CITY AWARDED GRANT FOR HEAT RESILIENCE PLANNING STUDY TO PROTECT AGAINST EXTREME HEAT DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

CITY AWARDED GRANT FOR HEAT RESILIENCE PLANNING STUDY TO PROTECT AGAINST EXTREME HEAT DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE 

The grant will fund the City's first heat resilience study, with a focus on our most vulnerable neighborhoods, for the projected increases in extreme heat due to climate change

 BOSTON - Friday, October 9, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced a critical investment in strengthening Boston's neighborhoods in the face of extreme heat due to climate change. The City of Boston has been awarded a $280,070 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant that will fund a strategic heat resilience planning study, an essential next step in preparing for the projected increases in extreme heat events over the coming decades. 

"Combatting for the very real threat of climate change is crucial as we continue to invest in strategies that prioritize our vulnerable communities to ensure an equitable, healthy future for all Bostonians," said Mayor Walsh "I'm proud the City has received this award, and thank the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for their partnership in this vital work."

The Heat Resilience Planning Study is a critical component of Climate Ready Boston, an initiative to develop resilient solutions that will prepare our city for the effects of climate change: flooding due to sea-level rise and increased storms and extreme heat. The plan will build on heat preparedness work to date and explore a suite of potential heat mitigation strategies to identify infrastructure solutions and opportunities, as well as strengthen policies and programs needed to reduce urban heat and heat risk.

"Our priority is to protect all residents from ecological hazards and climate change, but we know that not everyone is equally impacted," said Chris Cook, Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space. "This heat resilience planning study will intentionally center on environmental justice communities to guide us to protect our especially vulnerable neighborhoods from the effects of climate change with actionable, innovative, and community-driven solutions."

The study will focus on "hot spots" throughout the neighborhoods of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Chinatown, and East Boston. Climate Ready Boston will develop heat mitigation scenarios in partnership with communities facing disproportionate effects of urban heat risk and compounding social inequity. The solutions will be community-driven and will result in equity and public health focused strategies and metrics to protect the health and safety of Boston neighborhoods for years to come.

"As climate change continues, extreme heat is of particular concern in densely populated, inland neighborhoods like the one we serve in Dorchester. This study will support the development of heat resilience planning through integrated nature-based solutions, promote sustainable development, and improve public health to reduce extreme heat risk. This effort by Mayor Walsh and the City of Boston is particularly welcome, and we look forward to collaborating in this planning process," said David T. Queely, Director of Eco Innovation, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The City of Boston's MVP grant is among the 41 communities that received funding from the Executive Office of Energy and Environment Affairs through its Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. The MVP Program awarded a total of $11 million in grants to municipalities to plan and implement climate change resilience projects.

"Boston is one of four communities that are leading studies on extreme heat in this new MVP grant cycle," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. "This summer reminded us of the dangers of the urban heat island effect, particularly for our most vulnerable residents, and this work on heat resilience planning has the potential to serve as an important model for other regions across the Commonwealth."

This work builds on Mayor Walsh's vision for a prepared, healthy, and resilient Boston. Since the initial release of the first Climate Ready Boston report in 2016, the City of Boston has completed a series of neighborhood-level coastal resilience projects in East Boston, Charlestown, and South Boston, and will soon announce reports and implementation roadmaps for the North End, Downtown, and Dorchester

薪資保護計畫申貸額5萬元以下者可開始申請免償還

 

SBA and Treasury Announce Simpler PPP Forgiveness for Loans of $50,000 or Less

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, today released a simpler loan forgiveness application for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. This action streamlines the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses while also ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

“The PPP has provided 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion to American small businesses, providing critical economic relief and supporting more than 51 million jobs,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.  “Today’s action streamlines the forgiveness process for PPP borrowers with loans of $50,000 or less and thousands of PPP lenders who worked around the clock to process loans quickly,” he continued.  “We are committed to making the PPP forgiveness process as simple as possible while also protecting against fraud and misuse of funds.  We continue to favor additional legislation to further simplify the forgiveness process.”

“Nothing will stop the Trump Administration from supporting great American businesses and our great American workers. The Paycheck Protection Program has been an overwhelming success and served as a historic lifeline to America’s hurting small businesses and tens of millions of workers. The new form introduced today demonstrates our relentless commitment to using every tool in our toolbelt to help small businesses and the banks that have participated in this program,” said Administrator Jovita Carranza. “We are continuing to ensure that small businesses are supported as they recover.”

SBA and Treasury have also eased the burden on PPP lenders, allowing lenders to process forgiveness applications more swiftly.  

SBA began approving PPP forgiveness applications and remitting forgiveness payments to PPP lenders for PPP borrowers on October 2, 2020.  SBA will continue to process all PPP forgiveness applications in an expeditious manner.

Click here to view the simpler loan forgiveness application.

Click here to view the instructions for completing the simpler loan forgiveness application.

Click here to view the Interim Final Rule on the simpler forgiveness process for loans of $50,000 or less.

City of Boston - The Funding Update

The Funding Update

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FUNDING UPDATE City of Boston, 11/16/2020 Boston Cultural Council grants are available to medium-sized organizations with budgets under $2 million. Grants support arts programming including music, film and video, folk and traditional art, visual art, theater, dance, humanities, literary arts, performance or time-based arts, social and civic practices, and multi-disciplinary arts. Max award: $5,000. New this week: Craft Futures Fund, 10/31/2020 One-time, unrestricted grants of $5,000 will support craft-based education projects that seed resilience, foster community, and amplify impact.  The Creative Capital blog lists a variety of resources and opportunities.     City of Boston, Open The Boston Resiliency Fund helps coordinate philanthropic efforts to provide essential services to Boston residents whose health and well-being are most immediately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Funding priorities: providing food to Boston's children, families, and seniors; providing technology to Boston Public Schools students for remote learning; and providing support to first responders, front-line workers, and healthcare workers so they can effectively do their jobs and promote public health. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 10/14/2020 COVID-19 Community Grants will engage community- and faith-based organizations in the development and delivery of effective messages and further support hard-hit communities with education, training, and funding to effectively meet their communities’ specific needs and build upon existing local and state efforts.  City of Boston, 10/16/2020 Now seeking eligibility forms to be reviewed for Community Preservation Act applications. The scope of work must address affordable housing, open space, or the preservation of historic sites. City of Boston, 10/28/2020 The Parks and Recreation Department requests proposals from an Urban Forest planning consultant to develop an equitable vision for the protection and expansion of the City's tree canopy goals. New this week: Dining for Women, 10/24/2020 This giving circle invites Letters of Intent for projects that support women and girls living in extreme poverty in developing countries. Priorities: Education/Training; Health/Clean Water/Sanitation; Economic Empowerment; Healtjhy Environment; Food security/Regenerative Agriculture/Nutrition; Human Trafficking; Leadership Training/Advocacy. Grants will range from $25,000 to $35,000. ********************************************************* BOSTON COUNTS 2020 Take 5 minutes and fill out the Census -- today! You can do it online or over the phone in 13 different languages. Your response determines how Boston receives funding for housing, transportation, education, child care, food supplies, and healthcare. Be Counted. Be Protected. Be Represented. Time is Running Out! Complete the 2020 Census NOW! ******************************** Confirm your City of Boston residency here, as part of the annual city census. This also protects your voting rights. ************************************* Learn More About Voter Registration and the 2020 Election Process Here. ******************************************* REGISTER BY 10/24/2020 to VOTE IN THE NOVEMBER 3 FINAL ELECTION.   City of Boston, Open The Reopen Boston Fund was established to help small businesses minimize risk and manage economic recovery. Eligible costs include Personal Protective Equipment, safety partitions for customers and employees, and managing outdoor space that’s approved for business use. The grants are for brick-and-mortar businesses, with fewer than 15 employees, where people work close to each other or to customers. Boston Local Development Corporation, Open The Standard BLDC Loan Fund is available for existing businesses, new ventures, and businesses relocating to Boston. Loans range from $25,000 to $150,000. The Backstreets Boston Back-up Loan Program provides financing of up to $250,000 for Boston companies in the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Also, BLDC recently received a $693,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the Economic Development Administration at the US Department of Commerce to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted small businesses in Boston. For more information, contact Bill Nickerson or Gisella Soriano. The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development holds Virtual Office Hours on Wednesdays from 11AM to 1PM. Learn about becoming a City of Boston-certified Minority/Woman-Owned Business     New this week: US Department of Education, 11/4/2020 Center for Excellence grants encourage institutions of higher education to develop model programs to support veteran student success in postsecondary education by coordinating services to address the academic, financial, physical, and social needs of veteran students. Max award $450,000. New this week: American Association of University Women, 11/1/2020 - 12/1/2020 American Fellowships support women scholars who are pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks. Career Development grants provide funding to women who hold a bachelor’s degree and are preparing to advance or change careers or re-enter the workforce in education, health and medical sciences, or social sciences. Community Action Grants support innovative programs that promote education and equity through projects focused on encouraging girls to select, before entering college, the physical sciences or engineering as a career. New this week: BOKS, 11/30/2020 The Defenders of Physical Activity award ($10,000) will recognize one exemplary, existing BOKS program that not only changes the health and wellness of kids in their community but sets an example for other schools to do the same. New this week: Samsung, 12/13/2020 The Solve for Tomorrow contest is designed to boost interest and proficiency in STEM, and challenges public school teachers and students in grades 6-12 to show how STEM can be applied to help improve their communities. Awards include Samsung technology packages. The competition opens with first-round ideas. New this week: JAMS Foundation/Association for Conflict Resolution, 1/11/2021 The Initiative for Students and Youth provides grants for conflict prevention and dispute resolution programs for K-12 students and for adults working with youth populations in ways that directly transfer conflict resolution education skills from adults to youth. Grants will range from $15,000 to $40,000 in Year One.   New this week: Fit For Life Foundation, 11/23/2020 Every year, the Foundation awards grants of $100,000 each to 3 non-profit organizations or social enterprises that are pioneering projects to promote life-long fitness and health around the world. New this week: Health Resources & Services Administration, 1/21/2021 Funding goal: to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals while also improving distribution of a quality behavioral health workforce and thereby increasing access to behavioral health services. A special focus is placed on the knowledge and understanding of children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth at risk for behavioral health disorders. Max award: $480,000. School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network, Open Grants support under-resourced public and charter schools to implement and expand access to quality behavioral health and general pediatric services on school campuses. Community Grants (up to $100,000) require a 40% match. Principal Grants provide up to $5,000 per academic year to principals of K-12 schools in selected states, as well as a mental health professional to support student behavioral health services on campus.    GrantStation offers a searchable database of COVID-19 funding. This just in: Rockland Trust, 10/15/2020 Funding focus: Affordable Housing, Community Development, Education, Financial Literacy, Health and Human Services, Youth Programs. Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000. New this week: Lawrence Foundation, 10/31/2020 Funding priorities: environment, human services, Covid-19 and other causes. Awards range from $5,000-$10,000. New this week: Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, 11/10/2020 Grants support museums, cultural, and performing arts programs; schools, hospitals, educational and skills training programs, programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and their programs. Awards range from $1,000 to $20,000​ New this week: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 11/24/2020 The Foundation has issued a new call for proposals: Policies for Action: Public Policy Research to Advance Racial Equity and Racial Justice that will translate findings into actionable evidence about how, and how well, policies work to improve racial equity and racial justice. A total of $2M is available. New this week: National Science Foundation, 1/29/2021 The Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program welcomes proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and draw on expertise in one or more of these areas: computing, communication and information sciences; engineering; education; mathematics; statistics; and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Awards will range from $50,000 to $3M. New this week: America Walks, 11/9/2020 The Community Change Grant supports the growing network of advocates, organizations, and agencies using innovative, engaging, and inclusive programs and projects to create change at the community level. Max award: $1,500. THE RESOURCE TABLE CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FUNDING UPDATE Connecting Communities to Opportunity Courtesy of Winn Companies Use CONNECT to search for free and reduced cost services like food, healthcare, job opportunities, benefits enrollment, rent assistance and more. Family Resources Emergency Childcare Good Neighbors Coping Skills for Youth Microsoft Digital Skills Center for Nonprofits - a collaboration with TechSoup Courses Mel King Institute Expand your knowledge on community development topics through virtual training courses. XPRIZE Challenge Ideation Workshop “CRAZY IDEAS WANTED” In this session, the XPRIZE team will share the signature elements of competition design thinking. Pandemic Alliance Partners will break out into small groups to discuss COVID-19 solution gaps in key areas. The goal is to identify problems that could be solved through collaboration between Pandemic Alliance partners or through XPRIZE competitions. Click here to contribute ideas that the world needs to focus on now. Best Times to Post on Social Media Courtesy of Nonprofit Tech for Good 5 Powerful Strategies for Your 2021 Annual Fundraising Plan Courtesy of Mobile Cause and Constant Contact 10/27/2020 at 1PM Eastern Visit the Intergovernmental Relations Resource Page for a wide variety of  fundraising tips, along with back issues of The Funding Update.

波士頓市長今早打流感預防針 鼓勵市民一起來

 

波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin J. Walsh)以身作則，鼓勵市民
注射流感疫苗。(波士頓市府提供)

         (Boston Orange)波士頓市長馬丁華殊(Martin J. Walsh)今(9)日一早10點，在波士頓市政府大樓前接種”流感疫苗”，以身作則的鼓勵市民今年儘快打流感預防針，以避免感染，傳染流感。

馬丁華殊和波士頓市公共衛生局(BPHC)人員在波士頓市政府大樓前，為年度季節性流感疫苗門診活動打氣。

該流感門診將從今早10點起至下午4點，在波士頓市政府大樓向大眾開放。預約可上網 here。

波士頓市府人員表示，大部分的健康保險計畫，都包括接種流感疫苗的費用，不需要另外付費。但是如果有市民的保險不包括接種流感疫苗，或是付費令人卻步，波士頓市公共衛生局鼓勵這些人打電話到市長的健康熱線，617-534-5050，該局會提供免費流感疫苗券給無保險，或保險不足的成人。

          波士頓市府指出，流感最常在10月至3月之間發生。在2019至2020年度的流感季節，波士頓居民有5,131人染患流感。因為新型冠狀病毒大流行，一切活動停頓的關係，這數據未必完整。

         最常見的流感症狀包括發燒，肌肉痠痛，頭痛，流鼻涕，喉嚨痛，感覺身體虛弱等。症狀可從輕微到嚴重。懷孕婦女，嬰兒，以及65歲以上老人，已經生病，免疫系統變弱的人，都更容易染患流感。

         波士頓公共衛生局醫療主任Jennifer Lo表示，流感是嚴重病毒，人們是有可能同時染患流感和新冠病毒。雖然現在還沒有新冠病毒疫苗，但是流感有。那也是為什麼每一名6個月大以上的人，每6個月打一次流感疫苗很重要。

新型冠狀病毒和流感的差異:

	COVID-19 新冠病毒	Flu 流感
暴露在病毒之下幾天後會感染該病毒？	2-14天，但通常在4到7天之間	1-4天
某個人傳播病毒的時間會有多長?	出現症狀之前2天，到有症狀之後10天	出現症狀之前1天，到有症狀之後7 天
病毒是怎傳播出去的?	主要通過呼吸飛沫	主要通過呼吸飛沫
誰的感染危險最高?	耆英 有某種病症的人 懷孕婦女	耆英 有某種病症的人 懷孕婦女 5歲以下幼童，特別是2歲以下
感染的人可以怎麼治療	主要是支持治療 Remdesivir 是抗病毒藥，目前用於症狀中等到嚴重病患	主要是支持治療 應盡快使用抗病毒藥
有病毒疫苗嗎?	沒有。正在研發疫苗	有，每年都收產很多種疫苗

 (更新版)

「僑見世界臺灣」徵短片 總獎金台幣30萬元

                (Boston Orange) 僑委會與全球華人同慶雙十，刻正以「僑見世界臺灣」為主題，徵短片，要” 讓在臺灣的我們看見你，讓臺灣被世界看見”。比賽總獎金高達新臺幣30萬元，社會人士組首獎獨得8萬元，學生組首獎獨得6萬元。

               波士頓僑教中心表示，今年因新冠肺炎疫情，許多海外華人無法回臺灣參加雙十國慶活動，僑委會特地辦理「僑見世界臺灣」這短片徵集競賽，廣邀海內外華人透過短片，記錄在世界各個角落的心動時刻與精彩大小事，以動人故事，展現創意，彰顯臺灣價值。

               這一活動分學生組及社會人士組，無論是在海外或國內，只要是認同臺灣者均可參加比賽，並不限制以個人或團體名義報名。

僑委會鼓勵在世界各地求學、工作或正在尋找一個夢想的熱愛台灣者，透過影片，分享各自與臺灣這片土地心心相連的情意。

               短片作品徵件時間自109年10月1日至11月16日。詳細活動辦法見活動網站：https://Film.Taiwan-World.Net。

10/8 新冠確診新增個案 美國53,051, 麻州409，波士頓68 新增死亡人數美國900，麻州8，波士頓0