Franklin Senior Center: December 2020 VIRTUAL Coffee Social - Dec 2

Join Us! Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 AM

HELLO VETERANS!

Just a reminder… Our next VIRTUAL Coffee Social is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 hours!

Please join us for veterans' updates and conversation and feel free to extend this invitation to other veterans who may not be on our contact list.

We hope you and your families are remaining healthy and safe by wearing face coverings and observing social distancing guidelines when out in public. Remember to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly especially after going shopping or to appointments. Use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Please follow the governor's Covid-19 travel and visiting guidelines during the holiday season.

Flu shots are available at local pharmacies. If you're over 65, you may want to call ahead to be sure your pharmacy has the high-dose influenza vaccine in stock.

The Veterans' Office will host the monthly Coffee Social via Zoom on Wednesday, December 2 at 10:00 A.M.

If you have not participated in a Zoom call yet, you'll need to download the Zoom app on your device before joining us.

Here is the log-in information for the December 2020 meeting only:
Join Zoom via URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82499173596
Call in number: 1-929-205-6099
Enter Meeting ID: 824 9917 3596 then press #   

For more information, contact the Veterans Services Office at: (508) 613-1315.

We look forward to chatting with you at the December Coffee Social!
BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

Franklin Senior Center: December 2020 VIRTUAL Coffee Social

Commonwealth Magazine: "Baker says fraud rampant with unemployment insurance"

From CommonWealth Magazine we share an article of interest for Franklin:

"GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said a relatively small number of state unemployment claims were approved last week because of a screening process designed to weed out a rising tide of fraudulent claims.

The governor said the state received 31,000 applications for unemployment assistance last week, but only 1,000 passed the screening process.

“There’s a tremendous amount of fraud going on around UI,” Baker said at a Monday afternoon press conference. “Some of these fraudsters are actually paying people to call unemployment offices around the country and advocate for benefits pretending to be somebody they’re not, who’s not in fact actually unemployed.”

Baker said the anti-fraud effort is slowing down the claims process and preventing state officials from obtaining an accurate count of the number of new claims being filed each week."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/baker-says-fraud-rampant-with-unemployment-insurance/

 

The Gov Baker press update where he made the comments on unemployment fraud. YouTube link = https://youtu.be/0c6nZ7OLwdc

FTC Consumer Alert: Holiday shopping season 2020

Holiday shopping season 2020 by Shameka Walker Attorney, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC The holiday season is upon us and retailers are already preparing for what they hope will be a successful shopping season. Because of COVID-19, it's likely that we'll be going online to look for those perfect gifts. With so many deals around and what seem like eternal "Black Friday" sales, it's important to keep some online shopping tips in mind. Read more >  https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/11/holiday-shopping-season-2020 This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

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Staying Safe This Thanksgiving during COVID-19

"As the coronavirus pandemic intensifies, is there any safe way to celebrate Thanksgiving? We asked four experts to tell us about their plans and the science that shaped them."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/23/opinion/covid-thanksgiving-travel.html

NY Times image - "Staying Safe This Thanksgiving" during COVID-19

MBTA: Thursday - Commuter Rail notice for Thanksgiving

The Commuter Rail will operate on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving Day, 11/26. Regular weekday train service will resume on Friday, 11/27.

On the Lowell and Franklin Lines, Sunday train service without disruptions will run on 11/26. Weekend bus shuttles will resume on both lines on Saturday 11/28.

On the Rockport Line, bus shuttles will continue to operate between West Gloucester and Rockport.

Last Updated: Nov 23 2020 10:02 AM

https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Franklin/timetable 

MBTA: Thursday - Commuter Rail notice for Thanksgiving

 

FM #395 Town Council - Budget SubComm Meeting- 11/18/20 (audio)

FM #395 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 395 in the series.

This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of the Town Council Budget Subcommittee meeting held at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, Nov 18, 2020.  
The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Budget Subcommittee and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, the public was remote via Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

Quick recap:

•  "incredibly good news" on FY 2021 budget compared to what had been feared in June 2020
• Added back $75K to both Town Clerk and Recreation budgets based upon requirements and changes due to the pandemic
• Adjusted new growth number back upwards and then recommended to set aside $850K in the Budget Stabilization account. This had been emptied by withdrawals to balance the recent budgets

The full show notes also include my notes taken via Twitter during the meeting as well as the agenda and associated budget documents released for this meeting.

The meeting runs about 32 minutes, so let’s listen to the Budget Subcommittee meeting.  Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HWHd5tyS

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Budget Subcommittee agenda and supporting documents: https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/agendas/budget_subcommittee_agenda.pdf

Town of Franklin Budget page  https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget

My meeting notes
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/town-council-budget-subcommittee.html

Photos captured during the meeting and shared with the Twitter thread can be found online https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ksn5Q4qwUrcJ3Eq36

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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

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

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

sheet showing the two additions of $75 and the set aside of $850K

 

FM #394 Finance Committee Mtg - 11/17/20 (audio)

FM #394 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 394 in the series.

This session shares the Finance Committee meeting held on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2020.

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: members of the Finance Committee and Town Administration personnel were in the Council Chambers, the public was remote via Zoom conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

Quick Recap:

• The Finance Committee gets an update on the Beaver St interceptor, effectively a shorter and concise review of what the Town Council received at their Oct 21, 2020 meeting.
• The finance options are expected to be ready in January 2021. It is likely that the sewer rate payers will absorb the cost of the project as the sewer fee is user based. A better understanding of how much will be revealed in January.
• The balance of the meeting was discussion on topics for future meetings.

The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda and my notes.

The meeting runs about 70 minutes, so let’s listen to the Finance Committee meeting for Nov 17, 2020. audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HNC3mSdS


 

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The Finance Committee posted agenda including the interceptor project presentation document  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/franklin-ma-finance-committee-agenda_14.html

My notes of the meeting  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/finance-committee-meeting-recap-nov-17.html

The Oct 21, 2020 Town Council meeting segment with the Beaver St interceptor presentation and discussion  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/10/fm-372-town-council-mtg-102120-part-2.html

Photos of the meeting shared via Twitter can be found in one album
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHPczB9FKC5P67U16

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

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

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

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"

 

key graphic depicts the sewer gravity flow along with the depth of the access points