College Fund

An Orange lawyer convicted of stealing from his clients to pay his gambling debts was sentenced Friday to eight years in state prison and ordered to repay more than $300,000 to his victims. After asking unsuccessfully to delay sentencing for two weeks so he could care for his ailing wife, who was also convicted in the thefts, attorney Leonard Basinger, 56, was taken into custody in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

I got a clue even before my column ran this week that its subject - what "Negro" means these days - might make some folks uncomfortable. I'd pulled up to the valet stand at the Hilton and waited while the young man fumbled through the standard question about the evening's event. "You're here for the United … uh, United … uh, the College Fund dinner?" he asked. Yes. The United Negro College Fund. He'd managed to leave that word out. I understand why it flummoxed him. By the time he was born, we'd moved past that to "black" and on to "African American.

The United Negro College Fund said it would provide Morris Brown College with $1.47 million to help it overcome a $27-million debt and avoid closing. The fund voted to help alleviate financial problems at the 117-year-old historically black Atlanta school, which lost its accreditation in December, officials said. The Southern Assn. of Colleges and Schools withdrew the accreditation largely because of the school's financial problems.

Many colleges seek donations for new construction or scholarships. Pasadena City College, however, has an additional goal that was unthinkable before California's budget crisis forced community colleges to slash course offerings. The school is seeking donations from alumni and others to restore some of the 570 classes it planned to cut this academic year. The campaign, launched in April, has received about $89,400 in donations, and the school is also devoting $106,000 from savings resulting from some cost cuts, officials said.

Rep. William H. Gray III (D-Pa.), the highest ranking black member of Congress, announced Thursday that he will resign to head the United Negro College Fund. Gray, who is House majority whip, joined college fund officials at a news conference to confirm rumors that had been circulating in Washington. The congressman said he will complete the current House session, set to end Aug. 5, and begin his new job Sept. 3. Among senior Democrats already campaigning for Gray's leadership post are David E.

William H. Gray III wants to see a show of hands. "How many of you believe there are more black people in prison than in college?" he asks. Some hands shoot up. "You're wrong." "How about black men?" More hands go up. "You're wrong again." Statistics roll off the tongue of the Baptist preacher who was once the most powerful African American in Congress.

Expanding its ever-growing network of scholarships, the United Negro College Fund on Tuesday announced a new partnership with Coca-Cola that will offer black or Latino students paid summer internships and $5,000 scholarships. Fourteen college students across the nation have been selected for the first year of the $1.2-million scholarship program financed by Coca-Cola.

Pledging to help rebuild Los Angeles by giving youths a chance for an education, the United Negro College Fund announced Friday the creation of a $5-million endowment fund to assist young people who otherwise could not afford college. William H. Gray, president of the fund, joined Mayor Tom Bradley and more than two dozen local educators and business leaders at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles to launch a fund-raising campaign for the "Ladders of Hope" program.

Dear Liz: I have a high-interest car loan (more than 10%) and just landed a part-time job to add to my full-time cash flow. I want to pay the car off as quickly as possible, but I have read and been told that paying a loan off early doesn't help scores as much as paying the duration of the loan. Is there truth to this? It seems foolish, though, since won't I be paying more interest? Answer: The primary concern with paying off a loan is that the lender may stop reporting the account to the credit bureaus.

The Money Make-Over feature was inaugurated with The Times' Wall Street, California pages last year with the idea that real-life experience would be a powerful teacher, and that the professional advice offered in each case could benefit the public as much as the individual or couple directly involved. Make-Over subjects have been a diverse group facing varied challenges. For some, it was overspending or unrealistic goals or career setbacks or family situations.

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney referred to a plan to give Massachusetts students a “tuition free” education at state schools. He is correct that it covers tuition, but students did not get a free ride. Fees, for example, and other costs were not included. Also it's worth noting that Massachusetts is a relatively high tax state, with more funding for public education. The former Massachusetts governor also referred to supporting Pell Grants, which are federal funds that support the education of the lowest-income students.

Dear Liz: When my cousin and I were children more than 20 years ago, my grandparents opened a college savings account for each of us. I have no idea what kind of account this was, or where it was located. My grandfather passed away a few years later. While I was in high school, my grandmother informed me the investments had not done well, and she was closing the accounts. I received a check for $500 at high school graduation that was supposed to be the balance of the account. I assumed my cousin received the same, until she recently posted on a social networking site she was thankful her grandmother started a college fund when she was young that covered the entire cost of her education.

Dear Liz: I have a high-interest car loan (more than 10%) and just landed a part-time job to add to my full-time cash flow. I want to pay the car off as quickly as possible, but I have read and been told that paying a loan off early doesn't help scores as much as paying the duration of the loan. Is there truth to this? It seems foolish, though, since won't I be paying more interest? Answer: The primary concern with paying off a loan is that the lender may stop reporting the account to the credit bureaus.

Heavynle Ceasar headed to New York for college last week. She took one big suitcase, a tiny heart-shaped pillow for the flight and the boundless good wishes of countless strangers whose gifts are helping ease her passage through grief. Heavynle is the Lawndale teenager I wrote about in June after she lost both her parents in one torturous moment: One week before her prom, two months from graduation, Heavynle's father shot her mother to death and then killed himself in the family's condo.

Families investing in California's college-saving plan soon may have lower average fees and a new lineup of fund options. The state board that oversees the ScholarShare program selected investment giant TIAA-CREF, a big manager of retirement accounts for teachers and others working in education, to manage the so-called 529 plan. The New York firm would replace Boston-based Fidelity Investments. Fidelity did not submit a bid to continue running ScholarShare, which has assets totaling $4.4 billion across 291,000 accounts.

I grew up in an apartment house owned by my grandfather in downtown Pittsburg, Calif. No, there's no "h" at the end of Pittsburg. We did it our way up there in Contra Costa County, an hour east of San Francisco. Neither of my parents went to college, but we always did just fine because my dad had union jobs that paid a living wage. He drove trucks for milk and bread companies, and later worked as a candy and tobacco salesman. When I was 7, my parents moved my brother and sister and me out of the apartment because they'd saved enough for a down payment on the house my mom and dad still live in. I always had part-time jobs growing up, but when I went to San Jose State, my parents paid my tuition and the bulk of my room and board.

I got a clue even before my column ran this week that its subject - what "Negro" means these days - might make some folks uncomfortable. I'd pulled up to the valet stand at the Hilton and waited while the young man fumbled through the standard question about the evening's event. "You're here for the United … uh, United … uh, the College Fund dinner?" he asked. Yes. The United Negro College Fund. He'd managed to leave that word out. I understand why it flummoxed him. By the time he was born, we'd moved past that to "black" and on to "African American.

Heavynle Ceasar headed to New York for college last week. She took one big suitcase, a tiny heart-shaped pillow for the flight and the boundless good wishes of countless strangers whose gifts are helping ease her passage through grief. Heavynle is the Lawndale teenager I wrote about in June after she lost both her parents in one torturous moment: One week before her prom, two months from graduation, Heavynle's father shot her mother to death and then killed himself in the family's condo.

Dismal college savings statistics among middle-income families have the Obama administration pushing for a series of changes to so-called 529 plans, the cornerstone of tax-favored higher education savings accounts. But industry experts gave the proposed changes mixed reviews, saying they were more positive about the potential than the particulars. Some said the proposals from a vice presidential task force went too far; others said they didn't go far enough. "The real goal of the task force is to increase awareness of 529s," said Peter Mazareas, vice chairman of the College Savings Foundation.

What do you do if the 2008 stock market plunge ravaged your child's college account and you don't have time to build it back up? It may be time to figure out a borrowing plan. Parents of many college-bound seniors are in the throes of contingency planning because the market's swoon left them with far less than they expected. Those who have enough for this year but not subsequent years might be tempted to cash out what's left of the college money and worry about the rest later.