There's A Proposal To Build The World's Largest Costco In California

BY NICO PAYNE

FRESNO, CALIF. (KABC) -- A proposal to build the largest Costco in the world in northwest Fresno is waiting to be finalized.

The wholesale retailer submitted an environmental impact report to the city last week for the 241,000-square-foot project.

The average size of a typical Costco warehouse sits around 146,000 feet. This giant Costco would be similar in size to a store in Salt Lake City that just opened.

The new proposed site in Fresno would top that Utah store by 6,000 square feet. It would be approximately the size of more than four football fields.

The site would double as a store and e-commerce fulfillment center. Neighbors call the project too massive for the area.

"Costco member through and through, absolutely love it. The location, I'm not exactly thrilled about," said Kati Pitts, Fresno resident.

She fears this project will cause a safety and traffic nightmare.

"A lot of these kids are walking home from school down Riverside. We have Rio Vista, the middle school. We have River Bluff Elementary School, and you know kids are walking through," explained Pitts.

Back at the old Costco on Shaw and 99, customers say they welcome the brand-new store.


"We like it, we like something bigger you know, when we get bigger, we get more business and more items you can choose," said Borhan Saleh, Fresno resident.

In addition to the store and e-commerce fulfillment center, the project calls for 32 gas pumps and a drive-through car wash.

"I like everything in Costco, everything, everything here. I shop for my business, for my home, everything is here," added Saleh.

The public is now able to view this proposal online, and they are able to voice their opinion or concerns through August 25.

You can’t hide side hustles from the IRS anymore – here’s what taxpayers need to know about reporting online payments for gig work

BY ERICA NEUMAN

Do you rent out your home a few weekends a year through Airbnb? Sell stuff on Etsy? Get paid for pet-sitting? If you, like many Americans, make at least US$600 a year with a side hustle of any kind, the way you pay taxes may soon change.

New rules are going to make sure the Internal Revenue Service gets more information about payments made to Venmo and other apps often used for informal work. And this new system will enhance the agency’ ability to detect any underreported taxable income.

I am a tax researcher studying the IRS’ use of technology and how that affects taxpayers. I think it’s important that everyone understand why this may matter to them now or in the near future.

Why you should care

For people who earn most of their income through steady jobs, these changes probably don’t make much of a difference. The IRS has received the same information from employers about the income that goes on W-2 and 1099 forms since the 1940s.

However, that’s not true of income from other sources. If you make money cleaning houses, catering out of your own kitchen or through another informal side hustle in exchange for cash, chances are this work has been “under the table.”

It’s been up to you, not your customers, to report any income earned this way to the IRS for tax purposes. And there is a good chance that you didn’t, given that the underground economy makes up at least one-tenth of the overall economy.

That’s changing, in part because of how informal transactions happen. It’s far more common these days for customers to make these payments through apps like Venmo, Stripe and Square or online platforms such as Etsy, Poshmark, Rover and Upwork than to use cash or checks.

This can even include illicit activities, like drug dealing. And believe it or not, even when you make money through illegal transactions, the IRS still requires these payments to be reported for tax purposes.

The IRS has long identified informal payments as a significant source of the “tax gap” – the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they pay.

Modern technology makes it easier to get paid for side hustles and odd jobs without having to keep track of stacks of bills and piles of coins. It also better equips the agency to collect taxes on those underreported sources of income.

What’s changing

The amount of information that the IRS will receive about traditionally “under the table” work is growing.

That’s because the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package President Joe Biden signed in March 2021 lowered the threshold for what third-party payment companies like Venmo will report to taxpayers and the IRS.

Individuals, businesses and nonprofits that earn more than $600 through various online merchants will receive a summary of that income data on a Form 1099-K – as of the 2023 tax year – and importantly, the IRS will too.

That means companies like Venmo, Etsy and Airbnb will be required to issue these tax documents to anyone earning more than $600 on their sites.

Through 2022, the threshold for these companies to report income to the IRS was $22,000. The much lower cutoff, starting in 2023, means that many Americans who don’t make much money on these sites – and possibly didn’t feel the need to report it on their tax returns – will be forced to change their ways. Taxpayers were, in fact, always required to report this income, and now the IRS will also receive a summary of these earnings that should show up as well on tax returns.

The change to a $600 threshold was supposed to occur for taxes owed on 2022 income but was delayed at the federal level by a year because of taxpayer confusion and a lack of clear guidance.

Companies like Venmo are getting ready to make the change by withholding taxes from business payments as soon as June 2023.

What taxpayers need to do

If you use an app like Venmo for both personal and business use, creating a separate business account may ease record-keeping. That way, you can separate the non-taxable money you received from relatives who were chipping in for that group gift you bought your grandma for her birthday from the taxable payments you got for mowing your neighbor’s lawn.

Anyone earning more than $600 from a side hustle through an online platform in 2023 should be on the lookout for a 1099-K in early 2024. That form may make record-keeping easier, just like getting a W-2 from an employer does.

If you are a taxpayer with earnings not currently reported to you on a tax form like a W-2 or a 1099, one of the most helpful things that you can do to ensure compliance with tax law is to keep good records of all your income. The IRS and other sources publish excellent resources to help you understand what income is and is not taxable.

From now on, as before, you should record all of your earnings from every source – and keep in mind that the IRS is getting more access to data regarding transactions than it used to have.

READ ORIGINAL STORY HERE

China-Style State-Led Growth Won't Work In Africa, Former Nigeria Finance Minister Warns

BY JUSTINA CRABTREE

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria, during a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, U.S., on September 19, 2016. Image: Michael Nagle/ Bloomberg /Getty Image via CNBC

(CNBC MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018)--As ties between China and African countries continue to strengthen, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned that Beijing-style economic governance will not work for Africa.

Corruption could result from increased government intervention in business, she said.

In her view, Nigeria's "vibrant private sector" does not lend itself to state-led development.

But Ethiopia, an East African country with high percentage economic growth, has echoed Beijing's state-led approach.


China has funneled billions of dollars into aid, loans and business deals on the African continent in recent years.

But as ties continue to strengthen, a former Nigerian finance minister has warned that Beijing-style economic governance will not work for Africa.

"China has been very helpful," particularly with building much-needed infrastructure in Africa, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a two-time former finance minister in Nigeria, told CNBC on Wednesday.


But while less economically advanced countries may wish to emulate China's economic success, the Chinese approach of state-led development would prove unsuccessful for the majority of Africa, she said.

"In most African countries, it has been shown that state-led growth — pure state-led growth — has really not worked," Okonjo-Iweala said, citing the example of Nigeria's "vibrant private sector."

A worker fits parts to the underside of a raised Hyundai Accent car at a vehicle assembly plant in Lagos, Nigeria, on February 17, 2016. Image: George Oshodi/Bloomberg via CNBC

In her view, the Nigerian government, through state-owned enterprises, has not shown itself capable of managing its manufacturing and heavier industries, for example.

Corruption could result from increased government intervention in business, Okonjo-Iweala said. "Some of our governments, when they get into direct provision of jobs and services — that's where corruption creeps in because it's not well-handled, the institutions of state are not strong enough, the checks and balances are not strong."

Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria's finance minister twice, from 2003-2006 and most recently during 2011-2015 under previous President Goodluck Jonathan. She is a former director at the World Bank and is currently an adviser at the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.

Where China-style economic management has worked


Nonetheless, one African country known for its economic partnership with China is Ethiopia. Infrastructure, as well as industrial parks to boost the manufacturing sector, have been built as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar spending plan to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China.


Ethiopia, an East African country that has seen double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth as recently as 2017, has echoed China's state-led development style.

This approach "will only work in countries where the power is highly centralized," Anna Rosenberg, research director at emerging market advisory firm Frontier Strategy Group, told CNBC on Friday. Besides Ethiopia, she cited Mozambique and Rwanda as suitable examples. Nigeria's entrepreneurial society was less conducive to China-style economic management, she said.

History could also play a role, Rosenberg suggested. While Cold War allegiances to the Soviet Union may be present in some African countries, Nigeria, by contrast, is a former British colony and therefore more espoused to a free market system.

China's strategic partner

"I think China sees Africa as a strategic continent that it wants to be a partner with," Okonjo-Iweala said. "Africa does have the natural resources that China lacks in many ways."

But, she added that in her view, this partnership extends beyond pure economic deals. "I believe strongly there is overarching political and soft power that is involved."

For Okonjo-Iweala, it is important to demonstrate the fruits of African business deals with China to the public. She described Beijing-funded new airport terminals in the Nigerian capital Abuja as an example of this because "people will be able to see them, and witness them, and know that the money went into something concrete."

Last week, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported that Nigeria had signed a deal with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to build a railway from its economic hub Lagos to Kano, a commercial hotspot in the north of the country.

African countries must enter business deals with China "with our eyes open," Okonjo-Iweala said, to capitalize on its manufacturing expertise and technological development.

Africa is in the process of expanding its manufacturing sector in an attempt to bolster economic development. Nigeria, as part of an attempt to wean itself off oil dependence, has grown its manufacturing base from just 2.5 percent of value added to GDP in 2009 to 8.8 percent in 2016, according to the World Bank.

But with regards to regulating Africa-China business deals, "we are absolutely not there," Okonjo-Iweala said, although she added that this varied between African countries. Providing that fair and transparent agreements are drawn up, "we can work with China – why not?"

Scientists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles Identify Mechanism Critical to Lung Formation and Regeneration

PRESS RELEASE

Eya1 phosphatase acts to maintain barrier integrity in the lung

(LOS ANGELES, Jul 02, 2012 BUSINESS WIRE) -- Scientists have provided the first evidence that an enzyme called Eya1 protein phosphatase is a critical regulator of lung function and that this may have broad implications for sufferers of a variety of pulmonary diseases. "Identification of the role of Eya1 in establishing pulmonary tight junction and barrier integrity could have a significant impact on asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory distress syndrome, all diseases characterized with disruptions in permeability," said Ahmed El-Hashash, PhD, investigator at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine.

Proper formation of lung epithelium is essential to life. The normal growth and functioning of the lung depends on the formation of tight junctions between adjacent cells making up the alveolar epithelial sheet, a thin layer of tissue separating neighboring alveoli. Alveoli are the site of gas exchange between the lung and blood vessels. Loss of these tight junctions alters the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Permeability dysfunction has been implicated in both acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening lung condition that prevents adequate oxygen from getting from the lungs and into the blood.

Until now, very little has been known about the basic regulatory mechanisms underlying permeability barrier formation and integrity of the lung epithelium. David Warburton, MD, director of Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine at The Saban Research Institute, and El-Hashash provided the first evidence that the enzyme Eya1 protein phosphatase controls tight junction and permeability barrier formation in the lung epithelium. They have also provided the first evidence that Eya1 enzyme coordinates a complex network of other cellular proteins and molecules that are essential for epithelial barrier integrity, and are therefore critical to optimal lung function. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that interfering with Eya1 phosphatase function resulted in defective formation of tight junctions and the permeability barrier.

"These findings identify a novel therapeutic option for lung diseases like COPD and ARDS," said Warburton. "Our discovery of Eya1 enzyme control of pulmonary barrier integrity suggests that influencing alveolar epithelial junction formation by manipulating the activity of enzymes has the potential to identify future targets for the treatment of lung injury and may provide solutions to the problems concerning regeneration of lung tissue for restoration of functional alveoli."

Results of the study will be published in the Journal of Cell Science.

About Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children's hospital in California and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious US News & World Report Honor Roll. Children's Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, is one of America's premier teaching hospitals and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.

SOURCE: Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.