Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 22, 2019 Cambridge Health Alliance Raises Nearly 50K to Support Childhood Literacy Governor Baker Signs Bill to Enhance Credit Data Security Pictured are physicians and staff from CHA Malden Family Medicine and CHA Somerville Hospital Primary Care. O n Saturday, March 9, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) raised close to $50,000 at its annual Bike4Books spina-thon to benefi t Project READ, its childhood literary initiative, at Tufts University in Medford. More than 70 people participated and raised funds to purchase new books to distribute to Pediatric patients who come to CHA for wellness visits. Latest Seasonally Unadjusted Unemployment and Job Estimates for Local Labor Markets in Massachusetts BOSTON - Local unemployment rates increased in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of January, the Executive Offi ce of Labor and Workforce Development reported. Compared to January 2018, the rates dropped in twenty-four labor market areas. All fi fteen areas for which job estimates are published recorded seasonal job losses in January. The largest loss occurred in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area followed by the Springfi eld, Worcester, Barnstable, BrocktonBridgewater-Easton, and Framingham areas. From January 2018 to January 2019, eleven of the fifteen areas added jobs, with the largest percentage gains in the Leominster-Gardner, New Bedford, Barnstable, and Springfield areas. The Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Pittsfield, and Framingham areas lost jobs. In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for January was 3.6 percent. Last week, the Executive Offi ce of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of January remained at 3.1 percent. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an 11,400 job gain in January and an over-the-year gain of 27,200 jobs. The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fl uctuations and therefore may show diff erent levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates. The estimates for labor force, unemployment rates and jobs for Massachusetts are based on diff erent statistical methodology specifi ed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Estimates for towns with 2010 Census population of less than 1,000 were produced using the BLS methodology, but are not offi cial BLS estimates. NOTES: The preliminary February 2019 and the revised January 2019 unemployment rates, labor force data and jobs estimates for Massachusetts will be released on Friday, March 22, 2019; local unemployment statistics will be released on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Detailed labor market information is available at www. mass.gov/lmi. See the 2019 Media Advisory for a complete list of release dates. BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined legislators and stakeholders on Wednesday for a ceremonial bill signing for H.4806, An Act relative to consumer protection from security breaches. “Signing this bill into law will better protect Massachusetts consumers from the consequences of data breaches and give individuals more control over their data and how it is used,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “I am thankful to the Legislature for working with our administration to pass a version of this bill that assists consumers while allowing state agencies to perform their statutory responsibilities and comply with state and federal law.” “This legislation includes important provisions to support and provide additional resources to consumers that are affected by data breaches,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We are grateful for the Legislature’s collaboration to strengthen the Commonwealth’s consumer protection laws.” The legislation requires consumer consent before any third party can obtain the consumer’s credit report from a credit reporting agency for most non-credit purposes. The bill also requires that credit reporting agencies allow a consumer to place a “security freeze” on the consumer’s credit report at no cost and prohibits credit rating agencies from charging a consumer to lift or remove a credit freeze. The bill enhances reporting requirements for holders of consumer data that have expeBEACHES | FROM PAGE 14 from Lynn, as Beaker of the Muppets, won JetBlue fl ights as well for their creativity and enthusiasm. Second-place costumed splashers were Jane Kepros of East Boston, who dressed as a goldfi sh, and Nick Russo of South Boston, who dressed as Aladdin. They won swag from The Harvey Traveler Collection. The costume contest was once again judged by Kennedy Elsey of Mix 104.1. Every splasher and contributor also had the opportunity to win prizes in two post-splash JetBlue fl ight raffl es. “At JetBlue, we are committed to our community and fun is one of our core values,” said JetBlue’s Corporate Responsibility Liaison, Donnie Todd, who led a team of 30 participants. “More than 3,500 JetBlue crewmembers call Boston home; we cherish our harbor and proudly support Save rienced a security breach and requires these holders to off er free credit monitoring to aff ected consumers in certain circumstances. This bill includes language proposed by Governor Baker that ensures that state agencies charged with ensuring payment of child support obligations and protecting the credit history of children under state care may continue fulfill their statutory responsibilities. The bill also maintains access to credit reporting for state agencies and courts that are required by law to review consumer credit information. “In a fast-moving digital environment where personal data is at risk of being breached every day, it is critical that we tighten up privacy protections for consumers,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka. “I’m proud of the work the Legislature did to this bill signed into law this past session.” “Thanks to the work of Rep. Benson, Rep. Chan, and members of the House, Massachusetts residents now have the tools to monitor and safeguard their credit, while companies are now required to be transparent in reporting data breeches to their customers,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo. “This law protects consumers and takes companies to task, putting Massachusetts consumers fi rst.” “As our world grows increasingly dependent on online industries and systems, protecting the personal information of consumers remains critical while also holding companies responsible for the vast amounts of information they collect,” said the Harbor/Save the Bay and the work they do on the region’s public beaches.” Members of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s leadership team were also key fundraisers, but were ineligible to win JetBlue fl ights. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Chair of the Board, Joe Newman from Arlington, raised $3,401. Spokesperson Berman, who is from Brighton, raised $3,115. Save the Harbor’s Vice President of Programs and Operations, Chris Mancini from Somerville, raised $2,577. The top five teams also raised significant funds at this year’s Harpoon Shamrock Splash. Save the Harbor/Save the Bay topped the list with $15,964, followed by JetBlue with $10,990 and the Piers Park Sub-Aqua Warriors with $4,950. Team YES raised $3,162 and Team Harpoon! raised $2,720. “Save the Harbor would Representative Tackey Chan. “I am proud that Massachusetts residents will now have better tools to safeguard their information and will be more informed when breaches do occur. With so many stakeholders involved over the past several months, I want to thank my colleagues in the House and Senate and the Governor for their thoughtful consideration and commitment to producing a strong piece of legislation for our constituents across the Commonwealth.” “On behalf of the more than 800,000 members in the Commonwealth, we thank Governor Baker for signing into law House Bill No. 4806 - An Act Relative to Consumer Protection from Security Breaches. Older adults are the most common targets of identity theft nationwide. This legislation includes a suite of important consumer protections, and gives consumers control of their credit reports by allowing them to freeze and unfreeze their credit without paying fees to credit reporting agencies. This is an important step in ensuring that Massachusetts consumers are protected from identity theft,” said Mike Festa, AARP Massachusetts State Director. “This new law is good news for Massachusetts residents as it provides consumers with new tools to protect themselves from identity theft after a security breach like the recently announced ones at Equifax and Marriott,” said Deirdre Cummings, legislative director for MASSPIRG. “Identity theft is a signifi cant problem - last year thieves stole almost $17 billion dollars from American cons.” like to thank event sponsors at Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, Mix 104.1, Baja Taco, The Daily Catch, The Harvey Traveler Collection, Unreal Candy, Stony Brook WholeHeartedFoods, and the Blue Sky Collaborative,” said Marinovich, “As well as our Better Beaches Program Funding Partners at The Boston Foundation, Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, P&G Gillette, National Grid, Comcast, Beacon Capital Partners, and New England Picture. “We would also like to thank the Massachusetts Legislature, the Baker-Polito Administration and the Metropolitan Beaches Commission for their support for our beaches,” Marinovich continued, “and our program partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Centers for Youth and Families and the Greater Boston YMCA for their support.”
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