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星期五, 8月 13, 2021
波士頓市熱浪緊急狀態持續至週六傍晚6點
UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR WEBINARS AND TRAININGS HELD BY AG HEALEY’S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIVISION
UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR WEBINARS AND TRAININGS HELD BY AG HEALEY’S
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIVISION
Webinars and
Trainings are Free and Open to the Public and the Media; Trainings will Cover
Landlord-Tenant Rights, Assistance and Resources for Immigrants, and
Information about Child Tax Credit
Wednesday,
August 25, 2021
What:
Landlord and Tenant Rights – Resources on Rental Assistance
Webinar
Who:
Oumou Cherif, Outreach Coordinator, Community Engagement Division
Details:
This
webinar will cover the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords and
available resources for resolving disputes.
When: 10:30 AM
Where:
Members of the
public can RSVP here.
Thursday,
August 26, 2021
What:
Assistance to
Immigrants and Child Tax Credit Resource Webinar
Who:
Yarlennys Villaman, Outreach Director, Community Engagement
Division
Details:
This webinar will cover the
assistance and resources available to immigrants, as well as information on the
Child Tax Credit.
When:
2:00 PM
Where:
Members of the
public can RSVP here.
MAYOR JANEY ANNOUNCES $1.9 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE TO INCREASE FOOD ACCESS
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SBA Announces Plan to Open Supplemental Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Applicants
SBA Announces Plan to Open Supplemental Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Applicants
Encourages all potential SVOG applicants to apply
August 11, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration is announcing a call to all eligible Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) applicants seeking economic aid for live entertainment small businesses, nonprofits, and venues. New applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, August 20, 2021. The SVOG program has so far awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 businesses to assist in getting the nation’s cultural institutions, which are critical to the economy and were among the first to shutter, back on track.
While the application portal will close to new applicants, the SBA will continue delivering economic aid to help venues recover by providing critical relief through the supplemental awards program. Later this month the SBA will open the program for supplemental SVOGs for 50% of the original award amount, capped at a total of $10 million (initial and supplemental combined). Details will be announced at a later date. Additionally, to ensure no eligible venue is left behind, the SBA is currently accepting, by invitation, applications for reconsideration of award amounts and appeals. This rare opportunity gives applicants a chance to prove their eligibility and reverse a prior decision. SBA is committed to delivering relief to entertainment venues through these various options. Should the need arise, the SBA may reopen the portal or make other adjustments to its plan to best meet the needs of small businesses.
“After making much-needed improvements to this vital program, we’ve made swift progress getting more than $8 billion in funds into the hands of more than 10,800 performing arts venues and other related businesses – two-thirds of which employ less than 10 employees. These small businesses suffered disproportionate impacts from the pandemic and were often left out of early rounds of relief,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said. “However, we also know so many small businesses continue to struggle. That’s why, as this program nears the finish line, we’re providing additional funding options for our hardest-hit venues through our supplemental awards program, which will provide another critical lifeline to ensure businesses can reopen and stay open.”
“Simply stated, the Shuttered Venues Operator Grant was our lifeline. The grant has allowed us to return to full operation, including staffing and programming,” stated President and CEO of The Palace, a theater in Stamford, CT, Michael Moran. “In early 2020, we planned for closing just three or four weeks. As the pandemic continued to worsen, so did our fears of never reopening. The Palace closed for 15 months, with expenses continuing to accumulate against bleak revenue prospects. The SVOG grant through the SBA saved us and can be credited with not only our recovery but that of Stamford’s entire theater district.”
Moran continued, “Our theatrical community is so appreciative of the exceptional support of the SBA. The program and funds ensure the preservation of our community, allowing artists and audiences the unique experience of joy and enrichment through the arts.”
Since receiving the SVOG, The Palace and other venues have raised their curtains and welcomed back artists and audiences.
SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET to provide technical assistance with the SVOG application portal and can be reached at
1-800-659-2955 or, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, at 1-800-877-8339. For additional information on SBA’s Economic Relief programs, visit COVID-19 relief options (sba.gov).
Further, SBA’s resource partners, including SCORE Mentors, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers, are available to provide entities with individual guidance on their applications. Applicants can find a local resource partner via a zip code search at http://www.sba.gov/local-assistance. For weekly SVOG funding data reports, visit www.sba.gov/svog.
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant background
The SVOG program was appropriated more than $16.2 billion for grants via the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act. Of these funds, at least $2 billion is reserved for eligible SVOG applications with up to 50 full-time employees. Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. It delivers services to people through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
星期四, 8月 12, 2021
波士頓台灣電影節訂 10月2、3兩日放映6片
10月2日早上10點半，下午3點，6點，依序將放映，「消失的情人節」，「大餓」，「初心」；10月3日早上10點，下午2點半，6點，依序放映「未來無恙」，「親愛的房客」，「大佛普拉斯」。
開幕首映影片是曾贏得包括原創劇本等5座金馬獎的「消失的情人節」。該片是一部浪漫喜劇，探討她的情人節，神秘的消失不見了，也提醒我們重溫過往即使是看起來不很重要的記憶。
「大餓」一片曾得4項獎座，經由一名過重女生掙扎減肥的故事，來探討自我及社交身分，一個人該如何在耽溺及控制之間取得平衡。
「初心」是首映日的壓軸片，是描述名廚江振誠決定關閉兩星米其林餐廳「Restaurant André」的紀錄片，展現為自己所相信的重新來過的勇氣。
「未來無恙」是第二天的首映片，故事內容描述2名女孩從貧苦家庭中成長的掙扎，質問人如果從不完美中堅持，是否還找得到快樂。
「親愛的房客」曾贏得3座金馬獎，敘述一名房客在父親過世後照顧兒子及母親，卻在母親突然過世時被控謀殺的故事。影片啟發人們看到即使被人誤解，責怪或攻擊，仍然追求愛的勇氣。
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波士頓台灣影展因為疫情，去年以虛擬形式在網路上舉行，今年則將回到大螢幕，到AMC波士頓廣場19號的電影院放映。
為鼓勵人們接種一描，增加電影節參加者的安全，所有已完整注射2劑疫苗，來影展看電影的人，都可享有折扣，也在活動期間須全程戴口罩。
波士頓台灣電影節創辦於2019年，是個非牟利機構，由來自世界各地的義工經營，強調對話的把台灣故事集電影帶到北美。經過仔細挑選的影片要向新觀眾展示，在電影，電影製片，影評人，以及觀眾之間創造對話，同時宣揚在台灣、北美社區之間，甚至世界，宣揚文化連接。查詢波士頓電影節更多詳情，可上網https://taiwanfilmfest.org，或是發電子郵件
publicrelations@taiwanfilmfest.org. (更新版)
Taiwan Film Festival of Boston to host in October on the big screen
BOSTON, Mass. -- Aug. 09, 2021 -- Taiwan Film Festival of Boston (TFFB), a nonprofit organization that emphasizes connection and dialogue through films, will be hosting this year’s festival “Bittersweet” on the big screen over two days in October. The six movies to be screened over the first weekend in October (2nd and 3rd) are: My Missing Valentine (消失的情人節), Heavy Craving (大餓), André & His Olive Tree (初心), Turning 18 (未來無恙), Dear Tenant (親愛的房客), and The Great Buddha+ (大佛普拉斯).
To kick off the festival, My Missing Valentine (winner of 5 Golden Horse Awards, including Best Original Screenplay), a romantic comedy, explores the mystery of her disappearing Valentine’s day and reminds us to revisit our past moments even if it seems insignificant.
Heavy Craving (winner of 4 awards), explores the subject of self and social identity though the story of an overweight woman and her struggle to lose weight - how should one balance the choice between control or to indulge?
André & His Olive Tree, closes the first day of the festival with the documentary about Chef André Chiang’s decision to close his two Michelin star “Restaurant André” and shows us to the courage to start over in what you believe in.
Turning 18 kicks off the second day of the festival with the story about two girls’ struggle growing up from disadvantaged families, asking if we persevere through the imperfection, can we find happiness?
Dear Tenant (winner of 3 Golden Horse Awards) tells the story of the tenant who takes care of the son and mother to honor his late partner before he was accused of murder of the mother when she suddenly passes. This film inspires us to see the courageous pursuit of love even if they are misunderstood, blamed, or attacked.
To close out the festival, The Great Buddha + (winner of 4 Golden Horse Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography) is a dark comedy that presents its characters and their identities through perspectives in monochrome and color, contrasting the bitterness of the lower class against the excess and abundance of the upper class. While last year the festival went virtual, this year the festival is back on the big screen at AMC Boston Common 19. To encourage vaccination and to increase safety for festival attendees, a discount is available for those who are vaccinated and all participants must wear masks throughout the event. This event is subject to changes based on any updates from local, state, and federal mandates. (From TFFB)
麻州州長參選人Danielle Allen呼籲州長制定新冠警告及顧問系統
Danielle Allen Pushes
Governor Baker to Implement COVID-19 Advisory System Prior to Start of School
Year:
“The Governor’s Office and DESE leadership must do more to meet this moment head on”
Cambridge, MA -- Experiencing the same frustration that many parents in the Commonwealth are facing with the upcoming start of the school year amidst an evolving COVID pandemic and Delta variant spike, gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen is calling on Governor Charlie Baker to create a COVID alert and advisory system to monitor surges in the virus’s prevalence and provide for automatically triggered responses.
Background: Danielle Allen spearheaded a multi-disciplinary, cross-sector COVID response team that led to the Biden-Harris Pandemic Testing Board and an interstate compact to build out COVID testing resources, as well as Covid Collaborative guidance on infection prevention and control in K-12 settings that has been disseminated nationally, including through the US Dept of Education. She worked with DESE and the Cambridge Public School District throughout the 2020-21 school year to achieve a successful return to healthy and safe in-person teaching and learning.
Allen has released the following statement regarding the safety of our students and educators in Massachusetts public schools this fall:
“While I have the utmost confidence that our teachers, school committees, and district leaders across the Commonwealth are dutifully working to keep our students safe in this ongoing and evolving pandemic, the Governor’s Office can and must do more to help them meet this moment head on,” said Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Danielle Allen. “Our children and educators deserve healthy, in-person teaching and learning environments, and the Governor’s Office and DESE can achieve this by providing better tools and broad, state- and sector-wide guidance for our schools.”
“Now is the time for the Governor’s Office to position the Commonwealth as a leader by developing and implementing a system of COVID alerts and advisories, similar to weather advisories, to communicate the levels of risk operative in the state, our communities, and our schools. The core lesson from the Delta variant is that COVID will be an issue for the foreseeable future and we need to be prepared for its possible return to a community at any time. Rather than force school districts, parents, educators, and students to make difficult, time sensitive, high-pressure decisions in the event of a spike in COVID infection in a community, the Governor’s Office should proactively develop processes, in consultation with regional and municipal partners, DESE, and DPH, that are automatically triggered if regional infections hit certain levels.”
Examples of triggered processes include:
- Districts under advisories to issue a universal mask requirement for all students and educators — which is particularly important since so many students are under the age of 12 and unable to get vaccinated and since the vaccinated are able to transmit the Delta
variant.
- Higher frequency in free screening testing
- Deployment of additional contact tracing resources by school districts experiencing a COVID spike.
麻州投資29億元辦理學徒及就業培訓 8/16-20州府就業展
Baker-Polito Administration Announces New Federal Grant for Massachusetts Apprenticeships, Promotes Further Job-Training Investments
With Pandemic Enhanced Unemployment Benefits
Expiring, Administration Highlights Workforce Funding in ARPA Bill, Upcoming
Virtual Job Fair
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| MA governor Charlie Baker. |
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| MA state senator Joe Boncore (Left)attended this event. |
Governor Charlie Baker and Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta made the announcements at a visit to Cengage that highlighted the company’s successful apprenticeship programs, run in partnership with Apprenti. The new federal grant awarded to Massachusetts will connect an additional 500 individuals to employment through apprenticeship opportunities over the next 4 years, with a focus on high-demand fields like health care, clean energy, IT, and advanced manufacturing. These fields were also identified in the Administration’s recently-published Future of Work Report as areas of growth for Massachusetts over the next decade, with upwards of 300,000-400,000 workers potentially needing to transition to different occupations or occupational categories. These economic changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of the Administration’s $240 million plan to scale up proven job-training programs like apprenticeships.
“Our Administration has long seen the value of apprenticeships, launching a program several years ago to expand this model in the technology space, and this new federal grant is an affirmation of Massachusetts’ approach to promoting access to these training and employment opportunities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Through our plan to invest $240 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act into apprenticeships and other proven job-training programs, we’re proposing to do even more to connect workers with high-demand fields and good-paying jobs.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic changed the Commonwealth’s economic landscape, and our recently-published Future of Work Report concluded that upwards of 300,000 to 400,000 workers may need to transition to new occupations or occupational categories over the next decade, and apprenticeships are one of the tools we can use to facilitate those transitions,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “That’s why we’re proposing $240 million to scale up these proven job-training models using funds from the American Rescue Plan, which would also enable us to connect unemployed workers with job opportunities with federal pandemic-era unemployment benefits expiring in September.”
“The $4 million grant from the US Department of Labor will enable partners like Apprenti and Cengage to access additional training funds for apprenticeship programs in the tech sector,” said Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta. “Increased training opportunities for high-demand jobs like software developers, Cybersecurity analysts, and IT Business Analysts are essential to provide workers with transformational opportunities in the tech industry. The Administration’s proposal of a $240 million workforce investment will help 52,000 unemployed and underemployed workers through our existing programs, which will provide real and lasting consequences in creating a more equitable and resilient economy.”
The new federal grant from the US Department of Labor will help Massachusetts expand Registered Apprenticeship Opportunities for occupations in-demand by employers in health care, hospitality, education, clean energy, IT and advanced manufacturing. It will especially target populations that the pandemic has hit the hardest like women, working moms, people of color, youth, and individuals with a disability. With $4 million over 4 years, this grant will connect 500 individuals to employment through apprenticeship opportunities. The Administration has prioritized expanding apprenticeships for the past several years, launching a partnership with Apprenti in 2018 to expand this model in the technology sector.
With federal enhanced
unemployment benefits set to expire the week of September 4, the Administration
is also immediately working to connect unemployed workers with open job
opportunities. The Administration’s statewide virtual Job Fair is scheduled for
August 16-20, and the Commonwealth recently launched a promotional campaign to encourage people
to attend the job fair. The campaign is running on TV and digital platforms,
and the Department of Unemployment Assistance is also reaching out to current
claimants via email. The job fair is free for both employers and job-seekers,
and the Commonwealth is partnering with employer organizations including AIM,
the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts Competitive
Partnership, the Providers’ Council, and a number of regional employer associations.
Learn more about the Job Fair at mass.gov/JobFair.
AG: 麻州網路貸款公司收債違規罰160萬元
AG HEALEY SECURES $1.6 MILLION FROM ONLINE LOAN SERVICER OVER ABUSIVE DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES
Company Failed to
Provide Debt Validation Notices; Made High Volume Debt Collection Calls
BOSTON – Online loan servicer Avant will pay $1.6 million in a settlement with Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office over allegations that the company used abusive debt collection practices against consumers.
The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court with Avant, LLC, resolves allegations that the company violated the AG’s debt collection regulations by failing to provide consumers proper debt validation notices and making illegal, high volume debt collection calls to consumers.
“Our debt collection regulations are in place to protect consumers from abusive and illegal practices by companies like Avant,” said AG Healey. “This settlement will provide more than a million dollars to aid Massachusetts consumers who are harmed by deceptive and unfair practices.”
“Call frequency is among the top reasons for consumer complaints about debt collection,” said April Kuehnhoff, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Massachusetts is one of a handful of state and local governments that have imposed limits on collection calls, and we applaud the AG’s Office for its vigorous enforcement of these rules.”
Avant is an online loan servicer for short term installment loans. The AG’s Office began an investigation into Avant after receiving complaints from consumers. The investigation found that Avant failed to provide a proper validation notice to consumers who fell behind on payments. Under the debt collection regulations, consumers are entitled to receive certain documents verifying their debt, including any agreement which bears the consumer’s signature and an accounting of the date and amount of payments, credits, balances, and charges on the debt.
The AG’s Office also found that in the event of a borrower default, Avant would pursue its customers with collection calls and letters, doing so thousands of times in the time period investigated, often calling a debtor’s residence, cell phone, or other personal telephone more than twice in a seven-day period, in violation of the debt collection regulations.
As a result of the AG’s investigation, Avant has now corrected its practices, including sending the required validation notice in its collection letters for consumers falling behind on payments, and updating its call policy to comply with state regulations. The assurance of discontinuance requires them to continue to comply with Massachusetts laws and regulations.
The $1.6 million payment will go to the Local Consumer Aid Fund to help support, protect, and advocate for consumers across the state on a variety of issues.
The AG’s Office is dedicated to going after abusive debt collection practices and encourages anyone with questions or concerns about debt collection practices to learn more about fair debt collection, call the AG’s consumer hotline at 617-727-8400, or file a complaint online.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Brendan Jarboe, paralegal Marina Bueno, and Division Chief Max Weinstein, all of the AG’s Consumer Protection Division.