MassBudget: The State of Working Massachusetts - Poverty Still Elevated

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. The State of Working Massachusetts  2013 is coming to a close, and while our state economy has continued to grow, the poverty rate remains stubbornly high and wages are still lower than they were before the "Great Recession." MassBudget's new online version of "The State of Working Massachusetts" presents a snapshot of economic conditions currently facing workers in Massachusetts and across the nation, along with some longer-term trends. We find, in particular, that:  Even now, four years after the end of the recession, the poverty rate has not begun to decline Since 2007, the statewide poverty rate has increased from 9.9% to 11.9% Over 1 in every 7 children across the state is currently living in poverty In addition to covering issues of poverty, the various sections of "The State of Working Massachusetts" discuss the jobs situation in our state along with the declining value of the minimum wage, changes in household income, and the important role education plays in all of these. We invite you to read more about any of these areas, and to check back periodically as materials get updated. Read about THE STATE OF WORKING MASSACHUSETTS The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

Open Registration for Boys' Vocal Ensemble

Encore Music Academy and Recording Studios is currently offering open registration for their Boys' Vocal Ensemble, with the first class starting on January 6th.  

Classes will be weekly on Mondays from 6:30 to 7:30 and are for boys, ages 8 to 18.   

Encore Music Academy

Students will learn music of all genres, work with harmonies and perform locally.  

To register for the class, please call Encore at 508-533-7700.  

Class fee is $260 for the trimester.

Additional information on this class and other offerings from Encore Music Academy can be found on their webpage here:  http://www.encoremusicacademy.net/instruction/classes/

In the News: Brown leaves, Casino spending

Scott Brown settles into N.H. home

The wife of former Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Scott Brown says the couple is settling into its new permanent home in Rye, N.H.,  a move likely to fuel further speculation about his possible future political plans.

Casino outspent Milford citizen group 40 to 1 and still lost

Campaign finance reports filed Thursday, 30 days after the referendum vote where Milford defeated a casino proposal, show that Foxwoods outspent the citizen opposition group 40 to 1.

Franklin Food Elves Campaign Update

Franklin Downtown Partnership

The Franklin Food Elves "12 Days of Donating" will be ending this week.

Thank you to everyone who participated.  The Food Elves collected a Record 6,750 pounds of donations this year so far.  This is 2,550 pounds more than last year!

The Food Elves are hoping to add another 100 pounds to the total by the end of this week....so please stop by one of the participating businesses by Thursday if you still have donations.  


Red Bins can be found at: 

Dean Bank, Dean College, DCU, Downtown Partnership, Emma's Quilts, Jane's Frames, Murphy Business and Pour Richards.  

You can also mail or drop off check donations to the Food Pantry directly.

Have a very Merry Holiday Season!

The Franklin Downtown Partnership

The Franklin Food Elves

January Meetings of note

Franklin Downtown Partnership - General Meeting
Thursday, January 9th-8:30 AM
Dean College Campus Center-Golder Room
Coffee will be served


Hearing on 150 Emmons Street Property/Old Municipal Building
Discussions on what the community would like to see developed on this site
Tuesday, January 21st-7:00 PM
Town Hall-Training Room


Zoning Workshop
Wednesday, January 29th-7:00 PM
Town Hall-Training Room



This was initially posted on the Franklin Downtown Partnership webpage here
http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2013/12/a-few-important-upcoming-meeting-dates.html

WMRC Finalizes Negotiations With Entercom to Broadcast the Red Sox Through 2016

WMRC-First Class Radio has just completed negotiations with Entercom of Boston, and has finalized an agreement that will insure that Boston Red Sox Baseball will be broadcast throughout this market through the 2016 season. 

Since signing with WMRC back in 1990 the Sox have won 4 American league East Titles, played in 7 American League Championship Series, and won 3 World Series Titles. 

WMRC 1490 - AM

Returning voices of Dave O'Brien and Joe Castiglione 

Sox greats since 1990 include Mo Vaughn, Trot Nixon, Roger Clemmens, Jason Varitek, Johnny Damon, Pedro, Schilling, Mike Lowell, Papi, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes 

Future Stars include Jackie Bradley Jr., Zander Boggarts, Will Middlebrooks
Tom McAuliffe Says "This is a fantastic partnership for WMRC, our listeners and our loyal Red Sox sponsors, and I'm thrilled to have the negotiations behind us, and know that the Sox will be on WMRC-First Class Radio for the next 3 seasons."

In the News: Carol's Christmas, donations to non-profits

TO DO THIS WEEKEND: FPAC debuts ‘Carol’s Christmas’

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) premieres a new holiday musical, Carol’s Christmas, on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 2 p.m. at the Thomas D. Mercer Auditorium, 224 Oak St., Franklin.

Milford National donates $28,000 to non-profit organizations

The Milford National Charitable Foundation has donated more than $28,000 to various non-profit organizations throughout the Greater Milford area during 2013. 

The mission of the Charitable Foundation is to provide financial assistance for the benefit of the community, charitable, educational and other benevolent purposes as they relate to non-profit organizations.

"A river runs through"

The community mural project that was worked on at Jane's Frames during recent Franklin festivals is now on display in the lobby of the Municipal Building.

community mural - "A river runs through"

The mural will be displayed in additional locations throughout Franklin before being auctioned off to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry.

More about the mural can be found on the Franklin Downtown Partnership website
http://www.franklindowntownpartnership.org/2013/12/community-mural-project-at-janes-frames.html

Franklin Debt Service

One of the fiscal policies Franklin operates with is using up to 3.5% of the general funds for debt service. This is an easy way to fund medium term capital projects without getting a debt exclusion approved. This has allowed the new fire stations, the Senior Center and other building or renovation projects to occur. The worksheet use to calculate the FY 2014 debt as a percent of the general funds can be see below. This was reviewed with the Finance Committee during their December meeting.




This worksheet also handed out and reviewed with the Finance Committee at their December meeting, is more of an eye challenge. The current available capacity is gradually growing and will be almost $1M by 2016.

"Eradicating the entire infestation is all but impossible at this point"

The Milford Daily News reports on invasive plants found at the DelCarte Property.

Three invasive plant species have taken a foothold in the newly christened DelCarte recreation park, prompting the town’s tree warden and Conservation Commission to try to attenuate the infestation. 

The species are: kudzu, which, according to The Nature Conservancy, a charitable environmental organization, "is quite a killer, overtaking and growing over anything in its path"; oriental bittersweet, an invasive vine; and polygonum perfoliatum, known, among other names, as the mile-a-minute vine because of how fast it can spread. 

The state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has called invasive non-native plant species one of the two biggest threats to biodiversity in Massachusetts.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x915454113/Invasive-plants-threat-to-Franklins-DelCarte-park#ixzz2np2D7g9B

one bright day in October

These three plants are in addition to the one reported growing in the water.
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/08/the-phantom-ecologist-can-do-better.html

On the web from Franklin: homemade thin mint cookies, shedding light on the new FHS

Berry Insurance is running a series on 12 Cookies of Christmas

Don’t let the short recipe fool you – Staci Mone’s Homemade Thin Mints will have you wondering if it’s Girl Scout Cookie season! These Homemade Thin Mints are sure to spark some holiday cheer among your family and friends.

One of the ingredients is Ritz crackers....

Check out and try the recipe here  
http://www.mainsurancejuice.com/2013/12/12-cookies-of-christmas-day-4-homemade-thin-mints/

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

The Franklin High School student run blog, Pantherbook is starting to get busy.

In a recent interview, Principal Light described the improvements that students, teachers, and administrators will enjoy when the new school opens in September. 

According to Mr. Light, the first floor of the new school will be dedicated to electives. The other classrooms will be separated by grade level rather than by subject. “The second floor will be juniors and seniors, because they’re going to be the ones that go up and down stairs the most, because they take more electives, and then the third floor will be freshmen and sophomores,” Light said. 

The read the full posting here: http://pantherbook.org/top-stories/2013/12/16/mr-light-sheds-light-on-new-school/#sthash.Dp0MioFt.dpuf

MassBudget: Job Posting and Announcement of New Board President

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Job Announcement: Policy Analyst MassBudget is seeking a Policy Analyst to work largely, although not exclusively, on education policy research. We're seeking candidates who have strong policy analysis skills, work well in teams, and can communicate information effectively to diverse audiences. A full job description and information on how to apply can be found here.  MassBudget Board has elected Joel Barrera as its new Board President Additionally, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has elected Joel Barrera as its new President of the Board. He replaces Peter Enrich, professor of law at Northeastern University, who served in that role for 10 years. Joel is the Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council where he has expertise in municipal government, municipal finance and health insurance. In addition to his work at MAPC, Joel runs the Commonwealth Seminar which he co-founded over 10 years ago. The Seminar provides training and networking opportunities to help diverse leaders in Massachusetts learn about the state government.   The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

CPR and First Aid Training

Good Morning,

My name is Nick Spencer and I am a local CPR and First Aid Training company located in Franklin.

Act 1st CPR

Frank from Padula Insurance asked for me to write to you and see if we can add some events to your website and calendar. I am located right across from the hall from him at 247 East Central Street in Franklin.

Our website is http://www.actfirstcpr.com and our number is 1-800-255-5660.

We will be holding CPR and First Aid training sessions at our Franklin office on

• Sat Dec 22 - 2:30 pm
• Sat Dec 28 - 2:00 pm
• Sat Jan 4 - 2:00 pm
• Sat Jan 11 - 2:00 pm
• Sat Jan 25 - 2:00 pm

The normal cost for CPR and First Aid training is $95 per person. All of the above classes are discounted to $35 per person with the Discount Code: JAN2014. That's a savings of $60 per person!

People can register at www.actfirstcpr.com/open for any of our trainings.

--

Best Regards,

Customer Care - Act First CPR

P: 800-255-5660
W: www.ActFirstCPR.com



"Your Training is Only a Heartbeat Away!"

Learn about our Referral Rewards program - Click Here

Franklin, MA: Planning Board - Agenda - Dec 16. 2013

The agenda document for the Planning Board meeting Monday, Dec 16 at 7:00 PM can be found here






You can also find this document on the Planning Board page of the official Franklin website
http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Bcomm/planning

If you really want the updates, please subscribe

Companies using Facebook pages have found it increasingly difficult to reach their audience through unpaid, organic promotion. Even those with thousands of fans see only a tiny fraction of their posts actually being viewed in newsfeeds. Many have suspected for some time that Facebook is pushing businesses to use Sponsored Posts, just to get them seen by people who already Like the brand. 

Facebook now admits that businesses will need to pay in order to get their companies posts and information in user newsfeeds.

Franklin Matters

You can read the full story here

Facebook treats the Franklin Matters page as a 'business' and I can't blame them, they are attempting to creating a business that makes money from advertising. I don't spend on advertising as this is purely a volunteer operation and my charity dollars are better served going elsewhere. 

In order to receive timely updates you are better off to subscribe via email. Once daily you'll get an email with whatever has been published the prior day. Most of what is published that day is generated that morning before the email will hit your Inbox about 9:00 AM. This is the freshest local news you can get.

The subscription process is two steps (1) you provide your email (2) you acknowledge the email confirmation that is sent to you. once completed, you'll receive the daily email. This email listing is not sold to anyone. Only on very special occasions will the email listing generate an email other than just after 9:00 AM.

You can subscribe here  http://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html