St. Raymond High School for Boys Senior
Recipient of QuestBridge Scholarship
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M BTR ARCH 19-25, 2021 45
BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
A breakdown of the recently
passed stimulus bill highlights
the fact that Nancy Pelosi and
her party behaved disgracefully
throughout the COVID-19
crisis.
From the very outset, when
Democrats sharply criticized
Trump’s closing down travel
from China, the source of the
pandemic, as being “racist”
and “xenophobic,” to the current
day, when they abused
stimulus legislation to bail
out profl igate blue states and
fund a variety of pet projects,
the suffering of Americans has
been seen not as a plague to be
combatted but as an opportunity
to be taken.
It is a textbook example of
what can be done when there is
no oversight from mainstream
media. The “American Rescue
Plan,” recently approved,
spends $1.9 trillion dollars,
even though some of the funds
of prior related legislation remain
unspent. Only $410 billion
of that goes immediately
to the people. If that nearly $2
billion were given directly to
the citizenry, each individual
would get about $5,937. Instead,
those whose salaries are under
$80,000 (and couples with
incomes below $150,000) will
each get only $1,400.
For cash-starved Americans,
the long-overdue funds
are truly appreciated, muting
criticism of the reality that the
legislation provides mammoth
amounts of dollars to non-
COVID issues, including $360
billion to state and local governments.
Some states, especially
those like New York, have for
decades overspent and have
been on the verge of a fi scal
disaster because of it. Funds
from the current COVID bill,
advertised as being for cashstrapped
Americans left out of
work due to the pandemic, are
being diverted to coverup the
disastrous mismanagement of
Blue-governed jurisdictions. A
spokesperson for New York’s senior
Senator Charles Schumer,
the co-majority leader of the
United States Senate, happily
notes that funds from the
American Rescue Plan will
virtually wipe out the Empire
State’s defi cit.
Pelosi’s actions in the 2021
stimulus package are consistent
with her record in past
COVID bills. Reviewing a prior
legislative initiative, Rep.
Chris Stewart (R-Utah) noted
in a Hill article: “The release
of text of House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi‘s (D-Calif.) version of
coronavirus relief legislation
… took many Americans by
surprise. Brazen even by today’s
standards, the bill was a
pork-fest of new spending, unpopular
mandates, and election
interference designed to
give Democrats the upper hand
rather than giving Americans
a hand up. Expecting fast action
on legislation to provide
immediate relief to workers,
Americans watched a bipartisan
compromise bill in the
Senate go down in fl ames. Instead,
Democrats made a cynical
bet that Americans would
be forced to swallow whatever
Pelosi could stuff into a
1,000+page bill. The contents
of that bill laid bare the Democrats’
shameful strategy to leverage
the crisis for political
gain.”
In terms of timing, Pelosi
held back urgently needed
relief that should have been
delivered last summer. The
Speaker was concerned that
providing Americans with
cash would have put voters in
a better frame of mind going
into the election, which may
have resulted in more support
for incumbent Trump.
As Joel Pollak wrote recently:
“The real winner, politically,
is Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She delayed
a deal on coronavirus
relief for months, then agreed
to a much smaller deal in December.
Asked by reporters
about her “mistake,” Pelosi all
but admitted that it had been
worth causing pain to Americans
to prevent Trump from
accomplishing anything before
the election. All Pelosi had
to do was wait for a new Senate,
and a new administration. She
got her money — even if Americans
had to suffer for it.”
The $360 billion aimed at
bailing out profl igate state
and local jurisdictions would
be far better spent either going
directly to individuals
and families, or for direct aid
to the hard-hit small business
sector.
Editor’s note: The views expressed
in this piece are solely
that of the author.
BY LYNN GERBINO
We will kick off our regularly
scheduled 2021 March
meeting on Tuesday, March
30 at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Our
guest speaker will be Matt
Cruz, District Manager of
Community Board 10. Matt
has a wealth of information
about Throggs Neck and is the
best to question about community
issues. We hope to “see
you there.”
Topic: Throggs Neck Homeowners
Association Zoom
Meeting
Time: Mar 30, 2021 07:30
PM Eastern Time (US and
Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j
/86218838588?pwd=d2FsZysy
MTBmV2hPNmN0S0habWI0
QT09
Meeting ID: 862 1883 8588
Passcode: 748245
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Dial by your location+1 646
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Meeting ID: 862 1883 8588
Passcode: 748245
It is very easy to get into
zoom and you will have the
opportunity to fi nd out what
is going on in the community
and get to say hello to your
neighbors.
We will decide on a month
by month basis about how
to conduct our meetings. We
seem to be getting close to the
end of this pandemic, but meeting
in person is not yet in the
plan, but hopefully be soon.
Dues are due!! Your check
for $15 made out to Throggs
Neck Homeowners Association
can be mailed to: Throggs
Neck Homeowner , P.O. Box 25,
Throggs Neck Station, Bronx,
NY 10465. Your membership
also entitles you to a subscription
to the Bronx Times Reporter.
You can call us if you need
us, 7218-823-0327 or message
us on our Facebook page:
Throggs Neck Homeowners
Association. Check out our
FB page as we post items that
have a timely need.
Have a good week! Can’t
wait to see you all again in
person, but for now, see you on
zoom!
CIVIC CENTER
Throggs Neck Home
Owners Association
TO ADVERTISE CALL 718-260-4593
CIVIC CENTER
Community Action
Civic Association
Bronx, New York, March
16, 2021 – St. Raymond High
School for Boys senior Neol
Gutierrez has quite a lot to
be excited and proud of when
it comes to his college career.
Neol was recently named a
recipient of the QuestBridge
Scholarship! He will offi cially
be attending the University of
Notre Dame on a full scholarship
in the fall! While at Notre
Dame, Neol will be studying
Civil Engineering.
“I was fi lled with joy and
relief when I opened the
QuestBridge status page to
see that I was accepted into
Notre Dame. With the help of
my teachers and counselors,
along with countless hours
dedicated to completing the
applications, I was given this
opportunity. I am thankful to
my family, my St. Raymond
family, and God for this opportunity”,
stated Neol on his
acceptance to Notre Dame.
QuestBridge is a national
nonprofi t based in Palo Alto,
California that connects the
nation’s most exceptional,
low-income youth with leading
colleges and opportunities.
By working with these
students — beginning in high
school through college to their
fi rst job —QuestBridge aims
to increase the percentage of
talented low-income students
attending the nation’s best
colleges and to support them
to achieve success in their careers
and communities. Along
with Notre Dame, the Quest-
Bridge Program partners
with many other colleges and
universities across the country
including Brown University,
Dartmouth College, Colgate
University and Princeton
University, just to name a few.
While at St. Raymond,
Neol has grown not only academically
but also socially.
He is a member of the art club
and the international club
and has made true, life-long
friendships with his classmates.
Congratulations Neol from
the entire St. Raymond community!!
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