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| 華埠主街夏日舞獅，超武館率先上陣。(周菊子攝) |
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| 華埠主街財政何遠光(持麥克風者)擔任司儀，和董事長黃光野 一起預告，7月6日為夏日節。(周菊子攝) |
今年的醒獅賀福日程已排定。6月29日揭開序幕後，將從7月13日起，一直到8月31日止，每週六的中午12點，在波士頓華埠牌樓前，都將有一場祥獅獻瑞的舞獅表演，期以為華埠增加商機。
7月6日的這個週六，從早上10點至下午5點半，華埠主街將在華埠牌樓前的這同一地點，推出「華埠夏日節
(Chinatown Summer Festival)」，不但有舞獅，還將有民俗舞蹈，手工藝示範，美食攤位等，吸引人潮。
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| 波士頓華埠牌樓前6月29日祥獅舞動。(周菊子攝) |
根據華埠主街網站，這一半官方的非牟利組織成立於1995年，致力為商家及民眾服務，期以帶旺華埠及波士頓市，也是波士頓市內的20個主街項目之一。
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(Boston Orange編譯) 麻州公衛處 (MDPH) 29日發出警告，提醒民眾，一名從波士頓到阿姆斯特丹，感染了麻疹的國際旅客，在6月22日時曾在2個地點搭乘公共交通工具，曾在這人周遭的民眾有可能感染麻疹，若有症狀，宜就診。
這名國際旅客搭乘從新罕布夏州Hanover出發的達特茅斯巴士 (Dartmouth Coach bus)，於6月22日下午2點40分時抵達波士頓羅根機場，並在機場的E航站，從2點40分待到8點40分左右，然後從E5機艙門搭上飛往阿姆斯特丹的飛機。
麻州公衛處處長(MDPH Commissioner) Robbie Goldstein博士表示，麻疹是一種經由空氣傳播，感染力極強的疾病，目前世界各地都出現爆發，或感染病例增加情況。未曾接種過疫苗者，感染的可能性更高。
麻疹幾乎比其他任何一種疾病都容易傳染。導致麻疹的病毒生存在鼻子、喉嚨中，當患病者打噴嚏，咳嗽或講話時，經由空氣傳播出去。這病毒能在空氣中存活2小時，讓鄰近人們吸進病毒。
麻州公衛處鼓勵不清楚自己的麻疹免疫狀態者，至少接種一劑麻疹、腮腺炎和德國麻疹 (MMR)疫苗。若在接觸的72小時之內接種疫苗，也都具有防範功效。
曾暴露於麻疹病毒下，但沒有免疫證據者，在暴露之後，應隔離21天。
感染麻疹的症狀，會在感染後的10天至2星期內出現，症狀類似感冒 (有發燒，咳嗽，流鼻水，眼睛紅)，並且在最初症狀出現後的2到4天內，皮膚上會出現疹子，一般先出現在頭部，然後向下移動。冒出疹子情況會持續幾天，然後逐漸消失。感染者在症狀出現的4天前，以及症狀消失4天後，都具傳染力。
State Public Health Officials Alert Residents About Potential Exposure to Measles in Multiple Locations
Those exposed or developing symptoms are urged to contact their healthcare provider
BOSTON (June 29, 2024) – The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is alerting residents of a case of measles that was diagnosed in an international visitor who traveled through Boston to Amsterdam using public transportation on Saturday, June 22 while infectious. The traveler was present in public locations that could have resulted in exposure to other people.
Measles is more easily spread than almost any other disease. The virus that causes measles lives in the nose and throat and is sprayed into the air when an infected person sneezes, coughs or talks. It can stay in the air for up to two hours. Other people nearby can then inhale the virus.
“Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that has seen an increase in cases and outbreaks worldwide,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “People who are not vaccinated are at greater risk of infection. The best way for people to protect themselves from this disease is to make sure they are vaccinated.”
DPH urges all those who do not know their measles immunization status to get vaccinated with at least one dose of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. Measles vaccine given within 72 hours of exposure may prevent measles disease, and vaccination beyond this window will provide protection from subsequent exposures. DPH, local health departments, and healthcare providers are working to contact individuals at high risk for exposure to this traveler. However, exposures on public transportation make identification of high-risk contacts challenging. Those exposed who do not have evidence of immunity to measles may be subject to quarantine for up to 21 days following the exposure.
Early symptoms of measles occur 10 days to two weeks after exposure and may resemble a cold (with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes) and a rash occurs on the skin two to four days after the initial symptoms develop. The rash usually appears first on the head and then moves downward. The rash typically lasts a few days and then disappears in the same order. People with measles may be contagious up to four days before the rash appears and for four days after the day the rash appears.
Measles is very contagious. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the specified dates and times below may be at risk for developing measles. Anyone who visited these locations on any of these dates during the times listed is advised to contact their health care provider to confirm their immunization status.
Exposures to this
individual may have occurred at the following locations and times:
Saturday, June 22, 2024
11:40 a.m. Dartmouth
Coach bus line departure from Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College to Boston, MA arriving at Logan Airport (Boston, MA) at approximately 2:40 p.m.
2:40 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Terminal E at Logan Airport, Boston, MA
Flight KLM6016 from Boston to Amsterdam departing from Gate E5
Those who were exposed and begin to develop symptoms of measles should call their healthcare provider before visiting an office, clinic, or emergency department. Visiting a healthcare facility may put others at risk and should be avoided. If you do need to visit a health care facility, please make sure to wear a mask to reduce possible transmission.
People who have had
measles, or who have been vaccinated against measles per US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations are considered immune. The CDC
recommendations are:
· Children. Children should
receive their first dose of Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine
at 12-15 months. School-aged children need two doses of MMR
vaccine.
· Adults. Adults should have at least one dose of MMR vaccine. Certain groups at high risk need two doses of MMR, such as international travelers, health care workers, and college students. Adults born in the US before 1957 are considered immune to measles from past exposures.
Anyone who has had measles in the past or has received two doses of the vaccine is unlikely to develop measles even if exposed.
For additional information, contact your local health department or DPH at 617-983-6800. To learn more about measles, visit DPH’s website.
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Healey-Driscoll Administration Launches Family Child Care Capital Grant Program
$2.5 million in funding now available for renovations
BOSTON – The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced today a new partnership between the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, to support family child care programs’ capital needs. Through this new Family Child Care Capital Grant Program, providers who are homeowners can apply for up to $25,000 to support space improvements and build program capacity. This is the state’s first program dedicated to supporting family child care programs’ unique capital needs as small businesses.
The application for the first round of grants is now open through August 16 with a total of $2.5 million in funding available. The capital opportunities are available through the Early Education & Care Provider Capital funding delivered in the fiscal year 2024 state budget as part of the Administration and Legislature’s commitment to early education. This first round of grants will serve as a pilot, with future rounds anticipated incorporating learnings from this round.
“Earlier this year we announced millions in capital funding for center-based early education and out-of-school time programs. I am pleased we are adding dedicated funding for our family child care programs as well to improve and expand affordable child care offerings for families,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We are focused on making early education and care more accessible and equitable across the state. Providing capital funding to programs is an essential part of that work, helping families struggling with the high cost of living make ends meet and ensuring their kids can get a high-quality education.”
“The Family Child Care Capital Grant Program is a true demonstration of our whole of government approach to child care – agencies bringing their unique expertise together in ensuring affordable, high-quality early education and care. I am grateful that we are able to provide family child care programs the financial resources they need to invest in our youngest learners and strengthen local early education infrastructure, promoting economic mobility for families and stimulating our economy,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
These efforts are part of Governor Healey’s Executive Order 625 that established an Early Education and Child Care Task Force chaired by the Secretaries of Education, Labor and Workforce Development, and Economic Development to ensure affordable, high-quality child care. This new Family Child Care Capital Grant Program aims to increase the capacity of licensed family child care programs, supporting the state to serve more kids. It further seeks to meaningfully improve the quality of care and education provided in programs’ physical space.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to supporting the full early education and care mixed-delivery system. This new grant program expands capital opportunities to family child care, better ensuring they have the financial resources they need to provide modern, accessible, healthy and safe environments for our kids and educators. I am excited to see how this funding will create the kinds of physical indoor and outdoor spaces our children deserve to learn and play in every day,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
“Ensuring adequate child care and resources for our youngest generations is vital for fostering economic growth in our state,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “The Family Child Care Capital Grant Program will not only strengthen our investments in essential programs and businesses that our workforce relies on but also reaffirms our commitment to making Massachusetts the best place for families to start and grow, knowing they have our administration’s full support.”
Family Child Care providers can apply for funds to purchase and install equipment, such as washing machines or refrigerators that exclusively support program operations and security equipment like cameras and access control systems. Providers can also apply for funds to make improvements to the spaces where care is provided, for example installation of fencing to enclose outdoor play areas, improvements to heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems, including windows and HVAC equipment, especially as it results in replacement of combustion heating systems in favor of high-efficiency heat pumps, and other energy efficiency measures for space improvements, and modifications to the space to allow for greater accessibility or other improvements to support inclusion of children and adults with disabilities.
“EEC has been focused on exploring the best ways to support family child care programs, including through capital funding, that addresses their unique needs and challenges as small businesses,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “I am grateful for this new partnership with MassDevelopment that will support our kids, families, and educators in family child care programs to spend time in newer, greener and more accessible and safe high-quality learning environments, supporting families to go to or return to work and engage in education and training.”
“This initiative has twin goals for advancing our economy: strengthen our family child care providers as small businesses with the resources they need to improve care and serve additional children, and by doing so empower more parents and guardians to more fully participate in our workforce,” said Acting MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan O’Connell. “MassDevelopment has experience supporting key industries in Massachusetts, and is pleased to now partner with the Department of Early Education and Care on a forward-thinking plan to address our family child care providers’ capital needs.”
“Family child care programs are the foundation of our Commonwealth’s economy, and we need to be doing everything in our power to help them to thrive,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “This pilot program, which the Senate was proud to dedicate funding for through the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, will give our early educators the tools to expand high-quality programming and serve more children, and I cannot wait to see the great investments that will be made with this money across the Commonwealth.”
“We are committed to providing better access to high-quality, affordable early education and childcare in Massachusetts with every opportunity that we have,” said State Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “This grant program will support family childcare providers by improving quality of care and supplying more available slots for families. Providing increased access to high-quality and affordable early education and childcare enhances the cognitive and social-emotional development of young children, enables parents to work and improves families’ economic well-being, and helps employers that are struggling with workforce shortages.”
The grant program incorporates feedback EEC received through their recent Request for Information (RFI) that focused on how to best support FCC programs through dedicated capital funding. It also builds on the $18 million made available earlier this year for center-based providers and the state’s continued efforts to enable kids, families, and educators to spend time in newer, accessible, greener and more sustainable and safe high-quality learning environments.
Learn more about the program and how to apply online.
Governor Healey Appoints Pamela Everhart to Massport Board of Directors
BOSTON – Today, Governor Maura Healey announced the appointment of Pamela Everhart to serve on the Massport Board of Directors. Everhart currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Regional Public Affairs, Inclusion, and Impact at Fidelity Investments.
“Pamela Everhart is a highly respected business and community leader who understands the essential role that Massport plays in Massachusetts’ economy,” said Governor Healey. “I’m proud to appoint her to this role and know that she will do important work alongside the rest of the board. We’re grateful to Laura Sen for her service on the Board and wish her the best going forward.”
“From the airports to our seaports, it’s important for us to have steady leaders to steer the ship forward on the Massport,” said Lieutenant Governor Driscoll. “I am thrilled to see Pamela Everhart take on this new role.”
“I am honored to have been selected for this position and look forward to working with the Massport Board in continuing the great work that benefits Massachusetts,” said Everhart. “At Fidelity, my team and I focus every day on making a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work on behalf of our customers and associates. I am committed to bringing this same passion and relevant experience to the new role.”
About Pamela Everhart:
Pamela Everhart is the head of Regional Public Affairs, Inclusion and Impact at Fidelity Investments, where she has worked for 30 years. In this role, she oversees the firm’s state and local government relationships, is responsible for the Global D&I strategy and community relations and corporate affairs activities at its Boston headquarters and across Fidelity’s regions in the U.S., India and Ireland. Prior to joining Fidelity, she was an associate with Ropes & Gray LLP and practiced as a CPA and senior tax manager with Ernst & Young.
Everhart received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Harvard Law School. She is active with several community service organizations and sits on several not-for-profit boards. She is one of the 19 Massachusetts
Black and Brown executives who launched the New Commonwealth Racial Equity and Social Justice Fund to help drive transformative social changes to address systemic racism and racial inequity. Last year, Everhart was appointed to serve on Governor Healey’s Advisory Council on Black Empowerment to advise on issues related to the economic prosperity and wellbeing of Massachusetts’ Black community.
Everhart will be filling the position currently held by Laura Sen, whose term expires on June 30, 2024.
MBTA and City of Somerville Announce Bus Lane Improvements on Washington Street
Improvements expand on previous bus mobility work completed in fall 2021 to enhance travel time and reliability for MBTA Routes 86, 91, and CT2, serving 8,000 daily riders.
BOSTON – Today, the MBTA and the City of Somerville announced bus lane improvements on Washington Street from Myrtle Street to Crescent Street, near the Boston city line. The work builds upon previous bus mobility work completed in fall 2021. The project involves extending bus queue jump lanes, which are short stretches of priority lanes that let MBTA buses bypass waiting traffic with early traffic signals. The project includes installing an eastbound dedicated bus lane from Myrtle Street to Inner Belt Road and a westbound shared bus-bike lane from Crescent Street to Inner Belt Road. Improvements along this corridor serve MBTA Routes 86, 91, and CT2, carrying 8,000 daily riders. Funding for the extension is through the MassDOT Shared Streets and Spaces grant. Installation of the bus queue jump lanes began June 19 with completion anticipated within the following few days (weather depending). The project fulfills a critical need for bus priority improvements identified by the MBTA in the Transit Priority Vision and uses design guidance from the MBTA’s Transit Priority Toolkit.
“Dedicated bus lanes are a highly effective way to make service more reliable. System reliability is not only a transportation goal, but the highest concern of the public according to our Beyond Mobility outreach,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “We are grateful to Somerville for extending bus queue jump lanes with the funding from the Shared Streets and Spaces grant program because faster travel will make a world of difference for our customers.”
“Similar to dedicated bus lanes, bus queue jumps are another cost-efficient way that we can quickly improve travel times for thousands of Route 86, 91, and CT2 bus riders traveling along Washington Street. MBTA buses will now be able to quickly bypass traffic waiting in this corridor,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. “We continue to be grateful to our MassDOT partners for funding these critical upgrades through the Shared Streets and Spaces grant, our partners at the City of Somerville for collaborating with us on improvements for our bus riders, and our Transit Priority team at the T for their work on improving bus service for all riders.”
“These crucial improvements to the Washington Street bus lane will significantly enhance the daily commute for thousands of our residents. By working with the MBTA and MassDOT to prioritize efficient and reliable bus service, we are taking an important step toward a more connected and sustainable future for Somerville,” said Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. “These upgrades not only benefit public transit users, but also support our city’s ongoing commitment to creating safer and more accessible streets for all modes of transportation. I want to thank General Manager Phillip Eng and the MBTA for their work and continued partnership, as well as Secretary Tibbits-Nutt and MassDOT for funding these vital city improvements.”
The extension of the bus queue jump lanes is expected to reduce delays and improve safety for buses merging with traffic. This will provide greater reliability for thousands of riders. The corridor will also enhance bike mobility as it is a well-used bike corridor and connects with Somerville’s network of Shared Streets.
Later this year, Route 86 is scheduled to undergo significant improvements as part of the Bus Network Redesign Phase 1, which is expected to be completed by December 2024. The bus lane improvements will support and accommodate the anticipated increase in bus service in the future.
The MassDOT Shared Street and Spaces Grant funds quick-build projects to help transit authorities and municipalities quickly implement improvements to public spaces. These include sidewalks, curbs, streets, bus stops, and parking areas to support public health, provide safe mobility, and strengthen commerce.
The MBTA Transit Priority Group is part of the Better Bus Project, which aims to transform bus service throughout the MBTA system. The group is responsible for designing and implementing transit priority infrastructure defined in the MBTA’s Bus Priority Vision and working with municipalities and fellow state agencies. To date, the group has delivered more than 40 miles of bus lanes and activated transit signal priority at more than 80 locations in 12 municipalities.
For more information, visit mbta.com/BNR or connect with the T on X (the site formerly known as Twitter) @MBTA and @MBTA_CR, Facebook /TheMBTA, Instagram @theMBTA, Threads @thembta, or TikTok @thembta.
