Features

May 27, 2023 0

Preventing a Global Water Catastrophe- One Drop at a Time

The earth’s demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% in 2030. This warning comes from The Global Commission on the Economics of Water as we continue to consume water without caution. The World Meteorological Organization also reported in November 2022 that “climate-related shortages in water resources could affect two thirds of the world’s population by midcentury. Complicating these frightening predictions is the fact that extreme rainfalls and flooding are among the consequences of global warming that will likely […]

March 25, 2023 0

Tufts Initiative Helps Fund Chinatown Organizations

by Sampan Staff

On Monday, February 27, 2023, Tufts Medical Center hosted a community benefits reception to bring community partners together to meet or re-connect with one another, learn about each other’s efforts, share best practices, and collaborate on initiatives that will improve the health of the community for years to come. Tufts MC awarded grants to 20 community partners, including 5 based in Chinatown, who will support and uplift Boston residents with programs focused on behavioral health, access to care and services, […]

June 17, 2022 0

WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT GUNS?

by Jeff Millman

Gun control legislation is once again on the table after two mass shootings in a week, one in Uvalde, Texas and another in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In a primetime address on June 2, President Biden called on Congress to take immediate action on gun control. He offered several potential policies, including bringing back the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004. If such a bill could not be passed, Biden said, the age to buy certain weapons could at least […]

June 17, 2022 0

The Second Juneteenth Holiday in Massachusetts: What does it mean to the general public?

by Max Wei

Sunday, June 19, 2022, will be the second annual Juneteenth Independence Day recognized as a Massachusetts state holiday. On Thursday June 17, 2021, the Juneteenth Day became a federal holiday in the United States when President Joe Biden signed into law a bill passed by Congress. Almost at the same time, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker also officially recognized June 19 as the newest state-recognized holiday. Juneteenth National Independence Day is important to African American in our nation because of the […]

June 17, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick I file my taxes on time by April 15. Then, in no time, I get a tax notice from the IRS. Some years, I get several tax notices from the IRS These IRS tax notices are really stressful to deal with. First, it’s hard to understand what the IRS wants. The writing is technical. The paragraphs list tons of numbers and calculations of tax deficiencies, big penalties, and interest charges they say I owe. The IRS tax letters […]

June 17, 2022 0

Thank You, Mr. Nixon: stories Gish Jen’s fiction looks at the complicated 50 year legacy of China/U.S. normalized relations

by Christopher John Stephens

Going back to 1949, according to history.state.gov, the U.S.Ambassador had met with Communist Ambassadors to discuss U.S. recognition of the newly declared (as of October 1, 1949) PRC (People’s Republic of China.) Had Mao not declared his intention to side with the Soviet Union, recognition could have come much earlier than 1972. The United States stayed out of the Chinese Civil War, even though “the Truman Administration was prepared to abandon the Nationalists and allow the Communists to take over […]

May 24, 2022 0

Japanese Breakfast and Mitski: Two Asian American Musicians Expanding the Conversation on Representation in Popular American Culture

by Moninisha Yadav

What is ‘indie rock’? Is it truly free from the restraints of corporate record label mandates, or is it simply the audio equivalent of a finely assembled glossy fashion spread in a magazine? Commerce usually likes to think it can manage the tastes and inclinations of the record-buying public, but in recent years some artists have challenged and expanded the pre-conceived notions of genre conventions that have been long populated (and dictated) by white people. Japanese Breakfast and Mitski are […]

May 24, 2022 0

Massachusetts Senate Passed the Work and Family Mobility Act for Lack Federal Status

by Max Wei

Not everyone in Massachusetts has the right to drive. For some residents without federal immigration status, the inability to obtain a legal Driver’s license can totally prevent them from working and providing for their families. There are many jobs throughout Massachusetts where public transportation essentially does not exist and therefore they cannot get to them. And still there are other jobs where the employer actually requires a driver’s license and even a car. Also, consider the plight of newly arrived […]

May 24, 2022 0

Women’s Rights are Threatened; Immigrant Women Especially Vulnerable

by Jeff Millman

Abortion rights in the United States are under threat. At the beginning of this month a draft of a majority opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito leaked to Politico. The draft suggests that the Supreme Court will overturn the decisions it made in Roe vs. Wade nearly fifty years ago and in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey thirty years ago. In 1973, the Supreme Court decided that criminal abortion statutes, which excepted from criminality only those procedures that would […]

May 24, 2022 0

From Dick’s Desk at the AACA LITC
(Asian American Civic Association Low Income Taxpayer Clinic)

by Richard Soo Hoo

Dear Dick Massachusetts is one of the 46 states in the US that has legalized marijuana. So, I decided to petition my City of Cambridge to open a medical marijuana dispensary. Medical marijuana can effectively treat pain, headache, muscle spasms, eye disease, and many other medical problems. I received a good deal of support locally and from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in forming my cannabis business. That is, until I heard that the federal government still has not legalized marijuana. […]

404 Not Found