It’s official: Get free COVID test kits at COVIDtests.gov

It's official: Get free COVID test kits at COVIDtests.gov by Colleen Tressler, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC There's a new federal resource to get free FDA-authorized coronavirus test kits. At COVIDtests.gov, you'll find information about testing and a link to the U.S. Postal Service – special.usps.com/testkits – where you can order up to four rapid tests to be sent to your home address. Read more -> https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2022/01/its-official-get-free-covid-test-kits-covidtestsgov?utm_source=govdelivery

It’s official: Get free COVID test kits at COVIDtests.gov

Franklin TV and wfpr.fm schedule for Thursday, Jan 20, 2022

• wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Thursday

9:00a/12:00p/6:00p   A Priest, A Minister and a Rabbi

10:00a/1:00p/7:00p   Frank’s Music – Frank Falvey and Jim Derick

11:00a/2:00p/8:00pm   Frank Presents – Frank Falvey Presents 

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26) = Thursday

7:30 am Cooking Thyme: Appetizers

8:00 am Veterans' Call: Matt Ching Pt. 2

9:00 am We The People January 6th Vigil

10:30 am SAFE Coalition: Kyle Brodeur

11:30:00 am SAFE Coalition: PSA

12:00:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Waffles

12:30 pm Sandya: Pasta

1:00 pm Physician Focus: Concussions and Brain Injury

1:30 pm Pizzapalooza: Deep Dish

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Fall 2019 Show 1

3:00 pm Arts Advocacy: Impact

3:30 pm Cooking Thyme: Appetizers

4:00 pm Once Upon A Town: The Post Office

4:30 pm Frank Presents: Michael Walker-Jones

5:30 pm The Only Cure Is Education

6:00 pm Extended Play Sessions: Roberto Morbioli

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28) = Thursday

7:00 am Public School Concert: Horace Mann Winter Music 2019

8:30 am ArtWeek: Airme THURSDAY

7:00 am Public School Concert: Horace Mann Winter Music 2019

8:30 am ArtWeek: Airmen of Note

11:00 am FHS Varsity Wrestling: v Taunton 0-12-22

1:00 pm FHS Boys Varsity Basketball: v Milford 01-05-21

3:00 pm FHS Boys Varsity Hockey: v Hingham 01-12-22

5:00 pm Public School Concerts: Oak Street Music 2019

6:30 pm FHS Varsity Swimming: v Mansfield 12-16-21

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29) = Thursday

8:00 am Conservation Commission

11:00 am Community Preservation: 01-04-22

2:00 pm Conservation Commission

7:00 pm Conservation Commission, LIVE, Chambers

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf     

Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm)

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node, Virtual Meeting, Thu, Jan 20, 7:00 PM

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node. Next Meeting: 

Thursday, January 20, 7:00 PM.

Hello to all once again from the 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node. Please mark your calendars for this week's Node meeting, Thursday, January 20, 7:00-9:00 PM. (We have a lot to discuss, but feel free to leave early if necessary.)  

Here are the Zoom details.

Join on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/544734092?pwd=N3hwYzZBazRYZG9ycHRsbmliVkMxZz09

Meeting ID: 544 734 092  

Password: 350ma

Dial-in +1 646 876 9923

We welcome you to join us, whether or not you've attended previous meetings. We will review the status of climate bills at the State House and the actions we need to be taking. Here is the summary (with links) as sent out in the recent "Climate Weekly" email from Sam Payne at 350 Mass.

In order for climate bills to succeed in 2022, they must be reported favorably out of committee by February 3. With a record number of environmentally focused bills in this legislative session, we need to be clear and adamant about our priorities. Among the bills we are prioritizing in our legislative agenda are the Building justice with jobs bill, the Future of heat bill, and our first independently written bill, An Act relative to retiring high emissions vehicles. To learn how to lobby in favor of these bills, join our Lobbying Training webinar January 23, led by 350 Mass' very own Cabell Eames. 

Many of the bills we are prioritizing are centered around housing. Why? Roughly 40% of emissions in Massachusetts come from buildings, and housing closely ties environmental action with the related struggles of equity and justice. 350 Mass' current statewide campaign is Bringing the Green New Deal Home. Our Housing Working Group is running two actions next week (Monday 1/17 at 7 pm and Tuesday 1/18 TODAY! at 4 pm) to train you to lobby for our priority bills in anticipation of Mass Power Forward Lobby Week January 24-28.

We need to take action and keep up the pressure on elected officials in Washington and Boston, and on banks and insurers who enable fossil fuel infrastructure. We'll also continue our discussion about local activities and opportunities to engage town officials and residents.

If you'd like to chat or meet with one of us, please reply to this email and we will find a time to explore with you how you can get involved in our multi-faceted organization. Our Greater Franklin Node wants to collaborate with groups and individuals from the region who share the same concerns, so all our cities and towns can benefit. Please join us to learn and contribute. 

Visit the 350 Mass website to learn about opportunities to add your voice for a just transition for a climate-safe world.  Sign up for updates. 

We'll send a meeting reminder on Thursday. Thanks for your participation and support.

Node Co-coordinators,

Carolyn Barthel

Ralph Halpern

Ralph Halpern

ralph.halpern@comcast.net

781-784-3839 (h)

339-203-5017 (c)

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node, Virtual Meeting, Thu, Jan 20, 7:00 PM

LiveARTS String Quartet performance postponed to TBD

As a result of the recent upsurge in the Omicron variant, First Universalist Society in Franklin is not permitting any gatherings in its Meetinghouse for the foreseeable future. 

Therefore, the LiveARTS concert scheduled for Sunday, January 30, will be postponed to a later date (TBD). 

For tickets to the future date -> https://www.liveartsma.org/events/livearts-string-quartet-1

The concert was previously announced here
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/12/livearts-january-30-2022-concert.html 

LiveARTS String Quartet

Recap: Community Preservation Committee hears more about pickleball, as well as monuments on Town Common (audio)

FM #702 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 702 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the second of two public hearings held by the Franklin, MA Community Preservation Committee. We recorded this via the Zoom conference bridge Jan 18, 2022.  

Quick Recap:

• Second of two public hearings opened Tuesday, Jan 18, 2022. Residents made several suggestions for use of the CPA money to be available later this year. 

• Vice-Chair David McNeill opens the meeting. Chair Chris Feeley joined along later

• My notes captured during the meeting were shared via Twitter and the thread doc is available in the show notes

The recording runs about 1 hour and 18 minutes, so let’s listen to the public hearing of Franklin’s Community Preservation Committee held Jan 18, 2022.

Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-702-community-preservation-cmte-public-hearing-2-01-18-22

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

The committee legal notice can be found ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2021-12-20_cpc_legal_ad_.pdf

The public hearing dates are:

1. January 4, 2022 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 355 East Central Street  Agenda = https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-01-04_cpc_agenda_-_hearing_1.pdf

2. January 18, 2022 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building at 355 East Central Street   Agenda =   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-01-18_cpc_agenda_-_hearing_2.pdf

The Online application can be found at this link https://franklinma.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1097

Additional information regarding the CPC & CPA can be found at the following links:

1.  Community Preservation Coalition -> https://www.communitypreservation.org/about

2.  MA State Legislator - Community Preservation ->   https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter44B

3.  Secretary of State Page - Accepting the CPA ->   https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elecpa/cpaidx.htm

Please bookmark the Franklin CPC website: https://www.franklinma.gov/community-preservation-committee 

Notes and recording of first meeting ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/recap-community-preservation-committee.html 

CPC Pubic Hearing #2 Twitter thread -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/124zieglzk7CPBYqAJoXqwAuNRWLAhqT7/view?usp=sharing

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

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"

Recap: Community Preservation Committee hears more about pickleball,
as well as monuments on Town Common (audio)

Victory all around for the FHS boys and girls swim teams, both basketball teams, and gymnastics team on Tuesday

Via HockomockSports.com, we share the results of the FHS winter sports action on Tuesday:

 
Boys Basketball =Foxboro, 53 @ Franklin, 78 – Final 

– Franklin opened the game with a big run, established a double-digit advantage by halftime, and never looked back in a win over visiting Foxboro. A strong start led to a 19-point first quarter for the hosts with Will Tracey (eight points) and Andrew O’Neill (12 points) each connecting from deep, and sophomore Sean O’Leary accounting for six of his 10 points. Sophomore Henry Digiorgio (16 points) hit a trio of threes in the second as Franklin took a 35-23 lead into the locker room. Tracey and classmate Sean Vinson (14 points) added threes in the third and O’Neill had seven more points to keep the Panthers ahead, leading 59-38 going into the fourth. Foxboro senior Dylan Gordon had a team-high 12 points while Sam Golub added 10 points for the Warriors.

Girls Basketball = Franklin, 51 @ Foxboro, 47 – Final 

– Franklin’s unbeaten run nearly came to an end at Foxboro, but the Panthers rallied from three points down with two minutes to play to remain in first place in the Kelley-Rex. After Foxboro took a one-point lead after the first, Franklin scored 20 in the second to take a 29-24 lead into the locker room. The Warriors won the third to send the game into the final quarter tied. Camryn Collins had a career-high 21 points, including 10 in the third quarter, to lead all scorers. Erin Foley added 13 and knocked down four threes, while Hannah Blake scored all seven of her points in the fourth to help Foxboro take a late lead. Stefany Padula scored eight of her 12 points in the fourth, making 6-of-8 from the line, to help Franklin pull out the win. Katie Peterson and Olivia Quinn each scored 11 points in the win, with 19 of their combined 22 coming in the opening half.

Swimming = Franklin @ King Philip, 7:00
Boys won -> 82-60 
Girls won -> 89-70
 
Gymnastics = Franklin, 144.2 @ Oliver Ames, 140.55 – Final 

– Franklin seniors Kate Rudolph and Emma White took the top two spots in the All Around category to help the Panthers land a win over Oliver Ames. Rudolph was first with a score of 37.4 and White was right behind at 36.4. Rudolph was first in the bars (8.85) and the beam (9.5) while taking second in the vault (9.6) and the floor (9.45). White was the winner for the vault (9.7) and the floor (9.7), taking second on the beam (9.0), and fourth on the bars at 8.0. Lizzie Brown added a third place finish on the vault (9.2), Elizabeth Schirduan was third on the bars (8.2) and the beam (9.0), Emma Nelson recorded a 9.0 on the vault and a 8.4. on the bars, and Caroline Woelfel scored key points in the vault (9.1), the beam (8.9), and the floor (8.85).

For other results around the Hockomock League
https://hockomocksports.com/tuesdays-schedule-scoreboard-01-18-22/

Swim team scores came from the FHS Athletics page ->   https://www.arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=7918

FHS Panthers

Recycle Your Beer Carriers And Corks at Franklin Liquors

"It’s estimated* that at least 10 million new plastic can carriers are used annually by breweries in Massachusetts, with just 10% of them being collected and re-used, and less than 2% of them ever getting recycled.  As a result, the amount of plastic beer packaging waste ending up in landfills each year is enough to fill any of the state’s largest breweries with discarded carriers rather than beer. 

Now you can bring them to Franklin Liquors to be reused by local breweries!"

Yes, a local answer to the issue raised in 2021.    https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/05/did-you-know-that-plastic-beer-carriers.html

Recycle Your Beer Carriers at Franklin Liquors

And Franklin Liquors will also recycle natural wine corks!

We also want your corks!!

Bring your natural wine corks to Franklin Liquors to be recycled!

Recycling your natural wine corks helps replace environmentally harmful, petroleum-based materials in consumer products with a natural, sustainable alternative.

Find out which wines use natural cork and which ones don’t. When you reach for a bottle, look for those with natural corks. https://recork.com/corkwatch

 

Recycle Your Natural Corks at Franklin Liquors

Shared from Franklin Liquors page ->    https://franklinliquors.wordpress.com/2022/01/18/recycle-your-corks-and-beer-carriers/

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds - Update on CIO Status

January 18, 2022

Dear Friends of the Norfolk Registry of Deeds and Registry Users,

Many of you have asked for an update on the efforts to keep the on-site Registry Chief Information Officer (CIO) that has been funded and in existence at the Norfolk Registry of Deeds for over 20 years. The Norfolk Registry of Deeds also needs to keep the on-site direct-report IT technology staff that makes up the Registry IT Technology Department which has been in place for well over 35 years.

The three Norfolk County Commissioners held a hearing on December 8, 2021 on recommendations if implemented that will negatively impact the functioning of an independent and modern Registry of Deeds as a result of not keeping as is an on-site Registry CIO and on-site Registry IT Technology Department. Attached is a document that was submitted to the Norfolk County Commissioners that you can review if you so choose click document here. This document advocates why the Registry IT Technology Department is needed and should be kept in this era of technology, cybersecurity and ransomware.

Also here is the link to the Norfolk County Commissioners Meeting of December 8, 2021:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdzTgUHXUHc

The words and reasons written by so many of you in letters and emails articulating why the Norfolk Registry of Deeds should keep its on-site direct report Registry IT Technology Department are so compelling. I wish I could now report that the advocated position of keeping the Registry CIO and keeping the on-site Registry IT Technology Department has finally won and prevailed. I can not. This critical issue is now being put into the Norfolk County Budget process as stated by the Norfolk County Commissioners.

Thank you so much for your support which must continue in order to make sure this unsound public policy decision is NOT implemented during this budget process.

I wish you and yours a happy and healthy new year in 2022.

Sincerely yours,

Register William P. O'Donnell
Norfolk County Registry of Deeds 

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds - Update on CIO Status

The Guardian: "Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists"

Kate Raworth (@KateRaworth) tweeted on Tue, Jan 18, 2022:

"This is big and bleak news. The planetary boundary for chemical pollution (aka 'novel entities') has been quantified for the first time - and it's now clear that humanity is massively transgressing levels that are safe for life on Earth. 

Plastics! Read on. https://t.co/OEHWdSOX23 "

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/18/chemical-pollution-has-passed-safe-limit-for-humanity-say-scientists

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateRaworth/status/1483480456335175684

The Guardian: "Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists"

CovidTestCollab.com hosts a crowd-sourced list of at-home COVID rapid tests available for purchase

 Olivia Adams (@livgust) tweeted on Mon, Jan 17, 2022:

Just launched https://t.co/80XDpqTpKh for crowd-sourcing #covidtest availability anywhere in the world. Report where there are/aren't tests available so we can get through #omicron! This site is only as good as we make it, so please participate and share! #covid19 #rapidtests

Find and use the new service here -> https://www.covidtestcollab.com/

You may recall that Olivia is the one who gained notice during 2021 with the application to find vaccine time slots when the MA app wasn't doing enough.   https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/us/olivia-adams-ma-covid-vaccine-website-trnd/index.html

CovidTestCollab.com hosts a crowd-sourced list of at-home COVID rapid tests

Franklin TV and wfpr.fm schedule for Wednesday, Jan 19, 2022

• wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Wednesday

9:00 AM 12:00 Noon and 6:00 PM Franklin Matters Radio/FPS Voice – Steve Sherlock
Franklin and its local government, services and events

•  This slot features the Franklin Housing Authority meeting - Jan 10, 2022. https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/recap-franklin-housing-authority.html

10:00 AM 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM  The Wonderful World of Wine – Mark Lenzi, Kim Simone    All about wine, its culture, lore and finer points

11:00 AM 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM Franklin Matters Radio – Steve Sherlock

Franklin and its local government, services and events 

• This slot features the "Talk Franklin" episode recorded Jan 14, 2022  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/talk-franklin-covers-current-news-with.html

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26) = WEDNESDAY

7:29:00 am Mass Department of Public Health: CO-VID 19

7:30:00 am It Takes A Village: 40 Percent Club

8:30 am Second Sunday Speaker Series: Charlie Harrington

10:00 am The Drummers Studio: 11th Anniversary Show Two

11:30 am Whole Health Visions: Cheryl Bagangan

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Waffles

12:30 pm Sandya: Pasta

1:00 pm Norfolk County Prevention Coalition: Fire Safety

1:30 pm Pizzapalooza: Deep Dish

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Fall 2019 Show 1

3:00 pm Candlepin New Generation: Show 11

3:30 pm Veterans' Call: Matt Ching Pt. 2

4:30 pm We The People January 6th Vigil

6:00 pm Cooking Thyme: Appetizers

6:30 pm Concerts on the Common: Southbound Train

9:30 pm Circle of Friends: Phil Ochs

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28) = WEDNESDAY

7:00 am Public School Event: Jazz Night 01-23-19

8:30 am Public School Event: Annie Sullivan Winter Music 2021

10:30 am FHS Boys Varsity Basketball: v Milford 01-05-21

12:30 pm ArtWeek: Ed Iannuccilli

1:30 pm FHS Girls Varsity Hockey: v Dedham 01-08-22

3:01 pm Public School Concerts: Oak Street Music 2019

4:31 pm FHS Varsity Wrestling: v Taunton 0-12-22

8:30 pm Public School Concert: Horace Mann Winter Music 2019

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29) = WEDNESDAY

8:00 am Town Council 01-05-22: 01-05-22

11:00 am Community Preservation: 01-04-22

2:00 pm Town Council 01-05-22: 01-05-22

7:00 pm Town Council: LIVE, Chambers, 826 2964 3659

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm)

"Talk Franklin" covers current news with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen - 01/14/22 (audio)

FM #701 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 701 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Marketing Communication Specialist Lily Rivera. We had our conversation via the Zoom Conference Bridge.

Conversation around current events

• The passing of former Town Council Andy Bissanti

• The move of Superintendent Sara Ahern to a position in Barnstable effective July 1 

• New leadership at the Senior Center; Director Danielle Hopkins and Deputy Director Christina LaRose

COVID-19 – change to remote meetings? No

Finance Committee - budget timeline and lesson on revenue process 

Reminder on Municipal aggregation – direct mailer coming

Community Preservation Act - public hearing, priority list starting

Town Council - to hear from DPW on their budget overview

The recording runs about 37 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Lily. Audio file -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/New-Year--New-Beginnings-e1d41ei/a-a78mor3

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

Council on Aging meeting - introductions of Director Danielle Hopkins and Deputy Director Christina LaRose and ensuing discussion ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/recap-senior-center-new-director-and.html 

Finance Committee recording -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/finance-committee-gets-lesson-on.html 

Municipal aggregation mailing update -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/01/attention-franklin-residents-dynegy.html 

Community Preservation Committee - Public Hearing ->

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/2022-01-18_cpc_agenda_-_hearing_2.pdf 

Town Council agenda -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/tc_agenda_jan_19_2022.pdf 

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

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"

 

"Talk Franklin" covers current news with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen - 01/14/22 (audio)