Franklin Matters

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Pleasant Street construction begins May 8

Milling and paving operations on Pleasant Street from Monterey Drive to approximately house #396 Pleasant St will begin the week of May 8th and is expected to be completed within several weeks, depending upon the weather and construction conditions.

Traffic will be maintained with alternating one way traffic during work hours.

Pleasant Street Construction begins May 8

This was shared from the Town of Franklin webpage
http://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/pleasant-street-construction

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Peace Week at HMMS kicks off May 8

On Monday, May 8th at 12:15, Bill Richard from the Martin Richard Foundation will be speaking to the students at the Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Mr. Richard will be kicking off Peace Week at HMMS by spreading his son, Martin’s message: “No more hurting people. Peace.” As you may remember, Martin was the 8 year old boy killed during the Boston bombings.

Peace Week at HMMS will actually begin at 7:00am on May 8th with a surprise welcome. Students will be greeted by members of the HMMS Community Service Club and the Franklin High School 40% Club. This will be a “Morning of Happiness”.

The remainder of the week will include a Wall of Compliments, a Kindness Raffle and another surprise message on Thursday morning.

Horace Mann MIddle School on a bright and sunny summer day

“The unqualified man tends to win”

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Inspired by Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy, and still stunned by Donald Trump’s victory, increasing numbers of Democratic women are diving into Massachusetts politics.

“The national political environment we’re in, that’s the backdrop to every political discussion,” said Lexington resident Mary Ann Stewart, a freshly declared candidate in the upcoming special election to fill the 4th Middlesex seat in the state Senate. “I think it was a huge wake-up call to people.”

Before his win in the presidential election, Trump drew frequent criticism over comments he made about women. On a leaked “Access Hollywood” tape, the future president was caught boasting, in vulgar terms, about groping women. He disparaged a female political rival’s looks, then criticized a former beauty queen’s weight gain.

The 2016 election provided a stark illustration of the uphill climb women face in the world of politics, said Roslindale resident Katie Forde."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170505/more-massachusetts-women-jumping-into-politics

Take a chance to help the SAFE Coalition

$20 per Chance

for a

$1000 Basket of Scratch Tickets*

Only 500 Raffle Tickets to be Sold

Drawing @ 1:30 pm, May 22, 2017

SAFE Coalition 2nd Annual Golf Tournament
Franklin Country Club, 672 E. Central St, Franklin, MA

To Purchase: Contact Rita Graci (bgraci@comcast.net)

SAFE Coalition Raffle

† Winner need not be present
* Massachusetts State Lottery

This was shared from the SAFE Coalition page
http://safecoalitionma.com/2017/03/26/enter-the-safe-coalition-raffle-today/

"people feel like they have a good alternative"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"A small but growing number of cities and towns are negotiating new electric contracts for their residents to boost renewable energy use in Massachusetts, bypassing the basic service offered by utilities such as National Grid and Eversource.

The practice is called municipal aggregation.

“Traditionally, it’s been much more used as a practice to achieve savings and provide much more price stability,” said Cammy Peterson, director of clean energy at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “The innovation is that piece where they’re also using it as a tool to advance renewable energy in a supply.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170505/massachusetts-towns-ditch-standard-electric-service-to-embrace-green-power

Franklin's plan was released in Feb 2016
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/02/municipal-aggregation-program.html

The aggregation plan is ready to go as of Nov 2016

Municipal aggregation is ready but the pricing is not expected to produce sufficient savings to execute it right now. The Town is ready to do so, all the approvals have been received.They will continue to watch the market pricing to see when to make the move.

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/no-change-in-town-council-leadership.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/in-news-legislative-delegation-reports.html

Greater Franklin Distinguished Young Women To Hold Program Showcase May 13th

The Greater Franklin Distinguished Young Women Program will hold their annual program on Saturday May 13 at 6pm at Dean College. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students.

Franklin's own Helen Huang

Distinguished Young Women is a national scholarship program that inspires high school girls to develop their full, individual potential through a fun, transformative experience that culminates in a celebratory showcase of their accomplishments.

Distinguished Young Women strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future. Franklin's own Helen Huang was named Massachusetts Distinguished Young Woman last year and will be on hand to give a talent presentation.

This year 8 candidates will vie for scholarships in the areas of scholastics, interview, talent, fitness and self-expression. Please come out on Saturday May 13th at 6pm to support some of Franklin's finest!

http://franklin.ma.distinguishedyw.org/

MassBudget: Analyzing the House budget proposal

MassBudget		Information.
MassBudget		Participation.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center		Democracy.

Analyzing the House Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2018

The House largely followed the recommendations of its Ways and Means (HWM) Committee in crafting its budget proposal last week. The state budget is how we as a Commonwealth determine how much we will spend in the coming year to educate our children, provide local services, ensure access to health care, protect public safety, and accomplish everything else we do through our government. In two days of debate the House adopted amendments to the Fiscal Year 2018 budget that increased funding by just under two tenths of one percent from the levels its budget committee proposed last month.

MassBudget's new Budget Monitor describes the changes adopted by the House in each major section of the budget. While many of the House amendments provide targeted funding to specific programs in particular communities, a few address significant issues of statewide concern, including the following:

An increase of $5.0 million (above the $15.0 million proposed by the HWM Committee) for early education and care rates. This additional funding would provide enhanced support for early education quality efforts including salary and benefit increases along with professional development for early educators.

A study on the feasibility of creating a common application for MassHealth and several other public benefit programs. In particular, creating a common application for MassHealth and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or "food stamps") would help identify people who are potentially eligible for SNAP but are unenrolled (the so-called "SNAP Gap"). Doing so would simplify the application for the program and would get more low-income residents in the Commonwealth on SNAP, a fully federally-funded program that is central to combating food insecurity across the state.

The rest of this Budget Monitor examines the House amendments to major state programs in greater detail. Links from the Table of Contents below allow readers to jump quickly to specific sections. Each section also provides links to our on-line budget tools including our Budget Browser (which provides funding information for every account in the state budget going back to FY 2001) and, where applicable, to our Children's Budget and Jobs and Workforce Budget.

Click on a Budget Monitor section below:

To read the full House Budget Monitor, click here (LINK).

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER

15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700

BOSTON, MA 02108