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 *
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Traffic & Radar requests for Franklin, MA nieghborhoods can now be made online
Planning Board reviews traffic & parking concerns for Depot Plaza (video)
FHS fall sports results for Monday, Oct 19
"A cold October night set the stage for a heated rivalry matchup, and King Philip finally broke through against Franklin for the first time in eight years.Franklin entered the non-league contest unbeaten on the season, but the Warriors absorbed the Panthers’ pressure and generated enough of their own to pull out the 2-1 victory Monday night, handing Franklin its first loss.That history was a key motivation for the Warriors. Head coach Kaitlin Wilder said it was especially front-of-mind for the seniors on the team.“I told them, ‘This is the last time you’re ever going to see Franklin,'” Wilder said. “‘How do you want your legacy as this group to land?’ They really took that into account because every part of our goal scoring was from our senior group.”
Continue reading the game recap (subscription required) - https://hockomocksports.com/king-philip-field-hockey-tops-franklin-for-first-time-since-2018/
"Franklin finished fifth overall at +26, led by Ben Burgess, who also tied for sixth individually with a 74. Burgess recorded 16 pars in his round, with just two bogeys. Tyler Perlman followed with a 76 to tie for 12th, highlighted by birdies on three and six, while Ayden Doyle carded an 81 and Ethan Helm added an 83."
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| FHS Panther sports results shared via Twitter & subscription to HockomockSports.com |
Franklin Police Department welcomes Officer Patrick Slason
Project PJ is back and for looking for donations of NEW pairs of pajamas
Franklin Fathers schedule Thursday night gathering & Trunk or Treat participation
Franklin SEPAC schedule a Meet & Greet, Thursday, Oct 22 from 5 to 7 PM
Consider SparkLab sessions at the Children's Museum of Franklin
Franklin Public Radio - wfpr.fm Schedule for Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Yes, Franklin has it's own radio station -> wfpr.fm. Franklin Public Radio has a brand new schedule for the locally produced shows that fill our air waves.
Franklin TV schedule for Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = TUESDAY
Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = TUESDAY
Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = TUESDAY
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
Monday, October 19, 2026
What's happening in Franklin, MA: Monday, October 19, 2026 ???
Board of Assessors Regular Meeting
Monday, October 19th Time: 9:00 AM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2565
Tabulator Testing for November 3 Election - Council Chambers Room
Monday, October 19 Time: 9:00 AM
No agenda for this observation period
Franklin Housing Authority Meeting
Monday, October 19 Time: 4:30 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2567
Planning Board Meeting
Monday, October 19 Time: 7:00 PM
https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10192026-2564
Hybrid Franklin Q&A and Conversation Session scheduled for Wednesday, October 21 at 11:00 AM
- Steve provides some updates on what's happened in the past month in the first 10-15 minutes, then opens the floor to answer whatever questions you have
Where: in person at the Senior Center or via Zoom
Did you hear about the major events at Franklin Public Library for November 2026 ???
- Special Events for Kids & Teens
Come adopt a reading buddy at the library! Decorate a collar, make an adoption certificate, and enjoy a cat-themed storytime with your new best friend! Stuffies available while supplies last.
Diamond Art for Kids, Wednesday, November 4 & 18 @ 4pm
Registration Required
Kids - get in on the sparkly fun going on at the Library! For ages 5-13.
Teensgiving! Wednesday, November 18 @ 5pm
Join us in the teen room for a potluck celebration of Thanksgiving! Bring along your favorite snack and your appetite and kick off the thanksgiving holiday with friends!
Science Chefs Make Butter! Friday, November 20 @ 1pm
Wiggle and Shake! Dance and Make for SCIENCE! Join us for an active experiment to make your own butter! Participants will learn how butter is made and will get to take home some of their own butter for the dinner table. If you can, please bring a clean, 6-10 ounce, screw top jar for your take-home.
Air Dry Clay, Saturday, November 21 @ 1pm & Friday, November 27 @ 1pm
Registration Required
- Special Events for Adults
Registration Required
Craft a wire bracelet for a friend or loved one this holiday season! All materials provided. Best for ages 13+.
- Special Events for All Ages
Families! Come with us on a fun, silly, and magical archeological adventure with Jonah Knight as we explore dinosaurs connected to New England.
DINOvember Party! Saturday, November 7 @ 1pm
Celebrate DINOVEMBER at the Library with an epic dinosaur themed party! We'll have games, crafts, snacks, and a few surprises.
Santa Storywalk, Friday, November 27 @ 10:30am
Join us at the library for a special indoor version of a beloved tradition! Follow the pages of a cozy winter story, enjoy crafts and activities as you move through our winding line of holiday fun, and make your way up to meet the big guy himself!
- Franklin Library Book Sale
Saturday, November 21: 9am - 12pm
All books are just one dollar!
Bag Sale - $5 Per Bag
Saturday, November 21: 1 - 4pm
Come fill a brown bag with all the books you can!
Town Council hears student intern report in first of 3 tax rate workshops (video)
- need more info on how the split would work for Franklin (The calculation is actually one page in the annual tax rate hearing documentation provided by the Board of Assessors)
- aside: the tax rate is a result of a calculation and not a decision or a toss of darts to a board the authorized budgeted amount divided by the total assessed valuation results in the tax rate as the residential evaluations have increased recently (due to the increased price war for housing), the ratio of residential vs CIP has generally been in a tight range until the last couple of years
For the chart the students offered in the Comparison Report, I
1 - added the total assessed valuation per community
2 - sorted by the CIP%
3 - highlighted the exceptions in both sections of the sort
Item 2
Content in context is important. While the research produced the chart with 17 communities, what is the view across the Commonwealth? The Dept of Local Services has a great data bank to provide the info. 2026 was chosen as the data for 2027 is not fully populated across the 351. 2022 was chosen simply as the first year before the housing crunch from COVID.
In 2026, 129 of the 351 communities had split tax rates
In 2026, 37 had a CIP% less than 20% (92 had more than 20%)
In 2022, 118 of the 351 communities had split rates
In 2022, 49 had a CIP% less than 20% (70 had more than 20%)
Why the change in 4 years? Oh, the residential valuations have increased significantly more than the commercial valuations changing the ratio between the two.
Has the residential demand (or valuations) slowed down yet? Not likely given what we are seeing in the market.
Audio recording of the School Committee Policy Subcommittee meeting Oct 13, 2026 available (audio)
FM #1838 - This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1838 in the series.
This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee Policy Subcmte meeting held on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. All 3 members (Dave Callaghan (Chair), Al Charles, Reis Hansen) participated in the session held in the 3rd floor training room. Superintendent Lucas Giguere and Dr Tina Rogers also participated.
Quick recap:
discussion on the school grounds, community access allowed but not during school hours; The safety of students and schools takes priority; had been in policy discussion before but unsure of what happened as it never made it to the full committee, cross refs confirmed; vote to move to full Cmte passes 3-0; discussion also on press release and map of where signs are or will be posted to inform the community of access and NOT during school hours
review of policy on field trips to create a more standard approach across the levels; links to other policies for extended and overnight field trips; recurring trips get approved by SchCmte also, some by special vote, some in Consent agenda; looking to tighten the language to make it clear; separate the exception clause to make it stand alone more appropriately and not confuse the sentence where it currently is; motion to bring to first read, second, passes 3-0
new business
possible in spring a review of the documents required for enrollment confirmation of Franklin residency and have updates periodically, as needed (life changes) with the internal documents aligned with the procedures and process as well as confirming residency
auditing the READ act to see how policies align and if any changes are needed, confirming internal procedures also align with the existing or expected policy
next up, fiscal policy resource kit as part of review of the policies, helpful for passing along info to new members of the committee; setting expectations; discussion on review of these policies, the oldest not reviewed, minor wordsmithing required; will pick up DBD next time, motion to adjourn, passes 3-0
Meeting adjourns, folks move to Chambers for full School Committee meeting
The recording runs about 53 minutes, so let’s listen in.
Audio link - https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1838-school-cmte-policy-subcmte-mtg-10-13-26/--------------
The meeting agenda can be found ->
https://ma-franklin.civicplus.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10132026-2558
My full set of notes taken during the meeting can be found in one PDF ->
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KQwwtCt2nwHOX2ny8ANnYDcVwCxGGsHZ/view?usp=drive_link
School Committee Policy manual - https://www.franklinps.net/o/fpsd/page/policy-manual
School Committee Subcommittee assignments
https://www.franklinps.net/o/fpsd/page/subcommittees-and-liaisons
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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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