Boston with the old city hall in the background. (Photo by Andy Metzger) |