In response to the proposed Republican “tax reform” bill currently in the U.S. Congress, State Sen. Jeff Stone has drafted a tax reform proposal for California. His bill is titled “Saving the Middle class Against Rising Taxes (SMART) Act” and has three major provisions. “Too many families have to choose between putting food on their…
Riverside County has reported its first flu-related death for the 2017-18 season, according to Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer. The victim was a Murrieta child under age 10. The child tested positive for influenza, according to health officials. “This is a tragic reminder that the flu still kills,” Kaiser said in the…
Friday is Covered Cal’s deadline For California residents who need or want health insurance by Jan. 1, they can still secure health insurance through Covered California by Friday, Dec. 22. Covered Cal’s open-enrollment period for 2018 ends Jan. 31, but the effective date of the insurance will be later. According to Covered Cal’s recent announcement,…
Several moderate earthquakes occurred between the Julian and Borrego Springs areas last week. Their magnitude ranged in size from almost 2.1 to 4.0. The large tremor occurred about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, and was followed within minutes by another quake of 3.5 magnitude nearer Julian. On Saturday, Dec.9, another 3.5 tremor occurred just northeast…
This holiday season, the U.S. Postal Service again expects to deliver more than 15 billion mail pieces. The Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, works to keep important shipments safe, and deter mail and parcel theft. This season, the Postal Service offers 10 secure shipping tips. These will provide helpful…
The U.S. Forest Service will conduct prescribed burning operations on the San Bernardino National Forest in the upcoming months as weather conditions permit. The burns will be on three ranger districts — Front Country, Ranger District, Mountaintop and San Jacinto. The prescribed Raburns are one of many tools used to reduce the threat of catastrophic…
The price of national forest and grassland visitor maps (plastic or paper) will increase to $14 per map Jan. 1, 2018. Now, visitor maps are $10 for the plastic or $9 for the paper versions. All maps are available for purchase online from the U.S. Forest Service at the National Forest Map Store, www.nationalforestmapstore.com/. Select maps…
State attorneys general express strong opposition to increase In October, the National Park Service proposed to establish peak-season entrance fees for the 17 most-visited parks. For example, the proposal almost triples the single-vehicle entrance fee at Joshua Tree National Park. Last week, the NPS extended the public comment period, from Nov. 23 to Dec. 22….
Caution about revenues beyond that California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a positive outlook for the next few fiscal years. Of course, a recession will change the forecast for future years. In the report, the LAO estimated “… General Fund revenues will continue to grow in the near term …” regarding forecasting spending and revenues for fiscal…
The U. S. Forest Service has scheduled its four bald-eagle counts for this winter, all counts being on Saturday mornings. The counts will be Dec. 9, Jan. 13, Feb. 10 and March 10. Migrating eagles typically begin arriving in the area in late November and leave in late March or early April. During the winter,…
