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SACRAMENTO – State Controller John Chiang has released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in September 2014.
Total revenues for the third month of Fiscal Year 2014-15 were $9.8 billion, coming in above Budget Act estimates by $671.4 million, or 7.4 percent.
“Driven by an upswing in consumer activity and job growth, September revenues beat projections by more than $670 million,” said Chiang. “If we remain disciplined in paying down the State’s debt, building a healthy reserve, and tackling the $64 billion unfunded liability associated with providing health benefits to our retired public workforce, Californians will have longer to enjoy this newfound prosperity.”
The state closed the first quarter (July 1 – Sept. 30) of its fiscal year with $21.8 billion in total revenues, beating estimates by $533.2 million, or 2.5 percent.
Income tax collections for the month of September came in $350.6 million, or 6.1 percent, above estimates.
Corporate tax receipts came in $173.7 million, or 18.5 percent, above estimates.
Sales taxes similarly outpaced estimates by $228.6 million, or 12.4 percent, for the month.
As of Sept. 30, the general fund accumulated outstanding loans of $13.4 billion, which was down $2.4 billion from what the state expected to need by the end of its first fiscal quarter.
This total was financed by $10.6 billion of borrowing from internal state funds and $2.8 billion of borrowing from banks and other outside investors.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – Gem Faire, the West Coast’s premier jewelry and bead show, will be in Santa Rosa Oct. 24-26 at Sonoma County Fairgrounds/Grace Pavilion, 1350 Bennett Valley Road.
Hours are Friday, noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is $7 per person and is valid for the entire weekend.
More than 70 importers, exporters and wholesalers from around the world will be on site with the largest selection of fine jewelry, costume jewelry, precious and semi-precious gemstones, beads, crystals, minerals, findings and much more at manufacturer’s prices.
Other jewelry and beading essentials, including jewelry tools, displays and boxes will be available all under one roof.
Jewelry repair, cleaning and ring sizing service is on hand while you shop. Be sure to enter a door prize ballot for a chance to win cool items, with hourly drawings throughout the weekend.
For more information, visit www.gemfaire.com , or contact Gem Faire Inc. at 503-252-8300 or
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Lake County Websites & Computer Repair offers computer workshops for novices to intermediate users, and in October will look at “Safety on the Internet.”
The workshop will be held Saturday, Oct. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. at 15642 Armstrong St. in Middletown in the Jazzercise Center (two blocks behind the post office).
Admission is $15 per person.
The workshop features hands-on learning for beginning to intermediate computer users. Learn about free anti-virus programs, storing passwords, what is safe to click on and what to avoid, how to steer clear of viruses and scams and what to do if your computer or accounts have already been compromised.
The presenter, Mark Rudiger, is the owner of Lake County Websites & Computer Repair in Middletown and has more than 20 years of experience installing, trouble-shooting, and working with computers.
If you have a laptop, bring it along and connect to the high-speed Internet. If you don’t, you will still get all the same information as Rudiger’s laptop screen will be projected on a 120-inch screen so you can follow along.
To keep informed and receive information on future workshops, go to www.facebook.com/lakecountywebsites and “like” the page.
To register, email
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SACRAMENTO – Assembly Bill 2251, authorizing county officials to respond to consumer complaints about improper California Redemption Value (CRV) charges, was signed by Gov. Brown last week.
Authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), AB 2251 authorizes county agricultural commissioners and sealers of weights and measures, in coordination with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), to investigate and enforce penalties against retailers who improperly charge the CRV.
“Ambiguity over the authority to investigate complaints and weak enforcement mechanisms provided a loophole allowing some bad actors to overcharge CRV without regulatory oversight,” Assemblymember Yamada said. “Gov. Brown’s signature on AB 2251 protects consumers and also gives California’s unsung consumer protection heroes – our County Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers of Weights and Measures – another tool to ensure that the CRV charge you see on your store receipt is correct.”
Until 2010, CalRecycle referred all consumer complaints regarding CRV overcharges to county agricultural commissioners and sealers because of their statutory responsibility to investigate improper or illegal commodity pricing.
Because the CRV is considered a “surcharge” and not a “commodity,” existing law authorized complaint investigations, yet failed to define who held enforcement authority.
This minor distinction resulted in uninvestigated overcharges with little incentive for self-corrective action when improperly collected monies remained with retailers.
In the summer of 2010, a multi-county pricing and scanning investigation established that Sears and Kmart overcharged advertised prices and that Kmart specifically overcharged and added the CRV for containers not subject to the CRV.
This investigation, led by county agricultural commissioners and district attorneys resulted in a $1.1M settlement against these two retailers.
AB 2251 clarifies and strengthens local investigative and enforcement authority and becomes effective Jan. 1, 2015.
Yamada represents the Fourth Assembly District which includes all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.