Sunday, December 23, 2012
MacDonald: "What was once an organization focused on gun safety has now become an organization focused on commercial enterprise without regard for the implications of their policies."
- OPINION
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Sunday, December 23, 2012
Shooting BB guns was a right of passage for a 12 year boy. I couldn't wait to get one, and I remember that Christmas morning when I saw the long, bow-wrapped package standing up against the wall. I eagerly ripped open the package to find the most beautiful wood-grained Daisy BB rifle gun I'd ever seen. My friends and I would set up targets in the yard, which could have been anything from cans, to bottles, to bulls-eyed sheets. My friend's dad (Barry) was an avid gun sportsman. Barry was a hunter who belonged to a gun club where I was introduced to skeet shooting. But, before I even held one of his guns, Barry impressed safety rules on me. We signed up for gun safety classes, which were sponsored by the NRA. There was a definitive tone of …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Chasan: "I told them that the residential tax payers needed a break, but the commercial certainly did not need a break since they got a big break last year. "
Tuesday night there was a tax rate hearing at the Selectmen’s meeting. I made a presentation requesting that the split between the commercial and the residential property taxes remain at 1.75 where it has been since 2008. If this was done, it would have meant a $13 decrease in residential property taxes. I told the Selectmen that the commercial sector in town has been doing very well going back to 2005 (backed up by graphs and data) The vacancy rates have been very low and the commercial rents have been very good and very steady since 2005 (all backed up by graphs and data). I told them that the residential tax payers needed a break, but the commercial certainly did not need a break since they got a big break last year. It turned out …
Silverman: "Since these negotiations occur in executive session, we the public are not party to the tone and substance of the deliberations, nor to all the relevant issues, in all their many legal and fiscal complexities."
- OPINION
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
Editor's Note: The following was Eric Silverman's statement to the Framingham School Committee Tuesday night. I am Eric Silverman, a Town Meeting member, a parent of Cameron Middle and High School students, a professor at Wheelock College, and, most recently, a candidate for the seat on School Committee soon to be vacated by Adam Blumer. And I want to say that Adam has served our schools and community with great dedication and distinction. Thank you. Contract negotiations are, by their very nature, often tense, sometimes unfriendly endeavors. It is a process of emotion and not just detail. And since these negotiations occur in executive session, we the public are not party to the tone and substance of the deliberations, nor to all the …
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Hemenway PTO Presidents: "Our teachers are currently working without a contract and they are asking for your support to see this resolved."
- OPINION
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Our teachers are currently working without a contract and they are asking for your support to see this resolved. The Framingham Teacher’s Association (FTA) has made public information about the teacher's contract requests at: http://framingham.massteacher.org/file/FTA%20Flyer%20for%20Dec%204%20Action[1].pdf To show your support for Framingham teachers you can do so in person or via e-mail. In Person: Hemenway teachers have asked that you show your support for Framingham teachers by gathering prior to the start of the School Committee Meeting, tonight, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. at the King Building, 454 Water St. Via E-mail: All e-mail correspondence to School Committee Members must be sent to: agreenbe@framingham.k12.ma.us Please cc: nancy.a.…
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Chasan: "There seems to be no need to drag contract negotiations out any longer than necessary… Fix it, Please."
I attended the Framingham School Committee meeting and looked very carefully at the agenda for an announcement that the teachers' contract had been settled, but alas it was not there. So I asked the School Committee to please get it done. Please settle this contract. It needs to be addressed. I feel that it is not fair to the kids, or to the parents or to the Superintendent Dr. Scott. He has so much on his plate without this hot potato which was tossed to him when he arrived here just a few months ago. Obviously, we are counting on the teachers to do an excellent job. Today, it’s a different world than 30 years ago when I taught school. There is much more stress, more pressure, and the MCAS. No one needs the extra stress of the …
Monday, October 29, 2012
Glazer: "In the spirit of practicality, I suggest the Town of Framingham 'move Halloween' ... to avoid the bad weather and possible "Sandy clean-up."
- OPINION
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Monday, October 29, 2012
In the spirit of practicality, I suggest the Town of Framingham "move Halloween" to Saturday Nov. 3 (which has a very promising weather forecast) to avoid the bad weather and possible "Sandy clean-up." The town can keep the kids safe and out of the rain, reduce the stress of those dealing with post Sandy issues and allow for our children to arrive back at school on Monday more rested. How can we make this happen? Who is empowered to make a decision like this? The Town Manager? The Board of Selectmen? Eric Glazer Town Meeting member, Precinct 6
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Cox: "I am hoping that you will restore the 0.5 FTE position that was removed several years ago. This will help our veterans and especially our student veterans living in Framingham."
I want to spend a few minutes trying to explain my ... proposed amendment that I will offer for Warrant item 14: budget modifications. I am going to request up to $30,000 to fund a 0.5 FTE position for Framingham Veteran Services. I have requested an exact figure from the Town Manager/Fiscal Officer. This position was approved at Annual Town Meeting in April but was not funded. As an Iraq veteran and a clinical social worker who supports warriors in transition, I have witnessed first-hand of the challenges of veterans. Recently, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has dictated that cities and towns support student veterans during breaks from school periods with Chapter 115 funding [Veteran Relief]. With Framingham State University and …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Calder: "The members of Town Meeting may not agree with the speaker ... To censor him, to chase him from the floor with protocol is counter to our principles and our purpose."
I believe that Town Meeting owes an apology to the citizens of Framingham for its actions last night. During the meeting, a resident tried to speak, or more accurately tried to make a speech, on an issue. That speech was repeatedly interrupted from the floor and the head of Town Meeting. The premise for this inhospitable treatment was that the speech was not apropos of the article on the floor. It does not take a literary genius to infer from the few complete sentences the speaker was permitted to say that his point was something along the lines of: "while the average incomes for Framingham residents are falling, we are voting raises for Town employees". Most certainly on point. The members of Town Meeting may not agree with the speaker, …
Massad: "The youth who need and will receive the most benefit from this proposed program will have a place for academic support and interaction with friends in a safe, nurturing environment."
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
This letter is in support of the proposed Hoops & Homework collaborative/initiative that Town Meeting members to fund. I hope Selectmen and Town Meeting will support this cost-effective, much needed project for the Town of Framingham. The youth who need and will receive the most benefit from this proposed program will have a place for academic support and interaction with friends in a safe, nurturing environment. This will have a ripple effect throughout town. The economic downturn in the recent years has left a wider gap between wealthy and low-income families. The youth who are most vulnerable are often left with severely limited resources both in and out of school. An after-school program like Hoops & Homework will provide recreation, …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Committee to Elect Jon Fetherston: "What is Sannicandro worried about? Simply that Jon Fetherston would make a great state representative and the people of Ashland and Framingham know it."
Press Release from Committee to Elect Jon Fetherston: While it seems State Rep. Tom Sannicandro (Ashland-D), who represents Framingham and Ashland, doesn’t have time to debate the issues with his opponent, Jon Fetherston (a Republican), he does have time to attend a fundraiser tonight, Oct. 16 in Ashland. Sannicandro has turned down several invitations from local groups representing taxpayers and small business to debate. The panelists and moderators for these debates were chosen to provide a balanced view so there is no legitimate reason to refuse. The keynote guest at Sannicandro's Ashland fundraiser is none other than our Governor Deval Patrick. This is notable, in that Governor Patrick hasn’t attended these events for other local …
Windy Wilson
3:31 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Is the NRA the ACLU of the Second Amendment or is the ACLU the NRA of the First Amendment? Both organizations have responsibilities here. One cannot ignore in this politicization of the Sandy Hook tragedy the role of the ACLU in making involuntary committment next to impossible. The "reasonable doubt" standard has no place in mental illness, one cannot prove what will happen beyond a "reasonable … more ›