Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012
Top (from left to right): UMass School of Law Dean Michael G. Hillinger shares a word with panel moderators Francis A. Ford and Margaret D. Xifaras prior to the Jan. 26 event.
Middle: Research Director Benjamin Forman shared information on MassINC’s research on Gateway Cities to date.
Bottom: Sen. Benjamin Downing (D-Pittsfield) is flanked by Undersecretary for Business Development Michael Hunter (left) and Rep. Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford). Also pictured is Kate Fentress of the Women’s Fund and Education Roundtable.
Photos by Tricia Oliver.
MBA hosts forum on Gateway Cities
Well-attended event takes place at UMass School of Law
Members of the legal community, elected officials and other
community leaders convened at the University of Massachusetts
School of Law in Dartmouth last week for a forum on Gateway
Cities.
The Jan. 26 evening event featured a panel of leading voices on
Massachusetts' Gateway Cities and drew a crowd of about 60.
Among the featured panelists were Rep. Antonio
Cabral (D-New Bedford) and Sen. Benjamin
Downing (D-Pittsfield), chairs of the Gateway Cities
Caucus; Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development's
Undersecretary for Business Development Michael
Hunter; and MassINC's Research Director Benjamin
Forman.
New Bedford attorney Margaret D. Xifaras and
Worcester attorney Francis A. Ford moderated the
program. Both were chosen by MBA President Richard P. Campbell to
lead the association's initiative on Gateway Cities.
Following the forum in Southeastern Massachusetts, the MBA expects
to hold comparable forums in Central Massachusetts and other parts
of the state in the near future.
Massachusetts' Gateway Cities are those mid-sized cities whose
residents are experiencing significantly higher rates of
unemployment and a stalemate in social, economic and civic
innovation. Some examples are Brockton, Fall River, Lawrence, New
Bedford, Springfield and Worcester.
Look for full event coverage in the March issue of
Massachusetts Lawyers Journal.