Sometimes it takes 82 days

Weymouth resident Andrea Honore has been visiting Governor Baker’s office daily to highlight her opposition to the compressor project. She posted this today as her Day #82 entry:

"Holy flying pancakes, you guys!

I’m still processing this in what’s left of my brain. I’ll post more tomorrow.

For now, there’s this:
BAKER ORDERS STATE TO INVESTIGATE COMPRESSOR STATION ISSUES

By Michael P. Norton

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JULY 17, 2017…
Requesting a public health assessment and thorough airing of public safety concerns, Gov. Charlie Baker has directed state agencies to investigate issues raised by opponents of a controversial natural gas compressor station planned along the Fore River in North Weymouth. 

In a letter dated July 14 and released by Baker’s office on Monday, Baker said his administration would examine claims about project impacts, gather public health data, and facilitate the presentation to the federal government of public safety concerns. And while he reiterated that the “primary decisions” about the project will be made by the federal government, Baker said he’s committed to ensuring that community concerns are “heard fully.” 

“We recognize the serious concerns that have been raised by many, including constituents in your town and neighboring communities, regarding a proposed natural gas compressor station to be sited along the Fore River,” Baker wrote in a letter to Weymouth Mayor Robert Hedlund, a former state senator who has called the federal review of the project “a rigged process.”

You can continue reading the post and the other 81 days that preceded this
https://sitwithandrea.wordpress.com/

image from Sit With Andrea webpage

In the News: UMass tuition rises; legislative deal on marijuana reached; used needles everywhere

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition and fees by an average of 3 percent for in-state undergraduates on Monday -- a move that will cost the average Massachusetts student $416 more than the previous academic year. 

Across the UMass system, the average in-state undergraduate will pay an average $14,253 in tuition and fees this year. It is the third year in a row the university has increased tuition for students. Last July, the trustees voted to increase tuition and fees by 5.8 percent -- a hike that cost the average in-state undergraduate student $756. The trustees broke a two-year tuition freeze in 2015 when they voted to increase tuition by 5 percent. 

The five-campus UMass system had more than 74,000 students enrolled during the 2016-17 academic year. Some 17,700 students earned UMass degrees in 2017 -- the largest graduating class in UMass history. The board approved the increases during a meeting in Worcester."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170717/university-of-massachusetts-raises-tuition-and-fees-3

http://www.umass.edu/

"State House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Monday on the state’s voter-approved marijuana law that would allow retail pot sales to be taxed at a maximum 20 percent rate. 

Highlights of the deal were released by a six-member conference committee that spent several weeks trying to resolve differences between the two chambers.The compromise language mostly splits the difference between a House proposal to raise the total tax on marijuana to a mandatory 28 percent and the Senate version of the bill, which called for keeping the tax at a maximum of 12 percent. 

Under the agreement, consumers would pay a 10.75 percent excise tax in addition to the state’s regular 6.25 percent sales tax. Cities and towns would also have the option of adding a 3 percent local tax."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20170717/marijuana-deal-calls-for-up-to-20-percent-tax-on-pot-sales

"They hide in weeds along hiking trails and in playground grass. They wash into rivers and float downstream to land on beaches. They pepper baseball dugouts, sidewalks and streets. Syringes left by drug users amid the heroin crisis are turning up everywhere. 

In Portland, Maine, officials have collected more than 700 needles so far this year, putting them on track to handily exceed the nearly 900 gathered in all of 2016. In March alone, San Francisco collected more than 13,000 syringes, compared with only about 2,900 the same month in 2016. 

People, often children, risk getting stuck by discarded needles, raising the prospect they could contract blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis or HIV or be exposed to remnants of heroin or other drugs. 

It’s unclear whether anyone has gotten sick, but the reports of children finding the needles can be sickening in their own right. One 6-year-old girl in California mistook a discarded syringe for a thermometer and put it in her mouth; she was unharmed."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20170717/its-raining-needles-drug-crisis-creates-pollution-threat

Safe Coalition update to Town Council (video)

The S.A.F.E. Coalition presented and discussed their efforts to help address the substance abuse issues that troubles Franklin and much of MA (as well as the entire US).

I will share the video replay once it is available from Franklin TV and encourage you to view it to get the fullness of the discussion. 

The video replay is available
http://view.earthchannel.com/PlayerController.aspx?PGD=franknma&eID=477

The document used for the presentation is here:

SAFE Coalition - July 12, 2017 from Franklin Matters

Some of the key takeways:

• All Franklin 1st responders are now equipped with NARCAN
• Training and distribution of NARCAN to the community exceeded expectations
• Support line established (call 508-488-8105 for support, but not for emergency situations)
• Additional communications and education events planned
• Franklin Police provide real time overdose tracking for Franklin residents 
• SAFE has a YouTube channel with informative videos

SAFE Coalition presentation to Town Council, July 12, 2017

Closing Day - 3rd Annual Franklin Cultural Festival - Saturday, July 29

*** THE BLACK BOX

12:00 – 7:30 PM, Inside THE BLACK BOX (TBB)
Art Exhibit, Franklin Art Association

Select Franklin Restaurants will be selling food throughout the afternoon.

12:00 – 6:00 PM, The Festival Stage (Inside TBB)
• Heath Nisbett
• Emma Newton
• Universal Singers
• Ann Sears
• Kaye Kelly

12:00 – 8:00 PM, The Circle of Friends Stage (Outside TBB)
• Michele Kelly
• Jamie Barrett
• Stelfilia’s Stone
• Jim Henry
• Victims of Gravity

3rd Annual Franklin Cultural Festival Schedule: Saturday, July 29, 2017

* note the schedule is subject to change
 
If you are interested in getting updates on the Franklin Cultural Festival please check out the webpage http://www.franklinsculturalfestival.org/ or follow the Festival on Twitter https://twitter.com/artshappenhere

We do maintain a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FranklinCulturalFestival but you should not rely on timely updates due to the way Facebook filters the information to followers.

To help financially support the Festival please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/FCF2017. 

The tri-fold flyer with the full schedule can be downloaded here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0wjbnXDBhczZFlnZFNMV1puWkE/view?usp=sharing

Be part of Pam's Run 2017 and help the Neighbor Brigade

Franklin has an active chapter of the Neighbor Brigade. This 5K and 10K fund raiser helps the overall Neighbor Brigade organization.

View this email in your browser Why be a part of our 5th annual Pam's Run? Take it from the Thirsty Irish Runners, it's more fun when you run together!  Hear what their team of 30 had to say about Pam's Run: "An absolutely perfect New England fall weekend graced runners who toed the starting line at Pam's Run 2016. The 10K course is a great run through tree-lined residential roads and then down a dirt road past an area known as Duck Pond Farm.There was a nice incline at the fourth mile marker which challenged the legs a bit and then another quick uphill sprint was in the final mile. A great race for a running club or individual runner looking to tackle a fall 10k on a very nice course!" Whether your goal is to walk our 5k or run our 10k, start your team today and share with us using hashtag #pamsrunNB Form a Team! Pam's Run is Neighbor Brigade's largest annual fundraiser which allows us to continue supporting people throughout New England who are experiencing a temporary crisis.  In 2016 our volunteers helped 3,405 individuals and completed approximately 6,000 service hours in their communities; that adds up to over 16 hours of service every single day of the year!  Recently one of our recipients wrote these beautiful words of gratitude: "Each time a meal arrives, my eyes fill with tears of joy, both because of the tangible help each delivery provides and because it is such a loving, personal expression of support. I've been honored to participate with Neighbor Brigade for some years, but never envisioned being on the receiving end of the group's generosity. It is incredible, and I am appreciative beyond words."  To learn more about our impact in your community click here. Donate! Join us for Pam's Run, celebrating our 5th Year Voted One of the Top Ten Road Races in Massachusetts Register Now pamsrun.com 10:00 AM Sunday, October 15, 2017; Wayland​ Pam's Run Features: ​*Chip-timed 5k Run/Walk and 10k Run *Free t-shirt for early-bird registration ​*Food Truck *Kids' Fun Run and Kids' Activities *Live Music *Cash Prizes for Top Male and Female Finishers​ *Instant-win raffle New This Year:  Sponsored by Dance Fit Studios: Kids' Yoga, Kids' Dance Movement Class and a Kids' Craft! Sponsored by Jam Time: An Obstacle Course, Face Painting and a Kid's Craft! Get your Business in front of over 700 Runners at The Largest Annual Road Race in the MetroWest!   Contact us to learn about corporate sponsorship opportunities that are available​ Thank you to our current  2017 Sponsors Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Suzanne and Company Real Estate Runners' Bags Sponsor Washek Electric Silver Sponsors Bolton Capital Group Inc. Charles River Insurance Especially for Pets Bronze Sponsors Coach Grill HomeAdvisor In-Kind Sponsors Dance Fit Studio Jam Time Tom Tom Pamsrun.com Neighborbrigade.org Neighbor Brigade PO Box 248 Lexington MA, 02420 - USA Telephone: 781-325-8580

Norfolk County Recording All Land Court Documents Electronically

	Norfolk County Registry of Deeds
	Norfolk County Recording All Land Court Documents Electronically Calling it a winning situation for the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, and its users, Register of Deeds William P. O'Donnell today announced the Registry has begun recording all county Land Court documents electronically. Register O'Donnell stated, "The productivity gains that will result from electronic Land Court recording benefit the homeowners and taxpayers of Norfolk County and our institutional users by allowing all of us to work smarter and more efficiently." Norfolk County is comprised of 20% registered land or "Land Court land." "We implemented the program," noted O'Donnell, "on April 12th of this year with just mortgage discharges. We thought this would be a good first step to ensure our institutional customers and Registry staff were comfortable with electronically recording land court documents. On July 1st, we expanded this program to allow for the electronic recording of all Land Court documents, such as deeds, mortgages, Homesteads and liens." Electronic recording came about with the passage of Chapter 404 of the Acts of 2016, an act to modernize Massachusetts Registries of Deeds by eliminating the need to retain original land court documents. The law was spearheaded by a number of state legislators and Registers of Deeds. The Register noted that since 2010, the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds has been electronically recording recorded land documents, which comprise 80% of the county's land. O'Donnell noted, "our experience of being up to the challenge of efficiently recording documents electronically on the recorded land side has prepared us well to record electronically registered land or Land Court documents." Register O'Donnell concluded by saying, "electronic recording is part of a continuing effort by the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds to leverage cutting edge technologies to record land documents - both recorded land and now registered land or Land Court land - in a secure, efficient, modernized manner." To learn more about these and other Registry of Deeds events and initiatives, like us at facebook.com/NorfolkDeeds or follow us on twitter.com/NorfolkDeeds and instagram.com/NorfolkDeeds. The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds is located at 649 High Street, Dedham. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, municipalities and others with a need for secure, accurate, accessible land record information. All land record research information can be found on the Registry's website at www.norfolkdeeds.org. Residents in need of assistance can contact the Registry of Deeds Customer Service Center at (781) 461-6101, or email us at registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org. Register William P. O'Donnell Norfolk County Registry of Deeds email: registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org phone: 781-234-3336 web: http://www.norfolkdeeds.org

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, 649 High Street, Dedham,, MA 02026-1831 Sent by registerodonnell@norfolkdeeds.org in collaboration with Try it free today Norfolk Deeds - Consumer Alert Service