Welcome to the new and improved Rausch Report!

The newsletter was shortened for publication here. To view the full contents please visit ->  https://mailchi.mp/masenate/monthlynewsletter-17024605?e=0c2c9810fe

Your monthly Beacon Hill update from Senator Becca Rausch. 

View this email in your browser Happy snow day! Hope everyone is staying safe and warm and that shoveling hasn't been too bad.  This month on Beacon Hill, we finalized the Senate Rules (the House did theirs too), officially formed legislative committees, and assumed committee and other leadership roles. I am proud to be reappointed as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources! This term I'll also serve as the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on the Census and the Senate Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, in addition to serving as a member of the Joint Committees on Education, Agriculture, Revenue, and Emergency Preparedness and Management.  Soon, the clerks will perform their Hogwarts sorting hat job of assigning 6000+ bills to committees of jurisdiction and legislative hearings on those bills will begin shortly.  The rules may seem mundane, but they're actually really important to the functioning of our government. For example, a silver lining of COVID was that the Legislature figured out how to hold hearings remotely. We've been back in the State House for a long while now, but we're keeping committee hearings hybrid so people have easier access to government. Also, the Senate will continue to publish all Senate committee votes online. These are real positives for our democracy.   I heard from several of you about the now-adopted proposal to strike term limits for the Senate presidency. Everyone who reached out opposed that proposal. As I recently discussed on GBH's Talking Politics, I was one of only three Democrats in the Senate to vote against removing term limits.   While I heard and appreciated the concern from colleagues about having different rules for just one of the three primary policymakers in the Commonwealth, as a matter of principle, I could not support striking term limits. Term limits are an important part of small "d" democracy, ensuring space for different approaches and visions to emerge in an ever-changing society. I believe our democracy is stronger for that refresh, and one of my core pledges to you has always been to push for good government, with transparency and accountability. My no vote notwithstanding, term limits for the Senate presidency no longer exist.  This month's Rausch Report includes legislative and #BeccaBunch updates, local event highlights, a sneak peek into our Women's History Month series, and information on upcoming office hours.   For real-time updates, please follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you are a constituent and need assistance, please don't hesitate to call me and my team at (617) 722-1555, email me at becca.rausch@masenate.gov, or attend upcoming office hours. We are here to help.    Yours in service,     Senator Becca Rausch    Sign up for a 15-minute appointment here Our mailing address is: The Office of Senator Becca Rausch Massachusetts State House, Room 218 24 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02133

Jamie and I review the 40b info, Open space public hearing, committee applications close March 3, and more (audio)

FM #951 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 951 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen. We had our conversation via conference bridge on Thursday, February 23, 2023.  

Topics for this session

Economic Development Subcmte

• 40b ‘deep dive’

• Friendly 40b preview of 121 Grove St

Master Plan preparations

• Open Space public hearing, focus groups underway

• A&C listening sessions scheduled

• Applications still open until March 3 (also Davis Thayer, Police Station, et al)

Town Council preview Mar 1 meeting

Gov Healey’s budget release 3/1

The conversation runs about 36 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie. Audio file -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/Foundation-for-Franklins-Future---Master-Planning-e1vkvbb/a-a9djoda

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Town Council agenda for 3/1/23

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/march_1_2023_tc_agenda.pdf

Economic Development Subcommittee meeting (recap & links)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/02/economic-development-subcmte-took-deep.html 

Open Space & Recreation Public Hearing #1 (recap & links)

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/02/watch-or-listen-to-open-space.html 

Town Administrator page -> https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator

Talk Franklin podcast page -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin 

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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

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!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Jamie and I review the 40b info, Open space public hearing, committee applications close March 3, and more (audio)

School Committee video replay available for Feb 28, 2023 meeting with presentations from HMMS and MTSS with a math focus (video)

The Franklin School Committee met on Tuesday evening for about 2 hours and 40 minutes in a hybrid format; 2 members remote, the other 5 in Council Chambers.

They did get presentations from Horace Mann Middle School as well as Dr Tina Rogers and the math specialists. Photos of the presentations were captured as the presentations were not released publicly prior to the meeting and will be posted to the Schools page sometime during the week (usually).

Photo album of the HMMS presentation

https://photos.app.goo.gl/R2HWNdxF1QZ336bu9

Photo album of the MTSS and math specialists update

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SJVb1hE86jJ1N5RS9

My full notes and audio recording of the meeting will be available in a couple of days. In the meantime, the PDF of my notes captured via twitter can be found here ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v_BIifotc76d0Fp6Tb0Aqw-y2dWJM3nE/view?usp=share_link

Video link ->  https://www.youtube.com/live/gJn56-GpkQY?feature=share

28% of students in elementary grades received Tier 2 and or Tier 3 support in this schoolyear to date

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node: Meeting March 2 and Other Activities

This email is a notice about the Zoom meeting of the 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node, Thursday, March 2nd, 7:00 pm. 

We also are highlighting important activities taking place throughout March that we hope you can join. 

 

Zoom Meeting, Greater Franklin Node, Thursday, March 2nd, 7:00 pm. Our regular meetings are held the first and third Thursdays of each month. We will update 350 Mass' campaigns for 2023-24, review developments in climate and energy policy, and discuss advocacy opportunities in our Node's region.

Zoom link: Thursday, March 2, 7:00 pm. 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88924607755?pwd=bHl1empTRVFxYzdZUmVBSGl1Q0p3Zz09

Meeting ID: 889 2460 7755

Passcode: 350ma

Dial-in +1 646 876 9923

350 Mass Greater Franklin Node

 

350 Mass Campaign Selection Meeting, Wednesday, March 1, 7:00 pm. All the Nodes and work groups have participated in a process of selecting campaign priorities for the organization. This week's meeting will select the campaigns for 2023-24. (Our last campaign, Bringing the Green New Deal Home, addressed housing retrofit legislation, protested dirty energy in our grid, and passed the Fair Share Amendment.) Current, new and prospective members are all invited to the Zoom meeting. For information and registration, see this Event page. 

 

Rally for Clean Energy - "The Boston Fee Party". Thursday, March 2, 11:00 am. Location: Boardwalk next to Boston Children's Museum, 306 Congress St, Boston. Sponsored by Fix the Grid. Prices of electricity are skyrocketing this winter because our region depends too much on fracked gas for our power. The current system is unsustainable, harmful, polluting, and unnecessary. We know that cleaner alternatives exist. Call on Governor Healey to lead on reforming our electric system. Information and registration here.

 

National Day of Action to Discredit Bad Banks. Tuesday, March 21 (3.21.23):  Activists nationwide are urging customers to move their money away from the "Big Bad Banks" that do most of the lending to fossil fuel corporations. Join 350 Mass' direct action wing Climate Courage for a noon visit to Chase Bank downtown, attack a giant credit card with a chainsaw to the music of a brass band, and inform the public about how banks are funding the climate crisis. Then, march to the nearby Bank of America. Sign up here.  For more information and a list of other activities in Greater Boston on that day, see the national website. 

Special Greater Franklin Node Meeting (Zoom), Thursday, March 30, 7:00 PM. Hold that date for a presentation and discussion led by Ingrid Geis, 350 Mass member and chair of our Stop and Steer the Money Working Group. The goal is to challenge and disrupt the financial underpinnings of the fossil fuel industry, notably from banks and insurance companies. We need to keep up the protests following the National Day of Action on 3.21.23. Ingrid will discuss how to identify which banks are "dirty" and which are not, what we can do as individual consumers, and examples of actions by groups of citizens.  

 

To learn about actions and events like these, subscribe to the 350 Mass email newsletter.

 

If you have items for this week's agenda or other comments and questions, contact carolyncbarthel@gmail.com and/or ralph.halpern@comcast.net.

 

Thank you. We will send a reminder on Thursday.

Node Co-coordinators,
Carolyn Barthel
Ralph Halpern

Ralph Halpern
ralph.halpern@comcast.net

FPS - Digital Learning Integrationists Newsletter for February 2023

Check out the FPS February Digital Learning Newsletter. https://t.co/2Y1vMFAO4I  or https://www.smore.com/5pyxd

Shared from Twitter ->  https://twitter.com/DliFranklin/status/1630641415339245569

FPS - Digital Learning Integrationists Newsletter for February 2023

   

Schmidt's Farm Open Space and Recreation Plan Meeting Recording

Schmidt's Farm Open Space and Recreation Plan Meeting Recording

In case you missed it, the Open Space and Recreation Plan (OSRP) Schmidt's Farm meeting was last Thursday, February 23, 2023 and can be viewed here or by copying/pasting the link https://www.youtube.com/live/l7c7wy_RT1Q?feature=share into your web browser. 

The Franklin Conservation Commission will be receiving public comment for Schmidt's Farm until the end of the OSRP process - around mid-August. Public comments can be submitted via this Google Form (copying/pasting https://forms.gle/UTSrtG9VgeBNdhbi6 into your web browser), by emailing bgoodlander@franklinma.gov, or by filling out this contact webform. 

https://forms.gle/isJqEyuaih4ePPDV6

Please see the QR code to the right to take the OSRP survey or visit https://forms.gle/isJqEyuaih4ePPDV6.   

Shared from ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/conservation/news/schmidts-farm-open-space-and-recreation-plan-meeting-recording 

Did you know?? - LiveARTS Young Artists Showcase - Mar 12

Mar. 12th at 3:00pm at the First Universalist Society in Franklin

Young Artists Showcase   Did you know that:   Chopin first performed in public at age 8? Amy Beach gave her concert debut at age 16 in Boston's old Music Hall and performed with the BSO two years later? Donizetti's first widely successful opera was staged when he was 21? Beethoven's first extant compositions were published when he was 13, the same year he began performing with the Bonn opera?   Credit Britannic.com Come on March 12th and meet todays emerging young artists, as they present music by C.P.E. Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Amy Beach, Donizetti, and more! Sunday, March 12th Time: 3:00 PM Location: First Universalist Society of Franklin, 262 Chestnut St., Franklin MA Presenting students from the studios of master teachers and performers: Victor Rosenbaum Tanya Schwartzman (Sharon Academy of Music) Sandra Evans (Chaminade Club of Attleboro) Sooyun Kim (Longy School of Music) Sheila Falls and Joanne Mouradjian (Wheaton College) Tickets     Adults- $25.00   Students (18 and under)- by donation   Tickets available at the door   Accessible Parking and Building  Visit our website liveartsma.org to purchase tickets on-line and for more information. Copyright © 2022 LiveARTS, Franklin, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is:                        LiveARTS, P.O. Box 678, Franklin, MA 02038

LiveARTS, Franklin, Massachusetts · 283 Prospect Street · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA