MAYOR WALSH SIGNS ORDINANCE TO DISCOURAGE FENWAY PARK ATTENDEES FROM USING RESIDENT PARKING SPACES DURING RED SOX GAMES

MAYOR WALSH SIGNS ORDINANCE TO DISCOURAGE FENWAY PARK ATTENDEES FROM USING RESIDENT PARKING SPACES DURING RED SOX GAMES

BOSTON - Thursday, April 9, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today signed an ordinance that will pilot raising fines from $40 to $100 for violating resident parking restrictions in the neighborhoods around Fenway Park during Major League Baseball games. With Opening Day on Monday, April 13, the legislation is aimed at discouraging Fenway Park event attendees from parking in curbside spaces designated as Fenway/Kenmore resident parking zones. Vehicles that do not have a Fenway/Kenmore resident parking sticker are subject to the increased fine. The ordinance was sponsored by Councilor Josh Zakim and worked through the City Council with Government Operations Chair Michael Flaherty.

“We’ve heard from residents that finding a parking spot in the Fenway and Kenmore neighborhoods during baseball games is a burden, and this legislation aims to improve that experience,” said Mayor Walsh. “Thank you to Councilor Zakim and Councilor Flaherty for your work on this, and for coordinating with the Boston Transportation Department to make this into an effective pilot program for residents and for the City of Boston.”

"This ordinance is a great step forward for residents of the Fenway, Kenmore Square, and Audubon Circle. These changes will help restore the parking balance in the neighborhoods around Fenway Park during some of the busiest months of the year - an issue I've consistently heard about for almost two years,” said City Councilor Zakim. “I'm gratified to have participated in a truly collaborative effort across city government, working with the Mayor, BTD, and my colleagues on the Council to deliver for our neighbors. I look forward to examining the pilot data at the end of the year."

"Given that over 10,000 resident parking violations have been issued over the last two years during Fenway Park events underscores a significant problem for the residents of Fenway/Kenmore District,” said City Councilor Michael Flaherty. “Increasing resident parking fines should be a disincentive for people to illegally park and an encouragement to take public transportation or to cycle."

The change will go into effect two hours before any Major League Baseball game played at Fenway Park, and will extend to two hours after the game. The ordinance also gives flexibility to institute this rule during other Fenway Park events on a case by case basis. The pilot will end on December 31, 2015.

The City Council passed the Ordinance on April 8.

Maura Healey's First Legislation – Protecting Health Care Consumers

This week marked an exciting time for me, my legislative agenda and, I think, the people of Massachusetts who I know share my concerns about the ever-escalating cost of health care in our state.

I was on Beacon Hill with House Majority Leader Ron Mariano from Quincy to file my first piece of legislation as Attorney General, a bill we think will significantly move the needle on the number one issue facing health care consumers – cost.

This is a critical time in Massachusetts health care. We have the highest quality care in the world and we continue to lead the nation in ensuring everyone has access to care. We’ve taken several important steps in addressing costs but more needs to be done to address that critical third leg of the stool.

While increased consolidation of providers in some instances may provide benefits like increased efficiencies and improved quality, we also know that many mergers often lead to increased market clout and higher costs.

Our state’s Health Policy Commission has been out front in addressing mergers that might drive up costs. The HPC’s reports have shined a bright light on these mergers and enhanced the ability of our office to block mergers which will hurt the marketplace.

Our bill seeks to make a good system better by giving more teeth to any referral sent by the HPC to the Attorney General’s Office. Specifically, the bill says an HPC cost or market referral is considered evidence of a violation of the Consumer Protection Act and allows us to go before a judge to stop mergers that might harm consumers.

This bill will help families and seniors who have seen the costs of health care cripple their budgets, help businesses who see health care costs eating up the bottom line and help taxpayers who know health care costs are the greatest buster of state and community budgets – by far.

Maintaining health care quality and access while controlling costs is a significant challenge. But it’s one we’re up to and we must tackle. This bill helps us get there.

I look forward to working with stakeholders, Leader Mariano, Speaker DeLeo, Senate President Rosenberg, the entire Legislature and Governor Baker to make it law. I hope you’ll join me in making sure it happens by sharing your support in your networks, with legislators and on social media.

This is one piece of our aggressive agenda and you’ll be hearing more about efforts around health care, energy, the environment, community engagement, fighting opiates and ensuring equality in the coming months. But the first bill is important to me – and to the people of our state.

Thanks for staying in touch on our agenda. We can’t do any of this without you.

All the best,

Maura

Governors Baker, Dalrymple Wager Friendly Bet for Frozen Four Semifinal

Governors Baker, Dalrymple Wager Friendly Bet for Frozen Four Semifinal

Boston University takes on the University of North Dakota at 8:30PM in the TD Garden

BOSTON – Ahead of tonight’s Frozen Four hockey semifinal matchup between Boston University and the University of North Dakota, Governor Charlie Baker and North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple have staked a friendly bet on the game’s outcome.

“Playing on home-ice where they already landed this year’s Beanpot, and with the backing of some lucky cupcakes, the Terriers are poised for victory and to move on to another championship game tonight,” said Governor Baker. “I’m looking forward to a great game between these two teams and in good fun, some chocolate-covered potato chips from Governor Dalrymple.”

Governor Baker has wagered the same lucky Boston cream pie cupcakes from the Koffee Kup Bakery in Springfield, Massachusetts that brought a Patriot’s Super Bowl trophy home earlier this year, while Governor Dalrymple has offered up a package of chocolate-covered potato chips from Carol Widman’s Candy Company in Fargo, North Dakota.

“UND has had a remarkable season and I’m confident that coach Hakstol’s team will advance to pursue their eighth national championship on Saturday,”Dalrymple said. “Tonight’s semifinal game should be an exciting matchup, and I look forward to a UND victory as well as Governor Baker’s Boston cream pie cupcakes.”

The two teams face off tonight at the TD Garden in Boston at 8:30PM.

Governor Baker Approves $200 Million in Chapter 90 Funding for Local Infrastructure

Governor Baker Approves $200 Million in Chapter 90 Funding for Local Infrastructure

Total of $330 million available for municipal roads, bridges and pothole repairs this construction season

BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker has signed House Bill 3187 authorizing $200 million in Chapter 90 transportation funds for municipalities, bringing the total funding available this construction season to $300 million, with an additional $30 million allocated through the same Chapter 90 formula for winter pothole repair and paving projects.

“Our Commonwealth can only be as strong as every city and town, and Lt. Governor Polito and I are pleased to fulfill our commitment to support municipalities and grant access to critical funding for transportation improvements,” said Governor Baker. “After a rigorous winter, the timely delivery of these funds is a much-needed resource and welcome opportunity to spur economic growth in every zip code.”

The administration released $100 million in Chapter 90 funding on its first day in office, and in March announced $30 million for a Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP) to provide additional resources to cities and towns after an unprecedented winter. Allocated through an existing fiscal 2015 bond authorization from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), WRAP was distributed through the same formula as Chapter 90.

“As we continue to build strong partnerships with our cities and towns in every corner of the Commonwealth, we are glad to release additional funds to municipalities to assist with local construction projects and boost recovery efforts after an unprecedented winter,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “I look forward to proceeding with my statewide tour to visit with local officials to talk about the important issues facing our cities and towns as we work collaboratively toward a stronger state for all families and communities.”

Through Chapter 90 bond issuances, cities and towns are reimbursed for eligible transportation projects, submitting qualifying costs to their local MassDOT Highway Division district for review by MassDOT’s Fiscal Department. More information about the Chapter 90 Program is available here:

http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=content/stateaid01a&sid=about

MAYOR WALSH RELEASES FIRST EVER STUDENT HOUSING REPORT

MAYOR WALSH RELEASES FIRST EVER STUDENT HOUSING REPORT

Report finds more students living on campuses; report outlines policy priorities for upcoming year

BOSTON - Thursday, April 9, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today released “Student Housing Trends: 2014-2015”, the first ever comprehensive report on trends in student housing in Boston. The report was an inter-agency collaboration between the City of Boston's Department of Neighborhood Development, Inspectional Services Department, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority.  

Mayor Walsh called for the student housing report as part of his housing plan, “Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030,” which outlined strategic goals to ensure all students reside in safe, suitable housing, and to create 18,500 new dorm beds by the year 2030 in order to return 5,000 units of workforce housing to the market.  The data included in the new report allow the City to track progress against those goals.

"It is critical that we work with our colleges and universities to better understand how to provide safe and affordable housing for both our student population and our residents," said Mayor Walsh. "Our institutions of higher education make up the fabric of our City, and I thank them for their partnership in these efforts and look forward to continuing this work to create a thriving and healthier Boston." 

With more than 148,000 students enrolled in its colleges and universities, Boston has unique challenges related to its student population.  The data show that there are 21,425 undergraduates living in off-campus housing with the city of Boston this year; however, the new data show that the number of undergraduates living off campus has declined by 1,442 since the Fall of 2013. In addition, a total of 1,395 new dormitory beds came online in 2014, bringing the number of dormitory beds to 39,178 citywide.

The report lays out the Walsh administration’s three key student housing priorities for 2015: (1) ending the illegal practice of renting off-campus housing to five or more undergraduates as new leases are signed in spring and summer 2015; (2) establishing firm commitments and deadlines for the construction of additional on-campus dormitory beds from each college and university; and (3) unlocking additional dorm bed creation by creating pathways for private developers to build off-campus dormitories that meet specific community approvals. 

 

The data in the report was gathered from the results of the new University Accountability Ordinance, passed by the Boston City Council in the summer of 2014, which now gives the community full transparency on the housing situation of all Boston’s students. 

Other trends outlined in the report include:

• Enrollment has remained virtually the same at Boston’s colleges and universities. The number of students enrolled in institutions of higher education tracked in the Boston 2030 report increased by .27 percent, from 143,956 to 144,3442. 

• Of the 148,402 students enrolled in Boston’s institutions of higher education for Fall 2014, 46,763 (32%) live on campus and 99,869 (67%) live off-campus.

• Of the students living off-campus, 38,232 (38%) live in the City of Boston, while 61,637 (62%) live in other Greater Boston communities.

• More than half of Boston’s off-campus student population lives in properties of three units or fewer and condominiums.These students place particular pressure on the workforce housing market, as many properties of three or fewer units were originally built for Boston’s workforce, while condominiums are intended to be owner-occupied housing. Collectively, 8,500 students reside in 1-3 unit properties and nearly 6,000 students reside in condo units.

• There are currently 984 dorm beds under construction or soon to be under construction. An additional 902 beds are expected to receive approval and commence construction in the near future. These 1,886 additional beds are expected to come online by the end of 2018. With an additional 4,473 beds in the pipeline for future construction, this will bring the total number of dedicated student dorm beds citywide to 45,537.

• The City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) analysis of off-campus student addresses found 589 addresses to be potentially in violation of the Boston Zoning Code.  ISD has sent letters to the property owners of these is currently conducting inspections to ensure that there are no zoning or sanitary code violations. 

• ISD has also notified all colleges and universities of the addresses where students from their institutions may be living in overcrowded housing. A dedicated team of four housing inspectors, two building inspectors, and an ISD supervisor will be conducting inspections of all of these locations. When violations are found, the landlord, the tenant, and the school are notified. 

MassDOT, RMV Upcoming Overnight Service Interruption

MassDOT, RMV Upcoming Overnight Service Interruption

BOSTON – Thursday, April 9, 2015 – The MassDOT and Registry of Motor Vehicles Division websites and telephone services will be temporarily unavailable during the 12 hour period beginning on Friday night, April 10^th from 8pm to Saturday morning, April 11^th at 8am.

The service interruption will allow for MassDOT Data Center upgrades including backup power supply replacement to improve service reliability.

MassDOT and MassRMV.com and self-service telephone transactions at 857-DOT-8000 will be unavailable for customer transactions during the outage.

Two additional 12-hour service interruptions yet to be scheduled will be required prior to June to complete the upgrades.

The outages do NOT affect E-ZPass services. Customers can access their accounts online and make Pay by Plate payments online.

As always, RMV customers are encouraged to renew their driver’s license at least one week in advance of its expiration. Licenses may be renewed up to 12 months prior to the expiration date. Customers are also encouraged to renew their registration at least ten days in advance. Registrations may be renewed up to six-months prior to the expiration date. Commercial motor vehicles weighing 55,000 pounds or greater cannot be renewed through this service. More than 4 million Registry transactions were conducted online in 2014 up from 3.6 million in 2013. We apologize for any inconvenience these upgrades may cause.

華埠居民遊行呼籲市府劃出鄰里穩定區

數十名華埠居民和多個社區組織者攜手，七日下午從波士頓華埠遊行到市政府大樓，高喊“提高工資，降低租金”，出席公聽會，為民眾陳情，呼籲政府劃出“鄰里穩定區（neighborhood stabilization zones），制定正當防衛逼遷政策（Just Cause Eviction policy），穩定華埠社區。

華埠民眾在華人前進會前導中，高舉“這是我們的家”，“乞臣街103住客要求“，”發短信，打電話給Tim，要他讓租戶搬回華埠“等標語牌，從乞臣街103號遊行到波士頓市政府大樓，以擴音器陳情，唱歌，彰顯要求，再魚貫進入市府大樓五樓的市議會議事廳，出席住宅委員會討論流離，社區穩定，鄰里保護，由Frank Baker擔任主席，市議員提多傑克遜（Tito Jackson），查金（Josh Zakim），歐馬力（Matt O'Malley）等人聆訊的公聽會。

在遊行陳情中，華埠居民們高喊“提高工資，降低租金”還呼籲第一薩福克公司（First Suffolk LLC）停止收購華埠內已儼然史蹟的排屋，別逼低收入移民流離失所。

他們指出，過去十五年來，華埠增加了將近3000個豪華單位，房地產也漲成天價。原本住在乞臣街103號的耆英余培英（譯音，Pei Ying Yu)，談起第一薩福克公司收購，他們被逼遷的經過，就淚從中來。她哽噎表示，希望能搬回已住了那麼多年的家去。

包括華人前進會共同主任陳玉珍，曾在波士頓重建局工作的麻省理工學院榮休教授李燦輝，有權在波士頓（Right to the City Boston）的Darnell Johnson等人，都在公聽會中陳情。

Darnell Johnson表示，過去六年來，波士頓是內共有4500戶人家遭遇貸款贖回權被取消命運，從屋主變成了租客，整個大波士頓如今有67%的居民租屋而住。他指出，是低薪，企業貪婪，強調營利的土地發展等，奪走了社區的穩定。他認為波士頓市政府應該制定正當防衛逼遷政策（Just Cause Eviction policy），以保護房客免於在毫無預警情況中，被迫立即搬遷。

華人前進會共同主任陳玉珍呼籲波士頓在新的交通樞紐地帶，以及諸如華埠，東波士頓等快速豪華化地區，劃出“鄰里穩定區“，以長期保存可負擔住宅，保護民眾不致因租金高漲被迫遷離，

波士頓市經濟發展長巴洛斯（John Barros），鄰里發展局（DND）局長狄倫（Sheila Dillon）等人，當天都出席旁聽，關切情況。巴洛斯表示，許多社區組織已針對現象提出許多建議。市政府將仔細審閱，市府能更自行決定的，就進一步討論，需要推動州政府立法的，就找州議會商量。

  

圖片說明：

            華人前進會共同主席湯建華（第一排右一），華埠居民會共同主席余仕昂（第一排右三）等數十名華埠居民，七日到波士頓市府出席公聽會。（菊子攝）

            左起，陳玉珍，鄺寶蓮，湯建華（右一）等人在市政府大樓前陳情。（菊子攝）

            華埠居民拿著標語牌，揚言會再回市府陳情。（菊子攝）

         波市議會住宅委員會主席Frank Baker（右），市議員提多傑克遜（Tito Jackson）主持公聽會。（菊子攝）

            波市鄰里發展局局長狄倫（Sheila Dillon）也出席公聽會。（菊子攝）

            波市經濟長巴洛斯（John Barros）關心民情，出席公聽會。（菊子攝）

            李燦輝（前中）應邀出席談華埠歷史。（菊子攝）

查理貝克要成立MBTA監管委員會

麻州州長查理貝克（Charlie Baker )昨（八）日公佈特別小組提交的MBTA報告，建議成立一個五人的財政及管理控制委員會（Fiscal and Management Control Board），在未來三到五年內監管MBTA營運。

該報告也建議制定一、五及廿年的開支計劃。

            該會委員將由州長，議會首長指派，以期重整MBTA紀律，維修設施。

            查理貝克表示，麻州民眾應該要有一個管理、營運良好，有效率地交通系統，但根據該調查報告，MBTA卻不是這樣的一個機構，

            該報告並未建議大幅增加營收，但建議麻州議會廢除最近通過，費率每兩年只能漲價5%的限制，改交由財政及管理控制委員會來實施任何漲價措施。

            該小組也建議，一旦MBTA制定了適當的巴士，火車及車站維修，更新計劃，議員們應考慮增加撥給經費。

            今年二月廿日成立的這六人特別小組，在報告中提出的主要發現包括，營運預算不切實際，長年的設備維修投資不足，為充分運用已撥備的款項，在完成工程項目上掙扎，人事效率不彰，管理不善，在整體營運及擴展計畫上缺乏遠見，領導層常換人，組織不穩定，提供服務時未以乘客為重心，招標過程有缺失，責任不清，不需聽命於州長或議會。

            過去這兩天，波士頓環球報等英文報章，已連篇報導該報告指出的MBTA營運缺失，包括從2010年起的過去五年來，MBTA坐擁廿二億元的維修，更新設備經費，卻只動用了六億三千一百萬元。MBTA員工濫用聯邦政府的一年最多可申請十二週無薪休假，以照顧生病家人或新生嬰兒的家事假法。

MBTA發言人透露，在去年六月三十日截止的2014會計年度內，共有13.2%的員工缺席是因為家事假或病假。在該年度內，MBTA拿出三百八十萬元來付加班費，好填補那因請假而出現的工作空缺。2015會計年度內，估計約需付出二百九十萬元。

            該一缺席現象，也影響了地鐵的服務。單只是在2015年一月份內，就有692班巴士服務取消了，就是因為已批准的家事假或病假。

            聯合獨立黨（United Independent Party)主席費卻克（Evan Falchuk）昨日批評麻州州長特別小組提出的報告，指該報告並無關於未來的遠見，彷如只是為了要讓查理貝克對MBTA有更多控制權而撰寫。他認為整頓MBTA的營運，應該從二月份就開始做了，而且MBTA的營運表現，早已壞到足夠要求MBTA董事會的董事們辭職，沒有必要等了幾個星期，才來說大家早已知道的“該採取大膽的改革行動”。