Are your oil fired buners compliant?

From the massgov Twitter stream today, I saw:

@massgov: Older oil burners must be upgraded to prevent leaks - A law enacted over a year ago (St. 2008, c.453) requires home... http://ow.ly/16tOyU 

When you follow the link you find: (bold added for my emphasis)

A law enacted over a year ago (St. 2008, c.453) requires homeowners with oil burners installed before 1990 to make a small change to their systems by July 1, 2010 to prevent leaks. According to the Mass. DEP, under the Homeowner Oil Heating System Upgrade and Insurance Law,  "Owners of 1- to 4-unit residences that are heated with oil must already have or install an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with a protective sleeve...  Installation of these devices must be performed by a licensed oil burner technician."  "It is important to note that heating oil systems installed on or after January 1, 1990 most likely are already in compliance because state fire codes implemented these requirements on new installations at that time."

The good news is that the law also requires insurers who offer homeowner's insurance to also offer coverage for oil leaks to those who have certified that they have made the repairs or are exempt from the requirement.

More information, including a diagram of necessary repairs, is available at the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection site.

The burner in my house failed and was replaced in Sep 2008 so I know we are compliant. This is the first I hear that there is a deadline to be complaint by July 1, 2010.

Is your oil fired burner compliant?

In the News - road repairs

Ashley Studley, Milford Daily News, filed her report from the Finance Committee meeting that took place last night.

Franklin looks at street repairs

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Partial Live Reporting at FINCOM

I didn't get to tune into the Finance Committee meeting Tuesday evening until it was an hour underway. I did catch part of Chief McCarraher's discussion on the needs of the Fire Dept, and then Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi's discussion on the DPW's needs.

I will catch up to the full meeting when the video is available on demand and report on the capital outlook. The one good item from this is the attempt to start spending something on a regular basis to repair our roads. As you may be aware, there are approx 200 miles of roads, many of which were built in the last 30 years and with no budget for road repair we are asking for trouble.

Yes, some of our roads do get repaired as part of the water enterprise account when water mains need to be repaired and upgraded. Or when we get some Chapter 90 money from the state, approx 750,000 the past several years. The Town has been very thrifty on this front and will need to start spending something significant on a regular basis to begin to handle the demands.

The Finance Committee did not vote on any capital budget items this evening. Based upon what happened last year, Jeff Nutting will wait to see how the winter treats the snow/ice budget before committing to use some of the "free cash" for capital items.

The meeting can be viewed on the internet video archive for the Town here

Text translator for 'teen speak'

Texting is all the rage amongst teens.

Cyberbullying happens to be one theme amongst the many messages sent.


LG has a website to help translate the texting shortcuts used.

You can translate from the short cut to SMS text or from a regular English sentence translate to text.


Related links:

Teen Angels is a group of middle school students working to raise awareness amongst their peers on cyberbullying. The TeenAngels presented to the School Committee earlier this month. You can see what they did here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-teen-angels.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/teen-angels-pledge-text-think-send.html

Legislation is being discussed to address cyberbullying. I don't think legislation is the answer. Parents, teachers, and the teens themselves can do a better job of creating awareness and changing behaviors.

Green Reel - FLOW, Sunday, Feb 7 at 7:00 PM

A series of films on sustainable living called "The Green Reel" will be held Sunday evenings in North Attleboro. The films are presented free of charge. Some refreshments are available. Discussion about the film is encouraged.

"Flow" will be shown Feb 7th at 7:00 PM

Flow (For Love Of Water)

"An astonishingly wide-ranging film. An informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests." - New York Times

"Lively and engaging...Smartly Done" - Los Angeles Times

“The inconvenient truth at the center of Flow: For Love of Water is that while the oil crisis is intensely debated and documented, disasters involving an even more essential fluid go perilously unnoticed.” - Slant Magazine

“Focusing on pollution, human rights, politics, and corruption, filmmaker Salina constructs an exceptionally articulate profile of the precarious relationship uniting human beings and water. “ - Rotten Tomatoes
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Official Selection 2008 Sundance Film Festival

International Jury Prize 2008 Mumbai International Film Festival

Best Documentary 2008 Vail International Film Festival

Winner Best Documentary United Nations Association Film Festival

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Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?"

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.

The flyer for the full series can be seen here:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

In the News - regionalization, elderly growth

One of the avenues to explore to more effectively utilize the limited funding available and maintain services is regionalization. Franklin and Bellingham share animal services. Franklin and Medway share library and recreation services. Franklin and Medway share nursing services for seniors.

This article shows other communities are considering additional services for regionalization.

Medway mulls regionalizing nursing, dispatch

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Krista Perry/Daily News staff

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Presenting data already collected for the foundation, Boston University professor Lorenz Finison told the commission yesterday that the regional population of residents 75 or older in 2000 is projected to grow about 60 percent by 2030. The study area includes the foundation's coverage zone of 25 cities and towns, a swath that stretches from Needham to Westborough and from Hudson to Bellingham.

This data presents a real challenge to Franklin's future budget. Making the assumption that as the population grows older, the income associated with the aging population will level off, then the capacity for raising revenue will be reduced. 


Sounds like a problem without a solution? 


Or to take the more optimistic angle, sounds like a problem that many heads coming together to think creatively and collaboratively can solve.


Read the full article here:

Group discusses MetroWest's elderly population

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Michael Morton/Daily News staff

In the News - pension reform

Given the extended discussion during the Budget Workshop held a week ago, this editorial is timely:

Editorial: Next steps on pension reform

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

The letter that Governor Patrick sent to the Legislature along with the text of his proposed reforms can be found here.