Sad news on the small and local business front, the Alumni Restaurant will not be reopening and is being put up for sale. The owner's note to the patrons shared here.
On the other hand, there is an opportunity for someone who would like to operate a restaurant!
Shared from Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/204307558091/posts/10160476432138092/
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| Alumni Restaurant not to reopen |
This hour features my conversation with Town of Franklin Finance Director/Comptroller Chris Sandini and Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/04/the-town-of-franklin-budget-cycle.html
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
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| Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) |
"In this episode, The Franklin Senior Center writers group presents stories and poems about growing up playing baseball, being a mother in a hockey family, the dawning of Spring, how meatloaf saved Zenobia's life and much more.
This episode aired on Franklin Radio for April 2022"
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| Senior Story Hour - WFPR: Baseball, Hockey, Spring, Meatloaf and So Much More (audio) |
After a two-year absence, Stamp Out Hunger has returned to Franklin. On Saturday, May 14, Franklin letter carriers will pick up donated goods from town residents at their mailboxes and deliver them to the Franklin Food Pantry. The Franklin Food Pantry is appealing to the community for some very specific items in this year's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive:
"In our current building, we have very limited space to store a surplus of items," said Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry. "That's why we are asking the community for these very specific items, as well as no expired food. We are so appreciative of all the donations we receive, but given our space constraints, we hope to focus donations on items currently in highest need."
The Pantry is emphasizing its request to please check expiration dates on every item donated. Processing expired items is resource intensive. Volunteers must check every donated item's expiration dates. The expired food must be sorted separately and then disposed of, which costs the Pantry time and money. According to Powderly, "We plan for 10,000 pounds of food during Stamp Out Hunger. Even with the 100 volunteers we hope to have over the entire day, each volunteer will need to handle one item each minute to keep up. It's an incredible amount of work, and expired items slow down the process, create waste, and lead to volunteer burnout. Checking donated food for expired items would be a huge help to us, and much appreciated by our hard-working volunteers."
Volunteers are still needed for the event. If anyone is interested, they can sign up online here.
Franklin residents can donate to the food drive by leaving a bag of non-perishable food and hygiene items where their letter carrier normally delivers their mail on Saturday, May 14. Letter carriers will pick up the bags during their normal mail rounds and will deliver the food to the Franklin Food Pantry.
"We are so thankful to the letter carriers, and a supportive community, for helping us acquire the items that are most needed," said Powderly. "We have almost 1,100 individuals who count on us for food and supplies on a regular basis. We could not provide for them without the support of such a generous community."
In lieu of donating goods, individuals who want to support the Pantry can donate online.
"Monetary donations give us the flexibility to purchase what we need, when we need it," said Powderly. "We can also purchase fresh food such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products to supplement the canned and boxed food donations. We count on both types of donations to provide a wholesome and balanced inventory of products for our neighbors."
For more information on the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, visit https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive . The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a nationwide effort organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) that provides food to local food banks and pantries that would otherwise be faced with depleted stocks during the summer months.
About the Franklin Food Pantry
The Franklin Food Pantry offers supplemental food assistance and household necessities to almost 1,100 individuals per year. The Franklin Food Pantry is not funded by the Town of Franklin. As a private, nonprofit organization, we depend on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations and other strategic partners. We are grateful for our many partnerships, including that with the Greater Boston Food Bank, that allow us to achieve greater buying power and lower our costs. Donations and grants fund our food purchases, keep our lights on, and put gas in our food truck. Other programs include home delivery, Weekend Backpack Program for Franklin school children in need, mobile pantry, emergency food bags and holiday meal packages. The Pantry is located at 43 W. Central St. in Franklin on Route 140 across from the Franklin Fire Station.
Visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.
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| Franklin Food Pantry: Stamp Out Hunger on May 14 |
Update:
Agenda for 6 PM meeting -> (live stream or cable broadcast as well as in person in the Council Chambers plus The Zoom option as added during the day on Monday and agenda revised to include it) https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/scagenda_4-26-22_special_mtg-revised.pdf
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| Franklin, MA: School Committee - Special Agenda UPDATED - Apr 26, 2022 |
April 25, 2022
Dear Registry Stakeholders and Citizens,
AN APPEAL FOR COMMONSENSE ACTION ON REGISTRY IT
Please listen to the professional staff that runs the Norfolk Registry of Deeds as to why the Registry needs its Information (IT) Technology Department. (click here to listen to the Registry staff at a Norfolk County Commissioners Meeting). The Registry staff who did a compelling job in arguing on behalf of all Registry users in this video have over 149 years of legal and land document recording experience. Shouldn't the words of a professional Registry staff that takes care of the land records to your house count more than some consultant who come in like "a hired gun" to say whatever they get paid to say? Doesn't the words in this video of staff that has given reliable service mean something when assessed against consultants who have never visited a Registry of Deeds or knew anything about Registry operations until they got paid as a consultant?
On May 4, 2022 there will be a vote by the Finance Committee of the Norfolk County Advisory Board made up of Avon, Randolph, Plainville, Brookline and Milton from the attached list of Advisory Board members (click here for a list of members). Please tell these Finance Committee representatives and the Advisory Board representative from your community who will be voting on May 11, 2022 to vote to keep the on-site direct report high level Registry IT staff in place.
Commonsense in this day and age would mean the Norfolk Registry of Deeds would keep its on-site direct report in the Registry budget Registry IT staff. This Registry IT Department has been in existence at the Norfolk Registry of Deeds for well over 35 years paid for by the Registry of Deeds.
Commonsense would say why jeopardize the land records that authenticate the legal title to your home. Commonsense would take note of all the fraud and cybersecurity risks in today's world and keep the Registry IT Department as is. Commonsense would say we use the Registry of Deeds dedicated revenues to pay for this IT technology staff which has played a key role in the modernization initiatives implemented at the Norfolk Registry of Deeds.
The Norfolk County Commissioners chose Plymouth and Bristol counties as the "benchmarks" to compare Norfolk County. The Registries of Deeds in these counties do have on-site direct report IT Departments. This should logically mean that Norfolk Registry should keep its on-site direct report IT Department. It did not. Why not? If this was a fair and impartial process the fact that the Registries in Plymouth and Bristol have on-site Registry IT staff should have ended all debate about the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds not keeping its on-site IT Department. Why should residents and taxpayers of Norfolk County get less service than what the people of Plymouth County and Bristol County get?
Thank you for your attention to this very important issue. Any action you take is appreciated by all who use and rely on the operations and services of your Norfolk Registry of Deeds.
Sincerely yours,
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| Appealing for Commonsense Action on Registry IT |
"We are hiring! Need a full-time Educational Support Professional (classroom assistant) at ECDC!
This is a school year position, but there is also an opportunity to work during our 6-week summer program!
Email me for more information kelleyk@franklinps.net ! "
Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinECDC/status/1518392993513938950
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| https://www.franklinps.net/ecdc |
On the climate front, the T is getting to buying electric buses, and 2 Conservation Law officials question the progress bring made by ISO-New England. Both items also covered in our "Making Sense of Climate" series.
"THE MBTA is beginning the process of electrifying its bus fleet, launching a long-awaited procurement that could lead to the purchase of 460 battery-electric buses over the next five years.
The T’s request for proposal went out on Friday, with the transit authority seeking a battery-powered bus supplemented with a diesel-power heating system and capable of going 150 miles on a single charge."
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| "Challenging the status quo on electricity, heating" |
"Two top officials with the Conservation Law Foundation say the region’s power grid operator and the state’s utilities are in some ways part of the problem instead of the solution to dealing with climate change.Greg Cunningham, the vice president and director of CLF’s clean energy and climate change program, and Caitlin Peale Sloan, the vice president for Massachusetts, said on The Codcast that they are concerned the institutions that should be leading the fight against climate change are not doing so."
"While gas prices soar for consumers, one group of people isn’t faring so badly.
Chief executives from the largest oil and gas companies received nearly $45m more in combined total compensation in 2021 as compared to 2020 amid the steep rise in gasoline prices across the US over the last year, a new report states.
Twenty-eight major oil and gas companies, such as Shell, Exxon, BP and Marathon Petroleum, gave out $394m in total to their chief executives in 2021, according to an exclusive analysis provided to the Guardian."
"There is a moment in the revelatory PBS Frontline docuseries The Power of Big Oil, about the industry’s long campaign to stall action on the climate crisis, in which the former Republican senator Chuck Hagel reflects on his part in killing US ratification of the Kyoto climate treaty.In 1997, Hagel joined with the Democratic senator Robert Byrd to promote a resolution opposing the international agreement to limit greenhouse gases, on the grounds that it was unfair to Americans. The measure passed the US Senate without a single dissenting vote, after a vigorous campaign by big oil to mischaracterize the Kyoto protocol as a threat to jobs and the economy while falsely claiming that China and India could go on polluting to their heart’s content.The resolution effectively put a block on US ratification of any climate treaty ever since."
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| A sign displays the price of gas at an Exxon gas station in Washington DC, in March. Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images |
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
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| Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) |
"In this episode, the group is joined by former BBC and WGBH radio voice Chris Woolf to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, Chris's time in Afghanistan reporting from the country, similarities and differences between the two, what it's like in a warring country and so much more."
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| More Perfect Union: 045 - Ukraine And War (With Guest Chris Woolf) (audio) |
There are two School Committee meetings scheduled back to back on Tuesday evening. The first meeting scheduled for 6 PM will be an open deliberation on the Superintendent candidate, current Asst Superintendent Lucas Giguere. The second meeting scheduled for 7 PM is the normal 2nd business meeting for the month. It features student science fair award winners in an otherwise 'light' schedule before going into an executive session to continue labor negotiation strategy.
Mar 1 - Special meeting on Superintendent hiring featured consultation with MASC Tracy Novick. The audio for this 45 minute session is here -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/03/franklin-school-committee-votes-to.html
Apr 13 - Special meeting to interview the current Assistant Superintendent Lucas Giguere. Each committee member asked 2 questions each with a brief time check after the first round of questions. The meeting last 65 minutes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/04/special-school-committee-mtg.html
Agenda for 6 PM meeting -> (note NO Zoom option, only live stream or cable broadcast as well as in person in the Council Chambers = The Zoom option as added during the day on Monday and agenda revised to include it) https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/agendas/scagenda_4-26-22_special_mtg-revised.pdf
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| Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - Apr 26, 2022 |
"There is still time to register for the MetroWest Arts & Culture Symposium in Franklin. Lunch is provided with the $15 ticket from our local Birchwood Bakery. So sign up soon by clicking the link before it fills up! Hope to see you there."
Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/jeffroy/status/1518336877388087296
Yes, I am delighted to be leading a session for this event - "Sharing your Arts Identity through Social Media." I plan for it to be a collaborative session. I'll share the lessons I have learned and use regularly and solicit examples from participants.
Register for the Symposium via Eventbrite -> https://www.eventbrite.com/e/metrowest-arts-culture-symposium-tickets-270070025717
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| Register for the MetroWest Arts & Culture Symposium - May 14 |
Norfolk County Register of Deeds William P. O’Donnell reported that first quarter (January-March 2022) real estate stats showed an uptick in residential and commercial sales and sale prices, while overall numbers indicate a downturn.
Register O’Donnell noted, “During the recently concluded first quarter of the 2022 calendar year, the average Norfolk County real estate sales price, both residential and commercial, increased 38% to $1,261,0181. Total real estate volume, again both residential and commercial, was $2.56 billion, a 53% increase year over the same period in 2021.”
Register O’Donnell further stated, “The lack of inventory and new construction have continue to push prices up. It remains to be seen if this trend continues as overall activity is starting to slow.”
For the first quarter of 2022, the number of land documents recorded, (such as deeds, mortgages, homesteads, mortgage discharges, etc.) was 34,315, a 33% decline from the first quarter of 2021. Register O’Donnell noted, “This figure tells us there is still a healthy real estate market, however we are not seeing the volume we saw in 2020 and 2021.”
There were 6,664 mortgages recorded at the Registry during the first quarter of the calendar year 2022 compared to 14,001 for the same time period in 2021, a 52% decrease. However, total mortgage borrowing was $7.5 billion for January through March compared to $5.7 billion during the same period in 2021. “With the increase in interest rates, consumers seem to be less inclined to borrow. The discrepancy between the decrease in the number of mortgages and the increase in the amount of mortgage indebtedness is due in part to some substantial mortgage loans on a few commercial properties”, stated the Register.
Norfolk County homeowners continued to benefit from the Homestead Act. A total of 2,378 declarations of homestead were recorded during the first half of the calendar year, a 12% decrease over the same period a year ago. “The Homestead law provides limited protection against the forced sale of an individual’s primary residence to satisfy unsecured debt up to $500,000. I urge Norfolk County residents to consider this important consumer protection tool,” noted O’Donnell.
A sharp increase in foreclosure activity in Norfolk County is a cause for concern. A total of 20 foreclosure deeds were recorded in the first quarter versus only 6 filed during the first quarter of 2021. In addition, there was a significant 81% increase in the number of Notice to Foreclose Mortgage recordings, the first step in the foreclosure process.
O’Donnell stated, “While the eastern Massachusetts economy remains on a solid footing, there are still those in Norfolk County experiencing economic hardship, in many cases through no fault of their own. The Registry continues to work with Quincy Community Action Programs, (617-479-8181 x376), and NeighborWorks Housing Solutions, (508-587-0950) to help homeowners who have received a Notice to Foreclose Mortgage document. A third option is to contact the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Consumer Advocacy and Response Division (CARD) at 617-727-8400.”
Register O’Donnell concluded, “The economy, particularly the job market in eastern Massachusetts, appears to be improving but inflation, rising interest rates and the lack of inventory may result in a slower real estate market going forward.”
Attached is a link to a Quincy QATV “Good Deeds” episode with host Mark Crosby and Register O’Donnell discussing the 2022 Norfolk County real estate statistics and other issues relating to the Registry of Deeds:
To visit click here or copy the URL link below:
https://www.qatv.org/
To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives, like us at facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds or follow us on twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds and Instagram.com/NorfolkDeeds.
The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is located at 649 High Street in Dedham. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. All land record research information can be found on the Registry’s website www.norfolkdeeds.org. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center via telephone at (781) 461-6101, or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.
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| Register O’Donnell Delivers 2022 First Quarter Real Estate Activity Report |
