WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report by a federal consumer advocacy office says many Americans saddled with high-cost private student loans are falling into default.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says in its report today that companies servicing these loans are not offering reasonable options for new terms.
It says distressed borrowers are getting too little information or assistance when they run into trouble trying to keep up payments on their private student loans. And it says affordable repayment alternatives often are not available.
The agency also says complaints by borrowers are rising. It says it received about 5,300 complaints between Oct. 1, 2013 and Sept. 30, 2014. That’s up 38 percent from about 3,800 complaints the previous year.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created by Congress during the Obama administration as part of bank reform legislation.
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is recalling nearly 907,000 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep SUVs and cars for failing alternators and heated power mirrors that can cause minor fires.
The largest of today’s recalls covers nearly 470,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Chargers, Challengers and Durangos from 2011 through 2014. The alternators can fail, causing the 3.6-liter V6 engines to stall unexpectedly.
Chrysler knows of one crash but no injuries or fires. It will replace alternators for free. Owners will be notified in November.
The second recall covers nearly 437,000 Jeep Wranglers from 2011 through 2013. Water can enter the heated power mirror wiring and cause a short. Chrysler knows of no fires or injuries.
Dealers will move the move the wiring and install a water shield starting in December.
A team of students and their adviser will travel to the state of Washington in November to represent Fort Hays State University as one of just 12 universities to qualify for the finals of the national Be “U” Hackathon competition for 2014.
From left, Brittani Tran, Joshua Gale, Nicholas Hoffmann, Eric Stumon, Yangbin “Nathan” Zhou and Dmitry Gimon.
FHSU was selected in September as one of 25 universities to participate in the competition, which is a function of the United Athletes Foundation and supported and sponsored by Microsoft Supplier Diversity.
Melissa J. Hunsicker Walburn, interim chair and assistant professor of informatics, learned today that FHSU was one of the 12 finalists. “These students collaborated effectively across different majors to advance a creative, innovative idea,” she said. “While I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work, countless hours and dedication of these students and their faculty adviser, I hope their success inspires other talented FHSU students to pursue similar opportunities with confidence in what they are learning here.”
Dmitry Gimon, assistant professor of informatics, is the faculty advisor for the FHSU team. The students are Eric Stumon, Oakland, Calif., sophomore; Nicholas Hoffmann, Wichita junior; Brittani Tran, Liberal senior; and Joshua Gale, Phillipsburg senior. Under the rules, Hoffman and Gale are designated as coders; Stumon and Tran are non-coders. Graduate student Yangbin “Nathan” Zhou, Zinzheng, China, is the team’s technical advisor.
Walburn also credited Ken Moreno, Hays senior, for assisting with the video presentation that moved the FHSU team into the Hackathon finals.
“The contest rules required a video presentation of the group and their idea,” she said. “Ken is a media studies student who spent many hours with this group. He filmed them and worked many late nights to edit this winning submission. While not a formal member of the Hackathon team, he deserves to be recognized as a major contributor to this success story.”
The FHSU team will make a presentation of its idea during the finals from Nov. 12 through 14 at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash.
The other finalists are Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Hampton University, Howard University, Lincoln University, Morehouse University, North Carolina A&T University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Old Dominion University, Spelman College and the University of Washington.
“This is a great day for the Tiger Nation,” said Dr. Mirta M. Martin, FHSU president. “Our people of excellence and our programs of distinction continue to make us the destination of choice. We are proud to earn this national recognition. As I said in September when we were announced as one of the 25 universities originally chosen for the competition, FHSU is known for its innovation and exploration, so something like the Hackathon is part of our DNA.”
Gimon said Hackathon officials had advised the teams not to divulge the ideas they will promote at the finals so as not to equip the other teams with competitive information. “I am very excited to see our team members’ excitement!” he said. “The atmosphere in the team is great. They all are looking forward to compete in the next step at Microsoft headquarters in Washington. That is a fantastic opportunity for our students. I am also excited about the great support and help that we have received from the Fort Hays State community. I am happy and proud to be a part of this event.”
The Be “U” Hackathon competition is designed to leverage the talents and resources of the emerging minority collegiate community to enable students to create innovative technologies. Teams compete for scholarship prizes and, potentially, for the opportunity to showcase their concepts to industry executives.
Judges for the competition will include key members of UAF, Microsoft, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce and the Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Democratic and Republican parties in Kansas have both gained registered voters since the August primary elections, while the number of unaffiliated voters has fallen.
Tuesday was the registration deadline for the Nov. 4 general election. Preliminary figures released Wednesday by the secretary of state’s office show Kansas gained about 8,400 voters, for a total of more than 1.74 million.
Registered Republicans now number close to 778,000, an increase of 12,000 since August. They account for almost 45 percent of all registered voters.
Democrats picked up 4,800 voters, for a total of 427,000. They are 24 percent of registered voters.
The number of unaffiliated voters decreased by nearly 9,000. The state’s 526,000 unaffiliated voters represent 30 percent of the total registered.
Gregg Allman has made a legal maneuver in an attempt to protect himself from liability in lawsuits brought against him in the wake of the fatal accident that took place this past February during the filming of a scene for Midnight Rider, the film based on his life story.
Variety reports that the Allman Brothers Band frontman filed a claim against the movie’s producers Tuesday in Georgia’s Chatham County Court asserting that the film’s producers had agreed to indemnify him from liability stemming from the incident, in which a 27-year-old camera assistant named Sarah Jones was killed and eight crew members were injured.
Allman also is asking to have his name removed from a civil suit initiated by Jones’ parents, maintaining that he shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of the filmmakers.
Allman and his manager, Michael Lehman, served as executive producers on the biopic, but they assert that they weren’t involved in specific production decisions like the one that allegedly led to the accident.
The singer and his manager say they signed an agreement with Unclaimed Freight Productions, the company owned by the husband-and-wife director/producer team of Randall Miller and Jody Savin, that grants them protection from liability.
In their claim, Allman and Lehman maintain that they had “no authority or control over the selection of locations for filming.” In addition, they characterize the incident that caused Jones death as “a pre-production excursion in which others sought to steal a scene shot on a live train trestle.”
As previously reported, the accident occurred on the first day of filming, when a train unexpectedly crossed a trestle bridge near Jesup, Georgia, where the filmmakers were attempting to shoot a dream sequence that involved placing a metal hospital bed on the tracks.
In addition to civil lawsuits, Miller, Savin, executive producer Jay Sedrish and assistant director Hillary Schwartz all face involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass charges in connection to the incident.
A website dedicated to financial education has ranked the Top 10 happiest places to live in the state of Kansas — and northwest Kansas is nowhere to be found.
CreditDonkey.com’s ranking studied a variety of factors, including crime rate, income, divorce rates, housing and income.
According to Charles Tran of CreditDonkey.com, Hays ranked 22 on the list, just behind Overland Park.
WICHITA — A Stockton man is facing federal charges after an August incident in Rooks County, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.
Jay A. Weigel, 39, Stockton, was charged Wednesday in a superseding indictment with one count of unlawful possession of firearms following a felony conviction and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition following a felony conviction. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Aug. 14 in Rooks County.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
At Thursday’s Hays City Commission work session, commissioners will discuss a $30,000 bid from Utility Solutions for the rehabilitation of manholes throughout the city. The city found the need for the rehab during video inspections of the sewer system, which began in 2012.
According to the memo sent to commissioners, the rehabilitation process adds a minimum of 50 years to each manhole’s life span. If the manholes do not go through the process, it could cost the city between $12,000 to $15,000 to remove and replace them. The item was a budgeted project for the 2014 fiscal year, and Utility Solutions offered the low bid.
According to Assistant City Manager Paul Briseno, each manhole will cost approximately $1,500 to replace, depending on the condition:
Commissioners will also discuss creating a Commission Capital Reserve for “a more efficient accounting of available funds.”
Under statute, the city is required to maintain a minimum balance of 10 percent of the city’s general fund annual operating expenditures. Any excess available funds are shown as an expenditure called City Commission Financial Policy Projects, and the city commission uses those funds to prioritize various projects.
In previous years, the CCFPP has been used to keep the mill levy low, pay for large projects and for capping employee health insurance costs. The process has been efficient, the city said, but it has also caused some confusion due to the fact that available funds aren’t realized until the close of the year — making it difficult to give commissioners a true balance. If the Commission Capital Reserve is approved, the funds that normally go into the CCFPP would go into the CCR. Excess funds from completed initiatives will also go into the new reserves. According to the memo, this practice will allow the city to give the commission a true actual balance of the money in the account, as opposed to those that are over-inflated.
Commissioners will also discuss a vehicle abatement request at 418 W. 11th.
A full agenda for tonight’s work session can be found HERE. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
It’s a “love letter to the community of Hays,” said Lucia Bain, Kansas Room Librarian at Hays Public Library, as she described the upcoming premiere of the film “Turning Points: The Art of Change.”
Hays Public Library was one of four Kansas communities awarded a grant by the Kansas Humanities Council in 2013 to produce a film about a “significant turning point” in the community.
Library staff chose the formation of the Hays Arts Council in 1967 as the community’s topic.
Bain has been heavily involved in the writing, production and editing of the film. Out of all four movies, she said Hays’ story is the most inspirational.
“We were actually the first arts council in the state. We began being formed even before there was a state arts commission, and we have persevered and grown with all of the changes over all of the decades,” Bain said. “No matter what the funding situation, the arts council always perseveres and thrives, so I think that’s really due to the people of Hays not only giving monetary support to the arts but coming out and supporting all manner of events.
“This film is for the people of Hays more than anyone.”
Turning Point films from Ulysses, Kinsley and Olathe will also be presented Friday, followed by a community discussion.
The free premiere is scheduled for Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Fort Hays State University’s Robbins Center, One Tiger Place,
Contact Bain to make reservation or receive more information at (785) 625-9014 or visit the HPL website HERE.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Fort Riley soldier who is charged in the death of his 5-week-old daughter has been denied a lower bond.
A Riley County judge ruled Tuesday that 22-year-old Alexander McConnell will remain under $200,000 bond. McConnell’s attorney had asked for a reduction to $100,000 so he could post bond and work.
McConnell, an Army specialist, is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in the February death of his daughter.
The Manhattan Mercury reports that a court affidavit says an autopsy found the baby suffered substantial bleeding in the skull, broken ribs and other internal injuries before her death.
The 23rd annual Festival of Faith is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall on the campus of Fort Hays State University.
The theme for the event, sponsored by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance and the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, is “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” — from John 14:27.
Guest speaker for the Festival is Robert Rogers, an accomplished worship leader, pianist, songwriter and author of “Into the Deep.”
“Robert teach others to live a life of no regrets with his inspiring words and original songs at the piano,” organizers said.
An offering will be taken at the Festival to benefit ECMA’s Second Mile Fund, which provides assistance to the needy in the community.
For more information, contact the chamber at (785) 628-8201.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report by a federal consumer advocacy office says many Americans saddled with high-cost private student loans are falling into default.
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