aid Archives - Pay Per Touch

February 28, 2023

Top money hacks to get more college financial aid

Financial expert Stacy Francis on how students can lower their debt burden

1. Use for economical assist

In common many years, significant school graduates pass up out on billions in federal grants mainly because they do not implement for fiscal help. Many households mistakenly assume they will not likely qualify and do not even bother to fill out an software.

Even now, a lot of households haven’t used for monetary aid.

As of February, 38.4{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} of the large school course of 2023 experienced finished the Absolutely free Application for Federal College student Support, or FAFSA, variety, according to the National Higher education Attainment Network. (The FAFSA year for the 2023-24 tutorial 12 months opened Oct. 1, but pupils who haven’t filed can even now utilize.)

“It is really not way too late,” stated Mary Jo Terry, a handling partner at Yrefy, a private scholar personal loan refinancing company.

For family members who have already filed the FAFSA but are nonetheless involved about producing finishes fulfill, it is also doable to amend their FAFSA type or request the higher education financial help place of work for additional aid, specifically if you’ve got knowledgeable a transform in your economical scenario, this sort of as a career decline or a disability, according to Kalman Chany, a fiscal support specialist and writer of The Princeton Review’s “Having to pay for College.”

2. Negotiate for additional university support

For starters, realize the formula colleges use to appear up with the predicted spouse and children contribution. Financial support is established by revenue data that is not automatically up to day. For instance, aid for 2023-24 tutorial yr is based on 2021 revenue.

More, “it’s not so much what you can afford to pay back but what you can afford to finance,” Chany stated.

If your instances are now diverse, that need to be brought to the economical support office’s interest with documentation.

But to start with, also make guaranteed you understand the fiscal help award letter — specifically the variance involving scholarships and financial loans, no matter whether those people funds are renewable for all four a long time and if they arrive with contingencies this kind of as protecting a specific quality issue ordinary.

How families can appeal for more college financial aid

Then, put together a reaction with documentation exhibiting any adjustments in belongings, earnings, rewards or expenses. If the economical support offer from yet another similar university was greater, that is also worthy of documenting in an attractiveness.

“Syrupy” letters aren’t as successful as taking a a lot more quantitative method, Chany advised.

“This is a organization transaction,” he reported. “They are making an attempt to fulfill their enrollment aims and sustain income.”

To that end, “participate in hard to get,” he added. Will not put up carrying the university sweatshirt on social media or make any moves to give the indicator that you will enroll in any case.

Schools are possible receptive to appeals, Chany explained, but “it can be not a buyers’ industry like it was at the onset of the pandemic.”

3. Leverage private scholarships

Normally, take into account other resources for merit-centered support, Terry suggested. “There is so a great deal dollars out there that men and women will not even know is available.”

In truth, there are far more than 1.7 million non-public scholarships and fellowships readily available, typically funded by foundations, companies and other independent corporations, with a complete value of much more than $7.4 billion, according to higher training expert Mark Kantrowitz.

“Each 40 several hours you spend implementing for scholarships and grants will consequence in $10,000, on normal,” Yrefy’s Terry has calculated.

Check with the faculty, or question your large faculty counselor about possibilities. You can also lookup internet websites like Scholarships.com and the College Board.

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July 18, 2022

EU zooms in on tighter Russia sanctions; backs Ukraine aid | Business News

If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

· Air Products and Chemicals Inc.’s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township’s zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses.

· Chubby’s of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name.

· Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township.

· Habitat for Humanity, which has “ReStores” that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall.

· Nat Hyman’s bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse.

· Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It’s one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley.

· A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy.

· The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium.

· Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St.

· The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

· Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours.

· FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area.

· Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East).

· The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK’d a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket.

· Valentino’s Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township’s approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane.

· Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a “Grand Re-Opening Bash” July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

· Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita’s Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville.

· The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28.

· Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue.

· The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown.

· A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys ‘R’ Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9.

· Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg.

· Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page.

· Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection.

· The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a “well-known restaurant group” from Bethlehem.

· The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space.

· St. Luke’s University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem.

· 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township.

· The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant.

· Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners.

· Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road.

· Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact.

· A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County.

· ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County.

· Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank’s new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County.

· Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers.

· A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County.

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown.

· Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you’re in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci’s Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years.

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski’s new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· Josie’s New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square.

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants’ menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients.

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m.

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes.

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd.

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar’s preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville.

· A Dunkin’ in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital.

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby’s will be built on the site of the former Ahart’s Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington.

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin’ reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer.

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton’s new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday’s through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma’s Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m.

· Bethlehem’s Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city’s historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and “go back to its origins as a wholesale business.”

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation.

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location.

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading.

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon.

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County.

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris’s new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro’s Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m.

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option.

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine.

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton.

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.

May 5, 2022

More Americans Apply for Jobless Aid Last Week | Business News

By MATT OTT, AP Business enterprise Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Much more Us residents used for unemployment added benefits previous 7 days but the total quantity of individuals collecting jobless support is at its lowest amount in a lot more than 50 years.

Jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 19,000 to 200,000 for the 7 days ending April 30, the Labor Office documented Thursday. Initial-time apps normally reflect the number of layoffs.

The 4-week common for statements, which softens some of the weekly volatility, rose 8,000 from the past 7 days to 188,000.

The full amount of People in america amassing jobless added benefits for the 7 days ending April 23 fell by 19,000 from the earlier week, to 1,384,000. That’s the fewest since January 17, 1970.

Political Cartoons

American workers are dealing with traditionally solid job stability two years immediately after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the financial system into a transient but devastating economic downturn. Weekly purposes for unemployment aid have been continuously down below the pre-pandemic stage of 225,000 for most of this yr, even as the overall financial state contracted.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Stats claimed that U.S. companies posted a record 11.5 million career openings in March — an unparalleled two job openings for every single man or woman who is unemployed. A record 4.5 million Americans quit their work in March — a signal that they are self-confident they can find improved pay back or improved doing the job conditions somewhere else.

Businesses have extra an normal of extra than 540,000 work a month for the previous 12 months, pushing the unemployment price down to 3.6{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}. The Labor Section is predicted to report Friday that the economic climate created yet another 400,000 new work in April, according to a study by the data organization FactSet. That would mark an unprecedented 12th straight month that choosing has appear in at 400,000 or additional.

The only issue hotter than the work marketplace is inflation. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve intensified its fight in opposition to the worst inflation in 40 a long time by elevating its benchmark limited-term desire charge by a 50 {1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}-proportion place — its most intense go given that 2000 — and signaling even more massive rate hikes to occur.

The boost in the Fed’s vital amount lifted it to a range of .75{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} to 1{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}, the greatest place due to the fact the pandemic struck two decades in the past.

The Commerce Section claimed previous thirty day period that the U.S. financial system shrank very last quarter for the initial time given that the pandemic economic downturn struck two many years back, contracting at a 1.4{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} once-a-year fee, even as buyers and firms retained paying in a indicator of underlying resilience.

April 21, 2022

Williams College is eliminating student loans and work-study from its financial aid

Williams College or university, a small non-public liberal arts college in northwestern Massachusetts, options to reduce financial loans and do the job-study work from its fiscal assist deals and exchange those funds with grants — an illustration of a college or university responding to escalating community pressure to make bigger schooling more very affordable.

The new policy signifies support that pupils beforehand acquired as financial loans or by way of campus jobs will now occur in the kind of grant income that they do not have to repay, the university announced final week. The initiative, which Williams described as the first of its sort in the United States, does not preclude households from getting out other federal, point out or personal loans for students’ education.

“We actually wished to get out of the way as significantly as we could for college students to determine what they want to do with their faculty knowledge,” claimed Ashley Bianchi, Williams’s director of pupil economical providers. “And we see this grant initiative as type of an chance to do that.”

The college expects its all-grant plan to gain the about 50 percent of its undergraduates who get monetary assist, expanding grant support to middle-cash flow family members by about $35,000 in excess of 4 many years, and to lessen-money families by about $16,000. The strategy will value Williams about $6.75 million for each yr from its endowment, alumni donations and tuition profits, the college or university said.

Momentum is building around efforts to persuade the Biden administration to terminate federal pupil bank loan financial debt, which totals additional than $1.6 trillion in the United States. On Tuesday, the Instruction Department explained it would give debtors added credit history toward personal loan forgiveness beneath what is recognized as cash flow-driven repayment programs.

Biden administration offers much more borrowers likelihood of personal debt cancellation

Williams’s new method eliminates financial loans from the school or the federal government that in 2019 constituted 3 per cent of the funding provided in the school’s money assist packages it also finishes function-review jobs, which were being 4 {1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}. The annual value of an schooling there is more than $77,000, together with tuition, space, board and other charges.

Kai Money, who graduated from Williams in 2019, explained he was ready to afford to pay for that schooling through a financial aid package deal that consisted completely of grants and work-research jobs in the college’s design and style and equipment retailers. Getting financial loans almost certainly would have pushed him to choose the highest-shelling out vocation probable, he reported, relatively than pursuing a postgrad fellowship and making an attempt out different jobs.

In Cash’s check out, the new all-grant method will take away monetary pressure from pupils and make offered time that they would have invested in function-study employment. He reported individuals learners would be able to take part much more completely in other aspects of their university encounter, this kind of as likely to a professor’s business hours, volunteering in the community or learning abroad.

“All the moments there are seriously crucial,” Money explained. “And this kind of frees up a big populace of college students who could generally not acquire a ton of dangers or check out as significantly as the pupil who doesn’t require financial support to explore a large amount much more at college.”

The all-grant initiative may not be replicable at other colleges. Williams has a tiny undergraduate inhabitants of about 2,100 and a $4.2 billion endowment, in contrast with a nationwide normal of $1.1 billion. It is also really selective, with an acceptance amount of 9 p.c.

U.S. could have forgiven hundreds of college student loans but by no means told borrowers

That admittance rate is portion of why switching to an all-grant economic aid product likely will not make Williams accessible to a lot more students, stated Nathan Daun-Barnett, a professor of higher instruction administration at the University at Buffalo. Most students, he mentioned, do not get a K-12 education and learning of significant adequate high-quality to get into a college like Williams.

“For the college students who are resilient ample and can locate a way to do that, it’s an absolute sport changer,” Daun-Barnett reported. “It just does not alter the big photo.”

Daun-Barnett said several other colleges and universities would wrestle to carry out an all-grant program like that of Williams, which has a significant endowment and can absorb the cost of awarding grants to its relatively compact quantity of minimal-earnings students. Community colleges tend to have greater earnings range and would have to present grants to lots of extra pupils, he explained.

Bianchi, the Williams economical expert services director, acknowledged that applying an all-grant design is not always viable for all schools and universities.

“Finding just about $7 million in anyone’s finances is actually difficult, no issue what university you’re seeking at,” she said. “But what we hope will transpire is that other faculties realize what’s happening in this article and think about the means that they devote their money and make a decision if this is the right fit for them.”

Numerous schools experienced already removed financial loans for some money brackets when Williams started taking into consideration that option in 2018, while none had also eliminated get the job done-examine demands, Bianchi mentioned. Williams currently experienced gotten rid of loans for households with once-a-year incomes of less than $75,000 and meant to little by little increase that threshold soon after ameliorating other higher education expenses, these as wellness coverage and summer months storage, for reduce-cash flow students.

Then the coronavirus pandemic struck, and the higher education dispersed what it meant to be a just one-time campus-task substitution grant that gave learners funding outright instead of necessitating them to do the job for it. In response, learners explained to Williams directors that the improve taken out the burden of figuring out how they would gain the demanded cash and how substantially they could hold or mail to their family members, Bianchi said. That comments served the college or university decide to do away with do the job-research in addition to financial loans.

correction

A earlier edition of this post misstated the countrywide common for university endowments. It is $1.1 billion, not $1.1 million. The article has been corrected.