Federal commuter tax benefit cut by nearly half

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsNEW JERSEY (WABC) -- A not-so-happy new year for millions of folks in the tri-state who take mass transit.

The federal commuter tax benefit, which lets you deduct mass transit expenses, pre-tax, has been cut by nearly half.

That means a sort of hidden tax hike for millions of people.

Brianna and a buddy are taking the train into the city. She called her trip by car to Long Island the other day, a nightmare.

"We got caught in traffic. After 2 hours, we were still in Jersey City," said Brianna Graciano, a commuter.

It's what hundreds of thousands of bus and rail commuters miss, thank goodness, by not driving.

But many are about to lose part of another commuter benefit that saved them hundreds of dollars a year.

A federal stimulus plan that nearly doubled the amount of money commuters could claim tax free, as a part of the expense of traveling to work, ends at the end of the year.

For example, a monthly pass from New Brunswick to New York Penn Station is $361.

With the stimulus, only $131 dollars of the expense is taxed. Without the benefit, $241 is taxable income.

"You're talking about 13, 14 hundred dollars a year, doldrums that it is," said Albert Papp, NJ Association of Railroad Passengers.

New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, asking it to maintain the higher benefit for commuters, who's mass transit travels, they say, have more far-reaching benefits for everyone.

"It saves on the fuel, it's hard to park over there," a commuter said.

Commuters sign up for the benefit through their employers, who also get a 10% tax break.

Rail activists say it can save commuters up to 1,500 a year.

So far, the finance committee has not acted.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »

new jersey, commuting, taxes, tax cut, new jersey news, toni yates

View the original article here

The Benefits of Starting A Home-Based Business

LI bar owners, communty board spar over last call

  Eyewitness NewsLONG ISLAND (WABC) -- There is a big debate brewing on Long Island over what time bars and restaurants should close on New Year's Eve.

A community board wants to move the current closing time of 4 a.m. up to 2 a.m.

Groups representing bar owners say shutting the doors two hours early will cost them thousands of dollars, something they say they can't afford.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Long Island News »

long island, long island news

View the original article here

NYC seeks to open scaled-down Tavern on the Green

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Two years after the glitzy Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park closed, New York City officials are looking to open a scaled-down version.

The New York Post reports (http://nyp.st/tgHqaY ) that the city is seeking an operator for a more casual Tavern on the Green.

Tavern on the Green generated $38 million a year in revenues before the recession. It closed on New Year's Day 2010.

The city granted a license to run the restaurant to Dean Poll, who operates the Loeb Boathouse restaurant along the Central Park lake. But Poll was unable to reach an agreement with the union that represents former Tavern employees.

The Post says the new plan would reduce the restaurant's indoor space from 22,000 square feet to just over 10,000 square feet.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news

View the original article here

IRS sues Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner over tax refund

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- The Internal Revenue Service is suing New York Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner over what it calls an "erroneous" tax refund of more than $670,000.

The suit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Tampa, Fla.

The dispute dates to the 2001 tax year and involves a refund the IRS paid in 2009. The IRS says the refund claim was filed too late and has sued Steinbrenner and his wife, Christina, to recover $670,493.78.

Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion says Steinbrenner's representatives hadn't received any prior notices regarding the matter from the IRS.

---
FOR MORE NEW YORK SPORTS CLICK HERE TO VISIT ESPN NEW YORK

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more MLB »

new york yankees, mlb

View the original article here

You Cannot FAIL At An Online Business If You Are Never Really IN Business In The First Place

Feud may cost Time Warner customers MSG Network

The Power of You.

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A growing business dispute may force millions of television viewers to go without watching New York Knicks and Rangers games.

Time Warner Cable and Madison Square Garden's MSG network are feuding over rising programming costs.

If the two sides don't reach a deal, Time Warner may lose the network after their current agreement expires on January 1.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

New Year rings in lower taxes for New Yorkers

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is planning to mix optimism into his first State of the State address along with plans to overhaul state government.

  ALBANY, N.Y. (WABC) -- In New York, the new year will ring in lower taxes.

On his website, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a clock counting down to January 1, when new tax cuts take effect.

The governor says middle class New Yorkers will be paying the lowest tax rates in 58 years. (Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »

new york state politics, politics & elections

View the original article here

NYTimes offers discounts in mistaken email gaffe

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- In today's digital age, it's easy to send out an email by mistake - even for a company that's in the business of communication.

The New York Times thought it was sending an email to a few hundred people who had recently canceled subscriptions, offering them a 50 percent discount for 16 weeks to lure them back.

Instead, Wednesday's offer went to 8.6 million email addresses of people who had given them to the Times.

That was the first mistake. The second came when the Times tweeted this: "If you received an email today about canceling your NYT subscription, ignore it. It's not from us."

But the Times did send the original email, Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said.

"This email should have been sent to a very small number of subscribers, but instead was sent to a vast distribution list made up of people who had previously provided their email address to The New York Times. We regret the error," Murphy said in an email.

"The initial tweet was in error and we regret the mistake," she added.

The damage had already been done, however.

Many people called or wrote in. The newspaper initially honored the discount, even to people who were already paying full price and had no plans to cancel. Murphy said the newspaper stopped giving out discounts to people who received the email in error by early afternoon. She did not say how much the gaffe cost the company or specify how many people contacted the newspaper.

A parody Twitter account called (at)NYTSpam amassed 152 followers by Wednesday afternoon by making fun of the slip-up. The account's description of itself says: "Parody account. Not affiliated with (at)NYTimes or actual spammers -- just sick of bad digital strategy."

The newspaper has made big strides in raising revenue from digital subscriptions. It says it has gained 324,000 digital subscribers since restricting full online access to paying subscribers in March.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business

View the original article here

Delta launches app to track luggage

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- Delta Airlines has created a high-tech way to keep track of your luggage after it's dropped off at the airport.

The airline launched a new app that allows travelers to follow their bags' progress through their smart phone.

The app also tells passengers at which carousel they can retrieve their luggage.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Science & Technology »

science & technology

View the original article here

Online Business Broker: Stress Free Help Selling Your Business

Avastin disappoints against ovarian cancer

This undated photo provided Jan. 31, 2011, by California-based Genentech Inc., shows the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin. (AP Photo / AP Photo/Genentech Inc.)

  By MARILYNN MARCHIONEWASHIINGTON -- Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer, now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too. Two studies found it did not improve survival for most of these patients and kept their disease from worsening for only a few months, with more side effects.

The Genentech drug won approval in Europe last week for advanced ovarian cancer. But its maker has no immediate plans to seek the same approval in the United States. After talking with the Food and Drug Administration, "we do not believe the data will support approval" although no final decision has been made, said Charlotte Arnold, a spokeswoman for Genentech, part of the Swiss company Roche.

Results of the studies are in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

In November, the FDA revoked Avastin's approval for breast cancer because it did not meaningfully extend life and can have serious side effects. Without approval, doctors can prescribe the drug but insurers may not pay. Treatment with it can cost $100,000 a year.

Avastin can still be sold for some colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers. The new research was aimed at adding ovarian cancer to the list.

One study, led by Dr. Robert Burger of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, involved nearly 1,900 women with advanced ovarian cancer given one of three treatment combinations. The time until the disease got worse was a median of 10 months in those given just chemotherapy; adding Avastin improved that by just one to four months for the other two groups.

Survival was similar among the groups, and side effects were higher among those on Avastin - mostly high blood pressure but also some stomach and gut problems that needed treatment.

In the other study, led by researchers from England, more than 1,500 ovarian cancer patients were given chemo with or without Avastin. The drug kept cancer at bay just one to two months longer than chemo alone did, with more cases of high blood pressure. There was a trend toward improved survival for those on Avastin, but the difference was too small to say the drug was responsible.

Genentech helped pay for the studies and some of the researchers consult for the company.

Dr. Gary Lyman, a Duke University researcher who was on the FDA advisory panel that recommended revoking Avastin's approval for breast cancer, wrote in an email that he agreed with the company's decision not to seek approval for ovarian cancer.

"The situation is very similar" to the results in breast cancer, and approval is unlikely unless a biological marker or test can show which patients might benefit, he wrote.

About 220,000 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed each year around the world, and it causes 140,000 deaths. In the United States, the National Cancer Institute estimates 22,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths each year.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Health News »

health news

View the original article here

Gold falls to its lowest level since July

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Gold closed on Wednesday at the lowest level in more than five months.

Gold for February delivery fell almost 2 percent, losing $31.40 to end at $1,564.10 an ounce. That's the lowest closing price since July 12. Silver fell even more sharply, by 5 percent.

Gold has been dropping for the last month, partly because of signs the U.S. economy is growing more strongly than had been expected. Many traders bought gold out of fear of weakness in the U.S., but now money is flowing into riskier investments like stocks.

Gold is down 10 percent from the beginning of December.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Business »

business
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Federal judge ends BP's probation for Alaska spill

  By MARK THIESSENANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed prosecutors' argument that a BP subsidiary violated its probation after an oil spill because of another spill on Alaska's North Slope.

Judge Ralph Beistline also lifted BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s probation altogether.

BP had been convicted of negligent discharge of oil in 2007 for a 200,000-gallon spill on the North Slope a year earlier. There was another spill of 13,500 gallons in 2009.

Last month, government lawyers sought to have BP's probation revoked for the latest spill, meaning the probation period could have been lengthened or the company could have faced additional penalties.

In his ruling, Beistline said the government failed to prove the company committed criminal negligence.

"We are pleased with the decision and appreciate the court's attention," BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said in an email to The Associated Press. "We know that the privilege of working in Alaska comes with a responsibility to maintain high standards. We will continue our commitment to running safe and compliant operations."

Emails seeking comment from the U.S. attorney's office in Anchorage were not immediately returned.

Prosecutors said BP's history of environmental crimes in Alaska began in February 2001 when it pleaded guilty to releasing hazardous materials at its Endicott facility on the North Slope.

The company was fined $500,000, placed on probation for five years and ordered to create a nationwide environmental management program, prosecutors said.

The March 2006 spill of 200,000 gallons of crude was caused by corrosion, and BP's leak detection system failed to notice it, they said.

The company's guilty plea to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act in 2007 resulted in three years' probation, a $12 million fine, and restitution and community service payments totaling $8 million to the state of Alaska and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Prosecutors contended BP violated the conditions of its probation by allowing the 2009 spill from an 18-inch pipe that moved oil, water and gas from drill pads to BP's Lisburne Processing Center. That spill, prosecutors said, leaked 13,500 gallons of oil onto tundra and wetlands.

The government said it was similar to the 2006 spill because BP ignored alarms that warned of the pipe's eventual rupture and leak.

The 2009 spill also came after a similar pipe froze and ruptured in 2001, they said, and BP failed to put in place preventative measures that their own experts recommended.

But in his ruling, Beistline wrote: "The investigation concluded, based on the metallurgy report, that the pipeline rupture was not caused by corrosion or improper maintenance, but was caused by a sequence of circumstances, including cooling and warming of ambient temperature after the flow stopped, which led to the freezing of both water and hydrates. This ultimately resulted in increased gas pressure within the pipeline that caused the rupture. Why the flow slowed initially remains a mystery to all."

Beistline said BP followed "accepted industry practices at all relevant times and could not have reasonably expected a blowout similar to the one that occurred on November 29, 2009. Further, the court concludes that once the freeze up was discovered, BP acted reasonably in addressing the problem."

He also said BP's efforts to return the spill site to pre-spill conditions were "impressive."

"An untrained observer would likely be unable to find any indication that a spill had occurred," he wrote, adding there was no evidence that contaminants reached any nearby lakes or Prudhoe Bay.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business

View the original article here

How to Start a Pet-Sitting Business

Verizon Wireless to charge $2 for one-time payment

  By PETER SVENSSONNEW YORK -- Verizon Wireless, the country's largest cellphone company, is introducing a $2 fee for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit cards.

The company says this "convenience fee" will be introduced Jan. 15.

The fee won't apply to electronic check payments or to automatic credit card payments set up through Verizon's AutoPay system.

Paying by credit card in a Verizon store will also be free, as will mailing a check.

Other carriers have tried to get subscribers to move to automatic payments through other means. AT&T Inc. offers a $10 gift card for those who set up AutoPay. Sprint Nextel Corp. charges subscribers who have caps on the fees they can rack up each month.

Those people are charged $5 monthly unless they set up autopay.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

verizon, business

View the original article here

Where Businesses Fall Short

Recovering from the Loss of a Business: Recovery, Reversal, and Coping Strategies

Final talks planned for Connecticut office cleaners

  Eyewitness NewsHARTFORD, Conn. -- With the final day of scheduled contract talks between nearly 2,000 Hartford and New Haven building cleaners on tap, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is urging both sides to avoid a strike.

The Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with the Hartford Area Cleaning Contractors Association. The current contract expires Sunday. The workers voted last week to allow their bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary.

Malloy on Tuesday urged both sides to come to the table with an open mind. He said a strike has the potential to disrupt the lives of the workers and those who work in the buildings they clean.

Those buildings include the state Capitol, the Travelers Tower in Hartford and New Haven City Hall.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Northern Suburbs News »

connecticut, northern suburbs news

View the original article here

Deal reached to avert NYC hospital nurse strike

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Negotiators for 1,300 nurses at a private New York City hospital have reached a tentative deal on a four-year contract that would avert a threatened strike.

Continuum Health Partners Communities and the New York State Nurses Association announced the agreement Tuesday. It came a week before the nurses at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan had planned to strike.

Continuum President Stanley Brezenoff said in a note to the hospital that the deal was reached Monday night. The nurses union said a Jan. 4 vote was scheduled on a deal that addresses key concerns. Those include affordable health care, relief from high prescription costs, safe patient staffing levels and fair wages.

Contract negotiations continue for nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai in Manhattan.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Riders stuck on snow-trapped train sue MTA

  By VERENA DOBNIKNEW YORK -- Subway riders stuck all night in a train trapped by snow after a blizzard sued a transportation agency on Tuesday, saying officials told them it was simply "an act of God."

In court papers describing last year's ordeal, they said they had no heat, food, water or bathroom facilities while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority kept promising help.

The city was all but paralyzed when the storm hit on Dec. 26, 2010, with 2 feet of snow piled around an A train on elevated tracks in Queens. Inside were about 500 passengers who spent eight hours there in freezing temperatures.

The conductor refused to allow passengers off the train, "resulting in a deplorable imprisonment," said 22 of them named in the suit, which was filed in Queens state Supreme Court.

They are seeking unspecified damages from the New York City Transit Authority, part of the MTA, which runs the nation's largest mass transit system. The subway alone has a daily ridership of more than 5 million.

Manhattan attorney Aymen Aboushi said the stranded passengers decided to sue after a year of meetings with transit officials convinced them that suing was the only way to get the MTA to pay attention. He said he's handling the case pro bono in hopes of forcing changes in the emergency response system to avert a similar nightmare.

The MTA issued a statement Tuesday saying it already has implemented changes to improve performance in future storms. The changes include "protocols to suspend service in harsh conditions" and assigning a rider advocate "to ensure the safety and comfort of our customers."

The blizzard, just after Christmas last year, was part of a mammoth nor'easter that stretched from Florida to Maine.

More than 2 feet of snow fell on some parts of New York City, combined with strong winds that led to a massive transportation gridlock. Hundreds of buses were stuck on streets, commuter trains were frozen onto tracks and major airports closed.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was criticized for its slow response to the foul weather and its aftermath. Streets went unplowed for days, and cars, buses and other vehicles were stranded. Bloomberg acknowledged the response wasn't good enough.

A year later, more than $1.8 million has been paid out in claims, with more pending from people who said they were injured on snowy and icy roads and walkways or whose cars and other property were damaged from snow removal efforts, according to the city comptroller's office.

Passengers on the stranded A train say their frantic cellphone calls to 911 and the MTA did not result in any action - or even helpful information.

"It's pretty clear that the MTA dropped the ball," Aboushi said.

With frost developing on the subway windows inside, passengers spent the night huddled together in one of the five cars to create some body heat, they said.

One woman resorted to a makeshift toilet - outside between subway cars. Others urinated or defecated in the car filled with riders, some standing for hours because there wasn't enough room, according to the complaint.

Several others had to be hospitalized after finally being rescued from the Manhattan-bound train, which was stuck on the tracks between the Aqueduct and Rockaway Boulevard stations. One rider developed bronchitis, another pneumonia.

"When the train was finally moved, the passengers were off-loaded at the next stop, in the freezing cold, with about three feet of snow on the ground," the plaintiffs said in their lawsuit.

As for any changes being implemented, Aboushi said: "There really hasn't been any meaningful policy change."

The passengers named in the suit met with MTA officials repeatedly in the past year to voice their complaints, but transit officials insisted they "did nothing wrong and that the passengers being trapped was an act of God outside the defendant's control," according to the suit.

Aboushi said transit officials should introduce "an effective communication policy with passengers" that would make it possible to provide accurate information to anyone stuck during an emergency. In addition, he said, there should be a way to get basic resources such as food and water to passengers in need.

"We're not asking them to provide three-course dinners," he said. "But there were grandfathers on that train."

At a City Council hearing earlier this month, NYC Transit President Thomas Prendergast acknowledged that transit officials had lost track of the stranded train.

"We forgot about it," he said, adding, "It's inexcusable."

---
Associated Press writer Samantha Gross contributed to this report.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

new york city, mta, blizzard, new york news

View the original article here

It's Not Brain Surgery, It's Just An Online Home Based Business

Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores are shutting down after terrible holiday sales during the most crucial time of the year for retailers.

Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said Tuesday that the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash in inventory sales. The retailer anticipates additional proceeds from the sale or sublease of real estate holdings.

The retailer says that same-store revenue fell 5.2 percent to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart. Kmart's declining sales were blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales. Sears' cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales.

Sears has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business

View the original article here

How to Profit Handsomely From a Secret Business Model Virtually No Small Business is Using!

Sony, Samsung dissolve panel joint venture

  Eyewitness NewsTOKYO -- Japan's Sony and South Korean rival Samsung are dissolving their joint venture in liquid crystal display panels.

Sony Corp. said Monday that Samsung Electronics Co. will buy all of Sony's shares in the joint venture.

The joint venture called S-LCD was set up in 2004. Sony invested in a Samsung panel factory to get supplies of panels for its LCD TVs.

Sony does not make its own LCD panels.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business

View the original article here

Shoe sale at Saks leads to pushing, shoving, fighting

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- Big sales on shoes led to big fights at Saks Fifth Avenue Monday.

Shoppers went a little crazy over a 60 percent off sale at the department store.

The shoe department was even shut down as women fought over bargains.

The sale was supposed to go until noon on Monday, but shoppers turned aggressive when they were worried they might not be able to buy their shoes on time.

People in line panicked and at least two women were fighting, witnesses said.

Security guards shut down and cleared out the eighth-floor women's shoe section at 11:30 a.m. because of the overcrowding.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Eight states to increase minimum wages in 2012

  Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON (WABC) -- There will be more money for minimum wage workers in 2012.

Eight states will see hourly rate increases of between 28 to 37 cents an hour.

The top minimum wage state will be Washington, where workers will make $9.04 an hour.

Colorado workers will get the smallest boost, with wages going up to $7.64 an hour.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business

View the original article here

Poll: 49 percent of LIRR riders satisfied with service

  Eyewitness NewsMELVILLE (WABC) -- How satisfied are riders of the Long Island Rail Road? More so than you might expect.

A new poll finds almost a majority are satisfied.

Forty percent called the service "good," while 9 percent called it "excellent."

Only 10 percent said the service was "poor."

The Sienna College Research Institute talked to 800 Long Island residents for Newsday.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Long Island News »

long island, long island railroad, long island news

View the original article here

Study: Same-sex couples pay more in taxes

(AP Photo)

  Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON (WABC) -- A new analysis by H&R Block shows spouses in same-sex relationships pay as much as $6,000 more in federal income taxes.

Same-sex couples can't file jointly like heterosexual couples because federal law doesn't recognize same-sex marriage.

Tax specialists used scenarios where couples took the standard deduction, and wages were their only source of income.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Business »

business
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

The Chief Cause of Business Failure & Success

Finding What You Want With Your Home Business

1941 fruitcake in Ohio sells for $525

  Eyewitness NewsCINCINNATI -- A 1941 fruitcake has sold for $525 to an Arizona man in an Ohio company's online auction, and the money will go to the homeless in southwest Ohio.

Elite Estate Group sold the cake in an auction on its website.

Company owner Larry Chaney says the man, who wanted to remain anonymous, probably bought the cake as an investment. Chaney says he doubts anyone would eat a 70-year-old fruitcake even though it was vacuum packed and contained rum that probably helped preserve it.

The cake was made in 1941 by The Kroger Co. It was returned unopened to a Kroger store in 1971. The manager took it home and kept it until recently when his son was helping him get rid of some things and gave the cake to Chaney.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Strange News »

strange news

View the original article here

Tough choice looms on 9/11 health lawsuits

  By DAVID B. CARUSONEW YORK -- More than 1,600 people suing over their exposure to World Trade Center dust must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop their lawsuits and apply for benefits from a government fund.

U.S. lawmakers set aside $2.76 billion last winter to compensate people who developed illnesses after spending time at ground zero.

But to be considered for the aid, all potential applicants must dismiss any pending lawsuits by the deadline and give up their right to sue forever. Anyone with a lawsuit still pending on Jan. 3 is barred from the program for life.

That has left some people with tough decisions.

Most will have to choose without knowing how much money they might eventually receive under either option.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

new york city, world trade center, new york news

View the original article here

Donald Trump bringing golf course to the Bronx

Real estate mogul Donald Trump says he is more serious than he's ever been about a possible run for president. (AP Photo / AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- New York City has chosen Donald Trump's company to run a new public golf course in the Bronx.

Trump says he hopes to bring prestigious tournaments to the Ferry Point Golf Course. The city plans to open the golf course in 2014 on 222 acres of parkland near the Whitestone Bridge.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe (BEHN'-uh-pee) says the Trump Organization has a good record of running golf courses nationwide. It has granted the company a 20-year license agreement to operate the course. The company will build a $10 million clubhouse as part of the deal.

The Trump Organization holds other concessions with the city's parks department. It operates the Central Park Carousel and the Wollman and Lasker ice skating rings, also in Central Park.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Mead Johnson: No bacteria found in infant formula

  Eyewitness NewsMISSOURI -- Illinois-based Mead Johnson says another batch of tests done on its Enfamil Premium Newborn infant formula found no trace of the bacteria tied to the death of a Missouri baby.

Preliminary hospital tests indicated 10-day-old Avery Cornett died Dec. 18 of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii. The source of the bacteria hasn't been determined, but it can be found in powdered formula.

Avery had consumed Enfamil Newborn formula.

National retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreen Co., Kroger Co. and Safeway have since pulled a batch of the powdered infant formula from their shelves.

The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the Missouri Department of Health are investigating Avery's death.

Mead Johnson said Sunday it shared its test results with investigators.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Recalls »

recalls
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

NYC pays out $1.8 million in 2010 blizzard claims

  By DEEPTI HAJELANEW YORK -- New York City's sluggish response to the after-Christmas blizzard of 2010 is still costing it a year later.

The City Comptroller's Office says more than $1.8 million has been paid out in claims so far, and more claims are pending.

Last year's Dec. 26-27 storm packed a wallop in the Northeast.

It dropped more than 2 feet of snow in some parts of the city.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration was criticized for its handling of the foul weather and its aftermath. Streets went unplowed for days, and cars, buses and other vehicles were stranded.

The comptrollers' office says the largest settlement so far was $150,000 for a man who said he had fallen in a parking lot that had become icy after it was improperly shoveled by the city.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

new york city, holiday blizzard, new york news

View the original article here

Shoppers go out in force for 'Mega Monday'

NEW YORK -- It is fast becoming one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the day after Christmas when retailers are offering deep discounts and shoppers are looking to exchange unwanted presents.

In fact, an estimated $46 billion in gifts will be returned this holiday season.

Overall, holiday shopping was up 3.5 percent over last year, but this next week is crucial for retailers' year end numbers.

And that is why big sales can be found out there.

Retailers are advertising big salesm 30 percent off, 50 percent off, even 70 percent discounts.

Warren scored a great deal for his wife on this Michael Kors purse, almost half off at Lord and Taylor.

"It's usually $398 and I got it for $228. That's a good deal," he said.

Analysts are calling today Mega Monday and it's supposed to be the third biggest shopping day this year.

Consumer Reports found that four in ten Americans will shop today while 82 percent say they're here for the sales, 47 percent are redeeming their gift cards and 31 percent are returning gifts.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Business »

business, jen maxfield

View the original article here

How Long Should You Hang Onto Your Home-Based Business Dream?

Starting Your Business - A Brief Guide to Some Key Issues

Spending, incomes show weak November gains

  By MARTIN CRUTSINGERWASHINGTON -- Consumers spent at a lackluster rate in November as their incomes barely grew, suggesting that U.S. households may struggle to sustain their spending into 2012.

Consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent in November, matching the modest October increase, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Incomes also rose 0.1 percent. That was the weakest showing since a 0.1 percent decline in August.

Both the spending and income gains fell below expectations.

Economists have said that solid increases in spending could boost economic growth in the final three months of what has been a disappointing year.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, called the consumer spending figure disappointing. He said it would probably mean lower economic growth than had been expected.

Rather than grow at an annual rate of up to 3 percent in the October-December quarter, the economy will likely expand at a rate of about 2.5 percent this quarter, Ashworth says. That would still be an improvement from the 1.8 percent growth in the July-September quarter.

While the economy remains vulnerable to threats, particularly a recession in Europe, the job market has improved, lifting hopes for next year.

The government said this week that applications for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to 364,000. It was the third straight weekly drop. And it pushed applications to the lowest level since April 2008, in the midst of the Great Recession.

The weakness in incomes reflected a decline in wages and salaries, the biggest component of incomes, in November.

The sluggish gain in spending was held back by a 0.3 percent fall in spending on non-durable goods such as food, clothing and gasoline. Spending on durable goods jumped 0.8 percent. It reflected the solid auto sales during the month.

Spending on services, which includes such items as medical treatments and rent, rose a modest 0.1 percent.

After-tax incomes showed no growth in November. The savings rate dipped to 3.5 percent of after-tax incomes, down from 3.6 percent in October. Both months marked the lowest savings rate since late 2007. They show that consumers are having to tap their savings to finance their spending because of the weak income growth.

The small rise in overall consumer spending was puzzling given that other reports have shown solid holiday shopping this season. Those reports had caused many economists to revise up their growth forecasts for the current quarter.

Analysts at JPMorgan think the economy is growing at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the current October-December quarter. That would be up from 1.8 percent growth in the July-September quarter and would be the best quarterly gain since the spring of 2010.

Economists still expect that growth to be driven by an improvement in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. Spending rose at a 1.7 percent rate in the third quarter, more than double the second-quarter gain. JPMorgan analysts expect consumer spending to grow at a 3 percent pace in the current quarter.

Even with the spurt of activity at the end of the year, economists think growth for all of 2011 will be a lackluster 1.7 percent.

They had much higher expectations when the year began. But then a spike in gasoline prices held back consumer spending for other items. And the earthquake in Japan disrupted supply chains for auto and electronic parts, dampening factory production in the United States.

Many analysts do not expect growth in 2012 to be significantly better than in 2011. JPMorgan economists predict the economy will expand 1.9 percent in 2012, only slightly better than this year.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Business »

business
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/wabc/xml?id=5758260&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here