The Wong Kids party is on 2/16

MAYOR WALSH ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY ON BOSTON'S STREETS

MAYOR WALSH ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY ON BOSTON'S STREETS

Outlines Progress Being Made by City of Boston Vision Zero Task Force

BOSTON - Thursday, February 11, 2016 - Citing an increase in traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today urged people who drive, walk and bicycle in the City of Boston to stay safe by paying attention to the rules of the road and being aware of others who are also traveling on local streets. "With a recent uptick in traffic-related injuries, it is critically important that people be very careful and obey the rules of the road to keep not only yourself but your fellow travelers safe," said Mayor Walsh. "Our top priority is ensuring the safety of our residents, but we need the public's support to help us eliminate all traffic-related fatalities on our streets. I thank the members of the Vision Zero Task Force for their work in identifying opportunities to improve roadway safety and I look forward to implementing the next steps in the Vision Zero Action Plan to create safer streets across our city." Last spring the City of Boston adopted Vision Zero, a national movement with a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries from crashes. A Task Force was appointed that includes representatives from relevant city agencies and advocacy groups.  In December, the Task Force released a detailedVision Zero Action Plan that in part outlines two major initiatives: The new Neighborhood Slow Streets Program to be piloted in Dorchester's Talbot Norfolk Triangle and the Stony Brook neighborhood in Jamaica Plain, will introduce a variety of traffic calming and safety measures; Two Vision Zero Focus Areas, Dorchester's Codman Square and a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue, where measures will be implemented to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. The Task Force also formed a Rapid Response Team that is quickly responding to serious crash locations to analyze the cause and gain insight to take correction. In addition, WalkBoston, in partnership with the Elderly Commission, recently received funding from Tufts Health Plan Foundation to implement "Safe Routes for Seniors," a project with the goal of supporting safe walking for older adults.  As outlined in the Vision Zero Action Plan, an educational campaign is currently being developed.  The campaign will strive to reach a broad population, including the 100,000 older adults living in Boston.  This will work to further the city's commitment to making Boston a more age-friendly city by fostering an environment where everyone feels safe to walk in Boston, regardless of age or ability. "Making Boston a safe place to walk is key to the City's equitable access to opportunity, to long-term economic vitality, to fighting climate change and creating a resilient city, and to making Boston a great place to live, work and play," said Wendy Landman, Executive Director of WalkBoston. "We are pleased to be working with the City of Boston and state agencies on this very important issue." According to Vision Zero, all drivers should know that driving over 25 mph greatly increases their chance of killing or severely injuring a person if they hit them, and it makes it less likely that they will see someone about to walk in the street.  Traffic crashes do more than hurt those physically impacted.  Like suicides, homicides, drug overdoses and other preventable tragedies, traffic crashes are traumatic experiences that have lasting impact on the people involved, as well as their families, witnesses and members of the community where a crash occurs.  When a serious traffic crash takes place locally, the City of Boston has resources available to support people, including trauma specialists with the Boston Public Health Commission and staff from the Elderly Commission who help people to make sense of what happened and begin to heal. Last month, Mayor Walsh announced the launch of the Vision Zero Boston Safety Concerns Map, an online tool that allows people to identify locations where they have concerns about transportation safety. Boston residents and visitors are encouraged to visit visionzeroboston.org/input, select the location of their concern, and add it to the map. People can also enter additional comments to concerns that were reported by others. Mayor Walsh also announced that the City of Boston was recently chosen as one of ten cities selected by the National Vision Zero Network to participate in their new Focus Cities Program. The selection was based on the effort that the City of Boston has put into working toward the goals of Vision Zero and the progress that has been made toward maximizing safety on Boston's streets. Please visit www.visionzeroboston.org to get involved and learn more about the City of Boston's commitment to traffic safety. ### Vision Zero Boston is an early action item of Go Boston 2030, the City of Boston's citywide transportation plan for the next 5, 10 and 15 years.  Using an unprecedented public engagement process, the Boston Transportation Department, in collaboration with other government agencies and stakeholders, is using data gained through the Go Boston 2030 process to identify and implement improvements designed to provide a strong, comprehensive transportation system that will serve the City of Boston well into the future. To learn more about Go Boston 2030, please visit www.goboston2030.org.

27th Annual Allston-Brighton Family Skate Night on 2/15

27th Annual Allston-Brighton Family Skate Night this Monday February 15th! Click here to view this email in your browser.

Dear friends,   Bring your family, friends, and neighbors for a night of ice skating and complimentary refreshments for the 27th Annual Allston-Brighton Family Skate Night this Monday, Feb. 15 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Please note that the Ed Portal will be closed on Monday, February 15 in observance of Presidents' Day. Details for other upcoming Ed Portal events are available below and on the Ed Portal’s events calendar. Kind regards, The Ed Portal team

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未名紫荊與北大校友合辦講座 2/11 談科技創新與金融服務衍化

[未名紫荆&北大新英格兰校友会] Quark Finance Founder & CEO: Joe Guo

2016-02-10 PKUAANE

Technology Innovation Drives Financial Services Evolution

Date and time: 7pm, February 11, Thursday, 2016
Location: MIT E51-315, Tang Center for Management Education, Cambridge, MA, 02142
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/47pkuaa-quark-finance-founder-ceo-joe-guo-technology-innovation-drives-financial-services-evolution-tickets-21418663800 (or by clicking the 'Read more' in the end.)

ABOUT GUEST SPEAKER:

Joe Guo , Founder and CEO of Quark Finance

PhD in Physics, George Washington University; MBA, Cornell University

1996: Joined Fleet Financial Group as Vice President (later Senior Vice President) in charge of the consumer finance decision science department, overseeing risk and customer analytics.

2005: As Regional Credit Officer for AIG’s Asian consumer finance business, oversaw risk management for eight AIG subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific region.

2008: Became Chief Credit Officer for JPMorgan Chase’s China Card Project, a credit card joint venture with a leading Chinese bank.

2012: Joined Credit Ease, the largest P2P company in China,as Head of Credit Management, overseeing risk and credit operations of various business lines.

ABOUT QUARK FINANCE:
Quark Finance is a leading consumer finance company based in Shanghai,China. It uses world-class credit management technology to provide loans toconsumers and entrepreneurs.

Quark was founded in April 2014 by seasoned professionals with experience in retail banking, risk management, and financial services. Senior management previously directed regional risk management andsales for multinational financial institutions such as AIG, Citibank, and JPMorgan Chase.

Quark addresses the rapidly growing consumer finance market that commercial banks have difficulty covering due to Chinese regulatory restraints and banking practices. Every year, tens of trillions of RMB are lent person-to-person or through underground money shops.

From May to December 2014, Quark Finance facilitated the issuance of RMB 740 million in consumer loans, achieving a 67% monthly CAGR. In the year 2015, the number of newly issued loans achieved RMB 4 billion, increased 5 times over the year. Quark Finance aims to become China’s pre-eminent web-based platform for personal financial services with professional risk management, direct sales, and cutting-edge technology. 

ABOUT ORGANIZERS:

Peking University Alumni Association of New England (PKUAA-NE)

http://www.pkuaa-ne.org/about/

Established in 1994, Peking University Alumni Association of New England (PKUAA-NE) is a registered non-profit organization in Massachusetts. We are committed to serving alumni, alma mater, social responsibility, and to build a common platform for alumni's career development, academic studies, social life and entertainment.

WeiMing-Zi Jing Venture & Practice Alliance (WMZJ)
http://www.weimingzijing.com/

Wei Ming-Zi Jing Venture & Practice Alliance (WMZJ) was co-founded by the Peking University Alumni Association-New England andTsinghua Alumni Association at Greater Boston in 2012, to bridge entrepreneurialtalents in the East Coast of the United States and various entrepreneurship opportunities and resources in China. WMZJ is committedto establishing a platform for mutual exchange, sharing, and collaboration among young entrepreneurs with start-up ideas and providing them with first-hand information of entrepreneurship resources to enable bettermatch and settlement.  

紐英崙客家鄉親 3/19 慶天穿日

紐英倫客家鄉親會主辨之一年一度慶祝 " 天穿日 活動 "， 訂於三月十九日，星期六， 擧行。

時間： 2 0 1 6 年 3 月 1 9 日， 星期六，上午 1 1 時 3 0 分 至下午 2 時 3 0 分 

地點： Hyde Community Center, 9 0 Lincoln Street, Newton Highlands, MA  (僑教中心樓上體育館)

活動收費： 會員以家庭為單位， 每家庭收會費 $2 0，免收活動費。非會員每人收費 $15，10 歲以下孩童免費。 請鄉親朋友在會場入口處繳費。

活動內容： 客家小吃， 客家舞蹈， 抽獎，唱歌及其他團體活動。

由於會場座位有限，有興趣參加者， 請盡快向下列鄉親會理事報名，以便統計人數。

周一男  (617-965-0867, georgeinchou@gmail.com);  陳裕逢 （617-816-6622，terrenceychen@gmail.com); 

曾秀梅 （617-553-0388，meihsu168@gmail.com);  謝如鍵 （617-901-3888，kenchia22778@gmail.com); 

林展輝 （617-281-8633, jhlin15@yahoo.com)

紐英倫客家鄉親會全體理事 敬邀

波士頓華埠社區中心獲道富集團捐款85,000元

BOSTON – The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Inc. (BCNC) announces receipt of an $85,000 grant award from the State Street Foundation, to support BCNC’s Adult Education program. This grant will assist BCNC in its continued efforts to support educational and career advising services, further integrate technology into classrooms, provide training and support for volunteer tutors and mentors, and ensure the quality of program monitoring and evaluation.

“We appreciate the generous and continued support of the State Street Foundation, as we help our immigrant community members achieve higher degrees of economic success and well-being in our community,” said Giles Li, BCNC’s Executive Director.

This grant will also ensure continued support for BCNC’s Adult Education program, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). In recognition of the ESOL program’s strength, BCNC has been granted funding from the state of Massachusetts for more than two decades. Our Boston program scored 23 out of 25 Performance Standard points in FY15, and in FY13 the Quincy program was ranked third among all ESOL programs in the state. The program serves over 250 adult immigrant learners each year, offering participants English and citizenship classes, education and career advice, career readiness skills, and tutoring support.

The State Street Foundation has supported BCNC for over 10 years. Its grant-making program aims to increase an individual’s ability to earn and maintain a living, thus contributing to the overall health and well-being of communities around the world.

“The State Street Foundation is pleased to collaborate with BCNC in education and workforce development,” said Mike Scannell, senior vice president, State Street Corporation and chairman and president of the State Street Foundation. “We couldn’t be more proud of the success of our long-standing partnership, which has helped keep our citizens on track toward achieving academic success and obtaining meaningful career opportunities.”

MONEYGRAM TO PAY $13 MILLION IN MULTISTATE SETTLEMENT OVER WIRE TRANSFER SCAMS, AG HEALEY OFFERS TIPS FOR CONSUMERS

MONEYGRAM TO PAY $13 MILLION IN MULTISTATE SETTLEMENT OVER WIRE TRANSFER SCAMS, AG HEALEY OFFERS TIPS FOR CONSUMERS

Settlement Funds Provide Restitution to Massachusetts Consumers; Company to Improve Anti-Fraud Program

BOSTON – A national wire transfer service has agreed to pay $13 million to resolve a multistate investigation into fraudulent money transfer scams, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. The settlement funds will provide restitution to eligible consumers and a payment to the states that participated in the multistate investigation. The settlement will also require the company to improve its anti-fraud program.

AG Healey’s Office, along with 48 other states and the District of Columbia, participated in the multistate settlement with Dallas-based MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. (MoneyGram). Today’s settlement resolves a multistate investigation into complaints from consumers who used MoneyGram’s wire transfer service to send money to third parties in foreign countries that turned out to be fraudulent. 

“Consumers should always be wary of any requests for an immediate transfer of money through a non-bank money transfer service or reloadable payment card,” said AG Healey. “These types of scams range from ‘grandparent’ scams to lottery and contest scams and rely on money transfer services because there is often no way to trace the money, reverse the transaction, or recover the money once it reaches the hands of the scammer.”

Under the terms of the settlement, MoneyGram has agreed to pay a total of $13 million, of which approximately $9 million will fund a nationwide consumer restitution program. The remainder of the settlement funds will go to the participating states for costs and fees, including $210,000 to Massachusetts. 

Consumers eligible for the nationwide restitution program will be contacted by a settlement administrator.

As part of the settlement, MoneyGram has also agreed to improve its anti-fraud programs to better prevent fraud-induced wire transfers. MoneyGram will be required to provide additional compliance training for agents, maintain guidelines regarding when an agent’s conduct warrants suspension or termination, operate a hotline system where employees and agents can report noncompliance with anti-fraud measures, and continually enhance its technology solutions to protect consumers.

AG Healey warns consumers to be extremely suspicious if they receive a telephone call from someone asking for money or personal information, including when:

·         The caller is a stranger — in this country or anywhere else;

·         The caller says he or she is a grandchild or relative in a crisis;

·         The caller is in another country or a far-away location;

·         The caller says he or she is in trouble and urgently needs money;

·         The caller requests secrecy;

·         The caller asks for the funds to be sent by wire transfer.

More information about this settlement is available at the Settlement Administrator’s website: www.MoneyGramSettlement.com.

Additional information and resources pertaining to consumer scams are available on the Attorney General’s website. Consumers with concerns can call Attorney General Healey’s Consumer Hotline at (617) 727-8400. The FTC also provides information about money wire scams on their website, www.ftc.gov. 

In Massachusetts, this matter was handled by Deputy Division Chief Monica Brookman and Legal Analyst Emily Garvey, both of AG Healey’s Insurance and Financial Services Division.