When Reyna Bonilla lost her job cleaning hotel rooms in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, she used tax credits and other pandemic relief to chip away at past-due rent so she and her two children could stay in their Koreatown apartment in Los Angeles.

This year things are different. Bonilla cleans homes a few days a week but only makes about $10,000 a year. Most of her pandemic aid has phased out, so she struggles to keep up with expenses.

Add to that, her youngest child turned 6 in November, making Bonilla ineligible for California’s Young Child Tax Credit. Her tax refund will be $1,083 less this year, squeezing her already tight budget.

“Sometimes I say I’m going to save money and I start saving,” she said, “but the prices go up and I can’t do it anymore.”

Advocates say California’s tax credits are more crucial now, as low-income families like Bonilla’s struggle to financially recover from the pandemic as other government relief programs end.

For instance, the federal government in 2020 expanded its tax credits to send advanced monthly payments to low-income families with children and, for the first time, included very low-income earners. It helped cut child poverty, but the federal credit expansion ended in December 2021.

Democratic Assemblymembers Mike Gipson of Gardena and Miguel Santiago of Los Angeles recently authored two bills that would expand California’s Earned Income Tax Credit and its Young Child Tax Credit.

Combined the bills would cost about $1.1 billion annually, in a year the state is predicting a $22.5 billion to $25 billion deficit.

Who gets earned income, young child tax credits?

“The need for lower-income tax credits is as dramatic as ever,” said Teri Olle, California campaign director of the Economic Security Project, a nonprofit based in New York.

“Gas prices, food prices — none of that is better than it was before the pandemic. Now a lot of these supports that have been in place are expiring and people are left with higher prices, a higher cost of living and nothing to support them. “

Currently the California Earned Income Tax Credit gives credits of $1 to about $3,400 to tax filers who earn as much as $30,000 in annual income.

In 2022, 3.6 million Californians received the state’s earned income tax credit, according to the Franchise Tax Board. It had a modest impact; about 83% of those filers got less than $300 in state tax credits.

That’s partly by design. The state earned income tax credit is structured to provide an incentive for people to work, so it phases in more cash as earned income increases to $30,000.

For instance, someone who earned only $200 in 2022 and has three children would receive $67 in earned income credit, while someone who made about $9,000 with three children would receive $3,417.

Those who make $30,000 receive $1, regardless of how many children they have. Those who earn more don’t qualify.

It targets working individuals with dependents who are most in need. But it leaves out many people who can’t work because they are caring for loved ones and single filers who don’t have dependents but struggle to get by, advocates said.

“It doesn’t go far enough, especially in the economy we find ourselves in,” Gipson said.

Raising minimum child credits

His Assembly Bill 1498 would raise the minimum credit to $300 from $1, regardless of number of dependents, as long as a recipient makes less than $30,000 a year.

On the other hand, California’s Young Child Tax Credit currently gives $1,083 to filers with a dependent under the age of 6. Once a family’s youngest child turns 6, the family no longer qualifies for the credit.

Santiago’s AB 1128 would enable tax filers with dependents who also qualify for the state Earned Income Tax Credit to continue qualifying for the young child tax credit after the youngest child ages past 6. Those families would keep the child tax credit until the child reaches 18, or as old as 23 if they are a student.

Families with a dependent with disabilities also would qualify for the young child tax credit regardless of their dependent’s age.

“We are in a recession, but there’s a lot of folks that always come out unscathed — because they have certain tax credits those of us in the working class don’t have access to.”
— Monica Lazo, senior policy manager of Golden State Opportunity

Santiago said the proposal is a “modest” ask that would greatly benefit families that suffered the biggest financial losses during the pandemic.

“This program is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs we have,” he said. “We can expand the current program and help more people than have ever been helped.”

The young child tax credit bill would benefit 700,000 to 1 million more children each year, said Monica Lazo, a senior policy manager of Golden State Opportunity, an anti-poverty organization.

Lazo believes there is ample support for stretching California’s tax credits.

“The will is there,” she said. “We are in a recession, but there’s a lot of folks that always come out unscathed — because they have certain tax credits those of us in the working class don’t have access to.”

‘Essential workers’ could benefit

Many very low-income workers were forced to go to work during the pandemic, she said, while higher earners often could work from home.

“These are people who are helping our local economy; we declared them essential,” she said. “So this is a way we can help them and really prove to them they are essential.”

Research shows that people spend tax credits almost immediately on basic needs, such as school supplies for their children, which means the money immediately goes back into the economy. For every $1 of tax credit, $1.70 is invested in a local economy, said Anna Hasselblad, director of public policy for United Ways of California.

“Where you’re going to see the greatest economic stimulation and impact is if you invest it in folks with lower incomes,” Hasselblad said. “They’re going to put that money to work immediately.”

Taxpayers lined up for complimentary tax preparation services at the Nakaok Community Center in Gardena on April 1, 2023. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Bonilla said she has spent her tax credits on electricity bills, clothing and shoes for her children. If she were to get an extra $1,083 in child tax credits each year, Bonilla said, she would save it for future expenses for when her daughter starts college.

“There wouldn’t be so much worry. I would have extra money,” she said.

Expanding California’s earned income tax credit would benefit people of color the most because they make up three-quarters of eligible workers in the state, said Alissa Anderson, policy researcher at the California Budget & Policy Center, a research nonprofit.

It also would simplify the process of claiming tax credits; the Franchise Tax Board would more easily identify qualifying workers and automatically send funds, Anderson said.

Seeking bipartisan support

Tax credits traditionally receive bipartisan support, but the two bills may face a challenge in the projected state budget deficit. If passed, the proposed earned income tax expansion would cost about $460 million annually and the proposed expanded youth tax credit would cost about $700 million annually.

Both bills are new versions of a proposal last year which would have provided a one-time payment of $2,000 per child to families who received California’s earned income tax credit.

That proposal, also sponsored by Santiago and anti-poverty organizations, included a permanent increase of the earned income credit’s $1 minimum payment to $255.

“When you recognize the contribution people are making and allow them to reinvest that money themselves, instead of allowing government to take that discretion, it’s a better pathway.”
— Assemblymember Tom Lackey, Republican from Palmdale

Last year, the state had a projected surplus of $31 billion. But as inflation rose, other state priorities arose, such as the “middle class tax refund” that gave households $9.5 billion in financial relief.

Santiago pulled the bill from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee because it did not have enough votes to pass, a spokesperson for Santiago said.

Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale, said the long-term benefits of tax credits outweigh the short-term financial challenges. Lackey co-authored the earned income credit bill and supports the young child tax credit expansion bill.

“The Republican Party believes in fiscal responsibility,” he said. “When you recognize the contribution people are making and allow them to reinvest that money themselves, instead of allowing government to take that discretion, it’s a better pathway. It’s the people’s money.”

State Sen. Nancy Skinner and Assemblymember Phil Ting, Democratic chairpersons of the budget committees, declined to comment on the feasibility of the bills.

The Senate has stated it intends to protect the state’s earned income tax and young child tax credits from budget cuts and would support the tax credits once the economy improves.

Is it worth it?

Advocates say there’s plenty of evidence that spending more via tax credits pays dividends. Studies show tax credits are associated with better grades, higher educational attainment and improved earnings later in life.

Households receiving such payments had significant declines in credit card debt and were less likely to rely on payday loans, pawn shops or on selling blood plasma, according to a Brookings Institution study.

A month after the child tax credit payments stopped, 3.7 million children joined the nation’s poverty ranks, according to a Columbia University study. The national child poverty rate went from 12.1% to 17% from December 2021 and January 2022.

That includes 553,000 California children who floated above the poverty line thanks to the tax credit, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

Hasselblad, of United Ways of California, said the proposed expansions of the earned income and child tax credits are “comfortable” compromises to request from the state.

“It’s a lot of money; we’re not pretending otherwise,” she said. But “there’s an immediate return on investment.”

###

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Elzie “Dave” Holbrooks left our presence but not our hearts on March 18, 2023 at the age of 58. Other than his brothers, Dave shared his childhood with many beloved cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

He had a large close-knit family that spent many beautiful, fun filled summers together at the family’s shared summer home in Bridgeville. They passed the time playing in the dirt, swimming, fishing and playing pranks on each other and wrestling around and fighting a lot as rowdy kids are known to do.

Growing up, Dave, his brothers and cousins were always very protective of each other. Well, the adults in the family for that matter too. They could beat the crap out of each other and call each other names but if someone outside the family did … look out! His brothers fondly speak about him helping raise them and being like a second dad to them. Time was especially grateful to him for this.

Dave was always a charmer. Like most Holbrooks and Bartleys he definitely had the gift of gab and a great sense of humor to go along with it. He loved to laugh.

He was a great storyteller. Whether all his exciting and tall tales were all completely true or not … we will leave up to you and your judgement. Wink wink.

Back to charming: Dave was very friendly and could be very giving at times. He definitely was considered a ladies’ man. He always had a pretty girl or two by his side up until the end of his life, with his last life partner, Vanessa.

Dace was an outdoors person. In his younger adult years, he was an avid hunter. He was an amazing fisherman as well. His brothers and others used to say that he could tie a damn rock to a string and still catch a fish with it. He really could too. Everyone was jealous of his skill or just plain dumb luck when it came to fishing.

Dave was an avid movie-watcher, just like his parents and brothers. They all enjoyed lending, trading and giving movies to one another to watch together, discuss at great lengths and laugh about.

Even though he may not have been perfect with the way he showed love for his friends and family, we all know that he loved every one of us very much. No matter what he was doing, where he lived or what his life evolved at the time, he never missed a family reunion. Dave, even though you may have worried a lot of us a lot of the time, and drove us all crazy at times, you will be sorely missed. We all loved you and cherished you very much. We all will forever work hard to keep your love and light alive through our thoughts, memories and many future conversations with your crazy ass being the main topic.

Dave was preceded in death by his parents Valerie “Val” and Elzie “J.R.” Holbrooks, his grandparents Lillie and Autry “Hap” Bartley, and his stepbrother Paul.

He lived on through his children: Andrew, Felicia, Autry “Audie,” Elzie, Billy Joe “E.B.”; step-sons: Jonathan and Michael; grandchildren Jonah and Evelyn; brothers Casey and Vick, Tim and wife Paula, Mike and wife Shasta; stepbrother Bobby, stepsister Shelly, stepmother Donna, stepfather Ray’ ex-wives Chis and Cheri; last life partner Vanessa; aunts Andrea, Vera and Anne; nieces and nephews Leta Tahina, Vernon, Charlie, James, Darrell, Gage and Chase; and many beloved cousins and friends, including his best friend Stephanie.

Please join us at his potluck memorial this Sunday, April 23 ar 1 p.m. at The Arcata Veterans Hall located at 1425 J Street Arcata. Bring your favorite dish if you like and are able. Although we will happily welcome just yourself with open arms. Please bring your loved memories and funny or fond anecdotes about Davey.

###

PREVIOUSLY:

• What’s the Story With That Place? From Eagles Hall to Squires HQ at Eureka’s Lloyd Building
• Deemed Unsafe After Last Week’s Quake, Eureka’s 107-Year-Old Lloyd Building Will be Demolished
• The Lloyd Building is Going to Come Down This Month
• (VIDEO) Demolition of the Lloyd Building is Under Way

###

Representatives from the City of Eureka, the Humboldt Historical Society, the Clarke Museum, Cal Poly Humboldt and a handful of other folks gathered at the site of the recently demolished Lloyd Building on Tuesday afternoon to disentomb a piece of local history – a time capsule from more than a century ago. 

The time capsule had been placed in the Lloyd building’s foundation when construction began on the building in August, 1912. The building would house the Eureka Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and members of the organization held a big ceremony to commemorate the laying of the cornerstone. 

An article published in The Humboldt Times on Aug. 18, 1912 described the event, saying that after a prayer and a performance by a quartet, members of the Eagles placed various articles into a metal box, which was then deposited into the stone. The items included copies of several newspapers, including Times Standard, The Herald, Labor News and The Californian, a small eagle made of redwood burl, a badge, two Eagles’ souvenirs, plus a list of all Eagles members and a list of all city and county officers at the time. 

The capsule and the items inside saw the light for the first time in 111 years as Eureka city staff lifted the badly smashed and dented metal box from the stone. Not too surprisingly, most of the paper items had disintegrated, with only a few recognizable chunks of newspaper remaining. But the medals and  souvenirs were still intact. And even the little burl eagle had mostly survived, though it had suffered a little damage in its tomb. 

Alex Service, Board president of the Humboldt Historical society, told the Outpost that the group and the City are still working to figure out who legally owns the items. Because the Eagles placed them there, the organization might want them. It’s also been suggested that either the Historical Society or the Clarke Museum preserve the pieces and display them for the public to view. Most likely, Service said, the interested parties will come up with some kind of cooperative arrangement, where the Clarke, the Historical Society and Cal Poly Humboldt will all have a chance to display the items temporarily. 

“We’ll all just work together to preserve what can be preserved and display what’s possible to display and to share the history of the building and the organizations that were involved in it,” Service said. 

HUMBOLDT TODAY: The Humboldt skies provided all sorts of exciting imagery in the last 24 hours; we open a time capsule found in the ruins of the departed Lloyd Building; plus, robberies galore! Those stories and more in today’s online newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• (VIDEOS) A Look Back at the Astounding Hour of Weather We in the Humboldt Bay Area Got Last Night
• Victim’s Dog Allegedly Foils Home Invasion Robbery in McK Last Night; Two Suspects Wanted, Sheriff’s Office Says
• House Fire Near Arcata Elementary Renders Residence Uninhabitable
• Sheriff’s Office Seeks Two Suspects in Late-Night Armed Robbery on the Samoa Peninsula

HUMBOLDT TODAY can be viewed on LoCO’s homepage each night starting at 6 p.m.

Want to LISTEN to HUMBOLDT TODAY? Subscribe to the podcast version here.

Lightning! Hail! Waterspouts!

At around 7 p.m. last night, after a relatively pleasant day, the heavens around Humboldt Bay opened up and unleashed an astounding amount of chaos. As you can see from our CHP Incidents page, the roadways were immediately impacted with traffic collisions up and down 101. Your reporter happened to be pass by what looked to be a very bad two-vehicle collision on a hail-covered 101 through Arcata; thankfully, it appears that no one was seriously injured.

But the hail was the least of it. As seen in the video above, the air also crackled and popped with a freak lightning storm. Instagram user @dariusone seems to have captured the moment a bolt struck a tree outside his McKinleyville home:

But even weirder than the lightning, which was weird enough, were the dual waterspouts that formed over the ocean and were visible from Fields Landing and King Salmon, pictures of which many readers were kind enough to share with us. Here’s a video sent be a reader:

And then, almost as quickly as it came, the weather went away. Or moved on elsewhere. Or whatever weather does.

So what happened? Ryan Aylward, meteorologist with the National Weather Service on Woodley Island, confirmed to the Outpost this afternoon that the freak storm was, in fact, a freak. Though we’ve had lightning along the coast this year, we haven’t had it in quite the quantity and intensity that struck us last night.

Basically, what happened is a particular combination of factors that caused all the phenomenon observed. There was a low-pressure trough parked offshore. There was a pocket of cold air trapped up high, at altitude. There were conditions of “lift” — winds pointed upward — which can happen for various reasons. And then that little storm passed by and tripped all those switches.

As far as human impacts go, it was the hail shower that Aylward was the most concerned about. That much hail falling over a short period of time can mess up the roadways really quickly, and he wished to remind people that it’s best to take preemptive measures if you see weird weather forming ahead of you.

“I’m happy that it sounds like the accidents, there weren’t any really bad injuries,” Aylward said. “Just remember to take it slow if there are really dark clouds ahead.”

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On April 17, 2023, at about 9:18 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 1600 block of Fischer Avenue in McKinleyville for the report of an attempted armed robbery.

Deputies contacted one victim at the residence. According to the victim, two unknown males reportedly entered the home through an unlocked front door. One of the suspects brandished a firearm at the victim and demanded money. During this interaction, the victim’s dog reportedly ran at the suspects and chased them out of the residence. The victim was not physically injured during this incident.

The suspects are described as follows:

• Suspect One: Male approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, slim build, light-complected, wearing a tan hoodie with fur around the hood, a ski mask, black gloves and jeans.
• Suspect Two: Male approximately 6 feet tall, slim build, light-complected, wearing a black hoodie with fur around the hood, a ski mask, black gloves and jeans.

The suspects are possibly driving a vehicle with a loud, V8-style engine.

This case is still under investigation. Anyone with information about this case, the suspects or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539, reference case number: 202301796.

Photo: Arcata Fire.

Press release from Arcata Fire:

On April 16, 2023, at 12:09 P.M. firefighters from the Arcata Fire Protection District, Humboldt Bay Fire, Blue Lake Fire, and Westhaven Fire responded to a reported residential structure fire on the 2500 Block of Baldwin Street in Arcata.  

The first arriving firefighters found a single-story home with smoke coming from the rear and eave line of the structure. Arcata Police Officers had confirmed that all people were out of the structure. Some of the occupants were trying to re-enter the structure, reportedly, to rescue four dogs still inside.  

Firefighters immediately entered the smoke-filled structure and located a back bedroom that had fire in it. Other arriving firefighters were able to enter other portions of the home and located two dogs that were still inside. The dogs were removed and secured with a neighbor. None of the dogs showed signs of smoke inhalation.  

Firefighters had the fire controlled in about 15 minutes. Due to the large accumulation of personal belongings throughout the house, it took firefighters approximately one hour to ensure that all hot spots had been extinguished. Humboldt Bay Fire and Westhaven Fire covered the Arcata Fire District during the incident.  

The house sustained an estimated $75,000 in damage. The Red Cross was contacted to assist with lodging as the house was deemed uninhabitable. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but does not appear suspicious at this time. There were no injuries to firefighters, civilians, or pets at this incident.  

The Arcata Fire Protection District wants to remind everyone, if you ever experience a structure fire, get out and stay out for your safety. Thirty-three percent of injuries to civilians at structure fires result from the civilian trying to re-enter the fire or fighting the fire.