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Saturday, August 13, 2022
Senator Rausch: 2022 End of Session Roundup
Friday, August 12, 2022
Franklin's Event Outlook: Aug 12, 2022 to Aug 18, 2022
Another Farmers Market and Concerts on the Common Friday including a movie night. The Library has their monthly book and bag sale. 67 Degrees & La Cantina feature music and food along with their beer & wine.
Sunday, the speaker series continues with a presentation on "Firestorm: A Childhood Amidst the Ruins of War"
1:00pm - Book Sale (Public Library)
2:00pm - Farmers Market (Town Common)
3:00pm - Concerts on the Common: Pub Kings (Town Common)
4:00pm - Food truck Pangea Cuisine (Town Common)
4:30pm - Raina's Plate (food truck) (67 Degrees Brewery)
5:30pm - Concerts on the Common: It's a "J" Thing (Town Common)
6:00pm - David Rak Music (67 Degrees Brewery)
6:00pm - Fourtet (live music) (La Cantina Winery)
8:00pm - Movie Night: "Moana" (Town Common)
9:00am- Book Sale (Public Library)
10:00am - Franklin Historical Museum (always free)
10:30am – Will Parker Concert (live music) (Public Library)
1;00pm - Bag Sale (Public Library)
6:00pm - Patrick Durkin Music (live music) (67 Degrees Brewery)
Caribbean Press (time to be confirmed, possible appearance at 67 Degrees)
1:00pm - Franklin Historical Museum (always free)
1:15pm - Second Sunday Speaker: Firestorm: A Childhood Amidst the Ruins of War (Historical Museum)
6:30pm - Documentary Film: Love Between the Covers (2015)
Find the full calendar https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html
If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication: https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6
The Town meeting calendar is found https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26
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| Community Calendar |
Annual Report Of The Building Inspection Department - FY 2021
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| Annual Report Of The Town of Franklin - FY 2021 |
Boston Globe: "Baker signs major climate bill into law"
"Gov. Charlie Baker signed a major climate bill into law on Thursday that will accelerate the development of clean energy in the state, boosting offshore wind and solar, and—in a first for Massachusetts—allowing some cities and towns to ban the use of fossil fuels in new buildings and major renovations.Baker’s approval comes after weeks of speculation that he might veto the bill, and just days after he said he particularly disapproved of the fossil fuel ban because of his concern it could make it harder to construct affordable housing.Ultimately, though, he said the bill’s changes to the offshore wind procurement process and its advances in clean energy were important enough to secure his signature.“I continue to want us to be a pretty big player in that space,” Baker said in an interview with the Globe, “because it’s a sustainable way to create a lot of jobs, for a very long time.”
The climate legislation discussed as amended and returned to the Governor for action https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/07/massachusetts-legislature-passes-major.html
State Rep Jeff Roy’s remarks on the MA House of Representatives floor in favor of the legislation and quoting Governor Baker on compromise (from the Governor’s recent book).
Governor Baker’s book -> https://www.amazon.com/Results-Getting-Beyond-Politics-Important/dp/1647821800
See the page that collects the “Making Sense of Climate” episodes -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html
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| Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker during a morning press-conference. JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF |
Annual Report Of The Department Of Public Works - FY 2021
1. Administration2. Engineering3. Highway and Grounds (including Highway Maintenance and Construction, Central Motors, Snow & Ice, Parks, Town and School Grounds Maintenance and Forestry/Insect Control)4. Water (including ground water withdrawals, water treatment and distribution)5. Sewer6. Solid Waste and Recycling (including the operation of the Beaver St. Recycling Center)7. Street Lighting
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| Annual Report Of The Town of Franklin - FY 2021 |
Economic Development Subcommittee - video for meeting August 10, 2022 (video)
The Economic Development Subcommittee and Franklin For All Steering Committee met on Wednesday as scheduled.
Video link -> https://youtu.be/4aWsvCPjoJM
a. Staff Memob. Franklin For All Executive Summary and Final Report (96 pages - https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/franklin_for_all_executive_summary_summary_memos.pdf)c. Franklin - DHCD Approved Housing Production Plan (92 pages - https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/franklin_housing_production_plan_-_final_with_approval_ltr.pdf)
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| Economic Development Subcommittee Steering Committee - Agenda - Aug 10, 2022 |
Dan Rather: An Attack On the Rule of Law
Shame on me. I like to think I don't surprise easily, especially when it comes to imagining the depths to which the former president and his cronies and enablers will descend to protect themselves and preserve their power. But the aftermath of the FBI's execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago has surprised me. It has also left me deeply concerned about what the country must now endure and where we may be headed. I should not have been surprised. In retrospect, it all makes sickening sense. When news broke of these events — first commented on, it should be noted, by Donald Trump himself — it was clear that they would reverberate dangerously across America's fractured political and social landscape. You had to know that Trump himself would lie and play to his well-practiced persona of misplaced victimhood. And you had to know that others would rally around him. But the amount of negative blowback and the number of high-level officials helping gives special pause. Among things striking about this threat to the Trump bubble is that instead of the charge being led by elected officials or others easily stigmatized as "the enemy," this was the FBI. Law enforcement: the very people lauded by the Republicans when it suits their political interests. "Back the blue," and all. How would they spin this one? The first round of defense was to fall back on the familiar language of a "partisan witch hunt." It is the usual lie, as they cry foul without any evidence, about how the Biden administration is out of control in persecuting its political enemies. Just because we have become used to this level of projection and hypocrisy from a group of cynical political actors who really did seek to turn the Department of Justice into their own tool for holding on to power, doesn't mean we should become inured to the danger of this rhetoric. But they didn't stop there. They have now moved on to attacking the FBI itself and the very mechanisms of justice in the United States. It is tiresome to outline all the different instances and all the different people who have participated in this concerted attempt to protect Trump by baselessly attacking what took place at Mar-a-Lago. But when the likes of South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham suggests the FBI planted evidence and Florida Senator Marco Rubio attacks the magistrate judge who signed off on the warrant, we are seeing something even more perilous than before. These are two men who back in 2016 clearly understood and articulated the dangers that Donald Trump posed to American democracy. Now they are not only devout defenders of his presidency, but they are complicit in undermining what appears to be a careful execution of the process of justice. They seek to delegitimize any investigation of Trump, no matter its merits. As Trump pleaded the fifth over and over again in a civil case in New York, as he refuses to release what was in the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, and as we can see in a long history of contempt for any legal accountability in his business and political career, the safe assumption of all these investigations is that with so much smoke, there is likely fire. Nevertheless, even if Trump is eventually indicted, he will continue to be entitled to a presumption of innocence and a day in court. That's how American justice is supposed to work. Now, as many have pointed out, there are legitimate concerns in America about the overreach of law enforcement. For as long as I have been a reporter, there have certainly been instances where police officers have searched residences illegally. Most often, those who have felt the brunt of these perversions of the law have been the marginalized members of society. And in these cases, these same people who are defending Trump, as well as Trump himself, have shown no concern. They have often applauded rough and unlawful actions from police as long as they were targeting people different from themselves. We should be very clear. Those rushing to defend Trump are not carefully refuting what is alleged against him. In the case of what was taken from Mar-a-Lago, we don't even know what that was (but Trump does). Rather, these kneejerk objections set the stage for a blanket assertion that, in effect, Trump is above the law. Under this dangerous reasoning, there can be no legitimate investigation into anything he might have done. And, to continue the tortured "reasoning," anyone who seeks to hold Trump accountable under the laws that govern our nation is a political operative acting as part of a wide-ranging "Deep State" conspiracy. This is a kind of lunacy, of course, and deeply destabilizing to American democracy, but it is not a fringe position within the "Party of Trump." A version of this mania is now being publicly stated by Republican elected officials who often are portrayed in the press as the more responsible ones. The rot engulfs almost the entire party. When we add to this the mounting evidence being uncovered by the January 6 committee, a clear and chilling picture emerges. Large swaths of the Republican Party do not believe the law should apply to its leaders. And they do not believe that there can be a fair election in which their candidate loses. This is, at its very essence, a repudiation of the ideal of America as a democratic republic ruled by law. We all should be careful here. This does not apply to all Republican elected representatives and certainly not to all Republican voters. Nor does it apply to any and everyone who questions the FBI's actions. But as we are seeing with the overall general reaction to the FBI's search, this undermining of confidence in our institutions is far more widespread and far deeper than we might have first feared. To my colleagues in the press covering this moment, I respectfully suggest that it is essential that we wrestle with this truth and not seek to minimize the escalating dangers our country faces, especially as much of the recent rhetoric from Trump and his army of defenders is stoking the prospects of violence. There are not two equal sides to this story. The political implications of all of this, what it might mean for the midterms or President Biden's approval rating, pale next to what this means for the future of American democracy. Despite all that we are facing, I remain optimistic and hopeful for the future of our nation. I believe that these multiple investigations into Trump will get to truths that America desperately needs to hear. No one pursuing them is going to be frightened by what's being said on Fox News. And while there may always be a percentage of the country that backs Trump and the politicians who have rallied around him, this is not where the majority of this nation is. We should not forget that Donald Trump was repudiated by voters in 2020 after only one term in office. A record number of Americans went to the polls to say they did not like who he was or what he represented. We know even more now. So, will the repudiation of Trump and his ideology continue, even increase? We, the people, are now in the process of finding out. In the meantime, travel on this passage figures to be rough, rocky, and more dangerous than many of us may have thought. That makes it all the more important that those who are pursuing justice remain steady in their mission and true to the most noble values of the nation they serve. Thanks for subscribing to Steady. This post is public, so please feel free to share it. © 2022 Dan Rather |
"the 1986 law does spell out the two-year process for returning the money"
"THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is preparing to change the rules for returning roughly $3 billion in excess tax collections so the governor can send out checks to Massachusetts taxpayers before he leaves office in January.But a legal expert, citing a 1987 Supreme Judicial Court decision, says the changes being proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker appear to violate the voter-approved law governing excess tax collections as well as the constitutional prohibition on appropriations in ballot questions.The governor’s move to change the rules suggests he is eager to return the money to taxpayers as quickly as possible, perhaps to claim credit for returning the money or to return it before the Legislature can take any action to tinker with the law or prevent all of the funds from going out. "
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| Gov. Charlie Baker at a State House press conference. (Pool file photo by Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe) |
Franklin Health Department: August is Sun Safety Month
August is Sun Safety Month. In the US, more than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day
Learn about prevention: cancer.org/healthy/be-safe-in-sun
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| Franklin Health Department: August is Sun Safety Month |
Franklin TV and wfpr.fm schedule for Friday, Aug 12, 2022
- wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Friday
- Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY
- Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28) = FRIDAY
- Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29) = FRIDAY
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| Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) |