"stressed the importance of focusing on equity and addressing racial and socioeconomic disparities"

"NEARLY 70 PERCENT of White households in Massachusetts own a home. Only 37.4 percent of non-White households own a home. That gives Massachusetts the seventh highest racial homeownership gap in the country.  

Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Mike Kinnealy told legislators at a public hearing Tuesday that for Black families trying to buy their own home, “the cards are stacked against them.”  

As lawmakers are determining how to spend $5.3 billion in federal money that the state will get from the American Rescue Plan Act, Baker administration officials are pushing their plan to spend $1 billion on housing programs as a way to help close that racial gap. "

Continue reading the article online
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/housing/baker-official-pitches-housing-plan-to-close-racial-homeownership-gap/ 

Condos under construction in 2018 on Washington Street in Dorchester. (Photo by Michael Jonas)

Current draft of the Housing Production Plan

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/franklin_housing_production_plan_-_may_2021_public_draft.pdf

Current Master Plan  https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-community-development/pages/master-plan

The most recent virtual meeting on Housing took place July 14, 2021 and the audio recording is available here  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/07/fm-580-community-conversation-on.html

Milford Daily News: "Did you find a painted whelk in Franklin?"

"For three years, Katie Loder, 63, was reminded by doctors that she would probably die soon. 

But they also didn’t know exactly what was wrong with her — and still don’t, said Loder, who also previously had esophageal cancer. 

The Wareham resident wasn’t allowed to go outside or near anyone, not even to the mailbox. But eventually, doctors said she could go alone to the beach. More often than not it was Onset Beach. It’s where she would often find an array of whelk shells -- from the larger knobbed whelks to smoother channeled and waved whelks, to smaller Stimson’s whelks -- and started collecting them. 

Today, you can find more than 300 of those shells scattered across Franklin -on benches, outside the window sills of storefronts and sometimes even in random front yards when she tosses them from her moving car while driving by. "

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
https://milforddailynews-ma.newsmemory.com?selDate=20210728&goTo=A07

August at the Franklin Historical Museum

The first event as we renew our Second Sunday Speaker Series will be Sunday, August 8. The presentation will be on the history of the Whiting and Davis Company and a look at Charles A Whiting, his family, his gardens and beautiful home, which once stood majestically on West Central Street. 

Many people from Franklin once worked for Whiting and Davis, or had family members who worked for them. The company is now under new ownership and we will hear from the current owner. The presentation on the Whiting Family & home will be from a private collection of glass plate negatives, from Franklin photographer Nathan Wales circa 1912. 

Doors will open at 1:00 and the presentation will start at 1:15. 

August at the Franklin Historical Museum

In September, we will have a special guest, Franklin native Paul Faenza, retired NYPD, who will share his 9-11 experience and his two weeks at Ground Zero. Scheduled for Sunday, September 12.

The Davis Thayer School Retrospective exhibit will be on display through the end of the summer.

While visiting the museum please stop in to our newly revamped gift shop for many unique Franklin items.

We are now back to our pre-COVID hours, Thursday evenings 5PM-7PM, Saturday mornings 10am-1pm and Sunday afternoons 1pm-4pm.  Admission is always free. We are wheelchair accessible. Come in and discover your history.

FM #586 - Breaking 'radio silence' on "Men & Miscarriage" - 07/21/21 (audio)

FM #586 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 586 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Franklin residents Aaron and MJ Gouveia. You may recall that Aaron and I talked about his first book outdoors on the Town Common in May of 2020. 

We had this conversation in the Franklin Public Radio studios on Hutchinson St.  MJ joined us for this session as she is co-author of their new book Men and Miscarriage. A key quote from the intro to the new book: “When it comes to men and how they are impacted by these issues, it’s almost complete radio silence.”

We had a great conversation to help break the ‘radio silence’ (yes, pun intended) on this topic of miscarriage and how it affects both members of the relationship. My kudos to both of them for starting the conversation on this tough topic. The statistics show that one in four women do experience a miscarriage.  “Half the battle is knowing you are not alone.”

In some of my conversations after our recording session, it has been enlightening to find out how many folks I talk with who reveal that they have had one or more miscarriages in their immediate or extended family. One key take away you’ll hear about is to ask someone; “How are you doing?”

The show notes include links to the Amazon book page, Aaron’s Daddy Files book web page. MJ tends to avoid social media and occasionally writes on Aaron’s page.

The recording runs about 32 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with MJ and Aaron.

Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/382fc625-e1ac-4f3a-90b0-cfb4c0d9d256

-------

Men and Miscarriage: A Dad's Guide to Grief, Relationships, and Healing After Loss – published July 6, 2021  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1510763600/

Link to the CNN article mentioned  https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/15/health/miscarriage-men-grief-loss-wellness/index.html

A discussion at the Franklin Public Library scheduled for Sep 1.

MJ's post as discussed during the conversation: https://www.daddyfiles.com/mj-speaks-out-2/

First book links: 

• The DaddyFiles page  https://www.daddyfiles.com/

• The Amazon link   https://www.amazon.com/dp/1510749411?tag=duckduckgo-ffab-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

• Aaron’s Amazon author link  https://www.amazon.com/Aaron-Gouveia/e/B08127Z6JN

• Follow Aaron on Twitter  https://twitter.com/daddyfiles

-------

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?

• 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/  or www.franklin.news 

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"

 

FM #586 - Breaking 'radio silence' on  "Men & Miscarriage" - 07/21/21 (audio)

Reminder: Open Meet this Wednesday at FHS

Coach Bailey (@FranklinHSXC) tweeted on Mon, Jul 26, 2021:

Just a reminder about the Open Track & Field Meet this Wednesday at FHS. Registration and field events start at 5 PM and running events begin at 6 PM.

Volunteers should get to the track around 4:45 so we can give people assignments.

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/FranklinHSXC/status/1419781408248172549

MassConsumer: "Eviction Moratorium to Expire This Month" - resources available

"Throughout the pandemic, state and federal governments developed policies to protect residents facing job loss and other COVID-19 related hardships. Among those orders were moratoriums placed on home evictions. When the state’s pause on evictions expired on October 17, 2020, the federal moratorium established by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) became effective in Massachusetts.

The CDC order, which has been extended several times, prohibits residential landlords nationwide from evicting certain tenants through July 31, 2021. Over the past year while the moratorium has been in place, courts have accepted filings, processed cases, and in some cases even entered judgments; however, no orders of execution (a court order that allows a landlord to evict a tenant) have been permitted. The CDC has said there will be no additional extensions on the eviction moratorium which means these cases can move forward. "

Continue reading the article online

http://blog.mass.gov/consumer/massconsumer/eviction-moratorium-to-expire-this-month/

 "Eviction Moratorium to Expire This Month" - resources available

Franklin Artist Amy Adams: "I AM HERE - art project opens Saturday, July 31 in Natick

"Hello FAA members. I have created a community interactive display.  If you happen to be near Natick please stop over to visit this very important installation. There will be a short dedication event that will have speakers and a host to help introduce the display. 

It will be on Saturday 7/31 @11am First Congregational Church lawn. Address is : 2 E Central St, Natick. It is also their Farmer's Market day so there will plenty of venders if you decide to walk the common directly across the street."

Please read about the installation below

I AM HERE (2021)
 
Amy Adams (b1979)
 
What would you do, for a loved one who needs you? What would you say to a loved one who has transitioned?". This interactive installation asks you to sit for a moment, read messages of encouragement and explore the resources available to you.
 
I Am Here is a community collaboration that highlights the importance of Mental Health, love, support and treatment. 

This scenario fits with Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Eating Disorders (etc.) and reminds us how easily these can relate to substance use and loss. The overall purpose is to promote awareness /prevention, acknowledge our loss and bring healing to the community. 
 
I Am Here, features non-binary figures created with concrete, a supporter and a person struggling. The seated figure in need of support is wearing a shirt made of material (donated by the families in our community), these represent someone in recovery. Its core is filled with flowers to symbolize the beauty within, often missed by the exterior and what we see. Perched on the edge of the bench, a bird holds tokens (donated by the families in our community) to serve as reminders for the loved ones lost during a mental health crisis or overdose. The open bench is covered in messages, words of encouragement and hope, these were also submitted by our community to show our support for one another.
 
The stigma behind affliction is isolating and thus needs to be a normalized conversation as it affects people from all races. This display will offer the directly impacted resources for support, to assist in preventative measures and hopefully open important discussions. 
 
The display is meant to connect people and amplify that Mental Health connects us all.

For more about Amy, visit her page  https://www.paintingvenus.art/about

"I AM HERE - art project opens Saturday, July 31 in Natick