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 *
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Senior Center Parking Lot - Holiday Sing-A-Long - Dec 16
Voices of Franklin: Karen Landers questions zoning variance request
This dwelling will overpower the homes adjacent to it, among other things. I thought this town was concerned with Storm water runoff. Why do zoning laws exist if a variance request can be had without much concern to the neighbors Involved. According to the annual town report, from 2008 to 2018, there were 315 requests for a variance for many reasons. Only 23 were denied.
If any Franklin resident is concerned about how variances are reviewed and want to get informed, go to the town website and sign up to get onto Zoom for this hearing. We are all abutters!
Karen Landers
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/03/introducing-voices-of-franklin.html
United Regional Chamber issues the $50 Challenge
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President & CEO
The United Regional Chamber of Commerce
310 South Street
Plainville, MA 02762
Phone: 508-316-0861
www.unitedregionalchamber.org
"People Do Business With People They Know"
Boston Globe: All Scholastics for Fall 2020
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Boston Globe: All Scholastics for Fall 2020 |
FPS Voice: Get the Facts from the Franklin Public School Nurses (audio)
Topics covered include:
- FPS Dismissal Procedures
- Reporting of Absences
- COVID-19 Testing and Timelines
- Travel Information
- Over the Counter Medicine
- Where to find information!
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FPS Voice: Get the Facts from the Franklin Public School Nurses (audio) |
St John's Episcopal - Christmas Eve Service - 9 PM
You are invited to join us for a festive Christmas Eve service at 9 PM on Facebook Live: St John's Episcopal Church (https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsfranklinma).
Blessings to you and yours in this season of light and hope.
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St John's Episcopal - Christmas Eve Service - 9 PM |
Attention film buffs: TCM to Screen 2020 National Film Registry Selections - Dec 15
TCM to Host Screening Special Featuring National Film Registry SelectionsLibrarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today the annual selection of 25 of America's most influential motion pictures to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host a television special Tuesday, Dec. 15, starting at 8 p.m. ET to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry this year. Hayden will join TCM host and film historian Jacqueline Stewart to discuss the films. Select titles from 30 years of the National Film Registry are freely available online in the National Screening Room (https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-screening-room/). Click here for more information (https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-20-082/?loclr=ealn). |
New York Times: Scope of Russian Hack Becomes Clear: Multiple U.S. Agencies Were Hit"
"The scope of a hack engineered by one of Russia’s premier intelligence agencies became clearer on Monday, when some Trump administration officials acknowledged that other federal agencies — the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and parts of the Pentagon — had been compromised. Investigators were struggling to determine the extent to which the military, intelligence community and nuclear laboratories were affected by the highly sophisticated attack.United States officials did not detect the attack until recent weeks, and then only when a private cybersecurity firm, FireEye, alerted American intelligence that the hackers had evaded layers of defenses.It was evident that the Treasury and Commerce Departments, the first agencies reported to be breached, were only part of a far larger operation whose sophistication stunned even experts who have been following a quarter-century of Russian hacks on the Pentagon and American civilian agencies."
New York Times: "2020: The Year in Sports When Everybody Lost"
"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."
There was a hashtag, soon there'll be tone indicators
This came across the radar last week but got dropped and is definitely share worthy.
"Tone Is Hard to Grasp Online. Can Tone Indicators Help?We all struggle to communicate on the internet. Now, young people are leading a sincere effort to clear things up.
Written language is an imperfect method for the messy, complex business of communication, where facial expressions, gestures and vocal tones transmit oceans of meaning and subtext — for those, at least, who can read them.
Words themselves offer none of that: In a famous study, Albert Mehrabian, a psychology professor at U.C.L.A., found that humans tend to perceive only a fragment of a speaker’s meaning through spoken words. Instead, he observed, most meaning is gleaned from body language and tone of voice.
In a text-only environment, how can we ever be certain other people understand what we mean when we post online? Enter tone indicators. "
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
Boston Globe: "MBTA service will be cut significantly in early 2021"
"The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will curtail service next year after the agency’s oversight board finalized a plan Monday to reduce subway frequencies and eliminate weekend commuter rail trains on several lines in response to low ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.The package, approved 3-2 by the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, is more limited in scope than a plan the agency had presented in November that frustrated advocates and political leaders, but still represents a considerable reduction in service.The MBTA described the budget cuts as a short- to medium-term measure to take advantage of unprecedented declines in ridership, with most changes taking effect between January and March. But with ridership forecasts murky at best, officials said they have not developed plans for service levels during the fiscal year that begins in July, when coronavirus vaccines may be widely available."
"THE MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a series of scaled-back service cuts on Monday and then, in an apparent swipe at Beacon Hill, voted not to raise fares on bus and subway riders until service hours and ridership on those transportation modes return to pre-COVID levels.Brian Lang, a member of the control board, proposed the fare amendment after expressing frustration about lawmakers who tell him and his colleagues not to cut service but then do nothing to provide the revenues needed to maintain service.“Taxes have turned into a dirty word,” Lang said. “The Legislature is afraid of it.”
Monday, December 14, 2020
Franklin Interact schedules clothing drive for January, 2021
Franklin Interact is partnering up with Savers to collect donations of clothes, shoes, toys, and other household items this holiday season. We will be handing out bunches of flyers to each of our members so the members can then leave flyers in mailboxes around their neighborhood.
Please fill out this form before noon on Wednesday: https://forms.gle/TPdRJKQmRJfVMv4x5
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Franklin Interact scheduling clothing drive for January, 2021 |
FAQs for #ThinkFranklinFirst gift cards
- Cards can be purchased for ANY denomination if they are bought at Dean Bank. Cards purchased online at www.franklingiftcard.com have a $25 minimum, due to processing fees.
- Cards can be purchased with cash only at Dean Bank, and with credit/debit cards online.
- This program is not only running during the holiday season! It is our hope that these cards become part of the Franklin shop local mentality. The cards do not have an expiration date.
- The list of participating businesses will continue to evolve. Check the website for the most current list.
- The businesses listed have agreed to accept and honor the cards at their locations, although you may not be able to add a tip on the cards. Please be prepared for that 🙂
- A printable list of Participating Businesses is now available on our website here https://franklingiftcard.com/participating-businesses
- And finally, this is purely an Economic Development initiative! Businesses are 100% reimbursed for any cards redeemed at their location.
- Dean Bank
- Random Smile Project
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FAQs for #ThinkFranklinFirst gift cards |
FM #413 EDC Listening Session #3 - 12/09/20 (audio)
This shares the Economic Development Committee Business Listening Session #3 that was held on Wednesday, December 9, 2020.
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid mode; some of the key participants were in the Council Chambers, the remainder participated virtually via Zoom conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Note: during a period of technical difficulty, the Council Chambers dropped off the bridge so what if anything was said until they rejoined is not part of this recording.
Links to the meeting agenda, future schedule for the listening sessions, and my notes are in the show notes. The recording runs just over an hour and twenty minutes (~1:20) Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HsLdWPTS
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https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/business-listening-session-3-dec-9-2020.html
Future schedule of listening sessions
https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/uploads/business_listening_flyer_-_final_2_1_1.pdf
My notes captured via Twitter and shared here in summary form
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/edc-business-listening-session-3-recap.html
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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
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
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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School Budget info for the Finance Committee meeting Dec 15
From: Sara E. Ahern, Ed.D., Superintendent and Miriam Goodman, School Business Administrator Date:
RE: December 15th Meeting Information
(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MiE4x0OwXj2p8_bb-Fg24uVUauN2OQ2C/view)
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the snow has just about disappeared since this photo was taken |