BREAKING NEWS: Biden Drops Out and Endorses Harris

 President Joe Biden, who has steadfastly refused to drop out of the race for reelection, has decided to drop out. He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Vice President was in Massachusetts yesterday campaigning for the Biden/Harris ticket, insisting the ticket was Biden/Harris. She was surrounded by strong supporters who traveled to Provincetown to great and support her and President Biden. She is reported to have raised over $2 million for their campaign. 

Harris has many years of experience in public service and politics. Nearly four years serving as Vice President being the most significant experience anyone could bring to the Presidency. She ran for President last time against Joe Biden in the Democratic Primary.

Vice President Harris has also been a US Senator representing her home state of California. She was also Attorney General for California and previously the District Attorney of San Francisco.

She has already broken many barriers. Should she be elected President, she will be the first woman to hold that office.

Information about Vice President Harris can be found at the White House website - https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-harris/

Old Brick Store Reopening Stymied by Lack of Tobacco License

The Old Brick Store in West Townsend has been closed for the better part of 4 years. They shut down operations during the COVID pandemic in 2000 and have not reopened. 

The property was put up for sale briefly a few years ago. There was an open house, and it was taken off the market shortly thereafter. It was not sold at that time.

Maintenance has not been kept up on the property. The formerly paved parking lot has mostly disintegrated into many pockets of hazardous potholes. Trees can be seen popping up in spots. Quite a bit of work may be needed if the store ever reopens.

The owner of “The Brick” applied to the Board of Health for a license to sell tobacco as part of a plan to reopen the business. The application never saw the light of day. He was denied administratively by the Health Administrator, Carla, due to a town cap on the number of Tobacco licenses available for the town.

The Board of Health met on Tuesday, June 25th. The Old Brick Store was not on the agenda, but the owner of the store was in attendance. At the end of the meeting the Chair, Jim LeCuyer, asked the owner how he could help. Carla informed Jim about the application and denial. Jim concurred that if there are no available licenses, there is nothing they could do. 

Townsend bylaw Chapter 160 covers Board of Health matters. Section 160-99 defines the process of Tobacco licenses. There is a limit of 10 licenses allowed in Townsend. It appears to be a dwindling authorization. In other words, when a license is retired or surrendered, it is not reissued, and the total available licenses drops. It does not appear that any new licenses are available or will be.

It is unclear whether the Old Brick Store will reopen without a license to sell tobacco products.

Townsend Recycling Center Update for June and July 2024

 This blog hasn't published in awhile. Hopefully that will change.....  Sorry for the absence.

The Townsend Recycling Center is usually posted as open the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. Holidays usually impact the schedule. The upcoming 4th of July weekend is no exception.

The Recycling Center will be open on Saturday June 29th.

It will be closed on July 6th.

Plan accordingly.

The Townsend website is still under reconstruction. The Recycling Center schedule is posted for 2023 only.

Press Release: FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION: DESIGNED TO FAIL

 Received by Reel News 4/30/24

Press Release

The Townsend Democratic Town Committee is pleased to

present the following talk to the public. Questions should be sent

to townsendmassdemocrats@gmail.com

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION: DESIGNED TO FAIL

Who is surprised that Congress designed the agency that

governs campaign finance to fail? Created in 1974 in the wake

of the campaign funding abuses uncovered during Watergate, the

FEC has six Commissioners. No more than three can be from

any one party, but it takes four Commissioners for the FEC to

take any formal action. As a result, the Commission rarely takes

action in controversial, but important cases. With, for example,

a billion dollars having poured into the 2020 election cycle,

what could possibly go wrong?

Atty. Abigail Shaine

Former Assistant General Counsel of the Federal Election

Commission

7pm, May 14, 2024

Room 2, Memorial Hall

Townsend, Mass

Bears are Back! Welcome to Bear Country - Adjust!

 Townsend is home to a growing black bear population. Seeing a black bear is not an emergency. There is no reason to panic. On the other hand, they are wild animals and very dangerous if they are threatened. 

Bears have learned to coexist with us, just stay away and learn how to avoid run-ins.

Those with security and trail cams will be posting videos of the bears walking through their yards on social media any day now. Enjoy them and learn.

Here is a video from Mass Wildlife that is quite informative how bears have reached every corner of Massachusetts and how we can best share their territory with them.

Coexisting with Black Bears

Basically, the advice from the experts is to take down bird feeders. Beekeepers and those with chickens need to secure their livestock or risk losing them. 

Stay safe and welcome to bear country.

Learn the Basics about Grant Writing

 Government agencies and nonprofits live or die by grants. Millions of dollars are available from all levels of government as well as from private foundations.

Knowing how to write a grant application is an important skill. Grants are competitive. Even the most skilled and experienced grant writer does not get every grant they apply for. 

Learning how to write a grant is relatively easy. There are many sources of training for this important skill. Some sources are expensive and detailed. Other sources are free and provide the basic knowledge to get started. 

Today, March 14, 2024, at 1PM, Score is offering a free online workshop for grant writing. 

Here's the link to sign up --- 

Grant Writing Workshop

Not Available at 1PM? That's ok. Sign up anyway and you will get a link to watch the workshop later.

Survey for Identifying Internet Access Needs

 Here's a survey from Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech. They are seeking community input to identify needs to improve access to the internet. There are many people who have difficulty accessing the internet for important life tasks. Here's an opportunity to have a voice.

This link will take you to the MRPC website page dedicated to the survey.

MRPC internet survey page