種族歧視是公共衛生議題 波士頓市長挪走1200萬元警察經費

波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin Walsh)宣佈種族歧視是公共衛生議題。

                  (Boston Orange 綜合報導)針對新型冠狀病毒大流行的不同族裔疫情有差，亞裔淪為代罪羔羊，喬治弗洛依德(George Floyd)引發”黑人的命也是命(Black Lives Matter)”抗議風潮，波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin Walsh)宣佈種族歧視是緊急的公共衛生議題，將設新機構，挪警局預算以因應。

                 包括麻州的尚莫維爾(Somerville)市在內，美國已有多個城市就種族歧視是公共衛生議題宣佈進入緊急狀況。

                  警察執法過度，導致喬治弗洛依德死亡事件，不但在全美各地，甚至多個其他國家掀起抗議風潮之外，從6月6日起還出現收回警局經費呼籲，也至少有16個城市開始研議做法，事件源頭的明尼阿波利斯市市議會甚至提出解散警察局的動議。

               波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin Walsh)誓言要讓波士頓市在這波行動中成為全美表率，6月12日宣佈，將把約等於20%波士頓警察局加班費預算的1200萬元，重新調配用途，其中300萬元將轉交給波士頓公共衛生局，由健康及人民服務長Marty Matinez率領團隊，制定8步策略，以及大波士頓現在健康平等計劃(Greater Boston Health Equity Now Plan)，來深入造成不平等的根本原因。

                 馬丁華殊也支持波士頓市議會提出的10點行動計畫，已督促警察局完成使用武力政策審核，將採行”執行警務合乎正道是勇敢的(Ethical Policing is Courageous)”培訓項目，要求警員在見到不當使用武力時加以干預。

                  從警察局轉撥出來的經費，還包括100萬元給公共衛生局辦理支援療傷，輔導，200萬元交由市府各個部門辦理防止暴力，語言便利，食品安全，移民進步，老人支持，人權局等活動；200萬元支持少數族裔及婦女擁有的企業，200萬元用於居住安全及終結青少年流浪，200萬元用於緊急門診，支援精神健康等。

                馬丁華殊宣布將成立一個新的工作小組，由在民權組織，法律及信仰社區工作的波士頓居民組成，由曾擔任助麻州美國檢察官的Wayne Budd率領，將立即審閱波士頓警察局的武力使用政策，以及其他的平等議題。

             波士頓市議員梅佳(Julia Mejia)表示，市議員們收到數以千計的電話，電郵，推特等訊息，要求至少刪減10%的警察局預算，現在波士頓市長做的，至少是個起步。

             3月時就催促波士頓市宣佈種族歧視是健康議題的波士頓市議員Richardo Arroyo表示，波士頓需要維持承諾。探討種族歧視極不平等的根本原因。

波士頓四季酒店傳裁員近半 遣散費也只給以前的一半

             (Boston Orange編譯)波士頓市的最豪華五星級酒店之一，每晚住宿費近千元的四季酒店，傳出因為疫情導致的業務不振，上個月解雇了近半員工。

             儘管192名被解雇的員工說，公司告訴他們將來可以重新申請職位，但是有許多資深員工，包括Bristol酒廊的所有前台工作人員說，他們得到的遣散費比員工手冊上說他們應得的少了一半。

             四季酒店在3月24日關門時，讓員工休假，而且沒有正式的重新開張日期，不過該店已開始接受客戶從6月23日起訂房。

             酒店管理層在一份聲明中表示，COVID-19對旅行及休閒娛樂業的影響是毀滅性的，四季酒店也未能倖免。收入的極端縮減逼使他們做減少開銷的困難決定，包括永久性裁員。

             根據麻州住宿協會(Massachusetts Lodging Association)的資料，疫情大流行對酒店業的影響尤其重，單單是波士頓地區，就有50個酒店業場所關門了，全麻州則有500個。有些已經開始恢復營業，但大部分都要再等幾周，或幾個月。該會會長Paul Sacco拒絕對四季酒店的事發表意見。

             根據美國的統計數據，麻州酒店業於2017年時，聘有31,000名員工，其中超過12,000人在薩福克郡。

             在這團結本地26工會會長Carlos Aramayo表示，讓人更苦惱的是這可能是酒店業開始大幅度解聘員工，永久刪除工作機會，或者重新以較低薪人力取代風潮的開端。酒店娛樂業是波士頓市的數大工業之一，也是工薪階級薪酬較佳的少數行業之一，許多工作機會都落在有色人種身上。目前該公會在協助還未成立工會的四季酒店員工。

          根據本地26公會的調查，位於波約斯頓街的四季酒店是由共同創辦了E. A. Juffali & Brothers公司，該國最大企業的沙烏地阿拉伯商人後裔所擁有。

          工會還說，這家族也是Dalton街上四季酒店的投資者。該店並未回應有關裁員的問題。

           被裁撤的四季酒店員工中，46人決定抗爭。他們和本地26工會聯絡，發了一封信給酒店業主及管理層，拒絕”不尊重，甚至侮辱”的遣散費。

           在信中，這46名員工還放了他們自己的照片，非常多元的黝黑人，白人，華人，佛得角人，埃塞俄比亞人，海地人，拉丁裔人，印度人，摩洛哥人和尼泊爾人。

           員工們表示，四季酒店的手冊要求每工作一年，就可得一週薪資的遣散費。 服務超過10年以上的員工，還額外另加6週薪資，最高可達26週。

          但是酒店管理層指出，手冊內有句，在全國緊急情況下，酒店沒有義務提供遣散費。不過酒店說，直到五月底，仍然付給了勒令休假員工最高12週的遣散費，以及完整的醫療福利。

           酒店說，如果重新聘回員工，將付給他們之前的薪水。

           現年40歲，在海地出生，多徹斯特和麥特潘長大的Ricardo Mathelus， 19歲就開始在四季酒店的Bristol Lounge當服務員。如果把高中實習的時間都算進去，時間還更常。他曾經為自己能夠在四季酒店工作，有著令人難以置信的驕傲，被辭退，他情緒起伏波動很大，感到尷尬，被侮辱，不被尊重，不被需要，覺得其實被利用了。

           有32年工作經驗的廖張(譯音)是打掃房間的熟手，最近開始在大堂做服務員。她發現四季酒店留下經驗比較少的同事時，感到不可置信。她說自己每週工資將近1000元，她那已經退休的丈夫，同住在昆士市的母親，都靠她的收入度日。在正常情況下，她可以享有26週的遣散費，現在，她只拿到12週。透過廣東話翻譯員，她邊說邊哭，表示自己一直辛勤工作，想從現在這份工作上退休。如今已年近60，要再找一份和現在相似收入的工作，很不容易。他說，我要全世界知道，在四季酒店這美麗的名字後面，這公司對她的員工做了些甚麼。

           塔芙茨大學種族，政治，以及城市政策榮譽退休教室James Jennings表示，在這個時候開除任何員工都是不道德的，因為他們無法從政府那而取得大機構有的那些資源，而一家為富人服務的高端酒店，卻從它所聘用的那些比較不富裕的廚師，清潔人員，侍者那兒獲利，特別的過份。

波士頓北端哥倫布雕像被砍頭

            (Boston Orange編譯)非洲裔黑人喬治佛洛伊德(George Floyd Jr.)因警察執法過度，於5月25日死亡後在全美掀起的抗議風潮，不但讓波士頓也出現令人傻眼的打砸搶事故之後，連哥倫布雕像的頭都被人砍了。

            波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin Walsh)表示，市府員工今(10)日會把位於北端(North End)的這座哥倫布(Christopher Columbus)雕像移開，放入儲藏室，未來如何，要等評估後再決定。

            馬丁華殊說，”我們不寬容故意破壞，這行為必須停止”。”這座雕像在波士頓一直不斷有人故意破壞，現在既然波士頓市和全美國各地都在討論，我們也決定花時間來評估一下這雕像的歷史意義”。

            波士頓警察局發言人James Moccia表示，一名路人在週三凌晨12點半左右，通知波士頓警察，雕像損壞了。警員趕到現場，確認雕像被破壞了，還在雕像附近發現了雕像頭。目前警察正在調查這宗破壞案。

            哥倫布的探索，發現了歐洲新大陸，但人們也指責他的到來，導致原住民被壓迫，生病，種族滅絕。維琴尼亞州Richmond的哥倫布雕像，也在週二晚被人破壞了。Richmond時報-派遣員報導，抗議者把一座高8英尺的哥倫布雕像拉倒下來，拖了200碼左右，然後丟進泉湖(Fountain Lake)。

            在波士頓的哥倫布雕像高6英尺，是用義大利大理石鑿出來的，座落在一個5英尺高的底座上。1979年波士頓是把水前公園改名為哥倫布公園時，安置了這座雕像。

            這座波士頓雕像在過去已被破壞過好幾次，包括2006年6月2日時被砍頭。6天之後，警察在北端的Sheaf 街上找到雕像頭。

            2004年時，這雕像底座被人潑紅漆，噴上”謀殺者”字樣。2015年，”黑人的命重要(BLM)”字樣被噴在雕像上，洪妻被丟棄在雕像頭上。

            這座雕像由波士頓公園局擁有，也負責修繕了歷次損壞。馬丁華殊說，這次波市府不打算這麼做。

华人青年社会创新和公益团体总结在全球疫情下的杰出贡献与观察

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华人青年社会创新和公益团体总结在全球疫情下的杰出贡献与观察

http://aacyf.org/?p=13085

（AACYF）6月8日华盛顿/洛杉矶 – “世界青年在全球疫情下的杰出贡献与观察”国际视讯研讨会6月6日晚在美国首都华盛顿、洛杉矶、北京等地同步举行。来自知名华人青年社会创新和公益组织的十余位重量级嘉宾共同探讨杰出青年理想所在，疫情期间各自的职责与义务，以及对未来的规划和对世界的认知。

南加州大学社会创业研究生毕业，现任职华盛顿知名影响力投资基金担任影响力分析师。SEED社会创新种子社区Thought研究组成员，他分享了在新冠疫情研究中，与志愿者共投入2000多个小时撰写的12万字疫情研究报告。为与会嘉宾提供了一个宏观的研究背景，来阐释中国青年在世界各地，为抗击全球疫情所做出的贡献与观察。他同时分析了志愿者活动的初衷，坚定帮助他人、服务社会的决心。

哈佛大学法学院研究生毕业，现在洛杉矶从事律师工作的谭君子，2020年2月参与创办天使守护慈善基金会（GoA Foundation）并出任执行总裁，此前她在武汉封城当天发起成立北美华人捐物小组援鄂抗疫。她在主题演讲中分享了新冠疫情期间创办两个组织的初衷。GoA Foundation自2020年2月至今，共募集440万美元的医疗物资和资金支援中美两地的前线医护人员和急救医疗机构，捐助国内多位一线抗疫医务工作者和美国16个州的71家医疗机构。她组织的北美华人捐物小组在42天内累计运送50吨医疗物资覆盖中国湖北省100多家一线医院。

君子后半段的分享更是结合自己的家庭教育、学校教育和社会经历三个层次，剖析自己的出发点和落脚点，为青年提供如何“承担社会责任、成为时代先锋、做出杰出贡献”的方法论。
伊利诺伊大学香槟分校硕士毕业的吕玺劼，2018年加入亚洲开发银行(ADB)。作为亚开行的中国职员协会理事成员在疫情期间参与协调帮助中菲灾区募捐抗疫。他介绍了参与亚开行（ADB）为49个成员国提供医疗设备、财政支持，也有精准帮助防疫弱势群体的工作。
全美中华青年联合会会长任向东，华人青年、留学生团体在美国各地投入抗击疫情的公益活动中做出了不可或缺的积极贡献。这个研讨会是第一个为中国青年参与全球抗疫的活动从社会学层面的分析和总结，意义重大。

毕业于南加州大学的子知教育创始人，子知教育文化沙龙系列活动策划者曾天赐在总结发言中表示，举办这系列活动，希望能促进不同领域优秀青年之间的交流，碰撞思想的火花，拓展自己的视野。“当我们中国青年在世界各地积极进取，国家就有前途，民族就有希望”。

参与当天研讨会的还有就职于世界银行集团总部王靖穗；美国航空航天局“与星同在”(NASA Living With a Star)项目首席科学家李金星博士；目前在美国华盛顿的国际食物政策研究所工作的高琳；“只为你进步”公益教育组织创始人邓杨；哥伦比亚大学教育学硕士毕业、子知教育青少年发展规划导师，“十年一剑”全球系列研学项目总策划温钧茹等。
当天的研讨会由子知教育发起主办、天使守护基金、全美中华青年联合会、社会创新种子社区（SEED）、“只为你进步”基金会等机构参与合作支持。            

波士頓市已有200家餐廳可戶外待客 華埠內尚無店獲准

           (Boston Orange) 麻州恢復開放進入第二階段，波士頓市市長馬丁華殊(Martin J. Walsh)今(10)日表示，已有500家餐廳遞交了臨時戶外用餐的快速批准申請，目前已有200家獲批。

           數週前，波士頓市已推出計畫要讓沒有庭院的餐廳能夠擴張到人行道上，或者甚至街上，來提供新鮮餐飲，期以抑制COVID-19的傳播，或者讓顧客感到更安全，也幫助那些面對室內用餐限制的餐廳有點生意。

           馬丁華殊說，波士頓市已為想要做這類擴張的餐廳、食肆設計了加快批准手續，也免除了牌照費。波士頓市牌照局上個月已暫時取消在戶外空間”酒品必須與食物一起出售”的全市規定。

           馬丁華殊表示，從社區裡的小餐廳到城中區的大餐館，市府已收到約500份申請表。大約有200家已獲得全權批准獲，或有條件的批准。

           已經獲得批准的餐廳，可立即開始在餐館所在地或其停車場的戶外空間，開始營業，並且一直開門到晚上10點為止，週末時，營業時間可以延長到晚上11點。

           餐廳必須遵守一些基本規定，包括戶外的桌子必須彼此距離6英尺，一同用餐的人不得多於6人。工作人員必須戴面罩，顧客在坐下用餐之前也必須臉部蒙著。

          馬丁華殊說，波士頓市的北端(North End)餐館密集，做法有點不同，週四才能開始戶外用餐。

           他說，波市府會在網上張貼所有獲得批准的餐館名單。他以波市府曾實施的小公園(parklets)為例，稱有意經營戶外供餐的餐廳，可以把停車位或人行道暫時轉作用餐區。有些街道可以封一段路，然後把那兒變成餐廳空間。

           波士頓市府指出，市長馬丁華殊在5月26日時宣佈了600萬元的免償還補助款，用於協助市內小企業健康、安全的恢復營業。若加上市府，聯邦政府，以及私人企業提供的資助，波市府總共為受COVID-19影響的小企業，提供了1350萬元補助。

           根據波市府提供的已獲批准戶外營業餐廳名單，波士頓華埠內還未有任何一家餐廳獲得批准，但位於芬紐廣場 Chatham 街65號的"香港餐廳(Hong Kong at Faneuil Hall)”，以及華埠鄰近南街(South St.)上的 Troquet，Kitchen Cafe，以及夏日街(Summer St.)上的La Cancun，位於華盛頓街1595號，由華裔餐飲名人張安柔開設的Flour   Bakery+ Cafe已獲批准。

昆士市發給376家小企業250萬元補助款

$2.5M IN SMALL BUSINESS EMERGENCY GRANTS AWARDED

June 9, 2020 QUINCY, MA - Mayor Thomas P. Koch and the Department of Planning & Community Development are pleased to announce that the City’s Small Business Emergency Grant Program has awarded 376 small business owners with a combined total of nearly $2.5M in grant funds to help pay for rent, mortgage, and other operating expenses during this time  of need.The program was funded through an appropriation authorized by Congress under the CARES Act, with almost $1.1M coming from the Community Development Block Grant program, which is administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).The Small Business Grant Program was established and launched by Mayor Koch on April 30 to assist  in the stabilization of existing small businesses within the City that have had significant business disruption due to the impact of COVID-19. Applications were accepted through May 15, and checks were mailed to grant recipients this past Friday, June 5. These grant funds will assist small  businesses in the City to cover the unexpected loss in revenue due to the State’s mandate to close all  but essential businesses during the height of the pandemic.“Small businesses are truly the economic engine in our great City and across the country,” said Mayor Koch. “I am  truly grateful to Congressman Stephen Lynch for his support in making these federal funds available in Quincy, and I hope these grants are able to provide local businesses with some level of financial relief as we work together to fully reopen the economy.

MAYOR WALSH, OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DEVOTE $2.4 MILLION IN NEIGHBORHOOD JOBS TRUST FUNDS TO EMERGENCY WORKFORCE SUPPORT, TECH TRAINING FOR RESIDENTS

MAYOR WALSH, OFFICE OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DEVOTE $2.4 MILLION IN NEIGHBORHOOD JOBS TRUST FUNDS TO EMERGENCY WORKFORCE SUPPORT, TECH TRAINING FOR RESIDENTS  Distributed funds will address the needs of Boston's workforce impacted by COVID-19

BOSTON - Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development today announced the dedication of $2.4 million in Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) funds to address the pressing needs of Boston's workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. These needs include educational and financial support for college students, remote learning assistance for English language learners, re-training for hospitality and restaurant workers who lost jobs due to the pandemic, and continued funding for community-based organizations that are crucial to Boston's long-term economic recovery. The NJT funds will also support training programs to help job-seekers enter tech sector job openings as cybersecurity analysts, computer support specialists, application developers, IT business analysts, and network field engineers. "Supporting our students, workers, and community-based organizations that are re-training our workforce to be ready for the economy post-COVID-19 is crucial for Boston's equitable, long-term recovery," said Mayor Walsh. "Leveraging funding from new development to invest in job training and job placement was our priority before COVID-19, and it will continue to be a priority so that we can help all of residents have opportunities to succeed."  The Neighborhood Jobs Trust is a public charitable trust that funds education and job training programs for low- and middle-income Boston residents. The Trust is replenished by linkage fees paid by developers of large-scale commercial projects in Boston. Since 2014, new development approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) is generating over $75 million in linkage fees, with $61.6 million to support affordable housing and $13.5 million to support job training.  Since the start of the pandemic, NJT has issued more than $500,000 in emergency grants to nonprofit organizations that provide front-line support to Boston's workforce. For example, BEST Hospitality Training - which traditionally trains workers for Boston's hotel industry - is pivoting to train job-seekers for environmental services positions in healthcare settings. Another nonprofit, Tech Goes Home, is using NJT funds to help adult education and ESOL English programs transition to remote learning by providing technical training to instructors and laptops to students.  "During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen how quickly low wage work, language barriers and historic systems of exclusion have exacerbated income inequality in our communities and neighborhood," said Lisette Le, executive director of VietAID, an emergency grant recipient. "As our organization responded to addressing basic needs - food insecurity, support with unemployment - with support from NJT, we also saw it as an opportunity to provide workforce training to those who were unemployed and underemployed because of COVID-19." NJT has also devoted nearly $30,000 to an emergency fund for Tuition-Free Community College (TFCC) Plan students struggling to continue their spring semester due to financial or educational challenges brought on by the pandemic. Approximately half of all TFCC students applied for support to help with college completion. Nearly two-thirds of the applicants indicated that they or their family had experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19. "I am super thankful and blessed for the emergency funds that I received because it helped me finish up this semester when I didn't think I could," said Shayne Clinton, a student at Bunker Hill Community College. Last year, NJT funded 23 community-based organizations that provide low-income Boston residents with job training and support services. The Trust is committing $1.27 million to level-fund these programs in order to support their work, stabilize their budgets, and ensure they can continue to serve the City's growing number of job-seekers. This year, the Trust is distributing more than $550,000 to 12 organizations that will train residents for careers in the tech sector, Boston's second largest industry. The programs, selected through an open Request for Proposals (RFP) process this spring, employ unique designs to confer particular technical training. Resilient Coders, for example, teaches software development skills to low-income people of color in a coding bootcamp environment that emphasizes communication, collaboration, and networking. Another grantee, Apprenti, prepares tech trainees from under-represented populations for paid, registered apprenticeships with local employers.  "This funding from the Neighborhood Jobs Trust will provide the opportunity to train more Black and Brown young adults as full stack software developers and connect them with tech jobs in which the average starting salary of our last class was $98,200," said David Delmar, executive director of Resilient Coders. "The Trust's funding will significantly impact the lives of Black and Brown men and women and their families, and help reduce Boston's income inequality."  A comprehensive list of NJT tech training grantees can be found below.    FY21 NJT Tech Training Grantees Organization Funding Program Description Apprenti $85,562 Technical training culminating in registered IT/technology apprenticeships with employer partners CodeSquad $90,000 Training program focused on software development Fenway Community Development Corporation $25,000 Recruitment program to connect job fair attendees who have tech-related skills to ongoing training programs Mayor's Office of Returning Citizens $25,000 Training in the QuickBase database application for individuals returning from incarceration Mujeres Unidas Avanzando $25,000 Training in desktop support for English language learners Per Scholas $92,000 Computer service technician training program leading to CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications Resilient Coders $95,000 Coding bootcamp that recruits people of color and people who identify as female/non-binary Roxbury Community College $20,000 Training in green building maintenance technology St. Mary's Center for Women and Children $25,000 Technology training component for Women@Work, a job readiness program for women with multiple barriers to employment STRIVE program of BPS and Wentworth Institute of Technology $25,000 Technology training for young adults with disabilities Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts $50,000 Training in software development and web development  ###

Governor Baker Files COVID-19 Data Collection Bill

Governor Baker Files COVID-19 Data Collection Bill

BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker has filed “An Act to Ensure the Collection of COVID-19 Data,” which will build on legislation recently signed by the governor to expand data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the pandemic, our administration has continued to expand the information that is made available daily to the public, and this bill will build on the legislation recently passed by the Legislature to further increase data collection by the Department of Public Health,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “COVID-19 has taken a tremendous toll on the residents of the Commonwealth, and has disproportionately impacted certain populations including communities of color and older residents. We have moved to file this bill quickly to ensure that entities are required to report to DPH in a timely way, and look forward to working with the Legislature to pass these updates to help further address the health disparities affecting these communities.”

“This bill will help further enhance the data our administration publishes daily to inform the public about the impact of COVID-19 within the Commonwealth,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We know that some communities have disproportionately felt the impact of this terrible virus, and we will continue to work with the Legislature to address these issues.”

Click here to read the filing letter

Click here to read the legislation

This week, Governor Baker signed “An Act Addressing COVID-19 Data Collection and Disparities in Treatment,” which will allow for the collection and publication of additional data to understand the impact of COVID-19 on underserved and underrepresented populations and other groups.

The bill filed by Governor Baker proposes several updates to this law to ensure the timely reporting of information to the Department of Public Health (DPH).

The quality of the data reported by the Department is entirely dependent on the quality and completeness of the data that is submitted by health care providers and laboratories. While the newly passed law makes clear that DPH is required to collect data on COVID-19 cases and patient demographics, it does not codify the providers’ and laboratories’ responsibility to timely and completely report this data to the department. The governor’s legislation amends the reporting law to make this responsibility clear, and to give DPH the power to issue fines if providers do not comply.

The recently passed bill also requires that a list of designated elder care facilities report COVID-19 data about their residents and staff. While it makes sense to collect this data from the facilities that have access to their residents’ health information, like nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, this law also imposes this obligation on housing complexes and rental units that merely offer housing to the elderly. The governor’s legislation proposes to remove this requirement due to privacy considerations and concerns over the quality of data available from these entities.

The governor’s bill also includes an amendment that would allow the Department to aggregate the data where not doing so would violate federal law or an individuals’ privacy right.

Baker-Polito Administration Visits Lawrence to Tour New Balance’s PPE Production Line

Baker-Polito Administration Visits Lawrence to Tour New Balance’s PPE Production Line

LAWRENCE — Today, Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined New Balance chairman Jim Davis for a tour of New Balance’s Lawrence factory, a facility that has helped the company produce more than 1 million masks in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The tour highlighted the company’s face mask models, including a new version being rolled out to consumers in the coming weeks, and a new surgical mask model for frontline health care workers.

Nearly 100 New Balance employees are manufacturing products at the factory and a nearby distribution center in Lawrence, an effort which began in late March with the production of general-use face masks. The company has been supported by the Massachusetts Manufacturing Emergency Team (M-ERT), which provided support around regulations and labeling for medical equipment, as well as feedback on the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), which has risen greatly since the M-ERT’s establishment in early March. The M-ERT is a coordinated effort comprised of members from academia, industry and government to address the urgent need for PPE to support health care workers on the front lines of Massachusetts’ COVID-19 response.

“As the Commonwealth continues its fight against coronavirus, face coverings will remain critical to supporting public health,” said Governor Baker. “Our Administration remains committed to partnering with local companies such as New Balance to ensure there is a reliable supply of PPE to protect frontline workers and the general public.”     

“With millions of pieces of PPE already produced by participating companies, M-ERT has played a key role in the gradual reopening of Massachusetts,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “We are thankful to New Balance and the other M-ERT companies that have leveraged this program to shift to the production of life-saving gear and supplies.”

New Balance was directly assisted by experts from the M-ERT team, including Ben Linville-Engler from MIT’s System Design & Management Group and Haden Quinlan from MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), who hosted bi-weekly meetings with the company to confer over the regulatory environment for medical products, connect the company to testing resources, and deliver information regarding the demand and need for certain types of PPE. Another M-ERT expert, Dr. Michael Rein, the Senior Product Engineer at Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, provided critical guidance around product testing.

Starting today, New Balance will make available a new general-use face mask for the public, called the ‘NB Face Mask V3,’ a three-layer, lightweight and breathable, non-sterile physical barrier face mask with a moldable nose piece. In addition to the masks produced directly by New Balance, the company has also repaired straps on 50,000 N95 respirator masks for Brigham & Women’s Hospital, enabling them to be used by their medical staff.

Today’s tour featured several prototypes the company is looking to produce, including a disposable, 3D-printed stethoscope. In addition to founder Jim Davis, the Governor and Lt. Governor were joined by several New Balance leaders who highlighted the production teams making the masks, including: Joe Preston, President & CEO of New Balance; Dave Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer; and Kevin McCoy, Vice President of Made Product Development & Manufacturing.

“The incredible passion, industrial R&D ability and innovative thinking of our associates combined with our New England manufacturing resources enabled us to pivot quickly to produce PPE for frontline workers and health care facilities facing the COVID-19 health crisis,” said Joe Preston, President & CEO of New Balance. “We applaud the Baker-Polito Administration for establishing a strong and highly-engaged Manufacturing Emergency Response Team that has provided us with meaningful and expert guidance throughout our journey.”

“We are incredibly proud and humbled to do our part to help so many in our health care community by producing more than one million masks in the past two months,” said Dave Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer of New Balance. “We are thankful that the innovative thinking of our associates, our long history of domestic manufacturing and the work of our highly skilled teams in our factories have allowed us to quickly adapt to help meet the immense mask needs of the health care community, and now the general public.”

New Balance is one of the Massachusetts manufacturers featured on a new website launched by the MassTech Collaborative that profiles nearly 20 Massachusetts manufacturers that have shifted operations to produce critical PPE and other materials. The M-ERT effort is being managed by MassTech, the quasi-public economic development agency that oversees advanced manufacturing programs for the Commonwealth, and was devised as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 750 companies from around the world have submitted their interest to the M-ERT, including nearly 450 from Massachusetts. Of those, 27 companies have made it through the program, producing 4 million pieces of PPE and other critical materials to date.

Immunic, Inc. Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration Allowance of its Phase 2, CALVID-1 Clinical Trial of IMU-838 in COVID-19

Immunic, Inc. Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration Allowance of its Phase 2, CALVID-1 Clinical Trial of IMU-838 in COVID-19

NEW YORK, June 9, 2020 – Immunic, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMUX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing best-in-class, oral therapies for the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, today announced receipt of regulatory allowance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate its phase 2, CALVID-1 clinical trial of IMU-838, the company’s selective oral DHODH inhibitor, in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at centers in the United States.

CALVID-1 received regulatory allowance from the German health authority, BfArM (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte), on May 13, 2020 and has subsequently also received regulatory allowance in other European countries involved in the study. It is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial in patients with moderate COVID-19, designed to evaluate efficacy, safety and tolerability of IMU-838. Top-line data is expected to be available later this year.

For more information on this clinical trial, please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04379271.