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Wood Glen celebrates 65 years
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SB senior living center focuses on comfort, familiarity and consistency - B1
Our 167th Year
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S AT U R DAY, J U LY 15, 2 023
Give 2 Pets expands Thrift store to add locations as it continues its efforts to help animals
Biden administration to cancel $39 billion in student loans By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) — The Department of Education announced Friday that $39 billion in federal student loan debt for about 800,000 borrowers will be “discharged,” or canceled, in the coming weeks. The move comes just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s effort to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars through the HEROES Act. That plan would have forgiven $10,000 per qualifying borrower and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The DOE plan announced this week would change how monthly payments are counted for those under the Income Driven Repayment plans. Those paying for more than two decades with lower monthly payments because of their income would qualify to potentially be impacted by this announcement. “The Biden administration is trampling the rule of law, hurting borrowers, and abusing taxpayers to chase headlines,” Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who chairs the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, said in a statement. “Biden’s student loan scam is far from over. From day one, this administration has encouraged borrowers not to repay their loans and has expected taxpayers to foot the bill.” The Biden administration said the administrative changes to cancel old debts made the loan
balances more accurate, but Republicans quickly blasted President Biden’s latest loan forgiveness plan as a blatant attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling. In particular, Republicans blasted the part of President Biden’s plan that allowed months where borrowers missed payments under a wide variety of circumstances to still count toward their total number of monthly payments made. “Taxpayers should be enraged but not surprised. Don’t forget, this is the same agency that was called out for using cost estimates that weren’t grounded in reality,” she added. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the move was about fairness for disadvantaged borrowers and helping those “cheated” by colleges. “For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,” Mr. Cardona said in a statement announcing the decision. “By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve, just as we have done for public servants, students who were cheated by their colleges, and borrowers with permanent disabilities, including veterans. “This Administration will not stop fighting to level the playing field in higher education.”
DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Give 2 Pets Thrift Store raises money to help animals at its Santa Barbara location, above. The store is adding sites in Goleta and Carpinteria.
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS COUNTY EDITOR
It’s been nearly five months since a brazen homeless woman broke into the Give 2 Pets Thrift Boutique in downtown Santa Barbara, making off with thousands of dollars worth of store merchandise. When owner Nadia Bernardi talked about it with the News-Press a week later, she was still shaken by the incident, upset that the culprit would target a thrift store that benefits a charity, especially since she had, in her words, “helped, housed, given work to and volunteered with the homeless, drug addicts, veterans and, most of all, pets for the last 25 years.” But that, as they say, was then
FYI For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ givetopetsfoundation.org.
and this is now, and Ms. Bernardi has clearly recovered from the store invasion, so much so that she’s opted to open two new stores, one in Goleta and one in Carpinteria. “On Saturday, July 22, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., we are having a grand opening at the Goleta store with a free hotdog stand and beverages for all who stop by to support us,” she told the News-Press. The Goleta store, located at 7320 Hollister Ave., Suite 5, will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.Wednesdays through Saturdays, at least to start. The Carpinteria store at 4185 Carpinteria Ave., Suite 3, is slated to open next month. The Give 2 Pets Thrift Boutique, at 31 Parker Way in Santa Barbara, is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The Santa Barbara store has been open since August 2021, and 100% of the proceeds from its sales go to the Give to Pets Foundation, which benefits a sanctuary for special needs and senior animals. Please see PETS on A3
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COURTESY COTTAGE HEALTH
The Emergency Department at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is undergoing improvements during a three-stage project.
Progress made on Emergency Department renovation SB Cottage Hospital discusses improvements with News-Press By LIAM HIBBERT NEW-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
COURTESY GIVE 2 PETS FOUNDATION
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital has announced the completion of its second of
three renovation stages for the Emergency Department. The upgrade brings a number of improvements to the department: nine additional Please see EMERGENCY on A8
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i n s i de Classified.............. A5 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A8
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Cats relax at the Give To Pets Foundation’s sanctuary for special needs and senior animals.
Sudoku................. B3 Business . ............. A5 Weather................ A8
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-9-11-35-43 Mega: 12
Friday’s DAILY 4: 8-1-4-0
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 10-24-45-51-66 Mega: 15
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 2-10-12-17-29
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 07-04-03 Time: 1:40.31
Wednesay’s POWERBALL: 23-35-45-66-67 Meganumber: 20
Friday’s DAILY 3: 1-1-6 / Midday 8-3-2