“We’re not going to want to dredge and fill forever”

"Officials in Miami-Dade County, where climate models predict two feet or more of sea-level rise by 2060, have released an upbeat strategy for living with more water, one that focused on elevating homes and roads, more dense construction farther inland and creating more open space for flooding in low-lying areas.

That blueprint, made public on Friday, portrayed rising seas as mostly manageable, especially for a low-lying area with a century of experience managing water.

Climate experts, though, warned that the county’s plan downplayed the magnitude of the threat, saying it failed to warn residents and developers about the risk of continuing to build near the coast in a county whose economy depends heavily on waterfront real estate."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/miami-sea-level-rise.html

Does Boston have a plan for rising tides? Does the Cape have a plan?

FM #476 - Talk Franklin - 02/26/21 (audio)

FM #476 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 476 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my "Talk Franklin" conversation with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and Marketing and Communications Specialist Anne Marie Tracey. We had our conversation via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

We talk about: 

• Re-opening changes effective March 1
• Vaccine – readiness, awaiting supply (if provided)

 
Looking back

SchComm meeting

• Vaccine update
• Ventilation update
• District newsletter

Finance Committee meeting

• Debt and borrowing overview

Looking ahead

• Community Preservation Committee organizational meeting - 3/2
• School Committee legislative Forum - 3/2 
• Board of Health meeting - 3/3
• Economic Development - 3/3  How to setup to do business? (Franklin Business Guide)
• Town Council meeting - 3/3  MBTA downtown station

Links to the key topics covered here are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 38 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Anne Marie.  Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b3b29add-6c3e-4220-854e-d3e9ac70ed70

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

School Committee recap
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/02/school-committee-meeting-2232021-recap.html 

District newsletter
https://www.franklinps.net/district/news/fps-district-newsletter

Finance Committee meeting audio
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/02/fm-474-finance-committee-mtg-022421.html 

Agenda docs and connection info to the Town of Franklin meetings found on the calendar
https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar 

-------------- 

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).

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!

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

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

FM #476 - Talk Franklin - 02/26/21 (audio)

Two $1000 Scholarships Offered by Knights of Columbus, Sacred Heart Council 1847, Franklin, MA

Knights of Columbus 1847 in Franklin, MA is accepting applications for 2- $1000 Scholarships. The applicants must be a registered member of St. Mary's Parish in Franklin, and must be graduating from High School in the Spring 2021 and progressing onto their first year of study at a 2- or 4-year college/ university. Please submit a complete our Scholarship Application postmarked on or before the Application Deadline of Friday April 16, 2021.

The application form is available from the banner on the St. Mary's Parish, Franklin website or on the Knights of Columbus 1847 website https://www.kofc1847.org/scholarship-program

Please fill in ALL information accurately and clearly, and then submit the completed application to the Knights of Columbus, Sacred Heart Council 1847, St. Mary's Parish c/o Mike Swan, 38 Madison Ave., Franklin, MA 02038.

The award will be given to the recipients upon completion of their 1st semester of studies and upon proof of enrollment in the 2nd semester.

Please contact Mike Swan for more information at 508-404-4792. 

https://www.kofc1847.org/scholarship-program

"Go For The Green!" Online Silent Auction - opens March 7

 
Big Fundraising News!!
The "Go for the Green" Online Auction
Is coming in March

Welcome to our exciting virtual fundraiser!

Bidding will last 10 days, from March 7^th @ noon to 

St. Patrick's Day-March 17th @ 8 pm

 

In March, we will explain how to access the auction and spread the word.
 

Join the fun! Help us help Franklin Federated Church. 

      More information to follow before March 7. For updates check out franklinfederated.org

 

Town of Franklin, MA: Read the March 2021 Newsletter Here!

Hello Franklin!  The March edition of the Town of Franklin newsletter is now available.  Stay connected and updated with what is happening in town.  

Newsletter = https://t.co/AdkDTwKPmR

Or use this link = https://myemail.constantcontact.com/March-2021--E-Newsletter.html?soid=1134219428814&aid=T31XgmNEVf4

 Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/MmQCVx4D9G

 

Town of Franklin, MA: Read the March 2021 Newsletter Here!

Franklin Public Schools, MA: K-5, 6-8 and FHS communications from Superintendent Sara Ahern

Please find the latest K-5, 6-8 and FHS communications from Superintendent Sara Ahern posted on our Reopening site  

 

FPS Reopening site =https://t.co/av14MmSQep  

 

Elementary = https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DhCmqQmEqxlt9tZZRc5IcQ6GICqM5bjt/view

 

Middle School = https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y5wUgfzWGe2yoScvTCsXGNHK4cV-g3FY/view?usp=sharing

 

High school =  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lNqnP6ISwVubfI9gjhYf4JbSakjFMgbX/view?usp=sharing

K-5, 6-8 and FHS communications from Superintendent Sara Ahern

Pantherbook: "COVID-19’s Impact on FHS Faculty"

 

"COVID-19 has brought many schools new challenges and experiences which they have not faced before. Franklin High School principal, Joshua Hanna, says he is impressed with the students, parents, and facility’s hard work and positive attitude which he believes will allow us to get back to an in-person learning model.

Challenges

When asked what major impact did Covid-19 have on FHS staff, Mr. Hanna responded, “becoming crisis responsive regarding new regulations that have never been implemented before.” Schools were shut down almost a year ago and since then, a myriad of new regulations and safety precautions have been issued. As a result, teachers had to get quickly accustomed to educating students in socially distant classrooms or virtual google meets."

Continue reading the article online at Pantherbook
https://franklinpanthers.us/news/2021/02/25/covid-19s-impact-on-fhs-faculty/ 

Pantherbook: "COVID-19’s Impact on FHS Faculty" (image by Amulya Chirravuri, Writer)

Franklin Public Schools, MA: Safe Buildings Initiatives (from SchComm Mtg 2/23/21)

"Learn more about the Safe Buildings Initiative and UVGI technology from the Director of Public Facilities, Mike D'Angelo "

The presentation deck  https://t.co/x4jEKdDprS  

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinPSNews/status/1366433696505544706

 

Listen to the audio from the School Committee meeting on Feb 23, 2021 while you follow along with the presentation deck  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/02/fm-473-school-committee-meeting-022321.html

Safe Buildings Initiatives (from SchComm Mtg 2/23/21)

Superintendent Sara Ahern and Director of Public Facilities, Mike D'Angelo

WOW, 20 incredABLE Years! Help HMEA raise some funds for their cause!

We are celebrating the 20th Anniversary incredABLE Day and there are so many ways to get involved – contests, challenges, raffles, virtual trivia and bingo, and more!

Click one of the buttons below to start your incredABLE journey!

 

Find all the buttons on one page

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/WOW--20-incredABLE-Years-.html?soid=1114254466392&aid=aXXjDrC4mwk

 

 

or visit  https://www.hmea.org/incredable-day/

 

WOW, 20 incredABLE Years! Help HMEA raise some funds for their cause!

 

JohnnyMac presents: Toys For Tots Festival - July 24, 2021

"Early Stages of event. Everything is pending due to the pandemic. 

Follow the event for further details and if you would like to have a vendor table or would like to donate for the raffle table please reach out. 

Thank you"

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2021 AT 12:30 AM EDT – 11:30 PM EDT

At The Alumni Bar & Grill

Facebook event = https://www.facebook.com/events/256879422661382/

JohnnyMac presents: Toys For Tots Festival - July 24, 2021

SAFE Coalition announces new support group for substance abuse

"New Support group added: starting MARCH 15th, 18+ sibling support group for anyone with a loved one grappling with substance use disorder

💜 "Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten"

Shared from Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1949801751933050/permalink/3022830087963539/

What is the SAFE Coalition?

"SAFE is a regional coalition of community partners in Western Norfolk County (serving Franklin, Foxboro, Mansfield, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville, Walpole, Wrentham and surrounding towns) who have come together to provide a pathway for support, education, treatment options and coping mechanisms for those affected by substance use disorder. We do so by empowering those affected, including their families, with the tools necessary to succeed on their journey to recovery. We understand that while I can’t, we can."

For more info about the SAFE Coalition, visit them on the web  https://www.safecoalitionma.org/

SAFE Coalition announces new support group for substance abuse

Franklin Senior Center: Connections Newsletter - March 2021

CONNECTION NEWSLETTER

Your Monthly Franklin Senior Center Newsletter

To Receive This Newsletter Monthly or Other Town Notifications, Please Click Here.

Franklin Senior Center: Connections Newsletter - March 2021

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements

"Results are in for Hockomock Cup Placements!  Congratulations girls so very proud of you! 

@FHSSports @FranklinHS @KatCornetta @MetroWestSports @HockomockSports @fhsgymboosters @FranklinMatters @BuzzMyfm "

https://t.co/UdoaVG8OsQ

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/fhs_gymnastics/status/1366586890997043200

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements

FHS Gymnastics: Hockomock Cup Placements 1

Franklin Youth Hockey Association (FYHA) registration closes Mar 8

The Franklin Youth Hockey Association (FYHA) player evaluation schedule for the 2021-2022 season is now posted on our website (https://t.co/G6QVHoZYk4). 

Registration will close on Monday, 3/8. @FHSPantherHocke @fhsvgockey @FranklinMatters @FranklinRec 

player evaluation schedule for the 2021-2022 season

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FYHockey/status/1366549365033164807

The Intercept: "Teachers Unions Aren’t the Obstacle to Reopening Schools"

Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) tweeted

"This piece from @onesarahjones gets at the heart of one of the things I have found most disheartening about the pandemic. It gave us a chance to refocus on the vast inequities in our society, and instead it's making them wider."

Sarah writes: (Bold my emphasis)

"Public opinion does not, of course, dictate scientific consensus. Even so, the science isn’t as settled as many claim. While it’s true that kids aren’t as likely to fall seriously ill with COVID and aren’t as likely to spread the virus, the risk isn’t zero. As The Intercept reported in January, three recent studies indicate that the risks posed by reopening schools vary depending on rates of community transmission. According to one of the studies, reopening schools in Florida did lead to higher incidences of COVID infection among school-age children. Teachers in a school building can also spread the virus to one another and to parents if mitigation strategies aren’t sound."

Follow the link to read the full article =  https://t.co/tTKdfw6Cgk

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/TracyNovick/status/1365815338366087169

Franklin Food Pantry: unloading the Greater Boston Food Bank food truck

#ICYMI Our latest #FAQFriday.  Learn how we unload the Food Truck from the Greater Boston Food Bank at The Franklin Food Pantry 

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinFoodPan/status/1366381311271837703

YouTube video link =  https://youtu.be/evH5F5RV81Y

Projects underway out and around Franklin

In no particular order these are photos and links to the Planning Board documents for the approved projects underway in and around Franklin.

Amego on Washington St 
https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/washington-street-amego-inc

Amego on Washington St

Bus facility on Panther Way

https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/panther-way

Bus facility on Panther Way

Mixed use development (residential, retails, coffee shop) 340 East Central St (Rt 140)

https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/340-east-central-street-mixed-use

 340 East Central St

Mixed use development (residential, retails, coffee shop)

On Sunday's walk, the auto dealer building is half gone

What was proposed as Fairfield Residences on Dean Ave (now Station 117)  https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-board/pages/dean-ave-fairfield-residents

Fairfield Residences on Dean Ave (now Station 117)

I have written in other places about my 'following the money' by focusing on the Finance Committee, the School Committee and the Town Council. In so doing, I do acknowledge leaving the whole "planning process" (Planning Board, Design Review, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Conservation Commission) out of the coverage. Frankly, I have only so much time. Someday, maybe if the 'cloning thing' works, I can do both. In the meantime, I'll repeat the offer:

If you have interest in reporting on any one (or more) of the planning process meetings, I'll gladly help you get set up. You do need the interest and a basic capability to write what you hear about and see. It does take time but does provide its rewards. 

PS - If I missed a project that you have a question about, let me know.

The Friends of Franklin Library Scholarship awarded to Emily Vinson

Emily Vinson, a 2020 Franklin High School graduate, has won The Friends of Franklin Library Scholarship in Memory of Wilma Winters. She received $1,000 toward the cost of her college education.

Vinson was selected as the contest winner based on her essay about a book that changed her thinking, "Becoming" by Michelle Obama. The former first lady's autobiography, Vinson wrote, inspired her to persevere through difficulties and to serve her community. 

"In these challenging times today, I hoped what I learned in the book 'Becoming' can help me focus on the positive, recognize there is still good in the world, and help others," Vinson wrote.

Now a Providence College student, Vinson has volunteered at the library, senior center and elsewhere. She also served as a basketball referee through the Franklin Recreation Department, an experience she used in her essay as an example of how perseverance turned her from a soft-spoken, unsure official to a confident one that over time earned the respect of players and coaches.

The Friends of Franklin Library established its scholarship program in 2014 as part of an effort to honor Wilma Winters, a longtime Franklin resident and library supporter. Winters, who had a long career in higher education, worked for many years as a librarian, including at Boston University Medical School and Harvard’s School of Public Health. She spent her retirement years volunteering at the Franklin Public Library. Winters died in 2011, leaving a sizable donation to The Friends. 

The scholarship program has assisted college-bound Franklin students in each of the past seven years. It will be awarded again this year to a member of the Class of 2021.  

Lisa Rein, left, a Friends of Franklin Library board member, presents a check to Emily Vinson, winner of the Friends of Franklin Library Scholarship in Memory of Wilma Winters

Franklin Art Association: Monthly Virtual Meeting: Presentation by Dennis Sardella!! - Wed - March 3

Don't forget that coming your way via Zoom on      March 3, 2021, 6:30pm: 

our very own FAA member Dennis Sardella will present "Science and Modern Art".

Someone comparing a medieval and modern artwork may find themselves puzzling, "How on earth did we get from there to here?"  Art experienced two revolutionary periods that radically changed how artists saw and depicted the world, and that paralleled two revolutionary periods in which science underwent similar changes.  This talk will be a visual exploration of how those two ways of seeing the world developed, and how they led from the "there" of medieval art to to the "here" of modern art."

 

Dennis Sardella has been a docent at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton since 2012, where he leads gallery tours and introduces visitors to the world of Russian icons. He also writes about icons, and speaks regularly to civic and church groups on the topics of religious icons and the role they play in Eastern Christian spirituality. 

From 1967 until 2012 he was a tenured Professor of Chemistry at Boston College.  In 1990 he became the founding director of the Boston College Presidential Scholars Program, a university-wide co-curricular honors program, and directed it until 2010.  For 17 years he and his wife Marjorie, a fine art photographer, led groups of Boston College Presidential Scholars on month-long study trips to France, and it was during those trips that he began to speak to students about science and modern art.

 

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to download the free app Zoom to your devices (phone, laptop, ipad etc.) and practice using prior to our "first Wednesday of the month" meetings.   There are "how to" instructions on the Zoom website as well as YouTube.  FAA now has its own Zoom account, with its own Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82181910922?pwd=ME9aTGtvRVJFVlg2aDBlMllVT1ZZdz09

 Looking forward to seeing you all then!

--

Susan Plume

FAA Corresponding Secretary

Monthly Virtual Meeting: Presentation by Dennis Sardella!! - Wed  - March 3

Economic Development Subcommittee - Agenda - Mar 3, 2021

Economic Development Subcommittee Meeting

Agenda & Meeting Packet

March 3, 2021 - 5:45 PM 

Agenda:
1. Tasting Room bylaw proposal
2. Franklin Business Guide (Draft Attached)
3. Food Trucks materials update

Agenda doc and meeting materials, including connection info for this virtual meeting

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/agendas/edc_agenda_3-3-2021.pdf

Economic Development Subcommittee - Agenda - Mar 3, 2021