By now, you should be getting ready to file your 2011 personal income tax returns. The Board of Equalization reminds you not to forget to include the “use tax” owed on purchases made from out-of-state online and mail order retailers, or purchased from an out-of-state retailer and brought back into California.

To help make the reporting process more convenient, the BOE, working with the California Franchise Tax Board, has made available an easy-to-read reference guide, the Use Tax Lookup Table (PDF).

The table is also included in the instructions accompanying tax Forms 540, 540A, and 540 2EZ. It provides a simple way to estimate use tax, based on California Adjusted Gross Income, on any number of non-business purchases less than $1,000 each.

What is “use tax”?
In its simplest form, it is tax due on any item bought from an out-of-state retailer that will be “used” in California that if purchased in the state would have been subject to sales tax. Generally, the use tax rate is equal to your local sales tax rate.

The BOE says that all Californians have an obligation to pay use tax. The revenue it generates for the state and local communities helps to fund important services all Californians enjoy, such as public safety, education, and transportation.

Use tax is not an “internet tax”. It has been on the books since 1935 to protect in-state retailers from the competitive price disadvantage held by out-of-state retailers who do not collect California tax.

Plant Trees and Shrubs:

Planting trees and shrubs is relatively simple. First, dig a hole twice as wide but just as deep as the tree’s root ball. If the soil is mostly clay or compacted, dig a hole three times as big and amend the soil.

Doing this encourages trees roots to spread out. Place the root ball in the hole with the top of the root ball even with the top of the hole. Add soil until the hole is about two-thirds full. Water and then let the soil settle.

Use a thick layer of mulch to keep in moisture, but don’t let the mulch touch the trunk. Water as needed during periods of no rain.

Avoiding Staking New Trees:

Unless the newly planted tree is in a windy area, do not stake the tree. If you must stake the tree, do so for no more than a year. Movement helps strengthen the trunk and stimulates root growth.

A staked tree may grow taller faster, but in general, their root system is less developed and their trunks are weaker.

Plant Warm-Weather Flowers:

Once the danger of frost has passed, plant warm-season flowers such as marigolds, petunias and already-blooming plants such as violas, snapdragons, calendulas and primroses.

They provide instant color.

Select Healthy Plants At The Nursery:

Watch for signs up an unhealthy plant before you decide to make your purchase at the local nursery or home center. Otherwise, your garden will not be as successful, despite your best efforts.

Wilted or yellow leaves could mean an illness or not enough water. Long stems without much leaf growth are an indication the plant has been in its container too long. While flowers on a plant may look nice in the store, too many blooms mean the plant is devoting too much energy into creating those flowers – and could go into shock once transplanted. Roots poking out of the bottom of the plant are another sign a plant has been in its pot too long and is experiencing stress. Weeds in the pot are not a good sign. It means the plant is sharing the soil nutrients with an unwanted guest.

Plant California Native Shrubs:

Plant California native plants now, many of which are ready to bloom. These include Creeping Sage, varieties of Manzanita, California Morning Glory, Ceanothus Rigidus Snowball, Maritime California Lilac and Wooly Blue Curls.

Get A Jump On Weeds:

ven during mostly dry winters, weeds will find a way to grow. Remove them by hand or with a hoe before they get too big. Once they go to seed, the time it takes to remove them becomes much greater.

Cover your garden with two or three inches of mulch to keep new weeds from growing.

Water Potted Plants:

The winter sun can quickly dry out both indoor and outdoor potted plants. Water outdoor potted plants so the soil remains moist, especially if the weather has been dry for 7 to 10 days.

Indoor plants can dry out just as quickly, especially if exposed to sunlight or warm air from heaters or fireplaces. Agromin has more gardening tips, at www.agromin.com Agromin manufactures earth-friendly soil products for farmers, landscapers and gardeners. Agromin is the organics recycler for over 50 Southern California communities. Each month, Agromin says they receive more than 30,000 tons of organic material and then transforms the material into premium soil products,using a safe, natural and sustainable process.

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During 2011, AT&T made nearly 7,500 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in California. These enhancements include:

    --  Activating more than 120 new cell sites or towers to improve network
        coverage.
    --  Deploying faster fiber-optic connections to nearly 2,850 cell sites.
        Combined with HSPA+ technology, these deployments enable 4G speeds**.
    --  Adding capacity, or an extra layer of frequency to cell sites - like
        adding lanes to a highway - with the addition of nearly 4,200 of these
        layers, or "carriers".
    --  Upgrading more than 300 cell sites to provide fast mobile broadband
        speeds.

AT&T also launched its new 4G LTE network in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Los Angeles and in San Diego on January 5.

“Our goal is to deliver a network experience that mobilizes everything for customers.” – Fred Devereux AT&T Region President – West.

“The ongoing investment we’re making in California is designed to increase coverage and reliability, and to provide advanced services to our customers. Paired with our recent launch of our 4G LTE network in the Bay Area, in Los Angeles and in San Diego, customers can use wireless technology to its full potential,” he added.

CNN Money recently recognized AT&T for enhancing its wireless network. Last year, AT&T completed 150,000 network enhancements across the country, more than triple the year before, giving customers more capacity and faster speeds, as well as improving 3G dropped-call performance by 25 percent.

“To stay connected with friends, family and business, Californians use wireless communications now more than ever before.”  - Gene Hale Chair Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAAC)

“I applaud AT&T’s continued investment to its wireless network and commitment to the communication needs of California’s residents and businesses,” Hale stated.

AT&T plans to support the build or upgrade of thousands of cell sites nationwide to increase network speed, coverage and reliability for both mobile voice and broadband services. In addition, AT&T plans to install additional radio “carriers” at thousands of cell sites nationally, enabling new layers of spectrum capacity to carry larger volumes of mobile broadband traffic. Additional capacity helps support rising mobile data traffic volumes, which continue to increase at a rapid pace.

In 2012, AT&T plans to double its 4G LTE coverage.

AT&T operates the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network*** with nearly 30,000 hotspots in the U.S. and provides access to nearly 190,000 hotspots globally through roaming agreements. Most AT&T smartphone customers get access to our entire national Wi-Fi network at no additional cost, and Wi-Fi usage doesn’t count against customers’ monthly wireless data plans.

http://focus.att.com/dfw and http://focus.att.com/houston.

For more information about AT&T’s coverage in California or anywhere in the United States, consumers can visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer. Using the online tool, AT&T customers can measure quality of coverage from a street address, intersection, ZIP code or even a landmark.

For updates on the AT&T wireless network, please visit the AT&T network news page.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul. Available in limited areas. Availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. 4G device required. Learn more at att.com/network.

*** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations.

The way it works is you open Flud every day to interact with news content in the easy-to-use interface and you can become a news personality by endorsing content for other people who use the mobile Flud application. It was named Best UI Design of 2010 in mobile applications, by Fast Company.

Flud is billed as an “information ecosystem” where the audience is empowered to influence the news.The next generation of Flud’s award-winning mobile application brings a social element to its enticing platform for news consumption. “Fluders” can recommend content to their community, discover new information and sources from friends, follow trends, and create their own informative front page.

The company says the most recent update makes Flud an irresistible environment for reading, viewing and sharing news and information. It takes them well on their way to the next phase of their mission, which is to build a total content ecosystem.

When using the lastest release, Flud 2.0 you can still control the content you follow, but now you can become a news personality, by building multiple information networks around your key interests. Flud 2.0 runs on iOS devices now, and is soon to be released on Android and Windows Phones.

“We know our Flud community loves the content they access inside our platform. Now they can also enjoy building an audience of their own. We think the future of news has a lot to do with filtering out the noise. That means getting news from people and sources you trust.”

- Bobby Ghoshal, Flud CEO, co-founder

Flud v 2 allows synching between devices and easier access to premium content sources. Flud media partners benefit not only from the community’s deeper relationship with their content, but also expand their brand presence and loyalty.

Here are the New Social Capabilities

It isn’t every day that a prison minister gets the chance to speak at a social event. Therefore, when an offer came asking Marty Angelo to be the keynote speaker at the Nov. 11th dinner banquet held at the Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon California, Angelo really didn’t know what he was getting himself into.

“It is not every day that I get a call to speak outside of prisons, rehabs and courtrooms.” Angelo remarked. “My ministry is mainly conducted behind the scenes so I felt very honored and humbled when my phone rang a few months ago and it was Thomas Heyer coordinator for the church’s annual banquet inviting me to be this year’s keynote speaker.”

Former Shadow Mountain Community Church associate pastor Marcial Felan (left) presented Marty Angelo (right) with a special recognition award at the church's annual prison ministry banquet held on Nov. 11, 2011. They both worked together at Prison Fellowship Ministries in the 1990s. Felan was Angelo's supervisor when he was the P.F.M. east Los Angeles area director.

According to Angelo the event went far beyond his wildest expectations. There were over 150 people in attendance all with the same passion of wanting to help those incarcerated in the local, state and federal prisons in the San Diego area.

“There were so many exciting testimonies of God’s saving grace, mercy and love that I didn’t want the evening to end.” Angelo continues. “The event’s agenda was filled with people who were so deeply touched and changed through Shadow Mountain’s prison ministry that by the time I got up there to speak, I felt so blessed by their stories I almost just wanted to close the event in prayer and leave my speech for another day.”

A big surprise came after Angelo finished his keynote address and he was asked to return to the podium by Thomas Heyer and Angelo’s former Prison Fellowship Ministries supervisor Marcial Felan. They presented him with a special recognition award for his 30 years of prison ministry service. Angelo was stunned when he accepted the plaque that read:

“To Marty Angelo – In appreciation for your faithful and tireless efforts in ministering to inmates, ex-offenders, and all those impacted by incarceration, resulting in countless lives yielded to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Angelo spent the entire next day ministering to prisoners in the state R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, CA.

Marty Angelo started in full time ministry back in 1981 after his electrifying conversion to Christianity. He is author of the life-changing book, “Once Life Matters.”

Please see http://www.martyangelo.com/san_diego2.htm for more information.

Contact – Marty Angelo – 805-405-8174

Sgt 1st Class Kristoffer Domeij

Relatives and friends of Army Ranger Kristoffer Domeij are to meet at Maranatha Chapel this Sunday, to honor the his life.

A star football player at Rancho Bernardo High School, Kristoffer Domeij graduated in 2001.
He grew up in in Orange County and in the Rancho Bernardo community. Kris’ father, Bob Domeij was Minister of Music for Rancho Bernardo Baptist
Church, now known as Lightbridge Church.

Kris became one of the Army’s most decorated soldiers, earning three Bronze Stars. He had multiple tours of combat duty with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he was on his 14th tour when he was killed by a roadside bomb near Kandahar.

During his service Kristoffer was awarded three Bronze Stars, three Iraq Campaign Medals, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Joint Commendation Medal.

His friends, supporters and comrades are asked to come to celebrate his life and sacrifice.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” – Isaiah 6:8;.”

The gathering at Maranatha Chapel is Sunday, November 13, at 2:30pm

Sunday, November 13
2:30 pm(1430hrs)
Maranatha Chapel
10752 Coastwood Road,
San Diego, CA 92127
(858)-613-7800

Assembly members Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) led a joint hearing to discuss problems and solutions stemming from the Southwest-area power outage that disabled power for more than five million area residents in California and parts of Arizona and Mexico last month.

The outage affected customers of San Diego Gas & Electric Company, the Imperial Irrigation District, Southern California Edison (SCE), Arizona Public Service in the United States and Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in Mexico.

The joint hearing of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management included testimony from high-ranking officials with electricity reliability organizations and utilities, emergency responders, wireless communications providers, and wastewater facility operators. The session included time for members of the public to provide comment.

“Any time you have a failure like this in a major metropolitan area, you need to ask questions and get at the root cause of what went wrong,” Bradford said. “Obviously whatever safeguards were in place did not work. We need to fix that and identify steps we need to take to make the electricity system less vulnerable and quicker to recover.”

The outage was caused by a 500-kilovolt, high-voltage line from Arizona went out of service, although it is not clear if the work on the transmission line was a single event or one of a number of other events that caused the outage to spread throughout the affected area.

San Diego City Hall was shutdown, classes at many schools were canceled, and the outage also triggered a 3-million gallon sewage release into the Los Penasquitos Lagoon and the Sweetwater Channel near the San Diego Bay and two wildlife preserves. In addition, some cellular tower service caused communication difficulties until backup systems were restored.

“In the spectrum of possible disasters, this was fairly minor, but it certainly has focused the community’s interest in emergency planning, and we have to seize this opportunity to make sure we have the best plans possible.”- Bonnie Lowenthal Assembly Member Chair Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Planning

“Obviously there are some deficiencies and vulnerabilities in the grid,” Bradford said. “This blackout is very glaring proof that we must make improvements and modernize the grid to ensure that it can handle our current and future demands.”

Assembly Member Bradford is Chair of the Utilities and Commerce Committee. He represents the 51st Assembly District, comprised of the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, and Inglewood, and the communities of Athens, Lennox, South Central LA, Westchester, Willowbrook, Playa Vista, and parts of Ladera Heights and West Compton.

It is the only chopping tray on the market that offers ½ inch raised sides to keep spills and messes contained. The Chop Keeper from Argee Corporation is a fun-to-use, lightweight yet sturdy tray that can be used for kitchen & grilling tasks, crafting hobbies, projects in the garage, and even as placemats for catching spills for kids or adults.

“Before Chop Keeper, my wife and I were tired of cleaning up messes on our counters and floors from chopped foods, liquids and crumbs.”
- Robert Goldman, Chop Keeper Inventor and President, Argee Corp.

“Now with Chop Keeper that isn’t a problem. Marinades and meat juices won’t follow you out the door when you are barbecuing; flour, chopped, diced, and sliced veggies stay contained, rolled dough does not stick and kids’ crayons, beads and glitter no longer cover the table and floor when doing crafts. Unlike other chopping trays, juices do not trickle underneath tray. That is why we like to call the Chop Keeper our ‘everything tray’ around our house.”

Chop Keeper is wide and long enough for multiple tasks (18 inches x 13 inches) and is made in the USA from FDA approved, knife friendly plastic and is BPA free and safety certified and dishwasher safe.

The innovative design and shape of Chop Keeper al so allows the board to flex and form an easy funnel guide so items will slide right into a bowl, plate, bag or bucket. A set of 3 Chop Keepers sells for $10.99 at www.argeecorp.com, 800-449-3030 and sets come in multiple colors including: midnight, copper, stainless; or red, yellow and green.

See more information at the company website www.argeecorp.com

The Health Resources and Services Administration announced UCSD has been awarded almost $750,000 to increase diversity in the health professions workforce through the Health Careers Opportunity Program. The award is part of $9.7 million for 14 institutions across the USA. The administration says the funds are to help develop an educational pipeline to enhance the academic performance of economically and educationally disadvantaged students, and prepare them for careers in the health professions.

“These awards will play a key role in addressing health care disparities and increasing the diversity of the health professions. They will give students from disadvantaged backgrounds the support they need to enter the health professions, and help ensure the make-up of the health workforce better reflects our diverse population.”
– Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. – HRSA Administrator

HCOP funds health professions training institutions to establish and expand programs that provide students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to develop the skills needed to gain admission to and graduate from health professions schools. HCOP helps to prepare students – from elementary school through graduate school – for success in health professions training programs by providing mentoring, counseling, academic enrichment programs, financial aid assistance and other tools and resources.

A list of awards follows.

              Organization                 City        State     Award Amount
              ------------                 ----        -----     ------------
    University of Alabama at
     Birmingham                       Birmingham       Ala.        $614,217.00
    ------------------------          ----------       ----        -----------
    University of Arizona             Tucson           Ariz.       $743,032.00
    ---------------------             ------           -----       -----------
    The Regents of the University of
     California, U.C.                 La Jolla        Calif.       $742,222.00
    --------------------------------  --------        ------       -----------
    San Diego
    ---------
    Howard University                 Washington       D.C.        $737,693.00
    -----------------                 ----------       ----        -----------
    St. Vincent Health                Indianapolis     Ind.        $708,936.00
    ------------------                ------------     ----        -----------
    Michigan State University         East Lansing     Mich.       $650,656.00
    -------------------------         ------------     -----       -----------
    The University of Michigan-Flint  Flint            Mich.       $577,938.00
    --------------------------------  -----            -----       -----------
    D'youville College                Buffalo          N.Y.        $741,818.00
    ------------------                -------          ----        -----------
    Mount Sinai School of Medicine    New York         N.Y.        $690,369.00
    ------------------------------    --------         ----        -----------
    The Research Foundation of State
     University of                    Albany           N.Y.        $621,557.00
    --------------------------------  ------           ----        -----------
    New York
    --------
    Meharry Medical College           Nashville        Tenn.       $750,000.00
    -----------------------           ---------        -----       -----------
    The University of Texas Medical
     Branch                           Galveston        Texas       $750,000.00
    -------------------------------   ---------        -----       -----------
    Northeastern Vermont Area Health
     Education Center                 St. Johnsbury     Vt.        $708,930.00
    --------------------------------  -------------     ---        -----------
    Marquette University              Milwaukee        Wis.        $677,873.00
    --------------------              ---------        ----        -----------
    Total Awarded                                                $9,715,241.00
    -------------                                                -------------

See http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/diversity/index.html for more about the Health Careers Opportunity Program.