After six months on the job, Fire Chief Lance Benjamino on Monday gave selectmen a grim assessment of the department, saying it is understaffed and has aging fire apparatus and a central fire station plagued by maintenance issues. He also recommended the town provide its own ambulance service. Benjamino said he was aware his recommendations could not be followed up [...]
On May 7, 2009, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) implemented new rules allowing for the use of corporate Web sites as a primary vehicle for disseminating material company information. Coming several years after the Nasdaq Stock Market made a similar change, the NYSE’s amended Immediate Release Policy no longer requires—but continues to encourage—NYSE-listed companies to use press releases as [...]
The MBTA next week will start shutting down the Old Colony Commuter Rail line between Middleboro and Bridgewater while it replaces thousands of deteriorating concrete ties. Starting on Wednesday, according to MassINC’s CommonWealth magazine, the MBTA will close tracks on that section of the rail line after the morning rush hour and before the evening rush hour. The work is [...]
Back in the days before technology streamlined the cranberry industry, Labor Day weekend marked the start of the labor-intensive cranberry-picking season. Betty Howes Johnson, who still lives in the family home overlooking hundreds of acres of bogs where generations of Howes made their living from cranberries, recalls the hard work of dry picking starting every Labor Day. “Now that they [...]
At least one selectmen and several residents are asking if the town was hoodwinked into spending $950,000 when they may have been able to get away with $20,000. On Friday afternoon, Lakeville’s ladder truck — which was purchased from Middleboro for $25,000 after that town declared it was junk — was certified for service. And that is ruffling a few [...]
The Middleboro-Raynham region has been put on a higher alert for Eastern equine encephalitis after a new sample of infected mosquitoes was found in Mattapoisett. On Friday afternoon, the Department of Public Health increased the region’s risk category for low to moderate after a sample of human biting mosquitoes, infected with EEE, was found in Mattapoisett. Communities that are considered [...]
Only 28%?! Maybe I’m abnormal (no comments from the peanut gallery, please) or maybe I’m just really bad at estimating, but I think that at least 50% of my day is spent dealing with interruptions or getting back on track from an interruption. The fabulous tools that help me stay connected and up-to-date are also tremendous productivity busters. I think [...]
The 60th annual East Middleboro 4-H Fair opens Friday for a weekend of simple country pleasures. Throughout the weekend, club members will demonstrate their projects, which range from cooking and crafts to quilting, spinning, tractor and fishing club with ongoing livestock shows. Club members have been readying the fairgrounds for weeks, raising tents, grooming animals and scrubbing the kitchen. Get [...]
No different than any other policy, the first step is education. It is important that those responsible for making the policy are educated about social media, its benefits, as well as its drawbacks and dangers. Only then can you answer the tough questions related to how, when and where employees should be able and encouraged to participate. Building on an [...]
Communicating for optimal employee engagement is usually a topic of great interest within organizations, but even more so during challenging economic times. Employees who face a near-daily dose of unsettling or downright negative news can find it harder to focus on simply doing their jobs well. Global employee engagement survey results released by the IABC Research Foundation reveal opportunities for [...]
