Franklin Matters Radio

This session shares my conversation with School Committee Chairperson Dave Callaghan and Vice-Chair David McNeill. This is a new episode of our continuing “Chalkboard Chat” series. We had our discussion via the Zoom conference bridge on Tuesday, September 17, 2024. 

We cover 

• Recap of the School Committee meeting of Sep 10 
• The long executive session and process improvements
• Redistricting draft alignment of schools expected soon
• Joint Budget Subcommittee process started Sep 11

The recording runs about 33 minutes, so let’s listen in.

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Contact info for Dave Callaghan -> [email protected]  

Contact info for David McNeill -> [email protected] 

School Committee Meeting

• Agenda for Sep 10 session ->  https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4809581/SCAGENDA_9-10-24.pdf   
• Meeting packet folder -> (docs released for this meeting, some of them available after the meeting)  https://www.franklinps.net/documents/departments/school-committee/meeting-packets/2024---25-meeting-packets/september-10%2C-2024-meeting-packet/701015 
• Franklin TV video of Sep 10 session -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQzZjD3f45k 
• My notes for the SchCmte Mtg in one PDF ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BKsnE9XEkWJGWXtfDt2V_fNS-FOe84jd/view?usp=drive_link 

Joint Budget Subcommittee Mtg

• Agenda for Meeting -> https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/september_11_2024_joint_budget_subcommittee_meeting_agenda.pdf 
• Franklin TV video of Sep 11 meeting ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR7RPb5Q66Q 
• My notes for the Joint Budget Mtg in one PDF ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-PKZkOitZwrzJ31d1F4ygeuQzJoFjWGv/view?usp=drive_link 

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

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"

This session shares the Franklin (MA) Joint Budget Subcmte meeting held on Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024. 11 members participated, 9 in chambers, 2 were remote (Frongillo, Griffith).

Quick recap:

• Chair Tom Mercer opened the session with a review of the committee charge (linked to below), and a round of introductions, as well as explanation of why only 3 members of the School Committee vs. 4 each of Finance Cmte and Town Council. Finance and Council have 9 on the full body, hence 4 is the most to avoid a quorum; Schools have only 7, hence the 3 keeps within the quorum rules
• Town Administrator Jamie Hellen in his opening remarks said this budget situation is not unique to Franklin, Jamie using his time at Mass Municipal Assoc (MMA) to advocate for state funding at local levels esp. for schools, Lt Gov hearing this message not just from Franklin; this is the norm not the exception
• Supt Lucas Giguere in his intro remarks wants us all to learn from last year, getting together and starting early is good, how do we work together to solve this. Redistricting planning is underway, the reorganization is not going to solve the budget issues, it will make us more sustainable... Think about big picture of town and schools together
• Hellen continued to walk the group through the revenue projects as shared in the agenda (link below)
• Budget timeline overview (linked below) Capital budget due Dec 1, Ops budget first pass due Dec 20. They do get refined as the process works along
• Dr Dutch explains revolving account usage for schools, akin to the enterprise funds on the town side; money collected by the specific area is used to pay for the costs incurred by that area. If any excess within, can not be used elsewhere, only within that space. Transportation for transportation, etc.
• Q - on grants and where it might be in the projections as shown? A - we do get grants but they are not shown in this. Grants are special revenue and are not in the operational budgets, there are a couple of exceptions with reoccurring grants for Senior Center, Board of Health
• Q - Will the same level of budget document be shared with the folks? A - yes, last year's docs are posted, this year's will be when available. Go to and click the Budget button to get last year's budget details   https://www.franklinma.gov/town-budget
• Q - on turnover for school district A - 56 resignations and 8 since the Aug 27 meeting. HR status report for the SchCmte meeting yesterday. The report can be found ->  https://coredocs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4824938/September_10__2024_HR_Staffing_Report.pdf
• Items not explicitly covered in this first pass of the budget 
• Contract negotiations also with all the unions (9 or so) are not factored in (other than the automated 2.5 already in the forecast)
• Savings or cost regarding redistricting
• health care (as mentioned) numbers usually ready in March
• inflation not explicitly covered
• There is no anticipated relief on the expense side. With expense increase coming, modeling to see where we can get to stabilize the budget or we end up cutting additional services and staff. We are already starting at a deficit ($3m) and we need to work together to solve it
• Per Chief Lynch - No one (municipal side) will sign a contract until the teachers are signed. He goes further to clarify the situation that happened 3 years ago when former Supt Ahern approved the 4-4-4 for teachers
• Q - Raises the possibility of getting some tax assistance, or subsidy, what is the legal ramifications, other Towns do it, we need to look at it. A - We already do most of the state tax abatements. Take discussion offline to get more details on the proposal

The recording runs about 2 hours & 35 minutes, so let’s listen in.

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Franklin TV video is available for replay -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR7RPb5Q66Q

1. Committee Charge

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/joint_budget_subcommittee_charge.pdf

2. Annual Budget Calendar for Town Departments

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/2._fy26_budget_calendar_-_google_docs.pdf

3. Town Administrator Budget Memo & Five Year Fiscal Forecast packet   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/3_0.pdf

a. Sample borrowing schedules for Remington-Jefferson and Horace Mann capital projects.  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/estimates.pdf

4. Next Steps/Meetings

a. October 23, 2024 - JBSC

My notes in one PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-PKZkOitZwrzJ31d1F4ygeuQzJoFjWGv/view?usp=drive_link 

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

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"

This session shares my conversation with Franklin resident and volunteer Bo Kinney conducted in the Franklin Public Radio Station on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. 

Bo tells the story of his kidney stone which led to a discovery of prostate cancer and the journey he has been on and how he has dealt with it. This is his “public service announcement” on his lessons learned

The recording runs about 59 minutes, so let’s listen in.

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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"

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Health Director Cathleen Liberty  September 4, 2024. We had our conversation via the Zoom conference bridge.

The recording runs about 36 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Cathleen

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Health Dept page  https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department

Metacomet Health page -> https://www.metacometpha.org/

Health Dept Homeless Resource page -> 

https://sites.google.com/view/homeless-resources-services/home 

Sign up for Health alerts via Regroup -> https://franklintown.regroup.com/signup 

The Topic podcast ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/health-department/pages/topic-podcast-links 

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

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"

This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, Sep 10, 2024. 7 members participated, 6 in chambers, 1 was remote (Gallagher).

Quick recap:

• The meeting had an Executive Session to review a grievance and discuss negotiation strategy. While it was anticipated to be short, the session did extend 85 minutes before the meeting resumed in public session. (Note: the executive session 85 minutes of nothing was removed from the audio and replaced with a brief musical piece to indicate the transition)
• The District Improvement Plan was presented and approved (by a 7-0 via roll call vote)
• Redistricting update - proposed district alignment scheduled to be shared via a "Storymap" before the next meeting and then explained fully during the Sep 28 meeting with a vote to approve the alignment of the new schools scheduled for the first October meeting. Email and multiple methods of communication to share the storymap
• The appointment of Rose Turco to represent the Schools to the Franklin TV Board of Directors was approved (by a 7-0 via roll call vote)
• Hiring update filled 57 positions, 4 teacher vacancies, 8 additional resignations (since the August 27 meeting). Mostly from building subs and ESPs. Not usual to have this many early in the school year. Instability of budget is a factor in the leaving and hiring process
• Consent agenda was approved  (by a 7-0 via roll call vote)

The recording runs about 1 hour & 45 minutes, so let’s listen in.

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The Franklin TV video is available for replay ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQzZjD3f45k    Note: the SchCmte enters Executive Session at about 17:50 and return to open session at 1:42:00

The agenda doc ->

https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/4809590/SCAGENDA_9-10-24.pdf 

Meeting packet folder ->  https://www.franklinps.net/documents/departments/school-committee/meeting-packets/2024---25-meeting-packets/september-10%2C-2024-meeting-packet/701015 

The photo album capturing the slides shared can be found ->   https://photos.app.goo.gl/FcT4bkT37XE4sqK28 

My notes captured in one PDF can be found ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BKsnE9XEkWJGWXtfDt2V_fNS-FOe84jd/view?usp=drive_link 

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

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"

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Tina Powderly, Executive Director of the Franklin Food Pantry and Liz Miller, Community Coordinator of Spoonfuls.org. 

We spend time in this episode talking about September as Hunger Action Month, and how The Pantry partnership with Spoonfuls is helping to drive awareness around food recovery. Food recovery provides healthy, fresh foods for The Pantry clients and removes the recovered food from the landfill environment, a key climate goal. We had our conversation in the new location of the Franklin Food Pantry at Edwin’s. 

Listen to our conversation to find 

• How The Pantry receives 2 shipment of 1,000 pounds each per week
• How confusion about date labeling adds about 7% to the food waste 
• How food waste costs a typical family of about $1,500, yes more than $100/month

The recording runs about 37 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Tina and Liz.

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Participate in the event Thursday, Sept 12, 2024 at the First Universalist Society of Franklin, a joint presentation by The Pantry and Spoonfuls. Free but registration recommended to confirm capacity requirements https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/hungeractionmonth/ 

For more about Spoonfuls, visit their page  https://spoonfuls.org/ 

Liz Miller’s LinkedIN profile -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethmonizmiller/

Tina Powderly’s LinkedIN profile -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-tavares-powderly-78a81131/ 

YouTube video of WGBH segment 10 years ago -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqSBXwnX8Gc 

Spoonful’s founder Liz Stanley’s TEDxRVA talk -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O_KDxJV3Ow 

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

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 www.franklin.news or www.Franklinmatters.org/ 

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"

This session shares my conversation with Kayla Williams, Franklin resident and cyber security professional, who is starting her own consulting company to provide cyber security services to small and medium businesses. We had our discussion at the Franklin TV Studio on Thursday, August 29, 2024.

 We talk about 

• Cyber security, evolving threats
• A tailored approach for each company’s needs

The recording runs about 30 minutes, so let’s listen in.

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Kayla Williams Consulting page ->  https://www.kaylawilliamsconsulting.com/ 

Kayla’ LinkedIn profile -> https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylamwilliams1/ 

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

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"

This session of the radio show shares our “Talk Franklin” discussion with Town Administrator Jamie Hellen and School Superintendent Lucas Giguere. We had our conversation in the Town Administrator's office on Monday, September 9, 2023.  

September brings

• Renovation to Town offices, process improvements
• School re-opening
• Redistricting planning
• Joint Budget Subcommittee starts Sep 11 to work on budget for FY 2026
• More engaged now, need to bring them along the discussion on wish list items, what do we really need, and then prioritize accordingly

The recording runs about 50 minutes. Let’s listen to my conversation with Jamie and Lucas

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Joint Budget Subcommittee agenda for 9/11 meeting

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/09/agenda-for-joint-budget-subcommittee.html

New design of Franklin Schools web site -> https://www.franklinps.net/ 

It also comes with an app for Apple and Android phones (not tablets)

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

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"

This session shares the Franklin (MA) Town Council Meeting of Wednesday, Sep 4, 2024.  8 members were present in Council Chambers, Pellegri was absent. 

Quick recap

• A few appointments to close out the annual round of appointments. As announced in the August 14 meeting with the primary set of appointments, a few were in the process of being finalized. This should complete the slate of appointments to renew and fill the open slots for now.
• Public hearing voted to re-open to review the prior BJs & Pour Richard's license transfers. The vote at the June 26 meeting was 6-3 to deny the approval. The denial was not based upon the 2 areas that such a denial could be made, hence the return for a review. Long story short, enough councilors got the message on the legal options and the transfers passed 5-3-1 (Cormier-Leger, Chandler, Dellorco voted no; Pellegri absent).
• Pete Fasciano, Executive Director of Franklin TV provided an update on the operations. 
• The presentation deck can be found ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/10cRsmUL5lpDkpXoeZdsivJ0M2U-FDK98/view?usp=drive_link
• The wfpr.fm Advertising copy ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/10gbRqBrGymDvD7gFwFN6vqhZZCbGmUYB/view?usp=drive_link
• Discussion on Right of Refusal for the Maplegate Country Club property. We can't afford it but will gain some revenue as the deal closes completely since they were "under taxed" and the owners will need to 'catch up'. The Council still needs to accept a resolution to formal pass on the purchase option
• The Davis Thayer Reuse report was accepted by the Council. This will take time for the Council to work through the discussion to set up a possible RFP. 
• Health care issue raised will be part of the budget discussions going forward, have seen increase in 6-8 percent range prior years, anticipated increase of about 13%

Let’s listen to the meeting recording which runs just short of 3 hours.  Audio link -> 

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Franklin TV video is available for replay ->    https://www.youtube.com/live/eZ51XEq57_U?si=DnXqGMfyZU1OEX7S&t=89

Agenda doc ->  https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/2024-09-04_town_council_agenda_0_0.pdf 

My notes captured during the meeting and now in one PDF file ->

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ojJYhfyLslZxv7XQ8dhevA3R0jMyHcj5/view?usp=drive_link 

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

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"

This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of the Economic Development Subcommittee (EDC) held on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 in the Council Chambers. 

All four members of the subcommittee were present in Chambers (Hamblen, Chandler, Sheridan & Frongillo).

Deputy Administrator Amy Frigulietti provided an overview of the consultant selection process which was put out to bids, the bids reviewed, consultants interviewed, and then Franklin resident A.J. Rebecchi was announced as selected.

The branding survey responses and other materials collected in this effort will be shared with AJ as work on the branding continues. 

The town seal will remain for official documents. The branding effort will better position Franklin departmental information with a consistent look & feel, better enable sharing of info via the social channels, and be utilized gradually in the planned wayfinding signs, vehicles markings, etc.

The recording of the meeting runs about 20 minutes.   

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Agenda doc  -> 

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/agendas/edc_agenda_-_sept_4_2024.pdf 

The 5 vendor submissions can be found in the agenda doc. The winning selection (AJ's) is here ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif10036/f/uploads/aj_rebecchi_branding_proposal_1.pdf 

Franklin TV video link ->  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sONSboI1JCM 

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

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"