Category: Massachusetts
Massachusetts to Receive $131.5 Million in Home Heating Aid
LIHEAP
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
10/23/09
WASHINGTON—Massachusetts will receive $131.5 million in home heating aid for low income families this winter, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday—down significantly from the $213.5 million the state received last year.
The money will come from $2.7 billion in federal funds that will be granted to states, tribes, and territories under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“Each year, [the program] helps more than 5 million low income households deal with energy costs,” said Carmen Nazario, assistant secretary for children and families in the Department of Health and Human Services, in a statement.
Aisha Gray, a spokesperson in Health and Human Services, said the number changes year to year based on recalculation of the formula. “The formula used to decide allocations has changed,” she said.
Mark Sanborn, director of energy resources for the Worcester Community Action Council, said last year the program served 14,838 households in Worcester and Worcester County. This year, he said he expects the number of households to be the same or slightly higher due to unemployment.
But Mr. Sanborn said he is not overly concerned that the lower funds and higher need will be a problem.
“Last year was an abnormally high benefit level,” he said. “A lot of people didn’t exhaust their benefit last year.”
Who receives the funds is based on an income eligibility determination, he said.
“I don’t know how much is going to Worcester yet,” said Phil Hailer, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. “It’s a work in progress. The money doesn’t come all at once. What was announced yesterday is funds to get the program up and running for everyone.”
Mr. Hailer said Worcester-specific number should be available to local agencies by the middle of next week, but the program does not officially start until Nov. 1.
Elizabeth Cellucci, director of external affairs for the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, added that the numbers announced Thursday do not necessarily represent the total funds that the state will receive.
“It sometimes happens in two rounds,” she said. “We get the bulk of the money at the beginning of the heating season. Sometimes halfway through the winter, the government can appropriate a little more. For example a family that received $1,200 might receive $100 more [toward their heating costs].”
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Neal Leads Worcester-Area Representatives in 2010 Campaign Donations
LIHEAP
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
10/23/09
WASHINGTON—U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, has accumulated the fourth-largest campaign war chest among House incumbents so far in the 2010 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that analyzes the campaign finance reports filed by candidates with the Federal Election Commission.
Mr. Neal, who has $2.7 million in cash on hand and has raised almost $750,000 so far this year, is far ahead of the other Massachusetts delegates, none of whom even makes the top 25 on the list of largest war chests, according to OpenSecrets.org, the center’s Web site.
Mr. Neal is also the only Worcester-area representative with opposition in 2010. Two candidates – Jay Fleitman and Tom Wesley – are seeking the Republican nomination. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, and Rep. John W. Olver, D-Pittsfield, so far have no opponents.
Still, neither of Mr. Neal’s Republican challengers has raised a considerable amount of money and election experts say his seat is very safe.
“That Neal is taking in a great deal of money despite a dearth of competition likely means that plenty of powerful people and business interests want to stay close to him and remain in his good graces,” said Dave Levinthal, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics.
“If you look at his career political contributions by zip code, two of his top five contributor zip codes come from Washington, D.C. – an indication that people in the nation’s capital, such as lobbyists, are also very interested in attempting to influence him,” Mr. Levinthal said.
Mr. Neal has raised $748,967, according to his third-quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission, and has spent $294,420. At the end of the 2008 election, Mr. Neal had $2.2 million unspent.
Mr. Neal sits on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, which makes him an influential person in the drafting of tax laws, and could be a key reason major corporations have such an interest in him.
In 2008 and so far in this election cycle, two-thirds of Mr. Neal’s donations are from political action committees, which are private interest groups organized to donate to political candidates, according to OpenSecrets
The top donors to Mr. Neal’s campaign so far, according to OpenSecrets, are KidsPAC, a Belmont-based children’s rights organization; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a major law firm that represents companies such as AT&T, Pohang Iron and Steel, Gila River Indian Community and PG&E Corporation; and the Investment Company Institute, the national association of investment companies.
The aggregate figures for each of these groups include donations from the group’s political action committee and individual donations from persons who are associated with the group. Companies cannot make political contributions.
Ianthe Zabel, spokeswoman for the Investment Company Institute, said her organization “supports the reelection efforts of a broad range of members and policy leaders in both parties in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate who understand the fund industry and shareholder issues.”
Gerard D’Amico, 62, a self-employed lobbyist from Worcester who has donated $500 to Mr. Neal and $1,050 to Mr. McGovern this election cycle, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, said he contributes to many candidates.
“I am a big supporter of Neal and McGovern,” he said. “I express my support in a variety of ways. Some of it is donations, some of it is putting up signs on my lawn or bumper stickers on my car. I believe politics is a participatory process and people should get involved.”
But Mr. Neal isn’t holding on to all of the money he accumulates. He has used a small amount, approximately $11,400 so far this election cycle, according to the center, to make donations to Democrats in contested campaigns and to the Democratic Party—a very common practice for senior members of Congress.
He made contributions of $1,000 each to U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, who is running for governor, Dan Maffei, D-N.Y., Gerry Connolly, D-Va.,. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz.
Mr. Neal also helps raise money for Madison PAC, a leadership political action committee formed to help contribute to other candidates’ campaigns. So far in the 2010 election cycle, the PAC has raised $128,100 and donated $18,270.
“It’s a common practice for members in a safe a position to use money to further the cause of other Democrats who need it more,” said David Wasserman, House of Representatives editor of the Cook Political Report. “It’s a way for these members to build influence within their caucus. In Neal’s case he obviously wants to climb higher in seniority on Ways and Means. He’ll be able to help his hometown of Springfield more, and that’s an incentive for him. The key will be to watch what he does in 2010.”
Mr. Neal is a fifth-ranking Democrat and chairman of the Select Revenue Measures subcommittee of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
“As a senior member of the House, [Mr. Neal] has obligations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and he has generously contributed to many of his colleagues running for re-election across the country,” said William Tranghese, spokesperson for Mr. Neal, and added that the congressman plans to make additional contributions in upcoming months. “Modern political campaigns are increasingly expensive and candidates need to be proactive when it comes to preparing for their re-election efforts.”
Mr. McGovern, who has raised the second-largest amount of money of the three Worcester-area representatives ($485,213 to date), has also made several donations to other Democrats’ campaigns.
For this election cycle, OpenSecrets reports that McGovern made approximately $14,400 in contributions—including $1,000 each to Abercrombie, to U.S. Reps. David R. Obey, D-Wis., and Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., and to Terry McAuliffe, who sought this year’s Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia.
Mr. McGovern has raised $485,213 for the 2010 race so far, and spent $252,559, according to his third-quarter filing with the Federal Election Commission.
The top three donors to his campaign so far are the American Association for Justice, an association of trial lawyers; AstraZeneca PLC, a leading pharmaceutical company, which has a supply facility in Westborough, in Mr. McGovern’s district; and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, which represents more than 730,000 workers in the airline, shipbuilding and railroad industries, according to OpenSecrets.
“Two issues that McGovern supports that are very important to us are the Employee Free Choice Act and the Trade Reform Act,” said Frank Larkin, spokesman for the union. “Those are just two of the reasons that we’re supporting him.”
“I like Jim McGovern,” said Robert A. Bernstein, 48, of Framingham, a consultant with Bay State Strategies Group who has donated $750 to Mr. McGovern, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. “I think he’s an incredibly capable and hardworking congressman,” said Bernstein, who added that he is a personal friend of Mr. McGovern.
Of the total contributions to Mr. McGovern’s campaign, 33 percent have come from political action committees, OpenSecrets reports.
In contrast to Mr. Neal, Mr. McGovern is receiving the vast majority of his support from local Massachusetts interests, according to the geographic breakdown of donations provided by OpenSecrets. At this point in the 2010 campaign, only 34 percent of his contributions have come from out-of-state, compared to 68 percent for Mr. Neal.
In District 1, Mr. Olver has raised only 14 percent of his campaign contributions from out-of-state, according to OpenSecrets.
Mr. Olver, who has raised $227,023 thus far in the 2010 campaign cycle, was in the bottom half of OpenSecret’s list of House members with the most cash on hand.
“It’s probably all the money John Olver will need between now and when he retires,” Mr. Wasserman said. “The cost of advertising in the Springfield media market is relatively low. His district is so overwhelmingly Democratic that Republicans wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot-pole. Olver doesn’t set the world on fire, but in Amherst he is a deity.”
“Something else at work is that Massachusetts will lose a congressional seat in 2012,” Mr. Wasserman added. “And when that happens, the state legislature, dominated by Boston politicians, is going to have to merge two districts somewhere in the state. The betting right now is that those districts are Neal’s and Olver’s, and the betting is that Olver will retire in 2012 if he doesn’t in 2010.”
Congressional districts are redrawn every ten years when the U.S. Census Bureau reports are released, but the Bureau also publishes yearly population estimates that some outside organizations use to project congressional redistricting, said Robert Bernstein, a spokesperson for the Bureau.
Mr. Olver has also spent less than the other Worcester-area representatives, with $130,381 in reported expenditures, according to OpenSecrets. The bulk of those expenditures (approximately $31,500) went to administrative costs, and only $2,000 went to another Democratic candidate—in March, Mr. Olver contributed that sum to the political action committee for U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., according to OpenSecrets.
Of those who have donated to Mr. Olver’s campaign so far, the top three donors are American Crystal Sugar, an agricultural cooperative; the Operating Engineers Union, which represents more than 400,000 heavy-equipment operators, mechanics, construction surveyors and operations and maintenance workers; and Global Petroleum. In all, 35 percent of Mr. Olver’s contributions have come from political action committees, OpenSecrets reports.
SIDEBAR GRAPHIC:
(Sources of information: Federal Election Commission and the Center for Responsive Politics)
Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester
Total raised to date: $485,213
Total spent to date: $252,559
Top three donors*: American Association for Justice; AstraZeneca PLC; Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union
Top three industries: Law firms, Pharmaceuticals, Lobbyists
Percent from Political Action Committees: 33%
Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield
Total raised to date: $748,967
Total spent to date: $294,420
Top three donors*: KidsPAC; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Investment Company Institute
Top three industries: Insurance, electric utilities, law firms
Percent from Political Action Committees: 66%
Rep. John W. Olver, D-Pittsfield
Total raised to date: $227,023
Total spent to date: $130,381
Top three donors*: American Crystal Sugar; Operating Engineers Union; Global Petroleum
Top three industries: Law firms, real estate, retirees
Percent from Political Action Committees: 35%
*“Donors” refers to both political action committees, which collect personal donations from employees of a particular company, and personal contributions by individuals associated with that company made directly to the candidate. Companies cannot make political contributions.
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More Massachusetts Families to Stay Warm this Winter
HEATING
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 23, 2009
WASHINGTON – Massachusetts will receive $131.5 million in federal funds to help low income families pay their heating bills this winter, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, announced Thursday.
The allocation is down from $213.5 million that the state received last year. Nationwide $2.6 billion has been released to the states under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
This money will help approximately 13,000 families in the greater New Bedford area, said Bruce Morell, executive director of People Acting in Community Endeavors. PACE is a local non-profit agency responsible for allocating money to clients. Approximately 175,000 families statewide are currently in need of assistance with their heating bills, he said.
PACE does not give money to the clients, Morell said. Instead, it either puts oil in the family’s heating tank or pays the heating utility company directly.
A gallon of heating oil in Massachusetts costs approximately $2.50. An average heating tank can hold about 275 gallons of oil and last up to one month. This can set a family back by $687 a month.
Last year, the poorest family in Massachusetts was eligible for a maximum of $1,400 per month. “We expect this year to be around that figure,” said Morell.
To qualify for assistance, a family of four must be earning less than $53,608 per year. In 2007, that number was $42,400. Since then, 3,500 more families have joined the program. “We expect more this year,” said Morell.
Currently, a family can receive a maximum of $635 per month. “With this money, that number will go up,” said Liz Berube, fuel assistance director at Citizens for Citizens in Fall River, another local agency responsible for allocating funds among local clients.
In 2008, about 180.000 were assisted through this program, said Phil Hailer, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. “It was an unusually good year,” he said. “Given the state of the economy, we hope that this year can be as good as next year.” He said the announcement of these funds was good news that meant the program could begin on Nov. 1.
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Capitol Hill Takes H1N1 Precautionary Measures
H1N1 PREVENTION
New Bedford Standard Times
Haley Shoemaker
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 21, 2009
WASHINGTON--Many workplaces, including offices on Capitol Hill, are taking precautionary measures in the hopes of preventing H1N1 flu outbreaks.
For Hill staffers the seasonal flu vaccine is available free of charge from the House physician’s office; as of Wednesday, a limited supply of the H1N1 flu vaccine was available in the House physician’s office, said Kyle D. Anderson, the communications director for the Committee on House Administration.
“We received our initial limited supply, though I don't have specific number of doses,” Anderson said in an e-mail message. “Like everyone else, we're expecting more over the next few weeks but don't have firm dates as to when and how much we'll be receiving.”
First priority for the vaccine will be given to congressional employees who are pregnant or live with or care for infants less than 6 months old, Anderson said.
Members of Congress are not given priority, Anderson said.
The office of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is taking extra precautions, according to Harry Gural, Frank’s press secretary. “Our staff is aware of this problem and I know people are making special efforts in this regard,” he said.
Hand sanitizers have been put in the office and employees are encouraged to get the H1N1 vaccination and to stay home if they experience flu symptoms, Gural said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all employers provide “sufficient facilities for hand washing and alcohol-based (at least 60 percent) hand sanitizers in common workplace areas … and that they provide tissues, disinfectants and disposable towels for employees to clean their work surfaces.”
Gural said while they encourage the office staff to get the vaccine, it is up to each employee to make the decision.
“I am not aware of any plans to mandate H1N1 vaccinations, and if there were it would be a state, not a federal, issue,” he said.
Gural said that the office has received about a dozen letters from constituents who are opposed to a mandatory vaccination.
Most businesses will be affected by the H1N1 flu this year, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The school’s survey found that only one-third of business owners “believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks due to H1N1.”
Many companies have encouraged their employees to work from home, if possible, to prevent spreading illnesses. However, House rules do not allow staff to work from home, Gural said.
If someone in Frank’s office does get sick, he or she is allowed sick days like most other offices. “We encourage people to stay home when they're sick,” Gural said.
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Pet Store Regulations: A Growing Trend
PUPPY MILLS
New Hampshire Union Leader
Haley Shoemaker
Boston University Washington News Service
October 21, 2009
WASHINGTON—Everyone loves puppies, but not everyone knows where his or her own puppy comes from or how the animal was treated before it was sold.
Now, federal and state lawmakers are paying attention to the problem.
In the past two years, many bills have been introduced in state legislatures to increase regulation of “puppy mills,” which critics describe as large, overcrowded and unsanitary facilities.
Two years ago, Congress attached a provision to the 2007 farm bill that banned the importation of young dogs from foreign puppy mills.
By requiring that imported dogs be in good health, vaccinated and at least 6 months old, the sponsors, including Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said in a letter to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees that they hoped to “ensure that physically immature and potentially unweaned puppies are not forced to endure harsh, long-distance transport and that consumers are not unknowingly subjected to buying unhealthy pups.”
In the letter, Frank and the other sponsors said they were “outraged by the operation of puppy mills both in the U.S. and abroad.”
Legislation to support animal rights represents “a growing trend across the United States,” said Dale Bartlett, deputy manager for animal cruelty issues of the Humane Society of the United States. He said 10 states have enacted laws that restrict or regulate puppy mills in some way.
In Massachusetts, state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, introduced Senate Bill 774, which would limit breeders in the state to 25 dogs over the age of six months at any time.
A related bill in the Massachusetts State House (House Bill 344) would ban “debarking,” the practice of relieving dogs of their ability to bark “by taking a screwdriver to sever their vocal cords so the mills can be established in residential areas without the neighbors ever knowing about it,” Bartlett said.
“Both of these bills are current, they’re both still in the chamber they originated in and they’re still alive and kicking,” Bartlett said.
Frank, in a statement last month, said: “We ought to ensure that puppies are not raised in abusive conditions. In the past, I have supported efforts to curb abusive practices associated with mass dog breeding activities. I will continue to support efforts that prevent animal cruelty.”
In puppy mills, their critics say, dogs sometimes are in desperate need of veterinary care, are forced to drink unclean water and are kept in rusty and broken cages with accumulations of feces and urine.
“The females are bred until they give out, then they are taken outside and shot,” said Martin Mersereau, director of the cruelty casework division at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “They are not socialized at all, which is really difficult for the dogs because they’re pack animals. It’s like the holocaust for dogs.”
Massachusetts is known as a “pet store state,” said Kathleen Summers, manager of the Humane Society’s puppy mill campaign, “because there are many local pet stores that carry imported puppies [from out of state].”
The Humane Society has received complaints about pet stores throughout Massachusetts, including the mini-chain Debbie’s Petland. One of these complaints came from Danielle Maloney, who said she bought a Bullmastiff puppy last May from Debbie’s Petland. The puppy was sold to the store by Hunte Corp., a Missouri-based animal broker, Maloney said.
Soon after she purchased the dog, she said, it was diagnosed with severe Giardia, an intestinal infection. She added that the puppy infected her other dog and that she had to disinfect her entire house because the disease is highly contagious.
Maloney said she returned the dog to the store and sought reimbursement for her veterinary costs as well. The store refunded the purchase price but would not reimburse her for veterinary fees because she did not take the puppy to a store-approved clinic, she said.
When the Humane Society receives such a complaint, it passes it on to local animal control authorities or, in some cases, to the state attorney general’s office. “We get far, far more complaints than we have investigators,” Summers said. “In some cases, if we get multiple complaints on a store we’ll take further action, such as litigation or investigations, but it depends on the circumstances.”
Kim Duross, owner of Debbie’s PetLand, was not available this week to comment on Maloney’s complaint and her store employees said they were instructed not to talk about the case. However, in a previous interview Duross did defend her business, saying, “We have never received any complaints from the Humane Society.”
Debbie’s Petland, she said, has been in business for 50 years and doesn’t do business with puppy mills. It deals only with brokers who support regulation of breeders, and with breeders who are licensed by the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The brokers, Duross said, “make sure they’re up to date with vaccinations and that they are on a feeding program so that you don’t jeopardize the health of the inventory stock.”
Duross contends that pet stores are more heavily regulated than most restaurants.
“We’re extremely heavily regulated by the board of health and seven different regulatory agencies that check on us all the time,” she said. “The MSPCA [MSPCA-Angell, a nonprofit organization in the fields of animal protection and veterinary medicine] can come in our stores all the time, the Department of Agriculture, animal control officers; everybody is always in there to check up on everything, everything is disclosed to anybody.”
Massachusetts has also had problems with brokers and breeders who have sold dogs to local pet shops, including Kathy Bauck of Minnesota, identified as “one of the largest breeders and brokers in the country” by Deborah Howard, president of Companion Animal Protection Society in Cohasset. Her organization filed a criminal complaint in April 2008 against Bauck that led to her conviction on four counts of animal cruelty and torture, Howard said.
Using hidden cameras and sound equipment, an investigator for Howard’s organization gathered information that led to the criminal proceedings.
“She’ll probably be losing her [U.S. Agriculture Department] license in a few months, but she will still be able to sell on line,” Howard said.
Bauck's lawyer, Zenas Baer said, “The insidious thing is that the owner was convicted only because she placed trust in someone who was working to shut her down, this CAPS employee who wanted to capture evidence of inhumane treatment of animals.”
In Howard’s view, “The whole industry is about profit. Dogs you see in pet shops don’t come from reputable breeders. Reputable breeders don’t sell to pet shops because they’re more discriminating.”
At animal shelters such as the Humane Society & Shelter-South Coast, in North Dartmouth, “most of the dogs we get come in stray or from pet shops,” said Melinda Ventura, the executive director. “We are not seeing litters of puppies coming through the shelter; we get the stragglers.”
Across the United States, there are more than 4 million adoptable dogs, without good homes or families to care for them, according to Mersereau.
The advice from the Humane Society’s Summers: There is really no way to tell where that puppy in the window of a pet store came from, unless you research the broker and breeder that sold to the pet store. “Just go and see how the mother is treated, and if they aren’t treated in a way that you would treat your animals at home, then you shouldn’t buy from them.”
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Meeting the President was ‘Mind-Blowing,’ New Bedford 18-year-old says
SCOTT
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 20, 2009
WASHINGTON – At 18, Scott Paiva has already placed third in a national business competition and has had a personal meeting with the president. The graduate of New Bedford High School developed a business plan for a tax preparation service that caters to student clients.
Currently a freshman at Suffolk University in Boston, Paiva placed third in the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009 sponsored by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and Oppenheimer Funds.
The top three winners were given a tour of the White House and then met with the president in the Oval Office, Paiva said..
”When we heard him say, ‘Come on in, guys,’ that’s when I knew this was really happening,” he said. The meeting lasted only about five minutes but was still “mind-blowing” for the teenager.
“He looks just like he does on TV,” Paiva said about the president. “Really tall.”
The entrepreneurship competition, which is open to high school students across the country who complete the semester or year-long program run by the foundation, allows students to refine a business plan with help from professionals. Contestants must clear a series of qualifying rounds before the final competition in New York City. This year’s judges included Bobbi Brown, founder and CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and Steven Brill, co-founder and CEO of Journalism Online.
Paiva won $2,500 for Express Tax Service, which he created. He originally took the entrepreneurship class as an elective at New Bedford High School. “Something to fill the slot,” Paiva said. But as he progressed through the competition, he was able to develop his product from a school project to a real-life business plan, he said.
“In the very beginning, it was still a tax preparation service for everyone,” he said. Paiva later identified his target group as students. This idea came from the large number of students in the Boston area and the fact that H&R Block, a popular tax preparation company, does not specifically cater to students, Paiva said.
Growing up in a finance-focused family played a big role in his success, Paiva said.P His family owns Paiva Financial Services in New Bedford. He called his father, Carlos, his “role model.”
He also attributes his success to Ken Gouveia, who taught the high school entrepreneurship class.
“I knew from the first week that he would do well,” Gouveia said about Paiva.
The competition is a “culmination of work students do in classrooms through the year,” said Clare McCully, executive director of the foundation’s New England program. “It’s a continuing, learning process.”
The competition, which has taken place since 1987, has unearthed business plans for catering businesses, babysitting services and cupcake businesses, she said. A 2009 New England finalist developed a prescription-delivery system for seniors in collaboration with Walgreens, McCully said.
The 2009 competition saw 24,000 nationwide entries from which 28 finalists were selected.
“Every year I see a great improvement in the business plans,” she said. “This year I was bowled over.”
McCully said she looked forward to seeing what Scott does in his life. “I told his father Scott was someone I would trust my taxes with,” she said. “All of this couldn’t have happened to a nicer young man.”
Since his victory, Paiva said he has received a wave of messages. “From extended family, people I don’t talk to much, people I don’t know,” he said. “It’s really overwhelming. Really exciting.”
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Massachusetts Runnerup in State Energy Rankings
ENERGY
New Bedford Standard-Times
Ayesha Aleem
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 20, 2009
WASHINGTON—Massachusetts ranked second among the 50 states in implementing efficient use of energy, according to the 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard that the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy published on Wednesday.
The report that was released at a news conference at the National Press Club was intended to draw attention to growing state efforts, even during the current recession, to promote energy efficiency.
States were judged in six categories that included transportation policies and appliance efficiency standards. Massachusetts scored 44.6 out of 50 possible points. The Bay State also climbed five places since last year. This is the third edition of the annual report.
By ranking states, the report seeks to demonstrate that energy efficiency is the optimal solution to meeting energy requirements and strengthening local economies.
“This is very much about creating jobs,” said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who was present at the press conference.
Reinforcing Markell’s point, Cathy Zoi, the assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, said that 1.6 million construction workers in the United States are currently unemployed.
“Energy efficiency is an area of the government that is growing robustly,” Ian Bowles, the secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for Massachusetts, said in an interview. The labor-intensive industry could help create more jobs, he said.
The Green Communities Act, which came into effect last year in Massachusetts, requires companies to purchase all energy-efficiency products and services that cost less than it would to produce electricity. The intent is to reduce consumers’ electricity bills.
Recently, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, which was established under the act, approved a state plan to spend $1.6 billion for three-year energy-saving measures. The first set of steps will be presented to the Department of Public Utilities this fall.
Bowles said the “landmark legislation” was responsible for Massachusetts’s improved performance in this year’s ranking and would also boost the state’s ranking next year to the first spot among the states for energy efficiency.
“Energy efficiency is the single most important way to reduce greenhouse gas emission,” Bowles said. “By 2020, 30 percent of [the state’s] electricity needs will be met through energy efficiency.”
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Franklin Native Helps Build Solar House on the National Mall
SOLAR DECATHLON
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Jessica Leving
Boston University Washington News Service
10/15/09
WASHINGTON—It looks like any other contemporary house. With stained cedar paneling and sleek floor-to-ceiling windows, it would fit in seamlessly on any posh urban avenue. Inside, its stainless steel appliances and hip furniture offer an inviting and cozy atmosphere. There’s even a bowl of fresh green apples on the counter.
But the Curio House is not your average home—it’s a project of Team Boston, one of 20 elite teams storming the National Mall in Washington this week as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, an international collegiate competition that challenges students to design, build and operate completely solar-powered houses.
Jonathan Hanson, a Franklin native and a 2009 graduate of Boston Architectural College, is a vital Team Boston member.
“The whole idea is about living curiously,” said Mr. Hanson, 24, who attended Whitinsville Christian School.
“It’s about asking questions and assessing your own lifestyle to live in a more sustainable way,” he said. “We’re taking an urban approach because it’s not sustainable to live in the suburbs, on three acres of land and driving to get a gallon of milk.”
After almost two years of designing, fundraising and constructing, the team, composed of students or recent graduates of Tufts University and Boston Architectural College, arrived in Washington a week ago along with five trucks of materials and tools. The 800-square-foot house, which had already been built in Boston, was taken apart and reassembled on the National Mall, complete with 28 solar panels, Mr. Hanson said.
All of the houses are judged on 10 criteria ranging from basics like architecture and market viability to quirkier categories like comfort and home entertainment. As part of the competition, each house had to host two dinner parties and a movie night (all houses screened “The Dark Knight,” the most recent Batman film, Mr. Hanson said).
“The winner of the competition is the team that best blends aesthetics and modern conveniences with maximum energy production and optimal efficiency,” according to the Department of Energy Web site.
The Curio House’s cedar panels are naturally decay-resistant, and the windows are made from a high-tech gel that traps heat from the sun and uses it to warm the house. The appliances are powered completely by solar energy, and the house actually produces more energy than it consumes.
“Our house is priced at $325,000, which we consider affordable for something like this,” Mr. Hanson added. Without the bells and whistles needed for the competition, he said, future versions of the house could hit the real estate market for around $225,000.
Since the decathlon kicked off last week, Team Boston has already been graded in eight of the categories. As of Thursday, they were in 11th place, with high marks in architecture and marketing communication, but lower scores in home entertainment and appliance output.
The final winners will be announced Friday.
“We’re having a party Friday night,” Mr. Hanson said. “Hopefully it will be a victory party, but if not, we will still be celebrating what we’ve accomplished.”
The 20 houses have been on display on the National Mall all week, forming a mini solar-powered city. The teams were not allowed to sleep in their houses, and instead had to book local hotel rooms.
After the competition, the Curio House will be sent to a new sustainable development community, Community Green, in Sandwich, a 40-acre property offering vocational training and affordable housing to homeless and low-income individuals and families.
“There have been two serious interests in actually reproducing the Curio House, too,” Mr. Hanson said.
“We’ve also gotten a lot of interest from people in the New England area asking if we do consulting work,” he added. “We’ve all been passing out personal business cards all week.”
Mr. Hanson works full-time as a designer with Boston’s Silverman Trykowski Associates—that is, he did when he wasn’t spending 30 hours a week constructing and marketing the Curio House.
“We’ve all been saying when we go back to Boston, we don’t know what we’re going to do with all of our free time,” he said with a smile.
The goal of the Solar Decathlon is to bring attention to sustainable development and energy issues in an innovative and interactive way, according to the competition Web site.
To be selected, teams must submit a proposal to a committee of architectural and engineering professionals. Once selected, each team receives $100,000 in seed money.
Since the first event in 2002, 74 teams have competed in the decathlon. The contest is sponsored by the Department of Energy, Applied Materials, BP, PEPCO and Schneider Electric.
Biobox:
Name: Jonathan Hanson
Age: 24
Hometown: Franklin
Education: Boston Architectural College
Current Firm: Silverman Trykowski Associates
Past Projects: Caritas Christi Health Care, MIT Game Room, Stonehurst in Waltham
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Bill Clinton Urges Changes to Current Health-Care System
REFORM
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
October 14, 2009
WASHINGTON—Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday the nation’s health-care delivery system is no longer sustainable.
Speaking at hte AdvaMed 2009, a conference on medical technology, Clinton said he expected Congress to approve health-care overhaul legislation this year that may not please everybody but that is an economic and health-care “necessity.”
He also said low-income people should have access to medical technology improvements.
Clinton pointed out that some European countries, such as Switzerland and France, devote smaller percentages of their gross domestic product to health care than the United States does. Challenging the argument that the country is already spending too much on health care, he said America should spend less.
Amy Hall, director of the federal Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ legislative office, said, “the status quo in America is unacceptable.” She said the Obama administration is trying to bring stability and security to those who don’t have health insurance or affordable coverage.
James C. Capretta, a fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, pointing to possible tax increases as part of health-care legislation, said, “This is not a pain-free exercise.”
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Team Boston Competing in Solar Decathlon
SOLAR
New Bedford Standard Times
Burcu Karakas
Boston University Washington News Service
October 14, 2009
WASHINGTON – Curio House, a project designed and built by students from Boston Architectural College and Tufts University, is competing this week in the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall.
Twenty teams have built solar-powered houses, which are being judged on 10 criteria. The winner will be announced Friday.
Jon Hanson, a 24-year-old Boston Architectural College undergraduate student, said Team Boston wanted to challenge people by asking questions about their lifestyles. The aim, he said, was to create curiosity in order to lead people toward a more sustainable way of living. The project is based on three elements: sustainability, affordability and adaptability.
All teams showcase energy-efficient, marketable, solar-powered homes during the exhibition week, which is open to the public on the Mall.
Hanson said they wanted to come up with the idea of a financially affordable and accessible house. The furniture for the house was designed so that it could be moved and stored when not in use, creating more living space in the Curio House.
An experimental heat glass is used for the windows, serving as a heat source and keeping the house warm. Seventy percent of the heat is coming from the glass, he said.
Hanson said visitors get excited when they see they can actually put all different parts of the energy-efficient technology into their own houses. He said some people even have shown serious interest in building the house.
Colin Booth, the project manager, said the team spent two years on the project. Booth, 28, is a full-time employee in an architecture firm in Watertown. He said his firm was very supportive of him during the whole process.
Roughly 300 students were involved in the project, working in different stages, such as financial control, marketing and the Web site. Booth said there were several classes or studios where the ideas were put together. Students brainstormed and researched the project; then, those who were dedicated stayed till the final step.
Booth said generating as much power as possible is a way to get points in the competition, but they did not completely follow this path. “We are not only trying to impress people, but also educate them,” he said.
The feedback they got from the visitors so far is really good, according to Booth. He said people are very happy to see a “normal house” among the others. He said an accessible house makes “far more sense,” because people get frustrated when they see they can’t adapt the technologies to their own houses.
Booth also said that students from the other teams were coming to Curio House in the evening to hang out and enjoy the free heat from the windows.
The event creates a great job opportunity for the students. They said recruiting is going on during the week. As people from several firms come to visit the houses, they give their business cards to the students.
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