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Briefcase

Grinspoon, Big Y Call for Farm Awards Applicants

WEST SPRINGFIELD — In partnership with Big Y, the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation (HGCF) announced the second year of the Farm Awards, a program to support local farmers with projects that will help improve their farm businesses. The awards are for equipment and physical farm improvements. “Big Y has been supporting local farmers since we began 80 years ago,” said Charles D’Amour, president and COO of Big Y. “Through our partnership with the Grinspoon Foundation, we are providing one more way to help the local growers to thrive in our community.” In an effort to have the widest impact, the individual award recipients will be given up to a maximum of $2,500 per award, for a grand total of $100,000. Realizing the importance of local farms in the region, Grinspoon launched these awards last year. The 2015 awards were distributed to 33 of the 88 applicants. The two regional Buy Local farm advocates, Berkshire Grown and Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), will continue to provide insight and assistance, which was essential to the successful launch of the program in 2015. “We are so pleased to continue to work with everyone involved in this unique Farm Awards program to support the vital role family farms play in our communities,” said Philip Korman, executive director of CISA. Added Barbara Zheutlin, executive director of Berkshire Grown, “we’re thrilled about the continuation of these financial awards for farmers in Western Massachusetts to strengthen their farm businesses. This helps build the local food economy in our region.” The deadline for applying is Jan. 31. Interested applicants are encouraged to visit www.hgf.org/farm-awards for more information.

 

MGM Springfield Begins Major Demolition

SPRINGFIELD — With a permit from the city of Springfield in hand, MGM Springfield began demolition of the Zanetti School on Jan. 12. This sign of construction progress follows the project’s recent state and city environmental and zoning approvals. The former elementary school suffered some of the worst damage caused by the 2011 tornado that tore through Springfield’s South End, and last year served as the backdrop for MGM Springfield’s groundbreaking. Demolition is expected to last up to several weeks. MGM Springfield, a more than $950 million resort, is slated for 14.5 acres of land between Union and State streets, and between Columbus Avenue and Main Street. For more information, visit www.mgmspringfield.com.

 

State to Issue $700,000 in Naloxone Grants for First Responders

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker and the Mass. Department of Public Health (DPH) announced that $700,000 will be awarded to police and fire departments in 40 communities heavily impacted by the Commonwealth’s opioid epidemic, facilitating the purchasing, carrying, and administering of the opioid-overdose-reversal drug naloxone. “This grant will help save more lives as our administration continues to pursue new and wide-ranging tools to combat the opioid epidemic, including the ability for medical personnel to intervene with those who have overdosed,” Baker said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to pass meaningful reforms, and are pleased to support our first responders’ access to immediate, life-saving resources.” Last year, the administration established a bulk purchasing fund allowing first responders in municipal entities to access the state rate for naloxone purchases and, when available, receive an additional discount. Baker has also filed legislation to provide medical personnel with the power to intervene with patients suffering from addiction, control the spread of addictive prescription opioids, and increase education about substance-use disorder for providers and in the community. “Today’s announcement, along with the creation of the bulk purchasing fund, will increase the amount of naloxone available in hot-spot communities where it is needed most,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “These resources will help ease the costs of medication, enabling our firefighters and police officers to save more lives.” Grants for $10,000 to $50,000 are being awarded to the following communities: Attleboro, Barnstable, Beverly, Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Peabody, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Springfield, Stoughton, Taunton, Waltham, Wareham, Westfield, Weymouth, Winthrop, Woburn, and Worcester. “There is no faster and more effective way to reverse an opioid overdose than to administer naloxone,” said state Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “It is imperative we do everything we can to counteract the epidemic of opioid addiction by providing as many first responders as possible the opportunity to use this life-saving medication.”

 

State Launches $30M Solar Loan Program

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito administration recently announced the launch of a $30 million residential solar loan program, which will support Massachusetts lenders in providing loans between $3,000 and $60,000 with low, fixed-interest rates to homeowners across the state. The program is expected to deliver approximately $100 million in savings to residents who take advantage of it. “Massachusetts is a national leader in solar energy, and this program provides another way for residents to access solar energy while diversifying the Commonwealth’s energy portfolio and reducing our overall carbon footprint,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. For residents, Mass Solar Loan widens the range of energy financing available via low-interest solar loans and by making those loans also accessible to borrowers with lower credit scores or incomes. For local lenders, Mass Solar Loan opens up new lending opportunities. For solar installers, the program provides a long-term financing program for customers. Direct solar ownership of solar electricity keeps more energy dollars in Massachusetts, while keeping energy generation local and helping to achieve the Commonwealth’s goal of 1,600 megawatts of solar by 2020. “Helping residents own their own solar generation will expand the Massachusetts solar industry and help local lenders grow their business while moving Massachusetts closer to its statewide energy and environmental goals,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Matthew Beaton. Mass Solar Loan is a program run in partnership by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). It is available for solar installations on single-family homes and residential buildings up to three units, with all lenders offering loans between $3,000 and $35,000 and some lenders offering loans up to $60,000. The program provides funding to Massachusetts banks and credit unions to incentivize lenders to make solar lending a part of their portfolios and to make solar loans available to borrowers with lower incomes or credit scores. To date, Bank Five, First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union, North Brookfield Savings Bank, Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union, UMassFive College Federal Credit Union, and Weymouth Bank offer Mass Solar Loans, with more due to begin participating over the coming weeks. “Residential solar has been a key component in the Commonwealth’s efforts to meet our ambitious clean energy goals,” said DOER Commissioner Judith Judson. “The Mass Solar Loan program will lower costs and increase the options for Massachusetts residents to benefit from owning solar.” Residents can visit www.masscec.com/programs/mass-solar-loan for a list of participating solar installers and lenders, tips on how to select a solar installer, and the steps for participating in the program. They may also call (617) 712-1121 for more information. Interested lenders or installers may contact MassCEC to participate in the program.

 

Sheriff Michael Ashe Joins Mental-illness Anti-stigma Effort

SPRINGFIELD — Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe is known across the Commonwealth as a leader and innovator in law enforcement. Now, he’s become the first sheriff in Massachusetts to join the NAMI Mass CEOs Against Stigma campaign, pledging to create a mentally healthier work environment for the employees of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. “As sheriff of Hampden County for over 41 years, with 900-plus employees and over 1,500 inmates in our custody, I know all too well the stigma surrounding mental illness,” Ashe said. “My staff is committed to treating these afflictions and removing the stigma that surrounds this critical issue in the workplace as well as in the community.” The campaign is designed to put an end to stigma in the workplace, employing top-down leadership to change misconceptions about mental-health disorders and encouraging people to open up and speak freely about the conditions that affect them and their immediate families. Mental-health disorders affect one in five adults and are the single greatest cause of lost productivity at work. “We all know the stigma surrounding mental-health issues prevents many from seeking treatment,” Ashe said. “That is why I’m committed to this effort.” Bernice Drumheller, president of NAMI Western Mass., noted that, “unlike physical conditions, mental illness is often not discussed in the workplace. Sheriff Ashe understands the importance and positive impact that the CEOs Against Stigma campaign brings to the work environment.” By signing the CEOs Against Stigma pledge, Ashe makes the commitment to open up dialogue about mental-health conditions without fear of disclosure as well as making employees aware of the benefits available to them. He will also bring into his workplace NAMI’s In Our Own Voice presentations, an effective anti-stigma program. The goal of CEOs Against Stigma is to have 250 chief executives — including elected officials — join the campaign and to reach a half-million employees. Any Massachusetts company or organization with at least 50 employees can take part. For more information about CEOs Against Stigma, visit ceos.namimass.org. To contact NAMI Western Mass., call (413) 786-9139.

 

Employers Assoc. Releases Business Trends Survey

AGAWAM — With close to 900 members concentrated in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast (EANE) unveiled the regional findings from the 2016 National Business Trends Survey conducted by the Employer Associations of America. Results from this comprehensive survey of 1,242 organizations, covering 2,814 employer locations and 45 U.S. states, indicate that the majority of executives surveyed remain optimistic for 2016, are confident they will award pay increases, will provide a heightened emphasis on recruiting, and plan to increase training budgets that focus on developing their existing employees. “Here in the Northeast, we certainly understand that regulatory compliance is a concern, and we are heartened to see more companies looking to increase staff,” said Meredith Wise, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. “We are also encouraged by the commitment of businesses in the Northeast to technology, processes, and people.” The top three distinctions for the Northeast from the findings appear to be:
• Regulatory compliance is a bigger concern. In comparison to the national average, Northeast companies view the cost of regulatory compliance as a greater challenge, both in the short and long term. The data shows 32% of the Northeast regional responses expressing concern in the short term versus 27% of the national responses. On a long-term basis, 42% of the Northeast regional responses see regulatory compliance as a serious challenge, whereas nationally the average checks in at 34%.
• There appears to be a greater consensus on the part of Northeastern business to invest in technology equipment, lean and other process improvements, and training. All measures were responded to more favorably and at a higher rate than in comparison to the national norms. Overall, 70% of executives surveyed in the Northeast said they would be making new investments in people, facilities, and/or equipment in 2016 versus only 62% nationally.
• More companies are looking to add staff. While the majority of surveyed executives indicated that they would be increasing staff in 2016, a greater percentage of Northeastern executives — 59% — plan on adding staff when compared to the national norm of 52%.

 

Massachusetts Launches Digital-health Initiative

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and executives from the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP) joined leaders from across state government, healthcare, and the technology sector at Boston Children’s Hospital this week to announce a comprehensive public-private partnership designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the Commonwealth’s digital healthcare industry. “Our administration is committed to making Massachusetts a national leader in digital health by partnering with private industry, convening key stakeholders, and addressing market gaps,” Baker said. “This emerging industry cluster has the potential to become a powerful driver of job creation across the Commonwealth, while also unlocking new advances in improving patient care and lowering health care costs.” Digital health, or eHealth, is a rapidly growing sector at the intersection of healthcare and information technology and, according to a report by Goldman Sachs, represents an approximately $32 billion market opportunity over the next decade. The sector spans a variety of technologies including electronic health records, consumer wearable devices, care systems, payment management, big-data analytics, and telemedicine, among others, and has close connections to the state’s technology and life-sciences sectors. Massachusetts is well-positioned for success in digital health as host to world-class healthcare and academic institutions, a strong startup culture, significant venture-capital investment, a healthy life-sciences sector, and roughly 250 existing digital-health companies. The initiative will bring public, private, academic, and healthcare leaders together to build a stronger and more connected statewide digital-health ecosystem. To support digital health startups, the city of Boston, Massachusetts eHealth Institute at MassTech, and MACP announced the establishment of a digital-health-innovation hub. The initiative will provide space, programming, and a strong industry network for digital health startups and will serve as a Boston hub for the industry. Programming through the hub will be managed and operated by MassChallenge. MACP also announced several private industry-led initiatives that will help accelerate growth in the digital health sector, including innovative approaches to provide private funds for digital healthcare companies that are starting up in, located in, or planning to re-locate to Massachusetts. MACP also facilitated the development of standardized software, technology, and sponsored research agreements and user guides to make it easier for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and the private sector to do business with academic institutions, including the UMass system, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, and Partners HealthCare. MACP will also host a second year of its Mentorship Speaker Series, with a focus on digital health, connecting high-level, experienced industry leaders across the state with entrepreneurs of emerging companies to discuss how to start and grow a successful tech business in Massachusetts. “The innovation economy comprised of the life-sciences and digital-technology sectors is the future growth engine of our Commonwealth,” said Dr. Jeffrey Leiden, who led the Digital Health Initiative on behalf of MACP. “It has been a privilege for me to lead this outstanding group of public- and private-sector partners toward our shared goal of accelerating the growth of the digital-healthcare industry in Massachusetts. With the strengths of our universities, academic medical centers, and life-sciences companies, Massachusetts is uniquely positioned to succeed in digital healthcare, and I’m thrilled to be part of the team that will make it happen.”