Tourist campaign touts Essex culture

By Kathy McCabe  |  March 5, 2006

The North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau on Wednesday will kick off Art Escapes, the first major promotion to lure cultural tourists to Essex County, during its annual dinner at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort in Danvers. Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey will be the guest speaker.

Hotel packages, theme dinners, and the new Art Escapes Trail, highlighting landscapes that have long fed the artists' imaginations, are part of the promotion. A new website, www.escapesnorth.com, went online last month.

''It's the first time we've been able to package all the cultural sites, museums, and historic properties," said Julie McConchie, executive director of the tourist council. ''And we hope that it will draw more cultural tourists, whom we know stay longer in a place, and spend more money, than other visitors."

The new visitor pitch was inspired by ''Painting Summer in New England," an art show opening next month at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. The exhibit of more than 100 paintings includes many inspired by the seashore and landscapes of Essex County.

Smaller museums around the region also plan American painting exhibitions to coincide with the show. Twelve hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts are offering special packages aimed at art lovers. ''It's a nice link between the tourism and cultural community," McConchie said.

Amy M. Lischko of Topsfield is the new head of the state's Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, charged with improving the cost and delivery of healthcare in Massachusetts.

The agency, with a $12.7 million budget and 100 employees, plays a broad role in the state's healthcare industry. It sets payment rates for MassHealth, the state's insurance program for low-income residents, and for injured workers who seek compensation under the state's workers' compensation laws. The state's free care pool and a student health insurance program also fall under its domain.

Governor Mitt Romney promoted Lischko, 45, a former assistant commissioner, last month, replacing Paul Cote, who was named the new commissioner of the Department of Public Health. She takes over as healthcare reform dominates debate on Beacon Hill.

The state Senate last week passed a bill to reduce the number of residents lacking healthcare. The bill also aims to ensure the state still qualifies for $385 million in annual federal Medicaid funding.

Lischko already has played a role in the reform effort. As the assistant commissioner, she oversaw healthcare policy for the state's Executive Office of Health and Human Services, where she developed a website providing consumers with information about the cost and quality of medical procedures.

In a statement, Romney said Lischko's ''insight and informed analysis" on healthcare policy will be ''critical to implementing comprehensive [healthcare] reforms we've put on the table."

Lischko holds a bachelor's degree in nutrition and a master's degree in public health from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is an adjunct professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Tufts University School of Medicine and is working on a doctorate in health services research at Boston University.

Ipswich Cooperative Bank has started a Charitable Foundation to support local nonprofits, including those focused on economic development. The bank's board of directors, which donated $200,000 to the foundation in December, has set a goal of building the foundation's assets to $1 million by 2010.

''This is a privilege and responsibility we take very seriously," said Michael Jones, the bank's chief executive officer, who will oversee the new foundation. Jones pledges to donate 5 percent of the foundation's assets each year to Ipswich-area nonprofits.

Dick Rehal, a newly retired vice president at Eastern Bank, will be on the hot seat during the 20th Annual Irish Needle Night, March 15, 6:30 p.m., at St. Michael Hall in Lynn. The charity roast is a fund-raiser for the Lynn Lions Club, which will donate proceeds to the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research and Lynn-based charities. Rehal, who represented Eastern Bank on the boards of several Lynn area organizations, is a past president of the club. To place an ad in the program, call Dave Hughes at 781-599-1776. To purchase tickets, call the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce at 781-592-2900.

The Homebased Businesswomen's Network will meet Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at the Village Green Restaurant on Route 1 north in Danvers. Shawn Mills, of the Haverhill chapter of Toastmasters International, will speak on ''Can You Hear Me Now? Concise Advice for Communicating Clearly." Free for members, $10 for guests or newcomers. For more information, visit www.h-b-n.org. . . . The North Shore Technology Council on Thursday will hold a Networking Night, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., at 100 Cummings Center, Suite 221E, Route 62 in Beverly. Free for members, $20 for nonmembers. For information, visit www.nstc.org.

Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com