Franklin Matters

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Guest speaker Eric Ross at Metrowest Networkers Group - Feb 2

The Metrowest Networkers Group Welcomes -- Eric Ross

Power Networking - A Comprehensive Short Course

Building a robust, proactive network that will take you to your next job

Friday, February 2nd - Meeting starts at 10 AM.

7 Bishop Street; Framingham, MA (SMOC - The Cuddy Center)

Many professional positions are never advertised and can only be accessed via the "hidden job" market.
Most professional and executive jobs are landed through networking.
Come join us to learn the why, what, and how of relationship-referral networking.
Learn what to do, after making contacts at a networking meeting.

Participants will hear about all the tools needed to develop extensive networks that access the hidden market, and learn a step-by-step process that starts with people they know and generates a continuing source of new professional contacts.

Through relationship-referral networking, these contacts become helpers in your job search and evolve into sources of new networking connections. Some may even become long-term professional or personal friends.

Bio:

Senior industrial operations leader Eric Ross has a career history turning under-performing organizations into winners and winners into champions. He has held leadership roles in several industries, including manufacturing, HVAC, renewable energy, and professional services. Eric is a former USAF commissioned officer who completed service in the rank of major and holds MS and BS degrees in Engineering.

Please share this info with anyone who could benefit by attending.

Guest speaker Eric Ross at Metrowest Networkers Group

Friday, January 26, 2024

Franklin's Event Outlook: January 26, 2024 to February 2, 2024

Friday, January 26
9:00am Wreath Ceremony (Franklin Veterans Walkway on the Town Common)
3:00pm Coffee Conversation with President Elmore (Franklin Public Library)
6:30pm An Evening with Spirit with Psychic Medium Cathy Ripley Greene (SAFE Coalition)
7:00pm Film & Discussion: Selma (Dean College Student Center)
9:00pm Dom DeBaggis (Live music) (3 Restaurant)

Saturday, January 27

8:00am Girl Scout cookie sale (Dunkin, King St) 8:30am Girl Scout cookie sale (Dean Bank, Main St) 10:00am Franklin Historical Museum (always free)
10:00am Trail Walk (SNETT Grove St trail head)
1:00pm Kids Paint Party (Franklin Public Library)
7:00pm Live Music and CD Release by Second Son Band (First Universalist Society of Franklin)

Sunday, January 28

10:00am Girl Scout cookie sale (Learning Express)

11:00am Girl Scout cookie sale (Aubuchon Hardware)

1:00pm Franklin Historical Museum (always free)

Monday, January 29
6:00pm Sound Bath Meditation Workshop (ticketed event) (Franklin High School)
7:00pm Franklin High School Jazz Concert (donation suggested) (Franklin High School)

Tuesday, January 30
7:00pm Trivia Night (Raillery Public House)

Wednesday, January 31
1:00pm Senior Scribblers (recording session) (FranklinTV Studio)
5:00pm Pantherbook Fundraiser (Sante Fe Burrito)
6:00pm Stand-Up Comedy (ticketed event) (Glen Pharma Distillery)
6:00pm Music & Spoken Word: Where do we go from here? (Dean College Marvin Chapel)

Thursday, February 1
5:00pm Sweet & Greet (Franklin High School Media Center)
6:00pm Franklin LGBTQ Alliance (Franklin Public Library)

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The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Find the full Community event calendar https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

The Cultural calendar displays only the cultural events https://www.franklinculture.org/things-do/pages/calendar

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

Franklin's Event Outlook: January 26, 2024 to February 2, 2024

Save the date: Party for the Pantry - March 29 at Glen Pharma

Ray Auger posted on Facebook ->

Save the date! March 29th 2024!

Party For The Pantry 2024 to benefit the Franklin Food Pantry!

Three bands... The Pub Kings, South Street Six and (TBD).

New locations! GlenPharmer Distillery in Franklin. Tickets available February 1st!
We are currently seeking sponsors and raffle donations. Please reach out to myself or William James if you would like to help stock the shelves for those in need!

https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02qsJ7DeHwnpcBFnQ6iv53xgRbFSjwEkY89hT1Fth4zVFufUo9mQGZoqkBLkb9z9tgl&id=674827375

Save the date: Party for the Pantry - March 29 at Glen Pharma

Congressmen Auchincloss and Cohen and Senator Markey Reintroduce Complete Streets Act

Measure prioritizes sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops and bike lanes in road design priorities

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (MA-4), and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, today reintroduced an improved version of their Complete Streets Act, which would make roads safer and more accessible by ensuring states direct a portion of their federal highway funding towards the creation of a Complete Streets Program. A "complete street" provides safe and accessible transportation options for children, seniors, and people with disabilities by prioritizing infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit users. Under the Complete Streets Act, eligible local and regional entities can use funds from their state's Complete Streets Program for technical assistance and capital funding to build safe street projects such as sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, and bus stops. The legislation would also phase in a requirement for states to incorporate complete streets elements into all new construction and reconstruction.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"The United States is facing a national safety crisis on our roads. In recent years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrians killed by vehicles, especially in Memphis. We need streets that can accommodate all means of transportation, from foot traffic and strollers to bicycles, cars, light trucks and 18-wheelers. Our new Complete Streets Act will transform communities and make it safer for everyone to travel on and adjacent to our roadways."

Congressman Cohen hosted a roundtable discussion with local and state stakeholders on the Complete Streets Act in Memphis in October 2019.

Congressman Auchincloss made the following statement:

"Walking shouldn't be dangerous. Pedestrian deaths are surging in the United States, and Congress must respond. Promoting Complete Streets helps ensure that pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists operate safely. And the design and infrastructure of Complete Streets is not just safer – it's also better for ambience, the environment, and retail."

Senator Markey made the following statement:

"It's time to reverse course in our country and bring the increasing number of roadway fatalities to a full stop. When we fund a complete street, we make a community complete with equitable, safe, and accessible transportation—all while reducing our reliance on gas-guzzling vehicles. I thank Congressman Cohen for his partnership in making sure that the roads we use every day work for all people."

Endorsing organization statements in support of the Complete Streets Act:

Benito Pérez, Policy Director at Transportation for America, made the following statement:

"Every person has the right to be safe when traveling on our roads, no matter how they choose to get around—but for people outside of a car, that's often more of a pipe dream than reality. We applaud Senator Markey and Representative Cohen for their leadership in introducing the Complete Streets Act. By offering state-level grants to design and build Complete Streets, this bill provides a tangible step forward to improving safety, accessibility, and health outcomes for all road users."

Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, made the following statement:

"Everyone should be able to safely walk or bike with their kids to the playground. The Complete Streets Act would give local governments access to the resources and funding to invest in safer roads in our communities. Too often that trip to the playground is blocked by an intersection too dangerous for families to cross, or streets without sidewalks for families to walk on. The League of American Bicyclists is proud to support this bill and thanks Congressman Cohen and Senator Markey for their leadership on this issue."

The legislation is also endorsed by the National Complete Streets Coalition, Center for American Progress, and the Livable Streets Alliance.

Under the Complete Streets Act:

States would be required to set aside five percent of their federal highway funding to create a "Complete Streets" program.
To access the funds, eligible entities would need to adopt a Complete Streets policy, participate in technical assistance, and create a prioritized plan for Complete Streets projects in their jurisdictions.
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) would be responsible for certifying that Complete Streets policies meet minimum requirements set out by the United States Secretary of Transportation.
The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, States, and MPOs would be required to adopt design standards for federal surface transportation projects that provide for the safe and adequate accommodation of all users of the surface transportation network, including motorized and non-motorized users, in all phases of project planning, development, and operation.

More about complete streets -> https://www.transportation.gov/mission/health/complete-streets

Panther TV : News for Friday, Jan 26, 2024 (video)

Panther TV (@fhspanthertv) posted on Thu, Jan 25, 2024:

On this week's show: FHS's Diversity Club and Girl Up team up for a big upcoming event…

an FHS Senior wins Hockomock's Player of the Week…

and the Jazz Band returns for their winter performance!

@FranklinHS @FHSPantherbook @SteveSherlock
https://t.co/2h4KhOWq5L via @YouTube

Shared from -> https://twitter.com/fhspanthertv/status/1750601539155026267

Girl Scout Cookies for sale this weekend - Saturday, Jan 27 & Sunday, Jan 28

There will be time to stock up with Girl Scout Cookies this weekend!

Where will the cookies be in Franklin?

Saturday January 27

Dean Bank 8:30 AM - 12 PM
Dunkin (King St) 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Sunday January 28

Learning Express 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Aubuchon Hardware 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Girl Scout Cookies for sale this weekend - Saturday, Jan 27 & Sunday, Jan 28

Children's Museum of Franklin finds pop-up JOY!

View this email in your browser

Children's Museum of Franklin finds pop-up JOY!

Friends,

Our first Mobile Museum event took place on Sunday, January 21 from 1:00–4:00 p.m. A line appeared outside the door a few minutes before opening and, from that moment until 4:00 p.m. (and afterwards with our cleanup crew), we saw nonstop JOY! We welcomed 500 of you into our space. We saw curiosity, excitement, and collaboration. The smiles and giggles warmed our hearts. Needless to say, we are thrilled!

As a community-supported non-profit organization, we need your support to keep building, to keep growing, and to keep "rolling."

Donations to the Children's Museum of Franklin are tax-deductible. You can learn more about how you can support us, including through our Founding Families program, at the below link.

We are immensely grateful for contributions of any amount.

Looking forward to seeing you at our next event on February 10 at Downtown Sports!

Cheers!

Meg & Erin

P.S. the above photo is credited to the talented Kayla Jean Creative.

Donate to support us.

Boston Globe: "‘Home equity theft’ in Massachusetts is the focus of federal lawsuit"

"In 2017, the city of Greenfield targeted Stephen Woodbridge’s property, which totaled almost 20 acres and included a rambling 10-room house, for unpaid taxes of a little less than $6,000.

Four years later, after making numerous complex and arcane court filings, the city succeeded in gaining legal ownership of a property that had been in the Woodbridge family for 70 years.

Woodbridge was quickly evicted, and the city sold his house and six surrounding acres for $270,000 at auction. The city added Woodbridge’s other 13 wooded acres to a contiguous city-owned park without compensating him.

The city reaped a tidy cash profit of at least $220,000 — the $270,000 sale price at auction minus the $50,000 Woodbridge owed in taxes, interest, and other costs run up while the tax-taking case moved through the system. Woodbridge’s debt had ballooned almost tenfold since 2017 because he was charged fees for the city’s attorneys plus 16 percent interest on his debt — as permitted by law."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/25/business/home-equity-theft-federal-lawsuit/

$Al Norman is pictured near Stephen Woodbridge’s former Greenfield property Wednesday. Norman is a community activist fighting against so-called "home equity theft," when municipalities take all the home equity in a house where the back taxes are only a fraction of the property's value.MATTHEW CAVANAUGH/FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE$

Al Norman is pictured near Stephen Woodbridge’s former Greenfield property Wednesday. Norman is a community activist fighting against so-called "home equity theft," when municipalities take all the home equity in a house where the back taxes are only a fraction of the property's value. MATTHEW CAVANAUGH/FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Heating at Franklin Field in Dorchester to be converted to geothermal

Following along with one of our Making Sense of Climate recurring topics, Boston goes with a pilot on geothermal.

"As the Boston Housing Authority works toward an ambitious goal of going fossil-fuel free, its path to success could begin at the Franklin Field complex in Dorchester.

Mayor Michelle Wu joined officials from the BHA and National Grid at Franklin Field on Thursday to unveil details of a plan to convert the heating system for 129 public housing units there to an electricity-powered geothermal system. The project would replace the 20-year-old gas-fired boiler in use today.

BHA administrator Kenzie Bok said the idea can be traced back to Wu’s announcement a year ago that the BHA would wean itself off fossil fuels by 2030. BHA officials first considered using air-source heat pumps to replace the aging boiler but found that National Grid’s centralized geothermal proposal would be more cost efficient.

“The first step in going fossil-fuel free is not to put in new fossil fuel infrastructure,” Bok said."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/25/business/boston-geothermal-energy/

The Boston Housing Authority will install a geothermal project at the Franklin Filed housing complex in Dorchester. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (left) walks into the event with National Grid New England president Lisa Wieland. JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF

TED-Ed shares what happens when you swallow a painkiller? (video)

TED-Ed (@TED_ED) posted:

"Have you ever wondered what happens to a painkiller, like ibuprofen, after you swallow it?

Follow medicine's journey through your body: https://t.co/EKRP24WcXv"

Shared from -> https://twitter.com/TED_ED/status/1750292439896658411

Direct video link -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOcpsXMJcJk&t=27s