The Conejo Valley Guide "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, highlights of local things to do, compilations and other items. Focus is on information relevant to Ventura County and surrounding areas, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Moorpark, Somis, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Barbara and Moorpark.
The Conejo Valley Guide® "Welcome" blog covers a wide range of topics, local information, local things to do, holiday event compilations, announcements and more.
Sherwood Homes in the delightful new community of Newbury Hills offered 3 and 4 bedroom homes in 1969 with pass thru service bars, ceramic tile kitchens, double door entries and more. Starting at $21,820. Walter Avenue and Wendy Drive. See you there!
Today (2021) these homes are in the $700K to $800K range. That outpaces the inflation rate over that period by a five!
At the end of a day of off and on rains, we were blessed with this beautiful rainbow in Thousand Oaks today. I was driving down Moorpark Road near Janss Marketplace, stopped at a stoplight, when I noticed this surprise in the sky. So I pulled into the Janss parking lot to capture the colors. A great way to end an otherwise cloudy day.
Photo credit: L. David Irete
Photo credit: Rachel L via CVG Facebook Page
Another shot from Janss Marketplace
And in other news yesterday, there was snow on the side of the road along Malibu Canyon Road in the Malibu Hills. (Photo credit: Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station)
The trails that surround us here in the Conejo Valley, including the Santa Monica Mountains maintained by the National Park Service, California State Parks and other organizations, as well as the Conejo Open Space, are a year-round wonderland for hikers, bikers, runners and equestrians. As such, it’s good to be reminded of the rules for trail etiquette.
Here is a summary of tips summarized in a brochure posted at trailetiquette.org:
Hikers, runners and mountain bikers must always yield to equestrians. Do so by immediately stopping and waiting on the downhill side of the trail. Greet the rider, as your voice also signals to the horse that you’re human and not a potential threat. Communicate with the rider and ask how to proceed. As beautiful as the horses are, do not approach or pet them without asking for permission first. If you are a cyclist, after communicating with the horse rider, pass slowly and steadily, without sudden movements or noises.
Hikers should always listen for cyclists, runners and equestrians approaching from behind. Listen for “on your left” so that you can stay to the right and let them by. Hike single-file on narrow trails and try to stay to the right on wider trails. Keep your dogs on short (6 feet maximum) leashes and of course, clean up after them. If you wear headphones, consider wearing only one earpiece or turning the volume down so you can hear your surroundings.
Bikers should slow down and yield to hikers and horses. Consider using a bell to alert others you are behind them. On a single track trail, downhill cyclists should yield to uphill cyclists.
And some other reminders…stay on the trails, don’t litter, don’t block the trail if you need to stop and don’t use the trails when the are wet and muddy.
And of course, be nice, smile at and greet your fellow trail users! We love our local trails!
In extreme weather conditions, when heat and low humidity combine with high winds, Southern California Edison (SCE) may activate a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) when power is turned off in a high fire risk area.
Here in the Ventura County and Greater Los Angeles County area, one particularly challenging extreme weather condition arises when Santa Ana winds and low humidity increase the possibility of wildfire conditions.
Customers can report or inquire about outages at 800-611-1911 and get the latest information using the SCE outages app at sce.com/outages.
Find out which areas are under PSPS consideration or that have been de-energized at sce.com/psps
Customers can also get the latest information by visiting sce.com/staysafe or at twitter.com/sce and facebook.com/sce.
Customers can also receive outage alerts via email, voice message and/or text message. First, you have to register your account at sce.com.
After creating your account (which requires that you verify your account using an existing phone number on file, log in and update your contact information.
Then, go to My Account/Profile/Outage Alert Preferences and scroll down to the “Want to be notified?” section and click “Manage Notifications.” It takes seconds to complete and, wallah, you’ll receive outage updates in the future.
Today, January 15th, the Internal Revenue Service announced that the 2021 tax season will start on Friday, February 12th. This is the date that the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2020 tax returns.
Why such a late start date this year? The IRS needs extra time to program and test its systems for the tax law changes signed into law on December 27th that provided a second round of Economic Impact Payments and other benefits.
You can still begin filing your returns through IRS Free File partners starting today. However, the returns will not be transmitted to the IRS until February 12th. Learn more about Free File at www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free.
The tax deadline for 2020 returns is April 15, 2021. Of course, you can always file an extension to file your returns by October 15th. However, you still must pay your anticipated 2020 taxes by April 15th.
Although tax seasons frequently begin in late January, there have been five instances since 2007 when filing seasons did not start for some taxpayers until February due to tax law changes made just before the start of tax time.
How to Obtain an IRS Transcript
If the above does not work and you primarily need information from the return but not necessarily a complete copy of the return, you can request a tax return transcript from the IRS. This can be done online (and almost immediately), by phone or by mail.
Obtaining an IRS Transcript Online
It’s actually quite simple obtaining a copy of tax return transcript or wage and income transcript at www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript. But first things first. You need to establish an eServices account with the IRS unless you already have one.
Setting up an eServices account at https://sa.www4.irs.gov/eauth/pub/es_general.jsp will take maybe 5 to 10 minutes. You’ll need the following information: Full name, Social Security Number, email, birthdate, most recent year’s tax filing status and current address. To verify your identity, the IRS will also need information from one of your financial accounts - such as the last eight digits of a credit card or other loan. You’ll also need your cell phone registered under your name to confirm you are you.
After you’ve set up your eServices account, you can log in to obtain your transcripts. Make sure your cell phone is handy, as the IRS uses two-factor authentication each time you log in. They will text a code to your phone.
When you log in, after selecting the reason for needing the transcript (e.g. Higher Education/Student Aid, FEMA/Disaster Related, etc.), you will have access to up to four years of return transcripts, five years of account transcripts and 10 years of wage and income transcripts.
Obtaining an IRS Transcript by Phone or Mail
You can also call 800-908-9946 or complete and mail in Form 4506-T to obtain a transcript. There is no cost for this. The form is at www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-4506-t.
Request a Copy of Tax Return From the IRS
If the transcript is not sufficient and you otherwise are not able to obtain a copy of your tax return, you can request a copy using Form 4506. Copies of individual tax returns (1040, 1040-SR, etc.) can take up to 75 days to be processed, so get ready to wait.
And yes, it does cost you to obtain a copy of the return. Up until very recently though, it was $50, But the new Form 4506 shows a fee of $43 for each return requested.
Returns are generally available for 7 years from filing before they are destroyed by law.
If you are a minimum wage earner in California, today you received a pay increase of 8.3% (from $12 to $13 per hour) if you work at an employer with under 26 employees or 7.7% ($13 to $14 per hour) if your employer has 26 or more employees.
Current law calls for one additional increase for larger companies on January 1, 2022 and two additional increases for smaller companies on January 1, 2022 and 2023 to get to $15. See chart below.
The federal minimum wage for 2021 is $7.25, a rate that has stood frozen in time since it became effective on July 24, 2009.
California minimum wage rates apply to Ventura County residents.
City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles minimum wage rates are currently higher than Ventura County/California wage rates. They are:
$14.25 for employers with 25 or less employees until 7/1/21, when the rate increases to $15 per hour.
$15 for employers with 26 or more employees.
Looking for a higher minimum wage? Move to San Francisco, where the rate is currently a nice, even $16.07 per hour. The rate is adjusted for inflation on July 1st of each year. If you’re going to have a minimum wage rate in the first place, this actually sounds like a reasonable way to administer it.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide is a participant in certain affiliate programs. These affiliate advertising programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the respective websites. Some links on the site may be affiliate links. We get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on our site. Learn more at paidforadvertising.com.
