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| Boston Mayor Michelle Wu |
波士頓市長吳弭指出，在這3項發展計畫中，努必恩廣場的Nubian
Ascends大樓將用150萬元來把空置的停車場，改建成當地的藝術、文化及企業樞紐，把工作、生意機會，以及玩耍空間帶給洛士百利居民。
在查理士城的建築工程，將有多個階段，多種用途的建設，包括建造一個有15個單位的住宅。一旦竣工，整個項目將有2699個住宅單位，其中1010戶將深度可負擔。1689戶將為市價單位。另有100個波士頓房屋局單位，將建在查理士城的另一個地點。這一工程將為地方居民建成大約2.7英畝的公共開放空間，約5萬英呎的商用空間，以及社區中心。
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AG HEALEY SECURES REFUNDS FOR FORMER BOSTON SPORTS CLUB MEMBERS WRONGFULLY CHARGED BY WORK OUT WORLD
Work Out World Purchased Accounts from BSC and Charged Thousands of Consumers Without Their Consent; Company Will Provide Full Refunds and Pay $62,500 in Penalties
BOSTON – As part of her ongoing litigation against Boston Sports Club (BSC), Attorney General Maura Healey announced today that Work Our World (WOW) has agreed to pay $62,500 in penalties, in addition to providing full refunds for thousands of consumers, to resolve claims that the fitness gym purchased BSC memberships and subsequently charged consumers without their consent.
The consent judgment, entered in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that, following BSC’s closure and subsequent bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, V Fitness, LLC and One Fitness, LLC (both d/b/a Work Out World), located in Waltham and Canton, improperly assumed over 3,100 BSC memberships without the consumers’ written consent. Massachusetts state laws prohibit the assignment of a contract from one health club to another without the written consent of the buyer.
“At a time when consumers were being strung along by BSC, Work Out World created another hassle for consumers by forcing them to either pay for or cancel gym memberships they never signed up for,” AG Healey said. “Today's settlement secures full refunds for thousands of consumers who were impacted by Work Out World’s unlawful practices.”
According to the AG’s complaint, BSC did not obtain written consent from consumers to transfer their gym memberships to WOW, as required by the Commonwealth’s Health Club Act. Upon receipt of the memberships, WOW did not confirm that consumers had consented to the transfer. WOW also sent misleading emails to consumers about their membership status and improperly charged consumers for memberships that they did not agree to.
Under the terms of the AG’s settlement, WOW is required to void any membership contracts obtained from BSC for their Waltham and Canton locations and provide full refunds to any of these consumers who were wrongfully charged membership fees after their accounts were transferred without their consent. WOW has already begun providing tens of thousands of dollars in refunds to consumers upon request, and all remaining impacted consumers will be fully refunded automatically. WOW must also pay $62,500 in penalties for their role in this case. Failure to comply with the terms of the settlement could trigger an additional penalty of $62,500.
The AG’s Office became aware of the membership transfers through its BSC investigation. The AG’s lawsuit against BSC and the remaining defendants, including New TSI Holdings, Inc. and former CEO Patrick Walsh, remains ongoing.
In November 2020, AG Healey sued BSC after the company charged consumers for membership dues when the gyms were closed, repeatedly failed to honor consumers’ membership cancellation requests, and refused to refund impacted consumers as it originally promised. In March 2021, the AG’s Office secured $127,000 in refunds for hundreds of BSC members through the company’s bankruptcy process.
Consumers with questions about their refunds can contact WOW’s Member Services at 781-785-0168 or contact the AG’s Office at 617- 727-8400.
This case is being handled by Division Chief Shennan Kavanagh and Assistant Attorneys General Ann E. Lynch and Matthew Lashof-Sullivan, of AG Healey’s Consumer Protection Division, with assistance from Senior Investigator Colleen Frost from the AG’s Civil Investigations Division.
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| 儘管瑞雪紛飛，熱情群眾蜂擁雲集，波士頓華埠2月13日這天熱鬧無比。(周菊子攝) |
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| 嘉賓與獅隊代表合影。(周菊子攝) |
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| 紐英崙中華公所主席雷國輝指著滿天雪花說這是瑞雪迎豐年的好預兆。雷國輝在活動 結束後，稱許中華公所團隊及義工們一大早七點，就趕到會場佈置場地。(周菊子攝) |
今年的9個舞獅隊伍包括波士頓洪青體育會，華林派，巾幗醒獅隊，洪家功夫少林超武館，廣教中文學校，黃強醒獅隊，黃氏公所醒獅隊，南派武館，胡清白鶴派。
紐英崙中華公所的中英文書記，翁宇才和阮鴻燦為舞獅大會的開幕式分任司儀，先敦請做為主人家的中華公所主席雷國輝，再敦請波士頓市長吳弭，麻州眾議員暨眾議會財政委員會主席麥家威
(Aaron Michlewitz)，眾議員黃子安，波士頓市議會主席愛德華費林
(Ed Flynn)，波士頓市不分區市議員Erin
Murphy，駐波士頓台北經濟文化辦事處處長孫儉元等一一致詞。
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| 波士頓市長吳弭抱著小兒子向大家拜年。(周菊子攝) |
波士頓市長吳弭抱著小兒子，先以普通話說「各位來賓，各位朋友，大家好，新年快樂。非常非常榮幸能夠跟大家慶祝新年，慶祝今年的虎年」。她接著轉以英語說，很榮幸能代表波士頓市政府及社區，在這兒和大家一起迎接瑞雪豐年，這2022年的虎年，介紹新任的波士頓市府華埠聯絡員 Chu Huang，請大家支持地方商家，早日走出新冠病毒的疫情陰霾，慶祝新年後，到華埠的餐館用餐，買買東西。她接著再以中文說，想祝大家新年快樂，身體健康。
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| 波士頓經文處處長孫儉元致詞。(周菊子攝) |
波士頓市議會議長愛德華費林不但自己祝賀大家新年，還特別提及麻州參議員Mike
Collins，以及原本是波士頓市議員，剛當選麻州參議員的Lydia
Edwards 雖然不能親自到場，也想向大家祝賀新年。他還特地指出必須正視過去二年多來的反亞裔種族歧視，他們以還有很多工作要做，以確保全民移民社區的聲音都被人聽見。他很高興能代表這個社區。
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| 與波士頓華埠有直屬關係的三大政客，左起麻州眾議員麥家威 (Aaron Michlewitz)、 波士頓市長吳弭 (Michelle Wu)，波士頓市議會議長 Ed Flynn 齊聚華埠慶祝新年舞台。 (周菊子攝) |
黃子安的致詞更簡短扼要。他以廣東話說了「恭喜發財」後，以英文繼續說他要祝福大家發財，健康，快樂。今年是虎年，大家要堅強、向前。
致詞儀式後，9個獅隊魚貫進入主台前事先圍出來的擂台場地，輪番舞動，各顯功夫的向主台上的嘉賓們拜年，拋象徵吉祥的橘子，從嘉賓那兒收取壓歲紅包。波士頓市長吳弭的兩個小兒子看得最是開心。
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| 麻州眾議員黃子安(中)不但是政要，還是波士頓南派創辦人。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓市長吳弭也拿出手機來記錄難得的飄雪中舞獅景觀。 |
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| 華林派首位女師傅余翠梅發壓歲錢給瑞獅。 |
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| 美國洪門致公堂總理余麗媖(右)發壓歲錢給瑞獅。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓警察局副局長陳孔恩(James Chin，左一)等人協助維持秩序。(周菊子攝) |
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波士頓市長吳弭的兒子，Balise Francis Pewarski 和Cass 超近距離看舞獅， 體會農曆新年滋味。(周菊子攝) |
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| 和波士頓華埠福祉最休戚相關的3名政要，左起，麻州眾議員暨財政委員會主席麥家威 (Aaron Michlewitz)，波士頓市長吳弭 (Michelle Wu)，波士頓市議會議長愛德華費林 (Ed Flynn)。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓市長吳弭發壓歲錢給小瑞獅。(周菊子攝) |
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| 今年的舞獅隊中出現超級幼獅，特別可愛。 |
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| 陳清音創辦的巾幗醒獅團仍然是大波士頓內唯一的全女班舞獅團。(周菊子攝) |
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| 黃強醒獅隊來自昆士市。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓華埠慶祝新年的放鞭炮，引來2輛消防車。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓市長的冬日送暖列車，2月13日從華埠出發，還請氣球大師來給小朋友們增添歡樂。 (周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓華埠主街的青年義工們在波士頓市府的冬日送暖列車活動中， 協助波士頓公共圖書館擺攤送書。(周菊子攝) |
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| 會場上擺出送贈的書籍有這些。(周菊子攝) |
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| 包裝在紅色廂型車中的波士頓市流動市政府，2月13日開到華埠牌樓前，派發點心，暖手寶， 還有新冠病毒居家檢測盒。(周菊子攝) |
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| 洪青體育會瑞獅向商家拜年。(周菊子攝) |
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| 瑞獅拜年還會擺出生菜，橘子討個吉祥意頭。(周菊子攝) |
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| 洪青體育會的鏢旗。 |
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| 超武館的旗幟在瑞雪中飄揚。(周菊子攝) |
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| 波士頓市流動市政府這天派發的新冠病毒檢測盒。(周菊子攝) |
(Boston Orange 編譯) 從新冠病毒大流行發生，關上大門，過了2年後，麻州州政府大樓終於要重新開放了，預定日期是2月22日。
麻州參議會議長Karen
E. Spilka和麻州眾議會議長Ronald Mariano今日發出聲明，稱民眾如果戴了口罩，能夠出示已接種新冠疫苗的證明，或是持有不超過1天的檢測陰性結果，就可以進入麻州州政府大樓。
他倆在聲明中表示，「由於公共安全數據不斷變化，我們將會每週評估這些規定，我們期待著在州政府大樓內見到人民」。
這似乎是麻州參眾倆會互相妥協後的結果。
麻州是美國本土境內最後一個州政府大樓仍然對公眾關閉的州。
根據州長查理貝克(Charlie
Baker)辦公室，在麻州，大部分的州有樓宇，以及議會區域辦公室都已經重新開放，提供真人服務。但州政府大樓只開放給已獲認證的新聞記者，議員及州府官員和員工。
波士頓環球報稱，查理貝克上星期在一次記者會中表示，他並不支持得有接種疫苗證明才能進入樓宇的規定。
With Two Weeks To Go Till School Mask Mandate Lifts, Four Things Gov. Baker Must Continue to Expand To Keep Students & Staff Safe
Boston, MA — On Monday, Massachusetts marks the start of a two-week countdown towards Gov. Baker’s target date to lift school mask mandates. Gubernatorial candidate and national pandemic response leader Danielle Allen is calling for key measures to keep students and staff safe through this transition and support safe, healthy in-person learning, including:
A steady supply of rapid testing for schools across the Commonwealth so all schools have the support they need to monitor for any rise in cases and sound an alarm as needed.
Age-appropriate KN95 masks for any educator, staff member, or student who wants one. As schools become mask-optional, we need to make sure everyone has the space to make personal choices around caution and safety — and providing high-quality masks is critical to making that possible.
More support and partnership for community vaccination drives in communities with low vaccination rates. In communities where vaccination rates remain low — especially for people age 50 and up, who are more vulnerable to COVID — the state government needs to step up and provide more support to help communities clear that threshold for more community-wide protection and guard against any rise in transmission.
Aggressive monitoring of key indicators, including hospitalizations and wastewater data, and any new variants. Mask mandates are an important tool in our public health toolkit. Going forward, we need to closely track COVID levels and any new developments, and be prepared to use important tools like mask mandates to mitigate any future surges and ensure schools can continue safe, healthy in-person learning.
“Over the last two years, this pandemic has shown us over and over again that we need to take smart, proactive steps to buffer against COVID — and think long-term about how to keep our communities safe and healthy,” said gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen. “As Governor Baker prepares to lift school mask mandates, I’m urging our state officials to look ahead and take action now to make this transition as smooth and safe as possible for our communities. We need to make sure high-quality masks are available for any student, teacher, or staff member who wants one, keep monitoring through widespread rapid testing and keep tracking indicators like wastewater, and step up with more support and partnership for community vaccination drives in communities with lower vaccination rates. This is about ensuring equitable pandemic resilience and making sure our schools can continue with safe, healthy in-person learning.”
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| 政要們動鏟，為昆士市新巴士維修廠象徵性的破土。(周菊子攝) |
麻州州長查理貝克 (Charlie Baker)表示，在聯邦及州市各層級人員的通力合作下，美國總統拜登 (Joe Biden) 剛簽署的「不分黨派基礎建設法 (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law)」將在未來的5到6年內撥給麻州95億元基礎建設經費，其中54億元將用於修補橋梁、道路，22億元撥給麻州地鐵局 (MBTA)。查理貝克強調，這筆經費將容許麻州更積極的因應氣候變化，保護環境。
麻州地鐵總經理Steve Poftak表示，未來5年將陸續到帳的這22億元經費，有16億元將用於現有項目，約6億元用於新項目，包括4億元要用在車站及維修廠的改善。
麻州地鐵早從2018年7月1日，就已推出「更好巴士計畫(Better Bus P)，打算以80億元，在5年內和麻州交通局 (MassDOT)，以及50個市鎮合作，要改善1100輛巴士每天載送約40萬人的服務。
2020年1月，麻州地鐵就在社區會議中，向地方民眾報告了昆士市新巴士維修廠的設計，並召開了多次網上會議，聽取民眾意見，去年也做了環保評估。
位於昆士市內的巴士維修廠，在MBTA體系內是最老舊的一個，因為廠內沒有維修新世代車輛所需的科技設備，及空間，一直都只有老舊巴士可以從這進出，昆士市及鄰近城鎮的巴士服務，也因此長年累月的頻頻發生班次有限，誤點等狀況。
現在有了來自聯邦政府的基礎建設經費，麻州地鐵可以更無顧慮的推動昆士市新巴士維修廠的興建工程，同時著手把MBTA麾下9個巴士維修廠內的1100輛巴士，全面電動化，以及早達到2040年時零排放的環保目標。
昆士市市長柯奇表示，新的巴士維修廠將設在昆士市地鐵紅線亞當斯(Adams)地鐵站對面，到昆士中心地鐵站只有不到1英里，昆士市有很多巴士路線都從那兒出發。一旦新巴士維修廠建成，所有巴士換成新的零排放電動巴士，昆士市居民將不但可以搭乘嶄新巴士，得到更好的搭乘體驗，還可以有更多班次，更準時服務，昆士居民樂見其成。
