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Wednesday, December 2, 2020
December 2020 E-Newsletter News & Updates!
FHS' Quaile, St Marie, Bertone, and Zub named Hockomock girls soccer all-stars
Below are the official 20020 Hockomock League Girls Soccer All Stars, selected by the coaches in the league.
Kelley-Rex Division MVP
Briley Harnois, Attleboro
Kelley-Rex Division All Stars
Erin Quaile, Franklin
Sydney St. Marie, Franklin
Julia Bertone, Franklin
Honorable Mention
Anya Zub, Franklin
For the full listing of the Hockomock League girls soccer all-stars
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| FHS' Quaile, St Marie, Bertone, and Zub named Hockomock girls soccer all-stars |
Legislature Passes Policing Reform Legislation
Legislature Passes Policing Reform Legislation
Bill emphasizes police accountability and transparency by creating a new, independent commission; increases de-escalation protocols and puts in place procedures to address structural racism
Today (12/01/20), Senate President Karen E. Spilka and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, along with their colleagues in the Senate and House, voted to pass An Act relative to justice, equity and accountability in law enforcement in the Commonwealth. The legislation represents the most comprehensive and intentional legislative response to incidents involving police practices in Massachusetts communities. It creates an independent, civilian-led commission to standardize the certification, training and decertification of police officers, bans the use of chokeholds, limits the use of deadly force, creates a duty to intervene for police officers when witnessing another officer using force beyond what is necessary or reasonable under the circumstances, and takes steps to break the school-to-prison pipeline. It also creates a first-in-the-nation statewide moratorium on biometric surveillance systems, which include facial recognition technology.
"As I've said many times, achieving meaningful police reform and dismantling systemic racism is both a marathon and a sprint," stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). "This was the sprint, and I'm very proud of the foundation of justice, equity and accountability that this bill creates. I'm looking forward to getting this bill signed by the Governor so we can begin the marathon and fulfill our promises to those who called on us to meet this moment. I am incredibly grateful to Senators Brownsberger and Chang-Diaz for their incredible work on this bill, to Speaker DeLeo for his partnership, the conferees, all of the legislators, and the advocates and activists who worked with us to get this done."
"Over the summer, we vowed to make change, and, with today's vote, the Legislature acted on its promise to ensure fairness and equality," said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop). "I'm proud of the House conferees, Chair Cronin and Chair of the MBLCC Representative González, for their persistent effort to improve our law enforcement system and for the work of the House as a whole. I'd also like to thank Senate President Spilka, Senators Brownsberger and Chang-Diaz and my colleagues in the Legislature for their action on this crucial bill."
"This is a great package," said Senator Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont), Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. "It's going to make a real difference in the Commonwealth. I think its accountability and transparency provisions are strong enough to really improve policing."
"This compromise piece of legislation creates, for the first time, an independent agency for the statewide certification of law enforcement officers and establishes uniform training and standards," said Representative Claire Cronin (D-Easton), House Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. "This legislation is about justice and fairness. Fairness for those that interact with police, and fairness for police as well."
"This is a big day," said MBLLC Member Senator Sonia Chang-DÃaz (D-Boston). "This final bill scores meaningful wins for accountability, civilian oversight from communities of color, and a vision of public safety that prioritizes de-escalation over force. This is the first time any state has combined this kind of real oversight authority with meaningful community membership at the table of power. I'm grateful to Senate President Spilka and Speaker DeLeo for their commitment to getting this legislation done this session. And I'm grateful for the Senate President's pledge to continue the focus on racial justice into next session--acknowledging this work extends well beyond law enforcement."
"This is a landmark decision that was demanded by the people and led by Black and Latino Legislators (MBLLC) of this state," said Massachusetts Black and Latino Caucus Chair Representative Carlos González (D-Springfield). "Our demands were agreed to by the Speaker of the House and Senate President. Today we begin to address police accountability and transparency. We are making great strides to address racism in police departments and provide them the adequate training and support to address the daily and difficult challenges they have."
A summary and outline of the bill's provisions is as follows.
The bill creates a Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (MPOSTC)—an independent state entity, the majority of which is composed of civilians—to standardize the certification, training and decertification of police officers. The commission will have independent power to investigate misconduct and will serve as the civil enforcement agency to certify, restrict, revoke, or suspend certification for officers, agencies and academies, among other duties regarding regulations regarding use of force standards, and the maintenance of a publicly available database of decertified officers. Within the Commission, there will be two divisions: The Division of Police Training and Certification, under the management and control of the newly established Committee on Police Training and Certification, and the Division of Police Standards.
The bill establishes strong guardrails governing the use of force, prohibiting certain actions and requiring the use of de-escalation tactics. The Committee on Police Training and Certification will promulgate regulations for use of force standards in areas including the use of physical or deadly force, the discharge of a firearm into a fleeing motor vehicle and the use of tear gas, rubber pellets and dogs. The legislation also bans the use of chokeholds.
The legislation establishes a duty to intervene, requiring that an officer intervene if he or she sees another officer using physical force beyond that which is necessary or objectively reasonable based on the totality of the circumstances, unless intervening will result in imminent harm to the officer or another identifiable person.
In addition, the legislation requires a police department with advance knowledge of a planned mass demonstration or protest to attempt, in good faith, to communicate with the organizers of the event. The department will be required to make plans to avoid and de-escalate potential conflict and designate an officer in charge of these plans.
The legislation establishes a special legislative commission to study and examine the civil service law. This commission will study the hiring procedures, personnel administration rules, employment, promotion, performance evaluation, and disciplinary procedures for civil service employees, municipalities not subject to the provisions of the civil service law, and the Massachusetts State Police to improve diversity, transparency and representation in the recruitment, hiring and training of these groups.
The legislation also creates three special legislative commissions to study the presence of institutional racism in the criminal justice system and make policy or legislative recommendations to eliminate disparities.
- Special Commission on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities
- Special Commission on Structural Racism in Parole Process
- Special Commission on Structural Racism in Probation Services
The legislation also sets standards for qualified immunity under which qualified immunity would not extend to a law enforcement officer who, while acting under color of law, violates a person's right to bias-free professional policing if that conduct results in the officer's decertification by MPOSTC. It also establishes a commission to investigate and study the impact to the administration of justice of the qualified immunity doctrine in the Commonwealth.
The legislation bans a public agency or employee from acquiring, accessing, or using any software that captures biometric data, including facial recognition, except by the Registry of Motor vehicles. A law enforcement agency may only request that the RMV perform a search of its facial recognition database in cases of immediate danger or pursuant to a warrant based on probable cause. The legislation also establishes a special legislative commission to study the use of facial recognition technology by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Included in the legislation are a number of measures relating to reforms within the Massachusetts State Police, including a provision that requires MPOSTC to approve training by the state police and certify state police officer and allows the colonel of the state police to be appointed from outside the ranks of the state police.
The legislation sets limits on student record sharing by schools, directs the Committee on Police Training and Certification to develop an in-service training program for school resource officers, and gives the MPOSTC the power to issue a specialized certification for school resource officers.
In addition, the legislation includes the following provisions:
- Banning racial profiling by prohibiting law enforcement agencies from engaging in racial profiling;
- Requiring the Department of Public Health to collect and report data on law enforcement-related injuries and deaths;
- Expanding eligibility for record expungement from one criminal or juvenile record to two. The legislation also allows multiple charges stemming from the same incident to be treated as once offense for the purposes of expungement;
- Criminalizing the submission of a false timesheet by a law enforcement officer, punishable by a fine of three times the amount of the fraudulent wages paid or by imprisonment for not more than two years;
- Strengthening the penalties for law enforcement officers who have sexual intercourse with, or who commit indecent assault and battery on, a person in custody or control of the law enforcement officer; and
- Strengthening the criteria for which a no-knock warrant may be issued.
The legislation establishes the following commissions, task forces and studies:
- Body Camera Taskforce;
- Community Policing and Behavioral Health Advisory Council study of community-based crisis response;
- Permanent Commission on the status of African Americans;
- Permanent Commission on the status of Latinos and Latinas;
- Permanent Commission on the status of people with disabilities;
- Permanent Commission on the status of Black men and boys;
- Commission to study the feasibility of establishing a statewide law enforcement officer cadet program;
- Commission on corrections officer training and certification;
- Commission to investigate and study the benefits and costs of consolidating existing municipal police training committee training academies; and
- Commission on emergency hospitalizations.
The bill now goes to the Governor.
You can (and should) provide feedback to the MBTA if you use the Franklin Line
The MBTA is facing budget problems and looking to reduce services. They are also looking for feedback on the proposed reductions and possible restorations as the funding and economy recovers.
Last public meeting scheduled for:
Forging Ahead Virtual Public Meeting: System-Wide Service
Date: December 2, 2020 at 6 PM - 8 PM
Location: Virtual • Zoom • Boston, MA
Attendees: General Public
Register for the meeting:
Details on the commuter rail proposed changes https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2020-11/2020-11-09-forging-ahead-commuter-rail.pdf
Below is a summary of changes:
Commuter Rail:
- Stop all weekend service (Fairmount Line replaced by bus service), starting as early as January 2021
- Stop all service after 9 PM, May 2021
- Decrease weekday peak service and some midday service, reducing from 505 trains (Fall 2019) to 430 trains (75 less trains), May 2021
- Close six (out of 141) stations based on low ridership, operational impacts, and availability of alternatives:
- Plimptonville
- Prides Crossing
- Silver Hill
- Hastings
- Plymouth
- Cedar Park
- Take into account ridership patterns when adjusting service levels by line
Commuter Rail Capital Projects placed “On Pause:”
- Franklin Double Tracking & Signal Improvement
- Framingham/Worcester Line Track & Station Accessibility Improvements (including Third Track Feasibility)
- Worcester Union Station – Design and Construction
- Procurement of 181 Bi-level Coaches
Learn more about Commuter Rail changes
RIDE: - Starting in summer 2021:
- Some RIDE trips may become premium trips, though RIDE service boundaries would not change.
- Some trips will be able to be booked 40 minutes from request time instead of the current 30 minutes.
Buses: Starting in summer 2021, MBTA plans to:
- Stop all service after midnight (early service will continue on essential bus routes)
- Reduce frequency on essential routes by system-wide average of 5% (will vary by route, high ridership will not be changed)
- Reduce frequency on non-essential routes system-wide by 20% (will vary by route based on ridership)
- Consolidate or restructure approximately 10 routes
- Eliminate approximately 25 routes that served less than 0.5% of pre-COVID riders (about 1,700)
Ferry: Starting as early as March 2021, MBTA plans to:
- Stop all ferry service
- Divert Charlestown Ferry riders to Route 93, which currently has minimal crowding and can support these riders
- Divert Hingham/Hull ferry riders to the Greenbush Line
Learn more about ferry changes
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| You can (and should) provide feedback to the MBTA if you use the Franklin Line |
2020 National Book Festival Highlights: Mo Willems
"Mo Willems, he of the wildly popular books for young people like the Pigeon series and Elephant & Piggie Biggie series, thinks the kids are all right.
“I think the kids are fine. I really do,” he said to Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in an exclusive video interview. I think it’s us, the old people, that need some help, that need to stop and look and listen to these ambassadors, these ambassadors of exploration, of creativity, of asking questions.”
The three-time Caldecott Medal winner spoke about his creative process and the “idea garden” of random doodles that inspires his stories and art. He launched his recent books, “An Elephant & Piggie Biggie! Volume 3” (Hyperion) and “Unlimited Squirrels: I Want to Sleep Under the Stars” (Hyperion), at the 2020 National Book Festival."
Continue reading the article online
Giving Tuesday - Franklin Food Pantry
Yes, #GivingTuesday was yesterday but the need still exists and the Food Pantry is accepting donations for the Franklin Food Elves 12 days of giving...
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CommonWealth Magazine: vaccines priorities set by CDC; "police reform milestones and missed opportunities"
From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:
"A FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE recommended on Tuesday that the initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines expected to become available starting in two weeks should go to health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities before being rolled out to other high-priority groups over the coming months.
Gov. Charlie Baker said the anticipated arrival of the vaccines means there is “light at the end of the tunnel,” but he cautioned that most of the general public won’t gain access to the shots until April, May, or June at the earliest.The two vaccines awaiting emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration have been developed by Pfizer and Moderna. Both vaccines are said to be 94 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 and 100 percent effective in warding off severe cases of the disease. Each vaccine requires two shots, administered roughly four weeks apart, so even if someone is given an initial dose in December the final dose is unlikely to be taken until January.
“It’s going to take awhile before people literally start finishing the vaccine process and start to generate antibodies,” Baker said."
Continue reading the article online
The CDC page where the recommendations will land when updated can be found
"IT’S BEEN SIX MONTHS since members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus hung their heads in silence over the death of George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.
The moment spurred nationwide calls for specific and targeted police reform, including on Beacon Hill. Those calls were heard on Tuesday as both the House and Senate passed a compromise police reform bill heralded by many top legislators, including members of the caucus, as groundbreaking. The House voted to pass the measure 92-67, and the Senate 28-12.
“This landmark legislation will begin to address the inequities we’ve seen for years,” said Springfield Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus."
Continue reading the article online
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/police-reform-milestones-and-missed-opportunities/
Franklin Senior Center: Connection Newsletter for December 2020
CONNECTION NEWSLETTER
Your Monthly Franklin Senior Center Newsletter
To Receive This Newsletter Monthly or Other Town Notifications, Please Click Here.
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| Franklin Senior Center: Connection Newsletter for December 2020 |
Shared from the Town of Franklin page https://www.franklinma.gov/franklin-senior-center/pages/connection-newsletter
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Franklin (MA) Board Of Health - Agenda - Dec 2, 2020
Franklin Board Of Health
Duly Scheduled Meeting And Public Hearing
Duly Scheduled Meeting And Public Hearing
Wednesday, December 2, 2020, 5:00 PM
AGENDA
1) Reading and Acceptance of November 4, 2020 meeting minutes
2) OLD BUSINESS
3) NEW BUSINESS
• Discussion of Rooster residing at 145 Beech Street
• 324 Prospect Street
• Update on 76 Jordan Street dwelling
• Prescription Pharmacy
Chairman opens the floor for any other new business
(4) CITIZENS COMMENTARY
5) ADJOURNMENT
1) Reading and Acceptance of November 4, 2020 meeting minutes
2) OLD BUSINESS
3) NEW BUSINESS
• Discussion of Rooster residing at 145 Beech Street
• 324 Prospect Street
• Update on 76 Jordan Street dwelling
• Prescription Pharmacy
Chairman opens the floor for any other new business
(4) CITIZENS COMMENTARY
5) ADJOURNMENT
Connection info in the full agenda doc
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| Franklin (MA) Board Of Health - Agenda - Dec 2, 2020 |
SWAC invites you to "Give 2020 the Boot(camp) December Fitness Challenge"
The FPS Student Wellness Advisory Council (SWAC) invites our families and the entire Franklin community to participate in the "Give 2020 the Boot(camp) December Fitness Challenge"! Physical activity plays a vital role in our overall health and well-being, but sometimes getting started or knowing what to do is a hurdle. SWAC's Physical Activity Sub-Committee has curated a month of fitness challenges you can do at home; no equipment is necessary!
Check out our "Give 2020 the Boot(camp) Fitness Challenge" calendar for links to different exercises to do each day starting tomorrow, December 1st. Keep track of your success on the attached printable calendar, or anywhere! You can also create your own fitness routine! No matter how you do it or how you track it, we can work together and motivate each other to enter a new year stronger and healthier!
Let's Give 2020 the Boot, Franklin! #SWACfitnesschallenge
Find the SWAC Fitness Challenge Clickable Calendar on our website here: https://bit.ly/Swac2020
Find the printable SWAC Fitness Calendar here: https://bit.ly/Swac2020print
Shared from Facebook https://www.facebook.com/104696090899733/posts/409549653747707/
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| "Give 2020 the Boot(camp) December Fitness Challenge" |
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