Franklin.TV: Putter Day 2023

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 01/01/2023

The last time January 1st landed on a Sunday was in 2017, six years ago. Today, we look back on those long years with some regret. We still have to contend with a war that began in 2022 in Ukraine, a pandemic that began in 2019, and the big lie from an administration that began its deceptions in 2017. Mentally exhausting.

So, here we are. Another New Year. Instead of leaping forward, it can feel more like we’re limping forward. Somewhere in all of this I suppose I’m obligated to type something vaguely positive – like ‘hope springs eternal’. However, although hope, like ‘thoughts and prayers’ is a sweet sentiment. It’s not an action.

Without action, major events can slip sadly from hope to thoughts and prayers.

We see New Year’s Day as a fresh start, but an imaginary one. It’s just a number.

Putter Day is also a start – a call to action. Putter Day is about making that start tangible in some small way by acting to make something in your life (or a friend’s life) better. It doesn’t matter what that positive action is, or even how small it is. It’s a real start – in the right direction.

Then, after a good start, what’s next?

Just keep it rolling.

Imagine every household in America, all of us – improving, fixing or acting on something positive (no matter how small) on Putter Day.

Father Time

Then, if we keep it rolling, perhaps Father Time would be more considerate of our new year.

May 2023 smile warmly, kindly upon us all.

Thanks for listening to 102.9 wfpr●fm. 

And – as always – thanks for watching.

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)

Beaver St. Interceptor Rehabilitation/Replacement and New Beaver St. Pump Station - Invitation for Bids

Under MGL c. 30-39m, the Town of Franklin seeks bids for the Beaver Street Interceptor Rehabilitation/Replacement and New Beaver Street Pump Station.  Pre-bid conference and site walk through on 1/12/2023 at 11:00 AM at the Franklin Municipal Building.

The project includes but is not limited to: - Installation of approximately 8,000 lf of 8" to 24" sanitary sewer using open-cut excavation and/or jack and bore; - Rehabilitation of approximately 6,000 lf of 16" to 24" sanitary sewer using cured-in-place pipe lining; - Installation of approximately 4,000 lf of 18" sanitary sewer force main by open-cut excavation and construction of associated sanitary sewer pump station; - Installation of approximately 900 lf of new water main; - Associated work including new manholes, manhole rehab., trench and roadway pavement, traffic controls, and utility abandonment and relocation. 

Additional Information:  Beaver Street Interceptor Rehabilitation/Replacement and New Beaver Street Pump Station 

Shared from Town of Franklin pages ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/purchasing/bids/beaver-st-interceptor-rehabilitationreplacement-and-new-beaver-st-pump-station

Beaver St. Interceptor Rehabilitation/Replacement and New Beaver St. Pump Station - Invitation for Bids

Chief Justice's Year-End Reports on the Federal Judiciary

"It was one of the most controversial terms in Supreme Court history, with the shocking leak of a draft opinion that eventually overturned a half century of abortion rights, public polls that showed record disapproval of the court’s work and biting dissension among the justices themselves about the court’s legitimacy.

But Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. chose not to address those or any other controversies in his annual “Year-end Report on the Federal Judiciary,” issued Saturday. Instead, he focused on a high mark of the judiciary’s past — a federal district judge’s efforts to implement school desegregation at Little Rock’s Central High School after the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

“The law requires every judge to swear an oath to perform his or her work without fear or favor, but we must support judges by ensuring their safety,” Roberts wrote in his nine-page report. “A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear. The events of Little Rock teach about the importance of rule by law instead of by mob.”

Continue reading the article online at the Washington Post ->

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/31/supreme-court-roberts-leak-report/

The year end report for 2022 -> https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/year-end/2022year-endreport.pdf

Prior year end reports can be found online ->    https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/year-end/year-endreports.aspx

 

https://www.supremecourt.gov/

CommonWealth Magazine: "DPU approves wind farm contracts despite financing concerns"

"THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES  on Friday approved 20-year power purchase agreements between the state’s three major utilities and the offshore wind developers behind Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower Wind, rejecting claims and concerns raised by the developers that the contracts are no longer adequate to finance their projects.

Avangrid, the developer behind Commonwealth Wind, had asked the DPU to dismiss its power purchase agreements because rising inflation and interest rates as well as supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine had driven up costs to a point where the existing pricing was no longer sufficient to finance and build the project."

Continue reading the article online -> 

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/energy/dpu-approves-wind-farm-contracts-despite-financing-concerns/

Listen to the Making Sense of Climate episode discussion the wind contracts

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/hear-about-green-banking-and-more-in.html

CommonWealth Magazine: "DPU approves wind farm contracts despite financing concerns"

Polling strategy study by New York Times: "partisan polls tend to be more inaccurate"

"Not for the first time, a warped understanding of the contours of a national election had come to dominate the views of political operatives, donors, journalists and, in some cases, the candidates themselves.

The misleading polls of 2022 did not just needlessly spook some worried candidates into spending more money than they may have needed to on their own races. They also led some candidates — in both parties — who had a fighting chance of winning to lose out on money that could have made it possible for them to do so, as those controlling the purse strings believed polls that inaccurately indicated they had no chance at all.

In the election’s immediate aftermath, the polling failures appeared to be in keeping with misfires in 2016 and 2020, when the strength of Donald J. Trump’s support was widely underestimated, and with the continuing struggles of an industry that arose with the corded home telephone to adapt to the mass migration to cellphones and text messaging. Indeed, some of the same Republican-leaning pollsters who erred in 2022 had built credibility with their contrarian, but accurate, polling triumphs in recent elections.

But a New York Times review of the forces driving the narrative of a coming red wave, and of that narrative’s impact, found new factors at play."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/us/politics/polling-election-2022-red-wave.html

    

Source: New York Times analysis of Washington Senate race polls aggregated by FiveThirtyEight

Notes: Trends are calculated with a 14-day average. Polling groups considered Republican-aligned include those identified by The New York Times and FiveThirtyEight. Polling groups considered nonpartisan are those not known to be aligned with or funded by a political party.

By Jason Kao

GBH Forum Network: "Meme Wars: how the internet changed politics from Occupy to the insurrection"

GBH Forum Network (@GBHForumNetwork) tweeted

Just published! 👉 https://t.co/kXqZEphvrK  or https://forum-network.org/lectures/meme-wars-how-internet-changed-politics-occupy-insurrection/ 

A talk with @ShorensteinCtr @BostonJoan and @brianfriedberg moderated by @BostonGlobe @anissagardizy8 on meme wars and their impact on American democracy. https://t.co/w7BAfa3fe3

Shared from Twitter ->   https://twitter.com/GBHForumNetwork/status/1604964817072279582

Franklin Public Library: Library News & Events for January 2023

Library Hours

The Library's hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The library will be closed on Sunday, January 1st and Monday, January 2nd for News Year's Day. The library will be closed Monday, January 16th for Martin Luther King Day.

Book Sale

Franklin Library Book Sale
Friday, January 20th,  1:00-5:00 p.m.  Saturday, January 21st , 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon.
All books are just one dollar!

Bag Sale - $5 A Bag—Saturday, January 21st, from 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Come fill a brown bag with all the books you can!

Featured Databases

Transparent Language Online for Libraries empowers anyone to learn 110+ languages anytime, anywhere, on any device — with unlimited simultaneous usage. Creating an account will let you save your progress and learned vocab, as well as access the mobile apps!

Universal Class offers free and unlimited access to over 500 online courses. Interested in continuing your education, expanding your horizons or just learning something for fun? Choose from a diverse range of subjects including  computer training, resume writing, home and garden, health and medicine, hobbies, self-help  and more. Universal Class virtual classrooms are extremely easy to use and they are available any time, anyplace with an internet connection. To get started you'll need an email address and your library card. Universal Class is also available through the Libby App.

Creativebug has more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists. Access to this database is limited to Franklin residents.

Volunteer Tutors Needed for ESL & Adult Literacy Program

The Franklin Public Library is starting an English as a Second Language and Adult Literacy Program to serve Franklin and its surrounding communities. If you have the time and interest to help adult learners improve their English reading, writing, speaking and listening, please consider volunteering!

To volunteer, you must have a high school diploma or equivalent, have patience, and be able to speak English clearly. Prior teaching experience is not required. Volunteer Tutors will be given training and all supporting materials will be provided. The time commitment is one orientation session, 18 hours of tutor training, and to meet with your student 2 hours per week for one year. Volunteers and students do not need to be Franklin residents. If interested, please contact Assistant Library Director Kim Shipala at kshipala@minlib.net, or fill out the registration form on the library's website 

Volunteers Needed for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program

Volunteers are always needed for the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs… better known as VITA and TCE. Many volunteer roles are available. You can help as a greeter, an interpreter or a computer specialist. Most of all, we need tax preparers!

Learn more & Sign up at: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers

Massachusetts Center for the Book 2023 Reading Challenge

January: A book with 100 pages or less

Do you have a cozy reading corner you've been wanting to spend more time in? Do you have a group of friends who like to select books together? Maybe a little constraint helps you choose what to read next.

If you are looking for a fun, unique reading challenge to take on in 2023, Massachusetts Center for the Book has you covered.

Check it out today! https://www.massbook.org/readingchallenge

From the Friends of the Franklin Library

The New Year is here and we are ready to continue our support of the Franklin Public Library. Keep reading to find out how you can help us with this mission.

Valentine's Day Fudge Fundraiser. Fudge + Friends = a VERY sweet deal and we hope you'll participate! We are partnering with The Fudge Lady of Uxbridge to offer for sale 14 of her delicious and decadent homemade specialty fudge flavors. Order as gifts for friends & family, treat yourself, or do a little bit of both. All fudge purchases help the Friends fund various library activities. Orders due by Friday, February 3rd . CLICK HERE to order your Fudge!

Become a Friend! We meet at the Library at 7:00pm on the first Wednesday of each month. Please join us at an upcoming meeting (January 4 th & February 1 st are our next meetings) to find out how you can get involved. Don't have time just now to attend meetings, no worries, you can still support our mission and the Library by making a direct donation to the Friends. Membership dues and donations are both tax deductible. To join the Friends or make a donation, CLICK HERE.

 For the full list of January events -> https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-public-library/news/january-2023-franklin-library-news-events

Franklin Public Library: Library News & Events for January 2023

Franklin Police Officer Gulla celebrates graduation from Boylston Police Academy

"Congratulations to Officer Christopher Gulla who graduated from the Boylston Police Academy today. Graduation was held at the Franklin High School. Officer Gulla will begin his 12-week FTO and then join the patrol division. Welcome to the FPD!

Pictured left to right: Academy Drill Instructor Detective Leanne Baker, Officer Andressa Rosa, Academy Drill Instructor Deputy Chief James West, Officer Christopher Gulla, Chief Thomas Lynch, Lieutenant Jason Reilly, Lieutenant Eric Zimmerman"

Shared from Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CmztCXLvEca/

Pictured left to right: Academy Drill Instructor Detective Leanne Baker, Officer Andressa Rosa, Academy Drill Instructor Deputy Chief James West, Officer Christopher Gulla, Chief Thomas Lynch, Lieutenant Jason Reilly, Lieutenant Eric Zimmerman

FHS girls hockey and boys basketball teams post wins on Friday

Via HockomockSports.com and Twitter, we share the results of the fall sports competition for Franklin High School on Friday, December 30, 2022. We also provide the link to the full set of Hockomock League results below.

Boys Basketball = Franklin, 62 @ Xaverian, 56 – Final 

– Franklin cashed in from downtown against Xaverian’s zone defense, sinking 12 three-pointers on its way to a non-league win on the road. Senior Justin Allen was responsible for over half of the Panthers’ threes, hitting a total of seven for a team-high 21 points. Allen hit one in each the first, second, and third quarters but erupted for four of them in the third to help the Panthers build a 53-40 lead going into the fourth. Andrew O’Neill hit two more threes while Geino Scaringello, Bradley Herndon, and Sean O’Leary each connected for our. O’Leary added 20 points in the win.

Girls Hockey = Franklin, 3 vs. Dedham, 2 – Final 

– After Dedham battled back from two goals down to tie it, Julia Flynn popped up in the third period with her third goal of the afternoon to lift the Panthers to the non-league win. Flynn scored twice in the opening period to put Franklin in control, but Dedham rallied with a pair of tallies in the second. Lindsay Atkinson had a pair of assists for the Panthers.

Huge 3-2 win today for @fhsvgockey !! Julie Flynn with the hat trick!! L. Atkinson with 2 assists ! “Brickwall” Brown amazing game!

Great team effort in a very intense and physical game! Coming together girls!!

https://twitter.com/FHSGirlsPuck/status/1608982403468627969

Wrestling = Franklin, 24 @ Ashland, 51 – Final

Devistating loss to Ashland 51-24 pins from Winiker, Sauer, Carlucci, Foley 

https://twitter.com/FHSWrestle/status/1608967210831327234

For other results around the Hockomock League

https://hockomocksports.com/fridays-schedule-scoreboard-12-30-22/

FHS Panthers

New York Times: "Epidemics That Weren’t: How Countries Shut Down Recent Outbreaks"

Benjy Renton (@bhrenton) tweeted Thu, Dec 29, 2022:

It is important to acknowledge the instances globally in which the public health system worked as it was designed — outbreaks that were mitigated and prevented through community trust, rapid vaccine deployment and an effective public health workforce.   https://t.co/JVADQ0hJhe

"While cutting-edge vaccine technology and genomic sequencing have received lots of attention in the COVID years, the interventions that helped prevent these six pandemics were steadfastly unglamorous: building the trust of communities in the local health system. Training local staff in how to report a suspected problem effectively. Making sure funds are available to dispense swiftly, to deploy contact tracers or vaccinate a village against rabies. Increasing lab capacity in areas far from the main urban centers. Priming everyone to move fast at the first sign of potential calamity."

Shared from Twitter -> https://twitter.com/bhrenton/status/1608640248464166914

Volunteers received training on how to conduct safe and dignified burials for Ebola victims in Mubende, Uganda, in  October.Credit...Luke Dray/Getty Images

Franklin Municipal Building CLOSURE - January 2, 2023

The Franklin Municipal Building will be CLOSED on Monday, January 2nd, 2023 in observance of the New Year's Day Holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023.

Reminder: Curbside trash/recycling pickup will operate on a regular schedule during the week of the New Year's Day holiday (January 2nd - 3rd, 2023).

The Recycling Center Holiday hours are as follows:

• Saturday, December 31st: 8 AM - 1PM
• Sunday, January 1st: CLOSED

Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/franklin-municipal-building-closure-january-2nd-2023

Franklin Municipal Building CLOSURE - January 2, 2023

Janie Avenue Neighborhood Waterline Improvements Project - Invitation for Bids

"In accordance with MGL c. 30 section 39m, it is the intention of the Town of Franklin to retain the services of a construction firm for the purposes of constructing approximately 4,250 feet of waterline improvements in the Janie Avenue Neighborhood in the Town of Franklin."

Additional Information:  Janie Avenue Neighborhood Waterline Improvements Project

Shared from Town of Franklin page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/purchasing/bids/janie-avenue-neighborhood-waterline-improvements-project

Janie Avenue Neighborhood Waterline Improvements Project - Invitation for Bids

Register for your spot in the Creative Corner Art Studio Winter schedule

Via Creative Corner Art Studio: 

January/February Winter Art Sessions for all ages! Register to save your spot

Register for your spot in the Creative Corner Art Studio Winter schedule

Register online at Creative Corner -> https://www.creativecornerartstudiofranklin.com/

Shared from Instagram -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CmuA3jPLctm/

Franklin's Event Outlook: Dec 30, 2022 to Jan 5, 2023

The Franklin Public Library has multiple family events as December winds down to the New Year on Sunday! You can also walk the labyrinth at the First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF) on New Year's Eve. 

Friday, December 30

5:30pm - David Penza (67 Degrees Brewery)

Saturday, December 31 = New Year's Eve

10:00am - Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

11:00am - Noon Year's Eve Party! (Franklin Public Library)

2:00pm - The Library will be closing at 2 pm

5:00pm - Labyrinth Walk (First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF))

Sunday, January 1, 2023 = New Year's Day

Library closed

Monday, January 2, 2023

Library closed

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

7:00pm - Franklin Art Association (Franklin Senior Center)

Thursday, January 5, 2023

6:30pm - Franklin LGBTQ Alliance - monthly meeting (Franklin Public Library)

7:00pm - Author Janis Robinson Daly (Franklin Public Library)

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

The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Find the full Community event calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

The Cultural calendar displays only the cultural events      https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/pages/calendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

Community Calendar

More Perfect Union: 067 - 2022 Reprise Episode (Part One)

In this episode, the group reflects on this past year's episodes, diving back into topics such as The Supreme Court, Women's Rights, Gun Laws & Uvalde, Clean Energy and more, bringing in clips from past episodes and guests such as Peter Canellos (author of The Great Disenter), Jesse Mermell (Democratic Candidate for Congress) and Bob and Stavroula McQuarrie (firearms trainers and specialists).

Audio file -> https://more-perfect-union.captivate.fm/episode/067-2022-reprise-episode-part-one

Franklin.TV: A More Perfect Union (audio)

More Perfect Union - WFPR

Discussing American Politics and Current Events

Peter Fasciano, Dr. Michael Walker Jones, Dr. Natalia Linos, Jeff Roy, Chris Woolf and Nick Remissong host a round table discussion on current events and American politics, bringing about thoughtful conversation, compelling discourse, and a look at what the future might hold for the United States.

Find all the episodes online -> https://more-perfect-union.captivate.fm/episodes  or subscribe with your favorite podcast app