Joe Landry provides this video about the history of Franklin, MA from 1950 to 1959.
Direct video link: https://youtu.be/Bgl12IcLKLU
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Town of Franklin, MA: COVID-19 Dashboard
The Town of Franklin COVID-19 Dashboard can be found here bit.ly/TOFDshbrd
new 'dashboard view' = https://t.co/jPvsvLAL0O
Shared from Twitter = https://t.co/pUiGppThKQ
The new presentation of data uses the same data previously shared
The chart below details the confirmed, recovered, and isolated cases of COVID-19 in the Town of Franklin. This data reflects the most current information available and will be updated with additional information as confirmed counts are released through the Franklin Board of Health from the state Department of Public Health (DPH). Data for this table is based on information available in the Department of Public Health surveillance database at a single point in time. Case counts for specific cities and towns change throughout the day, as data cleaning occurs (removal of duplicate reports within the system) and new demographic information (assigning cases to their city or town of residence) is obtained. Statewide data is here (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting)
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| Town of Franklin, MA: COVID-19 Dashboard |
Abortion access policies become law in MA
The Boston Globe has the following on the override of Gov Baker:
"Abortion rights will be formally codified in state law, and access to the procedure will be expanded after the Senate on Tuesday joined the House in overriding Governor Charlie Baker’s veto of the legislation.
The Senate reaffirmed its support for the abortion access measures on a 32-8 vote, one day after the House’s 107-46 vote."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
CommonWealth Magazine has the following
On Ma.gov, the actual legislative text https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H5179
Fiscal Year 2021 3rd Quarter Real Estate & Personal Property Tax Bills have been mailed
Fiscal Year 2021 3rd Quarter Real Estate &
Personal Property Tax Bills have been mailed
Treasurer Collector, Kerri A. Bertone has mailed the Fiscal Year 2021 3rd Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property tax bills.
The due date for these bills is February 1, 2021
Shared from the Town of Franklin
https://www.franklinma.gov/treasurer-collector/news/fiscal-year-2021-3rd-quarter-real-estate-personal-property-tax-bills-have
https://www.franklinma.gov/treasurer-collector/news/fiscal-year-2021-3rd-quarter-real-estate-personal-property-tax-bills-have
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| Fiscal Year 2021 3rd Quarter Real Estate & Personal Property Tax Bills have been mailed |
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Christmas Tree pick up schedule = Week of Jan 11
From the current Solid Waste flyer
"Christmas Tree Collection DaysWeek of January 11, 2021"
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| Christmas Tree pick up schedule = Week of Jan 11 |
FM #424 Planning Board Meeting - Food Pantry segment - 12/21/20 (audio)
FM #424 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 424 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the public hearing segment of the Planning Board meeting held Monday, Dec 21, 2020. The segment covers the site plan and renovations for the proposed new location of the Franklin Food Pantry at 138 East Central St.
This session of the radio show shares the public hearing segment of the Planning Board meeting held Monday, Dec 21, 2020. The segment covers the site plan and renovations for the proposed new location of the Franklin Food Pantry at 138 East Central St.
The meeting was conducted virtually via Zoom conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Quick Recap:
- Surprise, the Planning Board is concerned about parking on the site
- After initially objecting to a request for a waiver of the $1500 site plan fee, the Board did reconsider and vote to waive the fee. The Food Pantry is a 501(c)3 operation operating only on grants and donations to provide support for its clients, mostly Franklin residents
- More importantly, the site is contaminated from previous use as an auto dealer and that complicates how to handle stormwater and snow removal. Should be impossible but will be complicated and possibly expensive
- Residential abutter concerned about losing their green bush divider along the property line and to talk with the Food Pantry planners to work out an agreement
The recording runs just over an hour, so let’s listen to the Planning Board discussion on the Franklin Food Pantry plans to move into 138 East Central St.
Audio file = https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-424-planning-board-mtg-food-pantry-segment-12-21-20
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Meeting agenda
https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/agenda/planning-board-agenda-102
Meeting agenda folder
https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/agenda/planning-board-agenda-102
Food Pantry proposal and renderings - 138 East Central Street
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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!
------------------
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 #424 Planning Board Meeting - Food Pantry segment - 12/2120 (audio) |
$668M available to support businesses in MA
"The Commonwealth has made an additional $668M available to support businesses. @MassGCC will target a portion of these funds to sectors experiencing the most significant economic hardship & loss of revenue due to #COVID19MA. #MAbiz"
Details: http://ow.ly/P72Z50CVyHy
Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/MassEOHED/status/1343612866801315846
Go direct to grant info: https://www.empoweringsmallbusiness.org/covid-19-response/sector-specific-relief-grant-program-massachusetts-businesses
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| $668M available to support businesses in MA |
CommonWealth Magazine: Deleo stepping down, House overrides Gov Baker's abortion veto
"DeLeo stepping down; Mariano facing no opposition"
"IN A MESSAGE read by a tearful House clerk, Speaker Robert DeLeo announced he is resigning his position on Beacon Hill at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, setting the stage for the ascension of Majority Leader Ronald Mariano of Quincy to the top position in the chamber on Wednesday.
Shortly after the announcement just before 2 p.m., the speaker’s office said DeLeo would give a farewell address Tuesday afternoon and a caucus to elect a new speaker will be held on Wednesday."
Continue reading the article online
"House overrides Baker’s abortion veto"
"THE HOUSE ON MONDAY voted 107-46 to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of legislation allowing women as young as 16 to obtain abortions without parental or judicial consent and expanding when pregnancies can be terminated after six months.
The Senate on Tuesday is expected to join the House in overriding the governor’s veto, giving the Legislature a victory on the issue of broader abortion access at a time when President Trump has added several justices perceived as anti-abortion to the US Supreme Court. It’s not clear if a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision protecting a woman’s right to have an abortion without excessive government intervention, would have any impact in Massachusetts."
Continue reading the article online
Student first amendment case coming to Supreme Court
In one of the first cases the Supreme Court will hear after the holiday break:
It was a Saturday in the spring of 2017, and a ninth-grade student in Pennsylvania was having a bad day. She had just learned that she had failed to make the varsity cheerleading squad and would remain on junior varsity.
The student expressed her frustration on social media, sending a message on Snapchat to about 250 friends. The message included an image of the student and a friend with their middle fingers raised, along with text expressing a similar sentiment. Using a curse word four times, the student expressed her dissatisfaction with “school,” “softball,” “cheer” and “everything.”
Though Snapchat messages are ephemeral by design, another student took a screenshot of this one and showed it to her mother, a coach. The school suspended the student from cheerleading for a year, saying the punishment was needed to “avoid chaos” and maintain a “teamlike environment.”
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
Franklin, MA: 1940 to 1949 (video)
Joe Landry provides this video about the history of Franklin, MA from 1940 to 1949.
:
"confused by infectivity, contagiousness & transmissibility, you might find this helpful"
Fatima Tokhmafshan (she/elle) 🇨🇦🏳️🌈 (@DeNovo_Fatima) tweeted at 7:48 PM on Sun, Dec 27, 2020:
#scicomm https://t.co/3McqnBxwVY
Shared from Twitter:https://twitter.com/DeNovo_Fatima/status/1343358162578112513?s=03
If like me, you're confused by infectivity, contagiousness & transmissibility, you might find👇🏽helpful.
Big shoutout to @macroliter @KindrachukJason @angie_rasmussen, @sci_questions for helping clarify these concepts (would appreciate input if inaccuracies detected)
#scicomm https://t.co/3McqnBxwVY
Shared from Twitter:https://twitter.com/DeNovo_Fatima/status/1343358162578112513?s=03
 |
| confused by infectivity, contagiousness & transmissibility, you might find this helpful |
"The margin surpassed the two-thirds majority needed in both houses to force enactment of the bill"
The Boston Globe has the following:
"The Democratic-controlled House voted Monday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill.
House members voted 322-87 to override the veto, well above the two-thirds needed to override. If approved by two-thirds of the Senate, the override would be the first of Trump’s presidency."
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
The Washington Post also has this article
The New York Times also has this article
The election endgame is underway
Having completed watching "The Queen's Gambit" over the holiday weekend, the chess term is quite appropriate here. Some refer to politics as a game, I tend not to, especially since it affects our lives and livelihoods. Nonetheless, the term applies well.
"A Republican congressman from Texas sued Vice President Mike Pence in the latest long-shot effort to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump.Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
In the lawsuit, Representative Louie Gohmert seeks a court order forcing the vice president to acknowledge what Gohmert claims is Pence’s power to disregard states’ chosen Democratic electors and instead select competing slates of GOP electors on Jan. 6.
That’s the day the Senate and House meet jointly to open and count certificates of electoral votes from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The vice president has the constitutional role of presiding over the Senate, which has traditionally included overseeing the formal acceptance of the Electoral College vote."
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/28/business/pence-is-sued-by-republican-congressman-long-short-effort-reverse-bidens-victory-over-trump/
The Boston Globe headline "Pence is sued by Republican congressman in long-shot effort to reverse Biden’s victory over Trump".
The podcast "What Trump Can Teach Us about Con(stitutional) Law" provides insights into this recent development in the Presidential Election of 2020 https://trumpconlaw.com/47-lame-duck
Monday, December 28, 2020
FM #422-423 School Committee Meeting - In two parts - 12/22/20 (audio)
FM #422-423 - This is the Franklin Matters radio show, another one in the series.
This session shares the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, Dec 22, 2020.
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: some of the School Committee and Central Office personnel were in the Council Chambers, the remainder of the Committee was remote via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
I’ve split the just over two hour and thirty minute meeting into two logical segments:
- First - covers the opening through the Guests/Presentations (approx. 1 hour and 23 minutes)
- Second - picks up from the Superintendent's goals through to the end of the public meeting as they entered Executive Session (not to return to public meeting) (approx. 1 hour and 9 minutes)
Let’s listen to this segment of the School Committee meeting of Dec 22, 2020
Audio files:
First #422 - https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HDbNY59S
Second #423 - https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HXmz9VVS
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Meeting packet folder
https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/december-22-2020-school-committee-meeting-packet
https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/december-22-2020-school-committee-meeting-packet
My notes from the meeting
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/franklin-ma-school-committee-meeting.html
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/franklin-ma-school-committee-meeting.html
-------------
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!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
FM #422-324 School Committee Meeting - In two parts - 12/22/20 (audio)
CommonWealth Magazine: steps to boost voting rights; let MA home bakers do their thing
"3 steps Mass. should take to boost voting rights
Too many of the state’s voters are disenfranchised"
"SINCE THE SHOT heard around the world at the battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts has been at the forefront of modern democracy. The Massachusetts Constitution – which was drafted by John Adams – formed the model for the United States Constitution and remains the oldest continuously-operating constitution in the world. Despite this history of democratic leadership, in recent years Massachusetts has fallen behind other states in ensuring that all eligible voters can register, vote, and have their votes count. The upcoming legislative session is an opportunity to change that and build on the work done in 2020 to open up voting to more people during the pandemic.
It was encouraging that Massachusetts leaders, like those in many other states, took important steps this year to expand early voting and to send vote-by-mail applications to every registered voter."
Continue reading the article online
"Let Mass. home bakers do their thing
Patchwork of regulations make starting a business difficult"
"RETIRED SALON OWNER and daycare provider Marcia Donnelly did not want to fight City Hall. She just wanted to sell home-baked sourdough bread from her kitchen in Southbridge.Homemade food businesses are common and easy to start in 48 states, and have become increasingly popular during COVID-19. Worried about global supply chains and general uncertainty, the pandemic has boosted demand for fresh, locally sourced products. Unfortunately, Massachusetts has resisted the trend, along with New Jersey. “It was a battle from the get-go to set up my business,” Donnelly says."
Continue reading the article online
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