Helpful financial planning advice for Tax Day, is LA's tap water finally drinkable? What's going on with the White House Easter egg roll and why is it important?
State of Affairs: The Bay takes Trump to court as sanctuary statehood looms
A District Court hearing in San Francisco topped Friday's State of Affairs. It's a lawsuit between the city and the Trump Administration — the first of its kind.
Joining forces with Santa Clara County, the city hopes to block the president's executive order that would withhold funding from so-called sanctuary cities.
The order itself was signed by Trump back in January.
Also on State of Affairs: California hopes to cut in line during the next presidential primary.
Guests:
- Carla Marinucci, senior writer for Politico's California Playbook
- Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of public policy at USC
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
Here's some financial planning advice for Tax Day
Tax Day is lurking around the corner – it's Tuesday, April 18th, this year.
Take Two has some financial advice for you, though, because L.A. is an expensive place, right?
Financial planner Delia Fernandez offers her advice on how to make tax day less painful, what's she's watching for in Congress and her tips for downsizing homes in Los Angeles.
Want advice from Delia Fernandez? https://twitter.com/taketwo
Need more time to file your taxes?
Americans got four extra days this year since the 15th falls on a Saturday, but what if you want even more time?
"Uncle Sam will give you some time, but you have to let him know," says Fernandez.
Fill out form 4868, and you'll get an additional six months to submit your taxes.
"But here's the deal: if you don't fill out that form, there's a 5 percent penalty every month," she adds.
If you file for an extension but don't send in any money to cover the taxes that you probably owe, then there is another penalty of 1/2 of a percent each month.
For those who can't help but wait until the very last minute, extended hours are going to be available at the following USPS locations on Tuesday night:
- Los Angeles Processing & Distribution Center, 7001 S. Central Ave., with mail collection until midnight;
- Santa Ana Processing & Distribution Center, 3101 W. Sunflower Ave., with mail collection until midnight;
- Santa Clarita Processing & Distribution Center, 28201 Franklin Parkway, with mail collection until 9 p.m.
What's good advice for freelancers in Southern California?
"All of us who are self-employed need to be better organized," she says.
Uber and Lyft drivers need to track mileage, fuel costs, insurance and more as a business expense.
Actors and crew members in Hollywood may have to track write-offs like video costs and agent fees.
"You may want to check in with an accountant," she says, "who can help you understand which ones of those deductions are considered ordinary and acceptable."
If I'm downsizing my home, what's good for me when I sell and then buy in SoCal's hot housing market?
There's a big tax advantage if your old home was your primary residence in two of the last five years.
"You get to take $250,000 in gain from the sale of that house and you don't pay any taxes," says Fernandez. "It's the best deal that a lot of people don't know about!"
And if you own that home with a spouse, then you can take $500,000 in total from the sale tax-free.
Worried about a jump in property taxes when you move from your old home to a new one?
In California, when you turn 55 you can take your current property tax to your new home as long as it's of equal value or less.
"You can only do this once," says Fernandez, "and you have to buy the new one within two years."
If you are married and own the property together, then only one person in the relationship has to be 55.
What should people watch for when it comes to taxes changes coming from President Trump and Congress.
Just this week, President Trump said he wanted to go after health care plans and subsidies that pay the bills for low-income people.
The threat's aim was to bring Democrats to the table on health care reform.
"I have clients who are needing to retire or getting laid off in their 60s before Medicare comes through [at age 65]," says Fernandez.
If health care costs shoot up because of this political move, it could devastate their finances.
She also expects in any proposed tax package that people earning less than $50,000 will see a a jump in what they owe, while those earning more than $200,000 will get a cut.
New report washes away uncertainty about LA's tap water
Now here's something everyone who has ever eaten in a restaurant has heard.
"Good evening, may I bring you some water? Bottled or tap?"
For as long as most of us can remember, there's been suspicion about Los Angeles' tap water. Transplanted New Yorkers LOVE to diss it. And lots of native Angelenos would NEVER think about drinking from the tap — at least not unless they've installed a super-expensive double osmosis water filter.
And a lot of us have. Or we buy our water in bottles.
Now the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says forget all that — L.A. water is as clean and pure as anything you can buy in a fancy bottle.
OK, but how about the "experience" of drinking it? We did a taste test to judge for ourselves. More on that later.
But first, let's break down this report with Mark Gold, associate vice chancellor of environment and sustainability at UCLA.
Nothing to worry about
"I think this year's annual report from LADWP really emphasizes the fact that you can guarantee that the city of L.A. provides clean, high-quality water to its customers, which is great. I know sometimes DWP gets a bad rap for a bunch of other things. Reliable, safe drinking water supply should never be one of them, and they come through on that front."
Do people need more convincing?
"DWP's water meets drinking-water standards all the time — really great safety record over time. We don't have a Flint, Michigan, problem. We don't have a Corpus Christie problem. Any of the sorts of things that really puts fear in the hearts of customers. But there is a little bit of that chlorine chaser taste.
"It's required under the Safe Drinking Water Act that you have to put chlorine, and in this case they also put a little bit of ammonia in the water, which leaves a little bit of a taste. The reason they do that is to make sure they can guarantee that the water is pathogen free ... it's actually a federal requirement...."
A brief overview of what was found?
"...It was a little bit boring, right? Because it was all good news. From the standpoint that they're really looking at the water quality, you know, tens of thousands of different samples. The compliance record with the Safe Drinking Water Act was nothing short of exemplary...
"If people do have a concern that they have older pipes, it's not a bad thing just for peace of mind to have that sampled. Or maybe you want to call DWP and say, 'Hey, is it OK to add your faucet as part of their lead and copper rule sampling program.' You have to do that because, over time, these older pipes that used lead...to keep the pipes together, you do occasionally get some leaching and that's something you have to be vigilant about in making sure that that doesn't become a problem...."
With all this great news, we did a blind taste test at Take Two. Producer Julia Paskin and A Martinez sampled bottled, filtered and tap water. Without knowing which was which, they tried the water samples and guessed which type they were drinking.
When asked how he would fare, Mark Gold said, "I think I would've been like you, A. I don't have the refined palate that Julia has or my brother, Jonathan Gold has."
That's right, Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times, is Mark's brother. Who knew?
To listen to the blind taste test and hear more about the report, click the blue play button above.