MBTA: Five-year Capital Investment public forum: Feb 25 in Cambridge; Feb 26 in Mattapan

Five-year Capital Investment public forum: Feb 25 in Cambridge & Feb 26 in Mattapan. See http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/public_meetings/ for more  Each year, the MBTA develops a 5-year Capital Investment Program (CIP), which invests in infrastructure & vehicles to maintain & modernize the system. We welcome your feedback on our FY15 FY19 Draft CIP. The public comment period began with the publication of the MBTAs Draft CIP on the MassDOT website on January 9, 2014, & ends on February 28, 2013. The FY15 FY19 Draft CIP is available at www.mbta.com. If you are unable to attend a public meeting, but would like to comment, send us an email at cipinfo@mbta.com or write to us at: MBTA Budget Office, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116. All facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you need an accommodation in order to fully participate in the hearing, please email us prior to the scheduled date. mbta,com/ Last updated: Feb 19 2014 12:09 PM Click here for more information: http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Meeting/FY15-19%20CIP%20Flyer_English.pdf Sent by the MBTA. (or write subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com)

Remember today

Feb 19 is a special day in US history. It was the day that the Battle of Iwo Jima started in 1945. The flag raising on Mt Suribachi is quite well known. That the battle fought for many days after the flag raising is less so.

Additional information:
Battle of Iwo Jima (wikipedia entry)

To the Shores of Iwo Jima (vintage video)

Iwo Jima Monument in Arlington, VA

If you see a veteran, thank them for their service.

If you find a World War II veteran, listen to a story if they'll tell it. We are all losing too many of those these days.





Note: My father was part of the 4th Marine Division that landed on Iwo Jima on Feb 19th and was one of the lucky ones to walk off in March. I was able to capture part of his oral history and you can listened to him talk of his unit, the Join Assault Signal Company here:
http://jerrysherlockstory.blogspot.com/2007/09/jerry-story-joint-assault-signal.html

Spring Training Baseball Clinic - March 1

Instructors include new Franklin High School Head Coach Zach Brown and his Coaching Staff, other local high school and college coaches along with current and former FHS players.

All players will participate in drills and receive instruction on hitting, fielding and

throwing techniques. Over 125 participants last year!

Saturday March 1, 2014

At the Franklin High School Field House

• Choice of 2 sessions: Session 1: 9a.m-11:30a.m.

Session 2: Noon-2:30p.m.

This event is sponsored by the FHS Baseball Boosters, for further information you can reach John Roche or Steve Gallo, email: FHSbaseballboosters@gmail.com or phone 774-571-1881 or 617-947-1668.

A copy of the registration form is shown here.

"Heavenly Haze" and "Grapefruit Diesel"

What is the headline? Two of the types of marijuana proposed for cultivation in the new facility here in Franklin.

The unassuming building at 5 Forge Parkway looks as if it could house any sort of large-scale industrial operation. 

Soon, though, the employees inside, watched over by a six-person security team, will begin growing thousands of pounds of marijuana, to be shipped by a fleet of three vehicles to dispensaries in Brookline and Northampton. 

New England Treatment Access Inc., one of 22 budding non-profit companies awarded licenses to sell medical marijuana last month, is now in the process of obtaining the necessary permits from the town of Franklin so it can start production at the 70,000-square-foot facility, leased through 2024.

Read the full article here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140219/NEWS/140215841

"There are no negatives to this bill"

The bill, filed last year by state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, and state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, amends the current law, reducing the number of plates that a charity must sell initially to 500 and the number during the first two years to 1,000. 

According to Roy, lowering the threshold would help smaller charities reap the benefits of creating their own plates. The sale of specialized plates in Massachusetts — some 215,000 to date — has raised nearly $75 million for non-profits, he said. 

"It puts the small charities on equal footing with the larger groups who have access to marketing resources," Roy said, referencing non-profits aligned with professional sports teams.

Read the full article here:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140219/NEWS/140215829/1994/NEWS

Parking Ban Activated

Parking Ban Activated 02/18/2014

Winter Weather Advisory

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA

408 AM EST TUE FEB 18 2014

...A QUICK PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOWFALL TODAY...

MAZ007-013>017-181715-

/O.CON.KBOX.WW.Y.0008.140218T1200Z-140219T0100Z/

EASTERN ESSEX MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-

SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...GLOUCESTER...FOXBORO...NORWOOD...

CAMBRIDGE...BOSTON...QUINCY...TAUNTON

408 AM EST TUE FEB 18 2014

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM THIS

MORNING TO 8 PM EST THIS EVENING...

* HAZARD TYPES...SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 5 INCHES.

* TIMING...FROM MID MORNING TO THE EVENING HOURS.

* IMPACTS...HEAVY SNOW IS POSSIBLE AT TIMES...WITH REDUCTIONS IN

 VISIBILITY AND SLIPPERY CONDITIONS. THIS HEAVY SNOW MAY BE

 FALLING DURING THE EVENING COMMUTE.

* WINDS...SOUTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* VISIBILITIES...ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS AT TIMES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SNOW AND/OR ICE IS

FORECAST TO DEVELOP IN THE AFFECTED AREAS...BUT ACCUMULATIONS ARE

EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT. ANY SNOW OR ICE WOULD RESULT IN SLIPPERY

CONDITIONS ON UNTREATED ROADWAYS AND SIDEWALKS.  WHEN

TEMPERATURES ARE BELOW FREEZING...MOTORISTS NEED TO BE ESPECIALLY

CAREFUL ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES WHERE SLIPPERY SPOTS CAN EASILY

DEVELOP.

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‘Healthy Hearts’ Family Valentine Dance on Friday, February 21

The Hockomock Area YMCA invites area residents to wear red at our ‘Healthy Hearts’ Family Valentine Dance on Friday, February 21st from 6:30PM-8:00PM at our Bernon Family Branch located at 45 Forge Hill Road in Franklin.

This free event guarantees a good time for all with a DJ and lots of dancing. Many other activities are planned including a nail salon, hair studio for boys and girls, Minute to Win It games, arts & crafts, heart healthy snacks, and more for members and non-members alike.

For more information, contact Michelle Branche at 774.235.2766 or visit our website at www.hockymca.org.

www.hockymca.org.

About the Hockomock Area YMCA
Through partnerships with families, the Hockomock Area YMCA empowers families to learn, grow and thrive together. Driven by our three areas of focus—youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility—family strengthening nurtures the potential of every child, improves family relationships and well-being, and provides opportunities for families to contribute to their communities.

The focus of family strengthening at the Hockomock Area YMCA is to provide intentional programming and services in a welcoming environment that embraces and reflects the diversity of families in the community. Family strengthening is a collaborative process to further work/life balance, deepen relationships within families, develop new skills and interests, and connect to community resources.

"a regional approach to rail trail developments'

For fans of rail trails, mark the date for an important meeting on the Upper Charles Trail

With spring just a few weeks away, the Friends of the Milford Upper Charles Trail will update residents on the trail’s current status, future plans and the benefits of a regional approach to rail trail developments during a forum next month. 

The forum, which will be held March 8 at 9 a.m. at the Ashland Community Center, will include presentations from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council focused on a regional view of rail trails, legislative advocates and a business owners who will provide insight on the commerce aspect of a multi-purpose trail. 

Representatives from the Upper Charles Trail towns of Ashland, Holliston, Hopkinton, Milford and Sherborn will also provide updates on their towns and answer questions from the public.

Read the full article here: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140217/NEWS/140216570#sthash.njsLxy7p.dpuf


For more information on the Upper Charles Trail visit their webpage here
http://www.uppercharlestrail.org/

For additional info on the Friends of the Upper Charles Trail visit their webpage here
http://www.milfordtrail.org/

Franklin's rail trail sign on Grove St

Franklin's own section of the SNETT rail trail runs off Grove St to Bellingham and ultimately to Palmer.
http://www.franklinbellinghamrailtrail.org/

In the News: salt supply, traffic arrest

In Franklin, DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi said the town is better-positioned than many of its neighbors, but he said the town’s salt supplies are still below his comfort level. 

Cantoreggi said the town has two salt sheds and has been able to lend some salt to both Milford and Norfolk, but is now left with about 1,000 tons. He said the town uses about 400 to 500 tons of salt during each plowable storm.

Read the full article here: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140218/NEWS/140216330/?tag=2#sthash.Ia9cbGZa.dpuf

An expired inspection sticker led police to arrest two Franklin residents, one of whom was found with more than 60 prescription pills, after a motor vehicle stop Friday on South Main Street, police said. 

Read the full article here: http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140218/NEWS/140216343/1994/NEWS#sthash.pQ7bMOQY.dpuf

Washington's Birthday

Poor George, his birthday really falls on Feb 22 but with the Uniform Monday Holiday act, and the realignment of the holiday to the 3rd Monday in February it never falls on the right day.

Have no fear, we live in MA where

• In Massachusetts, the state officially celebrates "Washington's Birthday" on the same day as the Federal holiday. State law also directs the governor to issue an annual "Presidents Day" proclamation on May 29 (John F. Kennedy's birthday), honoring the presidents with Massachusetts roots: Kennedy, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Calvin Coolidge.^[7]"

Read more about President's Day in this wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington%27s_Birthday


Happy birthday George!

George Washington, 1st President of the United States

Paper or Plastic? (video)

With the holiday and three day weekend, I'll do the food shopping today. The choice of paper or plastic is actually the wrong question according to Leyla especially since we have so many options for re-usable bags to bring home the groceries with. While she doesn't get into re-usable bags, she does get into the real problem:

"... at the end of the day, everything we design and produce in the economy or buy as consumers is done so for function. We want something, therefore we buy it. So breaking things back down and delivering smartly, elegantly, sophisticated solutions that take into consideration the entire system and the entire life of the thing, everything, all the way back to the extraction through to the end of life, we can start to actually find really innovative solutions."

Find a comfy spot, have your morning or favorite beverage at hand and watch this 18 minute video. It is time to "rethink environmental folklore"








For more about Leyla and the design work she does, visit her page on the TED site here
http://www.ted.com/speakers/leyla_acaroglu.html

"interest in eBooks keeps growing"

As the demand for electronic books grows, library directors across MetroWest say traditional print books remain popular even as they provide more diversified activities to patrons plugged into the digital world. 

"Right now, eBooks are the exciting new thing,’’ said Susan Edmonds, director at Milford Town Library. "Every year more people are accustomed to digital material so we have to add another layer to our bag of tricks." 

She said print books and periodicals currently comprise 68 percent of the library’s collection of 130,000 items, while eBooks and other electronic devices make up 32 percent, an estimated 20 percent increase over the last decade.

Read the full article:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20140217/NEWS/140216692/?tag=1#sthash.iTOkHYPm.dpuf

The second TV (video)

How many Franklin households have a second TV?

Does yours? Yves says:

"Look, at home I have two TVs. Why? Precisely not to have to cooperate with my wife."

There are probably quite a few Franklin homes with more than one TV.

What does this have to do with Franklin? The business of Franklin is providing services to the people who live and work here. How we provide these services is very important. When we are successful, others will recognize Franklin as "The safest city" and the "best place to raise a family." When we are not successful... well let's not go there. You can come up with your own horror story.

As reported this week, the Town Council decided to remove the fire fighters from Civil Service. This was the last group to be removed from a system that is over 100 years old. There will still be a negotiation with the fire fighters union to implement new hiring process and procedures. But it is about time that this restriction, put in place for a different world is put aside. The world today is not what it was when Civil Service was introduced.

In this TED Talk, Yves Morieux tackles the complexity of work and comes up with 6 rules to simplify.  With that much said, here is what Yves says:

The way we organize is based on two pillars. The hard -- structure, processes, systems. The soft -- feelings, sentiments, interpersonal relationships, traits, personality. And whenever a company reorganizes, restructures, reengineers, goes through a cultural transformation program, it chooses these two pillars. Now, we try to refine them, we try to combine them. The real issue is -- and this is the answer to the two enigmas -- these pillars are obsolete. Everything you read in business books is based either on one or the other or their combination. They are obsolete. 

Yves makes this point as he closes this 12 minute talk:

You need to reward those who cooperate and blame those who don't cooperate. The CEO of The Lego Group, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, has a great way to use it. He says, blame is not for failure, it is for failing to help or ask for help. It changes everything. Suddenly it becomes in my interest to be transparent on my real weaknesses, my real forecast, because I know I will not be blamed if I fail, but if I fail to help or ask for help. When you do this, it has a lot of implications on organizational design. You stop drawing boxes, dotted lines, full lines; you look at their interplay. It has a lot of implications on financial policies that we use. On human resource management practices. When you do that, you can manage complexity, the new complexity of business, without getting complicated. You create more value with lower cost. You simultaneously improve performance and satisfaction at work because you have removed the common root cause that hinders both complicatedness. This is your battle, business leaders. The real battle is not against competitors. This is rubbish, very abstract. When do we meet competitors to fight them? The real battle is against ourselves, against our bureaucracy, our complicatedness. Only you can fight, can do it.

Franklin High School - in the snow

With the new Franklin High School exterior closed off, there is little change shown on the outside. The real change is happening as the building is being completed inside.

the new FHS under construction - Feb 2012

The most recent photo taken outside (last weekend) is almost from the same angle as the architectural rendering shown below.




Remove the snow and clouds, add the cars on a sunny day and voila!


The archive of information on the new high school project can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/12/collection-high-school-building-project.html


You can also visit the 'official' new FHS page here  http://newfhs.com/newdesign.php

Hold the date: Elizabeth Smart - May 8th

The Hockomock YMCA will be hosting Elizabeth Smart to come and speak. The Y will be selling tickets for the May 8th event at all of the branches.




Want to know more about Elizabeth Smart?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Smart_kidnapping

Check her website here http://elizabethsmartfoundation.org/