Time to Start Dialing More Numbers! The 818/747 Area Code Overlay is Coming on April 18th!

Start re-programming those cell phones!  On April 18th, the 818 area code will be "overlayed" with the brand new 747 area code.  An overlay means both area codes will work in the same area and thus if you have an 818 number now, you can keep it.  But...there's a catch.  You now have to dial 10 digits (1-818-XXX-XXXX) instead of just 7 digits, even if you are calling from an 818 to another 818 number.

This new 1 + area code + phone number requirement begins on APRIL 19TH!  So if you don't dial the 10 digit number on that date, your call will not be completed as dialed.

Are you excited about the prospect of getting one of those new 747 numbers!?  Well, ya have to wait until May 18th for that to be a possibility.

The California PUC has a cool catchphrase: When in Doubt, Dial it Out!  Much better than my idea: Dial 10 Digits, Not 7, Mental Midgets!

For more information about the change, call your phone company or visit www.cpuc.ca.gov/818areacode.

Why are they doing this?  Because they are running out of 818 phone numbers, duh!  For you old timers and history buffs, the 818 area code was born in 1984 as a geographic split from the 213 area code.  (Woah, 818 is turning 25 this year!  Yippee!).  In 1997 the 626 area code was split out of the 818 code.

Will this affect us 805 area code people?  Nah, we can just laugh and go "ha ha" to our 818 neighbors in Westlake Village, Agoura, Calabasas and beyond. But don't laugh too loud.  This could happen to you too someday.  The 805 area code has actually been around since 1957, having also been split out from gramma 213 (or is it grandpa?).

818/747 Overlay Map, Courtesy Cal PUC

BREAKING NEWS! City of Thousand Oaks Changes Name to Nine Hundred Seventy Eight Oaks!

The City of Thousand Oaks announced today that effective immediately, the city's name has been changed to the City of Nine Hundred Seventy Eight Oaks!

Prompting the name change was an extensive review and inventory of trees in Thousand Oaks by the Ventura County Auditor-Controller's office.  Since the city's incorporation on October 7, 1964, there had been no formal assessment of the number of oak trees residing within city limits. 

The recent audit indicated that only 978 full grown oak trees are located in the city.  Lead auditor Mia Countdemup notes "I was shocked!  We looked in every nook and cranny and couldn't find those other 22 trees. Kind of bums me out!"

While numerous oak trees have been planted in city limits between 1964 and 2009, it can take up to 15 to 20 years for an oak tree to reach full size.  Growth of the city through the years to over 127,000 inhabitants has caused a number of oaks to be displaced, resulting in the shortfall of trees.

City spokesperson Ayn L. Retentive indicated that future tree counts will be performed annually in March and results will be announced on April 1st.

In related news, the City of Twentynine Palms in San Bernandino County announced that it has changed its name to A Dozen Palms after an exhaustive review for 17 missing palm trees.  City council member and palm counter Ivana Findemall stated "We kind of don't mind, as 29 is such an odd number anyhow. A dozen is much more memorable."

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS' DAY!!!

California Sales Taxes...Financial "Swindle Us" Package Coming April Fool's Day!

It is now April 1st!  Yes, the California sales tax rate has increased to 8.25% as previously announced.

One Penny Equals 14%

Funny (well maybe not) how when describing the sales tax hike they say it is increasing by a penny, or 1% of each dollar.  Well the reality of it is that for every $100 taxable purchase you pay $8.25 in taxes instead of $7.25...this $1 increase represents a 14% tax hike!  OUCH!

The "good" news is that most of Ventura County will be limited to 8.25%.  Our neighbors in the L.A. County portion of Westlake Village, Agoura and Calabasas will pay 9.25%. 

The cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme will charge 8.75% sales taxes on 4/1.  The extra .5% was approved by voters in November.  Hmmm, I wonder if this would have been approved had they known another statewide increase was coming.  A double whammy!  As a result, sales taxes in Oxnard and Port Hueneme effectively are increasing by 21%!!!

It could be worse.  The highest rate in California is 10.25% in Pico Rivera and South Gate.   Dear PR and SG residents: Thousand Oaks is only 60 miles away.  Drive here to save taxes on big ticket purchases!  (NOTE: A very smart friend of mine pointed out an inaccuracy in the original post...that vehicles are taxed based on the city/county the car is registered in...not the city of purchase.  Thank you for that key clarification!)

The Trend is Not Your Friend

The California State Board of Equalization website is not ashamed (nor am I) to publish the following history of sales tax rates:

• 8/1/33:  2.5%
• 7/1/35:  3%
• 7/1/43:  2.5% (nice!)
• 7/1/49:  3%
• 1/1/62:  4% (owww...a 33% increase)
• 8/1/67:  5% (another 25%)
• 7/1/73:  6% (20% increase)
• 10/1/73:  5% (back down only 3 months later)
• 4/1/74:  6% (and back up we go)
• 12/1/89:  6.25% (not bad...15 1/2 years and only .25% increase)
• 1/1/91:  6% (very nice)
• 7/15/91:  7.25% (prior drop was a major head fake)
• 1/1/01:  7%
• 1/1/02:  7.25%
• 4/1/09:  8.25%

California sales tax rates have more than tripled since they were born in 1933.  That trend line ain't looking too good.

This latest increase they say will expire on either 7/1/01 or 7/1/12, depending upon whether we approve a "Budget Stabilization constitutional amendment" in a statewide election on May 19th.  I attempted to decipher what this amendment is but was unsuccessful.  I will try again once the details are published.

Grand Opening of Brand New Muvico Theaters at The Oaks on February 27th!

2/28 UPDATE: We went tonight to see Slumdog Millionaire in the Premiere VIP section.  Wow, what a beautiful theater!  These balcony seats are very roomy and comfortable.  Our overall experience was excellent.

Our seats were purchased in advance on the Internet. So we walked up to the self service machines, I slid my credit card through and within seconds our tickets were printed.  Loved not having to wait in a line!

We walked around a bit and checked out the arcade on the first floor.  Somewhat small, but large for a movie theater arcade.  There was an air hockey table and probably around a dozen games in there.

Bogart's Restaurant 2nd Floor of Muvico

On the 2nd floor is Bogart's Bar and Grill.  Already quite popular.  The wait was 25 minutes tonight so we did not eat at a table, but we did order from the Bogart's "premier" concession stand adjacent to the bar.  In fact, I spent $60 on food and drinks there tonight, a personal record!

For the first time in my life I ate sushi in the movie theater (the tuna roll was a bit bland though) and my wife had a glass of champagne, fried calamari, grilled artichokes, portabella mushroom flatbread (or pizza) and steak skewers, topped off with popcorn.  She didn't tell me how the food was probably because she was chewing for 2 hours straight.  That must mean she enjoyed it.

Bogart's is not yet allowed to sell alcohol at the consession stand.  But the full bar had great service and they let us bring the drinks into the VIP seats.

The concession stands downstairs had more typical movie food.  It looked pretty good.  In fact, next time I go, I'll be ordering the hot dog and curly fries for $7.  That would have been more fulfilling than my sushi roll.

The movie itself was unbelievable.  No wonder it won Best Picture.  Just amazing.  And the clear picture and perfect sound made the experience outstanding.

The exterior of the theatre is also beautiful and there is a nice connection between the new section of The Oaks mall and Muvico.  In fact, The Oaks has a large outdoor section now that looks really top notch.  Beautifully done.

Muvico Grand Opening Weekend begins on Friday, February 27th at The Oaks in Thousand Oaks! Muvico's 14-screen, 109,000 square foot theater will complement the graceful Southern California architectural design of the new and improved The Oaks. And more great news for the local economy! Hey, our 401(k) plans may be down 50%, but we can splurge a bit on local entertainment, right?

These theaters are state-of-the-art, with curved wall-to-wall screens and all digital, Sony Premier 4K (high definition) Digital Projection technology. Muvico will also feature Bogart's Bar & Grill, an upscale restaurant along with a full-service bar.

Or better yet, buy tickets starting February 24th by visiting the Muvico website at www.muvico.com. This should be a really big event as it has been several years in the making! for an overview.

Technology:

Southern California's only Sony 4K ultra high definition projection - all 14 auditoriums (stadium style)

3D capabilities in four (4) auditoriums

The latest in sound technology from JBL-Harman Pro.

General Admission

$9.50 Matinees before 4pm

$11.00 Adults after 4pm

$8.50 Seniors 55 and up, all times

$8.50 Children 12 and under, all times

Muvico Pepsi Experience and Reserved Seating

$1.00 up charge for Reserved Seating, includes Giant screen and Leather seating with spacious legroom

The Premier - (Ages 21 and older only. Valid ID required prior to entry.)

Admission includes reserved seating, a voucher for the Premier concession or Bogart's Bar & Grill, and Free popcorn

$16.00 Matinees before 4pm

$20.00 All Shows after 4pm

Additional Charges:

$3.00 up charge for all 3D features (includes 3D glasses)

$1.00 up charge for General Admission reserved seating (Select theaters only)

Our New State Budget: The Feds Giveth as California Taketh Away

Easy come, easy go.  Last Tuesday, the 17th, we heard the latest economic stimulus will bring $800 in Federal tax savings this year for married couples ($400 for single).  Three days later the California budget stalement was settled, bringing with it a variety of "temporary" tax increases.

California's budget has grown by $50 billion in 10 years (from Gray Davis' first budget in 1999-2000 to Arnold's budget today).  But revenues haven't kept up, to the tune of $42 billion.  Part of the plan to make up this difference is to 1) raise income taxes, 2) raise sales taxes, 3) reduce dependent tax credits, and 4) raise vehicle license fees.  OUCH x 4!

Let's see how much this is gonna cost us:

1. Income Taxes:  Increases .25% immediately. But if the state gets $10 billion in Federal stimulus funds, the increase halves to .125%.  The median household income in Ventura County is $85K...which translates into a tax increase of $106 to $212 per year.

2. Sales Taxes: Effective April Fool's Day (no joke), sales taxes increase by 1 percentage point, from 7.25% to 8.25% in Ventura County (our friends in the L.A. County portion of Westlake Village, Agoura, etc. will chew on a meaty 9.25% sales tax).  For a typical family spending $20K/year on taxable products, say buh bye to another $200 per year.

3. Dependent Tax Credits:  This one hurts families and single parents.   The Dependent Tax Credit on your California tax return has been sliced from $300 to $100 per dependent.  Thus a family of 5 like Conejo Joe's clan is nailed for another $600/year in damage.  Heck, I guess I shouldn't feel so bad...the OctoMom, with her 14 kids, is down $2800 in tax credits!

4. Vehicle License Fees (VLF):  Effective 5/19/09, the VLF increases from .65% to 1.15% of your car's value.  So let's say you have 2 cars with a value of $20K apiece.  There goes another $200 down the drain.

So overall a California family of five with $85K in taxable income will be down by $300 to $400 per year, even with the one-time Federal stimulus.  This is not stimulating.

But hey, what about that new Federal New Car Sales Tax Deduction!  Buy a new car by 12/31/09, you get to deduct sales taxes on the car.  So let's say you buy a new car for $25K.  If you buy it before 4/1/09, you owe $1812.50 in taxes in Ventura County.  At a 25% income tax rate you will save $453 in Federal taxes.  That's not too shabby.  But if you wait until after 5/19/09, your sales taxes increase by $250 and your VLF increases by $125, rendering the Federal new car stimulus pretty meaningless.  Bottom Line: If you buy a new car this year, consider buying it on 3/31, the last day of the 1st quarter...when dealers are hungriest to sell AND you avert the coming tax increase(s).

California Home Buyer Tax Credit: California did come out last week with an interesting home buying incentive.  Buy a brand new, never occupied home between 3/1/09 and 3/1/10, take a 5% income tax credit, up to $10K!  There are NO income limits and you DO NOT need to be a 1st time homebuyer!  There is some fine print on this however: 1) the tax credit is spread out over 3 years from the date of purchase, 2) the house must be your primary residence for 2 years, and 3) the state has allocated $100 million towards the credit.  First come, first served, once the $100 million (or roughly 10,000 new homes costing $200K or more) is used up, the credit is gone.

2008 City of Camarillo Crime Statistics

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department has published 2008 crime reports for areas in its jurisdiction at www.vcsd.org/crime_stats/index.html and the City of Camarillo statistics are shown below (Thousand Oaks statistics here). The overall reported crime rate dropped by 3% in 2008. Violent crime in Camarillo was down a notable 18% in 2008, while residential burglaries grew by 38% (117 reported crimes). Overall, nice job, Camarillo!

There were 17.2 reported crimes per 1000 residents in Camarillo, or 1 crime for every 58 residents (comparable statistic in Thousand Oaks is 1 out of 66 residents). Los Angeles County crime rates are roughly double these rates.  Stay vigilant!

2008 City of Thousand Oaks Crime Statistics

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department has published crime reports for areas in its jurisdiction for 2008 at www.vcsd.org/crime_stats/index.html.  The good news is that overall crime is down by 8% (9% when population growth is factored in)!  Violent crimes were basically flat year over year.  Burglaries are down by over 27% overall in 2008!  The only negative news to report is that there was a 21% increase in the number of arsons in 2008, representing an increase from 14 reported arsons in 2007 to 17 arsons in 2008.  Thanks to the Sheriff's Department and all of you for keeping crime rates in our area low!