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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 *
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"You're invited! Join me for a virtual town hall on 1/24 to reflect on 2021 and share your priorities for 2022.
This event will begin with a short briefing about my legislative work then open up for a Q+A with constituents.
Register here: https://t.co/fhfj9jg3Py #mapoli "Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeccaRauschMA/status/1484223530283810819
Register for Senator Becca Rausch's Town Hall - Monday, Jan 24 |
As your voice and advocate in the State Senate, I am very proud to share several 2021 accomplishments, including a robust COVID-19 response, billions of dollars invested into our communities, and the advancement of critically needed reforms through the legislative process on Beacon Hill.
Safety for You and Your Family: My top priority has been advocating for measures that keep you and your family safe and stable throughout this public health crisis. Last year alone, my team and I helped more than 500 constituents access government benefits and supports, including unemployment assistance and food security. I also hosted monthly virtual office hours, senior coffees, and two youth legislative forums to remain accessible to constituents through the ups and downs of this pandemic.
In addition to crafting and advocating for school masking legislation and the COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Act, I also worked in partnership with public health experts, community organizations, and my legislative colleagues to pressure the Baker Administration to implement policies to keep our communities safe and local economy afloat through this crisis. Our achievements included universal masking in all K-12 schools, paid time off for families and caregivers taking children to COVID-19 vaccination appointments, implementing a COVID vaccine pre-registration system for mass vaccination sites, and delivering a multi-pronged COVID-19 Action Plan to the Governor.
Safety during these difficult times also means addressing violence and discrimination. Amid the rise of conspiracy theories and disinformation about vaccines and COVID-19, we have also seen an alarming spike in antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia on social media, in our public schools, and from elected officials. It is our collective responsibility to call out hate and injustice whenever we see it. I collaborated with Robert Trestan, Executive Director of ADL New England, to pen a GBH commentary piece explaining the rise in antisemitism within the antivax movement here in Massachusetts and across our nation. As your State Senator, I have publicly condemned abject acts of hate, offered to engage in constructive dialogue in communities, secured tens of thousands of dollars to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion work in our district, and voted to support the Genocide Education Act, now law, which requires that genocide education be taught in Massachusetts public schools before the end of high school. Unfortunately, COVID-19 is not the only pandemic we’re up against.
Funding Our Communities’ Recovery: The Legislature passed a $4 billion bill to allocate federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to equitably invest in our continued recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. This bill delivers broad spectrum supports for our communities’ health, including mental and behavioral health, housing security, our environment, and workforce development. I secured numerous amendments to support our district and the Commonwealth at large, including targeted funding to assist women re-entering the workforce, providing post-traumatic stress care for medical personnel, and $1,000,000 in investments for local housing, transportation, water infrastructure, and other projects in our district.
I secured several victories in the FY 2022 budget as well, including $500,000 for local projects across our district, a pilot program for a statewide youth mental health support text line, funding for the Department of Public Health to hire personnel with expertise in combatting vaccine hesitancy, and funding for New Hope’s new domestic violence shelter and an updated facility for the Attleboro Center for Children.
Legislative Victories: The gears of the legislative process are turning, and many bills are moving through their respective committees. Committees must take action on every timely filed bill by February 2, 2022, so we can expect an increase in floor votes and legislation headed to the governor’s desk in the coming months.
My Senate colleagues and I have already advanced some game-changing bills. In October, we passed comprehensive election reform legislation, strengthened by adoption of several amendments I filed. The bill provides election day voter registration, permanent mail-in voting, improved jail-based voting access, and upgrades to our elections infrastructure. My amendment work also elevated issues still left to address, like ballot drop box ratios and paid time off for voting. We also passed the Mental Health ABC Act to improve access to culturally competent care, support and boost our Commonwealth’s mental health care workforce, reduce barriers to emergency treatment, and more. This month, we again passed a bill to make government-issued IDs more accessible to people experiencing homelessness to facilitate access to critically needed services across our Commonwealth. These bills now await action by the House.
As Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA), I also worked to pass the law that improves conditions for egg-laying hens while keeping our egg supply available and affordable.
Moving Forward: There is still so much work to be done. This session I filed more than 40 bills designed to advance election reform, good governance, public health, reproductive justice, climate action, and intersectional justice and equity. This month, my lead climate action legislation cleared the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, and I anticipate more favorable reports on my bills in the coming weeks. My team and I continue working hard on your behalf to shepherd these bills through the legislative process.
It is my great honor to represent the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District in the Massachusetts State Senate, and I’ll continue putting my proven leadership to work for you. Please reach out to me if you need assistance, have thoughts on policy, or want to check in. My office phone number is 617-722-1555, my email is becca.rausch@masenate.gov, and you can sign up for a personal office hours appointment at beccarauschma.com/office-hours. I also invite you to join me for my district-wide virtual town hall conversation on Monday, January 24 at 7 PM (sign up at www.beccarauschma.com/town-hall).
As we begin 2022, I wish you and your loved ones strength, health, resilience, and joy. I look forward to everything we will accomplish together this year.
Senator Becca Rausch represents the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District, comprised of Attleboro, Franklin, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley, and Wrentham. Senator Rausch serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture and the Senate Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
Senator Rausch to host Virtual Town Hall - Jan 24, 2022 - Register now to participate! |
SENATOR RAUSCH TO HOST VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Senator Rausch will give a Beacon Hill update and field questions from
constituents during the virtual forum.
Boston, MA – Senator Becca Rausch will host a Virtual Town Hall reserved exclusively for constituents of the Bristol, Norfolk, and Middlesex District and the newly drawn Norfolk, Worcester, and Middlesex District on Monday, January 24, 2022 from 7 - 8 PM on Zoom.
Senator Rausch will give a brief update about her second term in office and invite constituents to participate in a question-and-answer session to share their questions and opinions on state issues. To comply with public health precautions during the pandemic, the virtual conversation will take place over Zoom.
"This pandemic has been a difficult time for every single one of our community members," said Senator Rausch. "Now more than ever, it is critical that constituents have direct access to their elected officials so we can advance the policies to best support the families, schools, small businesses, and municipal governments we represent."
This event is open exclusively to the community members of Attleboro, Bellingham, Dover, Franklin, Medfield, Milford, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleboro, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley, and Wrentham.
To register for the event, go to https://www.beccarauschma.com/town-hall, email alana.westwater@masenate.gov, or call 617-722-1555.
Senator Becca Rausch represents the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District, comprised of Attleboro, Franklin, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, North Attleborough, Plainville, Sherborn, Wayland, Wellesley, and Wrentham. Senator Rausch serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture and the Senate Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
Senator Rausch to host Virtual Town Hall - Jan 24, 2022 - Register now to participate! |
SAVE THE DATE! Join me for a virtual town hall on 1/24 to reflect on 2021 and share your priorities for 2022. This event will begin with a short briefing about my legislative work then open up for a Q+A with constituents.
Register here: https://t.co/i09yPdQgV4 #mapoli
Shared from: https://t.co/4HISVrLdl1 or https://twitter.com/BeccaRauschMA/status/1476247649577836547
Senator Becca Rausch: Virtual Town Hall - Jan 24, 2022 |
CNN and Sesame Street are coming together for a town hall on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. ET to help children and parents understand the latest issues surrounding coronavirus, the vaccine, and celebrating holidays safely.Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1336747511575433218?s=03
What questions do your kids have? https://t.co/iwYaLtD9gB
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said in a televised town hall Friday night that the pandemic sweeping through the nation has yet to see “the full effect of a potential surge upon a surge” following the Thanksgiving holiday.Fauci, who will be staying on as chief medical advisor to President-elect Joe Biden, was taking part in a discussion on the coronavirus with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta when he was asked about a model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that is projecting more than 530,000 deaths from the virus in the United States by April.
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4th Congressional District Race: A Town Hall on Race and Racism |
FM #333 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 333 in the series.
This session shares the 4th District Candidates Town Hall facilitated by the “Franklin Area Against Racism” and “Medway Marches” and broadcast by Franklin TV. The Forum was conducted via Zoom to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Angelica Crosby, Raj Seelam, and Justin Bates moderated the forum providing time for each candidate to respond to the questions on a random rotation.
All Democratic and Republicans were invited. The Democratic candidates participating (alphabetic order by last name) Jake Auchincloss, Becky Grossman, Alan Khazei, Ihssane Leckey, Natalia Linos, Jesse Mermell, and Ben Sigel.
Photos of the event participants (including screen captures of the questions and response order shared via Twitter - tagged as “#4thDist0819”) are available in this Google Photo Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/DQYMEE1ZVRq8g8yh9
The recording runs just about 1 hour and 40 minutes, so let’s listen to the 4th District candidates discuss their positions on a series of issues.
Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HXg6gkXK
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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?
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"
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FM #333 4th District Candidates Town Hall - 8/19/20 (audio) |
A Virtual Town Hall on Race and Racism for the candidates of the 4th Congressional district race to have a discussion while answering YOUR questions on addressing racism/combating systemic racial inequality.
Democrats: (7:00-8:40)
Republicans: (8:45-9:00)
- all Democrat and Republican candidates were invited -
This will also be broadcast via live stream https://franklintv.vod.castus.
Follow the event on Facebook for updates https://www.facebook.com/events/332521414591118/
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4th District Candidates - Town Hall on Race and Racism |
A Virtual Town Hall on Race and Racism for the candidates of the 4th Congressional district race to have a discussion while answering YOUR questions on addressing racism/combating systemic racial inequality.
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Virtual Town Hall on Race and Racism - Aug 19 |
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Franklin TV schedule for Monday - All Access |
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Franklin TV schedule for Monday - Franklin Pride |
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Franklin TV schedule for Monday - Town Hall |
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Franklin trash and recycle bins or totters |
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Franklin trash and recycle bins or totters |
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Holiday Hours for Franklin Town Offices, Library, Senior Center and Recreation |
"Elizabeth Warren will be hosting a town hall in Franklin, and you’re invited! She’ll be talking and answering questions about how she’s holding the Trump Administration accountable and fighting for Massachusetts families in the Senate. This is also a chance to meet some of our team members and learn how you can get in this fight in 2018.
Doors open at 12:30 PM and the town hall will begin at 1:30 PM. Admission is first come, first served. We're sorry, but signs/posters will not be permitted inside the event."
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Franklin Town Hall with Elizabeth Warren by Elizabeth for MA |
Trash WILL NOT be delayed for the Christmas and New Year's holiday. Your trash and recycling will be picked up on your usually scheduled trash day.
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Trash and recycling bins |
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Franklin Library holiday hours Dec 24 through Jan 2,, 2017 |
Town offices closed on Monday, Dec 26 |
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
Read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here.Thirty-six teams were tested on their movie mettle at last night's Trivia Bee at the Horace Mann Middle School, and in the end, knowing the name of Humphrey Bogart's club in "Casablanca" determined the victors.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting and the "Franklin Munibees," (aka Town Hall), Town Attorney Mark Cerel and Treasurer Jim Dacey, won a spot on the Bee trophy when they correctly answered "Rick's American Cafe."