第七屆中美健康峰會哈佛場(圖片)

中美健康峰會創辦人劉遠利院長。

劉遠利院長(右)送紀念品給VIP講座講者傅高義教授(左)。(周菊子攝)

陳美霞、黃素芬出任華美福利會正副行政主任

Boston, MA - The board of directors of the Asian American Civic Association is pleased to announce the appointment of an Executive Director and Deputy Director to lead the 50 year old non-profit.   "We are pleased to have two experienced professionals at the helm of AACA," said Yongmei Chen, the President of the Board. "Mary Chin and Lisa Wong bring new energy and ideas to our growing organization. Both will help develop our next 50-year agenda." Mary Chin, a longtime community leader with extensive experience in human services and a strong track record of service in Boston and beyond, will be the Executive Director. Mary served as interim director after the sudden death of Chau-ming Lee, who had served as director since 1982.   Lisa Wong, the former Mayor of the City of Fitchburg from 2008-2016, has been appointed as the Deputy Director, after an extensive search. An experienced public sector and non-profit leader, Lisa will be joining AACA in late September.   "AACA has been a gateway to self-sufficiency for thousands of immigrants and limited English speaking individuals across the Commonwealth," said Mary Chin. "I am proud of our successes and have a strong vision to create even more opportunities for those we serve." "I look forward to joining a fantastic and hardworking team and continuing my advocacy for the community in this new role," said Lisa Wong. "AACA has an exciting chapter ahead and I am happy to be a part of supporting both new and existing partnerships and programs that serve our community." Mary is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in private practice. She has led social service departments and psychiatric programs in Boston and the North Shore. She served as the President of AACA's board of directors and oversaw the organization's growth, including the construction of the building at 87 Tyler Street and the expansion of workforce training, education and social service programs. Lisa is a Senior Fellow at Governing and teaches a course in business at Clark University. She served four terms as Mayor of the City of Fitchburg, and has led a quasi-public agency and a Boston area non-profit.   AACA serves immigrant individuals and families from over 125 countries. Founded in 1967, AACA has evolved into Boston's premier workforce development, adult basic education, and comprehensive social service center to help economically disadvantaged and limited English speaking immigrants achieve enduring economic self-sufficiency.

Asian American Civic Association

The Asian American Civic Association provides limited English speaking and economically disadvantaged people with education, occupational training and social services enabling them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency. AACA has served and advocated for the needs of immigrants and other economically disadvantaged people since 1967. Today AACA serves clients from over 80 countries. Focused on economic self-sufficiency and participation in American society, AACA provides a range of services, including English classes, social services, job training, college preparation and a post-graduate retention program.

哈佛教授談一帶一路 (圖片)

The new Asia Center Series, Asia Beyond the Headlines, takes a deeper look at urgent contemporary issues that cut across Asia. In the inaugural presentation, leading scholars put China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the context of analogous programs that have changed human history. The land portion of Belt and Road attempts to recreate the glory of the old Silk Road and the reshaping of the Eurasian political economy by one of history’s greatest globalizer, Genghis Khan, who eliminated barriers and, for the first time, created common standards for all ethnicities and nationalities. Harvard Vice Provost of International Affairs Mark Elliott will explore analogies between BRI and the old Silk Road. Similarly, Harvard Fairbank Center Director Michael Szonyi will compare the maritime BRI to the explorations of Chinese Admiral Zheng He in the 1400s. Asia Center Senior Fellow William Overholt will argue , controversially, that BRI is in critical ways an extension of the Bretton Woods system that won the Cold War for the U.S. The session will be chaired by Harvard-Yenching Institute Director Elizabeth Perry, who will call attention to South Asian precedents for BRI.

Governor Baker, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Celebrate Advanced Manufacturing Program

Governor Baker, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School Celebrate Advanced Manufacturing Program

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HAVERHILL – Governor Charlie Baker today visited Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School today to tour the school’s new Advanced Manufacturing program, created in part with a nearly $500,000 Skills Capital grant the school received from the Baker-Polito Administration last year.

More than 1,200 students, teachers, staff and administrators greeted Governor Baker and Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta with a roaring reception in the school gym before the Governor and Secretary headed off to see the new Advanced Manufacturing shop.

Whittier Tech received a $495,000 Skills Capital grant in FY’17 that the school used to transform its former machine and tool program into an Advanced Manufacturing program to better support regional workforce needs. The high school partnered with Northern Essex Community College, and with the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium for evening adult programs.

Created last year, the Administration awards Skills Capital Grants to educational institutions that demonstrate partnerships with industry, as well as align curriculum and credentials with businesses’ demand, in order to maximize hiring opportunities in each region of the state. The goal of the grants is to update capital equipment at educational institutions that create career pathways for young people and adults, which meet the demand of employers in each region.

The Baker-Polito Administration has awarded more than $26.4 million in Skills Capital Grants to 67 different institutions. The Administration will announce a new round of grants, worth more than $10 million, early next month.  As part of our Economic Development bill, the Administration plans to award a total of $45 million.

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES $13 MILLION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS BOSTON - Thursday, September 14, 2017 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the City of Boston is releasing $13 million for new affordable housing projects to support the goals set forth in the Administration's housing plan, Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030. The Department of Neighborhood Development (DND) has now issued two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for new affordable housing development and/or the preservation of existing affordable housing units.     "Addressing rising housing costs is critical for preserving the diversity and character that makes Boston a place where all residents can thrive," said Mayor Walsh. "We've seen remarkable growth in our population over the last several years, so we established a comprehensive plan, and committed over $110 million to housing. I'm proud to say we're well on our way to meeting our goals, and we will continue to work hard to lift up every neighborhood across the city by stabilizing the housing market and providing all residents and their families with accessible and affordable options."   The first RFP issued, for approximately $8 million, comes from a variety of sources including the Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grant, Housing Boston 2030, and the Inclusionary Development Fund. The RFP specifically earmarks up to $3 million for funding to support housing that will serve households 55 years or older.     The second RFP utilizes funds from the Neighborhood Housing Trust (NHT). NHT disburses funds collected through the City's Linkage policy, which extracts affordable housing funds from developers of large commercial projects.    All rental units that receive City funding will have restrictions on them to preserve their affordability in perpetuity, while all homeownership units created will be subject to an affordable housing agreement that requires them to remain affordable for at least 30 years, with a 20-year extension at the City's option. In addition, developments with more than ten units must set aside a minimum of ten percent of those units for homeless or formerly homeless households. Developments with five or more homeless units must submit a detailed service plan to support this population. The set-aside applies to both new production and preservation proposals. Along with the homeless set-aside, DND strongly encourages developments to have an additional percentage of units for households with incomes at or below 50 percent AMI.   DND has participated in the Commonwealth's working group to reduce development costs, and as a result of this work, the City has adopted streamlined and simplified design standards and  guidelines to assist developers with cost containment.   When a proposal is submitted to DND, the developer must demonstrate that a planning effort with the neighborhood and community has begun and that there is substantive support from neighborhood organizations and stakeholders.   Based on the goals outlined in Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030, the City of Boston has established funding priorities. Proposals are expected to fall under at least one of the priority criteria: Affordable housing developments that utilize City-owned land; Affordable housing developments targeting a mix of incomes: from units for homeless households, to units targeted and restricted to incomes representative of Boston's workforce;  Affordable housing developments that have reduced the cost to build and use public funding most efficiently; Affordable housing developments that serve the disabled community, vulnerable or special needs populations, elders, veterans, artists, and/or aging out youth; Acquisition of unrestricted housing developments in order to stabilize residents' tenancies, and provide long term affordability for a mix of incomes; or Developments that are at risk of losing their affordability within five years. Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030 set out goals to increase the pace of low-income housing production by 50 percent -- from 234 units annually from 2011-2014 to 347 units annually, and to create a total of 6,500 new low-income units by 2030.   To date, a total of 1,286 new low-income, non-elderly units have been completed, housing an estimated 2,250 lower-income residents. The City currently has a pipeline of 1,128 new non-elderly low income units, many of which will be bolstered by the current round of funding.

袁運生畫展 (圖片)

袁佐(右起)邀朱蓉出席袁運生畫展開幕式。(周菊子攝)

右起，王命全，紀虎民，余才望，李政玲(左三)等人和袁運生(左五)，袁佐(左一)相見歡。(周菊子攝)

波士頓市第二區市議員候選人在華埠辦論壇

波士頓市第二區市議員7名候選人出席華埠論壇。(周菊子攝)

               (Boston Orange周菊子波士頓報導) 波士頓華埠在參政發聲路上，越踏越穩。9月13日晚由華埠居民會等4、5個機構合辦的”波士頓市第二選區市議員候選人論壇”，7名參選者全部出席，異口同聲表示，將照顧華埠的增加可負擔住宅，創造就業機會，促進經濟發展，改善環境等各項需求。

麻大教授保羅渡邊(左ㄧ)和華埠居民會共同主席黃楚(左二)主持。
民眾提問。(周菊子攝)

由於7名候選人所發表的政見，大同小異，一般咸信，9月26日初選投票後，11月7日的大選，將是迄今實力，人脈最雄厚的邁克凱理(Mike Kelley)和愛德華費連(Edward Flynn)之爭。

曾經擔任波士頓前市長萬寧諾(Tom Menino)的競選經理，以及出租住宅資源主任，自己也開過公司的邁克凱理，答問時不下三度強調，他曾在市府工作，為南端(South End)居民辦事成績有記錄可查，他將為華埠民眾提供同樣的有效率服務。

麻大教授保羅渡邊(左)和華埠居民會共同主席黃楚(右)主持。
(周菊子攝)

波士頓僑領陳毓禮和前市長萬寧路遺孀安琪拉，13日早上聯袂到君子樓協助邁克凱理拜票。麻州總檢察官奚莉(Maura Healey)上週和他一起敲門拜訪選民。

昆士中學校長張可仁(左)，BCNC主任李隆華(右)都到會關切。(周菊子攝)

愛德華費連則是波士頓前市長雷費連的兒子，已爭取到華人前進會，以及波市不分區市議員米高法拉提等的支持。他的兒子在昆士小學就讀，和許多老師，家長都十分熟稔。波士頓華人社區有中華公所前主席阮鴻燦等人去年就開始為他拜票。

昆士小學校長司徒玉英(右)也到會旁聽。(周菊子攝)

            13日晚的這場波士頓市華埠”市議員候選人論壇”，由波士頓華埠居民會和華人前進會，亞美社區發展協會，波士頓華埠社區中心等華埠內機構合作舉辦。麻州大學亞美研究院主任保羅渡邊(Paul Watanabe)和波士頓華埠居民會共同主席黃楚擔任司儀，7名候選人各做1分鐘開場介紹，1分鐘總結拜票，並回答7個問題。

            參與協辦論壇的8個機構負責人，幾乎全都到會支持活動，包括華埠居民會主席余顯生，華人前進會榮譽主席黃夏儀，前行政主任駱理德，亞美社區發展協會主任劉安琪，波士頓華埠社區中心主任李隆華，昆士中學校長張可仁，昆士小學校長司徒玉英等。華人前進會共同主席湯建華也出席做提問人。

華人前進會榮譽主席黃夏儀(右)。

7名候選人，包括馬可斯(Peter A. Lin-Marcus) ，娃其樂(Kora Roberta Katz Vakil)，狄那波洛斯(Corey G. Dinopoulos)，邁克凱理(Michael S. Kelley)，柯巴塔斯(Joseph F. Kebartas)，崔塔(Erica J. Tritta)，當晚回答了7各問題，兩個和房屋/豪華化有關，徵詢候選人對AirB&B等短期出租，以及承租戶遭驅逐、逼遷的態度；兩個和區域/土地發展有關，問候選人怎麼看華埠一帶建造酒店，豪華住宅的計畫接二連三出現，以及會如何支持華埠爭取把市有公地用來蓋住宅該；一個和經濟發展有關，問如何為華埠爭取就業機會，第六個問題是如何支持移民權利，第七個問題是會不會聘請兼通廣東話，國語的員工。

候選人邁克凱理(左)會後和亞美社區發展中心主任劉安琪溝通。
(周菊子攝)

            這些候選人回應問題時，彷彿知道什麼標準答案，回答內容幾乎清一色，其中4人還都用了中文”你好”，來做開場白。他們都認為要訂法規管束AirB7B之類的短期出租，要阻止發展商或房東任意逼遷房客，蓋酒店可以，但要先徵詢社區意見，提撥社區福利，市有公地可以用來蓋可負擔住宅，開闢綠地，建花園，造圖書館，首要之務是徵詢民眾意願。他們也都認為波士頓市應該要做庇護成是，保護無證件移民，要設法為地方民眾創造就業機會，更當然為聘多語員工來和民眾溝通。

            娃其樂在候選人中較為特殊，發言時不斷強調她和馬可斯都是華埠居民，在服務選民時，自然會以華埠居民為優先。

邁克凱理(左)和愛德華費連(右)盡如大選希望最濃。(周菊子攝)

            本身是網路設計師的狄那波洛斯才34歲，強調市議會需要更多新鮮思維與朝氣。

            根據麻州競選獻金記錄，這7名候選人的籌款能力天差地別，邁克凱理及愛德華費連迄今分別籌得20多萬元，但花錢也兇。截至9月1日，兩人的財庫依序剩下8萬多，5萬多元。其餘幾名候選人，籌款數額最多的是狄那波洛斯，約3萬多元，目前剩下約7000元。另外幾人的籌款額只有0到2000多。
            8個協辦機構包括， 亞太裔島民民權行動網(Asian and Pacific Islander Civic Action Network)，華美福利會( American Civic Association)，亞美社區發展協會(Asian Community Development Corporation)，波士頓華埠社區中心(Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center)，堡壘村居民協會(Castle Square Tenants Organization)，華人前進會(Chinese Progressive Association)，公路村居民協會(Mass Pike Towers Tenant Association)，大同村居民協會(Tai Tung Village Tenant Association)。