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人生一定要有的八個朋友: 推手(Builder)、 支柱(Champion)、 同好(Collaborator)、 夥伴(Companion)、 中介(Connector)、 開心果(Energizer)、 開路者(Mind Opener)、 導師(Navigator)。 chutze@bostonorange.com ******************* All rights of articles and photos on this website are reserved.
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(Boston Orange 摘譯) 麻州科技領導委員會 (MTLC)請光播 (Lightcast)公司製做,最近公佈的「麻州科技經濟狀態報告 (State of the MA Tech Economy Report) 」,呈現令人意外的統計數據,科技業多元化程度呈逆轉趨勢。
該報告指出,在麻州2022年的共約50萬名科技從業者中,76%為白人,但白人在整個麻州人口中只佔70%;13%的科技從業者為亞裔,但在麻州總人口中,亞裔只佔8%。同一時期,黑人及西班牙裔的科技從業者依序佔4%,5%,比他們在全州人口中所佔比例,低了一半。
儘管科技業在成長中,這行業也隨大流的從2018、2019開始刻意的朝向多元化努力,但非白人的科技從業者數量,卻比2018年時少了5%,降到只有93,400人的程度。白人科技從業者的人數卻在過去這5年間增加了將近20%,增加到401,200人。
該報告並未深究原因,但MTLC執行長Sara
Fraim 認為,2020以後,受新冠病毒疫情影響,經濟趨緩,預算刪斬,企業縮減花在多元化經費,都是原因。
MTLC執行長Sara
Fraim表示,未來,該會將加速運作為有色人種增加專業發展技能的「董事準備訓練營」。或許更重要的是,讓人知道、關注這現象,並採取行動。麻州城市聯盟董事長Rahsaan
Hall指出,例如促請企業及政府支持,在未得到充分服務社區中建立人才管道,在高中、大學推廣科學、技術及數學相關課程,都是做法之一。
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Healey-Driscoll Administration Takes New Action to Support Resolution of Newton Teachers’ Strike
NEWTON –Today, Massachusetts Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler issued the following statement on the Newton teachers’ strike:
“It is unacceptable that school has been closed for two weeks in Newton due to the ongoing strike. As a lifelong educator who began his career in the classroom 25 years ago, I am deeply appreciative of the work that our educators do and understand the constraints facing the school committee, but our students are suffering each day that Newton public schools are closed. Our focus is on keeping kids in school, making sure they receive a high-quality education and supporting our hardworking educators. We need our students back in the classroom now.”
Background – attributable to the Department of Labor Relations:
At Governor Healey’s request, the Department of Labor Relations filed a pleading Thursday afternoon asking the Court to hold twice daily status conferences to require the parties to provide constant updates to the Court and the public on the steps they are taking to resolve their differences.
The Secretary of Education intends to participate in the twice-daily status conferences to speak to the harm caused to Newton students each day that Newton’s schools are closed.
If an agreement is not reached soon, the Department of Labor of Relations asks the Court to turn to binding arbitration.
Read the Department of Labor Relations’ filing here.
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Settlement secures $8 million to address ongoing opioid crisis in Massachusetts and bolsters transparency of the company’s work in fueling nationwide opioid crisis.
BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health that would resolve the Commonwealth’s litigation against the marketing and communications firm for its role in the opioid crisis, including its work for opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma. Massachusetts will receive nearly $8 million from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis.
The settlement will fund the state’s
Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund to provide support for opioid use disorder
prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction efforts throughout
Massachusetts. As part of the settlement, the company will disclose on a public
website thousands of internal documents detailing its work for opioid companies
and will stop accepting client work related to opioid or other opioid-based
Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substances.
“For
years, Publicis Health’s marketing schemes helped fuel the nationwide opioid
crisis, which has shattered some of our most vulnerable communities, while
creating significant financial strain on our state systems,” said AG
Campbell. “I am proud of my team’s national leadership in securing
this settlement, which will not only bolster accountability and transparency
for this ongoing crisis but will also provide millions of dollars for much
needed treatment and services to support individuals and families across
Massachusetts.”
In its
May 2021 complaint against Publicis Health,
the Commonwealth alleged that Publicis Health, a subsidiary of global
advertising conglomerate Publicis Groupe, partnered with Purdue on dozens of
contracts, collecting more than $50 million in exchange for marketing schemes
to get doctors to prescribe Purdue’s opioids to more patients, in higher doses,
for longer periods of time. The Commonwealth alleged that Publicis devised
marketing strategies to combat prescribers’ hesitancy to prescribe OxyContin,
including materials used to train and assist Purdue sales reps in detailing
doctors, and told Purdue how to target the most dangerous high prescribers.
According to the lawsuit, the company was also instrumental in Purdue’s
decision to market OxyContin to providers through patients’ electronic health
records.
More
than 20,000 Massachusetts residents have died from opioid-related overdoses
over the last 20 years. These deaths—and the impacts on thousands who have
struggled with opioid addiction—have created considerable costs for our health
care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems. More significant than the
dollars and cents in damage to our state, the opioid crisis has harmed
communities, damaged relationships, and torn families apart.
In the
Publicis matter, Massachusetts served on the executive committee of a
multistate investigation, along with the attorneys general of California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and
Vermont. They are joined in this multistate settlement by the attorneys general
from all states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
This
matter has been handled by the AG’s Health Care Division, including Deputy
Division Chief Ethan Marks, Assistant Attorneys General Chloe Cable and Gregory
Hardy, Analyst Philipp Nowak, and Paralegal Gaëlle Bouaziz, with assistance
from Deputy Chief Mary Freeley of the AG’s Health Care and Fair Competition
Bureau and Director of Investigations Marlee Leo of the Civil Investigations
Division.
This
matter is one of two recent efforts to address the ongoing opioid crisis and
support individuals, families, and communities impacted by the crisis. Today,
AG Campbell is also announcing a multistate settlement in principle with opioid
manufacturer Hikma Pharmaceuticals (Hikma) for its role in fueling the opioid
crisis. The settlement will resolve claims that from 2006 to 2021, Hikma failed
to monitor and report suspicious opioid orders from potentially illegal
distributors, even while its personnel knew their systems to monitor suspicious
orders were inadequate and prone to failure.
As
part of the settlement in principle with Hikma, Hikma will pay $150 million to
participating states and localities, encompassing $115 million in cash and $35
million worth of opioid addiction treatment medication. States that do not
accept the medication will receive cash in lieu of product. The
settlement in principle was negotiated by the attorneys general of New York,
California, Delaware, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia in coordination with an
executive committee consisting of AG Campbell, along with the attorneys general
of Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon. In
Massachusetts, the Hikma matter is overseen by the AG’s Health Care
Division.
To
date, Massachusetts has reached legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and
others that will return more than $1 billion to the state and local
communities.
Governor Healey, Attorney General Campbell and Treasurer Goldberg Urge EPA to Reconsider Lead Water Pipe Replacement Funding Reduction
Current methodology could halve federal support for lead service line replacement in Massachusetts, with the biggest impact on environmental justice communities
BOSTON – Today, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg submitted a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging him to reconsider a new grant formula that has reduced lead service line replacement funding to Massachusetts by more than $30 million. The EPA’s new data and methodology has cut nearly half the Massachusetts share of funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Lead Service Line Grant. Massachusetts received $65,783,000 in fiscal year 2022 but was only allocated $33,700,000 for 2023 and future years of the program.
“Massachusetts has made great progress in removing lead service lines so that all of our communities can rely on clean drinking water,” said Governor Maura Healey. “The historic federal investments made possible by President Biden and our congressional delegation have been instrumental in these efforts, and we ask the Environmental Protection Agency to provide us the resources so we can together continue advancing this important work.”
“Contamination from lead pipes disproportionately hurts our historically marginalized populations and environmental justice communities,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “We ask the EPA to reconsider these changes in their funding allocations to ensure that federal dollars are distributed most effectively to Massachusetts and states across the country.”
“Lead pipes are known to contaminate the water we drink, including in our homes and schools, and pose serious health risks for Massachusetts residents especially children and those living in underserved communities,” said Attorney General Campbell. “I am grateful to partner with Governor Healey, Treasurer Goldberg, and Secretary Tepper in calling on the EPA to swiftly restore Massachusetts’s lead service line funding to prior levels so we can replace these pipes with the urgency our residents deserve.”
“We are deeply committed to ensuring the safety of our drinking water, protecting the public's health, and supporting our communities across the entire state,” said State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust. “There are very serious concerns with the EPA’s data that will hinder this vital work, and we urge them to reevaluate their position. The well-being of Massachusetts residents, particularly our most vulnerable, depend on the continuity of these critical resources.”
The EPA’s lead remediation programs are a realization of President Biden’s goal to remove 100% of lead service lines nationwide and address the critical public health and environmental justice challenges that come from lead-contaminated drinking water. This includes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund which has $15 billion in funding nationally from the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law (BIL), signed by President Biden in 2021.
The letter from Governor Healey and state leaders identifies Massachusetts’s unique needs for lead remediation funding based on the high percentage of housing stock from before 1940, when the use of lead in service lines was prevalent and emphasizes how the effects of this today cause disproportionate lead exposure in communities of color. Massachusetts has leveraged BIL money to meet these challenges, including commitments since 2022 of more than $59 million in federal funds for lead remediation projects. This funding has gone towards needs assessments and the development of action plans in 121 Massachusetts communities, and has financed $30 million for remediation including projects in Andover, Boston, Fall River, New Bedford and Somerville.
While the historic funding provided by the Biden Administration seeks to effectively tackle lead line replacement, the letter describes a flawed process behind the EPA’s award numbers that included calculations based on incomplete data, formulas which fail to account for relevant state specific factors, and a lack of clarity from the EPA that data requested from states on a voluntary basis would be used to determine funding.
“Massachusetts and our cities and towns lead the nation in eliminating lead service lines,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper. “Low-income and communities of color face a higher burden from environmental pollution. Reducing lead service line funding will directly impact our state’s most vulnerable residents. We urge EPA to fully fund the state’s lead service line grant allotment.”
“These funds are critical to continue the important work of protecting our vulnerable residents from the negative health impacts of lead in drinking water,” said Massachusetts Commissioner of Environmental Protection Bonnie Heiple. “MassDEP and Massachusetts communities are ready to spend this money, complete projects, and get the job done. The EPA has been a strong partner in this work and we eagerly await their decision on the reconsideration of this funding.”
“The reductions in EPA funding could dramatically limit Massachusetts’s incredible work addressing our unique challenges with lead service lines,” said Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. “Massachusetts has shown the ability to impactfully use federal funding to make progress on this public health crisis, and we will continue our efforts to secure each and every federal dollar that enables this work to continue.”
Massachusetts is set to secure a $5.76 million reallotment of 2022 funding from the EPA due to a reallocation of EPA funds. However, this amount is only a small step towards reversing the funding shortfall caused by the EPA’s new allotment determinations. The Massachusetts federal delegation has strongly advocated for a revision of the EPA’s methodology, including in a September letter.
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