麻州野生動物會放生55隻瀕危烏龜

MassWildlife Releases 55 Endangered Turtles as Part of Successful Restoration Effort

BOSTON – As part of the Baker-Polito Administration’s efforts to restore endangered species in Massachusetts, Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) officials, cooperating partners and members of the public today participated in the release of 55 Northern Red-bellied Cooters, a turtle listed on both federal and state endangered species lists, at the Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson.

Last fall, the cooter hatchlings were removed from the wild and paired with partnering educational and scientific facilities from across the state as part of MassWildlife’s “headstarting” program. Raising the turtles in captivity for several months greatly accelerates growth and reduces the likelihood of death from predators during a turtle’s first year of life.

春天科技高中中文課學生進波士頓華埠探險

春田科技高中教師：外語部主任Anne Ferriter(前排左二)、中文教師

黃美珠(前排右一)、駐波士頓教育組組長黃薳玉(前排左三)與該校

學生會後合影。(教育組提供)

(Boston Orange周菊子整理)麻州中部春田科技高中(Springfield High School of Science and Technology)29名中文課學生，日前由該校外語部主任Ann Ferriter，中文老師黃美珠率領，進波士頓華埠”探險。

駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處教育組組長黃薳玉配合該校的華語文戶外教學主題，請這些學生到華埠餐廳品嘗中華美食，學習使用筷子。

席間，黃薳玉派發教育部臺灣獎學金與華語文獎學金資料，鼓勵這些學生將來到臺灣進修。她說，臺灣的華語文教學環境豐富多元，大學課程學費和美國比也更有經濟效益，人民又友善，絕對是美國學生到海外留遊學的最佳選擇之一。

            到華埠餐廳用餐前，春田科技高中的這些學生根據黃美珠老師的設計，當天早上先分組走訪波士頓華埠的中藥店、飲料店、中華藝品店，訪談商家，練習華語文，也藉由實地接觸，認識中華文化及華埠社區的生活型態，午餐時再由4名同學做代表，分享見聞，交流心得，從一踏進華埠就看到中文店鋪招牌林立，糕餅、飲品店裏賣茶葉蛋，珍珠奶茶，超市新鮮蔬菜種類繁多，聊得好開心。

            黃薳玉指出，春田科技高中的黃美珠老師在教育的第一線崗位長年耕耘，2016年還獲得波士頓經文處頒給「2016年優秀中文教師獎」，十分難得。海外華語文教育的延續，全靠這些老師的熱心付出。(經文處教育組提供資料)

中華耆英會慶祝45週年

波士頓僑教中心主任歐宏偉(右起)與駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處
副處長陳銘俊代表僑委會委員長吳新興，送出「共濟群力」賀軸
乙幀給中華耆英會，由董事長陳建立，行政主任梅伍銀寬接受。
(波士頓僑教中心提供)

波士頓中華耆英會5月24日晚在華埠龍鳳大酒樓慶祝創會45週年，300餘名各界僑領及主流政要參加。

會上不但有音樂演奏等文娛表演，摸彩等助興節目，還有多名藝術家捐贈的攝影、國畫作品現場拍賣，場面熱絡溫馨。

駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處副處長陳銘俊，僑教中心主任歐宏偉在會上依序代表中華民國政府，僑務委員會委員長吳新興，向中華耆英會表達敬意，祝福，感謝該會在海外華人社區的長期付出與貢獻。

他們兩人也聯袂送給該會「共濟群力」賀軸乙幀，由董事長陳建立和行政主任梅伍銀寬代表接受。

波士頓年輕人比率之高 全美大城市中排名第一

(Boston Orange 周菊子整理報導)波士頓基金會(Boston Foundation)週三(24日)公佈的一份調查報告指波士頓是”千禧年世代城市”。 市內年紀在18至37歲的千禧年居民己乎佔了總人口的三分之一。

波士頓商業雜誌指出，根據大約1600名參加調查的大波士頓千禧年世代居民，波士頓市有著文化豐富，多元的好處，但也面對著房價太貴，地方經濟並不能為不同族群提供平等機會的現實。

根據該報告，波士頓市的20至34歲人口，佔全市人口34%，高居全美25大城市的第一位。年輕人最多，聚集最密的地區是高佔82%的芬衛-侃麼(Fenway-Kenmore) ，以及高佔65%的奧斯頓-布萊頓(Allston-Brighton)。這些年輕人的族裔多元化程度也前所未有的高，有43%是非白人或西班牙裔白人。

波士頓商業雜誌認為，這調查報告讓人看到至少五大現象，首先是房價太貴，大部分年輕人都未置業，一半以上得把三分之一的薪水花在房租上。其次是族裔不同，收入有別。許多接受調查的黑人及拉丁裔千禧年世代，都說自己入不敷出。三是波士頓，劍橋市，尚莫維爾市這三個城市的千禧年人口在2000年到2015年間成長最快，遠超過其他城市。大波士頓地區的千禧年代人口受教育程度之告，也遠比以前年代為高。以波士頓為例，在2000年到2015年間，持有大學學位年輕人的比例從52%成長到65%。這些千禧年世代年輕人並不特別擔心波士頓的經濟景況，但憂慮機會不平等。80%接受調查的人說，他們相信波士頓的未來經濟前景很好，但有不下70%的人認為，並不是每一種社會經濟背景的人都有一樣多的經濟機會。

波士頓環球報指出，以2014年為例，大波士頓25歲以上年輕人，有45%持有大專學歷，在全美排行第四，僅次於華府，聖荷西，以及舊金山。

該調查由波士頓基金會的研究機構，波士頓指標(Boston Indicators)，以及大波士頓商會的”城市覺醒(City Awake)”製作，調查了308名18歲至37歲的年輕人。

馬克祖柏格領哈佛博士學位 盼未來世界人人無憂 勸對別人好一點

哈佛大學校長佛斯特(Catherine Drew Fauter，右)為畢業演講致詞。
前左一為馬克祖柏格。(周菊子攝)

            (Boston Orange 周菊子麻州劍橋市報導)臉書(Facebook)創辦人馬克祖柏格(Mark Zuckerberg)5月25日下午為哈佛大學畢業典禮演講，向冒雨出席的數百名校友及嘉賓說，推動社會前進的世代挑戰是”重新建立使命感(renew sense of purpose)”，理想的未來世界應該是沒有人會因為害怕無法生存而放棄夢想。

馬克祖柏格站在哈佛畢業典禮舞台上，笑得合不攏嘴。(周菊子攝)

            從未大學畢業，但獲頒哈佛大學榮譽法學博士學位的馬克祖柏格在演講中從個人談及社會，直言世界並不公平，人們成功不只是因為有好想法，肯努力，更是因為幸運。他希望和他一樣屬於"千禧年"這世代的年輕人，能有勇氣讓自己的生命變得更好，並連帶影響世界。

            他說這演講主要想談目的。他認為”千禧年”世代的人都有使命感，但個人有使命感還不夠，大家面對的挑戰是如何創造一個每個人都有使命感的世界。要推動社會向前，就必須重新建立使命感。

馬克祖柏格位哈佛畢業典禮致詞。(周菊子攝)

            一，二，三的，馬克祖柏格還舉例說明，要如何重建使命感。首先要有一個有意義的大項目，例如治癒人世間所有的疾病，讓民主現代化；其次是重新定義平等，給人們追求目地的自由，因為最偉大的成功，往往源於能自由的不懼怕失敗；最後，要為每一個人建立目的感的做法是打造社區，並且以全世界為最終目標的從小，從地方做起。馬克祖柏格說，我們生活在一個不穩定的時代，自由，開放及全球社區和獨裁對抗，知識流通，貿易及移民和會拖慢他們的力量對抗。這其實不是國家之爭，而是理念之戰。

馬克祖柏格。(周菊子攝)

            他還藉演講澄清電影裡關於Facemesh是Facebook前身的故事不正確，但認識Priscilla，的確是他哈佛生涯中發生的最好的一件事。那時候他告訴Priscilla，還有三天他就要被踢出學校了，所以他們得趕快約會。他笑說這台詞，快畢業的人都可以用。

哈佛大學校長佛斯特(前左)，和校董中唯一的華人李威鳳
(William F. Lee)(前右)坐在舞台第一排。(周菊子攝)

            馬克祖柏格表示，當初不肯賣臉書，是因為他想要對世界有影響。他認為”凡事從小做起”，每個人都可以一星期拿出一，二個小時做公益，為改善社會做些貢獻。他在Priscilla堅持下，去了一個男女童軍會教編碼，市場行銷，了解到一個以前從來沒有深刻認識的社會層面。

其中一名無證件學生，因為這特殊身分，恐怕自己沒有機會上大學，但在回應馬克祖柏格問他最想要什麼生日禮物時，卻回答”一本有關社會正義”的書。馬克祖柏格提及這段經歷時，語帶哽噎。

馬克祖柏格看著台下的妻子。(周菊子攝)

            他也以自己的遭遇，勸年輕人平時對別人好一點。他說初進哈佛時，不知為什麼，竟沒人會和他說話，只有一個名叫KX Jin的人。結果，KX Jin現在和他一起經營”臉書”。                                                             輟學者獲頒博士學位，為學校畢業典禮致詞，馬克祖柏格並不是第一人。哈佛大學在他之前，有比爾蓋茲(Bill Gates)於2007年返校演講，領得同樣的榮譽法學博士學位。麻州大學安赫斯特(Amherst)分校，有2016年時，所創辦公司Crashlytic被推特(Twitter)以逾億美元收購的張宗瑋。

哈佛大學13名校董中唯一的華人，李威鳳(William F. Lee)。(周菊子攝)

哈佛校友進場，從1928年那一屆開始。(周菊子攝)

麻州總檢察長奚莉(Maura Healy)也是哈佛校友，特地出席。(周菊子攝)

麻州總檢察長奚莉(Maura Healy)獲點名介紹。(周菊子攝)

Add caption

儀式結束，哈佛畢業生們紛紛湧上前要和馬克祖柏格合影。

下雨，許多哈佛畢業生及校友都選擇留在室內看轉播。

REP. LIEU STATEMENT ON 4TH CIRCUIT UPHOLDING BLOCK OF TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN

 REP. LIEU STATEMENT ON 4TH CIRCUIT UPHOLDING BLOCK OF TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN

Washington – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the US 4TH Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to reinstate President Trump’s revised travel ban.

“As an immigrant, I applaud the decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the block of President Trump’s Muslim ban.  The 4th Circuit is spot on when it writes that Trump’s ban ‘drips with intolerance, animus and discrimination.’  As a Veteran, I also stress the fact that Trump’s bigoted ban – couched within a misguided argument about our national security – does nothing to make America safer.  In fact, Trump’s Muslim ban hands our real enemies like ISIL and al-Qaeda a powerful recruiting tool and undermines our relationships with partners abroad.  There is nothing more un-American than undermining our fundamental value of accepting those who are fleeing tyranny, those who want to start a better life in the United States.  Thanks to the 4th Circuit, some of America’s fundamental values are safe from Trump’s desire to gut them.”

CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu on 4th Circuit Upholding Block of Muslim Ban

CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu on 4th Circuit Upholding Block of Muslim Ban

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s injunction against President Donald Trump’s repackaged Muslim and refugee travel ban. Following the ruling, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) issued the following statement:

“Today, the Fourth Circuit Court confirmed what we have been saying for months – President Trump’s Muslim travel ban is not only anti-Muslim and un-American, but fundamentally violates our constitutional right to freedom of religion. Both of the President’s failed attempts to discriminate on the basis of religion prove that his dangerous policies cannot be shrouded behind a false rhetoric of national security. In fact, neither the Muslim ban nor Trump’s other xenophobic Executive Orders have anything to do with national security. Instead, they are thinly veiled attempts to discriminate against entire communities and they run contrary to many core American values. I applaud the decision of the 4th Circuit today, whose ruling affirms that our fundamental values as a nation cannot be threatened.

Hubway bike share network expansion is a project of the Go Boston 2030 mobility plan

MAYOR MARTIN J. WALSH AND LEADERS OF BROOKLINE, CAMBRIDGE, AND SOMERVILLE ANNOUNCE MAJOR EXPANSION OF PUBLIC BIKE SHARE SYSTEM

Expansion of the Hubway bike share network is a project of the Go Boston 2030 mobility plan

BOSTON - Thursday, May 25, 2017 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the largest single expansion of the public bike share system since its launch in Boston in 2011. The upcoming expansion delivers on one of the projects and policies of Go Boston 2030, the City of Boston's comprehensive mobility plan released in March of this year. Over the next two years, more than 70 new bike stations will be added to the 127 stations currently in existence in Boston, more than a 55 percent increase in bike stations located across the City of Boston. The expansion comes after the Boston Transportation Department negotiated a new long-term contract with Motivate, International to operate the publicly-owned Hubway system. "Bike share is low-cost, reliable transportation for Boston residents. I'm proud to bring new service to neighborhoods that have asked to be included in the program," said Mayor Walsh. "To further improve the system, the majority of Hubway stations will now operate in the City of Boston year round, continuing service to residents and other members throughout the winter months." "During the Go Boston 2030 planning process, residents told us they wanted more access to healthy transportation options," said Boston Transportation Commissioner Gina N. Fiandaca. "With this expansion of bike share service, more people can count on riding a bike year round for trips to work, to school, to libraries and more, or for recreational purposes." BTD will continue to seek additional funding opportunities to work toward the City of Boston's 2030 bike share goals. The expansion, as well as new service improvements that will also be introduced in the coming months, is the result of efforts made by BTD's Policy and Planning Division/Active Transportation Team. Additional service improvements include more valet services where users are guaranteed bikes and docks at high-demand locations, and innovative techniques to make sure bikes and empty docks are more available at every station. In addition, the system's dependability will be improved with the addition of new stations and docks where many people are already using bike share. The additional bike-share stations in Boston will be complemented by growth of the Hubway network in Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline as well. Together with Boston, these municipalities manage the regional bike share system and also approved long-term contracts with Motivate. "The region's highly successful bike share system is a result of the collaborative relationship that exists among the partnering cities," said Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale. "Hubway has been available to Cambridge residents and visitors year-round for the past four years, which reflects our commitment to sustainable and cost-effective transportation. We look forward to year-round service coming to Boston, and the system's expansion in the coming years." "For Brookline, near-term system expansion will more than double the number of stations in Town, and at full buildout there will be thirteen stations, making it easier than ever to make regional connections. We are excited to be joining our municipal partners in growing the system and reaching more neighborhoods and riders," said Brookline Board of Selectmen Chair Neil Wishinsky. Planning for Boston's bike share station expansion will begin in the early summer, with public meetings to be held in neighborhoods across the City. BTD expects to reach new neighborhoods with bike share, including Dorchester, Roslindale, and Mattapan. Dozens of new stations and docks will also be added in Boston's existing service area to better meet current demand. "We're excited to work with such great partners to help expand Hubway, and get more people riding than ever before," said Jay Walder, President and CEO of Motivate, the operator of Hubway. "As part of that effort we are talking to several companies potentially interested in becoming the new title sponsor of the program and look forward to finding the right fit to help continue to grow this dynamic, vital new part of Boston's regional transportation network." "Without a doubt bike sharing is having a profound impact on our region," said Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, whose agency helps to coordinate the regional Hubway system. "There is great demand to expand the system into more neighborhoods in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline, and into neighboring cities and towns. Getting more people onto bikes more often is our goal." The Hubway system is regional public transportation by bike, owned by the municipalities of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. System wide, there are more than 180 stations offering 1,600 bikes to more than 15,000 members. Since launching in July 2011, users have taken 5.3 million trips.  Find out more about the Hubway system at www.thehubway.com. ###