Page 8 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – Friday, January 3, 2020 ~ Letter-to-the-Editor ~ Thank a former smoker for quitting this holiday season Dear Editor, This holiday season, I’d like to remind readers to thank a coworker, friend or family member who has quit vaping, smoking, or using other tobacco products. Many users say quitting is the hardest thing they have ever done and any amount of recognition can help someone stay quit. Nicotine is the very addictive substance in tobacco and many vape products. As a result, repeated tobacco and nicotine use is not a habit, it’s an addiction that should be treated as a chronic relapsing condition. It takes most people with a nicotine addiction several tries to quit for good. So reach out to those who have conquered this addiction. Let them know you are proud of how hard they’re working to better their wellbeing. Thank them for improving their health and the health of the people around them. Even though the holidays can be a tough time to quit, they are a great time to support your friends and loved ones who are trying to quit vaping, smoking or other tobacco products. Even if they have tried quitting in the past, encourage them to keep trying – they learn something new every time they try to quit. And share with them the many resources available in MA to help them reach their goal. The most effective way to quit is to use FDA-approved medicines and coaching support together. Nicotine users of all kinds can call 1-800-QUT NOW (1-800-784-8669) for free coaching from the Massachusetts Smokers’ Helpline through phone, web, and text 24 hours each day, seven days a week (except Thanksgiving and Christmas) or enroll online through KeepTryingMA.org. Adults who work with a coach can now receive up to eight weeks of free nicotine patches, gum or lozenges (with medical eligibility) through the Smokers’ Helpline. Smokers and vapers who get support and use medicines to quit are nearly three times as likely to quit for good as those who try to quit on their own. Quitting is hard – give thanks to someone in your life for quitting or for trying to quit. Every email, text message, phone call, or encouraging word makes a difference. Sincerely, Edgar Duran Elmudesi, MSW Metro Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership MGC to begin search for new executive director T he Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) Chair Cathy Judd-Stein recently announced that Executive Director Ed Bedrosian is departing the agency to pursue a new opportunity in the private sector. Karen Wells, MGC’s deputy director MassPort Noise Complaint Line: 617-561-3333 and the director of the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB), has been designated to serve as the interim executive director, a role she previously held in 2015. “On behalf of my fellow commissioners, I would like to thank Executive Director Bedrosian for his leadership and public service over the past four years. He was instrumental in guiding complex regulatory preparations to ensure the successful opening of both MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor. He consistently led and encouraged MGC staff to meet and exceed the demanding professional responsibilities required for what was no less than a true startup operation.” said MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein. “We are grateful that Director Wells will once again step forward and serve the Commission in an interim capacity. With seven years of experience at MGC and more than two decades in public service, she is a proven leader who has consistently demonstrated a strong understanding of MGC’s regulatory role, core functions and agency values.” “I would like to thank the Commission and the MGC staff for the opportunity to serve as executive director. This has been an incredible job,” said Bedrosian. “I was privileged these past four years to work with great Commissioners, past and present, to help lead a talented team of professionals who worked hard every day to open and regulate casinos, to license and register people in a new industry, to ensure diversity in both the construction and operations workMGC | SEE PAGE 18 MassHousing completes first Sustainability Bond transaction M assHousing recently issued $108 million in affordable multifamily Housing Bonds with a Sustainability Bond designation, marking the first time the quasi-public agency has issued Sustainability Bonds. The designated Sustainability Bonds, which will finance the preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing communities in Boston and Cambridge, serve as a new tool for reaching mission-driven institutional and retail investors. “Institutional and retail investors are increasingly demanding that their investments drive social impact, and the Sustainability Bond label allows MassHousing to reach new investors who value social equity and environmental action,” said MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay. “The proceeds of this bond transaction will allow MassHousing to finance the preservation and modernization of 415 affordable homes, delivering a better quality of life to residents, while lowering property owners’ operating costs and improving environmental performance.” “We are excited that the Sustainability Bond designation allows MassHousing to reach new investors who share our mission, and we look forward to continuing to drive impact, in communities across the Commonwealth,” said MassHousing Chief Financial Officer Charles Karimbakas. MassHousing aligned its first Sustainability Bond offering with the International Capital Market Association’s Green and Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond guidelines. The bonds are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of No Poverty, Affordable and Clean Energy, and Sustainable Cities and Communities. BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley were the co-senior managing underwriters for the transaction. MassHousing expects to use the proceeds from the Sustainability Bond transaction to finance the preservation and substantial rehabilitation of two affordable rental communities: The Blue Mountain Apartments, a 217-unit scattered-site rental community in Dorchester and Roxbury, and the Daniel F. Burns Apartments, a 198-unit Cambridge Housing Authority property for elderly and disabled residents. Through the issuance of the Sustainability Bonds, MassHousing will finance the substantial renovation of both properties, including repairs to building envelopes, electrical and plumbing systems, and HVAC. The renovations will make both properties substantially more efficient by lowering energy consumption and water usage. Housing affordability protections at both properties will also be extended. MassHousing uses two main bond resolutions to raise capital and fund its work: Housing Bonds, which help finance the production and preservation of affordable multifamily rental housing, and Single Family Housing Revenue Bonds, which provide capital for mortgages for first-time homebuyers in Massachusetts. Over the past five fiscal years, MassHousing has issued over $1.2 billion in multifamily Housing Bonds and has generated a total of $6.6 billion in affordable single-family and multifamily housing financing, for the benefit of 43,000 households.
9 Publizr Home