From the Town Clerk section of the Franklin Annual Report come the results of previous September primaries.
Year Totals
2004 1415
2006 3315
2008 1442
2010 2261
2012 4826
2014 2325
2016 871
2018 4013
2020 ???
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| Franklin (MA) voter totals for September Primary (2003-2018) |
From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:
"About a quarter of Massachusetts is now experiencing a severe drought that threatens crops, diminishes air quality, makes trees more susceptible to insects and could lead to widespread water conversation measures.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday morning that while all of Massachusetts is at least abnormally dry, about 60% is experiencing a moderate drought and another 25% — most of Bristol and Plymouth counties and the southern parts of Norfolk, Worcester and Hampden counties — is going through a severe drought.
“In the Northeast, anomalously warm temperatures and below-normal precipitation during the past 90-day period have led to deterioration in drought-related conditions in parts of New England — including Massachusetts where state officials declared a Level 2 drought on August 14 for all regions of the state,” David Simeral of the Western Regional Climate Center wrote in the Monitor’s weekly summary. “Average temperatures for the week were 2-to-10 degrees above normal. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the Northeast Climate Region experienced its warmest (+4.6° F anomaly) July on record.”
Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) https://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20200820/severe-drought-recorded-in-parts-of-state?rssfeed=true
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| Severe drought recorded |
"President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was pulled from a luxury yacht and arrested Thursday on allegations that he and three associates ripped off donors trying to fund a southern border wall, making him the latest in a long list of Trump allies to be charged with a crime.
The organizers of the “We Build The Wall” group portrayed themselves as eager to help the president build a “big beautiful” barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, as he had promised during the 2016 campaign. They raised more than $25 million from thousands of donors and pledged that 100% of the money would be used for the project.
But according to the criminal charges unsealed Thursday, much of the money never made it to the wall. Instead, it was used to line the pockets of group members, including Bannon, who served in Trump’s White House and worked for his campaign. He allegedly took over $1 million, using some to secretly pay co-defendant Brian Kolfage, the founder of the project, and to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses."
From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:
"A significant majority of the Democratic candidates in the Fourth Congressional District race support the initiative petition on the Nov. 2 ballot that seeks to implement a ranked choice voting system in the 2022 elections.
The field includes eight contenders who are seeking to fill the seat that U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III is giving up as he challenges U.S. Sen. Ed Markey this election cycle. Out of the eight candidates who responded to a News Service request for their positions on the major voting reform, seven voiced concrete support for the ballot question — an initiative that appears designed to come into play in races with large fields just like the one the candidates are competing in in the Fourth Congressional race.
Natalia Linos, Ihssane Leckey, Ben Sigel, Jake Auchincloss, Jesse Mermell, Becky Grossman, and Alan Khazei all voiced support for the initiative, saying ranked choice voting increases representation of people of color, boosts election participation and encourages candidates to appeal to a wider base of voters."
"U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed fellow Democratic House member Joe Kennedy III on Thursday in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the Democratic primary.Pelosi said when Democrats were working to take back control of the House from Republicans during the 2018 elections, Kennedy stumped for candidates across the country.“From climate change to health care to racial justice, Joe has been a leader in our Caucus organizing us around our core values,” Pelosi said in a press release. “We need leaders who are willing to give every inch of themselves to the causes and concerns that unify Democrats. Joe Kennedy represents this Party’s future,”
"When progressive Seattle decided last year to wipe out its climate pollution within the decade, the city council vote in favor was unsurprisingly unanimous, and the easiest first step on that path was clear.About one-third of the city’s climate footprint comes from buildings, in large part from burning “natural” gas for heating and cooking. Gas is a fossil fuel that releases carbon dioxide and far more potent methane into the atmosphere and heats the planet. It is plentiful and cheap, and it’s also a huge and increasing part of America’s climate challenge....The effort died. The ban wasn’t politically tenable, it seemed.But internal records obtained by the Guardian show the measure’s defeat and the “wall of opposition” that advocates experienced were part of a sophisticated pushback plan from Seattle’s gas supplier, Puget Sound Energy.Seattle’s story isn’t unique. In fact, it’s representative of a nationwide blitz by gas companies and their allies to beat back climate action they consider an existential threat to their business, according to emails, meeting agendas and public records reviewed by the Guardian."
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| The Guardian: "Revealed: how the gas industry is waging war against climate action" |
FM #333 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 333 in the series.
This session shares the 4th District Candidates Town Hall facilitated by the “Franklin Area Against Racism” and “Medway Marches” and broadcast by Franklin TV. The Forum was conducted via Zoom to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
Angelica Crosby, Raj Seelam, and Justin Bates moderated the forum providing time for each candidate to respond to the questions on a random rotation.
All Democratic and Republicans were invited. The Democratic candidates participating (alphabetic order by last name) Jake Auchincloss, Becky Grossman, Alan Khazei, Ihssane Leckey, Natalia Linos, Jesse Mermell, and Ben Sigel.
Photos of the event participants (including screen captures of the questions and response order shared via Twitter - tagged as “#4thDist0819”) are available in this Google Photo Album https://photos.app.goo.gl/DQYMEE1ZVRq8g8yh9
The recording runs just about 1 hour and 40 minutes, so let’s listen to the 4th District candidates discuss their positions on a series of issues.
Audio file = https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HXg6gkXK
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| FM #333 4th District Candidates Town Hall - 8/19/20 (audio) |
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| Virtual Memory Cafe - Friday at 2 PM |
FM #332 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 332 in the series.
This session shares my conversation with Jen Kuse, volunteer coordinator of the Franklin Food Pantry beds at the Community Garden. We are also joined by Lynn Calling, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry. Our conversation was conducted at the Community Garden, outdoor, and adhering to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
In this conversation, we learn about Jen’s green thumb (sometimes brown and dirty) as she coordinates the efforts of several local churches and many volunteers to provide fresh produce to the Food Pantry’s clients. The Tuesday of the week we recorded this, they delivered 50 pounds of produce, with likely another 50 pounds scheduled for Friday for the Food Pantry.
This is a great story to share. You can help in any number of ways. Contact Jen to volunteer with the regular maintenance, or a maintenance day, or financially.
As we listened to the recording, we found a few minor corrections. Jen never actually answers Lynn’s question on how many garden beds the volunteers are gardening and harvesting from; it currently is 12. The listing of the organizations who have helped is in the show notes below. Jen also mentions Deb's name (volunteer from The BFCCS), and says her correct name (Deb Schwab) the first time, and then refers to her as Deb Benjamin the second time. Oops, we got you covered Jen (and Deb!)
The recording runs just about 18 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Jen and Lynn. Audio file = https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-332-franklin-food-pantry-community-garden-8-13-20
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The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School
Franklin Federated Church
St. John's Episcopal Church
Franklin United Methodist Church
New England Chapel
Jen also considers the Town of Franklin Recreations Dept and the Franklin Agway (https://www.franklinagway.com/) as partners in support and supplies.
Jen Kuse communitygardens@franklinfoodpantry.org
Lynn Calling, Executive Director, Franklin Food Pantry lcalling@franklinfoodpantry.org
Franklin Food Pantry = https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/
--------------
We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
 |
| Jen Kuse showing one of the garden beds to Lynn Calling |
