meta-dad

How does your preschool rank?

New moms and dads are quick to learn about the shortage of space in quality preschools and daycares throughout Los Angeles. We quickly give in to the lengthy waiting lists, the secret handshakes, the endless tours and the skyrocketing application fees. Before you send in that application fee wouldn’t you like to get honest feedback from parents who have children that either attend the school or have attended there?

You may be in luck, there is a website, The Savvy Source, that allows parents to anonymously rate and comment on preschools and daycares throughout the country. The Savvy Source is similar to the Great Schools website, which also has a wealth of information and resources for parents of preschool children as well as school-aged children but does not have preschool or daycare parent reviews.

Like any User driven review site, the Savvy Source is only as good as the User makes it. Meaning, if there isn’t a review for your neighborhood school your kid goes to, take a minute and do one. If the school isn’t even listed, leave a note for the school’s Director to fill one out.

Reviews include categories like “Quality of Teaching,” “Home, School Connection,” and “Discipline, Health, and Safety” to name a few. Each section is described by the School’s Director and is parent rated (simple 5 star rating system) and includes confidential parent comments, criticism and insight. The sum of these reviews will allow incoming parents to have a snapshot of what the school is like.

Sited Links:
The Savvy Source | Preschools & Daycares in California
Great Schools

The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan and you

On February 10th, the Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, explained how the financial stability plan will be critical in supporting some type of effective economic recovery by potentially curtailing up to $4M in additional foreclosures regardless of what mortgage companies owns or services the loans. But for so many of us well-intended tax paying families and individuals we want to know exactly how it can help us.

This plan is designed to help people who are current on their mortgage but are in danger of defaulting on their loan in the near future due to a high combined mortgage debt compared to income or who is “underwater” (with a combined mortgage balance higher than the current market value of his house), in other words, they owe more than the current value of their house. By government analysis, as many as 6 million families are expected to face foreclosure in the next several years, with millions more struggling to stay current on their payments.

As we know the exact guidelines are going to be rolled out in the coming days. Since there is plenty incentive for both the mortgage provider ($1000 per loan modification/restructure and an additional $1000 per year up to three years, assuming the borrower stays current on payments) and the at-risk homeowners there is a lot of curiosity as to who exactly is eligible. A few things are clear; More »

How does the new California budget affect families

With the Governor wasting no time, he has quickly added his signature to the newly resolved state budget which has closed the $41 billion dollar gap for California. Now that the dust is settling in Sacramento, how will it affect me and my family?

When will the state income tax refunds be mailed out? Who will benefit and who will be laid off? And of course, how will the school systems fair in all of this? So many questions. How will the national Stimulus Plan offset some of these state cuts? I hope to share with you as these details come online.

The financial package includes tax hikes, spending cuts and borrowing billions of dollars more. How will the tax increases affect the average Californian family? Here is the at-a-glance breakdown;

• The are four types of tax increases in the current package; personal income tax, vehicle license fee increase, dependent tax credit and a sales tax increase. Recent legislative analysis of these four tax increases, an average family of four with an annual income of $75,000 would pay $963 more a year in taxes. That’s quite a punch in the gut, to say the least.
• May 19th, 2009 is an important date, mark your calendars. There will be a vote to move $226 million from mental health programs and $608 million from programs aimed at children younger than 5 years old.
• The state ultimately will resume paying all its bills, including tax refunds. But doing so could take weeks, so the exact date when California income tax refunds will start being mailed has not been announced. Mr. Chiang (State Controller), we are waiting with baited breath for your word.

Sited & Related Links:
Los Angeles Times | California Budget Plan; Key Elements
Los Angeles Times | The California Budget: A timeline for the events to come
meta-DAD | California state delays income tax refunds

How the 2009 Stimulus Plan will benefit me and my family

Granted the final Congressional votes are still being worked out, but the $789B Stimulus Plan seems to be well on its way to approval. The biggest question on everybody’s mind (including me) is, “when do I get my check?” quickly followed by, “how much am I getting?” It is clear to me that unlike the Bush Stimulus Plan that was enacted in the waning days of his presidency, the Obama plan is focusing on an array of tax credits for individuals and families, as well as a long list of state and federally programs and projects which are designed to create jobs and shore up state agencies that are trying to manage huge deficits.

The short answer to the first question, “will I be getting a check for this Stimulus Plan?” seems to be “not really,” the benefit to American citizens by-in-large seems to be coming in the form of increases to existing tax credits and new tax credit incentives rolled out over the next two years. Unemployed individuals will get a little more money, and Social Security recipients, poor, elderly and veterans receiving disability or pensions will receive one-time checks, although the amounts do not seem to be finalized (*current estimates provided below).

A bipartisan Congressional Budget Office did an analysis of one of the latest versions of the plan and of all the line items, they point out that of all the money earmarked as “direct payments to individuals” are funds being used in the following categories; More »

California state delays income tax refunds

My wife and I filed our taxes this afternoon, this year we are motivated to get our forms in and get the refunds so we can keep making ends meet. Does this story sound familiar? The punchline at the end of this scenario was when our accountant informed us of a 30 day delay for our 2009 California state income tax checks to be processed. Upon further inspection, this feels a bit like wishful thinking as it is based on reconciling the massive $40B deficit in the budget which has been pending the past few weeks.

It is anticipated that as soon as the cash and budget problems are solved, the refund delay will be lifted. It is clear that part of this stalemate in Sacramento is linked to the Senate approving the current Stimulus Plan. They are linked because recent estimates say the massive stimulus plan will pump $4.5B in projects and tax incentives into California alone. Obviously this will infuse the state with much needed cash and help Sacramento close the gap on the budget.

Meanwhile, my wife and I wait for this financial log jam to clear. To be clear on the implications of this income tax delay that State Controller, John Chiang has employed, this includes any type of return regardless of the year of the return or issue. This is a complete freeze of funds, full stop.

What is looming over our head is that if the 30 days pass without the budget being approved the state has threatened to issue I.O.U.’s. They have only done this twice in the the state’s history; 1992 and the Great Depression.

And if you are wondering if they will issue your refund with interest, yes but only interest accrued after June 1st, 2009 (45 days after April, 15th, 2009). My wife and I have joked that if we have trouble paying the upcoming property taxes in April we should issue the county a I.O.U., it’s only fair, right?

Sited & Related Links:
State of California Franchise Tax Board | State Controller announces delay for tax refunds
Mercury News | Still no deal in California’s budget stalemate
China View | Obama pushes stimulus plan forth as Senate debate continues
The Sacramento Bee | Stimulus plan would give California $4.5 billion for infrastructure

02.20.09 UPDATE: meta-DAD | How does the new California budget affect families

Stem Cell Research Underway to Treat Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is Number Six on the list of top ten killers for women, of the 185+ thousand women diagnosed with it, over 41 thousand women die every year. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

Cryo-Cell, which is a company that has made a name for itself as a family cord blood bank, has gone into partnership with the National Institute of Health (NIH) Clinical Center to begin research on potentially treating diseases, specifically breast cancer.

Through this partnership they will conduct an exploratory study to determine if stem cells collected from menstrual blood can be used in the potential treatment of breast cancer. This study will include cutting-edge techniques making it possible to track stems cells in the body using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—a non-invasive method.

Currently, non-invasive imaging for long term tracking of stem cells in the body do not yet exist, making this truly ground breaking research. The ability to use MRI to monitor the journey of menstrual blood stem cells in the body holds great promise in the utilization of menstrual stem cells in the future treatment of disease. Cryo-Cell’s research partnership with the NIH is a major step towards discovering potential breast cancer therapy.