Page 12 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021 AG Healey secures nearly $300K for students of online for-profit school Special to Th e Advocate A ttorney General Maura Healey recently announced that a former online for-profi t school will pay nearly $300,000 to settle allegations that it unfairly imposed excessive technology fees on students and failed to make proper disclosures. The assurance of discontinuance, fi led on Wednesday in Suff olk Superior Court against Zovio Inc. (formerly Bridgepoint Education, Inc.), which owned Ashford University LLC, settles claims that the school violated state consumer protection laws and regulations prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices. “This settlement provides much-needed relief to students who were overcharged by this online for-profit school,” said Healey. “Protecting students from unfair and deceptive tactics continues to be a top priority of this offi ce and we will go after for-profi t schools that exploit and deceive students.” Ashford University, which is now closed, off ered associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees online in a variety of subjects. The AG’s Offi ce alleges that the school unfairly imposed a one-time excessive “Technology Services Fee” on all students after six weeks of enrollment and retained the entire fee regardless of how long a student remained enrolled at the school. The AG’s Offi ce also alleges the school failed to disclose material information to prospective students about its programs. Under the terms of this settlement, Zovio will pay a total of $295,120, which will be used to provide payments to certain Ashford University students. The company will also waive remaining institutional debts owed to the school by Massachusetts students who attended between 2011 and 2014. Zovio is required to inform the AG’s Offi ce if it resumes marketing and/or recruitment activities in Massachusetts prior to the enrollment of any Massachusetts student. Addressing fraud and abuse in the for-profi t school and student lending industry has been a top priority for Healey since taking office. The AG’s Office has taken predatory schools to court, changed the practices of student loan servicers, gone after unlawful student loan “debt relief” companies, and helped student borrowers fi nd more aff ordable repayment solutions through Healey’s first-in-thenation Student Loan Assistance Unit. The AG’s Offi ce also houses the State’s Student Loan Ombudsman, who advocates for student borrower rights. Massachusetts students who are looking for help or information should fi le a Student Loan Help Request at www.mass. gov/ago/studentloans or call the AG’s Student Loan Helpline at 1-888-830-6277. ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ Horror in Winthrop By Sal Giarratani A s a former police offi cer with 28 years on the job, I have seen America improving over my lifetime, but we seem to be less and less shocked by acts of unexplainable violence which many times have racial components attached. What happened on Saturday, June 26 should have never happened in Winthrop or any other community. I agree with the commentary very much. America in general and Boston, in particular, have had a complicated history when it comes to race. However, while many residential neighborhoods around us still exhibit high levels of segregation, there are other parts of the city of Boston which have grown leaps and bounds and hardly resemble the Boston of 1974 when racial tensions spilled over into the streets over a federal court order that divided up kids in neighborhoods like multicolored jelly beans in a jar. The federal judge in BEACH | FROM Page 1 vaccines in an eff ort to boost Revere’s vaccination numbers. “We’ve found attending events throughout the city is a great this case even stated his job wasn’t to improve the equality and quality of what was being taught in the school system nearly 50 years ago – his job was demographics of who sat next to who in the classroom. As a result, instead of folks holding our elected offi cials accountable, folks turned on each other. Boston residents of all colors and shades saw each group as the other’s enemy when the real architects of racial unrest were never held accountable. As someone who grew up in lower Roxbury/South End in the ’50s and ’60s, we seemed not divided from each other. Most of us were working-class families struggling along, trying to raise families and trying to make the futures of their children better than theirs. As a child of that era, I had all kinds of friends and their color was secondary. The bind that held us together wasn't race but geography. I believe the problem with violence today is that too many in society, in government and especialway to make getting the vaccine convenient for our residents,” said Revere’s Director of Public Health, Lauren Buck. “We hope to inform residents of the safety of the vaccine and commemly in the news media have been very successful with the politics of division. I certainly believe that what just happened in Winthrop when victims were most likely selected by skin color does not defi ne us from each other. We may never truly know what happened that day or why someone would do the things that were done by the culprit. Suff olk D.A. Rachel Rollins stated that the killer had hate in his heart. I believe the shooter had no heart but that hate seemingly must have been housed in his mind. We need to stop dividing and start uniting. Society is all of us together. Race, however, remembers a festering sore for all of us. We need to address the current climate in this country and start working one by one in improving life for all. We can’t wait for the government to act and we must trust ourselves. We can’t live in fear and call ourselves a free people. We are not as bad as many say but we are not as good as we need to be. That work continues. orate Revere Beach.” As of July 2, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 59% of Revere residents fully vaccinated and 67% with their fi rst dose. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma Top Smartphones for Tech-Shy Seniors Dear Savvy Senior, Can you recommend some good smartphones for older seniors? I would like to get my 78-year-old mother to upgrade to a smartphone but want something that’s easy for her to see and use. Shopping Around Dear Shopping, There are actually several smartphones I can recommend that will provide your mother a simpler, less intimidating smartphone experience. Here are my top three options. Apple iPhones: Because of the quality and functionality of Apple products, an iPhone is a great choice for seniors who are inexperienced with technology. But, to make it easier for you mom to use, you’ll need to set it up and customize it to meet her needs and preferences. To set-up your mom’s iPhone and make it senior-friendly, start by cleaning-up/decluttering the home screen, which you can do by deleting the apps your mom won’t use and hiding the apps she’ll rarely use in labeled folders or the App Library. The fewer options the better! You’ll also want to set up a small number of contacts (with photos) to family and friends that your mom frequently communicates with and install some apps she would enjoy using. Finally, iPhones have a wide variety of built-in accessibility features you can turn on depending on your mom’s needs. These features, which you access through the phone’s settings, can help users that have diminished vision, hearing impairment, hand dexterity problems or cognitive loss. Some popular accessibility features among older iPhone users include larger text and icon display, zoom (screen magnifi cation), magnifi er (turns iPhone into a magnifying glass), increased volume and alerts, voice control, fi nd my iPhone, and emergency SOS and medical ID set up. But there are dozens of other tweaks you can make to enhance your mom’s experience with her iPhone. For a rundown of the diff erent accessibility features and instructions on how to set them up, see Apple. com/accessibility. If you’re interested in this option, the iPhone 12 (5G, 6.1-inch display screen, $800) or iPhone 12 mini (5G, 5.4-inch screen, $700) are excellent choices. Or, for a more budgetfriendly phone consider the iPhone SE (4.7-inch screen, $400) that came out in 2020. Samsung Galaxy: If you’re an android phone user and would like to get your mom a phone that you’re familiar with, you should consider a Samsung. All Samsung phones off er an “Easy Mode” feature in their settings that boosts the text and icon size, and simplifi es the home-screen layout and contacts, which makes these phones a nice option for seniors or tech-newbies. These phones also have a variety of accessibility features -see Samsung.com/us/accessibility/galaxy-mobile for instructions – that can accommodate your mom’s needs. The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (6.2inch screen, $800) or more moderately priced Galaxy A71 5G (6.7inch screen, $600) are good choices to consider here. Lively Smart: Another less expensive option to consider is to purchase your mom a smartphone that’s specifically designed for seniors. The best one available is the new Lively Smart off ered by Best Buy. This phone has a 6.2-inch screen, large text and a simple list-based menu that provides one-touch access to frequently used features like video chat, camera, email and more. It also off ers a nice variety of optional health and safety features you can add on like:\ • Urgent Response, which is a mobile medical alert service that would connect your mom to a Lively agent in emergency situations, 24/7, who would confi rm her location and get her the help she needs. • Urgent Care, which would let your mom to speak to a registered nurse or board-certifi ed doctor anytime. • Lively Link, which is an app that sends alerts to family and friends if your mom calls urgent response. • Personal Operator Service, who can assist your mom with tasks like helping fi nd addresses, setting up appointments booking Lively Rides through a partnership with Lyft and much more. The Lively Smart is available online at Lively.com or at Best Buy stores for $150. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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