"it has been the greatest honor to serve for and with you"

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

"After nearly three years on the Town Council, Eamon McCarthy Earls has resigned from his role as a town councilor.

“Drawing inspiration from my experiences helping to craft bylaws and policies for Franklin, in the examples set by some of our leading citizens who work in law, among them state Rep. Jeff Roy, School Committee member Judy Pond Pfeffer or former state Rep. James Vallee, I’m embarking on the process of becoming an attorney,” said Earls, 26, during Wednesday’s council meeting.

His resignation is effective Sept. 6, he said, as he plans to attend the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Virginia starting next month. He told the Daily News that time will tell which area of law he chooses to focus on, but said he’s interested in public policy and municipal law.

According to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 ranking of the nation’s best law schools, the Antonin Scalia Law School was ranked at No. 42 overall out of 198 schools, and fourth for part-time law programs."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)  https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200814/eamon-mccarthy-earls-to-step-down-as-franklin-town-councilor-special-election-will-be-held-in-december?rssfeed=true 

Additional info from the Town Council meeting where this announcement was made can be found in this recap https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/town-council-recap-special-election.html

Level 2 - Significant Drought declared for MA

MAEnergy Environment (@MassEEA) tweeted at 4:25 PM on Thu, Aug 13, 2020:

With above normal temperatures throughout July and early August and more than three months of below normal rainfall, @EEASecretary today declared a Level 2 - Significant Drought in all regions across the Commonwealth.

🔗 More: https://t.co/YT4KHN2EOV https://t.co/4nQQnHlPVR
(https://twitter.com/MassEEA/status/1294007207282057217?s=03)


And from the US Drought Monitor, the map of the Northeast

https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Northeast

Level 2 - Significant Drought declared for MA

Franklin's weekend entertainment options - Aug 14-15

Friday, August 14 

Concerts on the Common (will be restricting to 50 per recent change)

• Jamie Barrett 5:00-6:00 pm, 
• Jesse Liam Band 6:00-8:00 pm, 
• Movie Night 8:00 - 10:00 pm: Aladdin

Saturday, August 15

Ayla Brown outdoor at THE BLACK BOX

https://www.theblackboxonline.com/news.php?id=1343

Franklin's weekend entertainment options - Aug 14-15

In the News: "Still time to enter #ThinkBlueFranklin contest"

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

"Residents have a few more days to get in on the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by entering the town’s #ThinkBlueFranklin contest.

The contest has been underway since July 20 and the last day to submit an entry is Sunday.

“The big-picture goal is to spread awareness about what happens to stormwater in our town, where it goes, and what we can do as residents to keep our water clean and protect our resources,” Anne Marie Tracey, Franklin’s marketing and communications specialist, wrote in an email.

Tracey is overseeing the initiative. Over the past few weeks, the town has been working to spread awareness about #ThinkBlueFranklin on its social media, not only about the contest but educating the community about the small steps it can take to help out.

Franklin is part of a pilot program for Think Blue Massachusetts, an award-winning campaign run by the Massachusetts Statewide Municipal Stormwater Coalition, Tracey explained."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)   https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200813/still-time-to-enter-thinkbluefranklin-contest?rssfeed=true

For additional information, visit the Town of Franklin page  https://www.thinkbluemassachusetts.org/thinkbluefranklin

rain garden at Parmenter, one of several around Franklin part of the storm water mitigation plan

State Primary Election Information - Early voting schedule, election day - September 1

State Primary Election Information

The MASSACHUSETTS STATE PRIMARY will be held on Tuesday, September 1, from 7:00 am – 8:00 pm in the Franklin High School Gym

Early Voting will be available for one week starting Saturday, Aug. 22nd through Friday, Aug. 28th.  All early voting hours will also be held in the Franklin High School gym. Find the early voting schedule posted below:

• Saturday, Aug. 22nd   10:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Sunday Aug. 23rd       10:00 am–3:00 pm
• Monday, Aug. 24th      9:00 am–3:00 pm                                             
• Tuesday, Aug. 25th      9:00 am–3:00 pm             
• Wednesday, Aug. 26th   9:00 am–5:00 pm
• Thursday, Aug. 27th     9:00 am - 3:00 pm
• Friday, Aug. 28th          9:00 am -12:00 pm

Please contact the Town Clerk's Office with any questions.  www.franklinma.gov/town-clerk

Thank you! 

Read more  https://www.franklinma.gov/home/news/state-primary-election-information

State Primary Election Information - Early voting, election day

"a clear admission that the president is attempting to restrict voting rights"

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

"President Donald Trump declared Thursday that he opposes additional funding for the U.S. Postal Service, acknowledging that his position would starve the agency of money Democrats say it needs to process an anticipated surge in mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump also claimed anew — falsely — that Democrats were pushing for universal mail-in voting and predicted without providing evidence that mail-in voting would lead to massive voter fraud in the November election. Polls indicate Trump is in for a tough reelection fight against Democrat Joe Biden.

The Republican president said on Fox Business Network that among the big sticking points for a new congressional virus relief package were the Democrats’ demands for billions of dollars to assist states in protecting the election and to help postal workers process mail-in ballots.

“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump said on “Mornings with Maria,” adding, “If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting because they’re not equipped to have it.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)  https://www.milforddailynews.com/zz/news/20200813/trump-opposes-postal-money-that-would-help-vote-by-mail?rssfeed=true

Editorial note: There is a work around for this attack on our democratic process. Apply for a mail-in ballot, when it arrives, rather than mailing it back, use the drive through drop off box at the Municipal Building to deliver it safely to the Town Clerk. Of course, if you choose to vote in person either with 'early voting' or on September 1 for the Primary, and November 3 for the election, that is also good.

"a clear admission that the president is attempting to restrict voting rights"

"Data indicate spread of COVID-19 accelerating" in MA

From CommonWealth Magazine we share an article of interest for Franklin:

"THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 in Massachusetts appears to be accelerating, with the number of communities considered moderate or high-risk jumping by 40 percent and the state as a whole moving into the moderate risk category.

Gov. Charlie Baker released a breakdown by municipality on Tuesday that indicated four of the state’s 351 cities and towns were high risk and 29 were moderate risk. That information was based on the two-week period ending August 5.

On Wednesday evening, the Department of Public Health issued new municipal data based on the two-week period ending August 8. That new breakdown indicates the number of communities at high-risk had jumped from 4 to 11 and the number of communities considered moderate risk increased from 29 to 35. The state as a whole jumped from low risk to moderate risk.

The rankings are important as a barometer for COVID-19 in Massachusetts, but they have also taken on additional importance this week because the Baker administration is urging communities in the low-risk categories to send their children to school for in-person learning this fall. Communities are trying to decide between in-person and remote learning, or some hybrid combination of the two, by this Friday. The fast-changing information is making those decisions even more difficult."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) https://commonwealthmagazine.org/health/data-indicate-spread-of-covid-19-accelerating/?

"Data indicate spread of COVID-19 accelerating" in MA