Celebrating the Italian American of the Year
Each year, the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America honors a local Italian American community member with its prestigious Italian American of the Year award. This year, this longstanding service organization honored Bernadette Tarantino for her many years of service to the San Diego community.For more than 40 years, Bernadette Tarantino has worked in sales for her family business, Tarantino Wholesale Foods—curating and distributing a fine selection of products—especially the delicious sau-sages the family name has become known for locally and abroad. Bernadette has also tirelessly given back to her beloved San Diego community for decades, most notably through her involvement with Saint Patricks’s Day celebrations; the La Mesa, Ocean Beach, and Encinitas versions of Oktoberfest; Balboa Park’s December Nights; ArtWalk; the Ocean Beach Street Fair; the Little Italy Festa; and the Sicilian Festa. Through these initiatives, Bernadette has been intimately involved as a participant, producer, and supporter—spending countless hours in their creation and organization.Bernadette was born in Little Italy and lived on Union Street. Her father, Pete, a fisherman, hailed from Palermo; her mother, Nona, was a war bride from London. In 1960, Pete would stop fishing and begin his foray into the meat business. Bernadette graduated from Our Lady of the Rosary High School in 1969 and would soon follow in her father’s footsteps to help the family business to prosper.Today, you can find Tarantino sausages at Petco Park and at Snapdragon Stadium along with other Tarantino products at Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s. Business is certainly booming, and thanks to Bernadette and her siblings, the Tarantino name has ensured a longstanding family legacy that will con-tinue to thrive through new generations at the helm.In San Diego’s Italian community, Bernadette first started volunteering for the Columbus Day Parade with Victor Tallarida, founder of the United Italian American Association. Since then, she has also served as a member and supporter of many San Diego-based Italian clubs: Sons of Italy, Italian Ameri-can Civic Association, UNICO, House of Italy, Italian Catholic Federation, and Convivio, to name many.In perpetuating the tradition of the Little Italy Sicilian Festa, which began in 1994 under the direction of longtime Little Italy entrepreneur/baker Mario Cefalu, Bernadette took the reins in 1996. Through her festival work, she was instrumental in highlighting San Diego’s rich and vibrant Sicilian heritage, folk-lore, and food. For the next 20 years, Bernadette would lead her dedicated team of volunteers to develop a Sicilian festival that would garner national recognition and acclaim. The festival brought together many clubs and organizations that participated in presenting Sicilian cultural elements. A historical display of San Diego’s fishing community was part of the annual event, and it helped to bring awareness to the vital role the Sicilian community played in this world-renowned industry. And next year, Bernadette’s dream is to bring back the grand tradition of the Sicilian Festa in San Diego.To Bernadette, family is everything. She credits her successes to the life lessons and support of her lov-ing parents; her bothers, Pete and Mark; her sister, Tina; her loving husband, Mike; and her son, Jesse. And lest we forget her precious pups: Angus, Bugsy, and Luigi!In honoring Bernadette, our community celebrates the dedication and resolve of one of our San Diego outstanding icons. For more information on the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, visit sonsofita-lysd-1627.org.The post Celebrating the Italian American of the Year appeared first on SDNews.com.
SDCCU Holiday Bowl set for Petco Park on Dec. 28
“We’re gonna play a football game!” That was the declaration of Rick Schloss, director of media relations at the San Diego Bowl Game Association, which puts on the annual college football game. The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl has become a tradition in San Diego that also includes concerts, a parade, and a 5K run on game day. The annual bowl game pits a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against a team from the PAC-12 Conference. Last year, the North Carolina State Wolfpack was selected from the ACC to vie against the UCLA Bruins from the PAC-12. That game was canceled hours before kickoff due to Covid precautions in one of the most unprecedented events in San Diego sports history. But this year, the game is coming back to Downtown to be the first football game to be played at Petco Park.U.S. Navy F-18s perform a flyover of the opening ceremonies of the Holiday Bowl.The 43rd edition of the bowl pits the Oregon Ducks against the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is the Ducks fourth time at the San Diego bowl and the first time an ACC team, this time from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be in the bowl. “I think without the Covid restrictions – and getting healthier – hopefully, we’re not gonna face what we did last year and have the game canceled the day of the game,” noted an optimistic Schloss. “I think that’s the most important and positive thing that the game is coming back Downtown– and it’s finally gonna happen. I mean last year, it was kind of like going to the altar and not getting married!” The game will be played at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and will be broadcast nationally on Fox. This year, the bowl game will also include the 101.5 KGB Sky Show, which itself is a legendary San Diego event. Having football and the Sky Show together Downtown will be a historic first that promises to be an epic show. Mark Neville, who is the CEO of the SDCCU Holiday Bowl, was able to grab the KGB Sky Show for this year’s Holiday Bowl, which brings added interest to the annual event. “I can’t tell you how excited we are that the SDCCU Holiday Bowl is now the home of the KGB Sky Show,” said Neville. “Thanks to this partnership and our friends at iHeart, the fan experience at San Diego’s bowl game will be off the charts and the best in the country. Our fans are in for quite a night!”This year’s Sky Show will celebrate KGB’s 50th anniversary and the Sky Show’s 45th anniversary by lighting up the San Diego skyline over Petco Park with its spectacular fireworks display. First launched in 1976, the KGB Sky Show is an eye-popping and crowd-pleasing fireworks display synchronized to music and broadcast over the radio at 101.5 FM and streamed live through the iHeartRadio App. The 2022 version of Sky Show will be unlike any other, featuring innovative effects in its revamped program.The Holiday Bowl halftime show is always a crowd-pleaser.“After Covid canceled the 101.5 KGB Sky Show the last few years, we knew we wanted to come back bigger and better than ever,” said Noreen Ippolito, market president of iHeart Media San Diego. “Merging the country’s best bowl game with America’s finest city and now adding the 101.5 KGB Sky Show – this will be a bowl game experience like no other, ending the night with the largest fireworks show. We are thrilled to be partnering with the SDCCU Holiday Bowl.” KGB program director Shauna Moran added, “We are so excited for the return of the KGB Sky Show and our new partnership with The SDDCU Holiday Bowl. This merger, in addition to our beautiful new venue Petco Park, has made our creative juices flow! There will be new and exciting elements never seen before in a Sky Show! You don’t want to miss it!” Schloss also mentioned that the two college football teams would visit SeaWorld as part of the event as well as tour the San Diego-based aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. The Holiday Bowl will also activate Downtown with many coordinated events that will pump revenue into local businesses. “I think the big thing is that the Sky Show is coming and at the end of the game the people are going to see something different that they’ve never seen before in the Holiday Bowl,” Schloss added. “Tickets went on sale to the general public on Oct. 26 and we got a really good start to the ticket sales. A lot of people bought tickets up top because you know, it’s the best vantage point for the Sky Show. So it’s proven to be a really good deal that’s going to happen and people are really fired up about it!”The post SDCCU Holiday Bowl set for Petco Park on Dec. 28 appeared first on SDNews.com.
How to Apply for Student Loan Benefits for San Diego County Residents
Applying for student loan benefits is one of those advantages that many modern learners ignore because they are simply unaware of what to do and how to check one’s eligibility for the process. It takes time to start, yet it always pays off (literally!) because getting timely financial support is not the same when you know the legislation to approach everything correctly. There are still some aspects like taxation, but one thing is clear – it’s already possible to address the challenges of the student’s debt if you are one of the San Diego County residents. Let’s review the basics to make things clearer. Applying for Student Loan Benefits for San Diego County Residents The application process is relatively logical, and it should not take long if you have all the necessary information about your course at hand. Choose a program and apply. Basically, you should start by navigating toward the studentaid.gov website. Choose the relevant “Student Loan Debt Relief” tab and click on the “Apply Now” button. Once ready, you will see the form that must be completed. It asks for personal information like your name, Social Security, age, phone, and email address. Notice that it won’t ask for things like your income or the list of student loans that you already have. Make sure you specify all the necessary information correctly and double-check things to avoid spelling, typos, or mistakes with the numbers. Eligibility process and other check-ups.The next part relates to the eligibility process, which means they have to check your financial background before stating that you can apply for student loan benefits. Firstly, you must state that your income is less than $125,000 annually. It will be the case for most students. Alternatively, it’s also possible to state that your family (a household) makes less than $250,000 a year. In certain cases, you might be asked for more personal information that must be provided.Suppose you are in a special financial state or belong to a family where certain healthcare issues are encountered. In that case, it might be necessary to write about it in free form by approaching custom essay writing help and talking to an expert who can help keep things accurate and condensed. Once you are done with this part, confirm that what you provide is accurate and click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page. Wait for the application results.Now the waiting part comes! According to the website, it should take between 4 and 6 weeks to get your application processed. They will check their educational records on you and will double-check your eligibility. If you do not belong to those individuals who exceed the income set by the Department of Education, you should be free to go. You might also have to upload additional documents upon request, but it should not pose a problem. Depending on the pandemic situation and your prior loans (if any have been applied for), you should remember that the federal student loan payments will restart in 2023. There are also certain aspects, like your academic merits, that might also play a significant role. If you have applied for scholarships, this fact might also be considered. If you state something like, “I apply for student loan benefits that will help me in writing my research paper well,” it may not work well unless you provide a clearer explanation or reasoning! Likewise, your participation in group or volunteering projects may be an advantage that will be considered as your application is reviewed. Provide Honest InformationThe good news for the residents of California state, however, is that student debt that has been discharged via the IDR or relevant PSLF program is not considered taxable income. Since it is true for the State of California, San Diego County residents should feel safe as they apply for the existing benefits. Still, it’s always necessary to double-check the information as the rules change all the time. The main question is to learn how to become qualified for the state’s automatic relief, which will always depend on a person’s income and the general situation. Ensure that you always provide accurate and honest information when you apply and upload all the bank and tax documents the same day they are requested to avoid delays or cancellation of your application. Is Applying For Student Loan Worth It? It’s hard to give a definite answer if one considers the problem of taxation, which still remains relatively unclear. It will come down to your place of residence if one looks at the federal government legislation and the promised taxation of students up to 2025. Belonging to San Diego County, you can be taxed per se, yet if we turn to the state officials, we have promises from the state officials that it won’t be the case. The latest online tweets and publications claim that Californians should not be concerned, yet one must wait for the official confirmation on the national level. Still, California’s Franchise Tax department points out that student loan forgiveness should not be a part of the total gross income. The Department of Education should issue the final word, so it’s safer to wait a little bit to learn more about criteria that allow avoiding paying taxes (if they are necessary per se!) based on the California Revenue and Taxation Code legislation. Make sure to discuss this matter with your college or university first by requesting the latest legal update on the issue! It will help you to stay updated on the latest news and follow the changes in legislation from responsible and official parties. BIO Diane Sherron is an avid explorer of college life challenges and everything related to the peculiarities of modern learning. Her posts explore it all, from academic writing rules to technology and culture in a student’s life. Follow Diane to keep things inspiring and expand your creative horizons. The post How to Apply for Student Loan Benefits for San Diego County Residents appeared first on SDNews.com.
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