HARRISBURG – Attorney General Josh Shapiro today permanently shut down Equitable Acceptance’s efforts to operate in Pennsylvania, and is requiring the company to cancel nearly $200,000 in debt for its former Commonwealth customers.Rather than helping customers who had already been scammed by debt relief companies, Equitable Acceptance capitalized on an already predatory industry and charged unacceptably high interest rates.

“Equitable Acceptance scammed people who were simply trying to pay down their student loans and today we’ve kicked them out of Pennsylvania and canceled hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for Pennsylvanians,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “Student loan debt is a huge burden for far too many in our Commonwealth, which is why we’re fighting for borrowers everyday. When companies like Equitable Acceptance come along, prey on Pennsylvanians and try to rip them off with high-interest pay-back schemes, we will hold them accountable.”

Equitable Acceptance provided financing to borrowers to pay debt relief companies to enroll them in student loan repayment programs offered through the US Department of Education, including income-driven repayment (IDR) plans such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.  Despite the fact that consumers can enroll in IDR and PSLF for free, these debt relief companies charged consumers on average more than $1,300 in fees for their services.  Equitable Acceptance then charged these borrowers interest rates ranging from 17.99% to 20.99% for the financing.  Even worse, some of these student loan debt relief companies were scams that took advantage of borrowers and failed to provide any of the services as advertised.

Tackling the abuses in the student loan industry has been a top priority for Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who has taken action against for profit schools, student loan servicers and bogus student loan debt relief companies.  Since taking office in 2017, Attorney General Shapiro has secured more than $50 million in debt cancellation for student borrowers in Pennsylvania. The Attorney General sued and shut down a student loan debt relief scam, Student Loan Relief, LLC. He has also sued the U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, for her unlawful attempts to rescind rules to protect student loan borrowers. In the case of the Borrower Defense to Repayment rule, the Attorney General obtained a nationwide injunction in 2018, which made millions of borrowers who were defrauded by for-profit colleges eligible for cancellation of their federal loans.

Just last week, the Attorney General won a major victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which allowed his lawsuit against Navient Solutions, the second-largest student loan servicer, to proceed toward trial.
On June 30, the Office also announced a partnership with Summer, an organization helping borrowers with navigating student debt, to provide free student loan assistance to all Pennsylvanians.

“I also want to remind borrowers who are paying back student loans that there’s no need to pay companies to enroll you in any income-driven repayment plans offered by the U.S. Department of Education,” concluded Attorney General Shapiro. “Instead, interested Pennsylvanians should apply for these services, for free, at meetsummer.org/pa, studentloans.gov, or by calling the company that services their student loans.”

The settlement was filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas by Senior Deputy Attorney General Amy L. Schulman of the Pittsburgh Regional Office.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Fire Broke out early this morning in a New Castle Home on East Lutton Street. The Fire is reported to have started in the kitchen. A woman who lives at the home had to be rescued from the second floor after she got out of the house safely and then reentered the house to rescue her pets. The woman was transported to a local hospital and there was no word on her condition.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing inspection activities on the southbound Route 65 ramp to Pleasant Street in Rochester Borough, Beaver County will begin Tuesday, August 5 weather permitting.

Traffic shifts will occur on the ramp that carries traffic from southbound Route 65 to Pleasant Street weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Monday, August 10 as crews from the Larson Design Group conduct bridge inspection work.  Additionally, single-lane restrictions will occur on Route 65 under the ramp.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Wolf ed head takes new job as schools grapple with reopening
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top education official is leaving the job as schools grapple with plans to develop and implement pandemic reopening plans. The board of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster on Tuesday hired Education Secretary Pedro Rivera to be its next president. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf says he plans to nominate one of Rivera’s top deputies to succeed him. Wolf says he’ll nominate Noe Ortega, the deputy secretary for post-secondary and higher education. Rivera has been part of Wolf’s cabinet since the start of his first term more than five years ago.

Trump signs $3B-a-year plan to boost conservation, parks
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation that will devote nearly $3 billion annually to conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of national parks and other public lands. The Great American Outdoors Act authorizes spending about $900 million a year, double current spending, on the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund. It would authorize another $1.9 billion a year to be spent to make improvements at national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and range lands. Supporters call it the most significant conservation legislation in nearly half a century. Opponents say the spending is not enough to erase an estimated $20 billion maintenance backlog.

(File Photo)

(Beaver, Pa.) Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier announced via press release  that his office filed a criminal complaint Tuesday, August 4, 2020, charging 18 year old Michael J. Allen Barbuto with Criminal Homicide in the July 15, 2020 death of his older brother Vincent Shawn Barbuto.

The statement said that a joint investigation was conducted between the Beaver County Detectives Bureau and the Hopewell Twp. Police Department.

At about 10:53 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, Hopewell Township Police Officers responded to a call at  2412 West Main St., for a male unresponsive in the residence. Vincent Shawn Barbuto was declared dead at the scene by the Beaver County Coroner‘s office. The cause of death was homicide by multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, Vincent Shawn Barbuto, aged 29, was a resident of Hopewell Township. Michael Barbuto, is a resident of Center Township.

In the Press release the District Attorney’s office states  that an arrest warrant has been issued for Michael  and investigators are in contact with his attorney to schedule for his surrender and arraignment. No bail or bond will be permitted by statute as the charge is Criminal Homicide. 

Stay tuned to Beaver County Radio for more on this developing story.

 

Harrisburg – August 3, 2020 – At the request of state Senators Tim Kearney (D-Chester/Delaware), Maria Collett (D-Bucks/Montgomery), Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) and Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee today held an online public hearing on strategies for schools to safely reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Reopening our schools will be a very complex and difficult challenge,” Collett said. “This hearing was aimed at helping us learn how state government can help encourage, coordinate and support teachers, school administrators, school boards and families as they plan for how they will operate this year.”

Kearney added, “It’s crucial that state and federal agencies readily provide our schools with reliable and dependable information so they can tailor their educational plans in the safest and most effective way.”

“AFT (American Federation of Teachers) Pennsylvania members want to be back in the classroom. We recognize the harm that social isolation can do to our students and that kids generally thrive more with in-person instruction,” Arthur Steinberg, President of the American Federation of Teachers in Pennsylvania, said. “However, the lack of a coordinated response by our federal government to provide for universal testing, comprehensive contact tracing, adequate PPE, or even a mask mandate has resulted in the deaths of over 150,000 Americans. Asking teachers, students, parents, and communities to resume school as if none of this is happening is irresponsible.”

Dinniman, who serves as Democratic chair of the Senate Education Committee, said, “Holding classroom instruction this year will require a great deal of planning, innovation, and flexibility. For those that have already opted to go 100 percent online, we must work together to make online learning work for every student. As state lawmakers, we need to do all we can to provide helpful resources, equipment and support.”

Farnese noted, “Schools face unprecedented challenges and will need to act and react quickly to the pandemic spiking or receding in their community. We also need to help provide funding for computers and other online resources for schools that have to limit instruction to hybrid or cyber learning.”

Senator Lisa Boscola (D- Lehigh/Northampton), who chairs the committee, said, “It is more important than ever that we share ideas, coordinate strategies, and prepare contingency plans to find the best possible way to get our kids back in classrooms as quickly as possible because we all want kids in school. We all want to see kids in classrooms, high school sports, dances and so many other great activities that make school so fulfilling and memorable.”

“We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open school buildings and listen to educators and administrators to shape how we do it,” Dr. William Keough of the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said. “Ideally, local school leaders, public health experts, educators and parents can work together to decide how and when to reopen schools.  These decisions must take into account the spread of COVID-19 in the local community, as well as whether their schools can make in-person learning safe.”

Dr. Keough also said that in addition to being vigilant about stopping the spread of COVID-19, parents must also keep up with their children’s regular immunizations for things like chicken pox, measles and polio. Vaccinations in Pennsylvania decreased 60% since the coronavirus pandemic hit, said the doctor.

Brian Durand, a social studies teacher in the Abington School District, said that it is his personal health experiences of surviving cancer and a heart attack that are guiding his views on reopening the school that he teaches in, “I’m here to advocate for the unfortunately large number of students and teachers in our commonwealth who suffer from asthma, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, heart disease, and any other number of ailments that still want to teach and learn, but also don’t want to find ourselves back in a hospital, or worse.”

Boscola said the school issue has been further complicated by emerging evidence that many people who recover from COVID-19 will face serious, and sometimes permanent health problems. Joseph Brennan, a cardiologist at the Yale School of Medicine, recently stated that many patients who recover could suffer long-term damage, including lung scarring, heart damage, and neurological and mental health problems.

“While it is tragic to not see friends and teachers in person, it would be even more tragic if there is a death in a school district or of one of our family members due to COVID-19. I value my life, the lives of my classmates, my teachers, and my family as well as those of students and teachers across the state,” rising Pottstown High School Senior, Kishan Patel, said. “Life cannot be replaced.”

The Senate Democratic Policy Committee has hosted numerous hearings related to COVID-19, including the impact on nursing and veterans’ homes, food supply chain disruptions, the disproportionate impact on the African American Community, pandemic-related funding for childcare centers, and assuring that protective equipment and other support is accessible for frontline workers.

Senators Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Jim  Brewster (D- Allegheny/Westmoreland), Anthony H. Williams (D- Philadelphia/Delaware), Steve Santarsiero (D- Bucks), Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), John Blake (D- Lackawanna/Luzerne/Monroe), Pam Iovino (D- Allegheny/Washington), Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), and Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny) also participated in the hearing today.

The following testified:

• Jerry Jordan, President, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers
• Arthur Steinberg, President, American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania
• Rich Askey, President, PA State Education Association
• Jennifer Hoff, School Board President, William Penn School District
• Sherri Landis, Executive Director, The Arc of Pennsylvania
• Dr. William Keough, MD,MSc,FAAP, Co-Chair Advocacy Committee, PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Tomea A. Sippio-Smith, K12 Policy Director, Public Citizens for Children and Youth
• Keith Pretlow, Teacher, Ben Franklin High School
• Leanna Goodrich, Teacher/Parent, Pennridge High School
• Brian Durand, Teacher, Abington School District
• Kishan Patel, Rising Senior, Pottstown Senior High School

A full recording of this hearing, and links to all previous hearings, is available at senatorboscola.com/policy.