波士頓大陳同鄉會日前舉辦九月份慶生會，來自緬因州，新罕布夏州，麻州，佛蒙特州等4州的40多人，在新月宮酒家歡喜聚會。| MAYOR WALSH TO RECOGNIZE NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH WITH COOK-OFF CHALLENGE |
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Boston - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a Cook-Off Challenge, hosted by his Office of Emergency Management (OEM), to highlight September as National Preparedness Month in the City of Boston and inform Boston residents of safety preparedness tips. The cook-off will take place this Thursday, September 17 at 11:00 a.m. on City Hall Plaza.
"Emergencies are often unexpected and it is our top priority to ensure the safety of all Boston residents and visitors," said Mayor Walsh. "Now is the time for residents to evaluate how prepared they are for a disaster - it can be as simple as gathering batteries and flashlights or identifying a family-meeting location."
Mayor Walsh will kick-off the cook-off, which focuses on creative recipes using items a resident could have in their pantry in the event of an emergency. Often, residents prepare to leave their home in the event of an emergency, however, as experienced this past winter, residents may be shelter-in-place for days on end. He will be joined by the Director of the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, Rene Fielding, Chief Resilience Officer, Atyia Martin, Boston Emergency Medical Services Chief James Hooley, Boston Police Deputy Superintendent, Nora Baston, and Boston Fire Commissioner, Joseph Finn. Boston Parks Commissioner Christopher Cook will emcee the event.
The Mayor's Office of Emergency Management encourages Boston residents to follow these steps to prepare for an emergency:
Make a Plan
Your family might not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to plan ahead of time and plan for the following:
Make a Kit
An emergency supply kit should provide a collection of basic items that household members would need in the event of a disaster. This kit can be used if you had to leave your home during an emergency or in your home if there is an extended power outage. During an emergency there probably will not be time to shop so having this kit ready before a disaster occurs is very important.
Below is a list of recommended to have in your emergency supply kit:
Stay Informed
Reliable and accurate information is essential before, during and after an emergency. Please connect to the following resources:
Directions to City Hall can be found, here: http://www.cityofboston.gov/contact/directions.
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| MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES RFP CALLING FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF CITY HALL PLAZA |
BOSTON - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) calling for a partner to work with the City of Boston to enhance City Hall Plaza. The ideal respondent will have an experienced team that is representative of the people of Boston, and a compelling vision for how to make the plaza both a civic space and attractive destination for residents and tourists.
"The Plaza is the front yard for Boston's City Hall, and it has enormous potential to be an engaging and activated civic space," said Mayor Walsh. "We're looking for a partner with an innovative plan to unlock this potential and transform the plaza into a must-see destination for residents and visitors alike. Together, we want to reimagine the plaza as a thriving, healthy and innovative civic space."
Working with the City, the partner will have the opportunity to add new programming elements to complement existing activities on the plaza, and add new temporary amenities over a three-year contract period. Drawing on experience spearheading similar projects, the ideal team will propose a detailed and feasible implementation plan. The RFP is deliberately open-ended in an effort to inspire creativity and diversity among respondents.
The effort to improve City Hall Plaza by calling for a plaza partner is one of three interrelated proposals that the City is considering. All share the same goal of making the Plaza a more welcoming and vibrant space for residents and guests.
The Mayor's Chief of Operations will lead and coordinate each process and all proposed activities through the appropriate city departments.
The chosen plaza partner will organize events and activities and will be an active partner in helping the City of Boston define in greater detail the scope needed for a campus plan, which was the subject of a separate Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to craft a master plan for City Hall, City Hall Plaza and 26 Court Street. The campus plan RFQ was issued on June 8, 2015, and the city is in the process of negotiating a contract with a vendor.
The third RFP will explore the possibility of engaging a partner to operate a civic/cultural entity in City Hall, whose presence would complement the cultural and historic institutions in the area. The release date for this RFP is to be determined.
The seven-acre City Hall Plaza, of which 200,000 square feet is currently programmable is located at the heart of downtown Boston.
More information about the plaza partner RFP is available here. Responses will be due no later than 4:00 p.m. on October 26, 2015.
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REFERENCES
Campus Plan RFQ: The City is currently in the process of selecting a designer to develop a master plan for City Hall, City Hall Plaza and 26 Court St. The result of this plan, which will be developed over the next few years, will be a vision and a roadmap for the operation and design improvements to those facilities.
Plaza Partner RFP: While the campus plan is being developed, the City (through this RFP) is seeking a partner to improve City Hall Plaza over the next three years. The awardee of this RFP will not receive any benefit in a future RFP that may arise from the Campus Plan study.
Civic/Cultural Partner RFP: The City is interested in partnering with an entity to operate a civic/cultural entity in City Hall whose presence could complement the cultural and historic institutions in the area and enhance the current building. This partner will be the subject of a future RFP. |
| MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $3.2M IN FUNDING TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM LEAD POISONING |
Boston - Friday, September 11, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced today that Boston was selected to receive $3.2 million in funding from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that will be used to further reduce the risk of childhood lead poisoning in Boston.
"In Boston, we are continuing our work to ensure that our youngest residents are living in safe and healthy conditions," said Mayor Walsh. "I would like to thank HUD and Secretary Castro for providing us with these resources to make significant improvements throughout our neighborhoods."
The funding comes as part of a $101 million competitive HUD funding round which will be awarded to 32 city, county and state governments. These funds will protect families by targeting health hazards in more than 6,000 low-income homes with significant lead and/or other home health and safety hazards. As part of this funding, Boston's Lead Safe Boston program will be awarded $2,906,610 in Lead Hazard Control grant program funding and $325,000 in Healthy Homes supplemental funding. These funds will address lead hazards in 178 housing units, providing safer homes for low- and very low-income families with children. The Lead Hazard Control grant program will also perform healthy homes assessments in 70 units. The City of Boston's lead poisoning prevention efforts are led by the Mayor's Department of Neighborhood Development and the Boston Public Health Commission, in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Fair Housing and Equity, which investigates lead paint-related housing discrimination, Suffolk County Housing Court and a range of medical, community development, code enforcement, and lead paint advocacy partners with the goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning in Boston. Boston is a national leader in the effort to protect children from lead poisoning. According to the Boston Public Health Commission, the percentage of screened children with elevated blood lead levels has been steadily declining since 1995. In 1995, the Boston Public Health Commission found that 13.5 percent of children screened for lead in the blood had elevated lead levels. By 2011, however, that number had declined to 0.7 percent, demonstrating Boston's emergence as a national leader in lead prevention programs. In 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Health found that 0.4 percent of children screened positive for elevated blood lead levels. While this number has declined, almost a quarter of housing discrimination cases the Office of Fair Housing & Equity receives are related to lead paint in rental homes.
The award from HUD is the 13th competitive federal funding award that the City's Lead Safe Boston program has received since 1993. The funding, totaling more than $34 million, has enabled Boston to provide technical and financial assistance to more than 2800 homes citywide.
Mayor Walsh has also partnered with State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez in filing legislation that would strengthen existing lead laws to better protect our children's health. H.2049, An Act Relative to Lead Abatement, would reduce the allowable lead exposure in homes, increase tax credits available to unit owners who wish to de-lead their properties, and increases the penalties for landlords who discriminate against renting to families with children. HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous lead paint and other housing-related health hazards from lower income homes; stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control; support cutting-edge research on methods for assessing and controlling housing-related health and safety hazards; and educate the public about the dangers of hazards in the home. Residents who are concerned about lead paint in their home should call the Boston Home Center at 617.635.HOME or visit www.bostonhomecenter.com. |
波士頓僑學各界昨（13）日在波士頓市府廣場升起五星紅旗，慶祝中華人民共和國成立66週年。
中國駐紐約總領事館副總領事程雷，領事朱家耀，王軍等人專程從紐約驅車趕來，和華人前進會名譽主席李素影，共同主席湯建華，劍橋中國文化中心董事長紀虎民，副董事長陶凱，梁忠孝堂主席梁添光，哈佛大學中國學生學者聯誼會主席孫陸等人在主席台前和出席的幾百名群眾，在司儀姜弘健，駱理德主持中，向冉冉升起的五星旗行注目禮。
根據姜弘健在會中的解釋，由於美國的紀念911，昨日的升旗，只能升到旗竿一半的位置。
哈佛學生主席孫陸表示，學生們在美求學之際，仍然關心在祖國發生的一切，九月三日時還特地組織的一起看閱兵大典活動，昨日也特地派代表來為祖國慶生。學生們都期盼國家昌盛，人民幸福。
波士頓僑學各界慶祝中國國慶籌委會昨日安排的表演節目十分豐富，舞蹈，歌唱，功夫示範，樣樣俱全。參加演出的單位包括波士頓腰鼓隊，鄉土舞蹈團，牛頓中文學校，台山同鄉聯誼會，劍橋中國文化中心藝術團及夕陽紅合唱團，波士頓少林武術中心，舞悅舞蹈團，吉祥三寶，還有李嘉音獨唱京劇“夢北京”。
中國駐紐約副總領事程雷（右起）致詞。高丹尼，李素影，麥家威，梁添光，紀虎民，朱家耀，道明，湯建華，李照桃等人一起站在主席台前。（菊子攝）
波士頓華僑文教中心9月12日召開僑情座談會，盼僑界“結合僑社資源，支持國家發展”，“深耕青年族群，厚植僑社基礎”。
經文處副處長陳銘俊強調，行政院刻正推動海外攬才計畫，波士頓不但是科技重鎮，更是人文薈萃之地，希望僑胞們看到合適的人才時，踴躍推薦，並和僑教中心聯繫。
駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處副處長陳銘俊，波士頓華僑文教中心主任郭大文當日主持會議，討論的議題包括，促請僑界協助台灣參加區域經濟整合(TPP/RECP)，行銷台灣產品，拓展經貿; 鼓勵華裔青年進僑社做志工，參與推拱文化，參加愛國活動，到台灣研習，升學，加強對台灣的認識與感情等;
打造具有台灣特色的僑團服務形象; 融合新舊僑團，促進經驗分享;
運用在地資源，優化僑教中心功能; 結合僑教資源推廣正體字華語文教學，推廣台灣多元文化;
和當地主流學校及社區合作; 繼續辦理廚藝巡迴講座; 改善僑生回台灣升學所面對之問題; 運用宏觀電視，宏觀網路電視等文宣管道，擴大台灣在全球的影響力，並分享經驗等。
郭大文坦言，僑委會經費不足，還盼僑界籌謀獻策，運用在地資源，加強僑教中心可發揮的功能。