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星期一, 3月 01, 2021
MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES SERIES OF EVENTS TO CELEBRATE WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Baker-Polito Administration Awards $4.9 Million for High School Substance Use and Mental Health Response Teams
Baker-Polito Administration Awards $4.9 Million for High School Substance Use and Mental Health Response Teams
Six awards support creation of school-based intervention and treatment programs in ten communities across the Commonwealth
BOSTON (March 1, 2021) – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $4.9 million in grants awarded to six agencies, including hospitals and treatment and behavioral health centers, for the creation of evidence-based and data-driven co-occurring substance use disorder/mental health response teams embedded in high schools in ten communities to offer intervention and treatment services, and provide alternatives to school suspension for substance use.
The six agencies were selected for grant funding based on their ability to provide access to these crucial services, both in school and in the community, as well as virtually due to instances of remote and hybrid learning. The awardees are:
- Heywood Hospital, providing services for Athol High School, Gardner High School, Gardner Academy of Learning and Tech, Ralph C. Mahar Regional School (Orange), Narragansett Regional High School (Templeton), and Murdock High School (Winchendon)
- High Point Treatment Center, providing services for New Bedford High School
- Institute for Health and Recovery, providing services for Malden High School
- North Suffolk Mental Health, providing services for Revere High School
- River Valley Counseling Center, providing services for Holyoke High School North Campus
- The Brien Center, providing services for Monument Mountain Regional High (Great Barrington)
This grant award will ensure these agencies are prepared to offer services to students suffering from co-occurring substance use disorder/mental health issues. The programs will respond to students’ and their families’ needs, increase collaboration with schools, and provide support to students in crisis.
“Disruptions to in-school learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic have taken a social and emotional toll on many students, and especially those most at risk for substance use and mental health issues,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, who directs the state’s COVID-19 Command Center. “This grant will allow much-needed resources to reach students remotely and offer a mental health-driven alternative to suspensions.”
The grant will be distributed over the course of 6 years, with each program receiving $136,864 per year, or $4.9 million over the life of the award. Funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) State Opioid Response grant, the grant will serve to support the Commonwealth-wide adolescent addiction workforce that is specifically trained and certified to provide targeted substance use interventions and treatment to at-risk students, reducing their risk of developing an opioid or substance use disorder. These timely awards will support Massachusetts schools’ efforts to effectively respond to student substance use and mental health concerns, as access to high-potency marijuana products increases, rates of on-campus vaping surge, and the overall perception of harm associated with adolescent substance use decreases.
“Massachusetts is taking action to reinforce protections for children affected by substance use and mental health issues in these unprecedented times,” said Deirdre Calvert, Director of the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services at the Department of Public Health. “This grant program will ensure that at-risk youth receive the services they need to prevent substance use, help combat the opioid epidemic, and support families during the COVID-19 state of emergency.”
星期日, 2月 28, 2021
波士頓考試學校修改入學辦法 華裔等家長提告
(Boston Orange編譯)去年11月成立的”追求學術優異波士頓家長聯盟(Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence)”上週五(26日)提出聯邦訴訟，要求制止波士頓公校以學生居住地點郵遞區號，做為考試學校今秋錄取程序的一部分。
該訴訟稱，波士頓公校這3所考試學校的新錄取政策，違反了學生們的憲法權利，而且會人為的對拉丁裔及非洲裔學生有利，對亞裔及白人學生有害。
這訟案預定週三開庭聆訊，被告包括波士頓公校總監，學校委員會委員等人。
“追求學術優異波士頓家長聯盟”會長Bentao Cui表示，做為家長，他們希望子女得到進入考試學校的公平機會，並享有卓越的教育機會。他說，我們不是輕易做出提起訴訟這決定的，但是為了保護孩子的權利在政府手中不受種族和族裔歧視，我們感到別無選擇。
該訴訟代表14名申請進入考試學校的6年級華裔，印度裔，以及白人學生，還有他們已加入“追求學術優異波士頓家長聯盟”的家長們提出的。
這些家庭住在華埠，布萊頓(Brighton)，畢肯丘(Beacon Hill)，以及西洛士百利(West
Roxbury)等地區，在訟案中，他們說，這幾個地區都會受到郵遞區號的負面影響。
“追求學術優異波士頓家長聯盟”已藉GoFundMe網站，從46名捐款人那兒籌得6000多元。他們聘請的律師之一是佛蒙特州Richmond的William Hurd。這名律師曾代表一群中學生及他們的家庭控告Fairfax郡的學校人員，以阻止湯姆斯傑弗遜科技高中(Thomas
Jefferson High School for Science and Technology)這所菁英學校的入學許可政策的改變。
民權律師協會(Lawyers
for Civil Rights)在27日表示，將挑戰這一訟案。該會訴訟主任Oren
Sellstrom說，如果這受誤導的訴訟有進展，將代表黑人，拉丁裔，以及其他可能受害者干預這一訴訟。他認為該案從基本上誤會了波士頓公校政策及憲法。
波士頓公校系統和波士頓市長辦公室都不願就此訴訟置評。
波士頓學校委員會去年10月無異議通過，因為新冠病毒大流行，考試學校的入學考試暫停一年，改以學校成績，麻州標準測驗分數，以及郵遞區號做為是否有資格入學的依據。
在學校委員會投票前，波士頓公校總監Brenda
Cassellius指派的一個工作小組建議，暫停2021-2022學年的考試要求，改以20%學位完全以學校成績為依據，其餘80%根據學校分數集郵地區號來決定，將撥出最多學位給市內學齡兒童最多的鄰里。
麻州亞裔教育者協會(Massachusetts
Asian American Educators Association)在回答波士頓環球報的提問時表示，波士頓市公校因應疫情，修改考試學校下學年入學許可辦法的做法雖不完美，但可以接受。
波士頓市的三所考試學校為波士頓拉丁學校(Boston
Latin School)，波士頓拉丁學院(Boston Latin Academy)，以及約翰奧布萊恩數學及科學學校(John D. O’Bryant School of Math &
Science)。
以下為BPCAE新聞稿
BOSTON: Today in the United States District Court
for the District of Massachusetts, the Boston Parent Coalition for Academic
Excellence (BPCAE) filed a lawsuit against the Boston School Committee and
Boston Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius seeking immediate injunctive
relief to protect the constitutional rights of Asian and Caucasian school
children seeking admission to the district’s three exam schools: Boston Latin
Academy, Boston Latin School, and the John D. O’Bryant School of Science and
Math (the exam schools).
The
injunctive relief the BPCAE lawsuit seeks would prohibit the School Committee
from implementing its new Zip Code Quota admission plan, which apportions a
specific number of admission seats to the exam schools to each of Boston’s twenty-nine
(29) zip codes. The BPCAE lawsuit alleges
that by apportioning seats in this manner, the Zip Code Quota plan will have
the effect of limiting the number of children from certain predominantly Asian
and Caucasian zip codes who are admitted to the exam schools for the 2021-2022
school year.
The lawsuit
further alleges that by seeking to apportion admission seats to the exam
schools according to zip codes, the School Committee’s purpose and intent is to
decrease the number of children from certain racial and ethnic backgrounds from
gaining admission to the exam schools, while increasing the number of children
who gain admission to the exam schools from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Accordingly, the lawsuit alleges that the Zip
Code Quota admission plan is unconstitutional because it will violate the
rights to equal protection under the law of those children in the disfavored
zip codes, rights which are guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the United
States Constitution and Massachusetts’ law.
The Zip Code Quota admission plan
is a stark departure from the admission process traditionally utilized by the
exam schools which evaluated student seeking admission purely on scholastic
merit and on a citywide basis (i.e., without any admission quotas being
guaranteed to specific zip codes or neighborhoods). The use of the Zip Code Quota admission plan
for the fall 2021 admission cycle was recommended by Superintendent Cassellius,
and it was approved by Boston’s appointed School Committee at a public meeting
on October 21, 2020.
At this
meeting, then School Committee Chair Michael Loconto was recorded on a “hot
mic” mocking the names and accents of several Asian parents who were attending
the meeting to provide public comments on the Zip Code Quota admission plan.
Chair Loconto resigned the next day because of his anti-Asian racist remarks,
but not before the anti-Asian Zip Code Quota Admission plan was adopted.
In the Complaint filed in
federal court today, BPCAE lays out how and why the Zip Code Quota admission plan
is purposefully used here as a proxy for race and ethnicity. The Complaint states: “By depriving some
school children of educational opportunity based on their race or ethnicity,
Defendants do great harm, not only to the children they seek to exclude but
also to the Boston Exam Schools, which they would use as the instruments of
their discrimination, to the City of Boston, and to this country’s cherished
principle of equal protection.”
As a remedy, the BPCAE requests that the Court
enjoin the School Committee from implementing the Zip Code Quota admission
plan, and in its place order the School Committee to utilize a citywide,
merit-based admission process, which has been in place for the exam schools for
at least the past twenty years.
BPCAE is a group of Boston
parents organized as a 501(c)(4) corporation in November 2020 in response to
the new Zip Code Quota admission plan.
“As parents, we want our children to have a fair opportunity to earn admission to the exam schools and enjoy the unsurpassed educational opportunities those schools offer,” said BPCAE spokesperson Ben Cui. “We do not take lightly the decision to file this lawsuit, but we felt we had no other alternative to protect our children’s rights to be free from racial and ethnic discrimination at the hands of the government. We made every effort to bring our concerns before the City of Boston and to engage with representatives in a dialogue about how our concerns about equity and fairness in this plan could be addressed. However, our school committee members would not listen to us or engage in any discussion of our concerns, leaving us no option to be heard other than by filing this lawsuit.”
星期六, 2月 27, 2021
波士頓確定不辦特別選舉 麻州眾議員Jon Santiago參選波市長
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| 麻州眾議員 Jon Santiago加入波士頓市長選戰。(圖片 取自競選網站)。 |
依照波士頓市的市法規定，如果在位市長於3月5日之前離職，就必須辦理一場市長特別選舉。在波士頓現任市長馬丁華殊(Martin
Walsh)預定下週會獲得聯邦參議院確認，前往華府，走馬上任美國勞工部部長一職中，波士頓市議會日前通過議案，向州政府提出家規法請願。麻州州長及麻州參眾兩會都早就表態支持，州長昨日的簽署只是落實，完成程序。
一旦馬丁華殊離任後，波士頓市議會議長Kim
Janey將成為代理市長。在特別選舉確定取消後，Kim Janey將擔任代理市長，直至波士頓市選出的新市長接任為止。這同時意味著，如果Kim
Janey有意參選波士頓市長一職，她將比其他候選人享有更多的在位優勢。
去年九月，波士頓市不分區市議員吳弭(Michelle
Wu)，第四區市議員Andrea Campbell，在相隔僅一星期的時間中，先後宣佈參選波士頓市長，接著今年1月28日另一名波士頓市不分區市議員Annissa Essaibi
George，也跳入選戰，引得許多人興奮討論，稱這三人無論哪一人當選，都將為波士頓市締造出首名女性，少數族裔或黑人當選市長的歷史紀錄。
在有意參選波士頓市長的一長串名單中，其實有不少男性，但直到2月23日，這由女性獨佔的波士頓市長選舉局面，才終於因為麻州眾議員Jon Santiago宣佈參選而打破。
Jon
Santiago是麻州薩福克郡第9區眾議員，轄區包括南端，現年38歲。他在波士頓前鋒報(Boston Herald)的訪問中談他自己在有補助的公屋中長大，曾加入和平部隊，遠赴多明尼加服務，曾以後備陸軍身分派往海外，最後回到波士頓市，進了波士頓醫療中心急診部工作。作為急診部門醫生，他現在也是麻州緊急準備管理委員會成員，麻州議會新冠病毒聯席會議的眾議會副主席。
有意參選波士頓市市長的人，還有很多，大都還未正式表態。包括波士頓市經濟發展長John Barros，麻州參議員Nick Collins，波士頓市健康及人民服務長Marty
Martinez，以及波士頓市議會議長Kim Janey等等。
目前已正式參選者，除前述個人外，還有一名住在多徹斯特的前酒店經理Dana Depelteau也參選了。
根據麻州競選經費網站資訊，截至1月底，各候選人手中尚存的競選經費為，吳弭$741,948，Andrea Campbell$743,415，Annissa
Essaibi George$152,979，Jon Santiago $159,134。
根據麻州競選經費網站資訊，John
Barros從上一次參選波士頓市長後，競選經費帳戶從2016年4月起就已掛零，迄今未變。Kim Janey目前仍是市議員候選人身分，手中有現金$90,292。
根據波士頓市選舉法規定，所有候選人必須取得3000個有效簽名支持，並於4月13日以前索取參選文件。5月11日前遞交參選文件，6月22日前完成支持者簽名認證，9月1日初選，11月2日大選。
星期五, 2月 26, 2021
4國會議員支持立法讓無證件移民取得入籍公民途徑
(Boston
Orange綜合報導) 4
名國會議員今(26)日在網上舉辦”這裡是我家”公聽會，並攜手宣佈遞出”必要員工入籍公民法(The Citizenship for Essential Workers Act)”。
”必要員工入籍公民法”將容許大約500萬名無證件移民獲得申請入籍公民的機會。這些人有四分之三的工作類別在新冠病毒大流行期間，屬於必要行業。這些無證件移民每年繳交大約797億元稅款給美國聯邦政府，大約410億元稅款交給州及地方政府。
加州聯邦參議員Alex
Padilla是加州有史以來的第一為西語裔聯邦參議員。他上任後提出的第一個法案，就是要為無證件移民發聲的這”必要員工入籍公民法”。
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| 加州聯邦眾議員劉雲平表示自己是移民之子， 深知移民處境。 |
麻州參議員伊莉莎白沃倫(Elizabeth
Warren)，加州聯邦眾議員劉雲平(Ted Lieu)，加州聯邦參議員Alex
Padilla，以及德州聯邦眾議員Joaquin Castro都認為，在新冠病毒大流行期間，許多無證件移民冒著生命危險繼續工作，其他人才得以得更為安全，日常生活未受太大干擾，應該從立刻調整成為合法永久居民開始，給他們入籍公民的途徑，這法案將是要公正且包容的從新冠病毒大流行中恢復的重要一步。
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| 麻州聯邦參議員Elizabeth Warren表示，攜手努力 就能成功。 |
劉雲平表示，這些移民在新冠病毒大流行期間冒著生命危險，維持著美國的經濟運轉，他很榮幸能夠和其他起位國會議員一起提出這一法案。
伊莉莎白沃倫說，我們必須盡快糾正這不公平現象。
 |
| 加州聯邦參議員Alex Padilla。 |
Alex Padilla表示他提出這法案，既有私人理由，也是政策需要。他自己的父母就是來自墨西哥移民，一家四代從事服務業。他父親零工廚師(short-order
cook)，母親是房屋打掃工。
他認為，美國的移民法早該修改了，該法案將對加州影響最大。
這網上公聽會邀請了多名各族裔打工人士述說各自的故事，伊莉莎白沃倫表示，只要更多人攜手協力，就能夠通過這法案。
Alex Padilla在會中特地感謝劉雲平的支持。劉雲平回應表示，她父母也是移民，小時候他就在父母開的餐廳中當”廉價勞工”，他很清楚移民為生存所經歷的艱辛，很願意幫助更多人改善生活。
德州聯邦參議員Joaquin Castro。
馮偉傑卸任克蘭斯頓市長 加入PLDO律師事務所
簡稱PLDO的Pannone Lopes Devereaux
& O’Gara LLC事務所的執行合夥人Gary
R. Pannone，特地在今(26)日元宵節，宣佈馮偉傑加盟該事務所的喜訊。
PLDO律師事務所指出，馮偉傑在2009到2021年間擔任市長長達12年，還是前任的羅德島州是鎮長聯盟(RI League of Cities and Towns)會長，之前在大都會人壽保險公司擔任政府關係法律顧問，羅德島總檢察官辦公室的特別助理檢察官，以及Mandell, Schwartz & Boisclair訴訟律師。他畢業於羅德島學院政治系，再於1995年取得薩福克大學法律博士學位(J. D.)。他也是羅德島律師基金會學者。
馮偉傑在公職之外，也曾擔任許多全國性，地方性的組織首長。他目前是羅德島華人協會的榮譽主席，也是國際領袖基金會新英格蘭分會董事。
大波士頓中華文協網上慶牛年 賴超強接任會長
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| 大波士頓中華文化協會(GBCCA)由董事長楊哲修(右一)主禮， 賴超強(中)接任會長，楊曉華卸任(左一)，潘慧如候任。(視頻截圖) |
文協董事長楊哲修博士在網路年會中頒發傑出社區服務獎給林建中，鄒宗記，黃江泰，表揚大樓委員會的湯耀武，陳瑞虹等人，把文協位於牛頓市的自置會址一樓，翻修得美輪美奐，讓文協有了更多，更舒適的可用空間，還請潘延頒發表揚狀，感謝12名志願者在過去這一年中，舉辦講座，豐富了會員們的生活。
這場雲端年會，由文協國樂社演奏”新春樂”拉開序幕。頒獎儀式後，董事長楊哲修，吳萍萍夫婦粉墨登場，獻唱”恭喜發財”，接著會長交接，楊曉華卸任，賴超強接棒，還通過了潘慧如為候任的2022年會長。
文協董事長楊哲修、吳萍萍夫婦獻唱，為新年慶祝會拉開序幕。
文協2021年度執委會成員的歐陽東美，劉鍵，陳綺文，黃秀儀，何學然，Sng
Claxton也以預錄的視頻做了簡短自我介紹。
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| 文協介紹2021年度幹部。 |
在Youtube上直播的這場晚會，基本上以預錄方式製作大部分環節，除了致詞，頒獎，交接，以及特邀嘉賓，有粉絲200萬人的雙語脫口秀明星艾傑西(Jesse Appell)表演之外，文協還安排了17項兼具介紹協會內各個社團功能的節目，有波士頓健身舞的”三句半”方言拜年，文協揚琴鼓樂團彈奏”紫竹調”，夢舞團跳”半壺紗”，波士頓京劇協會的李曉鈴表演”貴妃醉酒”，王麗文獨舞”沂蒙小調”，張越麒跳Zumba，楊信宜帶領演奏古箏”風中奇緣”，華心藝術學校表演扯鈴，文協國樂團表演打擊樂，知音舞團表演”醉春風”，還有傳統武術表演，書法作品展示，余嘯雲的以舞會友社，雲鶴社，還有嗩吶大師郭雅志以葫蘆絲演奏”阿細跳月”，吳雅琪表演現代舞蹈，最後是王麗文指揮文協合唱團大合唱”金山古道”。 (僑務電子報版本: https://www.ocacnews.net/overseascommunity/article/article_story.jsp?id=273656 )
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| 余嘯雲舞蹈班。 |
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| 脫口秀明星艾傑西表演。 |
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| 王麗文(左上一)指揮文協合唱團壓軸演唱。 |
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文協頒傑出社區服務獎表揚林建忠(左下)，鄒宗記(右下)，黃江泰等人。
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波士頓縮減版第三階段第二步驟開放 室內表演部分延至3/22
貝克州長說，餐廳的人數限制會取消，其他的企業場所使用限制也提升至50%，包括室內表演場所人數限制可放寬到500人；不過華殊市長認為小心為上，諸如音樂廳，戲院，室內溜冰場這些地方，慢一點再做更大幅度開放。 華殊說，從新冠病毒大流行的一開始，波士頓市就對重新開放採取謹慎做法，以居民的健康，安全為第一優先考量。只在安全之後，才採取行動。 華殊說，只要公眾健康數據支持，波士頓市已經準備好在3月22日跨入第四階段第一步驟的開放。將准許例如芬衛球場，TD花園等大型場所以12%的容量來重新開放。
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