IRS Issues New Home-Office Deduction

NEW YORK (MainStreet)—The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new rule to make it easier for home-based business owners and some home-based workers to save both time and money. For the 2013 tax year, rather than itemize business expenses, qualified taxpayers with home offices can choose to take a deduction of $5 per square foot of home-office space for up to 300 square feet for a maximum of $1,500.
There are at least three groups of home business owners who will benefit from the new rule, according to Xavier Epps, a financial advisor and IRS-registered tax return preparer at XNE Financial Advising.

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San Diego Schools Honored For Pledge To Technology In The Classroom

iPads, iPhones, interactive whiteboards.

Who could have imagined how technology would shape almost every part of our lives? Students have no trouble adapting to the tablets instead of books and interactive technology is adding a whole new dimension to teaching. Many schools in San Diego County are not only keeping up. They’re leading the way by incorporating technology in their teaching. And it’s having a positive impact on student learning and possibly leveling the playing field for education.

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Trial Begins In Lawsuit Over Encinitas School District Yoga Class

Trial of a lawsuit that seeks to stop yoga instruction in the Encinitas Union School District got underway today in a San Diego courtroom.

The lawsuit was filed by the National Center for Law and Policy on behalf of Stephen and Jennifer Sedlock, whose children attend one of the district’s nine schools. They contend that Ashtanga yoga is religious in nature, and that opting out costs students physical education time.

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Yes, Despite the Student Loan ‘Crisis,’ College IS Worth It

In the United States, the college experience typically begins with an acceptance letter. And around four years later, for seniors like Reaz Khan who told us his story in the accompanying video, it ends with a very different type of mail…bills from student loan issuers.

Sixty percent of of college graduates are like Reaz and go into debt paying for college tuition. They borrow over $27,000 on average, according to student loan expert Mark Kantrowitz. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that amounts to a trillion dollars outstanding nationally.

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State denim drive collects 1,900 items for women’s causes

The final tally is in: Government employees at 20 state and local departments and four Sacramento-area businesses collected 1,916 pieces of clothing during last month’s Denim Drive.

Many of the donated items go directly to victims of violent crime and abuse, while others will be sold in thrift stores that fund assistance services, including WEAVE, Yolo Co Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center., and La Casa de las Madres in San Francisco.

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South Bay Schools Select New Superintendent

San Diego Unified isn’t the only district that will have a new leader at the helm when the next school year starts.

South Bay Union School District is poised to hire a new superintendent after a two-and-a-half-month-long search.

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Latinos Hardest Hit By Community College Class Shortages

Limited community college capacity could keep 2.5 million Californians out of the system over the next 10 years. The seat shortage is expected to fall hardest on Latino students, squeezing 840,000 out of the schools.

Since 2007, San Diego Community Colleges have cut more than 2,600 class sections, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Colleges lost 1,600 classes and Palomar College halved its summer offerings.

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