7-05-2026 4:21am

People, Power and Politics

Alan Earls Editor

Senators on Thursday unveiled a proposal aimed at limiting youth exposure to addictive aspects of social media, one that differs dramatically from a social media ban the House has already passed. The bill (S 3164) slated for Senate debate next week would require all social media platforms to adopt "default" settings for minors -- or others who choose to opt into the settings -- that limit things like algorithmic feeds, autoplay and "infinite scroll." The bill also requires platforms to send users a reminder once they've been using the app for one cumulative hour within a 24-hour period. After that, platforms must send additional reminders every 30 minutes. Also, the bill would mandate that notifications be turned off between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. Minors under 18 would not be able to change the settings and the bill leans on the attorney general to identify age verification methods.

FRANKLIN

New Town Website Does Not Support “Cut and Paste” of calendar entries. Go to https://franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx to view directly. Steve Sherlock from Franklin Matters has kindly compiled and and shared the below information. Thanks Steve!

250 years are now behind the USA, 2 more years to go before Franklin gets to celebrate its own birthday, and another light meeting week ahead.

The weather was hot and humid but the crowds enjoyed the 4th of July celebration on the Town Common.

State Rep Jeff Roy delivered the Town’s copy of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence at the opening of the festivities on July 1.

The light meeting week includes a continuation of a small cell tower proposal for Pond St, Communication Subcomte for the Franklin 250th, a Cultural District meeting as well as a ZBA meeting. The agenda for all the meetings posted so far are linked below. The couple of agenda missing are likely to be posted in advance of the session to keep with Open Meeting requirements.

You can subscribe to get notified for meetings, agenda and minutes for each of the board and committee across the Town operations.

For all the meetings and cultural events, check out the calendar at Franklin.news where each day, that day's events are posted on the top of the page, the TV and radio schedules are on the bottom, and all the other goodness falls in-between.

*** Event & Meeting schedule (with agendas) as of Town pages 7/03/26, 4:00 PM ***

Small Cell Wireless Antenna Petition Hearing - Pond St.

Tuesday, July 7 Time: 1:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07072026-2381

250th Anniversary Celebration Communications Subcommittee Meeting

Tuesday, July 7 Time: 6:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07072026-2393

Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting

Thursday, July 9 Time: 2:00 PM

no agenda available at this time

Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School Meeting

Thursday, July 9 Time: 7:00 PM

no agenda available at this time

Cultural District Committee Meeting

Thursday, July 9 Time: 7:00 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07092026-2395

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Meeting

Thursday, July 9 Time: 7:30 PM

https://www.franklinma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07092026-2392

*** Looking back at the week that was ***

The light meeting week that was, resulted in only one broadcast. That of the COnservation Commission

Town/ School meetings

Conservation Commission met on Thursday, July 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBbdWaqxbCY

All-Access Programing

Aging Boldfully: Sisters United Against Cancer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHAWR0H9Yw

Veterans' Call: David Hencke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L6LUi-3Gh4

Town calendar -> https://www.franklinma.gov/Calendar.aspx

Community calendar -> https://bit.ly/FranklinCommunityCalendar

Subscribe for the daily dose of information -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html

Subscribe for the weekly dose of information -> https://www.franklinmattersweekly.org/p/subscribe-for-email.html

MEDWAY

Medway’s new website, likewise, does not readily support cut and paste. Go to medwayma.gov.

STATE HOUSE and BEYOND

Welcome to a new kind of even-year
July on Beacon Hill. As a result of new rules adopted in an attempt to
avoid the kind of chaos that largely overshadowed the work products of
the end of the last two legislative sessions, lawmakers this time around
do not need to finish all of their work by July 31. Instead, they can
keep topics afloat and active into the first few days of 2027 as long as
they get them into House-Senate conference negotiations by July 31. So
rather than sweating which conference committees will overcome
interbranch disagreements by the end of the month, the action might be
more concentrated towards the House and Senate each moving things into
conference committees to set up a fall agenda. "There's always been
pressure to get the in-conference stuff done before the end of the
month. And we'll continue to search out for bills that we think need
attention and, with some improvement, we can take up, and maybe at least
move through our process and into the Senate, see how quickly they
react to it, and get a conference going," House Speaker Ron Mariano said
July 1. "So I think it's still hard to determine what the speed will be
as we approach the end of the month, but I think it will be faster than
we've been doing it so far, and I think there'll be sort of an
incentive to get at the conference." As they break for the Independence
Day holiday weekend, the House and Senate have already shipped the
fiscal year 2027 budget (H 5555) to Gov. Maura Healey's desk. She has
until July 11 to act on it.

Lawmakers
have a lot in the hopper, too. Conference committees made up of three
reps and three senators (two Democrats and one Republican from each
branch) have already started to hammer out compromises around borrowing
for higher education infrastructure, enhanced legal protections for
immigrants, banning student cellphone use during the school day. Next
week, the panel charged with ironing out the House and Senate's
differences around data privacy legislation will get going, too. The
House and Senate this week fleshed out the rosters for conference
committees that will be responsible for negotiating a child welfare bill
and a borrowing package for environmental infrastructure and climate
resilience, so those talks are primed to be added to the mix in the
coming days as well. Right behind those bills is the ballot question
campaign finance overhaul that passed the House this week. That branch
expanded the scope of a bill the Senate passed in January, setting it up
for further discussion on the other side of the building, at least. The
Senate's plan to pass a newly unveiled social media regulation bill
next Thursday could complicate the cellphone ban conference, which
already has the House's social media bill under its umbrella. Senate
Majority Leader Cindy Creem said Thursday "we're all curious" to see
what path the bill might take from the Senate floor.

An
economic development bill is growing larger on the horizon, a good bet
to find its way into conference talks this month particularly with the
governor running for reelection and likely eager to promote any of her
priorities that lawmakers approve. It remains to be seen what, if
anything, the House may do to match or respond to the primary care bill
the Senate passed last month. This is the time of the legislative
session when under-the-radar topics and bills can pop like afternoon
thunderstorms out of the Ways and Means committees with little warning.
Fresh off their work to complete a surtax-fueled supplemental budget and
then the full fiscal year 2027 package, Ways and Means staffers will
likely turn their attention after the July 4 holiday to preparing for
any vetoes and amendments Healey may send back to the Legislature when
she acts on the budget.

Outside the State
House, the last of seven World Cup games in Foxborough takes place
Thursday. It will feature the winners of Saturday's matches between
France and Paraguay, and Canada and Morocco. With one international
event departing town, another is not far behind. State officials have
been planning since at least 2023 for international tall ships and other
vessels of interest to gather in Boston Harbor from July 11 to July 16.
Sail Boston hosted similar events in 1992, 2000, 2009 and 2017. House
budget chief Aaron Michlewitz, from Boston's North End, said he
remembers the "pageantry" that came with the tall ship visits of his
youth. "I remember living in the North End and kind of the buzz that was
around when it first happened. As time has gone on and I've grown into
the position that I'm in today, as chair of Ways and Means, I care about
the economic impact now a little more than I do the pageantry," he said
in 2023.

Sunday, July 5, 2026

PATRIOTISM
ON KELLER: Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David
Paleologos joins political analyst Jon Keller's weekly political talk
show "Keller at Large" to discuss "changes in public patriotism and
views of American greatness," according to Keller. (Sunday, 8:30 a.m.,
WBZ-TV)

QUINCY 250TH
CELEBRATIONS: Quincy continues its Maritime Festival at Marina Bay as
part of ongoing celebrations of the country's 250th anniversary. The
festival is scheduled to wrap up by 1 p.m. Sunday. It features music,
entertainment like puppet shows, historical reenactments as well as a
children's decorated bike and wagon parade. (Sunday, 10 a.m., Marina Bay
Boardwalk, Quincy)

Monday, July 6, 2026

FOOD
ROCKS TOUR: Project Bread, a food security group, and U.S. Rep. Jim
McGovern along with lawmakers and state officials kick off the annual
Summer Food Rocks Tour. The tour will start with two Summer Eats meal
stops: a breakfast stop at the Spanish America Center at St. Cecilia's
Church in Leominster and a lunch stop at Unity Park in Montague. Summer
Eats provides free meals to children and teens aged 18 and under.
(Monday, 9 a.m., Spanish American Center at St. Cecilia's Church at 180
Mechanic St., Leominster)

DALAI
LAMA BIRTHDAY: Regional Tibetan Association of Massachusetts hosts a
celebration for the 91st birthday of the Dalai Lama, including cultural
performances, community tributes and remarks from "distinguished
guests," organizers say. The event also concludes the "Global Year of
Compassion" in honor of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday. Rep. Sabadosa
will launch the premiere of the community documentary, "Year of
Compassion: Massachusetts Tribute to the Dalai Lama at 90." (Monday, 11
a.m., Most Holy Redeemer Church, 120 Russell St., Hadley)

CLEAN
PEAK ENERGY STANDARD: Department of Energy Resources holds a public
hearing on emergency rulemaking tied to the Clean Peak Energy Standard,
which looks to bolster clean energy use when net demand for electricity
is at its highest. The rulemaking changes the minimum standard from 2026
through 2030; modifies clean energy certificates available for
qualified energy storage systems; and makes technical updates around the
Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target Program. Officials say the
emergency rules are meant to reduce the standard's "near-term" impact on
ratepayers "while creating a pathway to ensure additional energy
storage is deployed across the Commonwealth." (Monday, 1 p.m. | Register)

CAMBRIDGE
BIRTH CENTER: Cambridge Health Alliance Birth Center is slated to
reopen, after it closed in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19
pandemic. Massachusetts is home to just one freestanding birth center,
Seven Sisters Midwifery & Community Birth Center in Florence. A CHA
fact sheet says the birth center expects to have more than 100
deliveries in the first year and scale up to 300 by the fourth year. A
2024 maternal health law removed barriers to opening birth centers,
which healthcare advocates and providers say could help eliminate racial
disparities and boost access to care. (Monday)

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

FIREARMS
DATA: Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the Department
of Criminal Justice Information Services hold a public hearing about
proposed regulations for a dashboard focused on the use of firearms
statewide. The rules stem from the 2024 gun reform law. The dashboard
should contain information about the age, gender, ethnicity and
municipality of applicants for a license to carry and details on denied
applications. The dashboard will also detail firearm-involved violence,
including the type of firearm, demographic details about the firearm
user, the geographic location of the incident, the origin of the
firearm, whether the firearm was untraceable or privately made, and
whether the firearm use was connected to gang activity, a domestic
dispute or police interaction. (Tuesday, 10 a.m. | More Info and Access)

FIREARM
TRAINING: In connection with the 2024 gun reform law, the Executive
Office of Public Safety and Security holds a public hearing on proposed
regulations tied to training for licensed firearm dealers and licensing
authorities. The office must develop and roll out training seminars for
licensing officers and employees who are responsible for processing
firearms licenses. The curriculum will dive into current laws and
regulations, licensing responsibilities, recordkeeping obligations,
firearm surrenders, responsibilities around annual inspections and
electronic database use. Online training for firearms dealers must be
completed by individuals who want to be licensed to sell firearms or
ammunition, or to work as a gunsmith. That curriculum will explore
security standards for business premises, as well as background checks
and training requirements. (Tuesday, 10 a.m. | More Info and Access)

FIREARMS
SAFETY: Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the
Massachusetts State Police hold a public hearing on proposed regulations
dealing with basic firearms safety course requirements and firearm
instructor certification. The 2024 gun reform law updated the basic
security curriculum to incorporate live-fire training. Critics of the
requirement say it should be voluntary due to "significant challenges"
around the availability of publicly accessible ranges, according to a
July 2025 report from former Secretary Terrence Reidy. During public
feedback sessions, people also raised concerns around the cost and
affordability of training, instructor preparedness and liability, and
constitutionality. (Tuesday, 10 a.m. | Agenda and Access)

NALOXONE
TRAINING: Rep. Kate Donaghue hosts a training session for how and when
to use naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. Donaghue's son Brian died
of an overdose in 2018. The number of opioid-related fatalities fell
below 1,000 for the first time in more than a decade in 2025, state
public health officials said last month. A 2024 law expanded access to
overdose-reversal drugs like naloxone, installed liability protections
for providers and organizations offering drug checking services, and
established licensure for recovery coaches. (Tuesday, 11 a.m., Great
Hall)

JUVENILE AND
EMERGING ADULT JUSTICE: Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult
Justice holds an informational hearing on juvenile justice policy. It is
a listening session for committee members to hear from the Office of
the Child Advocate. (Tuesday, 1 p.m., Room 222 | Livestream)

COMMISSION
FOR THE BLIND: Massachusetts Commission for the Blind Statutory
Advisory Board meets. Agenda includes a report from Commissioner John
Oliveira and program updates. (Tuesday, 12 p.m. | Agenda and Zoom)

CPR
TRAINING: Hands-only CPR training is hosted by the American Red Cross
of Massachusetts and Sen. Jehlen. Two 30-minute sessions are offered at
1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Tuesday, 1:30 p.m., Room 428 | Register)

DATA PRIVACY: House
and Senate negotiators assigned to hash out data privacy legislation
differences hold their first conference committee meeting. The conferees
are Reps. Michael Moran, Tricia Farley-Bouvier and David Vieira, and
Sens. Cindy Creem, Barry Finegold and Patrick O'Connor. The Senate
passed its version (S 2619) on Sept. 25 with a focus on restricting the
types of personal data that tech giants and other companies can collect
in order to provide goods and services. The legislation also blocked the
sale of sensitive information, like geolocation data that could reveal
insights into a person accessing reproductive care, as well as minors'
personal data. The House passed a similar package (H 5479) on June 4
that gives consumers a private right of action. "Data privacy is the
underpinning of all future tech bills. We have to do data privacy
first," Farley-Bouvier told reporters last month, as the Legislature
also tackles regulating AI in campaign ads and youth social media.
(Tuesday, 2 p.m., Room A-2 | More Info)

CENSUS
COMMITTEE: Senate Committee on the Census meets to discuss census
racial categorization and redistricting. The hearing will feature
testimony from an expert on election law and the use of census data in
redistricting about how racial categorizations in the census have
changed over time, as well as how recent changes in the federal
landscape may impact the use of race and ethnicity data. (Tuesday, 2
p.m., Room A-1 | Livestream)

LEE
MASSDOT: MassDOT holds a design public hearing about a project in Lee,
which involves resurfacing Route 20 and completing maintenance repairs
of bridge structures over Greenwater Brook and I-90. (Tuesday, 6 p.m. | Register)

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

PUBLIC HEALTH COUNCIL: Public Health Council meets. (Wednesday, 9 a.m. | More Info)

AIM
MANUFACTURING DAY: Manufacturing executives gather at the State House
as part of Associated Industries of Massachusetts' "Manufacturing Day at
the State House." Attendees are set to hear from co-chairs of the
Manufacturing Caucus and have opportunities to discuss business
challenges, meet lawmakers and network. (Wednesday, 10 a.m., State
House)

GOVERNOR'S
COUNCIL HEARING: Governor's Council holds a hearing on Gov. Healey's
nomination of Raquel Webster to the District Court. She's worked as
senior commercial litigation counsel at National Grid since 2022.
(Wednesday, 10 a.m., Council Chamber | Livestream)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Energy Efficiency Advisory Council Executive Committee meets. (Wednesday, 10 a.m. | Zoom)

HEART
ASSOCIATION LOBBY: American Heart Association holds an advocacy day to
urge lawmakers to support a bill to require CPR education in schools (H
2552 / S 2863), telephone CPR training for 911 dispatchers (H 2510 / S
1589), and expanded access to automated external defibrillators at
sporting events (H 4993 / S 1489). The organization also presents its
Heartsaver Hero Award to Belmont middle school basketball coach Ian
Haffer, who helped save the life of Waltham coach Ronnie Poirier, after
Poirier suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball game this year.
(Wednesday, 11 a.m., Great Hall)

GOVERNOR'S
COUNCIL HEARING: Governor's Council holds a hearing on Gov. Healey's
nomination of Thomas Johnson to the District Court. For more than a
decade, Johnson has worked as assistant clerk magistrate at the Roxbury
Division of the Boston Municipal Court. (Wednesday, 11 a.m., Council
Chamber | Livestream)

ARCHIVAL
EXHIBIT: "Fragments of Freedom" archive pop-up event will bring
together archivists from 16 local institutions. Stories and artifacts
will explore the concepts of independence and freedom in honor of the
country's 250th anniversary. The event runs through 1 p.m. (Wednesday,
11 a.m., Massachusetts State Library, Room 341 | More Info)

PUBLIC
EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT: Public Employee Retirement Administration
Commission meets. (Wednesday, 11 a.m., 10 Cabot Road, Suite 300, Medford
| More Info)

GOVERNOR'S
COUNCIL: Governor's Council meets in its regular spot after its recent
venture to the Old State House. (Wednesday, 12 p.m., Council Chamber | Livestream)

)

CLEAN WATER TRUST: Massachusetts Clean Water Trust Board of Trustees meets. Treasurer Goldberg chairs. For access, contact masswatertrust@tre.state.ma.us. (Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.)

TAUNTON
250TH CELEBRATION: Taunton and the Old Colony History Museum celebrate
the country's 250th anniversary with a free communitywide event. It
starts at the museum at 5 p.m., featuring the Voices of the Revolution
exhibit, colonial reenactors, patriotic sing-alongs, quill writing, and
patriotic arts and crafts. That's followed by a public reading of the
Declaration of Independence at 6 p.m., as communities across the state
also host simultaneous readings. The celebration moves to Hopewell Park
at 7 p.m. for a musical program, followed by fireworks at 9 p.m.
(Wednesday, 5 p.m., 66 Church Green, Taunton)

NORTH
ADAMS STATE PARK: Department of Conservation and Recreation presents on
"design development progress" at Natural Bridge State Park in North
Adams, where officials are eying improvements to "preserve the park's
unique natural, cultural, and industrial history while enhancing visitor
safety and accessibility." (Wednesday, 6 p.m. | Zoom)

MGB
HOME CARE STRIKE: Mass General Brigham Home Care clinicians intend to
strike for seven days, starting Wednesday, over unsuccessful collecting
bargaining discussions. The bargaining unit includes registered nurses,
occupational therapist, physical therapists, speech language
pathologists, social workers and dieticians. Clinicians say they're
seeking "reasonable" caseload limits, competitive wages and "clear and
transparent" productivity standards. "MGB Home Care clinicians say their
current working conditions contribute to burnout and high turnover,
making it more difficult to recruit and retain caregivers while demand
for home care services continues to grow," the Massachusetts Nurses
Association said. The MNA says MGB has refused to settle "fair
contracts" with home care providers. (Wednesday)

Thursday, July 9, 2026

CCC
MEETING: Cannabis Control Commission meets with plans to discuss social
consumption regulation implementation, licensing data updates and tier
relegation. (Thursday, 10 a.m., Union Station, 2 Washington Sq.,
Worcester | Access and More Info)

SENATE:
Senators plan to debate legislation (S 3164) that aims to reduce youth
access to addictive aspects of social media. The bill requires social
media platforms to adopt "default" settings for minors that limit
addictive features like algorithmic feeds, autoplay and "infinite
scroll." Unlike the House's proposal, the bill up for a Senate vote does
not ban social media access for any specific age groups. It also leans
on the attorney general to identify age verification methods that social
media companies must adopt. Senators are expected to pass the bill and
it will create a complicated conference committee dynamic as the House
has a social media policy attached to a school cellphone ban bill that's
already in a conference committee. (Thursday, Time TBD, Senate Chamber)

JUNK
FEE REGS: Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Attorney General
Campbell's office hold an informational forum to help employers and
businesses understand junk fee regulations that took effect in
September. The rules say that hidden or surprise junk fees violate the
Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. Businesses must clearly disclose
the price of a product, including mandatory charges or fees. The
regulations apply to all businesses that operate, advertise, or sell in
Massachusetts, including online and out-of-state businesses. (Thursday, 1
p.m., 265 Franklin St., 17th floor, Boston | Register)

AUTISM COMMISSION: Autism Commission meets. For access, contact Carol.M.Gracia@mass.gov. (Thursday, 2 p.m. | More Info)

COMMUNITY
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Community Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention
Commission meets. Agenda includes an update from the Office of
Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention, which is housed in the
Department of Mental Health. (Thursday, 3 p.m. | Agenda and Zoom)

HATFIELD-WHATELY
MASSDOT: MassDOT holds a public hearing on a project to replace bridge
decks carrying Routes 5 and 10 over I-91 in Hatfield and Whately.
(Thursday, 6 p.m. | Register)

Friday, July 10, 2026

FOOD POLICY COUNCIL: Massachusetts Food Policy Council meets. (Friday, 9:30 a.m. | Agenda and Access)

FAMILY
TRANSITIONAL SUPPORT: Executive Office of Health and Human Services
hold a public hearing on increasing rates for family transitional
support services. The total annualized cost is around $2.2 million.
(Friday, 10 a.m. | More Info and Access)

Saturday, July 11, 2026

PARADE
OF SAIL: Meet Boston Parade of Sail will usher in the tall ships to
Boston, with the USCGC Eagle leading the flotilla from Broad Sound into
the main channel of Boston Harbor. Organizers say that public viewing
will be "spectacular from Castle Island, the Seaport District, the
Boston Waterfront, East Boston, the North End and Charlestown." Ships
are expected to enter the Inner Harbor around 10 a.m. More than 50 ships
are participating in Sail Boston, with the vessels on view through
Thursday, July 16. They'll be docked at Boston Fish Pier, Commonwealth
Pier, Pier 5 South Boston, Courthouse Dock, Fan Pier, Rowes Wharf and
Charlestown Navy Yard. (Saturday, July 11, 9 a.m., Boston Harbor | More Info