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On the first day of the new legislative session, Assemblymember Avelino Valencia, D-Anaheim, introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 (ACA 1). The proposal would double the amount of state funds that could be placed in the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA) from 10% to 20% of the annual budget. The ostensible reason for the increase is to address the very real problem of revenue volatility. Because California is overly reliant on high income earners who generate massive amounts of capital gains and stock option funds in boom years, it is vulnerable to big drop-offs in revenue during the bust years. Indeed, revenue volatility has been such a large problem that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger created the California Commission for the 21st Century Economy to come up with solutions. Regrettably, while there was a broad consensus that something should be done about the boom and bust cycle, the commissioners could not agree on what to do about it. The goal of placing more funds in reserve because of volatility makes sense, if it can be accomplished without violating the letter and the spirit of Gann spending limit. Unfortunately, ACA 1, in its current form does just that. Here’s how. Just a year after Proposition 13’s passage in 1978, California voters approved the Gann spending limit which, like Prop. 13, sought to restrain the size and growth of government. But unlike Proposition 13, which was a direct limit on taxation, Gann attempted to limit government spending. It limited the growth of state and local government expenditures to a base-year level adjusted annually to reflect increases in population and inflation. Initially, the Gann limit performed as designed and resulted in a modest rebate to taxpayers in 1987. But subsequent measures backed by special interests weakened the Gann limit by creating exceptions for education and transportation spending as well as substituting a far more generous inflation factor. Ironically, after these changes, most public finance observers – including yours truly – wrongfully assumed that California would never again bump up against the limit. But a big surplus in fiscal year 2022-23 put the state on the brink of reaching that limit. While that collision was briefly avoided due to COVID-19, California once again is confronted with a Gann issue that can no longer be ignored. For taxpayers, the best outcome would be to let the Gann limit run its course and return money to taxpayers “by a revision of tax rates or fee schedules within the next two subsequent fiscal years.” Cal.Const., Art. XIIIB, Section 2(a)(2). This is consistent with the plain language of Gann and is more than warranted given California’s heavy tax burden. Related Articles Opinion Columnists | End the IRS’s worldwide tax grab Opinion Columnists | Mass deportations are bad for everyone’s liberties Opinion Columnists | The draconian penalties that Hunter Biden escaped affect people whose fathers can’t save them Opinion Columnists | California politicians suddenly discover inflation in aftermath of election Opinion Columnists | How California ranks as the most active political state But ACA 1 might prevent taxpayer refunds due to the change in treatment of transfers into the budget stabilization account. Under Gann, the state and local governments may create reserve accounts, like the BSA, but those transfers are subject to Gann’s spending limits. On the other hand, spending out of a reserve account is not so limited. As currently drafted, it appears that ACA 1 would exempt transfers out of the reserve account – currently permissible under Gann – but would also exempt appropriations into the BSA: Section (i) provides, “Transfers to the Budget Stabilization Account pursuant to this section do not constitute appropriations subject to limitation as defined in Article XIII B.” This appears to create a fund into which unlimited funds can be appropriated, guaranteeing that taxpayers will never get a refund of their tax dollars. There are better ways to address revenue volatility without injury to the goal of the Gann Spending Limit, which was enacted to provide a modicum of spending restraint in a state that doesn’t have any. California taxpayers need something more than a rainy day fund that’s all slush. Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
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NEW YORK — Stoli Group USA, the owner of the namesake vodka , has filed for bankruptcy as it struggled to contend with slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack that has snarled its operations and several years of fighting Russia in court. The company in its bankruptcy filing said it is “experiencing financial difficulties” and lists between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities. Stoli vodka and Kentucky Owl bourbon will continue to be available on store shelves while the company navigates the Chapter 11 process, which only pertains to its U.S. business. Until 2022, Stoli was sold as Stolichnaya in the United States, which loosely translates to “capital city” in Russian. The company shortened its title following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and boycotts against Russian-branded vodkas . Stoli Group’s founder, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, was exiled from that nation in 2000 because of his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Intel announced on December 2 that CEO Pat Gelsinger has resigned after a difficult stint at the company. The once-dominant chipmaker’s stock cratered as it missed the AI boom and was surpassed by most of its rivals. The liquor has long been marketed as a Russian vodka, but its production facilities have been in Latvia for several decades. Stoli Group is a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns other spirit and wine brands. “The Stoli Group has been targeted by the Russian Federation since it was formed nearly 25 years ago,” said Stoli Group CEO Chris Caldwell in a statement. “Earlier this year the company and our owner were both named by the Russian state as ‘extremist groups working against Russia’s interests.’” Its ongoing legal battle with the Russia government has forced Stoli to “spend dozens of millions of dollars on this long-term court battle across the globe with the Russian authorities,” according to its court filing. Caldwell also said that Stoli’s global operations has been a “victim of a malicious cyber attack” that has forced the company to operate “entirely manually while the systems are rebuilt.” A slowdown in demand for alcohol has crushed several company’s bottom lines following the pandemic when people were stuck at home and stocked up. Stoli’s filings said that it has seen a “decline and softening of demand for alcohol and spirits products post-Covid and especially beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024.” Stoli Group USA, maker of Stoli vodka, has filed for bankruptcy due to slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack, and ongoing legal battles with Russia. The-CNN-WireTM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
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With the Vikings coming off a losing season and undergoing a full reboot at quarterback, hardly anybody took them seriously going into this season. They are now. For all the wistful speculation about the Bears pulling an upset Sunday at Soldier Field, the Vikings are no joke. They’re 8-2, they have a top-five defense, one of the NFL’s best players regardless of position in wide receiver Justin Jefferson and a quarterback in Sam Darnold playing at a Pro Bowl level. That enough to get your attention? The Vikings have been uneven lately, but their only defeats were against the Lions (9-1) and Rams (5-5). They lost 31-29 to Detroit on a last-second field goal and, on a quick turnaround to fly to the West Coast four days later, couldn’t keep up with the Rams. Meanwhile, the Bears have trudged through a four-game losing streak that got so bleak they fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron last week . Every opponent starts by making a plan for Jefferson, who needs 88 yards Sunday to hit 1,000 in each of his first five seasons. And the Bears won’t simply stick Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson on him for the day because they keep their corners on specific sides of the field regardless of where the receivers line up. They also have a strong No. 2 receiver in Jordan Addison, two-time Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson and former Packers 1,000-yard running back Aaron Jones. Defensively, free agent pickup linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel is sixth in the league with eight sacks and has two interceptions, cornerback Byron Murphy has four picks and the collective unit is second in the NFL with 21 takeaways. That side of the ball is run by renowned defensive coordinator Brian Flores, a strategic mastermind. He learned under Bill Belichick, and it shows. “You can definitely see it,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Friday. “The way they utilize their fronts is very similar to what New England used to do.” Flores, like Belichick, is brilliant at disguising his defense. Everyone knows he’s the league’s most blitz-heavy defensive play caller, but every week he surprises them nonetheless. It’s incredibly difficult for veteran quarterbacks to decode when and how he’s going to do it, let alone Bears rookie Caleb Williams. Coach Kevin O’Connell, meanwhile, has proven to be everything the Bears mistakenly believed they were getting when they hired Matt Nagy in 2018: a steady hand, a quarterback whisperer and an incredibly savvy play caller. “You can see a guy that is adaptable and adjustable and very creative in the way he calls a game,” Eberflus said. “That’s why he’s had success.” O’Connell inherited Kirk Cousins in 2022, and the Vikings rolled to 13-4 and an NFC North title. When Cousins tore his Achilles last season, O’Connell patched it together with two journeymen and a rookie drafted in the fifth round and had the team 7-6 in December before it ran out of gas and finished 7-10. Now, with rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy — the No. 10 pick — declared out for the season in August with a knee injury, he has brought out by far the best play of Darnold’s career. It must drive the Bears crazy seeing how easy it looks everywhere else. Darnold, already on his fourth team at 27, is ninth in the NFL in passer rating (100.0), 10th in completion percentage (67.9) and fifth in touchdown passes (19). The downside to Darnold is that O’Connell hasn’t cured the interception problem that derailed his career in the first place — he has 10, second-most in the league — and he’s been shaky lately. After racing into MVP candidacy to begin the season, Darnold slipped with two interceptions against the Colts in Week 8 and three the next week against the Jaguars. The Vikings certainly have flaws, but they’re rock solid compared to how the Bears have looked this season.NoneErling Haaland has insisted his Manchester City team-mates are still 'believing' despite their poor form. The Premier League champions are winless in seven matches across all competitions for the first time since 2004. Meanwhile, the Citizens are also on their worst run of league form since 2008. Sunday's defeat at Liverpool was City's fourth in a row, matching a run from April to August 16 years ago. That run spread over two seasons, though, as losses to Fulham, Liverpool and Middlesbrough were followed by an opening weekend defeat to Aston Villa. Fast-forward to this season and the defeat at Anfield added to recent losses to Bournemouth, Brighton and Tottenham. In response to the latest setback, however, Haaland took to social media to provide supporters with a message. The forward wrote on X : "We've seen better days before, and we'll see them again. We keep believing." City slipped to fifth in the table with the defeat in Merseyside and now trail leaders Liverpool by 11 points. They will be hoping to cut the gap at home to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday in their latest chance to snap the winless streak. The home win over Southampton on October 26 remains their last victory, having since been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Spurs. City were also beaten in the Champions League by Sporting before last week's three-goal collapse against Feyenoord meant they had to settle for a draw. As for Haaland, he has three goals across the winless run, but has failed to score in the last two league matches. Despite that, he remains the Premier League's top scorer this term with 12 strikes in 13 appearances. The Norwegian also has an impressive record against Forest ahead of their trip to the Etihad Stadium. In four previous meetings, he has scored five goals, including a hat-trick at home in August 2022. Haaland was on target in both league matches between the sides last season. City, meanwhile, have not lost to Forest in a league meeting since December 1997, a run stretching eight matches.
The Apple iOS 18 has been rolled out and it brings some important features including call recording, hiding apps and much more. Well, as users are installing the latest update there has been reports of battery draining issue. Battery draining issue is a massive issue and if you are one of those who are facing it, you should not worry about that. We have mentioned some hacks through which you can improve the battery health on your iPhone (post iOS 18 update) Have you ever wondered that a mere restart can fix a lot of things? Yes! You read it right. If you are facing battery draining issue after applying Apple iOS 18 on your iPhone, you can restart it and the issue might get fixed. Simultaneously press and hold the side button and either volume button. After some seconds you can see the sliders. Now, drag the slider to right in order to turn off the iPhone. Just wait for 30 seconds or 1 minute and then start the device. In case you are facing the issue of battery drainage on your device post the iOS 18 update, you can simply relax and let your device finish the background processing. Post a new update, the device takes some time to finish background processing and you need not worry if you face the issue of battery. If you are using an older iPhone and facing battery drainage post iOS 18 update, you should ensure whether you battery is alright or not. Open Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging In case the maximum capacity is more than 80% there are no issues. However, if the battery capacity falls below 80% you might need to be worried. You can ensure that you device will keep good battery health if you avoid battery draining issue on your iPhone. In order to check which application is draining you battery health massively, you have to go to the settings and find that. If you find an app that is unused, simply uninstall it. In case you have an app that is used on regular basis and consuming a lot of battery you can update it. Updating your existing application can work wonders. An updated can save you from the issue of battery drainage. Making sure that all the apps are up-to-date can save you from battery drainage issue.
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Implementing ancient agricultural practices to confront modern-day challenges of water scarcity and food insecurity
The company in its bankruptcy filing said it is “experiencing financial difficulties” and lists between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities. Stoli vodka and Kentucky Owl bourbon will continue to be available on store shelves while the company navigates the Chapter 11 process, which only pertains to its U.S. business. Until 2022, Stoli was sold as Stolichnaya in the United States, which loosely translates to “capital city” in Russian. The company shortened its title following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and boycotts against Russian-branded vodkas . Stoli Group’s founder, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, was exiled from that nation in 2000 because of his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. The liquor has long been marketed as a Russian vodka, but its production facilities have been in Latvia for several decades. Stoli Group is a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns other spirit and wine brands. “The Stoli Group has been targeted by the Russian Federation since it was formed nearly 25 years ago,” said Stoli Group CEO Chris Caldwell in a statement. “Earlier this year the company and our owner were both named by the Russian state as ‘extremist groups working against Russia’s interests.’” Its ongoing legal battle with the Russia government has forced Stoli to “spend dozens of millions of dollars on this long-term court battle across the globe with the Russian authorities,” according to its court filing. Caldwell also said that Stoli’s global operations has been a “victim of a malicious cyber attack” that has forced the company to operate “entirely manually while the systems are rebuilt.” A slowdown in demand for alcohol has crushed several company’s bottom lines following the pandemic when people were stuck at home and stocked up. Stoli’s filings said that it has seen a “decline and softening of demand for alcohol and spirits products post-Covid and especially beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024.”WEBCO INDUSTRIES, INC. REPORTS FISCAL 2025 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS