From My Corner: March 8, 2024

Mea culpa

Although most of my readers didn’t realize that I made a mistake last week, I
must confess to it.
It was about the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority (LRA) meeting when I
made an error mentioning the name of James Carras, the Harvard professor and
consultant they hired, and mixed him up with the person who was representing
Patriot’s Hydro Lawrence Hydroelectric Project. The correct name is Skip Medford.
I am very sorry Mr. Carras.

Paying students debt

I don’t usually go into national issues because there are enough problems
locally to bring to your attention, but the Boston Herald had an article about Student
Debt Relief that helped me understand how that works. I had the belief that those
funds went to help poor students who could not afford to pay back student loans.
President Biden has spent $138 billion giving “relief” to people who owe
thousands of dollars, and I never gave it a thought as to who they are or what is their
current economic situation. Then there was this piece featuring the guest invited to
the State of the Union Address by Representative Ayanna Pressley. She is Priscilla
Higuera Valentine, a teacher from Dedham who received $117,000 to clear her
student loan. She is the daughter of Colombian parents and has been working at
Conley Elementary School in Roslindale for 20 years.
She earns $135,901 in salary and lives in a home worth over $1 million.
According to the article in the Boston Herald, now she and her husband will be able
to save for their children’s college education.
That was an eye-opener for me. I truly thought that he was helping the needy.
Now, the poor, uneducated who had no chance to go to college will be paying her
debt.

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