Franklin TV: The Magic Weeks

To the leaves, I say ‘Good Morning.’

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 04/26/2026

I regard this past week as the start of the ‘magic weeks’. It’s that time in the year when the trees get serious about doing their greening thing. Last Sunday? No green. Nothing but Wintersticks – naked branches on trees and bushes. But, life was awakening within them. Driving home on Friday. Green is happening, and rather quickly. By next weekend the dramatic change from Winter’s emptiness to Summer’s fulgent leafing will be in full sway.

Above: Leaves return; week one.

It’s a time in the year that quickens the pace of life. I rise to an ever earlier Sun, and I enjoy an affirmative jump on the day – that is more challenging in Winter’s dark. In every sense there’s Spring in my step.

And the newly rustling leaves return my nod with their gentle, ‘Good Morning.’

And – as always –

Thank you for watching. 

Thanks for listening to wfpr●fm,

and staying informed at Franklin●news.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 
 

Celebrate Happy Birthday for Horace Mann! Saturday, May 2

Horace's birthday is really May 4

The Historical Museum will show some short videos about Horace, for older kids and adults. And for elementary school age kids, we will have participatory diorama and discussion with our volunteer educator and buildings and figures representing the Franklin of Horace Mann's Childhood. 

Come share the adventure of young Horace (and some birthday cake!). 

Programs are free but donations are always appreciated! 10 AM to 1 PM

*Note: Horace's birthday is really May 4 but the Museum isn't open that day. They do have a speaker on Sunday, May 3 talking about Horace coming back to Franklin to help his family.

What's happening at the Franklin Public Library during the week of April 27 ???

"This week at the Library...

Miss. Lily invites Kiddos 6-12 to make a Mini Masterpiece!

The First of a NEW monthly open play group for Mahjong this week!

Learn how to report weather to NOAA and help plan for prevention!

Paint some pebbles for the Cultural District Wind phone sculpture.

Don't forget to adopt a fuzzy reading buddy!

Of course there is more to explore! Check out the Library Calendar!

https://www.franklinma.gov/942/Calendar-of-Events"

#franklinma #libraryprograms Town of Franklin

Shared from - https://www.facebook.com/share/1THNMTje73/

Once Upon A Town: Stewart Block (video)

Joe Landry & Scott Mason talk about the Stewart Block, the buildings that were there, before the buildings we see in that area today.

Video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShTSMbPVsB0

 Once Upon A Town: Stewart Block (video)

An AI company set out to fix news deserts. Instead, it copied local journalists’ work - Poynter

Via Poynter Institute

"Artificial intelligence company Nota — whose clients include organizations like The Boston Globe and the Institute for Nonprofit News — is scrapping its network of local news sites after learning that they contained dozens of instances of plagiarism.

The closure comes after Axios Richmond and Poynter alerted CEO Josh Brandau that multiple stories on Nota’s sites included reporting and photographs lifted from local news outlets. The 11 sites — collectively called Nota News — launched in September as an effort to bring “bilingual local reporting and civic tools to underserved communities,” according to a press release.

Each site focused on a specific county — or in one case, two counties — identified as lacking local news coverage. Until Monday, two part-time editors worked across the 11 sites, generating articles using Nota’s AI tools. The stories covered topics ranging from local affordable housing initiatives to public school events and were published in both English and Spanish.

The articles were supposed to be based on publicly available civic information, such as press releases and videos of city council meetings. In reality, Poynter found more than 70 stories dating back to October that included reporting, writing and photography from local journalists without attribution."

Continue reading the article shared from - https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2026/nota-news-local-outlets-ai-plagiarism/?mc_cid=f1c63f46fd&mc_eid=8610d09f16

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday, April 26, 2026

Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a schedule full of the locally produced shows that fill our air waves. 

It is available anywhere, anytime at wfpr.fm or in the local Franklin, MA area at 102.9 on the FM dial.

Tune in to listen to the following:

 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm schedule for Sunday

Finance Committee closes out 16+ hours of budget hearings with proposed adjustments (audio)

FM #1728 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1728 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee Budget Hearing, the Last of 4 sessions to go over the FY 2027 budget. The meeting was held in Council Chambers with 7 of 9 members present.

Quick recap:

• This session was time well spent by the Committee to review the potential adjustments to the budget and come to a consensus on them. They started with a set of goals and a process to work through the listing of the items for discussion based upon what had occurred over the prior three nights.

• They wanted to minimize use of free cash. The end proposal recommends $1.8M of free cash rather than $2M

• They wanted to move some of the regular recurring 'capital items' to the ops budget where they belong. They took a step in that direction with less than $100K of police gear putting that in the Ops budget. Next cycle those items won't need to come before the Capital budget as a request

• They made a strategic investment in a couple of positions. One already in the budget for a part time clerk in the Assessors office, and additional hybrid inspector/admin help for the Building Commissioner's team. This should help the assessors and inspectors to do the work they need to do while providing some additional administrative help to help the work flow and improve our permit and tax base (both revenue generators)

• They proposed reducing the Facilities expense budget

• They confirmed the need for restoration of the Deputy Town Administrator and the School Resource officers (SROs)

• They will request that the Schools look as possibly using more of their revolving funds to help balance their budget and in turn free up more free cash on the Town side to not be used for the overall budget

• The complete set of the adjustments will be written up, presented by the FinCom to the Town Council and Joint Budget Subcommittee. The line item adjustments will be made and incorporate some other updates for the Town Administrator to issue a revised budget proposal before the Council gets to finalize their vote at the June 10th meeting. It may not be ready for the May 20-21 Council budget hearings, the key item that still might be outstanding before those hearings is the FY 2027 health costs as the annual enrollment completes April 30

Let’s listen in

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1728-finance-cmte-budget-hearing-4-04-09-26/

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Franklin TV video is available for replay - https://www.youtube.com/live/3oIsBHQ73Ts?&t=1170 

The amended agenda doc - https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04092026-2222 

My full set of notes in one PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NzSDXoQxk7P0ztXRKjPpcPTPrZgBNE78/view?usp=drive_link 

Dept of Arts, Culture & Creative Economy metrics as referenced by Cory Shea during the budget hearing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zQV7NQTLRSy1UnPKxad0wtW8Q-76YqOc/view?usp=drive_link

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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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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"

What's happening in Franklin, MA: Saturday, April 25, 2026 ???

Saturday, April 25

The Little Shop | Lady Bug Walk (Day 1/2)

9:00am Annual Ladybug Trail Walk Multiple points in Downtown Franklin

9:00am Thrifty Threads (Franklin Federated Church)

10:00am Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

10:00am Charles River Earth Day Cleanup (Sites across the watershed, from Boston to Hopkinton!)

10:30am Rainforest Reptiles! (Franklin Public Library)

1:00pm Painting for Adults! (Franklin Public Library)

2:00pm Boston Typewriter Orchestra Concert (Franklin Public Library)

2:00pm Dance Company (Dean College Main Stage Theater)

5:30pm dayTREAT featuring "SLOW BURN" (Pour Richard's Wine & Provisions)

7:30pm Dance Company (Dean College Main Stage Theater)

8:00pm Karaoke at The Raillery (Raillery Public House)

***  NO Town Meetings today   ***

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Find the full Community event calendar  https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx
The School district calendar is found  https://franklinpublicschooldistrictma.sites.thrillshare.com/o/fpsd/page/school-calendar

Attention Franklin School & Town Retirees & Staff - FY 2027 Insurance Open Enrollment ends Friday, May 1

🚨 Attention Franklin School & Town Retirees & Staff 🚨

Don’t miss this important deadline!

🗓 Health Insurance Election Due:
Friday, May 1st by midnight

⚠️ Key Details:
• Current coverage ends June 30, 2026
• New coverage will begin July 1, 2026

✅ Make sure you’ve completed your election on time to avoid any gaps in coverage.

📌 More Information:
• Retirees: https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/1007/Retiree-Benefits
• Employees: https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/225/Employee-Benefits

📞 Questions? Contact the Human Resources Office at 508-553-4810

Please share to help spread the word!

Thank you, 

Stacy Castell

DEPUTY DIRECTOR | HUMAN RESOURCES

355 East Central Street

Franklin, Massachusetts 02038-1352

O. 508-553-4841

O. 508-553-4810

F. 508-553-4896

E.scastell@franklinma.gov

FY 2027 Budget Narrative: Franklin Agricultural Commission

From the Town Administrator's FY 2027 Budget narrative, each department's story is worth sharing.

General Purpose

The Town Council established the Franklin Agricultural Commission per Special Legislation to promote, develop, and foster agricultural resources in the Town of Franklin. The Commission consists of five Members with three-year terms. Members shall be residents of Franklin and at least two members shall be active farmers, employed in an agriculture-related field, or have experience and knowledge in agricultural practices of business. The Commission is also able to have two Associate Members with 1-year terms.

Staffing

● Five (5) Volunteer Members

○ Includes: One (1) Chair

○ Includes: One (1) Vice Chair

FY27 Requested Budget Highlights

● This is a level-funded budget.

● The Commission hopes to continue to provide education and outreach of Franklin arms and supporting the local economy, expand the Franklin Farmer’s Market with the market coordinators, research the potential of becoming a right-to-farm community and expand community garden beds.

The PDF of this section - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v-Ma8h1alSWMfEpvSpKIGx2xxReMhb8k/view?usp=drive_link

For the full FY 2027 budget narrative -  https://www.franklinma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8912/FY27-Budget-Narrative-FINAL-1

The complete set of FY 2027 budget information can be found 

https://www.franklinma.gov/Archive.aspx?ADID=577

3rd budget hearing covers Public Works & Public Safety (audio)

FM #1727 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1727 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee Budget Hearing on Public Works & Public Safety, the 3rd of 4 sessions to go over the FY 2027 budget. The meeting was held in Council Chambers with 8 of 9 members present.

Quick recap:

• Gus Brown, Building Commissioner, up first

• Brutus Cantoreggi, DPW up next, 

• Next up Police Chief Lynch, level service plus 2, looking to get the SROs back

• Next up, Chief Allen, Fire Dept.

• Dispatch Center or the MECC being covered

• Also skipped Tri-County and Norfolk Aggie last night with no explanation given for it. Tri-County and Norfolk Aggie, both assessments based upon enrollment, not much of a change year to year

• So Thursday night, the Finance Committee will use the 3rd Floor Training room for their discussion to be more “around a table” rather than spread out to help their discussion. Potential revisions coming to the budget, what they are we'll watch and see.

Let’s listen in

Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1727-finance-cmte-budget-hearing-3-04-08-26/

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

The Franklin TV video is available for replay -  

https://www.youtube.com/live/x8Hb_pCl64A?&t=164 

Agenda doc including links to the FY 2027 budget 

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04082026-2221 

My full set of notes in one PDF -  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D-RumOpcYkE7SZ_czpSZzW5TKdS9SE3B/view?usp=drive_link 

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

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

• And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do

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!

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

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