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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 *
Friday, September 2, 2022
Lifelong Community Learning: Badminton, Basketball, & Co-ed Volleyball Starting Soon
2022 Virtual Disability Forum, with Candidates for Governor of Massachusetts - Sep 8
Via HMEA:
We’re pleased to be sponsoring ' Virtual Disability Forum with candidates for Governor of Massachusetts taking place 9/8.
You’ll be able to listen to candidates answer questions about issues important to the disability community.
Register here: https://arcmass.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LlkkTKvnQoiANwtpP5J1lg
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2022 Virtual Disability Forum, with Candidates for Governor of Massachusetts - Sep 8 |
The Guardian: "Biden speech: ‘Democracy is under assault’" (video)
Franklin TV and wfpr.fm schedule for Friday, Sep 2, 2022
- wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Friday
- Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY
- Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28) = FRIDAY
- Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29) = FRIDAY
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Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) |
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Franklin Garden Club September Program Open to New Members - Sep 6
The Franklin Garden Club will begin its 2022-2023 season on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, with a meeting at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel Cahill Street, from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. An informal social get-together will take place from 6:30 – 7:00 PM. followed by a presentation on the coming year’s programs and a fall wreath making workshop. The meeting is open to the public, including those interested in becoming a member.
Club Co-Presidents Janet Cederquist and Mary Anne Dean stated, “The Garden Club, founded in 1987, offers many educational programs, and one does not have to be a Master Gardener to join. Meetings provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about various aspects of gardening from experts and to exchange information with fellow members. We welcome anyone who is interested to attend the first meeting to learn more about the Club and planned activities.”
The wreath making workshop will enable members to make fall wreaths that will be sold at the Franklin Farmers Market Garden Club Booth on October 14. Supplies will be provided.
In addition to the September 6 meeting, this year’s programming schedule includes:
- October 4: Gardening with Dahlias
- November 1: Creating Cornucopia Arrangements
- December 6: Making Soap Embedded with Flowers for Gifts
- February 7: Handmade Paper Floral Designs
- March 7: Growing and Caring for Peonies
- April 4: Drought Tolerant Gardening and Landscaping
- May 2: Meeting at White Owl Farm
- June 6: Year End Social
Club community service activities include planting and maintenance of the Franklin Town Common gardens and the planters at the Franklin Library, sponsorship of an annual scholarship awarded to a high school graduate, distribution of pine tree seedlings in the elementary schools, and special projects with other community organizations. The Franklin Garden Club is a member of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts.
Talk Franklin: Jamie Hellen and I talk the 5 year fiscal forecast and #1 complaint to the Town (speeding) (audio)
FM #836 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 836 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.
Topics for this session
EDC prioritized their ‘short list’ at Aug 10 meeting
Green community & Cultural Council presentations at August 17 Town Council meeting
Dean College President/Chancellor scheduled for the Sep 7 Council meeting
5 year fiscal outlook published
#1 complaint to the Town - speeding
The conversation runs about 33 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie. Audio file -> https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/Franklins-Forecast-e1n7023
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Franklin for All webpage https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/franklin-for-all/
Cultural Council presentation -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8b._fcc_presentation.pdf
Green Community presentation -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/8b._green_community_presentation_0.pdf
Green Community story map https://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/green-community
5 year fiscal outlook -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/2022-08-15_fy23_to_fy27_town_administartor_fiscal_forecast_1.pdf
Town budget page https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget
Community & Cultural District calendar https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.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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Talk Franklin: Jamie Hellen and I talk the 5 year fiscal forecast and #1 complaint to the Town (speeding) (audio) |
What does a free subscription to Franklin Matters get you?
- One email newsletter each day with the timely and accurate information that matters for Franklin residents and businesses
- The daily Franklin TV & wfpr.fm radio schedule
- Event & calendar outlook for the Franklin Cultural District (Wednesdays) and community events (Fridays)
- Access to Franklin Matters Radio podcasts and show notes
- "Talk Franklin" with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen
- "Town Council Quarterbacking" with Council Chair Tom Mercer
- "Making Sense of Climate" a series on climate challenges with Franklin's activist Ted McIntyre
- other episodes feature Franklin business folks, authors, and other Town personnel
- Ask a question on a Franklin topic, and you'll get an answer
- Submit a "letter to the editor" on a Franklin topic (see "Voices of Franklin")
- Monthly Q&A on all things Franklin (hybrid event, hosted at Senior Center with Zoom option)
- and more
There are two influences driving what I do:
1 - "follow the money" - I have long focused on the business of the Town of Franklin by closely watching and reporting on the Finance Committee, the School Committee, and the Town Council. Why? all significant revenue and expense matters generally come through the Finance Committee before going to the Town Council which is the ultimate approval. The School Committee is a clear choice as they account for more than half of the Town budget.
2 - now that I am retired with some more time to pay attention to what is going on, I have added a focus on what does the budget enable for our quality of life here in Franklin. We can get into the reasons and behind the scenes info that help explain the 'real' story. We all need accurate and timely info, not sound bites. It takes time to do this but it is necessary.
In coordination with Franklin TV, this 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, reading, commenting and sending information along.
The long term vision is to create one site to let you Watch, Listen, Read all that matters in Franklin.
Watch, Listen, Read all that matters in Franklin
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What does a free subscription for Franklin Matters get you? |
CommonWealth Magazine: "Baker administration puts tax cap excess at $2.9b"
"GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a $1.6 billion supplemental budget to close the books on fiscal year 2022, proposing another $200 million in aid for the MBTA and setting aside more than $2.9 billion of the state’s surplus to be returned to taxpayers.
The bill (HD 5364) would still leave lawmakers with $1.5 billion of last budget year’s surplus to potentially put towards the Legislature’s own agreed-to tax relief efforts and other spending initiatives that remain bottled up in the stalled economic development bill talks, Baker said.
In its announcement of the supp budget, Baker’s office also said that the Department of Revenue on Wednesday had informed Auditor Suzanne Bump that it believes that $2.941 billion is required to be returned to taxpayers under Chapter 62F, the 1986 voter law that requires excess state tax collections be refunded. If the auditor certifies that amount by her September 20 deadline, Baker’s office said the state will still have a fiscal year 2022 surplus of $2.3 billion — up from the administration estimate of $1.9 billion earlier this month."
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Legislation Filed by the Governor (1):
Bill # | Bill Title | Action Date |
HD5364 |
An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2022 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects | Filed – 8/31/2022 |
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CommonWealth Magazine: "Baker administration puts tax cap excess at $2.9b" |
On the Health front: life expectancy drops again; polio returns to the US
"Life expectancy in the United States fell in 2021 for the second year in a row, reflecting the merciless toll exacted by covid-19 on the nation’s health, according to a federal report released Wednesday.This is the biggest continuous decline in life expectancy at birth since the beginning of the Roaring Twenties. Americans can now expect to live as long as they did in 1996, according to provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, life expectancy dropped from 77 years in 2020 to 76.1 years in 2021."
"Polio’s return to the US resulted from the confluence of a complicated set of scientific and societal factors that allowed a mutated version of the virus to start circulating in a susceptible community. This is the story of a life-saving vaccine with an unfortunate loophole that produced that version of the virus, and a calculated anti-vaccine campaign that created a vulnerable population."
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A decline in life expectancy during the coronavirus pandemic marked the biggest continuous decline since the 1920s. (Brandon Dill for The Washington Post) |
Fall Registration is OPEN at Lifelong Community Learning
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Frank Presents: Conversations with Eric Lesser and Kim Driscoll (audio)
In this episode, Frank Falvey sits down with Eric Lesser, candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, to talk about his background, the work the Lieutenant Governor does and what Eric hopes to accomplish as the LG.
Audio file -> https://frank-falvey.captivate.fm/episode/037-frank-presents-eric-lesser
In this episode, Frank Falvey sits down with Kim Driscoll, candidate from the Democratic party running for MA Lieutenant Governor, to talk about her current position as mayor of Salem, her background growing up in a navy family and what she hopes to accomplish as LG.
Audio file -> https://frank-falvey.captivate.fm/episode/038-frank-presents-kim-driscoll
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Frank Presents: Conversations with Eric Lesser and Kim Driscoll (audio) |
Franklin Veterans: September Coffee Social - Sep 7 at 10 AM
September 2022 - Veterans Coffee Social
Join us Wednesday, September 7 at 10:00 AM
Shared from -> https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/september-2022-coffee-social
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Franklin Veterans: September Coffee Social - Sep 7 at 10 AM |