Here's a Franchise Tax Board press release that will be of interest to many!

Sacramento – The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) announced today that it will stop accepting applications for the new home tax credit at midnight tonight, Thursday, July 2, 2009.
 
New tax law allocated $100 million of tax credits made available to roughly 10,000 qualified buyers who on or after March 1, 2009, purchased a qualified principal residence that had never been occupied. This credit is equal to the lesser of five percent of the purchase price or $10,000. The buyer must reside in the new home for at least two years immediately following the purchase date.
 
To ensure that enough valid applications were received to properly allocate the full $100 million available for this tax credit, FTB accepted 12,000 applications. However, FTB will only issue approved credit certificates until the $100 million is exhausted. The credit is being allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
For more information, visit FTB’s Tax Credit for New Home Purchases webpage at www.ftb.ca.gov.  

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Community members are invited to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Wednesday for a town hall-style meeting on the push for national health-care reform.

The 10 a.m. gathering at the hospital’s Founders Hall Auditorium, 420 34th St., is part of hospital owner Catholic Healthcare West’s plans to gather public comments about health-care reform and forward them to the Obama administration and Congress.

The meeting is to be moderated by Robin Mangarin, an anchor and health reporter for KGET-TV, Channel 17. Panelists have been invited to participate.

“Bakersfield Memorial Hospital believes the time for health reform is now,” hospital President and CEO Jon Van Boening said in a news release about the meeting. “Our nation’s leaders have a rare window of opportunity to achieve health reform this summer. They must make the most of it — to help the nation, employers and families alike.”

Read our special report on health-care reform and what Bakersfield health-care leaders are saying.
 

From reporter John Cox's story today:

Kern's own economic recovery may be quicker and ultimately less painful than that of its neighbors to the north and south, a recent report predicts.

Thanks mostly to the county's relatively mild housing bubble and proximity to Los Angeles, Kern is in shape to return to its pre-recession employment peak by late 2011, according to an economist with IHS Global Insight, which released its annual forecast in late May.

By the same measure, Fresno's economy isn't expected to recover until the third quarter of 2012, which would be slightly slower than the Visalia-Porterville area (second quarter 2012) but faster than Merced (fourth quarter 2012), Stockton (second quarter 2013) and Modesto (second quarter 2014). IHS said the Los Angeles area won't regain its peak employment until 2014 or later.

Read the full story here.

What do you think?

Animal Emergency and Urgent Care has received accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association.

“AAHA is kind of like a gold standard in the veterinary hospital world,” said office manager Johnni Flesner. “Being accredited means we have met a lot of different standards.”

To be accredited, the hospital first had to be evaluated. The evaluation included reviews of the hospital’s facility, medical equipment, patient care and human resources.

“You name it, they check it,” Flesner said.

Animal Emergency and Urgent Care, at 4300 Easton Drive, has been in business for more than 30 years.

The Kern Minority Contractors Association will host a California Unification Certification Workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m Thursday.

The workshop is being held to help local contractors complete the application needed to get certified to bid on projects that are funded by the federal stimulus package.

Presenting at the workshop will be a Caltrans certification analyst, who will go through every step of the application process. 

Those who pre-register will receive the required application, as well as a checklist of items to bring to the workshop. Pre-register at 324-7535.

Those who don’t pre-register are still welcome to attend.

The workshop will be held at the organization’s office at 1330 E. Truxtun Ave. A similar workshop will be held in either August or September.
 

The Wet Seal is opening a new store in Valley Plaza mall on Friday.

Wet Seal is a clothing retailer aimed at young women.

A grand opening for the new store, which is next to Sears, will be held July 11. 

As part of the grand opening, the store will offer Wet Seal gift cards, ranging from $5 to $100, to the first 100 customers who come to the opening.

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The ranking of the top 20 agricultural commodities produced in Kern County didn't change much between 2007 and 2008, but the value did.

For the second year, Kern County had gross production value of more than $4 billion, agricultural commissioner Ruben Arroyo wrote to the Kern County Board of Supervisors in a letter dated Tuesday accompanying an annual crop report. But the gross value of all ag commodities produced was down 1.4 percent from 2007, the report said.

Read the full story here.

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See what homes are selling for across Bakersfield, and across the price spectrum.

See the current update to our map, plus a year’s worth of sales data. We publish single-family home sale transactions, as well as foreclosures.

The homes are color-coded by price, with information from First American Real Estate Solutions.

This week’s data covers May 4 to 10. Highlights include:

112 homes are newly plotted on the map.

Priciest? One sold for $410,000 in the 93311 ZIP code. It was 2,811 square feet.

Cheapest? One sold for $20,000 in the 93305 ZIP code. It was 1,816 square feet.

Anyone buying? What are your stories?

The North of the River Chamber of Commerce is holding a free Oildale Business Mixer from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the historic Oildale Bank, 1301 North Chester Ave.

It’s a chance for people to meet other business owners and hear about Oildale Centennial activities.

Call 871-4555 to RSVP.
 

Monster Mini Golf, a chain of monster-themed indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf facilities, is giving away prizes in a contest to thank customers.

Everyone who enters the company’s “appreciation campaign” contest, which is going on through the end of July at all Monster Mini Golf locations, will get a discounted round of mini golf.

Other possible prizes include mini golf for life, free parties, free rounds of golf and a custom Monster Mini Golf Epiphone Guitar.

No purchase is necessary to enter online at www.monsterminigolf.com. Those who enter in person are eligible for an additional $500 cash prize.

The chain has 23 locations, including 4751 White Lane in Bakersfield.