全美亞裔總商會網上慶牛年 助餐館業行銷

 

麻州州長簽署5年6億2600萬元經濟發展法

 Governor Baker Signs Economic Development Legislation

$626 million capital bill focuses on housing, business competitiveness, and community development; Most significant reforms to zoning in decades

 

BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy joined with legislators, municipal leaders, and other stakeholders in a virtual ceremonial signing of House, No. 5250, An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth.

 

The new law provides a five-year roadmap backed by more than $626 million in capital authorizations and key policy provisions to support economic growth and improve housing stability across Massachusetts. In 2019, the Baker-Polito Administration announced a new economic development plan titled Partnerships for Growth: A plan to enable the Commonwealth's regions to build, connect and lead. The plan focused on four key pillars: responding to the housing crisis; building vibrant communities; supporting business competitiveness; and training a skilled workforce. The framework outlined in that plan guided the approach taken in the bill filed by the Governor in early March 2020.

 

“This new law provides tools needed to respond to both the challenges posed by COVID-19 as well as those that existed before the virus took hold, especially the housing crisis​. We are pleased to implement these policy changes, especially the Housing Choice provisions we proposed more than three years ago to make it easier to increase production and zoning reforms in communities that want and need it,” said Governor Baker. “While we continue to make progress we still have much work to do in the months ahead to help businesses recover, get people back to work, and restore the Commonwealth’s economic vitality.”

 

“With gratitude to our partners in the Legislature, the many municipal leaders, and the business community that formed a broad coalition of support, today we have a law that reflects the urgency of the moment and that is also focused on driving the changes we need at the fundamental level going forward,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “I look forward to addressing key challenges including stabilizing the economy, strengthening our downtowns and town centers, and improving housing accessibility and affordability now and long after the pandemic has passed us.”

 

This economic development package builds on the Commonwealth’s dynamic business ecosystem, which is core to the continuing success of the Massachusetts economy. The bill directs capital dollars to support advanced manufacturing and targets new and emerging opportunities to further strengthen the economy’s foundation. The new law also dedicates key resources for micro-businesses and low-to-moderate income and minority entrepreneurs for starting or expanding a business, as well as grants to community development financial institutions and community development corporations with a focus on supporting women- and minority-owned businesses.

 

To continue to grow Massachusetts’ stock of housing, combat the long-standing housing crisis, and reenergize neighborhoods and communities, this bill provides significant funding for:

 

• Neighborhood Stabilization to return blighted or vacant units back to productive use, including in communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19; 

 

• Transit-Oriented Housing Development to produce new, high-density, mixed-income housing near major transit nodes like Commuter Rail stations; 

 

• Climate-Resilient Affordable Housing to build affordable, multi-family housing developments that are equipped to better respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions;

 

• Underutilized Properties to help turn empty or underutilized locations into active commercial space, housing, or green or civic space;

 

• A Rural and Small Town Development Fund for community and infrastructure development needs in small towns and rural municipalities, to support projects with significant community impact; and,

 

• Regional and Community Assistance for planning initiatives undertaken by individual municipalities, joint cities or towns, or entire regions, to address shared goals related to community development, housing production or other issues of local and regional concern.

 

The new law also ushers in key changes necessary for increased housing production with targeted zoning reforms that better enable municipalities to adopt the zoning measures needed to meet the state’s housing needs. An expansive coalition of advocates, organizers, citizens, elected officials, and others worked alongside the Administration over the past few years to get these reforms across the finish line. Known as Housing Choice, the reforms remove the requirement for a two-thirds supermajority vote and allow cities and towns to adopt zoning best practices related to housing production by a simple majority vote. 

 

“From the Berkshires to Cape Cod, the long-standing housing crisis, created by restrictive state zoning rules, has been slowing economic growth, driving up housing costs for families, and impacting the ability of companies to attract and retain talent,” said Secretary Kennealy. “We are thrilled that Housing Choice, the most significant zoning reform in decades, is now law, beginning the process of removing discriminatory barriers to housing, empowering cities and towns to build the housing they want and need, and moving us closer to our goal of 135,000 new units by 2025.”

 

“This legislation will help make Massachusetts’ cities and towns more affordable and welcoming to all, enabling new housing opportunities and unlocking growth and job opportunities for all of our communities,” said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. “In Salem it will finally, we hope, make possible long-sought after measures to expand our amount of affordable, accessible housing for Salem residents. I’m grateful to the Baker Administration for making this a priority and continuing to push for it over the past two years, and to the legislators who were partners in the effort to get this important work done for the people of our Commonwealth.”

 

"The Massachusetts Municipal Association applauds Governor Baker and his administration along with the leadership of the House and the Senate for their collective work to pass this critical legislation,” said Adam Chapdelaine, Arlington Town Manager and President of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. “Most notably, the MMA is grateful for the inclusion of the Housing Choice provision as the need for expanded housing opportunity has only grown more necessary during this pandemic."

 

“I am thrilled this legislation is now law so that we can double down on our efforts to boost to our economy as it recovers from the dire effects of COVID-19,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka. “The Legislature recognized the need to be bold when addressing the challenges facing restaurants and small business owners, cultural attractions and other key sectors that will help keep our economy strong. I am particularly pleased this law includes the long sought-after housing production reforms that the Senate has supported for years. I look forward to working with the Administration and my colleagues in the House in ensuring these critical supports are distributed to those most in need.”

 

“This new law is a strong first step on our path to economic recovery from this pandemic,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano. “This legislation provides immediate relief to those sectors of the economy hit hardest by the pandemic, while making key policy changes, particularly in housing, that will fuel future economic growth. I want to thank Chairman Michlewitz and the House conference committee members for their hard work on this legislation, and Senate President Spilka and our partners in the Senate for their commitment to passing a robust economic aid package.”  

 

“The economic development bill will help the Commonwealth rebuild from the devastating effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought,” said Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of the House Committee on Ways & Means, and lead negotiator for the House on the Conference Committee. “This legislation supports our travel and tourism industry in a number of different ways, especially for our struggling restaurants. It will also encourage the Commonwealth’s housing production needs by simplifying zoning laws, encourage job creation in rural areas, and authorizes over $626 million in targeted capital investments that will reach every corner of Massachusetts. I want to thank our partners in the Administration and my colleagues in the Legislature for their input and hard work on making this bill a reality.”

 

“Even before COVID-19, we knew how strong our Commonwealth was economically but also where we were falling short. We knew that despite this being a great state, people could not afford to live here, too many of our employers couldn’t find skilled employees, and too many of our residents couldn’t find high-paying work,” said Senator Eric P. Lesser, the lead negotiator for the Senate on the Conference Committee. “The heart of this legislation was about closing those gaps, and all of those issues went into hyper-drive as a result of COVID-19. This bill is going to plug needed gaps for struggling businesses to get them to the other side of recovery, help over one million student loan borrowers in Massachusetts with new consumer protections, and lay down the markers that we need to have a more equitable and far-reaching recovery into the future.”

 

With the simple majority threshold, municipalities that pursue rezoning efforts, including those enabling new housing near transit or in downtowns, would gain approval if they achieve more than 50 percent of the vote, as opposed to the current supermajority of more than two-thirds. Prior to this historic change in law, Massachusetts was one of only a few remaining states to require a supermajority to change local zoning.
 
Zoning changes that promote best practices for housing growth that would qualify for the simple majority threshold include:

 

• Building mixed-use, multi-family, and starter homes, and adopting 40R “Smart Growth” zoning in town centers and near transit.

 

• Allowing the development of accessory dwelling units, or “in-law” apartments.

 

• Approving Smart Growth or Starter Homes districts that put housing near existing activity centers.

 

• Granting increased density through a special permit process.

 

• Allowing for the transfer of development rights and enacting natural resource protection zoning.

 

• Reducing parking requirements and dimensional requirements, such as minimum lot sizes.

SBA與地方合作舉辦國語，廣東話新冠疫情紓困說明

           (Boston Orange 整理)美國小企業行政局和波士頓華人前進會，地方倡議支持公司(Local Initiatives Support Corporation)，華埠主街計畫合作，分別於2月5日，7日，以國語，廣東話舉辦了2場「新冠病毒紓困計畫」說明會，為地方上的小企業提供最新資訊。

             2月5日這場，由小企業行政局康州的貸方關係專員John Xu，以及婦女及企業中心的Dawn LaRochelle主講。這場講座的視頻鍊接為https://youtu.be/mFvUFjlw5a4。

左上向右轉，陳玉珍，林志棪，伍少武，何遠光等人主持廣東話
說明會。(視頻截圖)

          2月7日這場，由小企業行政局駐波士頓的公共事務專員伍少武主持，華人前進會行政主任陳玉珍，華埠主街的何遠光，以及LISC的林志棪主講。這場講座的視頻鍊接為https://youtu.be/0-5P7ssqZrs。

小企業行政局為了讓更多人獲得這些資訊，由伍少武整理出相關資訊，提供給有興趣查閱的人。小企業行政局的說明會簡報內容PowerPoint Presentation (sba.gov)，John Xu以中文撰寫的相關文章，Chinese Article: PPP Report through 1-24-21 and Q&A，Chinese Article: Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (sba.gov)，Chinese Article: Paycheck Protection Program 2^{nd Draw (sba.gov)}。

             小企業行政局也製作了中文資訊，鍊接為Coronavirus Recovery Information in Other Languages (sba.gov) 。

               伍少武表示，為持續協助社區內的小企業，提供技術援助或回答疑問，可以聯繫LISC的林志棪，617.410.4344，微信：dcling288，http://bit.ly/equitablePPPHome；小企業行政局康州區域國際貿易辦公室代方關係專員John Xu，Tel:  (860) 240-4672 ，Cell: (202) 868-1302，Fax: (202) 481-0307 ，john.xu@sba.gov，婦女及企業中心的Dawn LaRochelle，LaRochelle@CWEonline.org，Center for Women & Enterprise > Home (cweonline.org)。小企業行政局還邀請了麻州各地16個機構為小企業提供協助。

          在活動中，林志棪提醒小企業，委瑞森(Verizon)公司委託LISC提供的$5000至2萬元贈款項目，將於2月9日晚上11點59分截止申請。查詢可洽林志棪dling@lisc.org。(更正)

麻州總檢察官 HEALEY支持族裔平等 撥款150萬元資助16個機構

  AG HEALEY AWARDS $1.5 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROMOTE RACIAL EQUITY IN TREATMENT OF OPIOID USE DISORDER

Grants Provided to 16 Organizations for Accessible Opioid Use Recovery Programs and Behavioral Health Services for Communities of Color

 

 

           BOSTON – As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate racial disparities in our health care system, Attorney General Maura Healey today announced that $1.5 million has been awarded to 16 organizations across the state as part of her office’s new grant program to promote equity in treatment programs and recovery services for opioid use disorder (OUD) in Massachusetts.

 

The grant program—Promoting Cultural Humility in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment—supports treatment and recovery programs committed to standards that serve Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in Massachusetts. AG Healey led a virtual roundtable today to announce the grant recipients and discuss with grantees how they plan to use the funds to address the disparities that exist.

 

“The opioid epidemic is far from over, and the COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated barriers to care that have systemically and disproportionately harmed communities of color for far too long,” said AG Healey. “We have prioritized equity in our grant programs and awarded these funds to organizations that are committed to providing accessible recovery and treatment services to diverse patients across our state.”

 

            Systemic issues, including health care provider biases, limited public health research, and inadequate news coverage have mischaracterized the opioid epidemic as chiefly impacting white suburban and rural communities. However, communities of color are increasingly affected by opioid use disorder. According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, opioid-related overdose deaths increased for Hispanic and Black non-Hispanic communities between 2018 and 2019.

 

Treatment inequities and devastatingly high mortality rates among communities of color require recovery services that are diverse and not “one size fits all.” A recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals that Black and Latinx people have substantially lower access to behavioral health and substance use treatment services and too often experience less culturally responsive care. 

 

The grants were awarded to treatment programs that practice cultural humility by centering patients’ unique needs and experiences and demonstrate an understanding of providers’ biases and the barriers to care for diverse patients.

 

Grant funds were awarded to the following organizations:

 

·        MA Organization for Addiction Recovery (Statewide): This statewide addiction advocacy organization will use the funding to increase access of BIPOC communities to recovery coaching with a focus on services for pregnant or parenting women, veterans, and recently incarcerated individuals who are actively engaged in treatment.

 

“Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery is pleased to receive this grant from Attorney General Maura Healey to improve outreach to communities of color affected by addiction, support people in recovery, and educate the public about the value of recovery,” said Maryanne Frangules, Executive Director of Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR).

 

·        Home Base Program (Statewide): The grant funding will help develop and implement training programs for veteran outreach coordinators to better assist BIPOC veterans who seek OUD treatment, including medication-assisted treatment and therapy.

 

“These funds will allow Home Base to develop a training curricula for frontline staff to support patient-centered care of BIPOC veterans in need of OUD treatment,” said Dr. Louis Chow, Senior Director for Training and Network Development at the Home Base Program. “The curricula will be developed to foster three core elements of cultural humility – principles of mutual learning and self-reflection, recognition of power imbalances, and recognition of implicit biases – with the goal of delivering culturally sensitive, equitable, and effective clinical care for those we serve.”

 

·        Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (Greater Boston): BHCHP will use the grant award to fund a recovery support advocate with lived experience in the communities the program serves. The program will provide recovery support and harm reduction services to Black and Latinx populations experiencing homelessness in Greater Boston.

 

·        Victory Programs (Suffolk, Essex, and Norfolk Counties): Funding will be used to help lower barriers to OUD treatment for populations experiencing homelessness or housing instability, specifically through recruitment/retention initiatives for bilingual staff, evidence-based trainings in cultural humility and racial equity, and programmatic evaluation based on community and client input.

 

“Victory Programs is, yet again, encouraged by the Attorney General’s Office, under AG Healey’s leadership, multi-disciplinary approach to combating the opioid epidemic,” Sarah Porter, Executive Director, Victory Programs. “This grant allows Victory Programs to focus on cultural humility training, which includes the identification and elimination of specific barriers BIPOC face for successful treatment, and on our recruitment and retention of staff of color.”

 

·        Boston Medical Center (Greater Boston): The grant funds will bolster BMC’s program that serves 125 to 150 mother-baby pairs each year and will specifically help to further incorporate trauma-informed services, Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards, and culturally sensitive practices in treatment for mothers with OUD. It will also be used to help provide critical support to infants born with neonatal withdrawal syndrome and assist new mothers with the challenges of caring for newborns who are experiencing withdrawals.

 

·        Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston): MGH’s Substance Use Disorder Bridge Clinic will use grant funds to tailor peer support to women of color with OUD who are also impacted by commercial sex exploitation and are more likely to require services beyond the average treatment time. The Bridge Clinic will also facilitate a peer referral pathway for this client group from the Suffolk County House of Correction.

 

“Women of color are disproportionately affected by the intersection of opioid use disorder (OUD) and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), but experiences of trauma, racism, and stigma related to addiction and the sex trade create deep distrust of healthcare,” said Abigail Judge, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, who leads a project to improve services for women jointly affected by substance use and commercial sexual exploitation. “This grant will allow our team at Mass General Hospital’s Bridge Clinic to increase access to OUD/CSE care for women of color through an expansion of specialized peer support, an outreach-based referral pathway and evaluation of this model through conversation with survivors and other community stakeholders.”

 

·        City of Somerville: Somerville will partner with a local clinic to provide cultural humility training for two full-time bilingual recovery navigators who speak Spanish, Portuguese, and/or Haitian Creole. The new recovery navigators will be tasked with increasing outreach and support to underserved populations, including immigrant populations.

 

·        Lynn Community Health Center: The funds will be used to increase bilingual staff capacity and hire staff members more reflective of impacted communities for the “Lynn Moving Upstream Project.” This project is a prevention and recovery program that assists children and adolescents in the Lynn Public Schools system who are at high risk for OUD.

 

·        Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk Counties): The organization will use funds to increase its capacity to serve Latinx parents with OUD who have children under five years old through its Center for Early Relationship Support. The program will prioritize outreach to Latinx communities, provide bilingual services, offer a Spanish-based curriculum, and provide staff with CLAS training.

 

·        Charles River Community Health Center (Allston-Brighton, Waltham, Framingham/MetroWest): CRCHC will utilize grant funding to provide increased access to BIPOC patients with a history of OUD by implementing CLAS on an organizational level, training staff, and supporting an interdisciplinary team that works with BIPOC OUD patients.

 

·        Steppingstone Incorporated (New Bedford and Surrounding Communities): The organization, which provides outpatient OUD treatment, will use grant funds to increase Spanish-speaking staff, including a prescriber and licensed clinician, as well as provide cultural humility training for staff.

 

“We are so excited to partner with the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General and reach this underserved population in the greater New Bedford area,” said Laura Washington, Director of Steppingstone’s Cultural Humility Project and Project SOAR. “We are privileged to have the opportunity to address disparities in our community through this grant and assist the Hispanic community and other underserved populations of color in our area on their path to recovery.”

 

·        Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (Primarily Barnstable and Plymouth Counties): The grant will fund a full-time Peer Recovery Specialist, who will provide sober living assistance to tribal members and tailor care to the individualized needs of community members. Services will be grounded in Wampanoag cultural teachings and will incorporate language from the once dormant Wôpanâak language.

 

“The Mashpee Wampanoag are indigenous people in this Land with a tenure on the Land spanning 12,000 years of history; yet we are no less vulnerable to the ravages of addiction; in fact we are four times more likely to become addicted and die of overdose due to addiction,” said Jessie Little Doe Baird, Vice Chairwoman, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. “Because our contact history with colonialism includes land and resource deprivation, poverty and ongoing and persistent problems with racism, self-medication and addiction have been able to gain a foothold within our tribal nation.  Wampanoag need the Land, ceremony, resources, and each other to live in a healthy way.  When these things are disrupted, cultural injury occurs. These wounds need the culture itself to help in healing. Resources and partnerships are key to developing and delivering culturally appropriate and culturally competent services. We look forward to engaging with one another and our partners in this continued work on the good road to healing.”

 

·        River to Recovery (Fall River and Surrounding Communities): Funds will allow for significant outreach to Black and Latinx populations in Fall River while recruiting and training a new recovery coach from the communities served.

 

·        Opening the Word Peer Recovery Center (Webster, Dudley, Oxford, Douglas and Southbridge): Grant funds will be utilized to hire group recovery facilitators, Spanish-speaking staff members, and recovery coaches from the communities the center serves, as well as to implement training on cultural humility and CLAS standards.

 

“This funding will allow us to do intentional outreach to men and women of all races and ethnicities in recovery from substance use disorder within our catchment area, and to create programs in which their specific stories will be heard and their recovery needs met,” said The Rev. Janice Ford, President, Board of Directors, Opening the Word Peer Recovery Center, Inc. “We are honored and delighted to be a grant recipient.”

 

·        Gándara Mental Health Center (Springfield/Holyoke): The funding will help the organization increase services to Latinx and Black populations and incorporate cultural humility into Massachusetts Certified Recovery Coach trainings. This organization aims to hire 20 bilingual Recovery Coaches who will be able to aid an estimated 400 community members.

 

“We are thrilled to be a part of the Promoting Cultural Humility in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Grant which supports Gándara Center in implementing a Recovery Coach Training initiative designed to increase access for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) by reducing stigma and diminishing the power imbalance through the increased use of peer recovery coaching,” said Lois Nesci, CEO of the Gándara Center.

 

·        Franklin County Sheriff's Department/Opioid Task Force (Franklin County/North Quabbin Region): The grant funding will help expand access for BIPOC individuals impacted by OUD via significant staff training, identification of barriers to access, appropriate outreach, and support for patient-centered pathways for recovery.

 

“Reducing racial disparities within the public health and criminal justice systems is crucial to improving health outcomes for Black, Indigenous and people of color, especially those affected by opioid misuse,” said Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan and Co-Chair of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. “Our participation in this grant program will allow us to implement a robust cultural humility component to our post-overdose follow-up efforts in our rural region.”

 

“This grant award will provide the Opioid Task Force with the resources it needs to fulfill a vision that the late Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ralph D. Gants had for the Commonwealth,” said Register John F. Merrigan and Co-Chair of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. “He advocated tirelessly for justice for all; this includes health equity. These funds will ensure that everyone has access to life-saving opioid treatment and recovery services, especially for people of color.”

 

“In Massachusetts, Black and Latinx populations are overrepresented in the criminal justice system,” said Sheriff Christopher J. Donelan and Co-Chair of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. “Many also suffer from substance use disorders. Our cultural humility initiative will help us use data and other evidence-based strategies to address racial inequities in our quest to prevent opioid-related overdoses.”

 

This grant program is funded by a settlement that the AG’s Office reached with Injured Workers Pharmacy for unlawful and dangerous prescription drug dispensing practices.