Monday, July 2, 2012

TED: Nikola Tesla

From TED Talks:
Combining projection mapping and a pop-up book, Marco Tempest tells the visually arresting story of Nikola Tesla -- called “the greatest geek who ever lived” -- from his triumphant invention of alternating current to his penniless last days. 
A magician and illusionist for the 21st century, Marco Tempest blends cutting-edge technology with the flair and showmanship of Houdini






Sunday, July 1, 2012

Boston and the tall ships for the 4th of July

Boating Local takes a tour of Boston Harbor on Friday as some of the tall ships come in.

If you're heading into Boston, this will give you a taste of what you can see.

If you haven't planned to go, this may be enough enticement to consider it!



Franklin's 4th of July schedule is here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/06/franklin-ma-4th-of-july-schedule.html

Mass transit and parking restrictions to consider if you do venture into Boston
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/06/going-to-boston-parking-mbta-schedules.html



Tip of the hat to the Universal Hub for the link to the video
http://www.universalhub.com/2012/hello-sailors

In the News: children, Emery, OPBA, firefighters, bullying



Children have their day of celebration in Franklin

Saturday, June 30, 2012

"teacher performance and evaluations"


“Today, Massachusetts made state history when the governor signed into law legislation to put teacher effectiveness first,” Stand for Children Executive Director Jason Williams said in a statement. “This legislation, which ensures that performance comes before seniority in teacher staffing decisions, is a win for teachers, parents, children, and all of Massachusetts.” 
The bill passed the Senate last week and the House this week without recorded votes.
According to the new law, its purpose is to assure effective implementation of education evaluation systems adopted by the Board of Education, provide training for teachers and administrators in evaluation and training, and ensure that “indicators of job performance as evidenced by evaluation and other factors are the primary factors in school staff decisions.” 
The law also calls for a data collection system to assess the effectiveness of the evaluation system.

Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/topstories/x1446667155/Governor-Patrick-signs-law-giving-teacher-reviews-more-weight#ixzz1zH6zLhIb

In the News: MBTA, MSBA

As part of the conference negotiations to bring together the state budget agreement, these pieces were approved.

MBTA bailout, road and bridge money approved

Friday, June 29, 2012

Boston Globe shows a Franklin page

Yes, there is a "Your Town" Franklin page! A recent conversation with Globe Regional Editor David K Dahl, revealed the news and he followed up with a link.

You can view the new page here: http://yourtown.boston.com/franklin

It will aggregate information as published by the Globe and other identified sources (yes, this site is one of them!).

"bring back some life to the downtown area"

The Milford Daily News reported on the public hearing held Thursday evening writing in part:
Final designs will be revealed in January, with construction slated to begin in the summer. With work on the new high school also planned for 2013, the town will be facing two huge construction projects in the same year. 
Construction on the downtown project will mark the start of phase two of the more than $7 million effort. The work is the culmination of almost 10 years of planning, including numerous public hearings and constant dialogue among the town, its engineers and MassDOT. 
Funded through the Public Works Economic Development Program (PWED), the first part of the project, completed last year, entailed improvements around Dean Avenue and cost $1 million. 
Phase two construction, paid for with a $5 million federal grant as well as roughly $1 million in state and local money, consists largely of revamping the roadway and sidewalks and improving lighting (replacing the current cobra-head fixtures with period style lighting).

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x345284912/Latest-designs-for-Franklin-downtown-project-revealed#ixzz1zAsB8WhL

The full set of notes taken live during the meeting can be found here:
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/06/live-reporting-public-hearing-downtown.html