The Weekly Newspaper of Manhattan Beach
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 Vol. 12, No. 2 February 1, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified and Licensed
Professionals...................3
Classifieds............................5
Community Briefs...............2
Entertainment......................6
Finance..................................4
Food.......................................7
Looking Up...........................4
Pets............................. 11 - 12
Politically Speaking............5
Real Estate.................. 8 - 10
Seniors..................................2
Sports....................................3
Weekend
Forecast
Manhattan Beach Police Academy Motors On
Community Police Academy Class #16 is having a great time and has learned so much already in three weeks. Last week’s class learned all about traffic enforcement and DUI investigations from Manhattan
Beach Police Department motor officers. The class had such a fun time checking out the fully-loaded police motorcycle. Photo Courtesy of MBPD
Health Officials: Flu Shot Still Good Idea
See Health, page 5
Friday,
February 2
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/55˚
Saturday,
February 3
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/55˚
Sunday,
February 4
Partly
Cloudy
76˚/56˚
By Rob McCarthy
Los Angeles County health officials said
Friday the influenza outbreak that overwhelmed
hospital emergency rooms and
contributed to at least 96 deaths so far in
January has peaked, and that the annual flu
shot isn’t to blame.
Officials say the H3N2 influenza virus making
the rounds in South Bay communities,
schools and workplaces reached a peak much
earlier than in previous years. This year’s
flu shot is reportedly between 10 and 30
percent effective against the powerful strain
of influenza. Still, county health officials and
local physicians continue to recommend a
flu shot for anyone over six months of age.
“The vaccine may not completely prevent
the flu. But it does help the body launch an
immune response,” said Dr. Deborah Lehman,
who is an infectious disease specialist and
professor at the UCLA School of Medicine.
The Los Angeles County Public Health
Department reminds residents that being
vaccinated against flu protects a person who
receives the vaccine and reduces their risk
of contracting influenza and spreading it to
others. Receiving the flu vaccine is “the most
effective way to protect yourself and others”
from getting the flu, according to health officials
for the region.
Nearly half of Americans skip annual flu
shots that some employers and health plans
offer for free, according to U.S. Centers
for Disease Control. For people with heart
disease, a flu shot can have an additional
benefit. Studies have shown that a flu vaccination
can prevent heart attacks, according
to medical researchers. “When people hear
the vaccine isn’t that effective, they assume
there’s no point in getting it -- and that’s
very frustrating,” said Dr. Lehman at UCLA.
Public health officials in the United States
and Great Britain have called for greater
public-information campaigns to boost flu
vaccinations among patients with known heart
conditions. The British medical journal Heart
reported in October 2016 on the link between
the flu and heart attacks. A “wealth of studies
shows that heart attack risk is significantly
increased within days of contracting the flu,
and risk remains elevated for up to a year,”
the paper’s authors wrote. In fact, their data
showed that a flu shot was as effective at
preventing a heart attack as quitting smoking
or regularly taking cholesterol medicine. An
annual flu vaccine can reduce cardiac risk by
19 to 45 percent, they found. In comparison,
cholesterol-controlling medication lowers the
risk by 25 to 30 percent, the authors wrote.
Even with its limited effectiveness, the
current flu shot should ward off the more
serious effects of the strong H3N2 virus making
the rounds this month, health experts say.
Healthy vaccinated children and adults may
still experience a fever, cough and several
days of discomfort. The current strain of
flu is called the A variety, and the annual
flu shot is most effective against the B type,
according to health officials. A B-type of flu
could make the rounds here in late winter or
early spring, they caution.
The flu outbreak is waning, but it’s not
gone by a long shot, so health officials advise
residents and caregivers of children or the
elderly to recognize the signs of distress due
to the current flu strain, and to take emergency
action if necessary. That includes these warnings
from the UCLA School of Medicine:
- Elderly and people with compromised
immune systems need to pay special attention
to flu symptoms.
- Dehydration is a main danger because
it can set off a chain reaction that makes it
Bonuses, Bigger Checks
Promised to Workers
By Rob McCarthy
A message from the taxman can usually
be summed up in two words: Pay
up. So it’s a pleasant surprise when the
Internal Revenue Service announces that
many taxpayers have more money coming
their way soon.
Tax season, which opened on Monday,
puts the IRS in a giving mood and this year
is no different. When Congress approved
a tax code overhaul in late December,
the changes included lower tax rates for
individuals. The IRS has posted the new
tax tables on its website, and expects employers
to begin using them in February.
“Many employees will begin to see
increases in their paychecks to reflect
the new law in February,” the IRS said,
without giving an estimate about how many
U.S. workers’ take-home checks will rise.
Congress’ new law won’t affect current
tax returns for 2017, though it did raise
the standard deduction for individuals to
$11,000, heads of household to $18,000,
and married couples to $24,000. For
people with simpler tax situations, the
new tables are designed to produce the
correct amount of tax withholding. The
revisions aim to avoid a common taxpayer
mistake: over- or under-withholding of
income taxes.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by
Congress last December is predicted to
deliver modest tax cuts to middle-income
people. The Tax Policy Center in Washington,
D.C., estimated an average tax cut of
$1,200 for all households in 2018, which
won’t be seen until next year’s income tax
returns are filed. But, the larger paychecks
don’t have to wait that long.
The time it will take for employees to
see the result of tax cuts legislation on
their paychecks will vary, according to the
IRS. Those hikes in take-home pay depend
on the employers and how quickly they
calculate federal withholdings using the
2018-revised tables. “Employers should
begin using the 2018 withholding tables
as soon as possible, but not later than
See IRS, page 7