Capps applauds passage of legislation to keep student loan interest rates low
WASHINGTON — Rep. Lois Capps (CA-23) on Friday applauded passage of bipartisan legislation to prevent the interest rate on Stafford Student Loans from doubling.
If Congress had not acted today, the interest rate on need-based Stafford Loan interest rates would have doubled to 6.8 percent on July 1st, affecting over 570,000 students in California, Capps reported in a media release. Earlier this month, Capps sent a letter to the House leadership urging action on this critical issue to Central Coast families and students. The legislation passed by a vote of 372-52, and is expected to be signed by the president.
“This is great news for thousands of young people on the Central Coast,” Capps said. “We know that too many young people right now are already having to choose between forgoing college education or taking on a crushing burden of debt. The last thing we could afford to do was make it worse by allowing a rate hike. That’s why I’m so pleased that Congress was able to come together and work in a bipartisan way to put students first by preventing the doubling of student loan interest rates.
“Making sure our students have access to affordable higher education is essential to a successful economy and successful middle class in the future. I know that keeping interest rates low isn’t a silver bullet to higher education affordability – but it is an important step to containing the skyrocketing costs of college in the wake of devastating state budget cuts,” she said. “I hope that we can move forward in this spirit of bipartisan compromise to tackle needed legislation to create jobs and shore up our economy.”
Tim Schiffer to depart as executive director of Museum of Ventura County
VENTURA— Museum of Ventura County Executive Director Tim Schiffer will be leaving his position in late July to become executive director at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, the Museum of Ventura County reported Thursday in a media release.
Schiffer first came to the Ventura museum as curator in 1993, and was responsible for all exhibitions and related programs for six years. In 1999, he became executive director, a position he has held for 12 years.
“I will miss the museum and the wonderful people I have worked with in Ventura County,” Schiffer stated in the release. “It has been a great experience that has enabled me to grow professionally and personally, but I have decided it is time to turn the reins over to someone new.”
“While we know Tim is going on to a wonderful opportunity, we will miss the man whose extraordinary skills directed us through landmark years of successful growth,” Jeffrey P. Smith, chair of the museum’s board, stated in the release. “Fortunately, Tim’s legacy also includes an amazing staff of dedicated professionals, including Director of Development Robin Woodworth who will serve as the interim executive director during the search for Tim’s replacement.”
The museum board plans to engage a professional consulting firm to find a new director.
Under Schiffer’s leadership, the museum expanded its downtown Ventura location, securing permits to add more than 25,000 square feet of space to the building. The first phase of the project, featuring the entry plaza and pavilion for events and programs, opened in 2010. Last September the museum opened its new Agriculture Museum in the historic ‘Mill’ building in downtown Santa Paula, achieving a goal that had been in the works for over forty years.