FM #408 Talk Franklin - 12/04/20 (audio) - #thinkfirstfranklin gift cards, tax rate, spear phishing, etc.

FM #408 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 408 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: 

• December closing the year out
• #ThinkFranklinFirst gift cards
• Tax rate hearing
• Comcast contract
• Spear phishing update

We’ll record a session of Talk Franklin each week leading to Christmas and take the holiday week off to begin again in 2021

Links to the key topics covered here are included in the show notes. The recording runs about 45 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Anne Marie. 

Audio file = https://anchor.fm/letstalkfranklin/episodes/December-2020-in-Franklin-Tax-Rate--Spear-Phishing--Comcast-and-Franklin-Gift-Cards-enhdje

 

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#ThinkFranklinFirst gift cards  https://franklingiftcard.com/ 

Town Council meeting agenda and docs
https://www.franklinma.gov/town-council/agenda/december-2-town-council-meeting-tax-rate-hearing 

Town Council meeting summary
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/town-council-meeting-comcast-contract.html

Spear phishing presentation
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/town-of-franklin-spear-phishing.html

Business Listening Session - Dec 9
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/12/business-listening-session-3-dec-9-2020.html

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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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Town Administrator Jamie Hellen updates the Town Council during the 12/02/20 meeting

1 Week Left to Apply for a Cultural Council grant !!!

Apply now! Grants due December 14

View this email in your browser One week left to apply! The Franklin Cultural Council (FCC) has set a December 14th deadline for organizations, schools, and individuals to apply for grants that support cultural activities in the community. This funding encourages individuals, groups and not-for-profit organizations to bring to the community unique programming that centers around the arts, humanities, history or interpretive sciences for children, adults or intergenerational groups.    While the focus of the proposals should remain similar to past years—community-oriented arts, humanities, and science programs—this year the FCC is encouraging new applicants to apply. All grant applications are due by Monday, December 14th.  Proposals that are past the deadline will not be considered. Log on to https://www.mass-culture.org/Franklin for grant guidelines and to apply.    The Franklin Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. View this email in your browser at https://mailchi.mp/0f00f931677b/1-week-left-to-apply?e=58f391b158

Franklin Public Schools: Updated Inclement Weather Plans for 2020-2021 School Year

"As another New England winter approaches, please make note of the attached information related to Inclement Weather and School Closings. Thank you!"

UNIQUE EMERGENCY PLANS FOR 2020-2021 

"For the 2020-2021 school year, Franklin Public Schools plans to implement remote learning instead of snow days during the winter of 2020-2021. Having opened school remotely positions us well to pivot to a remote learning day in the event of inclement weather. Instruction on these days will be structured. The Department of Elementary and Secondary education is allowing districts to do so this school year only, without having to make up the days at the end of the year. In the event of inclement weather, educators and students/families should be planning for remote learning days to be held using the remote learning schedules previously communicated at the beginning of the school year. Schools will send additional information about daily schedules. Should inclement weather bring widespread power outages, the district may need to close one, multiple, or all schools for the day, and the day will need to be made up at the end of the year. Asynchronous learning will be provided in the event that sporadic power outages are experienced for individual students to be able to be “virtually present” for the day. The district will continue to use delayed starts to the school day if morning weather conditions make travel difficult but the forecast calls for improvement of conditions throughout the day."

 

For the full two page outline

https://franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/inclement_weather_notice_2020-2021.pdf

Updated Inclement Weather Plans for 2020-2021 School Year

67 Degrees Brewing HOME DELIVERY (weekly) IS ON!!

Email from 67 Degrees announces:

Orders can be placed daily on our Webstore (https://commerce.arryved.com/location/BEPyvnP6).  

Delivery orders placed after 2 pm on the same delivery day will be delivered on the next zone schedule.  

67 Degrees Brewing HOME DELIVERY (weekly) IS ON!!

Enjoy Beer, Family, and Friends

Cheers!!

visit 67 Degrees online via their web page -> https://www.67degreesbrewing.com/

or via Facebook ->  https://www.facebook.com/67degrees.brew

Franklin Police: Recent home breaks in area communities

Recent home breaks in area communities

The Franklin Police Department has become aware of Residential B&E's that have occurred in several other cities and towns over the last month. These breaks all appear to have targeted the Asian and Indian communities.

In 2019 the town of Franklin experienced several Residential B&E's where the Indian community was also targeted.

With the holidays upon us The Franklin Police Department would like to remind all of our residents to remain vigilant. Please don't hesitate to contact this department in regards to any suspicious persons, vehicles or activity. Please be ready to describe in as much detail as possible any suspicious persons or vehicles you see when you call. This will help us identify them if they are still in the area when officers respond. 

The Franklin Police Department wants all of our residents to have a happy and safe holiday.

Shared from  https://www.franklinma.gov/police-department/news/recent-home-breaks-area-communities

Download a copy of the press release   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif591/f/news/psabes.pdf

Franklin Police: Recent home breaks in area communities

CommonWealth Magazine: "Baker did not commit to rolling back reopening phases"

From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin: 

"AS THE SURGE of COVID-19 cases continues statewide, Gov. Charlie Baker announced new measures to expand testing and keep hospital beds open.   

Baker was visibly angry as he discussed the need to increase testing and stem the virus’s spread, saying that the state’s positive test rate “took off like a rocket,” because some people ignored public health recommendations and gathered with others outside of their households indoors and without masks over Thanksgiving.  

“We’ve been saying for months this is one of the primary ways the virus spreads, and we talked a lot about why Thanksgiving was particularly worrisome,” Baker said at a Monday briefing. He said he had a weekend call with mayors, some of whom shared frustration at seeing neighbors hold indoor gatherings without mask wearing.  

“Thanksgiving, the ultimate informal gathering among people who are informal with each other, but who don’t necessarily live with each other here and in many other places, has been exactly the kind of event that people said it would be,” Baker said. He added that he hasn’t shared a meal with his own father since February.  "

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health-care/baker-announces-expanded-testing-limits-on-elective-surgery/

Gov Baker's press conference that lead to the article can be viewed here   https://youtu.be/s04QGn97BG8

Can companies require employees to take the vaccine?

From The Washington Post, an article of interest for Franklin:

"As news of promising progress on coronavirus vaccines have filled the headlines in recent weeks, labor lawyers say employers have been pressing one question in particular: Once approved, can they require employees to take it?

“Until maybe about a month ago, we hadn’t had many clients asking about it,” said Brett Coburn, a labor and employment partner with Alston & Bird. “We’re starting to see a lot more momentum.”

The news that a coronavirus vaccine could start being distributed within the next few weeks has sent stocks soaring and government officials scrambling to develop plans for the herculean task of distributing it across the country.

For employers, many of which have kept workers home for months, it has opened a complex set of legal and practical issues: Can they require employees to take a vaccine? Should they offer incentives instead to encourage compliance? And what should they do if employees resist?"

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/road-to-recovery/2020/12/02/workplace-mandated-coronavirus-vaccine/