Coronavirus: Supporting essential-service workers, delivering food packages on Central Okanagan school district’s agenda

It’s been three weeks since students in the Central Okanagan last went to school because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Sometime soon, remote learning will begin, with students taking instruction online. But for a select few, some could be returning to class this week.

Coronavirus: Quebec police get new power to enforce social distancing, consider new COVID-19 squad

The process of ticketing someone for breaking social distancing rules was made easier for Quebec police officers on Saturday.

Before, police had to send a report to the Crown prosecutor’s office before any charges were laid. Now, officers with the Montreal Police and Surete du Quebec can give a $1,000 ticket on the spot for illegal gatherings both indoor and outdoor.

Coronavirus: Kelowna streamer playing video games to raise funds for Central Okanagan Food Bank

Dylan St.Onge is gaming for a cause.

As video gamer and streamer St.Onge is turning to his subscribers to help him raise funds for the Central Okanagan Food Bank to help during the COVID-19 world pandemic.

MEDIA-Martin Hughes moves to head off Woodford-style crisis for Toscafund – The Sunday Times

— Source link: bit.ly/2UG14g1

— Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

Speaker Pelosi Aims to Bring Up Next Virus Stimulus This Month

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Communities in the U.S. “cannot afford to wait” for the next coronavirus stimulus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to House lawmakers, adding “it is my hope that we will craft this legislation and bring it to the floor later this month.”

The next package “must go further in assisting small businesses including farmers, extending and strengthening unemployment benefits and giving families additional direct payments,” according to Pelosi. She said it would give more resources to state and local governments, health care including hospitals and medical workers, and first responders.

Pelosi has scaled back her ambitions for Congress’s next coronavirus stimulus package to focus on additional direct payments to individuals and expanded loans to businesses, possibly leaving an $800 billion infrastructure plan and other Democratic priorities for a later bill.

San Francisco Park’s 150th Birthday Celebration Goes Online

San Francisco (AP) — Golden Gate Park turns 150 years old on Saturday, and the huge party to celebrate San Francisco’s beloved treasure will, for the time being, take place online.

Originally, city officials planned a yearlong celebration that included free museum admission, concerts and the participation of more than 150 cultural institutions and community groups. A giant Ferris wheel that lifts passengers 150 feet into the sky was brought in for the occasion.

But the spread of the coronavirus forced them to postpone the event.

Instead, they launched an online concert series featuring musical sets performed in the park over the years. They include an appearance by Boz Scaggs at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in 2016 and Metallica’s headlining performance at the Outside Lands festival in 2017.

“Golden Gate Park has served as a place of inspiration, hope and refuge for San Franciscans for 150 years,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement.

“We hope these virtual experiences will bring some joy and entertainment during this challenging times.”

April 4 marks the day the park was chartered by order of California State Legislature 150 years ago. Skeptics doubted the city’s sand dunes could be converted into park land, but field engineer William Hammond Hall and master gardener John McLaren figured out a way to blanket more than 1,000 acres on the city’s west side with trees.

Mexican president, BlackRock CEO discussed coronavirus impact

MEXICO CITY, April 4 (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Saturday that he had a video call with BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink to discuss the novel coronavirus and its impact on the world economy. He gave no further details. (Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Coronavirus stimulus bill offers relief for retirees

Retirees and pre-retirees considering tapping their qualified retirement accounts to survive tough times just got a tax break.

The recently passed $2 trillion stimulus law features loan provisions that are designed for anyone “who experiences adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined or being furloughed.”

The law provides tax reduction benefits for those who need to borrow from retirement accounts — such as 401(k)s and IRAs — that qualify for tax deferral, as well as for retirees who are required to take money from accounts each year and now worry about selling in a market crash.

Retirees won’t be required to take minimum distributions this year — analysts say that’s a good thing because they will benefit from deferral. The longer one delays using retirement funds, the more they can compound. Compounding, advisers say, is critical in achieving a retirement goal.

Retirees ages 70 to 72 can now wait a year to take a required minimum distribution from a qualified plan. This gives their beat-up accounts extra time to recover.

Those not yet retired, who need cash to survive, can withdraw up to $100,000 without the normal 10 percent penalty that attaches to premature withdrawals before age 59 ¹/₂. But the loan must be paid back within three years.

But Sallie Mullins Thompson, a Manhattan financial planner, said to avoid borrowing from a retirement account.

“The enhanced unemployed benefits would be at the top of my list. Max those out first, along with any emergency fund savings, before raiding your retirement plan,” Thompson said.