Zoom link for the meeting, December 2, 7:00 PM.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88924607755?pwd=bHl1empTRVFxYzdZUmVBSGl1Q0p3Zz09
Meeting ID: 889 2460 7755
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Join us at the station this Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 9 AM - 12 PM and get your picture taken with Santa!
Pictures are free but we're asking for donations of new and unwrapped toys to benefit our annual toy drive and the Santa Foundation.
Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/ch8woluW72
Franklin Police Dept. to Santa and Mrs. Claus for pictures on sat, Dec 4 |
"President Biden came away from his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 committed to prosecuting what he called “simple, straightforward competition” with China. Yet Beijing is already beating the United States and its allies in one crucial domain: data.Data is the oil of the 21st century, the indispensable resource that will fuel artificial-intelligence algorithms, economic strength and national power. The wellspring of this data is all of us: our health records and genetic sequences, our online habits, the supply chain flows of our businesses, the terabytes of imagery guzzled by phones, drones and autonomous cars.The competition for global influence in the 21st century will require protecting and harnessing this data to achieve commercial, technological and military advantages. So far, China is winning, and the West is barely even engaged."
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Illustration by Alvaro Dominguez; Photographs by Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis, MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, and Peter Dazeley via Getty Images |
"When does online disinformation cross a line from mostly innocuous to harmful to others? A Boston-based researcher who studies disinformation and misinformation sought to break it down in a chart that rocketed across the Internet last week, offering clarity to readers in an age when new conspiracy theories seem to pop up all the time.The chart, which was retweeted more than 18,000 times, is organized to convey both an increasing detachment from reality and threat level, with the top grouping largely rooted in antisemitic views, its creator, Abbie Richards said. She emphasized that her design is “just one of many conspiracy theory frameworks.”In the time since Richards first designed her framework for understanding conspiracies and conspiracy theories, monumental events like the 2020 presidential election had not yet taken place nor had the coronavirus pandemic become as deeply intertwined with daily life."
"How can you speak up to someone who's shared misinformation without starting a showdown or turning them off? Check out our infographic ⤵️Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/NewsLitProject/status/1465690193327968256
#NewsLiteracyNow https://t.co/MIvUQkmucg"
"GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said Monday that a deal could be reached “soon” with a number of other states to create a scannable code that could be used to prove someone has been vaccinated.
“We’ve been working with a bunch of other states, 15 to 20 of them, to try to create a single QR code that can be used for all sorts of things where people may choose to require a vaccine,” Baker said in an interview on Boston Public Radio with hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan.
The comments on GBH radio reflect a shift on the topic from Baker’s tone six months ago, amid a pandemic landscape that has changed significantly since then.
When Baker was asked in April 2021 whether Massachusetts would create a COVID vaccine passport – a way of proving someone had been vaccinated – Baker said he wasn’t looking at it. Baker brushed aside the idea of “having a conversation about creating a barrier before people have even had an opportunity to be eligible to be vaccinated” at that point, saying, “let’s focus on getting people vaccinated.” Today, vaccines are widely available, yet the pandemic continues to spread, and a growing number of businesses and industries, including state government, are imposing vaccine mandates. "
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Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.ELISE AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS |
‼️ Updated #MIAA Football State Tournament Schedule.. games now Wed - Thurs - Fri this week #gameonMIAA #OneTeamOneMIAA
👀read below https://t.co/6SlI3fzVUh
And equally important "Know before you go!" information from MIAA
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MIAA updates on the State Football Tournament games |
The collection of posts alerting to the removal of the Franklin Matters Facebook page effective Nov 30, 2021.
We're not going away, just leaving Facebook and its corrupt business environment behind.
seven tweets atwitter |
six ways to remain in the know |
five meetings reported on |
four info sessions scheduled |
three more reminders |
two Talk Franklin sessions a month |
one daily newsletter |
Juniors from the Legal and Protective Service Program Present to Local Seniors
Students from the class of 2023 in the Legal and Protective Services Career Program at Tri-County RVTHS are bringing important public safety presentations to several local area senior citizen centers. The presentations are focused on how to prevent scams and fraudulent practices that target the elderly and become more prevalent during the holiday season.
These presentations will help seniors learn how to identify and respond to scammers. The students aim to prevent the elderly community members from falling victim to illegal practices that could drain their savings, endanger, or frighten them. The students enrolled in the Legal and Protective Services Program independently researched the information in their presentations, including interviewing local law enforcement officers.
Topics include Phishing & Identity Theft, IRS, romantic/companionship, sweepstakes, charity, funeral, and grandparent scams. According to the local law enforcement agencies, scams like this are prevalent, and residents of the immediate communities have been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Through research, the students recognized that scammers rely on strong emotions to catch their victims off guard. They will emotionally manipulate their victims through fear, intimidation, excitement, exhaustion, sympathy, guilt, grief, embarrassment, and love. This manipulation keeps intelligent, rational people from making sound financial decisions. Victims of financial scams rarely recover the money they lose and it can take years for victims of identity theft to undo the damage.
After the first presentation in Franklin, an attendee expressed how grateful she was that these presentations were being provided to the community. After losing her husband several years ago, she fell victim to a scam and understands first-hand how real and cruel these scammers are.
Elder Fraud Presentations will be held at the following locations: Walpole COA on 12/2 at 1pm, Attleboro COA on 12/14 at 12:30pm, and Wrentham COA on 12/16 at 9:30am. If you would like to have an elder fraud presentation in your area, please contact Brenna Ferrick.
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presentation in Franklin |
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outside the Franklin Senior Center |
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2021 - Franklin Turkey Trot 5K Results | Second Wind Timing |
Franklin native Charles Harrington joins us Sunday, December 12 to discuss his book A Contemplative Life: Essays and musings from the last of the Baby Boomers. Available at Amazon.
Charlie grew up in Franklin, attended St. Mary School, and was the middle child in the large Harrington family with four older brothers and four younger sisters. One reviewer writes: “Harrington is a talented story-teller and writes about his childhood, romances, addiction and losses to inspire readers to learn from his experiences. He includes personal letters, photographs and poems that make his stories come alive. Readers can relate to his experiences and reflect on what he learned from them.
We are excited to welcome Charlie back home and have him discuss his book, reflect on his life and share his memories of Franklin.
We hope you will join us for this next chapter in our monthly Second Sunday Speaker Series. Doors open at 1:00 PM, admission is free, and the presentation will start at 1:15.
Please bring a non-perishable item for the Franklin Food Pantry.
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Second Sunday Speaker Series - Dec 12 - Charles Harrington |
FM #667-668 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 667-668 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: the School Committee members were in the Council Chambers along with some of the public, other members of the public joined via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
The recording of the public meeting runs two hours and fifteen minutes. The School Committee enters Executive Session (for approx. 45 minutes) and returns to the public meeting for about 1 minute before closing the meeting.
I split the meeting into two segments:
Part 1 - covers the opening, Superintendent’s Report and the MCAS presentation (~1 hour 7 mins) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/9dd47a52-af7f-4d5f-8207-9fd5fd2fa1f8
Part 2 - covers the Discussion Action items, the Discussion Only items, the consent agenda, through to the entry to Executive Session, from which they did return to open meeting (~ 1 hour and 8 mins) https://player.captivate.fm/episode/45ad92d0-1c23-4a65-b3d1-b437fc5ba5dc
Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. The link to my notes taken during the meeting is also provided.
Let’s listen to this segment of the School Committee meeting Nov 23, 2021
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School Committee Meeting packet folder -> https://franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/november-23-2021-school-committee-meeting-packet…
Meeting agenda doc -> https://franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/scagenda_11-23-21.pdf…
My notes captured during the meeting
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/11/recap-school-committee-hears-update-on.html
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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"
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Franklin, MA School Committee meeting - 11/23/21 - audio in two parts |
20 Reasons to Not Implement a Dual Tax Rate