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Thursday, July 22, 2021
50+ Job Seekers Upcoming Events
FDA: "Recall of Certain Muffin Products Due to Possible Health Risk"
"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp. on Monday announced a voluntary recall of 26 muffin and muffin-related products available nationwide over concerns of possible listeria contamination.
An environmental monitoring program alerted the company to the potential problem with the items, which are sold in Walmart, 7-Eleven, Stop & Shop and other stores.
A list of all the recalled products, which include muffins packaged under labels such The Worthy Crumb and Uncle Wally's, can be found on the FDA's website. "
Continue reading the article online
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/564213-do-you-know-the-muffin-ban-recall-affects-26-products-nationwide?rl=1
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/564213-do-you-know-the-muffin-ban-recall-affects-26-products-nationwide?rl=1
For the product listing provided by the FDA
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| FDA: "Recall of Certain Muffin Products Due to Possible Health Risk" |
Washington Post: "Facebook and YouTube’s vaccine misinformation problem is simpler than it seems"
"On Friday, President Biden said Facebook is “killing people” by spreading misinformation about the coronavirus vaccines. On Monday, he changed his tune. “Facebook isn’t killing people,” he amended, instead blaming a handful of disinformation merchants who use the platform.Whether Facebook is or isn’t killing people depends on your definitions. What’s clear, regardless, is that Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms have played a major role in the anti-vaccine movement. And they continue to do so, despite some sincere efforts by the companies to combat the trend....So now you have two media realms: a traditional media realm in which information must be both true and interesting to reach an audience, and a social media realm in which it must only be interesting. Guess which one is bound to become a magnet for conspiracy theorists, hoaxsters, propagandists, disinformation operatives, grifters and peddlers of false cures?"
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Q&A on Franklin Matters - July 22 at 1:30 PM
Get your Franklin questions answered on Thursday, July 22 at 1:30 PM.
This is a virtual event coordinated with the Senior Center = "Franklin Matters Q&A with Steve Sherlock"
email adoggett@franklinma.gov to attend
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| Q&A on Franklin Matters - July 22 at 1:30 PM |
Budget and wind energy top what's happening in Franklin and Medway for July
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Invisible Stories - #8 - "Tending to the Wounds of Homelessness During the Coronavirus Pandemic"
"We all agree. Wounds must be healed"
Invisible Stories is a mini-doc series that goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages understand and can't ignore.
Link to the 8th of the series: https://youtu.be/SmQhqFxiBWU
For more about Wound Walk OC = https://woundwalk.org/
Link to the series: https://t.co/Y0NRNIujar
Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardlynormal/status/1414284287034155020Note: I met Mark at a social media conference many years ago and have been following his work. This series is very well done. Yes, the series is set in LA but homelessness is an issue all around us whether visible or not.
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival - Saturday, Jul 31, 2021
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Now Announcing: The Gathering Makeover Series!
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Drawing Democracy: "communities of interest"
Drawing Democracy (@DrawingDemMA) tweeted on Tue, Jul 20, 2021:
(https://twitter.com/DrawingDemMA/status/1417562703640637440?s=03)
Throughout the redistricting process, we hear a lot about identifying "communities of interest," but what does that actually mean? We break it down for you here ⤵️ #Redistricting101 #FairMapsMA https://t.co/cuC3qwEqWs
(https://twitter.com/DrawingDemMA/status/1417562703640637440?s=03)
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| Drawing Democracy: "communities of interest" |
Bracing for the 2021 Hurricane Season
| Above-normal activity predicted for this hurricane season. Learn more in this America Counts story. |
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Tuesday, July 20, 2021
A Message from the Franklin Fire Department - PFAS & Foam
A Message from the Franklin Fire Department - PFAS & Foam
July 19, 2021
To: Franklin Residents
From: Chief McLaughlin, Franklin Fire Department
Re: PFAS and Foam
Recently, the Franklin DPW published the 2020 Drinking Water Report, in which the topic of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) was explained. As stated, one of the possible sources of groundwater contamination may come from the use of “legacy” firefighting foams, which routinely contained 2% - 5% PFAS by volume; specifically, Class B AFFF, which is used to extinguish burning hydrocarbons or flammable liquids.
As your fire department, we just wanted to make you aware that this topic has not been ignored by the Franklin Fire Department, the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS), or the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). In 2018, in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, MassDEP chose to implement a foam “take-back” program to assist fire departments in removing these foams from current stockpiles and ensuring they are properly disposed of, rather than used during trainings or firefighting and subsequently released into the environment.
MassDEP’s program targeted foams manufactured before 2003, as manufacturers stopped production of suspect foams in 2002. Recognizing the challenges proper disposal would present to the budgets of most municipalities, MassDEP decided to fund the disposal of these legacy foams through its Massachusetts Chapter 21E / Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup (BWSC) capital funding, consistent with programmatic goals of “pollution prevention” and elimination of “threats of release” of hazardous materials. Under the “take-back program,” MassDEP offered to pay for foam removal and disposal; the local fire departments were responsible for replacing the foam with safer foam alternatives. As part of this take-back program, Franklin Fire was able to dispose of approximately fifty (50) gallons of outdated foam, at no expense to the townspeople.
As the take-back program progressed, many fire departments requested confirmation that current Class B AFFF foam was safe. While these foams often contain some amount of PFAS, it is at lower levels than legacy foam and includes PFAS that are more stable (so-called “short chain”) and expected to have less of an impact on the environment. New “Fluorine Free Foam,” aka “F3” foam, is just now entering the main-stream market. Currently, the majority of Franklin Fire apparatus, that carry foam, carry these newer F3 foams.
Shared from the Town of Franklin page
The Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) referenced in the letter above
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| A Message from the Franklin Fire Department - PFAS & Foam |
Climate Action Held in Franklin, July 17
The 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node held a protest Saturday, July 17, in front of the Bank of America branch in Franklin. The intent was to educate the public and demand that the bank stop funding Line 3, the tars sands pipeline being constructed in MN through tribal lands and hundreds of waterways including the Mississippi River headwaters. 350 Mass is demanding that the banks financing this project must defund Line 3, or face pressure from activists and consumers to defund these banks! (The Burma Shave signs can be read in either direction to accommodate the traffic direction.)
As Franklin resident and longtime 350 Mass member Ray Milici pointed out, "Line 3 does not just affect Minnesota, but the entire world. Even in Franklin, Mass. If we continue to invest in projects that burn fossil fuels, we will continue to destroy our planet and experience a worsening climate crisis. If there is no money, there is no pipeline. It's that simple. If the banks don't stop their funding, 350 Mass will continue to encourage bank customers and investors to withdraw their accounts and investments from the supporting banks."
Line 3 is a proposed pipeline expansion to bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It was proposed in 2014 by Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Enbridge seeks to build a new pipeline corridor through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe peoples, through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior.
Carolyn Barthel, Co-coordinator for the Greater Franklin node, highlighted, "All pipelines spill. Line 3 isn't about safe transportation of a necessary product, it's about expansion of a dying tar sands industry." Line 3 would contribute more to climate change than Minnesota's entire economy. Minnesota's own Department of Commerce found their local fuel market does not need Line 3 oil. Climate organizations are demanding the old Line 3 be decommissioned to help in the transition to a renewable, sustainable economy. Barthel further explains, "Line 3 would violate the treaty rights of Anishinaabe peoples and nations in its path — wild rice is a critical part of Anishinaabe culture, it grows in numerous watersheds Line 3 seeks to cross. It's well past time to end the legacy of theft from and destruction of indigenous peoples and territories."
350 Mass, a statewide grassroots climate organization, engages members in many ways on multiple levels--municipal, state and national. Ralph Halpern, Node Co-coordinator, explained regarding the focus on Line 3, "We will keep organizing, educating, and advocating to stop Line 3 and build the future we want. Legal and grassroots efforts have kept Enbridge's Line 3 destruction at bay--it was supposed to be completed in 2017." He goes on to say, "Our advocacy and outreach activities include holding events in community centers, churches, and schools. We present webinars, meet and talk to our politicians, speak up at hearings, march in protests, and help towns take local actions to become more sustainable. We teach and learn from each other. Wherever you are and whatever your skill set, there is a place for you in the movement."
Line 3 is a proposed pipeline expansion to bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It was proposed in 2014 by Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Enbridge seeks to build a new pipeline corridor through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe peoples, through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior.
Carolyn Barthel, Co-coordinator for the Greater Franklin node, highlighted, "All pipelines spill. Line 3 isn't about safe transportation of a necessary product, it's about expansion of a dying tar sands industry." Line 3 would contribute more to climate change than Minnesota's entire economy. Minnesota's own Department of Commerce found their local fuel market does not need Line 3 oil. Climate organizations are demanding the old Line 3 be decommissioned to help in the transition to a renewable, sustainable economy. Barthel further explains, "Line 3 would violate the treaty rights of Anishinaabe peoples and nations in its path — wild rice is a critical part of Anishinaabe culture, it grows in numerous watersheds Line 3 seeks to cross. It's well past time to end the legacy of theft from and destruction of indigenous peoples and territories."
350 Mass, a statewide grassroots climate organization, engages members in many ways on multiple levels--municipal, state and national. Ralph Halpern, Node Co-coordinator, explained regarding the focus on Line 3, "We will keep organizing, educating, and advocating to stop Line 3 and build the future we want. Legal and grassroots efforts have kept Enbridge's Line 3 destruction at bay--it was supposed to be completed in 2017." He goes on to say, "Our advocacy and outreach activities include holding events in community centers, churches, and schools. We present webinars, meet and talk to our politicians, speak up at hearings, march in protests, and help towns take local actions to become more sustainable. We teach and learn from each other. Wherever you are and whatever your skill set, there is a place for you in the movement."
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| Climate Action Held in Franklin, July 17 |
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