星期一, 10月 02, 2017

Corporate Lobbyist Hypocrisy Cited by​ ​Fair Share Amendment Advocates

Corporate Lobbyist Hypocrisy Cited by
​ ​
Fair Share Amendment Advocates 

Companies Taking Millions in Public Benefits, CEOs Won’t Pay Their Fair Share

BOSTON – As the state’s corporate lobbyists launch a legal attempt to deny the people of Massachusetts the right to vote on the millionaire’s tax that was placed on the 2018 ballot earlier this year, the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition today criticized the corporate executives behind the lawsuit for opposing investments in transportation and public education that would benefit all the people of Massachusetts.

“It’s a shame that a few dozen of the richest individuals in Massachusetts are hiding behind secretive corporate lobby organizations like the High Tech Council and the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation to oppose the Fair Share Amendment,” said Lew Finfer, Co-Director of the faith-based Massachusetts Communities Action Network.

“Instead of supporting the Fair Share Amendment and the benefits that a well-educated workforce and a more reliable transportation system will create for their employees, their businesses, and our entire economy, these wealthy corporate executives are fighting the people’s right to vote, just to save themselves a small amount of money on their own personal income taxes,” said Cindy Rowe, Executive Director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA).

The Massachusetts High Technology Council (MHTC), a corporate lobby group that is leading the legal opposition to the Fair Share Amendment, has long advocated for greater focus on public education and transportation infrastructure.  The group has supported raising the gas tax and hiking MBTA fares to fund transportation infrastructure, and supported the sales tax as a way to provide funding for education. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, which are joining MHTC in its lawsuit against the Fair Share Amednment, have all joined the MHTC in supporting an increase in the gas tax.

“When working people are asked to pay more for investments in transportation and education, these corporate lobbyists voice their support for investments,” said Steve Tolman, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “But now that we’re asking the multi-millionaire executives who run the High Tech Council to pay their fair share, they’re doing everything they can to keep the Fair Share Amendment off the ballot.”

Corporate Tax Breaks
MHTC member companies have received at least $144 million in tax breaks and other incentives from the State of Massachusetts and local communities, according to a Raise Up Massachusetts analysis of state records (attached). The average annual compensation of chief executives whose companies received public benefits is $12.3 million.

“These corporate executives have made tens of millions of dollars running companies that benefit from investments in transportation and public education, and they don’t hesitate to take millions of dollars in tax breaks from the state,” said Deb Fastino, Executive Director of the Coalition for Social Justice. “Now they’re secretly bankrolling a legal challenge to avoid paying a small percentage of their enormous incomes to make transportation and education investments that will help our economy grow.”

At least 28 companies are members of more than one of the organizations challenging the Fair Share Amendment, including the Massachusetts High Tech Council, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and the National Federation of Independent Business.

“These five corporate lobbying groups are led and funded by the same small group of wealthy corporate executives who are trying to hide in anonymity,” said Roxana Rivera, vice president of 32BJ SEIU, which represents 18,000 building service workers in the Boston area. “It is simply unacceptable for so few people to attempt to disenfranchise so many in this way. These corporate lobbying groups should immediately reveal the financial backers of this lawsuit so that the hardworking people of Massachusetts know exactly who is trying to take away their right to vote on this citizen’s initiative.”

Other members of MHTC and the other corporate lobbying groups have received million in fees from the Pension Reserves Investments Management Board (PRIM) – the state investment board charged with overseeing the assets of state, county, authority, district, and municipal retirement systems.
 
“It is unconscionable that corporations and the individuals running them are willing to use profits that they have made off of educators and other public employees to attack a sensible initiative that will provide crucial resources to public schools and colleges,” said Barbara Madeloni, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

Legal Defense
Advocates are confident that the Fair Share Amendment will withstand the challenge filed today with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

A legal team consisting of Kate Cook, head of the Government Law Practice Group at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen and the former chief legal counsel for Governor Deval Patrick, Lisa Goodheart, Partner at Sugarman Rogers and former president of the Boston Bar Association, and Northeastern University Law Professor Peter Enrich will represent proponents of the Fair Share Amendment in the Massachusetts High Technology Council (MHTC)’s lawsuit, which challenges the Attorney General’s certification of the constitutional amendment initiative petition. Cook and Goodheart are representing the original signers of the initiative petition, while Enrich is legal counsel for Raise Up Massachusetts, the coalition of community organizations, religious groups, and labor unions behind the Amendment.

About the Fair Share Amendment
The Fair Share Amendment would amend the Massachusetts Constitution to create an additional tax of four percentage points on annual income above $1 million. The new revenue generated by the tax, approximately $1.9 billion in 2019 dollars, could only be spent on quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation.  To ensure that the tax continues to apply only to the highest-income residents, the $1 million threshold would be adjusted each year to reflect cost-of-living increases.

In 2015, the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition of community organizations, religious groups, and labor unions collected over 157,000 signatures to begin the process of amending the Massachusetts Constitution, all without using paid signature gathering companies. In May 2016 and again in June 2017, the state legislature, meeting jointly in a Constitutional Convention, voted overwhelmingly to advance the citizen’s initiative proposal and place it on the 2018 ballot. No legislator who voted for the Fair Share Amendment lost their seat in the November 2016 general election, demonstrating the Fair Share Amendment’s high level of support among voters.

波士頓慶祝十一 市府廣場升五星旗







星期日, 10月 01, 2017

羅德島州布萊恩特大學敦煌藝術展 (圖片)




花果靈根集音樂會 八名演奏家展現中樂優雅美妙

       
"花果靈根集"八名演奏家謝幕。(中華表演藝術基金會提供)
   
 (Boston Orange 周菊子整理報導) 中華表演藝術基金會邀八名中國樂器演奏家演出的”花果靈根集”音樂會,923日晚在新英格蘭音樂學院喬登廳再造轟動場面,不但觀眾掌聲雷動,專家也稱之為令人大開眼界的中國樂器視聽饗宴
              這場花果靈根集是北美中樂團的中國管樂三大金剛,包鍵、胡建兵及陳濤和古箏翁慧、古琴劉麗、琵琶周懿、二胡夏文傑、及大提琴家 Mike Block等八名演奏家,以10首別具特色的即興音樂,演繹華人離散海外,有如花果飄零心情的音樂會。
              這八名演奏家在各自領域都有傑出成就,其中的胡建兵和Mike Block都是馬友友所創辦的絲路合奏團(silk road ensemble)”成員。
左起,胡建兵,陳濤,包鍵,周懿,中華表演藝術基金會會長譚嘉陵,劉麗,翁慧,
Mike Block,夏文傑等人合影。(中華表演藝術基金會提供Chi Wei Lo攝)
麻州大學波士頓分校表演藝術系前主任David Patterson在音樂會後發表了一篇評論,稱這場演奏會毫不令人意外的好。
陸惠風教授也為這場音樂會寫了一篇"花果飄零的淒美意境 -   略談當代的即興意境"作序。
開場曲目”普庵咒”,原本是1169年辭世的”慧慶禪師”余印肅所創作的咒文,據說念誦後有消災解厄,令蟲鼠蚊蟻遠離,凶神惡煞走避作用。清朝恭王府末代傳人愛新覺羅·毓峘整理自己幼年所學成冊的三弦傳譜中的”普庵咒”,則是根據該咒文創作的樂曲
David Patterson認為普庵咒這首曲子,的確透露著另一個世代的味道,包鍵管子,胡建兵笙,陳濤笛子,周懿枇杷,夏文傑二胡,翁慧古箏,劉麗中阮這七人以七種不同樂器來合鳴齊奏,抑揚頓挫的把五聲音階演繹得如此完美,引人入勝。
陳濤笛子,胡建兵笙所演繹的第二首曲子,山西民謠賣菜,是David Patterson認為當晚曲目中最為特出的其中一曲。笛笙的樂音交錯,有如雀鳥私語,給人興味盎然的和諧感。
八名演奏家和中華表演藝術基金戶會長譚嘉陵(前左四),張正山(後左一),林湛濤(前右一)
,黃少堅(前右二)等本地中樂家合影。(中華表演藝術基金會提供,Chi Wei Lo攝)
當晚其他的曲目包括翁慧彈奏的古箏曲墨客,劉麗與陳濤的古琴與蕭合奏流水,胡建兵以笙做五色即興獨奏,周懿與Mike Block的琵琶與大提琴合奏胡建兵作品天竺梵音,由琵琶,古箏,笛子,笙和大提琴合奏的琵琶語,陳濤與翁慧的笛子與古箏合奏清明上河圖,包鍵管子,胡建兵笙,Mike Block大提琴合奏的胡建兵作品幽蘭
他們演奏的第10首曲子江南絲竹老六板,由陳濤笛子,夏文傑二胡,周懿琵琶,胡建兵笙,翁慧古箏,以及劉麗和包鍵用打擊樂器合奏。
中華表演藝術基金會會長譚嘉陵表示,這些中樂演奏家都是很傑出的人才,能夠把他們湊在一起辦一起音樂會,很不容易。她很高興有這機會在大波士頓為發揚中樂貢獻一點心力,也希望有更多人加入行列。
中華表演藝術基金會為發揚中樂的努力,9月,10月還在繼續。9月30日(週六)下午2點,將在波士頓第一教堂舉辦絲竹春吟青少年中國樂器賽",10月7日晚7點半,在同一地點,邀請比賽優勝者出席音樂會演奏。

星期六, 9月 30, 2017

Baker-Polito Administration Announces Mobilization of Massachusetts National Guard to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Response and Recovery

Baker-Polito Administration Announces Mobilization of Massachusetts National Guard to Puerto Rico for Hurricane Response and Recovery
Puerto Rico accepts Massachusetts offer for specialized communications team

BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced Puerto Rico’s official acceptance of an offer from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to mobilize a six person Massachusetts National Guard (MANG) communications unit to Puerto Rico for up to 30 days. The Joint Site Incident Satellite Communications Capability (JISCC) team will support satellite-based data and mobile communications on the island, where communication lines have been severely damaged. 

“We are proud that members of the Massachusetts National Guard will mobilize to Puerto Rico to assist in the recovery operations on the island where lines of communications have been badly damaged,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Massachusetts is ready and willing to offer additional support to Puerto Rico with personnel and equipment as requested and is preparing to welcome disaster survivors seeking temporary or permanent residence in Massachusetts.  We will remain in contact with Puerto Rican officials and federal authorities throughout response and recovery efforts during this devastating time for all affected by Hurricanes Maria and Irma.”

The request for assistance from Puerto Rico came through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), which is the national emergency management mutual aid system that facilitates state-to-state disaster assistance. A JISCC provides satellite-based Internet and radio capabilities to support interoperable civil-military communications.  Multiple National Guard JISCCs from around the U.S. have been mobilized or are in the process of mobilizing to Puerto Rico to support disaster relief operations. The mission is officially accepted and travel details, including the mobilization date, are being organized by the Massachusetts National Guard.

“The mobilization of this specialized National Guard team from Massachusetts will provide direct support to recovery operations and the citizens of Puerto Rico during this trying time,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “As we prepare to help with relief efforts for Puerto Rico and those residents who choose to self-evacuate to Massachusetts through the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund, we will continue to monitor requests for emergency assistance, and urge everyone looking to help to support disaster relief operations through cash donations listed on the state’s website.”

“In recent years, Massachusetts emergency response personnel have been mobilized to states across the nation to assist in the aftermath of all manner of natural disasters,”said Secretary of Public Safety Dan Bennett. “We are proud to continue this tradition by sending personnel to Puerto Rico and thank the emergency management personnel who represent the finest ideals of service to others.”

"The Massachusetts National Guard is committed to building enduring relationships with all our national and state partners. Our service members are prepared to assist and maximize transparency of Department of Defense and Commonwealth of Massachusetts National Guard activities in response to these tragic hurricanes that have struck Puerto Rico," said Major General Gary Keefe, Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard. "We are honored to offer our personnel and resources in this critical time of need and anticipate future mission taskings as we help the citizens of Puerto Rico recover from the devastation caused by these hurricanes."

“EMAC is a key component of our national emergency management enterprise,” said MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz. “We have used EMAC many times to bolster our disaster response and recovery operations in Massachusetts, and as we did for Texas after Hurricane Harvey, we are able to support Puerto Rico as it deals with the impacts of these powerful storms.”

MEMA is preparing an additional EMAC offer to Puerto Rico of bilingual law enforcement officers. Further details will be provided when and if the offer is accepted by Puerto Rico. MEMA continues to monitor the EMAC system and look for opportunities to offer personnel, equipment and resources to Puerto Rico. 

Earlier today, Governor Baker, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Representative Jeffrey Sánchez and members of the Boston Foundation announced the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund to support and respond to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.  The fund has been formed in partnership with the Latino Legacy fund and in cooperation with the Alliance for Puerto Rico. Funds raised will be distributed for reconstruction and relief on the island of Puerto Rico and to support self-evacuees arriving in Massachusetts from Puerto Rico for temporary or permanent residence.

Additionally, the Baker-Polito Administration yesterday announced the formation of a task force that will ensure that the state is prepared to support the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for individuals who chose to self-evacuate the island and seek temporary or permanent residence in Massachusetts. State officials remain in communication with the Government of Puerto Rico and federal authorities and are ready and willing to offer emergency assistance, such as personnel and equipment, at the request of Puerto Rico. 


Volunteers, Donations:

·       Donations - Donating cash to recognized disaster relief organizations is the best way to help people in need after a disaster. Cash donations are efficient, flexible to use, and require no transportation. Consider donating to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other disaster relief organization that is a member of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD): https://www.nvoad.org/current-disasters/werespond/

·       Volunteers – Those looking to volunteer are encouraged to get involved with an established disaster relief organization.  This ensures that volunteer efforts are coordinated and that the needs of disaster communities and survivors are met.  People are asked not to self-deploy to a disaster area.  Information on volunteering is available through the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD): https://www.nvoad.org/current-disasters/werespond/

星期五, 9月 29, 2017

REP. LIEU STATEMENT ON RESIGNATION OF HHS SECRETARY TOM PRICE

REP. LIEU STATEMENT ON RESIGNATION OF HHS SECRETARY TOM PRICE

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) issued the following statement on the resignation of Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price.
“It’s great that Price took responsibility for his reckless actions but this doesn’t change the Trump Administration’s culture of self-dealing. Tom Price was just one example of numerous department heads who were more concerned with their comfort than with serving the public. At a time when agency heads are slashing programs for sick people, veterans, children, and the elderly, theseswamp flyers are sticking the American people with the bill for wasteful – and possibly illegal – travel in private jets around the country.
 If Trump were serious about draining the swamp, he would also fire Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Pruitt, who have also taken luxury private travel on the taxpayer’s dime. I couldn’t believe I had to introduce a bill this week curbing private plane travel for senior political appointees. What a ridiculous state of affairs we’re in that we have to push to codify basic standards of ethics and good governance.”

兩場生醫研討會12月台灣見


『如果你喜歡這個夏天,請把熱情留到這個冬天』

十多年前,我們期待臺灣的生技會起飛。
十多年後,當我們走上生科的路,成為生技人,
可曾想過,臺灣的生技未來會在哪?

誠摯地邀請諸位旅外的生技人,
不管是學生、博後或學、業界的新鮮人,
今年底,回臺灣分享,你/妳的生科路與生技夢。

https://goo.gl/5cEGLR


There are two symposiums. One is in Taipei on Dec. 30th and the other is in Tainan on Dec. 23rd. Which one would you like to participate in? Please let us know which event you are interested in participating