台灣原住兒合唱團將在羅德島、大波士頓演唱五場

有著聲音媲美“維也納兒童合唱團”之譽的台灣原住兒合唱團， 今（廿四）日起將在羅德島州，麻州演唱五場，再轉赴紐約。

原名「台灣六龜山地育幼院青少年兒童合唱團」的台灣原住兒合唱團，前日抵達羅德島州，昨（廿三）日在羅德島華人基督教會執事吳子平，宋健人，同工宋秀珍等人陪同下，到波士頓華埠喜臨門酒樓享用駐波頓台北經濟文化辦事處招待的點心宴，應同座催請，即席獻唱廣東歌”雞公仔“，以及1959年的“仙樂飄飄處處聞”電影主題曲”Do-Re-Mi”，聲音嘹亮，曼妙，讓全酒樓的人都忍不住停箸傾聽。

安排此行演出，來自加拿大多倫多的李帝平牧師夫婦表示，台灣原住兒合唱團能唱得這麼好，全因他們能夠融會貫通了該團指揮寇順舉牧師教的義大利美聲發音法，唱歌時用丹田呼吸，聲音是從頭頂顱腔共鳴出來的，而且這樣發聲的演唱，嗓子也不會唱啞。

寇順舉牧師認為，義大利這美聲發音法，只要方法用得對，每個人都可以學會唱，而且他把方法簡化了，悟性高的人，一年不到就能學得很好。當然要唱得好，還是得每天練。台灣原住兒合唱團的團員們平均每天要唱上半小時到兩小時，既是開聲，也是練唱。不過寇順舉牧師也不否認，有些人悟得慢些，可能學了十年還在摸索如何美聲演唱。

台灣原住兒合唱團是1998年5成立的。談起成立淵源時，團長楊恩惠坦言，一切緣起於寇順舉牧師和她父親，六龜山地育幼院創辦人楊洵牧師是台灣浸信會神學院的同學，1955年同時畢業。

那一年，寇順舉赴南非佈道，返美前過境台灣，特地到高雄六龜鄉探望老同學，應楊洵牧師的請托，從育幼院兒童詩班中，挑選了一批愛唱歌，有潛力兒童，把他當年師事義大利“美聲發聲法”大師吉格利(Beniamino Gigli)的傳人伍伯就學來的方法，傾囊相授。

迄今，寇順舉已教會合唱團唱二到三百首歌，其中有許多改編自歌劇，神曲，以及藝術歌曲。李帝平牧師表示，即使是今年的巡迴演唱，聽眾們最喜歡的，似乎也還是“那雙看不見的手”。

第一次演唱時，是在南投市布農族中部中會和高雄南部中會，迴響極大，接著的巡迴表演，也每到一處，都大受歡迎。這盛況讓寇順舉忍不住想要帶合唱團到美國巡演。起初，他們擔心沒經費，但就有如以台灣原住民詩歌改編的“那雙看不見的手”，1999年八月，他們就獲得美國西部多個教會邀請，巡迴演唱了十五場。

今年，他們將在美東演出共三十八場。

目前在羅德島州及麻州排定的演出共五場，包括今晚在羅德島華人基督教會位於羅州普塔基市羅斯福道333號的教堂演出，七月廿五日在麻州波士頓西郊華人聖經教會，七月廿六日在波士頓華人佈道會，七月廿七日在羅德島華人基督教會，以及勒星頓聖經教會等。

八月份，該團將赴費城演出。

圖片說明：

            經文處新聞組組長朱永昌（前左起），宋健人醫師，李帝生牧師夫婦，吳子平，經文處副處長陳銘俊，寇順舉牧師夫婦，團長楊恩惠等人和合唱團員合影。（菊子攝）

            台灣原住兒合唱團在喜臨門酒樓即席獻唱。（菊子攝）

            台灣原住兒合唱團員們租用校巴遊覽波士頓。（菊子攝）

波士頓首辦台客語班 林俊育教學幽默風趣

新英格蘭台灣商會、紐英崙客家鄉親會、台灣同鄉聯誼會利用兩個週末，首次舉辦台（客）語研習會，十九日在波士頓華僑文教中心順利結業，廿，三十人領得證書。

        波士頓華僑文教中心指出，波士頓地區的台客語研習會因各種因素，多年來一直未能舉行，今年在新英格蘭台灣商會會長許炳煌倡議下，有紐英崙客家鄉親會會長陳裕逢、台灣同鄉聯誼會會長林展輝協辦，邀得波士頓台語進步社社長林俊育執教，才順利開課。

            多名學員表示，要不是看到主辦單位派發的簡歷，還真不知道老師林俊育資歷豐富，熱心奉獻，2001年在波士頓受哈佛大學台語課老師李岸勤啓發後，就全心投入推廣台語，不但曾任台灣公論報台語文專刊番薯園主編，還策劃製作“馬偕在台灣”布袋戲DVD，擔任台語、客語信望愛網站策劃人，台語文影音創作，網路福音事工巡迴講師，還參與中央研究院語言學研究所的“閩客語典藏”計劃，翻譯“台日大辭典”，並協助台灣基督教長老教會建立信仰資源網站等。

            在十二，十九日這兩個週末中，林俊育發給學員不少講義，包括台語羅馬字基礎篇。他還頻頻舉例，指出以往人們學台語，客語，常用中文註解發音，反而讓從小用注音符號學中文的人受到注音符號只有五音的限制，無法正確發出有七個音的客家語，有八個音的台語，教育部才出爐了"台羅拼音法"，把ㄅㄆ ㄇㄈ 和英文字母對照起來，分成母音，子音，呼音，再加上送氣，不送氣，輕音，濁音，入聲尾，入聲調等台語語音特色，來幫助人們學習。

            學員中紐英崙客家鄉親會的余媚鳳學得很投入，直說老師教得很有意思，十六個小時一點都不夠，還好老師大方地提供了台（客）語輸入法網站，（台語）http://taigi.fhl.net，（客語）http://hakka.fhl.net，有興趣的人可以上網自修。

      

圖片說明：

            波士頓華僑文教中心主任郭大文（後右五）頒發結業證書給學員。（圖由文教中心提供）

            台（客）語研習會開幕式時，波士頓華僑文教中心主任郭大文（後右八）和老師林俊育（右一），新英格蘭台灣商會會長許炳煌（右六），台灣同鄉聯誼會會長林展輝（右七）等人合影。（圖由文教中心提供）

            曾策劃製作“馬偕在台灣”布袋戲DVD的林俊育（左二）教台羅拼音法。（菊子攝）     

麻州居民對非法移民兒童應安置、遣返 意見分歧

波士頓環球報昨（廿三）日刊文指出，麻州州長派區克（ Deval Patrick）打算用州內的空軍基地，或軍事訓練場，安置一千名無人陪伴的非法移民兒童，麻州選民的支持，反對率約各半。

麻州州長派區克計劃的細節包括，由聯邦政府付款，派員營運四月個。接受意見調查的麻州州民中，50%支持，43%反對。調查誤差率約4.9%。

            麻州選民對聯邦的移民計劃顯得更持懷疑態度。當他們被問到在司法聽證之後，非法移民兒童是否應該獲准留在美國時，只有39%回答是，43%說那些兒童應被驅逐出境。

            辦理意見調查的”社會領域（Social Sphere）“公司的創辦人兼執行長Della Volpe表示，這意見調查結果顯示的麻州民眾對移民問題態度，比許多人想得溫和。很多人願意接受派區克的計劃，很可能是因為它規模，時間及費用有限。

            接受調查的人中，只有52%支持給那些已經在美國的非法移民一條成為公民的路。由於麻州一向以自由主義聞名，這結果讓一些追蹤麻州移民議題者意外。

            麻州州長派區克上週五在一次感性演說中表示，麻州將用麻州西部奇可匹（Chicopee）鎮的偉思托福（Westover）空軍儲備基地，或者鱈魚角的愛德華營，安置那些非法跨越美國邊境，來到麻州的兒童。

            Della Volpe表示，麻州州長說的是在有限時間內，為有限人數提供的一項安置計劃，目前民眾似乎願意接受。不過只有36%選民支持動用州府經費來安頓這些兒童，57%反對。

這調查是在七月廿日和七月廿一日之間做的，共有404人填表，誤差率4.9%。

去年秋天，有遠超過五萬名的無人陪伴兒童，在非法跨境後被拘留，其中大多數來自薩爾瓦多（El Salvador），瓜地馬拉（Guatemala），洪都拉斯（Honduras）。 聯邦政府估計今年會有六萬名這樣的兒童。2012年時只有不到一萬四千人。

麻州移民難民聯盟（MIRA）通訊主任Franklin Soults表示，移民問題在麻州一向引不起強烈反應，每次調查時，大部份麻州選民都把移民問題放在優先性很低的位置。直到最近這幾年，人們才開始認真想這些問題。

New Study: 10.3 million gained health coverage during the Marketplace’s first annual open enrollment period

New Study: 10.3 million gained health coverage during the Marketplace’s first annual open enrollment period

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced today the release of a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, estimating that 10.3 million uninsured adults gained health care coverage following the first open enrollment period in the Health Insurance Marketplace.  The report examines trends in insurance before and after the open enrollment period and finds greater gains among those states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act. “We are committed to providing every American with access to quality, affordable health services and this study reaffirms that the Affordable Care Act has set us on a path toward achieving that goal,” said Secretary Burwell.  “This study also reaffirms that expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is important for coverage, as well as a good deal for states.  To date, 26 states plus D.C. have moved forward with Medicaid expansion.  We’re hopeful remaining states will come on board and we look forward to working closely with them.” According to the authors’ findings, the uninsured rate for adults ages 18 to 64 fell from 21 percent in September 2013 to 16.3 percent in April 2014.  After taking into account economic factors and pre-existing trends, this corresponded to a 5.2 percentage-point change, or 10.3 million adults gaining coverage.  The decline in the uninsured was significant for all age, race/ethnicity, and gender groups, with the largest changes occurring among Latinos, blacks, and adults ages 18-34 – groups the Administration targeted for outreach during open enrollment. Coverage gains were concentrated among low-income adults in states expanding Medicaid and among individuals in the income range eligible for Marketplace subsidies.  The study finds a 5.1 percentage point reduction in the uninsured rate associated with Medicaid expansion, while in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs, the change in the uninsured rate among low-income adult populations was not statistically significant. Today’s study also looks at access to care, and finds that within the first six months of gaining coverage, more adults (approximately 4.4 million) reported having a personal doctor and fewer (approximately 5.3 million) experienced difficulties paying for medical care. Today’s study does not include data from before 2012, as coverage was changing rapidly during this period.  This means the results do not include the more than 3 million young adults who gained health insurance coverage through their parents’ plans. The analysis builds on previous studies by reviewing a larger sample size and taking into account changes in the economy and pre-existing trends in insurance coverage.  Using survey data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for January 1, 2012, through June 30, 2014, the authors analyzed changes in the uninsured rate over time.  This is also the first study to associate reductions in the uninsured rate with state-level statistics on enrollment in the Marketplaces and Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, as described in HHS enrollment reports, and to assess the impact of the improved coverage on access to care. To read the article visit: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr1406753

WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL TO PAY $150,000 TO SETTLE DATA BREACH ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING MASSACHUSETTS PATIENTS

WOMEN & INFANTS HOSPITAL TO PAY $150,000 TO SETTLE DATA BREACH ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING MASSACHUSETTS PATIENTS

Hospital Allegedly Failed to Protect Personal Information and Protected Health Information of More Than 12,000 Massachusetts Patients

BOSTON – Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (WIH) has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to protect the personal information and protected health information of more than 12,000 patients in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. 

The consent judgment, approved yesterday by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball, resulted from a data breach reported to the AG’s Office in November 2012 that included patients’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, dates of exams, physicians’ names, and ultrasound images. 

“Personal information and protected health information must be properly safeguarded by hospitals and other healthcare entities,” AG Coakley said.  “This data breach put thousands of Massachusetts consumers at risk, and it is the hospital’s responsibility to ensure that this type of event does not happen again.”

In April 2012, WIH realized that it was missing 19 unencrypted back-up tapes from two of its Prenatal Diagnostic Centers, one located in Providence, Rhode Island and the other located in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  The back-up tapes contained the personal information and protected health information of 12,127 Massachusetts residents.

In the summer of 2011, these back-up tapes were supposed to be sent to a central data center at WIH’s parent company, Care New England Health System and then shipped off-site in order to transfer legacy radiology information to a new picture archiving and communications system.  However, due to an inadequate inventory and tracking system, WIH allegedly did not discover the tapes were missing until the spring of 2012. Due to deficient employee training and internal policies, the breach was not properly reported under the breach notification statute to the AG’s Office and to consumers until the fall of 2012. 

Under the terms of the settlement, WIH has agreed to take steps to ensure future compliance with state and federal data security laws and regulations, including maintaining an up-to-date inventory of the locations, custodians, and descriptions of unencrypted electronic media and paper patient charts containing personal information and protected health information. The hospital also agreed to perform a review and audit of security measures and to take any corrective measures recommended in the review.

According to the settlement, WIH will pay a $110,000 civil penalty, $25,000 for attorney’s fees and costs, and a payment of $15,000 to a fund to be used by the Attorney General’s Office to promote education concerning the protection of personal information and protected health information and a fund for future data security litigation. 

The AG’s Office is focused on ensuring that health care practices and their business associates abide by the state’s date security laws and federal data privacy requirements under HIPAA and the HITECH Act. Efforts include the $750,000 settlement with South Shore Hospital in May 2012, resolving allegations that it failed to protect the personal information and protected health information of more than 800,000 patients. In 2013, the AG’s Office reached a $140,000 settlement with medical billing company Goldthwait Associates and its client pathology groups over allegations that sensitive medical records and confidential billing information for tens of thousands of Massachusetts patients were improperly disposed of at a public dump in Georgetown.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Shannon Choy-Seymour of the Health Care Division.

AG COAKLEY APPLAUDS SIGNING OF FLOOD INSURANCE LEGISLATION INTO LAW

AG COAKLEY APPLAUDS SIGNING OF FLOOD INSURANCE LEGISLATION INTO LAW

BOSTON – Following Governor Patrick’s signing of legislation, filed by Attorney General Martha Coakley and House Speaker Robert DeLeo to prevent dramatic increases in flood insurance premiums, AG Coakley issued this statement: 

“The proposed federal flood insurance changes were inherently unfair to thousands of Massachusetts families. This new law, combined with recent changes to the National Flood Insurance program, will offer greater protection to families who could face unsustainable rate increases through no fault of their own. I extend my thanks to Speaker DeLeo for his leadership and partnership on this important bill, to members of the House and Senate for their support, and to the Governor for signing this into law. ”

BACKGROUND:

AG Coakley testified with Speaker DeLeo on their legislation, An Act Relative to Flood Insurance before the Joint Committee on Financial Services on February 27. The legislation was filed by AG Coakley and Speaker DeLeo, and co-sponsored by Representatives Cantwell, Bradley, Josh Cutler, Bruce Ayers, Tim Madden, David Vieira, Vinny deMacedo, Senator Robert Hedlund, and Congresswoman Katherine Clark, who previously served as a state senator. In March 2014, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the legislation. The bill passed the Senate in June 2014.

The new law prohibits creditors from requiring homeowners to purchase flood insurance in an amount that exceeds the outstanding balance of a mortgage, or the value of a home equity line of credit. Additionally, it prevents creditors from requiring flood insurance to cover contents of a home, and bars policies from having deductibles less than $5,000.

Tying the amount of required coverage to the outstanding mortgage balance, instead of a higher amount, will keep premiums lower for homeowners in the National Flood Insurance Program. Homeowners will still have the option of purchasing a greater amount of insurance.

The law requires, in each instance flood insurance is required, a notice to be provided to homeowners explaining that insurance coverage will only protect the creditor or lender’s interest in the property, and may not be sufficient to pay for repairs or property loss after a flood.

The new law will take effect 120 days after being signed by the Governor.             

In March, President Obama signed into law bi-partisan legislation that limits rate increases to 18 percent per year, and calls on FEMA to limit premiums to 1 percent of the total coverage of each policy.

孫琰角逐羅德島州東格林威治鎮學校委員

羅德島大學副教授孫琰（右）參選東格林威治鎮學校委員會委員，
已徵得丈夫（左）支持。（周菊子攝）

(Boston Orange)羅德島州有337年歷史，人口僅13,146的小鎮，東格林威治（East Greenwich），今年將首度有華人參選學校委員會委員。

羅德島大學電腦工程副教授孫琰（Yan Sun），已於六月底宣布參選羅州東格林威治鎮學校委員會委員，並遞交了比規定要求的五十個還多一倍的支持簽名，鐵定成為八名候選人之一，角逐該鎮學校委員會的四席空缺之一。

羅德島大學副教授孫琰（中）參選東格林威治鎮學校委員會委員，
緣起於張耀華（左）的推動，以及也住在東格林威治村的
吳子平鼓勵。（周菊子攝）

            孫琰坦言，她是聽到現任學校委員會有心改革，要讓東格林威治鎮學區排上全美前一百名，在GTech工作的鄰居張耀華又熱心的先遊說她丈夫，再遊說她，還願意做競選經理，協辦一應競選事宜，她才終於決定一試。

            孫琰來自中國北京，約十年前來美深造，從馬里蘭大學取得博士學位。她認為自己的執教經驗，電腦工程專業，都能為學校委員會的改革學區發揮大作用。

羅德島州州長候選人馮偉杰（左二）稱讚孫琰（右）一級棒。
（周菊子攝）

            今年四月中，羅德島普欲敦斯企業新聞報（PBN）還發表了一篇關於孫琰的文章，指出孫琰曾獲美國國家科學基金會（National Science Foundation）發給四十萬元獎助金，鑽研如何“找出網上假評論”，刻正申請專利，預定今年十一月推出免費的應用程式，讓一般民眾上Amazon，Yelp等網站，閱讀評論意見，再決定自己要上哪家餐館，店鋪消費時，不至於被虛假的評論欺騙。

            孫琰和丈夫搬到羅德島州已逾十年，大約一年多前才遷居東格林威治鎮，並加入當地一個約有兩百多人的“東格林威治追求卓越家長會（East Greenwich Parents for Excellence）”。

孫琰自己有兩個分別六歲，八歲，正在讀小學的小孩，深感校委會應和更多家長溝通，再做決策。她坦言自己決定參選，這也是原因之一。她的競選網站是https://www.facebook.com/YanSun4SC。

對東格林威治鎮學校委員會計劃很有意見的“東格林威治追求卓越家長會“，在孫琰之外，今年還推出了Michael Fain，Kristin Lehoullier 和 David Osborne等人，以獨立無黨派身份參選。

            東格林威治鎮的學校委員會共有七名委員，一任兩年，每年改選三席，四席，以確保傳承。今年輪到改選四席。其他的候選人包括競選連任的共和黨籍委員Mary Ellen Winters，校委會主席David Green，以及獨立無黨派的 Jack Sommer 。學校委員會有任期最長十二年的限制。

            東格林威治鎮成立於1677年，是羅德島州的一個小鎮，根據2010年的人口統計調查，在13,146名居民中，有亞裔538人，佔總人口4.1%，其中有華人204名。鎮內有一所高中，一所中學，四所小學。