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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 *
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"Artists and creative workers from Arlington, Beverly, Boston, and Franklin are sharing how they're impacted by COVID-19."
MAPC: "Across the region, arts and culture has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic" |
Today (2/17/21), the Massachusetts Legislature announced it will hold the first in a series of oversight hearings on the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution plan on February 25, 2021. The House and Senate hearings will be held by the newly-created Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management and will seek testimony from the Baker Administration on the state’s COVID vaccine distribution operation and plans moving forward.
“We have heard the frustration and anger of people across Massachusetts about the constantly changing and confusing vaccination roll out plan, and we are using the tools at our disposal to help people get answers, especially about what we can expect moving forward,” stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka. “It is essential that we get a greater understanding of the Baker Administration’s plans to improve our vaccination rates, especially for those communities and populations hardest hit, including persons who are medically fragile or with disabilities, teachers, and communities of color.”
“The state's COVID-19 vaccination plan was developed by experts and guided by science, but the rollout has been marked by both logistical and communications shortcomings,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano. “It is our hope that through these hearings, we will ascertain valuable information about the failures of the rollout and help contribute to solutions for the people of the Commonwealth. We are specifically focused on delivering equitable access to vaccines and increasing supports for our most vulnerable residents. While flexibility is important, it must be matched with sound operational decisions, as well as clear and consistent communications with the Legislature and the general public.”
In addition to the administration, the committee will be inviting the chairs of the Joint Committees on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion and Healthcare Financing and Public Health to testify.
"We can't get to work fast enough. I'm pleased to be working with Chair Bill Driscoll and fellow committee members in this oversight capacity so that we can dig in together on wide-spread concerns around the vaccine roll out, the COVID-19 response thus far, and our Commonwealth's emergency preparedness status going forward. COVID-19 hit our Commonwealth, its residents, our businesses, and families like a wrecking ball and the Committee will spare no effort to deliver on its charge of oversight and preparedness," noted Senator Jo Comerford, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management (D-Northampton).
“The Commonwealth seems to have been underprepared for the complexities in Phase One of the vaccine roll out,” said Representative Bill Driscoll Jr., House Chair of the Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management (D-Milton). “We all understand that patience is paramount in our current pandemic circumstances, but patience and public trust wear thin when there are constant pivots in the plan. It is important for us to get a deeper understanding of what the Administration’s planning and operational outlook is for the next phases of the rollout and how they intend to improve delivery now and on a going forward basis.”
The joint oversight hearing will be held remotely on Thursday, February 25, 2021. Further details will follow. Testimony will be by invitation only, but the hearing will be viewable by the public. A series of similar hearings, including one that will be open to public testimony, will be scheduled in the coming weeks.
Those seeking more information should contact Jared Freedman in Senator Comerford’s office or Summer Ordaz in Representative Driscoll’s office.
"The next HOME poetry reading and workshop will be on March 5-6. The theme is "I Belong There", and the facilitator is Monica Sok. In this workshop, we will read poetry of exile and ask ourselves what it means to create (be)longing inside of our poems."
"Millions of jobs that have been shortchanged or wiped out entirely by the coronavirus pandemic are unlikely to come back, economists warn, setting up a massive need for career changes and retraining in the United States.
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered permanent shifts in how and where people work. Businesses are planning for a future where more people are working from home, traveling less for business, or replacing workers with robots. All of these modifications mean many workers will not be able to do the same job they did before the pandemic, even after much of the U.S. population gets vaccinated against the deadly virus.
Microsoft founder-turned-philanthropist Bill Gates raised eyebrows in November when he predicted that half of business travel and 30 percent of “days in the office” would go away forever. That forecast no longer seems far-fetched. In a report coming out later this week that was previewed to The Washington Post, the McKinsey Global Institute says that 20 percent of business travel won’t come back and about 20 percent of workers could end up working from home indefinitely. These shifts mean fewer jobs at hotels, restaurants and downtown shops, in addition to ongoing automation of office support roles and some factory jobs."
"Revealed: chemicals giant sold Louisiana plant amid fears over cost of offsetting toxic emissions"
"Chemicals giant DuPont decided to sell a plant in south Louisiana that emits a likely cancer causing pollutant, citing “major concerns” that government agencies would regulate its emissions to protect the community living nearby, internal documents seen by the Guardian reveal.Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
The documents show the multibillion-dollar company worried in 2011 about the potential cost of offsetting its emissions of the “likely human carcinogen”, chloroprene, and so moved to sell the plant, the Pontchartrain Works facility.
The company codenamed the sale “Project Elm” in an apparent bid to keep the deal, completed in 2015, secretive. It is also alleged the company withheld details of its own research to offset emissions from the plant’s new owners."
"If the cover-up was to work, the high jumper Danil Lysenko realized far too late, he had better familiarize himself with the Moscow hospital where Russian track and field officials had insisted he had undergone a battery of medical tests.
The details mattered. The tests were the centerpiece of Russia’s explanation for why antidoping officials had been unable to locate Lysenko in the spring of 2018.
The punishment mattered, too: Athletes found guilty of so-called whereabouts failures — effectively failing to make themselves available for random drug tests — can face suspensions of up to two years. Those caught lying, falsifying documents or obstructing investigators risked even worse. Either sanction, though, would most likely keep Lysenko, a talented high jumper who has just turned 21, from representing Russia at the Tokyo Olympics."
The first event as part of our Creative Economy Workshop Series in partnership with @MassArt is in three days! All workshops are free and happening virtually.
Register here to learn how to improve your grant and proposal writing skills: https://t.co/4VGrvHqbOz
Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/h9DDC8AVee
Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture Boston: grant writing workshops
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February 16, 2021
To: Town Council
From: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator
Chrissy Whelton, Assistant to the Town Administrator
Re: Community Preservation Committee (CPC) Appointments
Standing Committee Appointments
The Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, Housing Authority, Planning Board and Recreation Advisory voted unanimously to send forward the following members to be appointed by the Council to serve on the CPC. The five nominees to be ratified this evening are:
Note: these appointments will be automatically renewed in June for the upcoming fiscal year and the staggered terms will begin July 1, 2021. All appointments to expire June 30, 2022. The five standing committees are annual appointments.
At-Large Membership
The Town received thirty (30) applications for the four At Large members of the CPC. We interviewed twenty-eight out of the 30. Two applicants did not get back to us for scheduling. Interviews were held virtually on Monday February 1st and Tuesday February 2nd for approximately twenty minutes each. Nine of the 30 applicants currently serve on another board or committee in Franklin.
The Town Administrator nominates the following candidates for ratification by the Town Council for the four Citizens at Large seats on the CPC as follows:
1. At-Large Seat #1 (2-year Term) - Michael Giardino.
Mr. Giardino is a lifelong resident and open space, recreation and athletics advocate for Franklin seeking to volunteer and give back to the community that gave so much to him.
He is no stranger to Franklin athletics, youth sports and recreation. As many in town know, he has been heavily involved with Franklin Youth Sports and years of running little league baseball and Franklin High School athletics. Michael has volunteered his time for years to St. Rocco’s Festival. As an avid outdoorsman, Michael wants to help preserve Franklin's open space, recreation and historical assets.
2. At-Large Seat #2 (2-year term) - Lisa Oxford.
Ms. Oxford is a lifelong, third generation resident in Franklin with an interest in preserving open space and trail networks in town for outdoor recreation. Lisa has worked closely with the elderly community and understands the need for affordable housing for seniors and less fortunate or disabled populations. Lisa has strong collaboration skills and looks forward to assisting and adopting a vision for this committee on affordable housing and recreation, trails and open space.
3. At-Large Seat #3 (1-year term) - David McNeill.
Mr. McNeill is a lifelong resident of Franklin currently working as the Legislative Director for the House Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture where he works on policy and legislation on the topic of the environment. As a child who attended swim lessons at Beaver Pond, he has a strong commitment to preserving the Town’s natural resources for future generations, as well as Franklin’s unique historical character. As a lifelong Franklin resident who cannot afford a house in Franklin, he hopes to bring a different perspective to the committee.
4. At-Large Seat #4 (1-year term) - Monique Doyle.
Ms. Doyle is a longtime resident of Franklin with a strong interest in preserving open space, creating additional recreation spaces and expanding the community garden. Ms. Doyle worked with the CPA committee to educate the public on how the CPA would be an asset to Franklin. Throughout the process, we heard from several individuals who wished to have a member of the grassroots CPA Coalition to have a representative for the inaugural CPC committee.
Summary
After interviewing all of the candidates, we believe this group of nominees reflects a great diversity of interest to get the inaugural committee started. The committee nominees have representation and interest on all of the issues the CPC will be looking at: open space and trails, recreation and ballfields, historical preservation and affordable housing for all residents. All of the candidates expressed a sincere interest in preserving open space and were vested in being advocates for all of the uses and needs of CPC. All candidates expressed a commitment to share their expertise or interests, but also maintain an open mind on matters they may not be as familiar with.
We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
FM #464 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 464 in the series.
This session of the radio show shares the Franklin Matters Q&A session held by the Senior Center held Thursday, Feb 11, 2021. The session was conducted virtually via Zoom conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
I do use a brief presentation deck to open the session. A couple of recent photos and screen captures of the webpages and the “watch list” are among the key items to share and open the discussion. After that, we are there to answer your questions.
Among the topics we discussed in this session; “Hearts of Kindness” on the Town Common, vaccine availability, the recent School Committee decision to close Davis Thayer, the next step is long range ‘master plan’ for the school district, the pool testing pilot to begin shortly, etc.
The recording runs just about 57 minutes so let’s listen in
Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/19dd1e04-da94-4021-b5d6-862d49dbb3b1
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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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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
FM #464 - Franklin Matters Q&A - 02/11/21 (audio) |
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During these challenging times for small businesses, the Franklin Downtown Partnership (FDP) reminds you to visit its website and social media to find out what’s going on with local businesses and find ways to support them. Please like, follow and share our social media posts! If you’re looking for contact info for a specific local business, visit our website’s member directory, located on the home page, with links to all our members.
As always, we encourage you to support our small businesses which are the lifeblood of our community. Not only do they provide essential goods and services, small businesses also support our community organizations and projects through donations of goods and sponsorships. Please remember Keep It Local - Support Franklin Businesses!
The Franklin Downtown Partnership is a nonprofit, 501©3 organization made up of more than 300 business owners, community leaders and residents working to stimulate economic development downtown and create a positive impact throughout the area.
Franklin Downtown Partnership Requests Your Support Of Franklin Businesses
FHS girls hockey come back to win in 3rd period over Mansfield/OA |
MIAA 2021 Preseason Top 50 TeamsTeams 50-26Rankings will be updated throughout the Fall II season. https://t.co/cTMnR9C7A6
Massachusetts HS Football Coverage: MIAA 2021 Preseason Top 50 Teams |
Dear Franklin Cultural District Partners,
The mission of the Franklin Cultural District is to foster and encourage culture and the arts in our community.
To support this mission the Franklin Cultural District Committee (FCDC) and the Franklin Art Association (FAA) are working collaboratively to plan an ArtWalk event through the Franklin Cultural District. These groups are excited to feature several local Franklin artists and to support our local businesses.
The hope is that by offering this visual art display we will encourage more foot traffic through the Franklin Cultural District and the downtown area.
At this point in time the project is in the planning stages. We will have more details to share when we hear about the plan of our Cultural District Partners.
Currently the FCDC and the FAA are looking for:
If you would be interested in participating in this event, please contact Nancy Schoen at nschoenfranklinculture@gmail.com by Friday, February 19, 2021.
We hope that many of you will be willing to participate!
Regards,
The Franklin Cultural District Committee and The Franklin Art Association
ArtWalk in Planning Stages, if businesses are interested please respond by Feb 19 |
Greetings!
We hope this email finds you well and you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Life at The Pantry remains as busy as ever as we continue to provide our neighbors with fresh fruit and vegetables, proteins, and shelf-stable items. We are so grateful for your continued support over the past year, we could not continue to do the good work we do without you. While things may look a little different at The Pantry right now, our community is still such an important part of our organization and we wanted to share some internal changes with you.
We are pleased to announce that the Chair of the Board of Directors, Tina Powderly, will become our Executive Director and that Lynn Calling will move to the newly created position of Director of Development and Community Engagement.
In her new role, Lynn will be spending her time on the new building Capital Campaign as well as work more closely with the individuals, groups and corporations who contribute to our mission. Tina will be responsible for the day-to-day Pantry operations and long-term strategic goals. Besides Tina’s move, our Board will remain the same with our current Treasurer, Jim Roche serving as the Interim Chair. These changes will take effect on March 1, 2021.
While this past year has been a challenge, we are proud of how we have continued to serve our neighbors. We surprised our neighbors with restaurant and supermarket gift cards, fresh flowers, special treats, and a choice table. We instituted weekly kids bags for families during the pandemic and still were able to do our annual Thanksgiving and winter holiday distribution. We continued a twice weekly drive-up distribution service so that even during the darkest days of the pandemic, our neighbors did not go hungry.
If you have any questions about The Pantry or just want to say hello, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at either: Tina Powderly or Lynn Calling. We look forward to a bright future and a reimagined Pantry!
Regards,
Changes at the Franklin Food Pantry |
"A COALITION OF early education advocates will introduce an ambitious proposal Tuesday to completely overhaul the state’s early education system. The legislation would provide universal, affordable early education in Massachusetts, turning childcare from a system that is now largely private pay to one that is primarily publicly funded.
The plan would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and the coalition has not yet proposed how to pay for it. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has shed a spotlight on the importance of childcare to the economy –– and the fragility of the existing childcare system – the plan, while unlikely to pass, could provide a foundation for broader discussions about how to make childcare more accessible. It is being introduced at the same time as new powerful coalitions – a business organization and a philanthropic group –– are beginning to focus intensely on how to improve early education."
"SOME OF THE MOST encouraging news coming out of the pandemic has been the ability of Massachusetts companies to quickly pivot and meet suddenly changing needs. Shoe manufacturers are making face masks. Distillers are producing hand sanitizer. A greeting card company is using it’s die-cutters to produce face shields. Companies quickly pivoted, found ways to utilize their assets and kept their skilled employees working.
Commuter rail needs to follow the example of these firms and pivot by finding new uses for the skilled workers and the equipment that are being made surplus by the reductions in service currently taking place. Commuter rail should be experimenting with new services, particularly with extending service to additional communities outside its current service area."
"The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will hold a virtual public hearing Feb. 24 to discuss temporary schedule changes that will go into effect in March and April, the agency said in a statementThe meeting, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., will allow participants to ask questions and give feedback on the changes, according to the statement."
Terrific article by @KamiRieck with insight from @dankennedy_nu @BrendanCrighton & @jasonpramas. TY Speaker @RonMariano for this important new law and for appointing me to the new 23-member commission. I look forward to digging in! https://t.co/unm9Wgo3jF
"The growth of “news deserts” in Massachusetts and the possible solutions to improving local journalism in underserved communities will be the focus of a new commission approved in the final hours of the last legislative session.The initiative by Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, and Sen. Brendan Crighton, D-Lynn, was part of the massive economic development bill approved by lawmakers and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker last month. It will examine the sustainability of local press business models and the sufficiency of news coverage in communities across the state.“Local journalists tell the community stories that bind us together,” Ehrlich said. “They tell us who we are, and where we’ve been and where we’re going. Local news is also essential to ensuring a healthy democracy.”