華人前進會慶新春 中領館副總領事第三度到賀

華人前進會三月廿日晚在龍鳳酒樓慶祝乙未羊年新春，頒獎表揚幕後英雄，好鄰居，鼓勵工人，社會正義，並邀得中國駐紐約總領事館副總領事鍾瑞明，波士頓市議員到賀，助陣。

            當晚在會上頒獎表揚的幕後英雄為退休餐館工人梁德生，好鄰居是全食超市（Whole Food），羅氏兄弟超市（Roche Brothers），工人正義是都市家居護理服務公司工人，社會正義獎為即將退休，卸任的波士頓選舉局局長葛黛雅（Geraldine Cuddyer）。

            2017年即將慶祝成立四十週年的華人前進會，跨入世代傳承階段，年僅廿，三十歲的許明珠，接替黃夏儀，與湯建華擔任共同主席，當晚聯袂上台一中一英的搭擋致詞，匯報該會過去一年來的工作成績。

            中領館副總領事鍾瑞明致詞時，先為他們一行人從紐約開車到波士頓，竟花了五小時，因而遲到表示歉意，再表示，外交官任期一般只有三，四年，他上任以來，已是第三次出席華人前進會春宴，深覺榮幸，繼而感謝華人前進會及其他僑團去年在波士頓辦升旗典禮，晚宴，並說明美國總統奧巴馬在今年年初就邀請中國國家主席習近平九月訪美，說明美國對此邀訪的重視，希望僑胞發揮促進中美友好的橋樑作用，促使訪問順利，成功。

根據該會也印在節目冊上的“主席的話”，該會在過去這一年中的成就包括，參與促成麻州最低時薪提高為九元，選民在大選選票問題中支持有薪病假，波士頓市將永久性印製中文/越南文雙語選票，麻州財政廳撥款六百一十萬元提高居家護理工人工資，波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh）為杜絕詐騙工資頒佈行政命令，該會為唐人街工人爭取到四十多個大型超市的長期工作機會，索回152731元勞工賠償，協助遭遇逼遷命運房客和房東及政府談判，保留了267個公家的可負擔住宅，促成興建379個新的可負擔住宅等。華人前進會將以促成2025年時有1000 個額外可負擔性住房為目標，探索以“唐人街願景”藝術項目，成立華埠土地信託機構等新方法達成目標的可能。該會也將繼續爭取見唐人街圖書館。

華人前進會的乙未羊年新春宴會，由王嘉達，曹艷彤擔任司儀，劍橋中國文化中心鼓樂隊演奏，到會嘉賓包括中領館駐紐約副總領事鍾瑞明，領事王軍，波士頓市議員普斯莉（Ayanna Pressley），提多傑克遜（Tito Jackson），以及波士頓市長顧問林蓮涵（Joyce Linehan），以及因事只逗留了一個多小時的波市長幕僚長高丹尼（Daniel Arrigg Koh h）。

圖片說明：

            中國駐紐約總領事館副總領事鍾瑞明（前右三）和華人前進會創辦人暨名譽主席李素影（前左三），現任共同主席湯建華（前右二），以及華人前進會員工合影。（菊子攝）

            華人前進會共同主席湯建華（左），許明珠（右）代表該會恭喜無名英雄梁德生（中）。

            華人前進會名譽主席李素影當年是昆市小學校長，曾任昆士小學校長的黃伯勳（左三），現任校長張可仁（左一），副校長陳炳鑑（右二）等人出席歡聚。（菊子攝）

            中國駐紐約總領事館副總領事鍾瑞明（立者）親和的到僑團席和僑胞打招呼。（菊子攝）

QUINCY TO CELEBRATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WEEK APRIL 6 – 10th

QUINCY TO CELEBRATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WEEK APRIL 6 – 10^th

Planning Department to Highlight Inclusion, Community Programs, Solar Initiative       

QUINCY – During April 6 – 10^th, the City of Quincy will join communities across the country in celebrating National Community Development Week. This year marks 40 years of investment of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in Quincy.

The annual weeklong celebration provides the opportunity for communities to showcase block-grant-funded projects and programs, and to educate residents, businesses, and government officials about the block grant programs provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which are administered by the city’s Department of Planning and Community Development.  CDBG provides the city with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs.

Three special events have been planned which the public can register for in advance on EventBrite. These events include a capacity building workshop focused on inclusion; a student performance and ribbon cutting at the new Germantown Neighborhood Center/South Shore YMCA Music Studio; and a “Youth Giving Celebration” and ice cream social at the Houghs Neck Community Center. 

“Opportunity Quincy Focus on Inclusion: Enhancing Programs & Services for Persons of All Abilities” will be held on Wednesday, April 8^th from 9:30 – 11:30 am at the Thomas Crane Public Library at 40 Washington Street in Quincy. This capacity building event for service providers will be based on a presentation of the white paper from UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion” entitled ‘Indicators of Inclusive Service and Volunteer Organizations.’ Following the presentation, a local panel will discuss local initiatives of best practices on inclusion. The panel includes Joe Buizon, Employment Services Specialist, Mass Commission for the Blind; Eric Clark; Assistant Head of School at the Woodward School for Girls and Lisa Drennan; Association Director of Inclusion for the YMCA. For more information and to register, please go to: http://oppquincyinclusion.eventbrite.com.

“Germantown Legends: Music Clubhouse Ribbon Cutting” will be held on Thursday, April 9^th from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at the Germantown Neighborhood Center/South Shore YMCA at 366 Palmer Street. The event will kick off with a student performances followed by a greetings from the City and invited dignitaries, a ceremonial ribbon cutting, additional performances by the students. As this is the official highlight event for the week, the annual Community Development Week Awards Presentation will also take place at this event. Youth will be preforming Motown music and have gathered inspiration from the Jackson 5, The Temptations, and The Marvelettes. For more information and to register, please go to:  http://GermantownLegends.eventbrite.com.

The “Youth Giving Celebration & Ice Cream Social” will be held on Friday, 10^th from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at the Houghs Neck Community Center at 1193 Sea Street. Youth of all ages and their families are invited to celebrate fundraising and volunteering. A special station will be set up for youth to report on their savings that created a “giving bank” during the Martin Luther King Day of Service at Houghs Neck Community Center this past January 19^th, 2015. Quincy Credit Union, Father Bill’s & Main Spring and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center will join to empower youth with knowledge about their organizations and will be giving away prizes. For more information and to register, please go to: http://hnccyouthcelebration.eventbrite.com.  

Additionally, On Tuesday, April 7^th, at 7:00 PM at the Clifford Marshall School located at 200 Moody Street, the Department of Planning and Community Development is co-promoting a “Meet the Installer” event as part of the Solarize Quincy initiative.  City planners have worked with the Solarize Quincy initiative to ensure that public outreach for the discounted solar program connects with low and moderate income neighborhoods in the City.  Educating property owners about the value of renewable energy can serve multiple goals including spurring private investment, preserving the stock of affordable housing and promoting neighborhood revitalization.

Quincy’s calendar also includes women’s, senior and youth programming at Germantown Neighborhood Center/South Shore YMCA, Houghs Neck Community Center, North Quincy Community Center, and the Quincy Council on Aging.

All of the Community Development Week events are cost free and open to the public. All interested parties – including but not limited to local service providers, residents, and program participants – are encouraged to attend.

台灣中部科學園區4/6訪波招商

科技部中部科學工業園區（Central Taiwan Science Park，CTSP）管理局王永壯局長訂於今(104)年4月6日赴美國波士頓地區進行招商，預計拜訪生技廠商並赴玉山科技協會(Monte Jade Science and Technology Association)向旅美華人介紹中科發展現況與投資環境。

王局長將介紹中科園區產業發展狀況、園區公共設施、投資優惠、產學合作獎勵及單一窗口（One-Stop Service）等服務，期能吸引國際性的高科技廠商及旅美華人創業家以中科為其海外投資設廠的基地，並藉此引進國外先進技術，提升中部地區相關產業技術創新與研發之能量，促進台灣產業轉型。

BCNC黃楚獲選入波市府“三中有一”評議會

波士頓市為鼓勵青年參與市政，攜手把波士頓市打造成更適合年輕人城市而成立的“三中有一”評議會，日前公佈本年度入選名單，波士頓華埠社區中心的青年項目專員黃楚，忝列其一。

獲選的三十七名“三中有一”評議會成員將在未來一年內，和市政府合作各種項目，以期波士頓市每三人中有一人，年齡在廿至三十四歲的這一年齡段人口，可以最大化的發揮他們的才能，把波士頓市改造得更適合年輕人生活，工作，玩耍。

“三中有一”目前編列在波士頓重建局麾下。該機構在網站上說明，波士頓的年輕人，約有32%在家中說英語以外的另一種語言，94%有高中以上文憑，48%有學士以上學位，60%在麻州以外出生，26%在美國境外出生，82%從未結婚，17%已有小孩，佔市內就業人力的48%，58%以走路，騎自行車，搭公車等方式上班，20%擁有自己的住家，72%租屋居住，8%和人合住。他們的消費力在波士頓市經濟中能支持22,241個工作機會。

 “三中有一”期望幫助這些年輕人變成創新者，意見領袖或企業家，同時成為一名積極參與市政的公民。

波士頓重建局（BRA）表示，今年有320人申請加入“三中有一”，經過波士頓市“三中有一”項目經理Chloe Ryan，以及一批年輕人評審後，挑選了來自波士頓市內廿個不同區域，分別在教育，建築管理等廿個不同行業中工作，畢業於三十個不同高等教育機構的三十七名年輕人。

根據波士頓重建局的名單，獲選加入今年“三中有一”議會年輕人中，共有兩名華裔，一為波士頓華埠社區中心項目專員黃楚，一為住在西端的Kevin Liang。

波士頓華埠社區中心（BCNC）日前在該中心通訊中，向社區欣喜匯報，青年項目專員黃楚光榮獲選。

            黃楚在波士頓華埠社區中心為年齡在十三至十八歲之間亞美青少年，或亞裔移民服務，藉由領導力培訓項目，幫助青少年在初高中階段順利成長。2012年時，波士頓華埠社區中心青少年拍攝移民經驗錄影帶“我的聲音，他們的故事”，獲得“白宮擁護改變（White House Champions of Change）”獎，黃楚就是輔導員之一。

本身是移民第二代，父母來自廣州，香港，在波士頓成長的黃楚，獲有麻州大學波士頓分校社會學及亞美研究雙學士學位，近波士頓華埠社區中心工作已四年。“三中有一”是個容許她發揮更大影響力的機會，她將以長期住在波士頓的居民，弱勢者的福祉為優先考量，為他們說話。

圖片說明：

            波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh）（第二排左六）和黃楚（第二排右五）等“三中有一”議員合影。（圖由黃楚提供）

麻州總檢察官奚莉就任兩個多月匯報

Dear Chutze,

It’s been a whirlwind two months since I took office as your Attorney General and I wanted to first, and always, say thank you for this incredible honor and privilege. We’ve had some long days and nights but I’m thrilled with the progress we’ve made, the issues we’ve already taken on and the important work yet to come.

When the votes were tallied in November and I took the stage on election night, I promised to work hard and keep our amazing grassroots team engaged as I took on the big guys as the people’s lawyer.

I hope my first eight weeks on the job have shown that and, in case you missed our updates on the web, social media and in the news, I wanted to share some personal highlights for me and ask for your continued support going forward.

These eight weeks have really shown the breadth and impact of the Attorney General’s Office – from taking on health care costs and the opiate abuse epidemic to stopping human traffickers and standing up for equality before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Here’s some of the brief highlights:

Opiate and prescription drug abuse has emerged as the defining issue of my first few months in office. I heard about it daily on the campaign trail in story-after-heartbreaking-story and made it my top priority even before I took office. I’m proud to say our internal task force is moving ahead with detailed policy recommendations and ongoing investigations and that I’m working collaboratively with Governor Baker, Boston Mayor Walsh and so many others committed to making sure we halt this epidemic in its tracks.

Marriage equality goes before the U.S. Supreme Court next month. I’ll be there for the arguments but I wanted to take you with me. So we launched a unique social media campaign where we asked people to tell their stories of equality a decade on in Massachusetts. The results were amazing and I’m hopeful will sway the justices to be on the right side of history.

Protecting consumers from the gaming industry and its record of failed promises is a vital role of the Attorney General’s Office since voters decided to proceed with the state’s casino plans. On my first day in office, I appeared before the Gaming Commission to testify about important consumer protection provisions, including easy access to ATMs near or on the casino floor. I made clear that casino operators will have an independent watchdog in our office and someone who will always side with protecting consumers.

We’re also working hard to get our new community engagement division up to full speed on behalf of the people, pushing for student debt relief with Senator Elizabeth Warren and others for those victimized by some for-profit colleges and, just this week, rolled out aggressive regulations to protect children from e-cigarettes.

All in all, it’s been a very busy two months. And that’s just some big highlights. We also continued to grow our top-flight legal and non-legal team, re-launched the online front door to our office, our website, and pushed out lots of tweets and Facebook posts. I went to Washington D.C. to keynote the EMILY’s List 30^th anniversary national conference (and got to see The White House for the first time) and spent several days on the road around the Commonwealth, including, one of my favorites, reading Dr. Seuss to kids in an elementary school.

I’ll be back more frequently to update you on our big initiatives and ask for your support and voices as we ramp up our work.

Hopefully you were invited to our first event of the spring – a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at The Black Rose in Boston on March 24. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for all you continue to do.

Yours,

Maura