InnovateMA 呼籲協助創業者居留

Thank you for participating in InnovateMA by attending one of our events or signing one of our petitions. We have had a busy start to 2015 and wanted to share some of our successes and goals for the months ahead. Some Funds Restored to the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program: Last year leaders in the innovation economy worked with the state to devise a plan that allowed foreign students who are starting companies and creating jobs to stay here in Massachusetts. The program gave the entrepreneurs part-time positions at participating universities in Massachusetts, allowing them to continue growing their start-ups while jump-starting their visa process. This policy was touted nationally as a clever approach to immigration reform and furthered the image of Massachusetts as a national leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. In an attempt to reduce the deficit, Governor Baker cut all funding to this program in January. Earlier this month, he proposed restoring $100,000 back to the program in his 2016 budget proposal. Now the Legislature needs to agree to include this funding in their proposed 2016 budgets as well. We are asking you to join us in asking the legislature to restore the funding needed to continue running the Global Entrepreneurs in Residence program by singing our online petition for Entrepreneurial Equity:http://www.innovatema.com/ee Please also share this with your networks. Helping Hanlin: We believe that we all need to work together on issues that improve the innovation economy, even if they do not affect us directly. To that end, we wanted to share with you the story of Hanlin. We met Hanlin at RunningStart in Worcester. He is a WPI graduate from China who, along with a few classmates, has started a robotics company in Worcester. His company just received its first round of angel funding and he is looking to hire his first few employees in the next 6 months. The problem is, his visa expires in 9 months, and his application for an H1B visa is far from certain. (Hanlin telling his story at a FWD.us monthly meeting) He expressed frustration that, in all likelihood, he would be forced to go back to China, and bring his ideas, his company, and his jobs back with him. And Hanlin asked us for help. So we are asking you to help us amplify his story and help him - along with every other immigrant who has been educated in Massachusetts and wants to start a company here. First, we are asking you to join our coalition partner, FWD.us in pushing for comprehensive federal immigration reform: http://blog.fwd.us/progress-h-4-visa-holders Second, please consider signing the Entrepreneurial Equity petition that we detail above and sharing it with your networks: http://www.innovatema.com/ee. Restoring the needed funding to the Global Entrepreneur in Residence program will help those like Hanlin. Innovation Tour Continues: We are crisscrossing the State to make sure that every entrepreneur across the commonwealth has a say in our collective agenda. We are continuing our tour over the next month with stops at MassDigi in Worcester, Groundwork in New Bedford, and the Quincy Center for Innovation. We encourage you to check back on Loomio (http://www.InnovateMA.com/priorities) to see updates on the public policy agenda that you are helping us build. Innovate MA http://www.innovatema.com/

Innovate MA Coalition · United States This email was sent to chutze@bostonorange.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. You can also keep up with Innovate MA on Twitter.

第七屆紐英崙中華民族舞蹈比賽 4/14

第七屆紐英崙中華民族舞蹈比賽

由於上個月波士頓地區受到嚴重風雪的影響，位於Woburn 的紐英崙中華藝術協會活動中心舞台上方的屋頂嚴重受損，必須經過整修才可繼續使用。眼看即將舉辦的第七屆中華民族舞蹈比賽的日期即將到臨，只好到處尋覓合適的比賽場所。真是傷透腦筋，因為日期太近，大部分場地皆已被租用。一直到今天場地的事才正式解決了問題，

        由紐英崙中華藝術協會主辦的「第七屆紐英崙中華民族舞蹈比賽」現正式決定改在 Lexington 的 Johas Clarke Middle School 大禮堂, 40 Brookside Ave., Lexington, MA 02421 舉行，日期仍在 Saturday, April 4, 2015. 這是一整天的比賽，8:00AM 開始，6:00PM 結束。上午舉行雙人與三人組，以及12歲以下的個人組的比賽。下午舉行團體組與十三嵗以上個人組的比賽，歡迎有興趣的朋友們前往觀賞。

昆士市長邀義工同聚 準備競選連任

昆士市今年又要改選市長了。由於今年當選的市長，任期將改為一任四年，迄今已有至少兩人宣佈要角逐大位，傳聞要伺機而動的也有好幾人。2008年首度就任，並連任迄今的昆士市現任市長柯奇（Tom Koch），倒是頗淡定，三月廿四日晚才舉辦競選義工整合聚會，預定五月才正式宣佈競選連任。

昆士市長柯奇三月廿四日晚在“義大利之子”俱樂部，廣邀競選義工聚會，先見面熱身一番。柯奇透露，當晚有三百多人到會，但登記在冊的助選義工，已有不下六百人。

柯奇的發言人沃克表示，當晚約有三十多名亞裔出席，由於市長助理邱潔芳的協助，柯奇政府和亞裔社區的互動十分良好。

手邊約有十三萬八千元競選經費的柯奇當晚表示，這只是和義工們聯絡感情而已，目前他的心思主要還是放在市政經營上。尤其是今冬天氣惡劣，殘雪堆積遍地，市府忙著整頓街道，也要想法彌平因此形成的預算赤字。令人開心的是，昆市中心重建工程停滯了一段時間後，現已漸入軌道，將在短期內復工。

談及波士頓市承辦奧運一事，柯奇表示他支持波士頓市長馬丁華殊，認為昆士市緊鄰波士頓，奧運帶來的經濟效益，昆市也會沾光，但波士頓市民才是最直接的受衝擊者，辦不辦奧運，應由波市居民做最後決定。

根據昆士市的選舉日程表，昆士市的登記委員會（board of registrars）要到五月五日，才正式公佈參選表格，有意參選者可遲至八月四日遞交表格，辦理參選手續，八月十九日公佈參選人名單，如果同一黨派有兩人以上參選，才辦黨派初選。

在這種日程中，三月實在是個還很早的日子。不過，市長任期改為一任四年，今年不試，就得等四年以後，於是有心者紛紛冒出頭來。

目前除了昆市學校委員會副主席馬洪妮（Ann Mahoney），昆市不分區市議員古楚（Doug Gutro）已宣佈參選，並分別宣稱有不同的工會組織支持之外，坊間傳聞，昆市前市長，在2002至2008年間擔任市長的費蘭（William Phelan），也有意捲土重來，再爭市長寶座。

富士（Fuji）餐飲集團董事長，曾經參選昆士市市議員的梁戰士，在被人問及是否今年會參選市長時，也不置可否的表示，有機會，就試。

圖片說明：

            昆士市長柯奇（Tom Koch）（右）為競選連任做準備。他的內弟，麻州參議員約翰基南（John Kenan）（左）義不容辭的到場支持。（菊子攝）

經文處拜會新罕布夏州州長聯邦議員

駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長賴銘琪三月廿四日率員赴新罕布夏州（NH），拜會該州州長，聯邦眾議員，經貿官員，洽談台灣如何與該州加強經貿、科技、教育及文化等各方面交流合作事宜。

經文處處長賴銘琪率經文處組長官大鉎，經濟組組長石大玲等人，三月廿四日分別前往新罕布夏州首府康可（Concord）市，以及該州第一大城曼徹斯特市，會晤了新罕布夏州州長Maggie Hassan，該州資源及經濟發展廳科長Carmen Lorentz，代表該州聯邦眾議員Frank Guinta (R-NH)的選區主任Sean Thomas等人，討論如何加強拓展該州與台灣之經貿、科技、教育及文化等領域的交流合作。

            Maggie Hassan表示，她女兒曾到台灣旅遊，對台灣印象深刻，連帶讓她有也對台灣頗有好感，很願意在該州刻正有意加強對外經貿之際，拓展與台灣的關係，並在相關議題上進一步合作。

            經文處指出，根據美國商務部2014年統計，台灣已躍升為美國第10大貿易夥伴。新罕布夏州在這一年中與台灣的雙邊貿易額也達到1億3千4百萬美元，對台出口總額成長高達25%，台灣也已成為該州第14大進口來源國。雙邊主要貿易項目除電子、機械等高科技零組件外，其中漁產品─龍蝦，更有大幅度成長，顯見雙邊貿易增長潛力仍然很大。

在討論中，雙方都同意加強優質農、漁產品、高科技產業及教育等方面之合作交流。

圖片說明：

經文處處長賴銘琪（左）拜會新罕布夏州州長Maggie Hassan（右）。（圖由經文處提供）

經文處處長賴處長銘琪（右二）拜會聯邦眾議員Frank Guinta (R-NH)之選區主任Sean Thomas（左二）。（圖由經文處提供）

波士頓市長宣佈五大改善交通計畫 闢有保護專用自行車道

波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh）昨（廿五）日早上，一口氣宣佈五項計畫，還將徵聘新交通主任，以改善波士頓市內交通狀況，加強徒步，騎自行車或開車的公共安全。

            這五項計劃包括在波士頓大學橋（BU Bridge）到惠普角（Packard’s Corner,）之間的州道（Commonwealth Avenue），設立有保護的自行車專用車道；採行旨在消滅市內交通事故死亡率的“波士頓見零（Vision Zero Boston）”做法；把全市的停車計時收費錶換成智慧錶，以及避免街邊拖吊的試驗性計劃等。

            波士頓市府表示，市府以2030年為目標，著眼於未來五年，十年，十五年的波士頓市交通狀況，設想了許多大膽計畫，前述五項計劃只是其中的早期行動計畫之ㄧ。

            波士頓市還將全國搜尋，聘請一名具有整體觀念，能從徒步，騎自行車，搭乘公共交通工具人們的角度著想的交通主任。

            其中的“波士頓見零”計畫，是紐約，舊金山，芝加哥等城市已採行做法，以交通安全為優先考量，藉由訂定有效政策，系統性的評估及執行，來預防交通事故的發生。波士頓市長馬丁華叔因此成立了一個由波士頓警察局，波士頓公共衛生局，波士頓急救服務隊，“波士頓徒步”等機構組成的“見零工作小組”，來制定行動計畫。

            波士頓警察局將聘請一名全職的交通安全數據分析師，以及一名全職的藉由數據處理犯罪及交通安全分析師（DDACTS  Analyst）。

            波士頓市在廿四日晚的公眾會議中，已經透露，將重新設計州道（Commonwealth Ave.）。將在波士頓大學橋和惠普角之間，以及其他地點，闢建藉停在路邊車輛把行駛中自行車和一般車輛分開，共約四哩長的有保護自行車道。道路翻修工程，估計將耗資一千七百萬元，其中百分之八十由聯邦政府資助，百分之廿由州政府資助。波士頓市府將於今秋再次召開公聽會，然後再辦理工程招標，估計2017年秋可以完工。。

            紐約市聯合廣場（Union Square）重新設計，加裝有保護的自行車道後，商用店面空缺率減少了將近50%，第九大道上的零售業績也增加了將近50%。

            在智慧停車計時收費錶上，波士頓市政府交通局局長Gina Fiandaca透露，波士頓市內，共有八千個裝有停車計時收費錶的停車位，其中約260個是容許民眾以信用卡，預付卡，或銅板繳付停車費的智慧錶，約113個供多個停車位使用計時收費錶。波市府打算陸續把這些收費錶，全都換成智慧型收費錶，並和軟體開發商合作，藉以取得停車位使用頻率，各停車位佔用情況的實時資訊等等數據，一旦全面佈局，將可容許民眾，政府更有效率的使用停車位資源，並為將來的相關改善提供參考數據。

            波士頓市長馬丁華殊昨日在記者中表示，更換智慧停車計時錶估計約需耗資六百萬元。相關費用將由收取的停車費等來支付。

            另一項將先挑選一個波士頓市內社區試行的計畫是，不再因為清掃街道而拖吊停在路邊的車輛，但阻礙街道清掃的罰款，將從四十元增加到九十元。波市府將根據試行結果決定是否推廣到其他社區去。

圖片說明：

            波士頓市長馬丁華殊（後右起）昨日率市府官員，公共衛生局局長阮惠博士（譯音，Huy Nguyen），波市健康及人民服務長小阿若約（Felix Ｇ. Arroyo）等，宣佈五項改善交通及公共安全計畫。（菊子攝）

            波士頓市政府交通局局長Gina Fiandaca表示，波士頓市約有七千個老式停車計時收費錶，將陸續耕換成智慧型。（菊子攝）

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES FUTURE FOCUSED TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS FOR PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS, AND DRIVERS

To reduce serious traffic crashes, improve bike infrastructure, make meter payment more convenient, pilot elimination of street sweeping towing

BOSTON - March 24, 2015 - Today, Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced five transportation initiatives to improve how individuals on foot, bike, or in a vehicle move around the City of Boston with a significant focus on improving public safety. The announcements include a complete streets approach to Commonwealth Avenue, featuring protected bike lane on from the BU Bridge to Packard’s Corner, the adoption of Vision Zero Boston, aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities in the city, the citywide replacement of parking meters with intelligent parking meters, and a pilot program to eliminate street sweeping towing. The initiatives are early action projects as part of Go Boston 2030 launched to imagine a bold new transportation plan for Boston for the next five, 10, and 15 years. Additionally, the Mayor and the Boston Transportation Department will begin a nationwide search for a new Active Transportation Director to think holistically about how our streets are used by people who walk, bike, and take transit.

“We’re implementing innovative and inventive transportation strategies and infrastructure upgrades in the City of Boston to improve travel safety and convenience,” said Mayor Walsh. “Whether you walk, drive, take the T, or ride a bike on our streets, we’re looking at solutions that can accommodate every mode of transportation in a meaningful way.”

Vision Zero

Mayor Walsh announced that the City of Boston will adopt Vision Zero, based on the premise that traffic fatalities are not accidents, but rather they are crashes that can be  prevented by effective policies and systematic evaluation, enforcement, engineering, education, and  community engagement.  By adopting Vision Zero, the City of Boston joins cities such as New York, San  Francisco, and Chicago, which have committed to making traffic safety a priority. Toward that end, Mayor Walsh has convened a Vision Zero Task Force to develop an action plan for a  comprehensive and coordinated strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries in Boston.  

The Task  Force includes representatives of Boston’s Transportation Department (BTD), the Boston Police Department (BPD), the Public Works Departments (PWD), the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), Boston Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and WalkBoston, Massachusetts’  leading pedestrian advocacy organization.  Early action items include:

• BPD improvements to its electronic crash reporting system that will lead to  better data collection and better crash analysis;
• BPD is hiring a full‐time Transportation Safety Data Analyst and a full‐time DDACTS  Analyst (Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety) to reduce motor vehicle,  pedestrian and bicycle collisions. Evidence in other cities suggests that this will also reduce  crime.
• BPD and EMS will use crash data to identify pedestrian crash hot spots and high crash corridors with the help of researchers from BPHC and the Tufts Medical  Center Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.
• BTD and PWD will pilot test rapid‐response improvements at pedestrian crash hot spots and along high crash corridors, as well as “residential slow zones”
• BPHC will assist with education and outreach to educate residents  on safe road behavior.

Commonwealth Avenue Multi-Modal Redesign

At a public meeting held at Boston University, the City of Boston last night unveiled the new Commonwealth Avenue Phase 2A Redesign Plan, which will transform the portion of this busy thoroughfare that extends between the BU Bridge to Packard’s Corner. The built roadway will be innovative and provide bicyclists with physically protected bike lanes on both the inbound and outbound sides of the avenue.  It will also offer the MBTA and its patrons with fully ADA compliant crossings at all intersections along the project route and will create a framework for the construction of wider platforms that will be safer and more efficient for trolley riders. The design affords motor vehicle drivers and pedestrians with numerous enhanced amenities.

The Complete Streets design incorporates a “Protected Intersection” approach to make Commonwealth Avenue one of the most progressive multi-modal corridors in the country, and the first time that this design component will be used on Boston’s public streets.  This utilizes a sizeable separation between bikes and cars at intersections to reduce “right hooks,” a  common cause of bicycle/motor vehicle crashes where motor vehicle drivers turning right crash with cyclists continuing straight. This is a cutting edge safety feature built into the design along with bike boxes and a corner deflection island to maximize safety while accommodating turns and providing better visibility for both motor vehicle drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

A collaborative process between Boston’s bicycle advocates, pedestrian groups, the Boston University community, as well as others with an interest in Commonwealth Avenue, helped formulate the design with the City.

Commonwealth Avenue in the project area will also receive new street lighting, landscaping, repaving and new street furniture.  Construction financing for this $17 million project is being funded 80% by the federal government and 20% by the state.  The city expects to have another public meeting in the fall of 2015 before bidding begins on the project contract.  Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2016 with a completion date of  late fall of 2017.  The design process for this project began in 2009.

Adding protected bike lanes has shown positive economic impacts on surrounding businesses in cities across the country, including New York City, San Francisco, and Portland. A redesign of NYC’s Union Square to include a protected bike lanes resulted in nearly 50% fewer commercial vacancies, and the construction of a protected bike lane on 9th Avenue saw a nearly 50% increase in retail sales. Studies have shown that adding a protected bike lane increases cycling traffic on the roadway, boosting retail performance, with nearly 70% of merchants on San Francisco’s Valencia Street seeing a positive impact on business. Studies have shown that customers who arrive at retail stores by bike spend the same amount per month as comparable people who arrive by car, making smaller purchases but returning more frequently

Intelligent Parking Meters

The Boston Transportation Department will be making parking at the curb smarter and easier for people who park at the 8,000 metered spaces across the City. With the addition of new intelligent multi-space and single space parking meters, drivers can pay through mobile phone, a credit card, or pocket change. This next generation of meters will also provide real-time data to the City to help BTD better manage the space at the curb. The information provided by an upgraded parking system and an analysis of current on-street parking regulations will allow the City to make decisions based on data, not just intuition. Credit card and mobile payment enabled meters have shown increased revenue with drivers more likely to pay for the maximum length of stay.

Multi-space meters will be deployed in new locations in the Back Bay and in the Innovation District to improve City operations. A typical multi-space meter allows for more vehicles to fit on a blockface than a block demarcated with single space meters. In addition to the approximately 145 new multi-space meters that will replace some single space meters, current multi-space meters throughout the Back Bay and parts of Downtown will be upgraded, reducing annual maintenance costs for the aging equipment.

The remaining single space parking meters will be replaced with smart single space parking meters that can also be paid for with a mobile phone, credit card, or pocket change. A current pilot of credit card enabled single space meters in the Back Bay and around the Public Garden has shown positive results since deployment. This next generation of meters will provide the potential for collecting occupancy and turnover rate of vehicles, critical data that gives the City insight on how to better manage the curb space around Boston.

Street Sweeping Pilot

Mayor Walsh will file a City Council ordinance to pilot a new street sweeping initiative in one of Boston’s neighborhoods. The ordinance, which is being drafted now, will propose eliminating towing for street sweeping, and increase the fine for not moving a vehicle from $40 to $90. The City plans to use the pilot to determine whether this initiative should be extended to other neighborhoods.