Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $17 Million in Funding for Dams and Coastal Infrastructure

 Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $17 Million in Funding for Dams and Coastal Infrastructure

28 cities and towns receive critical funding

 

BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced over $17.3 million in grants to address failing dams, coastal infrastructure, and levees across the Commonwealth. The announcement was made by Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides and state and local officials at Haskell Pond Dam in the City of Gloucester. The Administration also highlighted its $2.9 billion proposal to immediately invest a portion of Massachusetts’ federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act in urgent priorities, including $300 million for climate-resilient infrastructure.

 

The grants, which were awarded by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) Dam and Seawall Program, will support permitting and construction projects in Acton, Ashfield, Braintree, Brockton, Chicopee, Dracut, Dudley, Essex, Gardner, Gloucester, Hull, Ipswich, Leominster, Marshfield, New Bedford, Northborough, Oxford, Peabody, Quincy, Salem, Saugus, Somerset, Stow, Springfield, Wareham, Weymouth, the Wildlands Trust (Kingston), and Worcester.

 

“The Commonwealth’s cities and towns are seeing the impacts of climate change every day, and our Administration is committed to providing needed funding to support critical resilience projects to address these issues,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These grants will help municipalities make substantial progress to maintain and repair aging dams and seawalls across Massachusetts.”

 

“Ensuring dams, seawalls, and levees remain in good condition can be costly on municipal budgets, and we are pleased to provide these Dam and Seawall Program grants to help support municipalities as they make these investments,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “It is critical that we continue to foster strong partnerships with local communities and organizations to create a more resilient Massachusetts.”

 

With these 32 new grants, the Dam and Seawall Program has now provided over $95 million in grants and loans to address deficient dams, seawalls, and levees since the program began in 2013.

 

“Since coming into office in 2015, the Baker-Polito Administration has delivered over $82.5 million in funding through the Dam and Seawall Program to improve critical infrastructure that protects our communities and businesses and makes our Commonwealth more resilient to the ongoing impacts of climate change,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “As we prepare for stronger storms, rising seas, and more intense precipitation, maintenance and enhancement of our aging water control structures, as well as strategies to increase natural infrastructure will help build more resilient cities and towns throughout the state.”

 

“Dams and seawalls are challenging and costly pieces of infrastructure that must be maintained for public safety, environmental protection, and the health of drinking water,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr. “Yet for communities the cost of maintaining them is a heavy burden that strains municipal budgets. Thanks to this grant program and the significant resources it brings, communities don't have to go it alone in building and maintaining these critical structures. Thanks to the Baker-Polito administration for making these investments, and congratulations to Gloucester, Ipswich, Essex, and the other recipients who have designed and submitted projects worthy of the support they are receiving today.”

 

"Although Cape Ann is one of the Commonwealth's most beautiful resources, the natural landscape creates many infrastructure challenges," said Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante. "I am pleased that the Commonwealth is investing and sharing the burden with the City of Gloucester of maintaining and managing Haskell Pond, one of our reservoirs, for use by current and future generations."

 

“As a coastal community, we have seen firsthand how devastating winter storms, inland flooding and sea level rise can be for everyone,” said Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. “Thankfully, we have continued to work with state leadership on climate resiliency programs, including the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant program (MVP) which helped us understand our needs and earn these terrific grant awards supporting the Haskell Pond Dam Repair and Gloucester High School Flood Barrier. On behalf of the City of Gloucester, we thank the Baker-Polito Administration again for their ongoing climate resiliency support and grant programs which continues to return results desperately needed for us all.”

 

Dam and Seawall Program grant recipients and awarded projects:

 

Awardee Name	Structure Name/Project Title	Award
Dam Design and Permit
Town of Acton	53 River Street Dam Removal	$75,000
City of Brockton	Ellis Brett Pond Dam Repairs	$82,725
Town of Dracut	Three Beaver Brook Dams (Navy Yard Dam, Victory Lane, Collinsville )	$250,000
Town of Dudley	Carpenter Pond Dam Removal Project	$71,903
City of Gardner	Wayside Pond Dam Repairs	$124,725
City of Gloucester	Haskell Pond Dam / Haskell Pond Dam Design Storm and Seismic Improvements	$63,300
Town of Ipswich	Ipswich Mills Dam Removal Pre-Permitting Assessment & Design Project	$75,000
City of Leominster	Colburn Pond Dam at Barrett Park	$163,500
Town of Northborough	Northborough Reservoir Dam/Dam Removal Design & Permitting	$168,750
Town of Oxford	McKinstry Pond Dam Repairs	$55,275
City of Peabody	Sidney Pond Dam Improvement Project	$84,187
City of Springfield	Upper Van Horn Reservoir Dam Improvements Design and Permitting	$249,975
Town of Somerset	Somerset Dam Resiliency and Improvements	$247,828
Town of Stow	Lake Boon Dam Rehabilitation Final Design and Permitting	$44,775
Town of Wareham	Parker Mills Dam	$175,000
City of Worcester	Patch Pond Dam Rehabilitation Project	$147,150
Dam Design and Permit Total	16	$2,079,093
Inland Flood Design and Permit
City of Chicopee	Plainfield Street Flood Control System	$126,000
Inland Flood Design and Permit Total	1	$126,000
Coastal Design and Permit
Town of Hull	Nantasket Avenue Seawall Repair	$180,750
Town of Hull	Harborview Road Seawall Repair	$111,750
Town of Marshfield	Ocean Bluff Revetment Repair	$412,500
City of New Bedford	East Rodney French Boulevard Seawall Repair	$54,000
Town of Weymouth	Fort Point Road Coastal Infrastructure Resilience Project	$102,980
Coastal Design and Permit Total	5	$861,980
DESIGN AND PERMIT TOTAL	22	$3,067,073
Dam Construction
Town of Ashfield	Ashfield Lake Dam Repair	$875,000
Town of Braintree	Armstrong Dam/Monatiquot River Restoration	$1,000,000
City of Gloucester	Haskell Pond Dam / Haskell Pond Dam Design Storm and Seismic Improvements	$1,000,000
Town of Saugus	Spring Pond Dam Rehabilitation	$261,959
Wildlands Trust	Sylvia Place Pond Dam Breach	$729,600
Dam Construction Total	5	$3,866,559
Coastal Construction
Town of Essex	Conomo Point Seawall	$1,739,915
City of Gloucester	Gloucester High School Flood Mitigation Barrier Construction	$2,379,000
Town of Marshfield	Brant Rock Seawall, Phase II	$2,349,375
City of Quincy	Manet Avenue and Babcock Street Seawall Improvements	$2,982,285
City of Salem	Columbus Avenue Seawall Reconstruction Project	$952,605
Coastal Construction Total	5	$10,403,180
Construction Total	10	$14,269,739
GRAND TOTAL	32	$17,336,812

 

 

In June 2021, the Baker-Polito Administration re-filed its plan to immediately put to use part of the Commonwealth’s direct federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support key priorities including housing and homeownership, economic development and local downtowns, job training and workforce development, health care, and infrastructure. As part of the Administration’s proposal to jump-start the Commonwealth’s economic recovery and support residents hardest-hit by COVID-19, such as lower-wage workers and communities of color, Governor Baker would direct $900 million to key energy and environmental initiatives, including $300 million to support climate resilient infrastructure. The funding would be distributed through programs like EEA’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program and would fund priority climate adaptation projects and investments aligned with the priorities identified in the state hazard mitigation and climate adaptation plan. Investments that would be supported through the funding include the acquisition of land specifically targeted at reducing flooding and the Urban Heat Island Effect.

Eastern Bank Foundation Partners With Community Organizations To Increase Last Mile Vaccination Outreach and Access in Gateway Cities of Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Eastern Bank Foundation Partners With Community Organizations To Increase Last Mile Vaccination Outreach and Access in Gateway Cities of Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Recently announced $2 million in COVID-19 grants support culturally-inclusive outreach and access to vaccines

BOSTON, MA, July 28, 2021 – Eastern Bank Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Boston-based Eastern Bank, recently announced an additional $2 million in COVID-19 support to increase last mile vaccination outreach and access. Vaccination rates, while progressing, also highlight the inequities experienced in communities of color within Gateway Cities of  Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The Eastern Bank Foundation is collaborating with community health centers, foundations, community organizations and other companies to address the disparities and reach populations living in cities with the highest incidence rate of COVID-19 cases to get them access to the vaccine. Philanthropic support is provided in three areas:

1.     Vaccine access—investing in the work of community health centers, mobile vaccination vans and buses, and pop-up vaccination sites;

2.     Culturally-inclusive outreach—investing in grassroots community partners with trusting relationships to the community members they serve, door-to-door outreach, and multilingual vaccination resources; and

3.     Advocacy—partnering with community organizations to advocate for equity in vaccine access for communities of color.

In Massachusetts, grant recipients include:

·       Asian American Civic Association

·       Asian Community Development Corporation

·       Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition (BBCC)

·       Boston Medical Center

·       Community Health Center of Cape Cod

·       The Dimock Center

·       Duffy Health Center

·       East Boston Neighborhood Health Center

·       Essex County Community Foundation

·       GOTVax Campaign

·       Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) Boston

·       La Colaborativa

·       Lawyers for Civil Rights and

·       Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition

In New Hampshire, grant recipients include:

·       Building Community in New Hampshire and

·       International Institute of New England in Manchester

 

“It is clear that COVID-19 is still having its greatest impact in our gateway cities. We are so very thankful to our community health centers, trusted community-based organizations, and public-private partnerships for their focus on last mile vaccination outreach, and their commitment to ensuring no one is left behind,” said Nancy Huntington Stager, President and CEO of the Eastern Bank Foundation. “These next several months are critical to getting as many people as possible vaccinated, and the timing of this grant funding is intended to boost efforts that overcome barriers to vaccination.”

Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D. and Chief Executive Officer of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) Boston, said, “Thanks to the support of the Eastern Bank Foundation we have expanded our efforts to bring expert information to our community about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, and to coordinate vaccine appointments and rides to them. It is critical that we keep these vaccination efforts up, as new coronavirus variants take hold in our country, state and community. As we experienced the disproportionate negative impact of the pandemic in low-income communities of color, we are committed to prevent this from happening again.”

Beth Francis, President and CEO of Essex County Community Foundation, said, “With Eastern Bank Foundation’s grant, we are able to expand our efforts to vaccine equity for populations who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. We’re committed to getting underserved communities vaccinated and offering the crucial support needed at this time, and hiring local residents and working with our community health centers and experienced marketing and media partners like Archipelago Strategies Group and El Mundo to get this done in the most meaningful and trusting way possible.”

Angie Liou, Executive Director of Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), said, “Asian Community Development Corporation is grateful for Eastern Bank Foundation’s commitment to vaccine equity. The Foundation’s generous grant supports our collaborative efforts with community partners in Chinatown, Dorchester, Lowell, Malden and Quincy to serve immigrant communities with the culturally competent services and resources that they need to get vaccinated and stay safe.”

Rick Minard, Executive Director of Building Community in New Hampshire (BCNH), said, “Most members of the refugee communities that BCNH serves have already been vaccinated. The Eastern Bank Foundation donation enables us to mobilize vaccinated community members to reach out to their hesitant neighbors, probably one at a time. BCNH works primarily with Bhutanese, Congolese and Rohingya refugees in Concord, Manchester and Nashua. This project will allow us to include in that community other immigrants and people of color. We expect the impact to be profoundly beneficial.”

In 2020, the Eastern Bank Foundation supported COVID-19 efforts with donations to 665 community-based organizations totaling more than $13 million, in such areas as aid to immigrants, the elderly, victims of domestic violence, mental health services and community health centers, food banks and pantries, multi-service providers and community foundations, early childhood development providers, safe and affordable housing providers, and organizations assisting businesses of color. The $2 million in COVID-19 relief for last mile vaccination efforts brings the Foundation’s total COVID-19 support to $15 million.

Groundbreaking Analysis of Hate Crime Laws Finds Limitations and Opportunities in the Face of Rising Hate Violence

Groundbreaking Analysis of Hate Crime Laws Finds Limitations and Opportunities in the Face of Rising Hate Violence

With a rise in hate violence across the country, a new report from the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and 16 leading civil rights organizations provides a groundbreaking analysis of state and federal hate crime laws. The report features a foreword by Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard and Board/Chair President of the Matthew Shephard Foundation. (Read the report.)

The partners releasing the report are: Anti-Defamation League, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC), Equality Federation Institute, James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop Hate at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Lambda Legal, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Black Justice Coalition, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Council of Jewish Women, National Disability Rights Network, Sikh Coalition, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Union of Reform Judaism. (Read statements from these organizations.)

The report provides a comprehensive look at both the opportunities and limitations of hate crime laws as a means of preventing and addressing hate violence. While responding to hate violence is imperative, the report finds that hate crime laws across the country are inconsistent and provide complex and incomplete methods of addressing hate violence. This analysis comes amid a spike in hate crimes in recent years–and as the country is examining racial justice and racial bias in our criminal justice system. 

“At a time of rising hate violence, we need to re-examine and expand our responses. Hate crime laws serve a necessary purpose, but they are inconsistent, sometimes flawed, and can even harm the very communities they are meant to serve. We need to improve our hate crime laws and engage in broader solutions to reducing hate in our country. Like any law, hate crime laws alone won’t fix a problem as large as rising hate violence,” said Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director of MAP, an independent think tank focused on equality for all. 

“We appreciate the coverage of anti-Asian hate violence in the report, including acknowledgement of its roots in U.S. history, the rise in anti-Asian harassment and hate violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, and discussion of how our communities’ responses are not singular or static but continue to evolve. This new report on hate crimes laws from the Movement Advancement Project is an invaluable resource with its analysis of federal and state laws, including synthesis and presentation of a great deal of data in a straightforward and accessible way. This report will be helpful to advocates, policymakers, and community members who wish to gain a better understanding of hate crimes and work toward more effective responses and solutions," said Marita Etcubanez, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.

Hate Crime Laws Vary Widely Across the Country 
The report finds that federal and state governments vary widely in their responses to hate violence. This complex patchwork means that someone who experiences a hate crime may have a completely different set of protections, options, or access to resources depending on where the crime occurs.  

The report analyzes state hate crime statutes across more than 10 distinct characteristics. The common element across state hate crime laws is the use of criminal punishment, typically through sentencing enhancements.  

Challenges of Addressing Hate Violence Through the Criminal Justice System 
Addressing hate violence when it happens is imperative. State hate crime laws provide avenues for responding to hate crimes, but they also highlight the challenges inherent in the criminal justice system. These challenges illustrate paths forward for both improving hate crime laws and responding more comprehensively to hate violence: 

• Failing to address root causes of violence, as current hate crime laws focus on punishing people charged with hate crimes without challenging underlying biases at the individual and broader societal levels. Additionally, harsher sentencing has not been shown to deter crime. 
• Widespread bias in the criminal justice system results in significant racial disparities, as well as disparities for LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and low-income people. These are often the very communities that are targeted for hate violence. Evidence shows that, for example, even though the majority of hate crimes are committed by white people, many states’ law-enforcement-recorded hate crimes disproportionately list Black people as offenders.  
• Flaws in hate crime data collection and reporting are widespread, and the current system of federal data collection relies only on the voluntary participation of law enforcement. Additionally, victims of hate crimes may be wary of reporting the crime to the police if they do not trust the police.
• Changing the intent of the law, for example, by attempting to add police officers – a profession – as a protected class in hate crime laws, despite the fact that all 50 states already have criminal statutes that specifically address and punish violence against a law enforcement officer.  

Expanding Solutions to Address Hate Violence 
The report highlights opportunities for both improving hate crime laws and better supporting communities affected by hate violence:  

• Investing in communities that are harmed by hate violence, such as people of color, LGBTQ people, people of minority faiths, and disabled people. Expanding nondiscrimination protections and investing in social safety nets will help reduce the instability caused by discrimination. In turn, this reduces vulnerable communities’ exposure to potential violence.  
• Preventing violence through work that not only aims to reduce hate crimes, but also works to reduce hate and violence overall.  
• Improving law enforcement accountability and training, including addressing how law enforcement can disproportionately harm vulnerable communities. 
• Improving data collection can help connect people impacted by hate crimes to resources and support. More robust data can also support more tailored responses to hate violence, track potential disparities or bias in the enforcement of hate crime laws, and evaluate the efficacy of non-carceral responses to hate crime.  
• Shifting focus toward support and healing, such as through expanded measures to support victims and survivors of hate crimes, community education and response strategies, and non-carceral approaches to justice.   

“As our country continues to grapple with racial injustice, bias in the criminal justice system, and rising hate violence against too many communities, it is critical that we reexamine our responses to hate crimes. It’s clear that additional solutions are needed to address hate violence, including a careful review of how hate crime laws in their current and potential forms fit into the work of building safe communities for everyone,” said Mushovic.