The next edition of Panther News is out: https://youtu.be/xF8wSShfHd4
Friday, October 9, 2020
Board of Health Meeting - Recap and Audio - 10/7/20
Recap:
- Short and productive meetings, minutes from prior September sessions approved
- Senior Center drive through flu clinic was a success, plans underway for another one to be scheduled
- Cathleen updated on the resumption of the podcast series planned for monthly
- Only 14 quarantine cases currently, has been good overall due to the coordination of Town departments and the community
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As with most meetings in this pandemic period, I took my notes via Twitter during the meeting reporting in real-time via the virtual session.
The Twitter hashtag can be found online ##boh1007
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23boh1007&src=typed_query
- Real time reporting underway for the Franklin, MA Board of Health meeting #boh1007
- Motion to approve both meetings for Sep as presented. Seconded, passes 3-0. Drive through, vaccinated 75 people including some children, well organized, nurses deployed to vaccinate on either side of car, forms handled, it went smoothly. #boh1007
- Cathleen updates on resuming podcast series monthly, #boh1007 Merchi had been closed for violations and now resolved, so reopened for business as of today. No issues with enforcement penalty previously approved.
- Q Any info on neighboring Communities and what they are doing. Not yet, everyone is head's down doing what they need to do. "It is a hot mess" Q any questions on Halloween? Not a holiday governed. #boh1007 14 in isolation now, other wise doing well.
- It has been good here starting with Fire Chief and what they did, it has built out from there, the collaboration is good. #boh1007 Motion to adjourn, passed 3-0 via roll call
Meeting agenda: https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/10/franklin-ma-board-of-health-meeting-oct.html
Meeting Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HsdJxZBK
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| Board of Health Meeting - Recap and Audio - 10/7/20 |
Franklin Library: Jumpin' Juba Car Concert - Oct 9
Jumpin' Juba Car Concert, Friday, October 9, 3:00 PM. Please remain in your vehicle while enjoying the concert!
This program is supported by a grant from the Franklin Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. https://t.co/xCYg351hu3
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| Franklin Library: Jumpin' Juba Car Concert - Oct 9 |
Municipal Aggregation - Information Session Video
The recent Information Session on the Municipal Aggregation agreement the Town of Franklin has implemented for Franklin residents was recorded and available for video replay.
Video link = https://youtu.be/Vl7qvosl33g
Town Administrator Jamie Hellen at the Town Council meeting announcing the deal in Feb 2020 https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/02/fm-208-jamie-hellen-on-municipal.html
MA sets PFAS limits for drinking water
Via the Mass Municipal Association (MMA) which reports
"The Baker-Polito administration on Sept. 24 announced final regulations establishing a maximum contaminant level for PFAS compounds detected in drinking water.
The enforceable standards for public drinking water systems impacted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – limited to 20 parts per trillion for the sum of six compounds – are largely aligned with the draft regulations the administration filed last December, on which the MMA commented.
PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” are a class of manmade chemical compounds considered hazardous to public and environmental health. PFAS have been used since the 1950s in the manufacture of stain-resistant, water-resistant, and non-stick coatings and common consumer products such as food packaging, outdoor clothing, carpets, leather goods, ski and snowboard waxes, and more. The chemicals are also found in firefighting foam and other fire retardants, and have been detected in water and soil sources at or near several military bases and airports in Massachusetts.
The new regulations require public water suppliers to test for the six compounds, called PFAS6, and to take remedial actions when amounts exceed the limit. According to the administration, using the sum of six compounds provides for a higher degree of protection against the harmful effects of the chemicals."
Continue reading the article online https://www.mma.org/state-establishes-pfas-limits-for-drinking-water-provides-grants/
Final regulations from MA https://www.mass.gov/regulations/310-CMR-22-the-massachusetts-drinking-water-regulations
MMA comments on proposed regulations https://www.mma.org/advocacy/mma-submits-comments-on-draft-pfas-regulations-warning-of-exorbitant-costs/
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| MA sets PFAS limits for drinking water |
New England Journal of Medicine: "Dying in a Leadership Vacuum"
The New England Journal of Medicine writes the following editorial:
"COVID-19 has created a crisis throughout the world. This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were forced to make hard choices about how to respond. Here in the United States, our leaders have failed that test. They have taken a crisis and turned it into a tragedy.
The magnitude of this failure is astonishing. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering,1 the United States leads the world in Covid-19 cases and in deaths due to the disease, far exceeding the numbers in much larger countries, such as China. The death rate in this country is more than double that of Canada, exceeds that of Japan, a country with a vulnerable and elderly population, by a factor of almost 50, and even dwarfs the rates in lower-middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, by a factor of almost 2000. Covid-19 is an overwhelming challenge, and many factors contribute to its severity. But the one we can control is how we behave. And in the United States we have consistently behaved poorly.
We know that we could have done better. China, faced with the first outbreak, chose strict quarantine and isolation after an initial delay. These measures were severe but effective, essentially eliminating transmission at the point where the outbreak began and reducing the death rate to a reported 3 per million, as compared with more than 500 per million in the United States. Countries that had far more exchange with China, such as Singapore and South Korea, began intensive testing early, along with aggressive contact tracing and appropriate isolation, and have had relatively small outbreaks. And New Zealand has used these same measures, together with its geographic advantages, to come close to eliminating the disease, something that has allowed that country to limit the time of closure and to largely reopen society to a prepandemic level. In general, not only have many democracies done better than the United States, but they have also outperformed us by orders of magnitude."
Continue reading the editorial online https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2029812
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| New England Journal of Medicine: "Dying in a Leadership Vacuum" |
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Town of Franklin: Spear Phishing Attack Announcement
October 8, 2020
To: Town of Franklin Residents
From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
The Town of Franklin is cautioning all residents and employees to be mindful of the sharp increase in malicious cyber fraud and email phishing attempts. The Town of Franklin is announcing today that it has itself been the victim of a recent “spear-phishing” attack. A payment of $522,000 was misdirected to a third party.
The matter has been turned over to the Franklin Police Department who are working with state and federal authorities, for a complete criminal investigation. In addition, the Town has retained as special counsel in connection with this matter an attorney to coordinate and work with the authorities on this matter. Attorneys for the Town have requested there be no further comment on the investigation until the appropriate time when all of the facts have been gathered and the Franklin Police Department has completed its investigation.
I have been reassured that Franklin’s electronic data is secure. There is currently no evidence of a breach of our systems. All personal information, accounts and town software systems have been found not to be compromised. The incident was not a ransomware attack.
I also wish to note that this incident has not affected the Town’s general fund. It occurred in connection with a non-general fund account. The Town is implementing new procedures and protocols to limit future incidents of this type and urges all to guard against increased fraud.
For further resources and information on cyber-crime, threats and spear-phishing, please visit the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) cyber-crime website here:
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
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Shared via ToF Twitter account https://twitter.com/TOFranklinMA/status/1314341421135147013 which contained the following PDF https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/uploads/2020-10-08_spear_phishing_attack_announcement_.pdf
Town of Franklin: Spear Phishing Attack Announcement
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