Roxbury Innovation Center Operator Selected

Roxbury Innovation Center Operator Selected

Venture Café Foundation and SkyLab to manage and program the business incubator and common areas

BOSTON — Today Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced the City of Boston has selected The Venture Café Foundation to operate the Roxbury Innovation Center in the new Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Dudley Square. The approximately 3,000-square-foot Center will be located in the new headquarters of the Boston Public Schools (BPS), and aims to encourage collaboration, bold thinking, and new business development. In addition, Mayor Walsh announced that SkyLab has been selected to provide community-connected programming services in the Bolling Building’s common areas, and to collaborate with the City, Boston Public Schools, and Venture Café Foundation to help fulfill the vision of the Roxbury Innovation Center. Through partnership with the Patrick Administration, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative has committed to provide awardees grant funding totaling up to $150,000 to support the operation of the Center and programming in the building.

“The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal will be a gathering place for Dudley Square’s growing innovation economy,” said Mayor Walsh. “Not only will it launch new businesses from the Roxbury Innovation Center to boost the local Roxbury economy, but it will strengthen the connections of the surrounding neighborhood to innovation and the opportunities it creates.”

“I am excited that the City of Boston has chosen these great organizations to provide unique and innovative services at the Roxbury Innovation Center,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “This new investment will continue to revitalize the Dudley Square neighborhood and provide opportunities for generations to come.”

“We’re looking forward to working with the community to create a space for experimentation and conversation that highlights all of the innovation and entrepreneurship happening locally, and connects to resources that make ideas and businesses grow faster,” said Kevin Wiant, Executive Director of the Venture Café.  

“Our vision is about connecting people, so that every person with an idea can build it, grow it, become a successful entrepreneur,” said Nicole Fichera. “We are excited to collaborate with the Skylab team, the Boston Public Schools, and many others to achieve this vision.” Fichera manages District Hall for the Venture Café, and is a co-principal with Wiant on the Roxbury project.

“We are excited to be given this opportunity to program the innovation space in the Bruce Boiling Municipal building,” said Bridgette Wallace, Co-Principal of the SkyLab. “At the SkyLab, community will interlock with co-visioning, education will be intertwined with fun, innovation with arts, culture with technology, experience with commitment, and history with the present. The SkyLab will be a gateway for community residents, in partnership with advisors and mentors, to explore what it means to become an entrepreneur. They will be able to discover what steps are needed to bring that to fruition, taking a deep dive into what the risks and costs associated with starting a venture are – all to question how we might link urban innovators to the larger innovation community.”

The Venture Café Foundation connects the innovation community by operating spaces (including District Hall in Boston’s Innovation District and the Venture Café event in Cambridge’s Kendall Square), programs and conversations. The organization has extensive experience managing these types of facilities and engaging the greater Boston innovation community with programs. Their proposal envisioned operating the Roxbury Innovation Center with a “platform approach,” making the space a flexible and supportive space for many different groups across every industry.

SkyLab is represented by Roxbury community members and members of local tech and entrepreneurial networks. The company envisions using the Bolling Building’s common spaces as locations to provide educational sessions in addition to hackathons, pitch contests, technology competitions, and events with BPS administrators, teachers, and parents. The company’s principals have been committed to connecting the local community to the Bolling Building since before construction on the facility began. 

Mayor Walsh announced plans for the Roxbury Innovation Center during his Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce speech in April 2014. In July 2014, a Request for Interest, Ideas and Innovation (RFI) to gauge interest in the innovation community for programming the location was released and 16 Statements of Interest were received in response. information gathered from the RFI informed a Request for Proposals (RFP) that was released in November 2014 to seek out an operator for the Roxbury Innovation Center and a programmer for the building’s public space.

The RFP submissions were reviewed by a Selection Committee comprised of: Melissa Dodd, Chief of Staff, Boston Public Schools; James Jennings, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University; Ted Landsmark, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Board of Directors; Eric Nakajima, Assistant Secretary for Innovation Policy, Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development; and Keith Williams, Director, City of Boston, Small and Local Business Enterprise Department. Four proposals were submitted in response to the operator RFP, and four proposals were submitted in response to the programming RFP.   

The Roxbury Innovation Center will be located on the second floor of the Bolling Building, which is slated to open in the first quarter of 2015. The initial lease will be for five years, with an option to renew for an additional five years.

About the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building

The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building is slated to open in the first quarter of 2015, and incorporates the Ferdinand Furniture Building, the Curtis Block and the Waterman & Sons building, into a new state-of-the-art facility. The six-story building will house an estimated 500 municipal employees from Boston Public Schools, and will feature office space, as well as open space for student work, school events, and community gatherings. The building will also include 18,000 square feet of street-level retail space, and the approximately 3,000-square-foot Roxbury Innovation Center.

The City of Boston’s $115 million investment in the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building has spurred private investment across Dudley Square. The building is a collaboration between the City of Boston’s Property and Construction Management Department and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, working closely with the community and historic preservationists. The Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building was designed by Mecanoo architecten and Sasaki Associates. Shawmut Design and Construction served as the CM at-Risk builder, with project management services delivered by PMA Consultants.

T-MOBILE TO PAY $90 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS OF “MOBILE CRAMMING”

T-MOBILE TO PAY $90 MILLION TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS OF “MOBILE CRAMMING”Massachusetts to Receive $294,000 in Federal-State Settlement for Alleged Unauthorized Cellphone Charges

            BOSTON – T-Mobile has agreed to pay  $90 million pursuant to state and federal settlements over allegations that the company placed charges for third-party services on cellphone bills that had not been authorized by the consumer, a practice known as “mobile cramming,” Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.

AG Coakley, along with 49 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reached settlements with T-Mobile valued at $90 million, resolving claims that consumers were “crammed” with additional charges, typically $9.99 per month, for “premium” short messaging services (PSMS), or text message subscription services such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores, that the consumers had never heard of or requested. 

“Massachusetts consumers have been victimized for too long by this deceptive mobile cramming practice,” AG Coakley said. “Our office will continue to work with other states to hold companies accountable for these unauthorized charges and ensure that the mobile telephone industry has the right protections in place.”

The attorneys general and federal regulators allege that cramming occurred when T-Mobile placed charges on bills without the consumer’s knowledge or consent. In addition to Verizon, Sprint and AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA, Inc. was among the four major mobile carriers that announced in November 2013 it would cease billing their customers for commercial PSMS charges, and is the first mobile telephone provider to enter into a national settlement to resolve allegations regarding cramming. T-Mobile is the second mobile telephone provider to enter into a nation-wide settlement to resolve allegations regarding cramming. In October, AT&T agreed to pay $105 million over the cramming allegations.

Under the terms of the settlements, T-Mobile is required to provide a $67.5 million fund to repay consumers who were victims of cramming—a portion of which may be paid by forgiving debts consumers may owe T-Mobile. The fund will be administered by the FTC.  T-Mobile also agreed to pay $18 million to the attorneys general and $4.5 million to the FCC. Massachusetts will receive more than $294,000.

Consumers can submit claims under the T-Mobile cramming refund program by visiting www.t-mobilerefund.com. If consumers are unsure about whether they are eligible for a refund, or have questions about the program, they can visit the claims website or contact the claims administrator at(855) 382-6403 for more information.

The settlement requires T-Mobile to stay out of the commercial PSMS business, the platform to which law enforcement agencies attribute the lion’s share of the mobile cramming problem. Additional terms require T-Mobile to take a number of steps designed to ensure that it only bills consumers for third-party charges that have been authorized, including the following:

• Obtain consumers’ express consent before billing consumers for third-party charges, and ensure that consumers are only charged for services if the consumer has been informed of all material terms and conditions of their payment;
• Give consumers an opportunity to obtain a full refund or credit when they are billed for unauthorized third-party charges;
• Inform its customers when they sign up for services that their mobile phone can be used to pay for third-party charges, and inform consumers of how those third-party charges can be blocked if the consumer doesn’t want to use their phone as a payment method for third-party products; and
• Present third-party charges in a dedicated section of consumers’ mobile phone bills, clearly distinguish them from T-Mobile’s charges, and include in that same section information about the consumers’ ability to block third-party charges.

In June 2013, AG Coakley along with 39 attorneys general sent comments to the FTC  about putting an end to mobile cramming. 

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Mychii Snape and Deputy Chief David Monahan of Attorney General Coakley’s Consumer Protection Division.

查理貝克為救世軍搖鈴 工作團隊名單陸續出爐

麻州候任州長查理貝克（Charlie Baker）雖然要等一月八日才上任，但當選以後的行程之滿，觸及的話題之多，已儼然州長。昨（十八）日救世軍請他到梅西百貨前搖鈴籌款。

            麻州救世軍人員透露，為加強氣氛，鼓勵更多人打開荷包，在節慶假日之前捐款助人，該機構已排定邀請不下五名政客，到梅西百貨前搖鈴。

            十七日是波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh），麻州眾議會議長狄樂歐，十八日是麻州候任州長查理貝克，今（十九）日將是麻州候任財政廳長高伯珂（Deb Goldberg）。救世軍預定下週公佈各政客搖鈴籌款成績，聊做趣聞。

        查理貝克最近一連串公佈人事佈局，最新出現的名單包括指派曾和他在哈佛朝聖者醫療保險公司共事，曾於2002年為朗尼（Mitt Romney）做競選副經理的Dean Serpa出任營運長。

            查理貝克的家族好友，敏蒂亞伯洛夫（Mindy d’Arbeloff）和曾任麻州議員助理，創辦了培訓從政人才的麻州講座（Commonwealth Seminar)，現為大都會區域計畫會副主任的巴瑞拉（Joel Barrera），將是五名社區關係副首長之一。

            查理貝克競選州長時的競選經理，目前擔任交接團隊幕僚長，現年三十四歲，住在水城，紐約雪城（Syracuse）大學畢業的康洛伊（Jim Conroy）將出任查理貝克的資深顧問。

            關於最近頗為熱門的波士頓市爭取2024奧林匹克主辦權一事上，查理貝克早在本月初就曾表示，支持爭取主辦的行動，但對到底要花多少錢來辦這活動，持保留態度。

            波士頓市入選為主辦奧林匹克四個候選城市之一，和洛杉磯，華府，西雅圖競爭，波士頓市長馬丁華殊並於十六日時飛往加州陳情後，查理貝克表示，現在談的是2024年的奧林匹克，實在還是很遠以後的事。一旦麻州波士頓被選為主辦城市後，他和波士頓市長將確保一應相關程序，都有公開，透明的討論。他表示，雖然已聽說波士頓將以更廉宜的方式來承辦2024奧林匹克，會比往年的400到500億元少，他認為波士頓競標2024奧林匹克主辦權過程，應由私人資助。

圖片說明：

            查理貝克昨日輕鬆搞笑，讓救世軍泡泡膠抱住他。（菊子攝）

            來自中國，曾任廚師，住在南波士頓的謝松，路過梅西百貨，見到州長，興奮要求合照。事後透露，他的選票，就是投給查理貝克的。（菊子攝）

            昨日有不少人推著嬰兒車經過，要求查理貝克和小嬰孩合照，他也都來者不拒。（菊子攝）

波士頓市撥款兩千萬鼓勵建可負擔住宅

波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin J. Walsh）昨（十八）日宣佈，撥款二千萬元供發展可負擔住宅。

波市府鄰里發展局（DND）昨日也發出招標書（RFP），列出有意申請經費的土地發展計畫，需符合哪些申請條件，以及挑選，獲得資金的過程。

馬丁華殊表示，這是為達成市府新住宅政策目標所撥的第一筆經費。市府將以策略性，負責任的方式，來支持可負擔，具吸引力，有效率的住宅建設，朝向確保每一個有意讓波士頓更好的人，都買得起房子住。

波市鄰里發展局公佈了兩項，個價值一千萬元的招標書，並列出一串呼應馬丁華殊政府“波士頓2030“住宅計畫的發展標準。

這些優先包準包括，能夠有效率，減少開支建成，能夠很快開始施工；以不同收入人士、流浪漢為對象；居民收入限制在能反映波士頓人力的；為殘障社區服務，包括耆英，退伍軍人，藝術家，未老先衰人士有特殊需要人口；把無用途限制大樓買下來以穩定租約，為混合收入人士長期提供可負擔住宅等；有50個單位以上，其中至少有51%將限制為可負擔住宅的大型發展計畫，以及能告在高消費鄰里創造可負擔住宅的發展項目等。

波士頓鄰里發展局第一次能夠監管發放來自包容性發展基金（IDF）的經費。

該項經費以往全在波士頓重建局的管轄範圍內。

             昨日公佈的招標書，也象徵了市府的可負擔住宅經費第一次完全由一個機構統管。

            在IDF經費以外，波士頓還從HOME, CDBG, 市府營運經費等處挪出五百萬元，從鄰里住宅信託中撥出一千萬元。HOME和CDBG是波市府收取，可以用作可負擔住宅的聯邦補助款。

摩頓市再開一家華人店 茶蔬珍珠奶茶吧

摩頓市日前又開張一家新店，“茶蔬（Cha Shu）”，賣珍珠奶茶，早餐式麵包、糕餅，還讓顧客能看電視，上網，玩遊戲，走咖啡吧路線。

摩頓市長葛帝生（Gary Christenson），警察局長莫利斯（Kevin Molis），市長辦公室策略及企業發展專員杜菲（Kevin Duffy），房東Andares Tsitos等人，在該店開張一個月後，擠出時間，前往剪綵，恭喜年僅三十出頭，第一次開店的店老闆于超。

于超來自中國吉林，從波士頓薩福克大學電腦系畢業後，進了亞馬遜公司做軟體工程師。原本生活挺安定的，可是四，五年下來，經常晚上，週末都要加班，想著這樣生活下去終究是為人打工，從小就很反叛的他於是大膽決定轉行，希望藉此留出時間給自己，鑽研一下在中國市場大好的這種環境下，他學的移動科技，能夠找出什麼樣的初創事業機會。

至於會從電腦工程轉進茶餐，那是因緣際會。

于超透露，2010年他在薩福克大學唸書時，全校華人加起來頂多三十個。其中一個來自台灣同學和他成了好朋友，在他動轉行念頭時，同學家在台灣開的珍珠奶茶店，就成了材料，知識供應源頭。

他先在同學，朋友到家探望時，自己親手泡製珍珠奶茶來練手藝，接著四處勘查地點，找合適店面。

摩頓市夏日（Summer）街62號這個地點，離摩頓市政府地鐵站不遠，旁邊又有摩頓市地方法院，他在那條街上觀察了幾個月，認為人流足夠，四周的樓宇又住有不少華人，於是斥資八萬元左右，租下這六到八百平方呎的店面，自己設計，裝修，購置一應傢俱，器材，還請了好幾名時薪員工。

為了有特色，甚至考慮到將來經營成品牌店，于超不但從台灣進口所有的原料，還設計了“茶蔬”店專屬商標，印在每一個杯子上，讓人一看就很有質感。

由於沒估計到辦理店舖開張的一應文件手續，竟要三，四個月時間，店舖開張時間比他預計的夏末秋初晚很多，天氣漸冷後，珍珠奶茶的生意沒那麼旺，於是他從波士頓華埠樂嚐軒那兒批購來麵包、糕餅，蛋塔兼，作早餐生意。該店電話為781-480-4867，臉書網址為www.facebook.com/ChaShuTea。

他希望“茶蔬”店能成為他拓展未來創業機會的據點，歡迎有心創業的人到他店裡喝茶，聊天，激發靈感。

摩頓市是麻州內亞裔人口增長最快的市鎮之一。根據美國人口統計局的2013年調查資料，該市現有人口約六萬人，廿五歲到三十四歲的人最多，占全市18.8%。以族裔來看，亞裔有14,021人，已佔該市總人口的23.4%，其中華裔8,208人，佔全市人口的13.7%。

市長辦公室策略及企業發展專員杜菲（Kevin Duffy）透露，摩頓市在這三年間新開了不下一百多家新店，市內經濟越來越繁榮。

圖片說明：

            “茶蔬”店老闆于超（右二起），摩頓市長葛帝生（Gary Christenson）(中)，房東Andares Tsitos等人，為新店開張剪綵。（菊子攝）

            左起，摩頓市長葛帝生（Gary Christenson），警察局長莫利斯（Kevin Molis），“茶蔬”店老闆于超，房東Andares Tsitos等人，一起招呼當天進店消費顧客。（菊子攝）

            于超指“茶蔬”走咖啡吧路線，希望藉此鋪出將來的科技創業路。（菊子攝）

            “茶蔬”店內有很多遊戲可玩。（菊子攝）

            聖誕期間的店內裝飾。（菊子攝）