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    Ventura Police Department to Participate in Annual “Tip-A-Cop” Fundraiser Benefiting Special

    Carol Miller
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    0
    Ventura Police Department to Participate in Annual “Tip-A-Cop” Fundraiser Benefiting Special

    The Ventura Police Department will be sponsoring the Special Olympics “Tip-A-Cop” event on Thursday, May 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at California Pizza Kitchen at 3301 E. Main St. in Ventura (805) 477-9925. The restaurant is located at the Pacific View Mall.

    Tip-A-Cop is a law enforcement fundraising event in which police officers assist with waiting tables at a local restaurant and collect “tip” donations for the Special Olympics. For over twenty years the Ventura Police Department has been involved in the Tip-A-Cop program.

    Community members are encouraged to come and support the event by dining out and meeting local Special Olympics Athletes and Ventura Police Officers as they act as “celebrity servers” while assisting California Pizza Kitchen servers throughout the evening. While tips to restaurant servers are encouraged, envelopes will be provided to dining patrons to give to the cause. Officers will also be accompanied by Ventura County Special Olympics Athletes who help serve food and sell tshirts. Athletes are excited to meet community members and share their Special Olympics
    experiences.

    “We look forward to another successful year and to our continued partnership with the Special Olympics of Ventura County. We appreciate our partnership with California Pizza Kitchen in supporting these special athletes,” said Officer Bernadette Compean.

    For over twenty years, Ventura County law enforcement agencies have been raising funds in support of the Special Olympics Ventura County. The fundraising events support year-round sports training and competition to over 700 individuals with intellectual disabilities, ages eight years and up, free of charge, in seventeen sports at over forty training sites throughout Ventura County.

    “The Special Olympians’ courage, perseverance and positive attitude while facing challenges has been very inspiring over these years. They are the ones that make this event so great. The athletes teach us all to accept and include each other. My next-door neighbor is a Special Olympian and this is the highlight of his year. It makes him so happy to spend time with our officers and participate in the event. It’s his attitude that really makes it so special for our team,” stated Community Outreach Specialist Ashley Bautista

    Ventura Police Department

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    Ventura | Three 15 Year Olds Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Vehicle

    Debra Tash
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    Ventura | Three 15 Year Olds Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Vehicle

    Ventura Police Department – Incident Press Release

    On April 15th at 2:05 PM an officer was patrolling the area of Valentine Rd. and Sperry Ave., when he observed a suspicious vehicle and ran the license plate. The vehicle, which was occupied by several subjects, came back as a reported stolen vehicle out of Ventura. As the vehicle continued driving, the officer waited for additional officers to arrive before attempting to stop it. The driver, a 15-year-old male juvenile, failed to yield and a pursuit was initiated.

    The pursuit continued traveling on various streets in the industrial area between Market St. and Valentine Rd. and Sperry Ave., during which time the driver drove at speeds between 40-50 mph, and ran a stop sign and red light. As the vehicle was going northbound on Knoll Dr., officers deployed a spike strip in an attempt to disable the vehicle. The driver avoided hitting the spike strip and ran a stop sign. As the vehicle entered the intersection of Knoll Dr. and Valentine Rd., it collided into a vehicle that was traveling eastbound on Valentine Rd. The stolen vehicle sustained major damage from the collision and caught fire.

    The 15-year-old driver and two juvenile passengers were detained at the vehicle, while two of the other passengers fled from the vehicle on foot and ran across both southbound and northbound lanes of Highway 101. Officers chased the two passengers, both 15-year-old male juveniles, and caught them on the other side of the highway after they jumped into a water culvert. The Ventura City Fire was called to help free them from the culvert.

    The driver was arrested for felony evading arrest in a vehicle and driving a stolen vehicle. The two passengers who fled from the vehicle on foot were arrested for resisting arrest.

    The vehicle that was hit by the stolen vehicle sustained major damage. The two occupants of that vehicle were transported to VCMC with minor injuries.

    The intersection was closed for approximately 1.5 hours while the Ventura Police Traffic unit conducted the accident investigation.

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    Democrats Have Convinced A Majority Of Americans That Trump Didn’t Cut Their Taxes. They’re Wrong

    Debra Tash
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    Democrats Have Convinced A Majority Of Americans That Trump Didn’t Cut Their Taxes. They’re Wrong

    Mary Margaret Olohan | Reporter

     

    Fewer than one in ten American taxpayers got a tax increase this year, but a New York Times survey reveals that many Americans believe they did not get tax cuts because of Democratic misrepresentation.

    The New York Times conducted a survey through Survey Monkey in early April that found that 40 percent of Americans believed they had received a tax cut while only 20 percent definitively believed they had received a tax cut. (RELATED: MCMAHON: Trump’s Tax Cuts Have Been A Win For Small Business)

    The reason for American doubts may have everything to do with Democraticmisrepresentation of President Donald Trump’s signing of tax legislation in the fall of 2017, according to The New York Times.

    “The vast majority of people did get a tax cut,” said H&R Block’s Tax Institute analyst Nathan Rigney to The New York Times, “just now we have real data to back that up.”

    Though the Tax Policy Center predicted that few middle-class taxpayers would receive tax increases because of this Republican legislation, Democrats chose to emphasize other predictions that middle class taxpayers would receive tax increases in 2026.  This caused almost two-thirds of Americans and three-quarters of Democrats to believe they would not receive tax cuts in 2017, numbers which have hardly changed in this month’s NYT survey.

    While many experts are divided on the tax legislation, the majority agree that most American incomes received tax cuts. Numbers from the Tax Policy Center show that 65 percent of Americans paid less, only six percent of Americans paid more, and the rest saw little variation.

    Senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center Howard Gleckman said that the Democrats did a very good job at convicing Americans they would not benefit. “They were able to put that into the public perception, and the reality has been unable to break that perception,” Gleckman told the New York Times.

    Karlyn Bowman, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, told Politico that  Republicans have “lost the edge” they once enjoyed as the party “best able to handle taxes.”

    “Democrats seem to be making headway by hammering away at the rich not paying enough,” Bowman told Politico.

    Follow Mary Margaret on Twitter.

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    Ojai chef and author Randy Graham’s new book, Ojai Valley Grill It Cookbook

    Debra Tash
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    Ojai chef and author Randy Graham’s new book, Ojai Valley Grill It Cookbook

    Ojai chef and author Randy Graham has a new book, Ojai Valley Grill It Cookbook. It is available on Amazon for $14.95.

    In the introduction to this new cookbook, Randy says:

    This is the sixth vegetarian recipe book in my Ojai Valley cookbook series. The 77  recipes in this book are grouped into five categories: Burgers and Kabobs; Sandwiches, Pizzas, and Flatbread; Vegetables and More; Sauces, Marinades, and Dressings; Mixed Drinks. 

    You will find recipes for a panko encrusted Portobello burger, a balsamic and garlic glazed mushroom kabobs, sharp cheddar cheese and apple chutney sandwich, a traditional Margherita pizza, Mediterranean flatbread, my Dad’s secret BBQ sauce, an espresso-based vinaigrette dressing, and recipes that wet your whistle. All, except for the drinks, are for your gas or charcoal grill. The drinks are for you and your guests to enjoy while you grill and chill!

    Why drinks? It’s a grilling ritual. It’s a tradition, and one must stay hydrated when grilling (that’s a fact). And while I enjoy a cold beer or a glass of chilled rosé when I grill, I also like an occasional mixed drink. You’ll find recipes for  Pisco Sour, Margarita, Gin Fizz, wine punch, and non-alcoholic fruit punch. 

    As my friend Marcia M. says of me, I’m chillin’ ‘n’ grillin’ like a veggie villain!

    About the Author

    Randy has been a vegetarian since August 1975 and eats fresh and local as much as possible. He enjoys cooking for friends and family using ingredients from backyard vegetable and herb gardens. He is known locally as the “Healthy Chef,” and his food is often called vegetarian comfort food. He teaches at the Ojai Culinary School and his recipe column, Chef Randy, is syndicated in coastal California newspapers.

    He and his wife Robin live in Ojai, California, with their dog Willow. Robin and Willow are not vegetarians.

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    Open Letter to Ventura City Council on Water Supply Draft Report

    Debra Tash
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    Open Letter to Ventura City Council on Water Supply Draft Report
    By Daniel Cormode 
    Ref:        (a) VENTURA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT Draft Environmental Impact Report, SCH 2017111004
    (b) STATE WATER INTERCONNECTION PROJECT Draft Environmental Impact Report, SCH 2018031010
    Mayor and City Council Members,
    1.      The purpose of this email is to advise you of significant deficiencies in two Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) which will be coming before the City Council for review and approval at a future date.  They are specifically the VENTURA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT Draft Environmental Impact Report, SCH 2017111004, reference (a) and the STATE WATER INTERCONNECTION PROJECT Draft Environmental Impact Report, SCH 2018031010, reference (b).
    2.      The reference EIRs fail to comply with Section 15131 of the Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3, Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports, Section 15131 by not addressing the social and economic impact of either adopting or not adopting the estimated $512M proposed project.
    3.      The EIR is stated to be an “informational document based on facts”.[1]
    4.      The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) specifies California Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) shall include social and economic information. 
    a.      Environmental Impact Reports shall contain the information outlined in this article.[2]
    b.      Draft EIRs shall contain the information required by Sections 15122 through 15131.  Final EIRs shall contain the same information and the subjects described in Section 15132.[3]
    c.      The description of the project shall contain “A general description of the project’s technical, economic, and environmental characteristics, considering the principal engineering proposals if any and supporting public service facilities”.[4]
    d.      “Economic or social effects of a project shall not be treated as significant effects on the environment.[5]
    e.      Economic or social effects of a project may be used to determine the significance of physical changes caused by the project.[6]
    f.       Economic, social, and particularly housing factors shall be considered by public agencies together with technological and environmental factors in deciding whether changes in a project are feasible to reduce or avoid significant effects on the environment.[7]
    g.      Despite implication of these sections, CEQA does not focus exclusively on physical changes, and is not exclusively physical in concern.  For example, in Section 21083( c), CEQA requires an agency to determine if a project may have a significant effect on the environment if it will cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly.[8]
    5.      The EIRs precludes determination of any social or economic impact since no factual economic, capital, operating or maintenance cost data is provided to support the no impact conclusion.
    6.       Implementation of the proposed project will have a social and economic impact by resulting in an increased water supply needed for public health, safety, quality of life and economic development.  Adverse social and economic impacts from Implementation of the proposed project will result in significantly higher water and wastewater rates needed cover increases in capital, operating and maintenance expenses.  Increased water and wastewater rates have a social and economic impact on elderly persons on fixed or little incomes to become homeless, thereby, exacerbating the number of homeless persons, crime and vagrancy Implementation of the proposed project may increase health and safety risks due contamination of the water supply.

    7.      Implementation of the no project option will result in the continued water supply shortage     

    8.      The City is proposing to implement the Ventura Water Supply Projects (proposed projects) to: protect the ecology of the Santa Clara River Estuary (SCRE); develop additional water supply sources to meet water demands for planned future growth; and enhance supply reliability even in drought years. The whole State Water Interconnect project and associated pipelines are required to: serve as an emergency backup in case of a failure in the Advanced Water Pure Facility; and enable delivery of water from East Ventura to West Ventura to allow in-lieu delivery of State Water to Casitas.  Ventura Water would then not take water from Lake Casitas. “In-lieu delivery means that the SWP would be delivered to a Ventura Water customer in the Casitas service area, rather than directly delivered to Casitas, and this would offset the Ventura Water demand on the Casitas system.”[9] .
    9.      The proposed projects would be implemented in two phases. The first phase (Phase 1) would divert tertiary-treated water, which currently flows into the SCRE, to the VenturaWaterPure Project for additional treatment, protecting the ecology of the SCRE and to providing a new potable water supply. The second phase (Phase 2) would provide additional needed water supply if Phase 1 is insufficient to meet the needs of planned growth. Phase 1 is evaluated at a “project level” since its implementation would occur as the priority water supply project. Phase 2 would only be implemented if the amount of recycled water available is less than future potable demands. If Phase 2 is needed to meet future water demands, then additional project-level CEQA review would be required to evaluate its implementation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
    Detailed analysis: AWPF EIR Comments 2019 04 12

     

    [1] Handout, Ventura Water State Water Interconnection Project, Public Meeting Review Draft Environmental Impact Report, Slide 3,Feburary 26, 2019.
    [2] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15120(a).
    [3] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15120( c).
    [4] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15124 (c ).
    [5] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15131(a)
    [6] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15131(b)
    [7] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15131(  c).
    [8] Title 14. California Code of Regulations, Chapter 3 Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act, Article 9 Contents of Environmental Impact Reports. Section 15131.
    [9]Notice of Availability, State Water Interconnection  (SCH No. 2018031010) Draft Environmental Impact Report dated February 19, 2019

    Daniel Cormode is a Ventura resident and the Chairman of the Planning & Development Committee for The East Ventura Community Council. He  has dedicated his life to researching Ventura water issues.

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    Democrats running as GOP in California

    Debra Tash
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    Democrats running as GOP in California

     

    .

    By Stephen Frank,  California Political News and Views

    The California Chamber of Commerce produced a list of 24 job killer bills-  22 by Democrats and 2 by Republicans,  so, who did the Chamber donate money to?  Per Whats Matters by Dan Morain, 4/8/19, “Money matters: The chamber donated $30,000 to the California Democratic Party last Wednesday, the day it released the list, and none to the GOP.”

    Greg Conlon, among others, are pushing former Assemblywoman Catherine Baker, a leading never Trumper, to run for Congress for the Swalwell seat, now that the teeny bopper is running for President.  But, not to worry, Eric has till December 6 to really decide if he is running for President instead of Congress.  My bet is that this is just a publicity stunt, another one, by him to create himself as a player—way too transparent for anyone to care.  My prediction:  He will run for re-election and try to leverage his endorsement.

    Looks like the powers that be have selected their candidate for Congress in the 25th Congressional District against the AOC supporter, Katie Hill.  Mike Garcia is supported by both former Congressman Elton Gallegly and former Congressman Buck McKeon—both former representatives of the 25th CD.  On Wednesday afternoon I was called by a polling company and had a 20 minutes questioning—with only Garcia and Hill mentioned.  The Hill, a prime D.C. newsletter also had a Garcia story. 

    https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/438199-republicans-get-top-tier-candidate-in-key-california-house-race

    Then you have Lancaster City Councilwoman Angela Underwood Jacobs running for the 25th CD—she hired Duane Dichiara and Axiom Strategies  to run her campaign.  She appears to be the only candidate to secure a meeting with Cong. Kevin McCarthy AND the head of the NRCC.  Looks like the D.C. crowd have their candidate.  (full disclosure: I live in the 25th CD).  When you go to her website you will note that she does not mention she is a Republican, nor that in 2016 she was a delegate to the RNC convention for Trump.

    In the 77th AD the San Diego County Republican Party last Monday ENDORSED June Cutter, an attorney for the GOP nomination against former Republican, now admitting he is a Democrat, Brian Maienschein.  This is SIX months before filing even opens.  This was coordinated by her consultant Duane Dichiara, who also is a key adviser to the Assembly GOP Caucus political operation. Prior to Brian, the seat was held by Nathan Fletcher—also a Republican who turned Clinton Democrat.  Both Fletcher and Maienshein had the GOP push aside primary opponents, early.  The rest is history.

    Stephen Frank: Is the the publisher and editor of the California Political News and Views.  Mr. Frank speaks all over California and appears as a guest on several radio shows each week. He has also served as a guest host on radio talk shows and is a full time political consultant. http://capoliticalnews.com/

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    Lawsuit Targets California DMV’s Censorship of Personalized Plates

    Debra Tash
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    0
    Lawsuit Targets California DMV’s Censorship of Personalized Plates

    Jon Kotler is a First Amendment professor at the University of Southern California (USC). He is also a huge fan of the London-based Fulham Football Club and a longtime season ticket holder. Wishing to celebrate the team’s recent success, Jon applied for a personalized license plate with the letters “COYW,” which stands for “Come on You Whites,” the team’s slogan based on their white jerseys. Despite the slogan’s popularity and longtime use, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) denied Jon’s request due to its subjective fear that the slogan is hostile, insulting, or racially degrading. That is absurd. Anyone who knows what “COYW” stands for knows its meaning is innocent. But whenever government officials are the speech police, they unavoidably make bad decisions: sometimes absurd, often unfair, and always biased. Jon is fighting back with a federal lawsuit. The DMV’s attempt to make itself the speech police led to unintended consequences. You can call Jon a sports fan or a First Amendment expert, but the DMV’s misguided efforts to regulate license plates have misbranded Jon as a racist.

    Jon Kotler is a lifelong sports fan. As a child, he’d skip school to see the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field on opening day. He became a soccer fan in 1958, when he learned about a plane crash on a slush-covered Munich runway that took the lives of seven members of the Manchester United football team.

    Jon has followed soccer ever since, first supporting Manchester United. Eventually, he grew attached to London-based Fulham Football Club when he saw them play at Craven Cottage, their quaint, family-friendly home stadium located on the banks of the River Thames. Jon has had Fulham season tickets for the last two decades and, now in his 70s, continues to trek from Los Angeles to London to watch Fulham play.

    Here in the United States, Jon wears his fandom on his sleeve, with a rain jacket, a golf jacket, or his collection of Fulham jerseys and sweatshirts. A Fulham banner hangs next to those of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Orioles on his office wall.

    Despite their charm and strong fan following, Fulham have historically struggled on the field. So when the team enjoyed one of their most successful seasons in recent years, Jon wanted to show his team spirit in a unique way: a customized license plate with the team’s well-known slogan, COYW.

    Jon submitted his license application online, explaining to the California DMV that “COYW” stands for “Come on You Whites”— a team slogan and crowd chant based on the players’ white jerseys, as well as the team’s official Twitter hashtag.

    To his surprise, the DMV rejected his application, saying COYW is purportedly hostile, insulting, or racially degrading. This, even though Fulham are among a number of sports teams identified by the color of their jerseys, such as Chelsea (the Blues) and Liverpool (the Reds). In addition, the team’s Pakistani-American owner, Shahid Khan, uses the phrase when he signs letters, and the team has players from more than 15 countries, including England, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, and the United States.

    Insulted, Jon sent news reports that referred to Fulham as “the Whites.” He also detailed the team’s origins and the slogan’s widespread use today. The DMV denied the appeal, insisting that its determination that COYW was a racist term was final.

    Jon, who has taught constitutional law and the First Amendment for more than 30 years at USC’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, knows censorship when he sees it. In this case, California’s personalized plate regulation leaves so much discretion to DMV officials that they can ban words and ideas based on a whim and a hunch. The regulation’s broad and vague terms also allow discrimination on the basis of viewpoint by banning viewpoints—in the form of license plate configurations—the DMV considers negative.

    Jon brought a First Amendment challenge against the DMV to stop bureaucrats’ unbridled speech regulation because it leads to absurd results—like banning a team slogan on a license plate.

    WHAT’S AT STAKE?

    • California’s license plate regulation violates the First Amendment because it allows DMV officials to ban a personalized license plate based on their subjective whims about its message.
    • The government has no business censoring messages that it thinks might be too offensive for our eyes.
    • When we give the government broad authority to ban speech, it will inevitably abuse that power—even to the point of absurdity.

    CASE TIMELINE

    Complaint

    April 09, 2019DOWNLOAD

    Exhibit 1

    April 09, 2019DOWNLOAD

    Exhibit 2

    April 09, 2019DOWNLOAD

    Exhibit 3

    April 09, 2019DOWNLOAD

    CASE ATTORNEYS

    WEN FA

    ATTORNEY

    JOSHUA P. THOMPSON

    SENIOR ATTORNEY

    JIM MANLEY

    ATTORNEY

    RELATED POSTS

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    The California DMV can’t censor team spirit

    About Pacific Legal Foundation
    Pacific Legal Foundation, America’s most powerful ally for justice, litigates in courts nationwide for limited government, property rights, individual liberty, and a balanced approach to environmental regulations.  PLF represents all clients free of charge.

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    Man Who Allegedly Threw 5-Year-Old Boy Off Mall Of America Balcony Was ‘Looking For Someone To Kill’: Complaint

    Debra Tash
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    0
    Man Who Allegedly Threw 5-Year-Old Boy Off Mall Of America Balcony Was ‘Looking For Someone To Kill’: Complaint

    Neetu Chandak | Education and Politics Reporter

     

    The man who allegedly threw a 5-year-old boy over the third-floor balcony at the Mall of America was “looking for someone to kill,” according to a criminal complaint.

    Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, was allegedly angry because women kept rejecting him and wanted to kill an adult before going for the child, The Associated Press reported Monday.

    Police said Aranda told them he not only threw the child, but also planned to kill somebody earlier, but it did not “work out,” according to The AP. (RELATED: Stranger Allegedly Throws 5-Year-Old Over Third-Floor Balcony At Mall Of America)

    “Defendant indicated he had been coming to the Mall for several years and had made efforts to talk to women in the Mall, but had been rejected,” the complaint said.

    Pictured is Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda. Screenshot/ Bloomington Police
    Pictured is Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda. Screenshot/ Bloomington Police

    The complaint continued that the rejections caused him to be aggressive.

    Aranda in the past was convicted of throwing a glass of water and a glass of tea at a woman in 2015. The woman turned down Aranda’s request to buy him an item, TheAP reported.

    The boy was taken to a hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries, Bloomington Police said Friday.

    Aranda was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide.

    Bloomington Police did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

     

    Follow Neetu on Twitter

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    The Government is Hard at Work Keeping Tax Preparation Complicated and Expensive

    Carol Miller
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    1
    The Government is Hard at Work Keeping Tax Preparation Complicated and Expensive

     

    by Thomas L. Knapp

    “Congressional Democrats and Republicans,” reports ProPublica, “are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.”

    Specifically, the  House Ways and Means Committee just advanced a bill perversely called the “Taxpayers First Act.”  If passed by Congress and signed into law, it would become illegal for the IRS to “compete” with private sector tax preparation services like H&R Block and Intuit (the owners of TurboTax) by allowing taxpayers to skip those middlemen.

    This is actually the status quo, not by law but by agreement between the IRS and the US tax preparation industry, which knocks down billions every year preparing and filing returns. If you want to file directly with the IRS, you have to do it on paper, by snail mail.  And the industry spends lots of money lobbying to keep it that way. Hence, the effort to write the deal into law.

    On one hand, given a choice of filing through a private company whose advertised mission is to save me as much money as possible, or through a government agency whose job is to wring as much money out of me as possible, I’ll pick the private company every time.

    On the other hand, the tax preparation industry is a parasite on top of another parasite. The tax system feeds on you. The industry feeds on the tax system.

    You’ve probably heard political candidates promise to make your tax return “so simple it will fit on a postcard.” Ever wonder why they never deliver on that promise?  These companies don’t just lobby to be the middlemen in a complex system, they also lobby against legislation that would simplify the system (potentially making their services unnecessary).

    Speaking of which, Congress isn’t the only government body at work on this subject. The IRS itself is working on a new version of the W-4 form that employees must complete to have the “right” amount of tax withheld from their paychecks.

    USA Today‘s article on the new W-4 project says that filling it out will “be a lot like doing your taxes again. … The new [draft] form referenced up to 12 other IRS publications to fill it out. It was so complex and different from the previous W-4 form that Ernst & Young worried employees would struggle to fill it out correctly and employers may need to offer training beforehand.”

    If there’s anything worse than the government stealing a piece of every dollar you earn, it’s the government forcing you to do a bunch of paperwork — or pay someone to do that paperwork — to make sure they get “enough.”

    Frankly, I’d rather be mugged. Same scenario, but muggers aren’t quite as smug and rude about it.

    Photo Credit Avens O’Brien

    Thomas L. Knapp (Twitter: @thomaslknapp) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.

     

     

     

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    National Volunteer Week Recognition

    Carol Miller
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    0
    National Volunteer Week Recognition

    The Thousand Oaks Police Department and Ventura County Sheriff’s Office celebrate our law enforcement volunteer programs during National Volunteer Week. The Thousand Oaks Police Station is home to a variety of volunteer programs that dedicate a number of important services to the community.

    Volunteer programs such as Volunteers in Policing (VIP), Law Enforcement Explorer Post #2933, Thousand Oaks Disaster Assistance Response Team, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue East County Team, and Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) provide tremendous support to patrol deputies, detectives and professional staff.

    In 2018, over 31,000 hours of service were completed by our volunteers who are assigned to the Thousand Oaks patrol station. These contributions allow us to better serve our community, especially in emergencies and natural disasters. Providing support for a rescue, directing traffic, providing support at command posts during wildfires and major events, writing police reports, or even spending time working with at-risk youth in the community are just a few of the many crucial assignments volunteers do to serve the community. Thank you to ALL volunteers as we recognize their tremendous work during National Volunteer Week.

    For more information on how to become a volunteer for the Thousand Oaks Patrol Station, visit:

    Ventura County ARES: http://vc-acs-ares-area2.org/

    VIP, DART, Law Enforcement Explorers: https://www.toaks.org/departments/police/citizen-engagement

    Ventura County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue: http://www.vcsar.org/

    Thousand Oaks Police Department

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