Meeting ID: 863 0133 3214
Passcode: 350ma
Audio by phone: +1 646 876 9923
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
"In a virtual meeting Tuesday, the MIAA’s Cross Country & Track Committee unanimously approved modifications for the upcoming Fall II indoor season, scheduled to begin on Feb. 22.The modifications must be approved by the MIAA’s Sports Medicine Committee, the COVID-19 Task Force, and the Board of Directors. Committee chair Pete Rittenburg, the athletic director at Brookline High, expects all three groups to approve the modifications by Friday, but the committee noted that finding facilities to host indoor track events would be difficult."
The MIAA Track and Cross Country Committee unanimously agreed Tuesday to modifications for the Fall 2 and Spring seasons to send to the Sports Medicine Committee for approval.Where some of those Fall 2 indoor track modifications will be implemented remains to be seen.The Reggie Lewis Center expects to be closed for the duration of the academic year due to the pandemic. Boston University also said its facilities would not be available, as is the case with several other venues in the state.Wheaton College scheduled four events this month for the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association, but told the MIAA that once students were back on campus next month, their facility would shut down.
.@MassAGO @maura_healey's office launches new training video & digital toolkit to help people identify signs of labor trafficking & generate referrals to her office for potential investigation & prosecution.
MMA article to provide context for the new awareness campaign https://t.co/dMFDXPzpZx
"Living through a pandemic in the Internet age means misinformation can sometimes spread more rapidly than facts.Faced with a deluge of claims about the coronavirus and the illness it causes, covid-19, you may be wondering whether gargling with saltwater is a cure or if the pathogen was man-made in a Chinese laboratory. (Spoiler: Saltwater doesn’t work, and scientists believe the virus occurs in nature.)To help you out, we rounded up eight facts about the coronavirus to keep in mind if you see claims to the contrary."
"Maureen Ronayne thought 2020 would be the year when, at long last, her 10-year-old son Daniel would learn to read at grade level. She and her husband had spent six years fighting to get Daniel, who is dyslexic, the supports he needed from the Medford public schools. Those included a spot at the school with the most reading support, a separate class at the school dedicated to reading remediation, and a private tutor funded partially by the district.“He was definitely showing progress,” says his mother, who also has dyslexia, a disability that hinders a person’s ability to read words correctly and efficiently. The fourth-grader had made steady gains in the Wilson Reading System, a curriculum designed for students with reading difficulties, rising from 2.5 in the fall of 2019 to 3.2 last March. (The system has 12 steps designed to help struggling readers become able ones.)"
"After years of protests, a glimmer of hope for opponents to the Weymouth gas compressor https://t.co/DWe9KVmz44 via @BostonGlobe"
JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF |
I. Electronic Distribution of Approved Policies
1. GA - Personnel Policy Goals
2. GBA - Equal Employment Opportunity
3. Policy Distribution Folder
II. Discussion of Policies sent to School Committee
A. None
III. Policy Revisions & New Policies - New Discussion Item
A. Policy BEDB - Order of Business
B. FPS Travel Policy
C. Continued Review of F Policies
"In a traditional year, BFCCPS hosts information sessions so that interested families can meet us in person, learn more about the school and have a building tour. As a result of the continuing health crisis, in person meetings will not be possible this year so we’ve adjusted our plans accordingly.This year, we have arranged for videos featuring our staff, parents, teachers and even a BFCCPS alumna to help you learn more about the BFCCPS Experience. While these videos can’t truly replicate our traditional face to face events we hope that our enthusiasm for the school is evident.A virtual Question and Answer Session will be held in January 2021. Please stay tuned for details and registration. If you would like to watch all the videos in sequence, you can visit this YouTube playlist otherwise, you can watch selected videos below. "
Video link = https://youtu.be/FdtGxn5AKS4
"The ambitious and ground breaking climate bill that we sent with overwhelming bipartisan support from both the Senate and the House meets the urgency of the global climate crisis. Months of work was exhaustively studied by members of the conference committee, and the result was a bill that rejects the false choice between economic growth and addressing climate change. We must combat climate change while also maintaining a thriving economy and expanding the housing stock that will ensure future, sustainable growth. The legislation sent to the Governor showed how it can be done.
Today, the House and Senate introduce this legislation as written and passed. We are confident that members of the House and Senate will again act with urgency by swiftly sending this bill back to Governor Baker's desk."
"Learn about the COVID-19 Relief Fund for Individuals. The program offers grants of $1,500 to people who have lost income derived from their work as individual artists and independent teaching artists/humanists/scientists as a direct result of COVID-19 related cancellations and closures in Massachusetts.Mass Cultural Council staff will discuss the application process, then take questions from attendees."
"On January 20th, we will celebrate the work of democracy as we watch a new President and barrier-breaking Vice President make an oath of office.
The next day, on January 21st, we will join them in making a commitment to do our part to heal and rebuild America.
We envision a nation that is anti-racist, equitable, and sustainable.
Each of us has a role in that labor, and we will only succeed if we lead with love."
The People's Inauguration - January 21, 2021 |
S.W.A.N Paint Night; Strength, Wellness & Networking with Amy Adams |
Disclosure: I am an individual member of the Franklin Downtown Partnership
Franklin Downtown Partnership: Updates for January 2021 |
Tracy Novick writes:
"Early last week, I received a lengthy, footnoted letter from a Worcester Public School student, pressing for a return to school buildings.
Let me note first: I do so love getting emails from students! or any contact at all from students! Keep those coming!
It repeated--not surprisingly, as this has been the main push in much of the press--the idea that schools were safe from COVID transmission. As I haven't done a blog post on that--I just keep tweeting out links to things--I am excerpting here that section of my response to the student letter, for both myself and others who might find it useful."
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm).
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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FM #439 Norfolk County RSVP - 01/13/21 (audio) |
"Congratulations to Ben Franklin! Today he earned his “Canine Good Citizen” certification.
Thank you to MasterPeace Dog Training of Franklin for their continued generous donation of working with our canine companion!
Officer Mucciarone and Ben will continue to serve the community by brining joy and smiles to all!"
Franklin Police: Ben Franklin gains his "Canine Good Citizen" certification |
"On Nov. 11, Mark Mucciaccio answered the door at his home in Easton to a woman who said she had been sent by the property’s “owner” to change the locks on the doors.The woman handed him a “to whom it may concern” letter that said the house, which Mucciaccio, 58, and his brother, Neil, 55, inherited from their late parents many years ago, was now owned by a company called Tallage Lincoln LLC.The three-sentence letter cited a “final” court judgment giving the company ownership, but said nothing about taxes. Still, Mucciaccio had no doubt it came as a result of the thousands of dollars he owed in property taxes, dating back to 2016."
"As the planet continues to warm at an accelerating rate, scientists are looking into a potential insurance policy, a radical way of curbing climate change by altering the climate system itself.A team at Harvard University this summer plans to conduct the first of a series of highly controversial tests of what’s known as solar geoengineering, a way to reduce global warming by spreading particles in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space.
If an advisory board authorizes them to proceed, the scientists plan to travel in June to a remote part of northern Sweden, where they’ll launch a giant balloon into the stratosphere to test whether they can adequately maneuver an instrument-filled gondola suspended below. If all goes well, the team later this year plans for the first time to inject a small amount of calcium carbonate — a common substance found in rocks — into the atmosphere to better understand how the chemical compound might be used to moderate temperatures on the ground."