Sneaky student loan SAVE-ings

Also: Vineyard Wind's "turning point"; big demand for one-stop mental health care [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  February 23, 2024 ☔ Rainy, with a high near 42. Good Morning Boston, In case you haven't heard, we have a [presidential election]( sneaking up on us. Tomorrow is the last day to [register to vote]( before the Massachusetts primary. It's also the first day of early voting, in case you want to avoid the crowds on March 5. (Shout out to Bill Galvin's office for [this easy-to-use way]( to look up your community's early voting locations and hours; Boston has [a nice early voting map]( too.) But first, let's get to today's news: - Cancel culture: Student loan companies are beginning to cancel debt today for over 150,000 borrowers eligible for President Joe Biden's [new "SAVE" plan](. That includes 2,490 in Massachusetts with smaller loans, according to a new analysis released this morning. That's a small fraction of the roughly 800,000 Bay Staters who were originally eligible under the more sweeping and immediate student loan relief plan that was [struck down by the Supreme Court]( last June. Still, the Biden administration estimates this first round of forgiveness will save borrowers across the state a total of $19.5 million. Officials say those people will see their balances wiped in the coming weeks — and it's possible you could be eligible for some (or a lot) of early forgiveness, too. - Wait, what is this plan again? SAVE emerged after last year's Supreme Court ruling. As [this Planet Money episode explains]( the Biden administration basically turned an existing federal income-based student loan repayment program into "slow-motion loan forgiveness" through a few small but important tweaks. - Who's getting their loans canceled right now? People who already enrolled in the SAVE plan, originally took out $12,000 or less in college loans and have made 10 years of minimum monthly payments. - Have you been paying off your loans, but aren't enrolled in SAVE? You can still [sign up](. Officials say unenrolled borrowers that are eligible for this early forgiveness could get their remaining loans canceled in as soon as [two or three months]( after registering. - What if I have bigger loans? You might still benefit. Every $1,000 over $12,000 in loans [adds an extra year of required payments]( — so someone who took out $14,000 in loans could get the rest of their loans wiped clean after 12 years. And all SAVE plan enrollees get the rest of their college loans forgiven after 20 years of payments (or 25 years for graduate loans). - Will this actually save me money? It depends. People with lower incomes or big student loan balances are likely to get the most forgiveness. That's because SAVE [doesn't require any monthly payments for those making less than $32,800](. For everyone else, the required minimum payment is 5% of your earnings above $32,800. [Here's a calculator]( to figure out what your minimum payment would be (and then you can do the math to see how long it would take to pay off your loans and if you'd still have a balance left to be forgiven). - Deadline day: Today is [the deadline]( for Steward Health Care to disclose its financial records to state officials. As WBUR's Priyanka Dayal McClusky reports, Gov. Maura Healey's administration says the audited financial statements will clarify what's happening at the [financially troubled]( for-profit company's chain of hospitals. - What happens if Steward doesn't do it? Unclear. The company is already in a years-long legal fight over its refusal to comply with state financial disclosure requirements. - Heads up: Navigating the MBTA will be a little tricky this weekend. In addition to the [ongoing partial Green Line closure]( a major swath of the Red Line will be suspended both Saturday and Sunday. Shuttles will [replace all service between Harvard and Broadway]( to allow for tunnel inspections, so plan ahead if you're going downtown. (The commuter rail will also be free between Porter and North Station.) - Power problem postmortem: The T concluded the power outage that made a mess of people's morning commutes on the Blue, Green and Orange lines last Thursday was[caused by their own equipment]( (specifically an underground feeder cable). - In the Fens: After a three-year closure, Boston's Agassiz Road is [reopening for cars at 9 a.m. today](. The Back Bay Fens cut-through had been closed for The Muddy River Restoration Project. State officials say they will now begin a yearlong study on the road's future use. P.S.— At its peak, New England had an estimated 240,000 miles of this type of infrastructure. Do you know what it is? Then take our [Boston News Quiz]( and test your knowledge of this week's stories. Nik DeCosta-Klipa Editor, Newsletters [Follow](  Support the news  The Rundown [Community behavioral health centers in Mass. see big demand for one-stop mental health care]( The 26 centers, spread across Massachusetts, are part of a state initiative to increase access to mental health care. [Read more.]( [Community behavioral health centers in Mass. see big demand for one-stop mental health care]( The 26 centers, spread across Massachusetts, are part of a state initiative to increase access to mental health care. [Read more.]( [AT&T says cell service is back after a widespread outage and some disrupted 911 calls]( Reports of outages spiked around 3:30 a.m. ET Thursday, affecting more than 71,000 customers within a few hours. The FBI says it has been in contact with AT&T about the disruptions. [Read more.]( [AT&T says cell service is back after a widespread outage and some disrupted 911 calls]( Reports of outages spiked around 3:30 a.m. ET Thursday, affecting more than 71,000 customers within a few hours. The FBI says it has been in contact with AT&T about the disruptions. [Read more.]( [Harvard condemns student and faculty groups for posting antisemitic cartoon]( Harvard University has condemned what it called a “flagrantly antisemitic cartoon” posted on social media by student and faculty groups that advocate for Palestinian liberation. [Read more.]( [Harvard condemns student and faculty groups for posting antisemitic cartoon]( Harvard University has condemned what it called a “flagrantly antisemitic cartoon” posted on social media by student and faculty groups that advocate for Palestinian liberation. [Read more.]( [New Hampshire man convicted of killing daughter, 5, whose body has not been found]( "Adam Montgomery is a monster and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu said. The 34-year-old was not present when jurors returned their verdict in the case of Harmony Montgomery's murder. [Read more.]( [New Hampshire man convicted of killing daughter, 5, whose body has not been found]( "Adam Montgomery is a monster and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu said. The 34-year-old was not present when jurors returned their verdict in the case of Harmony Montgomery's murder. [Read more.]( [Boston Housing Authority helps Section 8 tenants become first-time buyers]( A pair of programs that seek to pivot Section 8 tenants into new homeowners are gaining traction, according to Boston Housing Authority officials. [Read more.]( [Boston Housing Authority helps Section 8 tenants become first-time buyers]( A pair of programs that seek to pivot Section 8 tenants into new homeowners are gaining traction, according to Boston Housing Authority officials. [Read more.]( Anything Else? - If you flip on a light switch in Massachusetts right now, there’s a chance some of the electricity is coming from 15 miles off the shore of Martha's Vineyard. WBUR's Miriam Wasser [reports Vineyard Wind officially has five turbines fully up and running]( generating enough power for 30,000 homes and businesses. - Despite some hiccups, the U.S. [nailed its first lunar landing in more than 50 years last night](. The robotic probe was also the first spacecraft made by a private company to pull off a moon landing. NASA said the feat shows the "promise of NASA's commercial partnerships." - Sean Burns[reviews Ethan Coen's new zany, filthy comedy "Drive-Away Dolls,"]( starring Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as a pair of mismatched friends on the lam: "It's a profoundly unserious piece of work and I laughed for pretty much the entire 84 minutes." - Every Sunday morning, Connecticut writer Amy Julia Becker wakes her three teenagers earlier than they want and drives the family seven minutes up the road to their local church. Despite their increasing conflicts, Becker [writes in this commentary]( that "we are in desperate need" of institutions that connect people to each other.  What We're Reading 📚 - A father did everything he could to protect his son. Until he couldn’t. 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