Franklin resident to make cake on Food Network show
Tracie Turinese will be appearing in a cake competition.
Proposed federal change would reduce fluoride in drinking water
Franklin, MA
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
This report is the culmination of a yearlong effort to study the efficiency of the nation’s public education system and includes the first-ever attempt to evaluate the productivity of almost every major school district in the country. In the business world, the notion of productivity describes the benefit received in exchange for effort or money expended. Our project measures the academic achievement a school district produces relative to its educational spending, while controlling for factors outside a district’s control, such as cost of living and students in poverty.You can read the introduction and summary here (PDF file).
The Legislature and the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday set the consensus revenue figure for FY12 at $20.525 billion. This revenue figure will now be the starting point for budget proposals that will come from the Governor, House and Senate.
The Governor's proposal, to be released later this month, will deal with a structural deficit of approximately $1.5 billion created largely by the absence of federal stimulus funds, limited state reserves, case load pressures and inflationary growth, particularly in health care related programs. As he indicated in his inaugural address, Gov. Patrick's proposed budget is expected to highlight investments in education, health care and in job creation, as well as to propose government reforms.Read the full post on the DOR website here
Nearly all future state and municipal employees would work five years longer, contribute more to their pensions, and have their benefits slashed if they retire early under a bill Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders unveiled yesterday.
Eighteen months after state leaders eliminated loopholes in the pension system, the new proposal would go beyond merely curbing abuses. It would, Patrick said, fundamentally change retirement benefits for thousands of future teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public workers, in an attempt to save $5 billion over the next 30 years.Read the full post here on the Budget Blues website
Before getting into the particulars of today's announcement, it's worth noting two things. First, no one at the White House can be unaware of ongoing controversy over Walmart's labor practices. And the very public support for Walmart will not mean that the White House nutrition team, led by Sam Kass, will stop the work it is already deep into with other corporations and food manufacturers, and with many federal and state agencies, to improve access to fresher food and opportunities to exercise. But Walmart has a power across the entire supply chain, from farm to transportation to store, that no other marketer or grocer has. If and when it can choose to be a force for good—and if that impulse is largely the result of market demand and market share it doesn't want competitors to claim—the First Lady's team (and anyone else who cares about the country's health) would be foolish not to try to guide the company in the directions it wants to see the whole food industry head.What is the big news?
Of the "key elements" Walmart announced, several are ones I reported on last March: shorten travel distances between farm and distribution centers, support smaller farmers than it had previously bought from, bring back staple crops to areas where they had vanished because of competition from California and Florida, and bring fresh food into "food deserts" both in cities and, importantly, rural areas without supermarkets.Read the full article about Walmart's announcement here
Hi, this is Franklin Fire Chief Gary McCarraher with an important request which may affect your safety and that of your neighbors. The heavy snow storms over the past few weeks, have buried most of the more than 1,700 fire hydrants throughout the Town. You may have seen in recent new accounts where buried fire hydrant severely hampered area firefighters in combating building fires. Accordingly we are seeking your help to shovel clear the fire hydrant closest to your home. With your assistance we can insure that firefighters will have unimpeded access to the fire hydrant closest to your home in the event of an emergency. On behalf of the members of the Franklin Fire Department, I would like to thank you for your continued support and have a safe day!With more snow arriving today, please take some time to find a fire hydrant in your neighborhood and shovel it out. The life or house you save may be your own.
"Everybody in the room was pretty much on the same page," Holliston selectmen Chairman Andy Porter said yesterday. "We are frustrated and want to bring these issues to the forefront."
Medfield Town Administrator Michael Sullivan said officials want to band together to send a message to the state and to the public that changes are necessary to give towns and cities more control in dealing with rising costs.
"We're all facing the same problems, and we are getting very little help from the Legislature," he said.
Sullivan said officials at the meeting were frustrated that they are unable to change health care plans for public employees and retirees to save money. Cities and towns must first negotiate with unions to change plan designs, which officials say makes the job harder.
I asked Steve: wouldn’t it make more sense to stock the pantry with staples that are generally cheaper, and more nutritious? And I wandered away toying with the notion of writing recipes to submit to the food pantry along with donations of such staples - because in all likelihood if people aren’t cooking from staples, it is because they don’t know how.
Steve replied: “Michelle, I understand your desire for more of a healthy food request. We are heading in that direction. The Food Pantry instituted a farmer's market on Monday's last year to distribute the fresh produce we were able to obtain. We are working as part of the Community Gardens project to further that effort this year. By re-doing the Food Pantry website, we intend to incorporate a blog which will also feature healthy recipes. You also give me an idea that we can solicit recipes from the community (like yourself) as well as from other food and health writers. Thanks!”
Well, we certainly seem to be thinking along the same lines! So I’ve started writing down recipes. And not just recipes: I’m sticking to explaining the basics. What do you do with dry beans, uncooked rice, fresh kale, whole chicken, and the like? And perhaps just as important: how to you go about managing the often lengthy process of cooking from scratch with a hectic lifestyle in which the chefs may be working multiple jobs and raising children all at once?You can read her full posting here
Nutting suggested a $20 per sport fee per person added to the normal registration costs, although the amount could change and the fee could be structured differently. He said many local towns charge for field use.
Nutting estimated that the town could gain $100,000 per year to repair fields if the estimated 5,000 people who participate in sports paid a $20 fee.
Town Councilor Stephen Whalen said charging a fee for field maintenance would be a fair balance since the entire town paid for the construction of the fields.
"I think we should do it," Whalen said, adding "in our situation, I think we have to look at things like this."