Starting October 11: Commuter Rail schedule change

The new Fall/Winter Commuter Rail schedules go into effect on Monday, October 11th. Visit MBTA.com or pick your schedule at South Station, North Station or Back Bay to see how we adapted our service for better seasonal performance.

The Fall/Winter schedule maintains the same frequent weekday service introduced this spring, with a few changes to train times in order to factor in slippery rail and snow.

The bike policy has also been updated: bikes are no longer accepted on board trains arriving in Boston between 6:30 am and 10:00 am or departing Boston between 3:30 pm and 7:00 pm.

Weekend service remains the same and busing continues:
- between West Gloucester and Rockport on the Rockport Line to allow for work on the Gloucester drawbridge.
- between Littleton/495 and Wachusett on the Fitchburg Line to facilitate Positive Train Control Implementation work.

Holiday service:
On Thursday, November 25th, 2021 (Thanksgiving Day), Saturday, December 25th, 2021 (Christmas Day), and Saturday, January 1st, 2022 (New Years Day), all lines will operate on a weekend schedule.
On Friday, November 26th, 2021 (Day after Thanksgiving), Friday, December 24th, 2021 (Christmas Eve) and Friday, December 31st, 2021 (New Years Eve), all lines will operate on a regular weekday schedule. 

For more information on holiday service on the Commuter Rail or other MBTA transit networks, passengers can visit MBTA.com/holidays.

Fall/Winter - Franklin Line schedule

https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/route_pdfs/2021-fall/10-11-2021-cr-fall-franklin.pdf

Last Updated: Oct 04 2021 02:28 PM 

Starting October 11: Commuter Rail schedule change

School Committee Candidate: Meghan Whitmore - 09/28/21 (audio)

FM #619 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 619 in the series. 

This shares my conversation with candidate for School Committee Meghan Whitmore 

This is one of a series of conversations with candidates for the Franklin Election on Nov 2, 2021. I do this to provide Franklin, MA voters with accurate and timely information that they can use to cast an informed vote.  Publication of the answers or interview responses does not constitute an endorsement of this or any candidate.

We cover the candidate questions as previously developed in conjunction with the community and shared with the candidates in advance. Five of the questions are ‘general’ in nature, the sixth is specific to the role of the candidate. In this case, for the School Committee.

Our conversation runs about 11 minutes, so let’s listen to my interview with Meghan Whitmore.  ** Audio file -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/82dd1ec2-2b4a-4e41-b6bb-8ee48051c801

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Candidate questions -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/09/election-2021-candidate-interview.html 

Facebook page -> https://www.facebook.com/Meghan-Whitmore-for-Franklin-School-Committee-106021458463361   

Election Collection 2021 ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/07/franklin-election-collection-2021.html 

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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?

• 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"

 

School Committee Candidate: Meghan Whitmore

St Mary's Women's Faith Formation - Oct 9, 2021

The St. Mary's Women's Faith Formation group will be meeting via Zoom on October 9 from 9:30 - 10:30 AM.  We will be viewing a short video from the Bishop Barron series entitled "Conversion – Following the Call of Christ". 

During the meeting we will listen to the story of "The Woman at the Well". Here is a link to the Trailer provided by Bishop Barron on his Conversion series. It will give you a sense of what is coming. https://www.wordonfire.org/study-programs/conversion/.  

We are extending an invitation to each of you to join us. 

Please email Deacon Guy (deaconguy@stmarysfranklin.org) if you are interested in the  Zoom link contact information. 

All women are welcome.  https://www.stmarysfranklin.org/womens-faith-formation

St Mary's Women's Faith Formation - Oct 9, 2021

60 Minutes "a betrayal of democracy" leads to decision that Franklin Matters Facebook page to go away Dec 1, 2021

60 Minutes (@60Minutes) tweeted at 7:42 PM on Sun, Oct 03, 2021:

"The version of Facebook that exists today is tearing our societies apart and causing ethnic violence around the world," says former Facebook employee France Haugen. She points to Myanmar, where the military used Facebook to launch a genocide.

Find the full 60 Minutes segment here -> https://t.co/WU4IumjHkO 

Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/cy9Ed9MgbH

“The version of Facebook that exists today is tearing our societies apart and causing ethnic violence around the world,” says former Facebook employee France Haugen. She points to Myanmar, where the military used Facebook to launch a genocide. https://t.co/WU4IumjHkO pic.twitter.com/cy9Ed9MgbH

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 3, 2021

Note: this is a continuation of the revelations about Facebook since the  Cambridge Analytica scandal. in 2018  I attempted to remove Franklin Matters updates from Facebook at that time and the readers, followers on Facebook created an uproar so I stayed reluctantly.

As a data security and privacy professional I can no longer condone the Facebook business model. Effective Dec 1, 2021 the Franklin Matters Facebook page will go away. You are given notice to find one of the other options to obtain the valuable information shared but not longer directly by me on Facebook.

• You can subscribe via email to the daily update (an easy way)  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html
• You can subscribe via RSS and get everything as it posts (actually the best way)  The 7 best RSS Readers for 2021 (I personally use Feedly)   https://bloggingwizard.com/free-rss-feed-readers/
• You can follow Franklin Matters on Twitter  https://twitter.com/FranklinMatters

Someone can also set up a way to take what I share and share it themselves to Facebook. I have no way to stop that. Folks occasionally do so on their own today.

My personal account will remain on Facebook to maintain my family and network connections. I have limited what is posted and shared in that way and am willing to take the risk to maintain those family connections.

I can no longer take the risk exposing your information in this way. Facebook needs to change and only actions like this will get their attention to do so.

Why Dec 1?

The Franklin election is important and as divisive as Facebook is, for those who depend upon it for info, I will provide some time for them to begin to make their move to one of the alternatives.

If you need or want help setting up email or RSS, I'll offer to schedule a Zoom session (or two) to walk through the process. Let me know if you are interested via email or comment on this post.

Reference points on Facebook data leaks

• Franklin Matters attempt to shut down in 2018 was announced with this post ->  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2018/04/fixing-companys-problems-will-take-years.html
• Data leak reported in April 2021 (actually occurred during 2019) ->  https://blog.mozilla.org/en/privacy-security/facebook-data-leak-explained/
• Data leak in 2017 ->  https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/28/everything-you-need-to-know-about-facebooks-data-breach-affecting-50m-users/
• Cambridge Analytica aftermath -> https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/25/cambridge-analyticas-former-boss-gets-7-year-ban-on-being-a-business-director/

Mark Hurst's Good Report also has a listing on RSS Readers to add to what I shared here.  https://goodreports.com/post/rss-reader.html

012 - Frank Presents - Alan Earls (audio)

"In this episode, Frank Falvey sits down with Alan Earls to discuss his candidacy for Town Council, his background and the changes he'd like to see come to the town of Franklin."

Audio file ->   https://player.captivate.fm/episode/7a851838-0171-4ef7-96d3-ca1da3105550

 012 - Frank Presents - Alan Earls  (audio)

Veterans October Coffee Social - Oct 6 - 10 AM

October Coffee Social

Join us Wednesday, October 6 at 10:00 a.m.

VETERANS COFFEE SOCIAL  

Wednesday ▪ October 6 ▪ 10:00 A.M.  
FRANKLIN SENIOR CENTER CAFÉ 
 
WELCOME OUR NEW VETERANS' SERVICES OFFICER 
ARMY VETERAN - SHANNON NISBETT 
AND  
FRANKLIN BOARD OF HEALTH DIRECTOR CATHLEEN LIBERTY 
WILL PROVIDE COVID-19 UPDATES 
ALL VETS ARE INVITED! 
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED BY OUR FRIENDS AT STARBUCKS! 
Per Town policy, please bring proof of vaccination to the Social. 
 
 

Shared from the Town of Franklin page ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/veterans-services/news/october-coffee-social-0

Veterans October Coffee Social - Oct 6 - 10 AM

Welcome - a little fall house cleaning is in order

Welcome - Let's take a couple of minutes to provide a quick review of what you find here: 

Across the top Navigation menu

Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you haven't already Subscribed; please do, you will receive only one email per day with all that matters. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Why Franklin Matters - why I started this in 2006/2007 and have been at it since https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/why-franklin-matters.html

Meeting notes: the archive on meeting notes and audio recordings for meetings going back to 2008. If interested, a link to the 2007 archives is also available. 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/meeting-notes.html

wfpr.rm podcasts, or play anywhere Radio shows. The link to each podcast as well as the most current episode of each can be found on the page in alphabetical order. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/franklin-matters-radio.html

The Franklin Matters Radio archives grow regularly as recordings of meetings and interviews are posted. https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/fm-podcasts.html

Among the radio shows posted there are some regular series

• Talk Franklin - a regular discussion with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen

• Town Council Quarterbacking with Chair Tom Mercer - a post meeting recap

• Interviews with candidates for the Franklin local election (every two years)

• Audio segments of meetings and events recorded, many of them shared via wfpr.fm radio

• If you look for an episode and find a broken link, please let me know. I did change podcast hosts in February 2021. Links prior to that may be in the older format and I can’t update them all easily. They are available and I will do them as you need them.

Key links - a page with collections of writing around a topic. For example the “Election Collections” for each local election since 2007 are available

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/important-links.html

Community Events - built upon the “Cultural Calendar”, this adds the other community events to provide a more holistic view of what is happening. The Town and School official meetings are maintained on their respective calendars.

https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

• 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.

Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - Oct 6, 2021

 FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL
Agenda & Meeting Packet
October 6, 2021 - 7:00 PM

Meeting will be held at the Municipal Building
2nd floor, Council Chambers 355 East Central Street 

1. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE CHAIR
a. This meeting is being recorded by Franklin TV and shown on Comcast channel 11 and Verizon Channel 29. This meeting may be recorded by others.
b. Chair to Identify members participating remotely.

2. CITIZEN COMMENTS
a. Citizens are welcome to express their views for up to five minutes on a matter that is not on the agenda. The Council will not engage in a dialogue or comment on a matter raised during Citizen Comments. The Town Council will give remarks appropriate consideration and may ask the Town Administrator to review the matter.

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. September 1, 2021
b. September 15, 2021

4. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
a. Franklin Cultural Council - 2021 Cultural Fest

5. APPOINTMENTS
a. Susan Younis - Municipal Affordable Housing Trust
b. Candice Narsasian - Cultural District Committee
c. Anne Bergen - Franklin TV Board of Directors
d. Ken Norman - Franklin TV Board of Directors

6. HEARINGS - 7:10pm - None Scheduled

7. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - None scheduled

8. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
a. Franklin School Department Update to Town Council: Dr. Sara Ahern, Superintendent of Schools
b. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Plan: Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator

9. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a. Capital Budget Subcommittee
b. Budget Subcommittee
c. Economic Development Subcommittee

10. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
a. Resolution 21-54: A Resolution  Adopting the Town  of Franklin 2021  Housing Production Plan  (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-54 - Majority Vote)
b. Resolution 21-55: Gift Acceptance - Veterans Department, $1000 (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-55 - Majority Vote)
c. Resolution 21-56:Gift Acceptance - Conservation Commission, $1000 (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-56 - Majority Vote)
d. Resolution 21-57: Gift Acceptance - Town of Franklin, Dog Park Gazebo (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-57 - Majority Vote)
e. Resolution 21-58: Cable Funds in Support of PEG Service and Programming per MGL Ch. 44, §53F3/4 (Motion to Approve Resolution 21-58 - Majority Vote)

11. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

12. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS

13. COUNCIL COMMENTS

14. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled

15. ADJOURN

Note:
Two-Thirds Vote: requires 6 votes
Majority Vote: requires majority of members present and voting

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/10-06-21_town_council_agenda.pdf

Franklin, MA: Town Council  - Agenda - Oct 6, 2021

Harvest Festival - a successful sunny day in Franklin (photo essay)

There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of folks walking downtown, along Main St, along Depot St, enjoying music at the Dean Ave corner (Dancin' on Dean), along the Rockland Trust parking lot, into THE BLACK BOX parking lot, crossing West Central St to the Historical Museum. How do you count that kind of crowd? Forget about counting, just enjoy it!

some of the early crowd along Main St

State Rep Jeff Roy decked out for Ben Gardner's boat

Fire Dept. was visible, they will have their own October fire safety open house Saturday, Oct 9 from 10 AM to 2 PM

a 'meta' moment, Pete shares a photo with Chris, while I take theirs

vendor booths were plentiful, including newly open Fresh Start Market

activities for families ran the gamut including painting pumpkins at Franklin Agway booth

the only time the food court tables were empty was when they were set up

Thanks to the Franklin Downtown Partnership and to the many hands that made this such a success!

Franklin, MA School Committee meeting - Sep 28, 21 - Audio in two parts

FM #617-618 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 617-618 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: the School Committee members were in the Municipal Bldg along with some of the public, other members of the public joined via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

The recording runs about two hour and twenty minutes (2 hour 20 minutes), so I split the meeting into two segments:

• First - covers the opening, the citizens comments, the introduction of Lily Rivera, and the DLI Team presentation and update (~1 hour 4 mins)

• Second - covers the Discussion Action items, the Discussion Only items, the consent agenda, through to the closing of the meeting (~1 hour 15 mins)

Links to the meeting agenda and associated documents released for this meeting are included in the show notes. The link to my notes taken during the meeting is also provided.

Let’s listen to this segment of the School Committee meeting Sep 28, 2021

 

Part 1 -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/80e51912-a9a2-4131-847b-f570ee98ff5e

Part 2 -> https://player.captivate.fm/episode/494a1ce3-5102-4dd1-92f9-382b4246bff0

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School Committee Agenda doc (including connection info) ->   

https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/files/agenda-9-28-21 

Agenda folder -> https://franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/september-282021-school-committee-meeting-packet 

My notes captured during the meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/10/recap-school-committee-meeting-hears-of.html

--------------

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/ 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"

 

Digital Learning Integrationist (DLI) Team

011 - Frank Presents - Andy Bissanti (audio)

"In this episode, Frank Falvey sits down with Town Councilor Andy Bissanti to discuss his background, the current real estate market in Franklin, the changes coming to town, the budget and so much more."

Audio file ->  https://player.captivate.fm/episode/672e864c-21e2-496b-830e-0bd09825e5e9

 011 - Frank Presents - Andy Bissanti (audio)

Franklin TV: view "Frank Presents" candidate interviews

Franklin TV will be broadcasting Frank Presents, the Frank Falvey candidate interviews on the All Access Channel. 

• For those with Comcast - channel 8, for those with Verizon, channel 26
• For those without, you can also view them during their scheduled time via the streaming service at Franklin.TV*  https://franklintv.vod.castus.tv/vod/?live=ch3&nav=live%2Fch1

MONDAY

6:30 pm Frank Presents: Alan Earls

7:00 pm Frank Presents: Andy Bissanti

7:30 pm Frank Presents: Jane Callaway-Tripp

THURSDAY

7:30 pm Frank Presents: Alan Earls

8:00 pm Frank Presents: Andy Bissanti

8:30 pm Frank Presents: Jane Callaway-Tripp

FRIDAY

9:00:00 am Frank Presents: Alan Earls

9:30 am Frank Presents: Andy Bissanti

10:00 am Frank Presents: Jane Callaway-Tripp

For the full TV and radio schedule -> http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf

Or go to http://franklin.tv/, Select "Past Shows" and then "Live", then "Play" and you'll view what is on the cable channel at that time.

Franklin TV:  view "Frank Presents" candidate interviews

Boston Globe: "Behind the state’s school masking policy: a collision of science and politics"

"Opponents of school mask mandates have often been louder and more insistent than supporters — even though polls suggest they’re in the minority. Parent groups opposed to making students wear masks in school have filed at least six lawsuits across Massachusetts to stop the policy.

Now, internal state e-mails suggest that anti-masking activists are having a significant impact on the Baker administration, which has resisted full compliance with federal guidance that students should wear masks at school even if they’ve been vaccinated. Current policy will soon allow schools with high vaccination rates to drop mask requirements for vaccinated students and staff.

The determination to follow this middle path may be in part political. When a Massachusetts General Hospital doctor asked in an e-mail why the state was not following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, a top state health official was blunt: pressure."

Continue reading the article online. (Subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/02/metro/behind-states-school-masking-policy-collision-science-politics/

Boston Globe: "Behind the state’s school masking policy: a collision of science and politics"