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| 陳仕維、鍾珮玲夫婦(左)才剛祝賀余麗媖 (左)當選美國洪門致公堂總理，接著就傳出消息他將於2022年1月1日接任波士頓僑務委員。延任一年的前任波士頓僑務委員蔣宗壬將升任波士頓僑務諮詢委員。 (周菊子攝) |
星期五, 12月 31, 2021
陳仕維將於1月1日接任波士頓僑務委員
麻州失業福利金現有一億1500萬元缺口
(Boston Orange 編譯) 查理貝克(Charlie Baker)政府在2021年的最後一天，公佈了一項驚人消息，麻州用來支付失業福利的基金，已經有一億1500萬元赤字了。
新冠病毒疫情在去年導致許多人失業，失業福利基金出現赤字，倒也並不令人意外，但畢馬威會計師事務所 (KPMG)為麻州做的一項分析，第一次把失業保險信託基金的財務狀況揭露了出來。
截至11月30日止，麻州的失業保險基金帳面有29議員，但那不包括3項重大的州政府債務，包括去年向聯邦政府借了23億元來支付失業福利，這筆債必須在2022年11月前償還；4億1500萬元來自年終縮減失業保險率的雇主信貸，這筆錢必須在2022年用於償還雇主繳納的失業保險供款；欠聯邦政府大約3億元，以在緊急失業福利項目結束後，重新平衡聯邦及州政府的戶口。
麻州議會已批准用5億元的聯邦政府紓緩疫情款，來支撐失業保險金。州議員們也授權麻州政府為這基金出售70億元的債券。
失業保險項目在2020年2月，新冠病毒疫情逼使政府風城前的帳目是16億元。11月時，查理貝克說，要達到2019年的基礎，至少得借20億元。
州政府公佈的聲明並未提共出售債券的時間表及數量。
2022波士頓第一夜進行中 (圖片)
所有圖片周菊子攝
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| 柯普利廣場三一教堂前的表演站。 |
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| 今年的波士頓第一夜節目，大都搬至室外舉行。 |
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| 在波士頓公共圖書館正門前的2022冰雕。 |
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| 波士頓公共圖書館前GBH電台的冰雕。 |
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| 今年的波士頓第一夜，由褚玲舞蹈團的7支舞蹈拉開序幕。 |
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| 褚玲改編的舞蹈"儷人行"，特地加了水袖，藉以表達人們在新冠病毒期間感受到的苦悶。 |
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| 8歲的小朋友Olivia Ma獨舞。 |
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| 大波士頓文化協會照例為第一夜提供表演節目，從下午四點起。 |
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| 讓兒童開心是波士頓第一夜的重要環節。 |
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| 在三一教堂對面，有人舉牌呼籲釋放維基洩密者。 |
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| 柯普利廣場的波士頓第一夜活動現場要打疫苗的人大排長龍。 |
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| 下午一點多，人們已陸續聚集到柯普利廣場前，準備歡度波士頓第一夜。 |
奧米克戎病毒變種傳染太快 逾千航班已取消
(Boston Orange 編譯) 今 (31)晚，人們將揮別2021，迎接2022，祝禱新的一年雨過天青時，有成千上萬的人，面對從週四下午起逾千航班取消的混亂，頗為無奈。
新冠病毒變種奧米克戎 (Omicron)的高傳染力，導致全世界各地新冠病毒確診人數陡增，連麻州也已經一連2日確診人數破記錄，許多航空公司出現人員短缺更嚴重情況，再加上這幾天的天氣也不穩定，於是甚至有機組人員滯留在不該停留的城市。
根據FlightAware這追蹤航班網站，截至週四中午，已有1100次進出美國的航班被取消了。如果航空公司的營運模式和過去這幾天類似的話，航班取消的數量恐怕還會更高。
過去這7天來，航班延誤和取消，導致羅根國際機場大排人龍。
週四下午1點時，有65架原訂從羅根機場起飛或抵達的飛機，被取消了，另外有74架飛機誤點。週三的時候，羅根機場有158架飛機誤點，46個航班取消。
在波士頓羅根機場取消的大部分航班，都是藍捷
(JetBlue)航空的飛機。到下午1點時，該公司取消了47個航班。該公司在全美取消了175個航班。
包括藍捷，Delta和聯合 (United)等航空公司，上星期都說，新冠病毒的奧米克戎 (Omicron)
變種導致他們的人員短缺，逼使他們取消航班。一名公司發言人透過電子郵件表示，藍捷在採取所有可能步驟來減少奧米克戎造成的混亂。他們已盡可能盡早通知乘客變更出門計畫，或採取搭乘其他航班等替代措施。在1月13日以前，該公司將主動縮減航班。
天氣惡劣也是羅根機場混亂的原因之一，以鱈魚角為總部的鱈魚航空
(Cape Air) 這小型飛機的航空公司就取消了週六的40多個航班。
聯邦疾病防治中心
(CDC)週一時提出航空公司可把感染新冠病毒人士應隔離時間縮短為5天候，情況有望稍微紓緩，但1月2日人們放完假，得回家上班時，恐怕又會有很多人要上路。
在各航空公司中，聯合航空公司仍然是大航空公司中受創最重的一個，週四時有190個航班取消了，約占原定飛行航班的8%。
星期四, 12月 30, 2021
查理貝克及交通政要試搭 綠線地鐵擴建案訂明年3月啟用
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| 麻州州長Charlie Baker (右)和尚莫維爾市長 Joseph Curtatone 在綠線地鐵站。(周菊子攝) |
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| 麻州交通廳廳長Jamey Tesler，麻州地鐵( MBTA )總經理Steve Poftak，麻州州長查理貝克， 以及尚莫維爾離任市長 Joseph Curtatone，候任市長Katjana Ballantyne。(。(周菊子攝) |
曾數度延宕的這綠線擴建案，包括遷移、重建Lechmere車站，以及新建6個地鐵綠線車站，把綠線地鐵的北端終點，展延進尚莫維爾市和麥德福市(Medford)。
麻州州長查理貝克表示，”這是人們根本認為做不到的項目，更別提完成了。對我們來說，作為行政人員在實現這項目上有小小功勞，那感覺特別甜」。
查理貝克和麻州交通廳廳長Jamey
Tesler，麻州地鐵( MBTA )總經理Steve
Poftak，以及尚莫維爾離任市長 Joseph Curtatone，候任市長Katjana Ballantyne，今日一起試搭在新軌道上行駛的綠線地鐵。
根據MBTA放在網站上的資料，這一綠線擴建工程，既可在服務不足地區為人們提供快速、可靠的大眾交通服務工具，更將可大幅度道路上的汽車來往、廢氣排放，估計每天約可減少汽車行駛哩數約25728英里。7個擴建站的每日乘客量到2030年時，可達到4萬5000到5萬人次之多。
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| 尚莫維爾離任市長 Joseph Curtatone (右(，候任市長Katjana Ballantyne 用舊報紙說明， 該市居民等這條綠線地鐵等了多周菊子攝)菊子攝) |
麻州新冠病毒確診數再創新高 單日破2萬
(Boston Orange 編譯) 麻州的新冠病毒確診數，今 (30) 日再創新高，衝破2萬，達到21,137宗。累計確診數已於週二時打破百萬之數，現已升至1038566宗。新增死亡36人，累計19773人。
今日的新冠病毒確診數，比昨天的記錄多了5974宗，增加了39%，擴散情況比去年冬天嚴重得多，估計是奧米克戎 (Omicron)變種的高度傳染性導致的後果。
麻州的7天平均確診率也從週三的13.58%，飆升至16.44%這2020年5月4日以來的最高點。
麻州的新冠確診住院病人數上升至1817，其中有631人是已完整接種疫苗者，有382人住在重症病房，250人插管。
波士頓市公共衛生局在推特上公佈了今日的累計新冠確診數為108,336，累計死亡1510人。有9萬零89人已痊癒。
麻州總檢察長 Maura Healey 提醒大眾2022的最低時薪提高至14.25元
AG HEALEY ADVISES PUBLIC ABOUT 2022 MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $14.25 on Jan. 1, 2022; AG’s Wage and Hour Posters Available in Seven Languages
BOSTON – Attorney General Maura Healey is reminding employees and employers that the state’s minimum wage will increase to $14.25 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
The AG’s Office has also made available its wage and hour poster that employers are required to display in both English and any other language that is spoken by five percent or more of the employer’s workforce and for which a translated notice in that language is available from the AG’s Office. The poster is available in seven languages and in formats that employers, workers, members of the public, and organizations can easily access, free of charge.
“Our Fair Labor Division remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and ensuring they are being paid the wages they are legally entitled to, especially as we continue to work our way through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said AG Healey. “We are issuing this notice and providing multilingual resources so that employees and employers are aware of the upcoming minimum wage increase in Massachusetts and worker rights under our wage and hour laws.”
In June 2018, Massachusetts enacted a law that set the minimum wage to increase each year until it reaches $15.00 in 2023. Tipped employees will also get a raise on Jan.1, 2022, and must be paid a minimum of $6.15 per hour provided that their tips bring them up to at least $14.25 per hour. If the total hourly rate for the employee including tips does not equal $14.25 at the end of the shift, the employer must make up the difference.
Free copies of the AG’s Wage and Hour poster are available in English, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese on the AG’s Fair Labor Division website to download and print. To request a paper copy, please visit www.mass.gov/ago/
The Attorney General’s Fair Labor Division enforces laws that protect workers, including minimum wage, timely payment of wages, overtime, earned sick time, child labor, Sunday and holiday premium pay, and the public construction bid and prevailing wage laws. During the Fiscal Year 2021, the Division assessed more than $8.1 million in restitution and penalties against employers on behalf of working people in Massachusetts.
Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in the workplace can file a complaint at www.mass.gov/ago/fld, or call the office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. More information about the state’s wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages here.
Read this press release in Spanish here.
Read this press release in Portuguese here.
Read this press release in Chinese here.
Read this press release in Vietnamese here.
MassDEP Files New Regulations to Reduce Emissions, Advance Market for Clean Trucks in the Commonwealth
MassDEP Files New Regulations to Reduce Emissions, Advance Market for Clean Trucks in the Commonwealth
Process Kicks Off Public Comment Period; Public Hearing set for February 1
BOSTON – To further reduce transportation emissions and accelerate the adoption of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) today announced emergency regulations have been filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office to immediately adopt California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, which requires an increasing percentage of ZEV truck sales starting with Model Year 2025 and ramping up through Model Year 2035, accelerating the market for medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs. The filing of the emergency regulations commences the start of a public comment period and the coordination of a public hearing in February 2022, and will help reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases from on-road vehicles.
“Massachusetts continues to take aggressive action to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, and addressing pollution from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and advancing the market for clean trucks is an essential part of this effort,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “Reducing emissions from trucks will help support public health by improving air quality, reducing the risk from exposure to toxic diesel pollution, and reducing emissions that contribute to climate change.”
Massachusetts law requires the Commonwealth to adopt California motor vehicle emissions standards as long as those standards achieve, in the aggregate, greater emissions reductions than federal standards. Massachusetts first adopted the California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) program regulations in 1991 and has amended it many times to remain identical to the California LEV program. This latest amendment involves emission standards for Model Years 2025 and later medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.
“The transportation sector accounts for about 40 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions statewide. Adopting California’s regulations will help to reduce air pollution across the Commonwealth and protect our environment and the public health,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “Adoption of these rules will also address environmental justice concerns in communities that are disproportionately impacted by medium- and heavy-duty vehicle traffic.”
Emergency authorization of the regulation was needed as the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states that adopt the California standards to do so at least two model years before the standards take effect – in this case, January 1, 2022 for vehicles labeled as Model Year 2025, which starts on January 1, 2024. Today’s filing begins a three-month process towards making the emergency regulations permanent, which will include a public hearing on the amendment set for January 21, 2022, and a 30-day public comment period which ends on January 31, 2022. For more information on the public hearing and comment period, click here.
The emergency regulations adopt the latest revisions to the California medium- and heavy-duty vehicle and engine regulations. Those revisions include: the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Phase 2 Standards for Model Year 2025; the Heavy-Duty Omnibus Regulation, which contains a comprehensive set of emission standards and other emission-related requirements for heavy-duty vehicles and engines; and the Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation, resulting in ZEV sales starting in Model Year 2025 and ramping up through Model Year 2035, accelerating the market for medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs. In addition to reducing pollutant emissions, the regulations will lead to reduced fuel consumption and fuel costs and maintenance due to more fuel-efficient engines and vehicles and next-generation zero-emission trucks.
MassDEP officials participated in a series of meetings on these rulemakings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and joined CARB, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and other organizations to develop the new regulations. MassDEP also held two public stakeholder meetings in April 2021 to share information on these regulatory efforts and to solicit stakeholder feedback. Vehicle emissions regulations are part of the Massachusetts plan to maintain air quality standards under the federal Clean Air Act and are a critical component of the Massachusetts Interim Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 under the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). Earlier this year, Governor Baker signed “An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy” that amended the GWSA to require specified emissions reduction limits for 2030, 2040 and net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Last year, Massachusetts was one of 15 states and the District of Columbia to set a goal of 100 percent electric truck and bus sales by 2050. Adopting these rules will accelerate the transition to medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles.
Massachusetts will see many health, climate, and economic benefits of the medium- and heavy-duty rules by 2050, including:
- Health benefits of $363 to $818 million from avoided premature deaths, hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory illness, and emergency room visits.
- Regional medium- and heavy-duty vehicle emission reductions of 51 percent for nitrogen oxides, 23 percent for particulate matter, and 53 percent for GHG, compared with today’s emission levels.
For further information on the Low Emission Vehicle program and its amendments, click here.
MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth, provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives and ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities served by the agency.
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