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FieldBin gives service providers, technicians, contractors, and field service trade professionals the tools they need to grow their business and increase profits.

Application Available to All California-Based Trade Service Companies

FieldBins software, which is designed to help contracting, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, and other trade companies manage every aspect of their business in one, easy-to-use platform, will help California trade companies to rebuild their communities and existing businesses.

California is experiencing unprecedented weather events which have caused tremendous damage, stress, and hardships for residents and businesses across the state, says Garrett Wilson, president, FieldBin. By offering our software for free to California field service trade companies, we hope that we can ease some of these challenges and help these hard-working professionals better serve the needs of their customers while helping keep their businesses running efficiently, especially as labor shortages remain high.

Moodys RMS, a risk-modeling service, estimated the cost from California's floods and infrastructure damage in January alone to be $5-7 billion. AccuWeather Inc., however, put its own estimate far higher at $30 billion, making contractors and other trade professionals in high demand.

Last October, FieldBin offered its application free of charge for one year to any Florida-based trade company assisting with Hurricane Ian recovery.

FieldBin is the easiest software tool for hard-working, field service trade business owners and teams who want to reduce the hassle of back-office operations, cut down on paperwork, and streamline processes. Its features include work order scheduling, invoicing, inventory management, estimating and quotes, payments processing, service portal, and customer management with a simple-to-use interface, intuitive navigation, and easy drag-and-drop functionality all accessible from anywhere on any device.

In addition to contracting, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and landscaping, FieldBin is ideal for painting, cleaning, roofing, fencing, and handyman service businesses.

If youre a California-based trade service company and interested in using FieldBin, visit https://www.fieldbin.com/

About FieldBin FieldBin is a cloud-based Field Service Management (FSM) software created to help small-to-medium sized field service trade companies grow their businesses. Its easy-to-use solution gives service providers, technicians, contractors, and field service trade professionals the tools they need to grow their business and increase profits. Learn more at https://www.fieldbin.com/

Matthew PughPugh & Tiller PR for FieldBin+1 443-527-1552mpugh@pughandtillerpr.comVisit us on social media:FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

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FieldBin Offers Free Field Service Software to California Trade Professionals Dealing with Extreme Weather - EIN News

Apple announced on Wednesday that its annual developer's conference, WWDC, will begin on June 5 and run through June 9.

Apple holds a launch event led by CEO Tim Cook on the first day of the conference and typically unveils new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac software.

WWDC is Apple's biggest conference of the year. The company invites software developers to visit its headquarters and holds workshops and sessions dedicated to using Apple's software tools to make new apps.

WWDC also provides a preview of where Apple is heading. The company usually discusses its goals for software development and reveals new iPhone features.

Most years, Apple doesn't announce new hardware at WWDC. However, this year, Apple could reveal its long-awaited virtual and augmented reality headset at the conference, according to Bloomberg. In addition, Apple could choose to announce new high-powered Macs to a friendly developer audience this June.

WWDC will be streamed virtually on Apple's website for free.

The conference will be held online, with an in-person day at Apple's headquarters, Apple Park, on the first day of the conference. Last year, Apple invited developers and media to watch the pre-recorded opening presentation at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, called Apple Park.

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Apple announces its big annual conference, where it could reveal its new headset - CNBC

Tax procrastination happens. But if you're still missing key forms or feeling overwhelmed, you can buy more time by filing a free tax extension.

Nearly one-third of Americans procrastinate with their taxes, the top reasons being complexity and stress, according to a recent survey from IPX1031.

You can avoid a late-filing penalty with an extension by the federal deadline on April 18. But you still must pay your balance by the due date to avoid a late payment penalty and interest. You may also need a separate state income tax extension, depending on where you live.

Here's a look at more tax-planning news.

By filing for an extension, you'll have an extra six months to submit your taxes, which bumps the deadline to Oct. 16. "All it does is help you," said Bill Smith, national director of tax technical services at CBIZ MHM's national tax office.

However, a delayed filing means you'll wait longer for a refund, he said. As of March 17, the average refund was $2,933, according to the IRS.

While several disaster areas qualify for automatic extended deadlines this season, Karla Dennis, an enrolled agent and founder of Karla Dennis and Associates, suggests affected taxpayers also file for an extension by April 18.

"It was the same in 2020 when we went through Covid," she said. "Unfortunately, IRS did not retool its system and a lot of taxpayers still received letters."

If you can't make the April 18 tax deadline, there are a few ways to file for a federal extension, with or without a tax professional.

One option is to file Form 4868 online via IRS Free File, which offers free guided tax prep software. "Anyone can go on that site and file for the extension," regardless of income, said certified financial planner and enrolled agent John Loyd, owner at The Wealth Planner in Fort Worth, Texas.

Another choice is to make an electronic payment and select "extension" as the reason, which provides an automatic six-month extension without filing Form 4868, according to the IRS.

However, Loyd uses the first option to minimize the chance of mistakes or confusion. "If you file Form 4868, it's very clear that you know exactly what you're doing," he added.

Dennis also suggests filing Form 4868 over the payment option, especially if clients later need proof that they did file an extension. "I have never been able to defend a late-filed return with someone saying they've gone online to pay," she said.

Again, you'll need to take separate steps to request more time to file your state tax returns, depending on where you live.

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If you can't make the tax deadline, here's how to file a federal extension for free. All it does is help you,' says tax pro - CNBC

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) State Forester Calvin Mukumoto has proclaimed all of April as Oregon Arbor Month, allowing lots of time for commemorative plantings and other tree-related activities.

Trees play an essential role in the lives of Oregonians, said State Forester Mukumoto. Living through the extreme heat of 2021 and the isolation of the COVID pandemic has brought home to all of us the importance of urban trees to provide shade and cooling, as well as contact with nature right in our own neighborhoods. This proclamation highlights those and the many other benefits that both rural and urban forests provide to the people of Oregon.

Read the full text of the proclamationhere.

Scott Altenhoff, manager of the Oregon Department of Forestrys Urban and Community Forestry Program said, Arbor Month is the perfect time to reflect on the contribution trees make to our physical, mental and emotional health, to the livability of our communities, to our safety, the quality and quantity of our air and water, and to our economy.

Altenhoff said, With extreme weather events becoming more common, more and more communities are recognizing trees for the role they play in moderating temperatures and slowing rainfall runoff and erosion.

At the same time, Altenhoff said urban trees face a wide range of threats. Urban trees in Oregon are at risk from intensifying development, new pests and diseases, such as emerald ash borer, Mediterranean oak borer and sudden oak death and more extreme weather events, he said.

The non-profit organization Oregon Community Trees supported the move from a week-long to a month-long recognition of trees back in 2020. OCT President Mike Oxendine said many towns and cities during the pandemic had to cancel in-person tree celebrations.

This year, people are getting creative and planning many tree-related activities throughout Arbor Month, including public dedications of Hiroshima peace trees that had to be postponed back in 2020, he said.

Oxendine cited the April 29 dedication in Oregon City and the May 20 one in Klamath Falls as two examples of communities celebrating their peace trees, which were grown from the seeds of trees that survived the atom bombing of Hiroshima, Japan in August 1945.

More money for urban forestry is on the horizon

ODFs Altenhoff said hes encouraged that substantial new federal funding for urban forestry is expected by ODF over the next few years. The additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill will boost our capacity to help communities better manage and improve their urban forests. Whether its conducting a local tree inventory using free software linked to a statewide tree database, or banding together to secure long-term contracts for the growing of diverse trees now in short supply, cities and towns will be able to really make a difference.

Altenhoff said a large share of the funding will be directed at helping historically underserved and marginalized communities, which often have less tree canopy than more affluent areas. We will be able to help cities and towns start to make up for years of underinvestment in those areas, said Altenhoff.

Altenhoff is also heartened by state legislation to earmark funding specifically for urban forestry for the first time. If passed, Oregon will join other states which are investing in their urban forests so they continue to provide benefits to their people.

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Oregon state forester proclaims April as Arbor Month, a great time to ... - KTVZ

Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and Merry Jackson Credit: Hugh McQuaid / CTNewsJunkie

Connecticut Attorney General Tong, along with a coalition of 23 attorneys general from other states, is calling upon car makers Kia and Hyundai to quickly start equipping their vehicles with anti-theft immobilizers in the face of a wave of car thefts across the country.

Tong and his colleague attorneys general say the thefts are occurring because of a failure by the two manufacturers to properly equip their vehicles with the right equipment to fend off car thieves who are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Alarmingly high theft rates for Kia and Hyundai models continue across the country, including several instances in Connecticut.

The thefts may have increased because of the latest video craze that has spread via the social media platform TikTok, showing viewers how to steal cars made from 2015 to 2019 without push-button ignitions or immobilizing anti-theft devices. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the videos have led to at least 14 reported crashes and eight fatalities.

Hyundai and Kia have developed theft deterrent software for millions of their vehicles that lack an immobilizer and will provide it free of charge to vehicle owners, according to the NHTSA. The software updates the theft alarm software logic to extend the length of the alarm sound from 30 seconds to a minute, and requires the key to be in the ignition switch to turn the vehicle on.

New Haven Police Lt. Ryan Przybylski told WFSB that there has been a trend upward in stolen Kias and Hyundais. Its about a 100% increase over last year. Its a crime of opportunity. Its just very easy to steal these types of vehicles, these years and makes specifically.

As the attorneys general note in their letter, Kia and Hyundai chose not to include anti-theft immobilizers as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold in the United States during a period when every other car manufacturer was doing so, despite the same Kia and Hyundai models being equipped with immobilizers for sale in Canada and Europe.

Kia and Hyundai failed to equip [their] vehicles with industry-standard anti-theft technology, and customers are now paying a steep price. These cars are now disproportionately targeted by thieves at rates so high some insurers are refusing to cover them, Tong said. Kia and Hyundai need to make this right quickly, and without nickel and diming their customers.

An anti-theft immobilizer is an electronic device that prevents a car from being hot-wired and stolen by someone who doesnt have the key.

The NHTSA urges owners of these vehicles to contact Hyundai (1-800-633-5151) or Kia (1-800-333-4542) for information on the free update.

Hyundai will also provide its customers with a window sticker alerting would-be thieves that the vehicle is equipped with anti-theft protection. Hyundai says it will send the stickers and roll out software updates in a phased approach beginning later this month, with subsequent phases over the next several months.

Kia is also rolling out its free software updates in a phased approach. The company will begin to update vehicles later this month, with ensuing phases throughout the next several months.

Concurrently, the companies have been working with law enforcement agencies to provide more than 26,000 steering wheel locks since November 2022 to 77 law enforcement agencies in 12 states. The NHTSA is encouraging interested vehicle owners to contact local law enforcement to see if a wheel lock is available.

A service advisor at Lia Hyundai in Hartford said business to update the cars has been brisk. At this location, it is a software update for the car and there is no charge because it has been called a recall by Hyundai. Car owners still have to go to the dealership to get the upgrade. It cant be done by phone.

Kia of East Hartford said that there have not been many more cars coming in for this recall than any other recall. While the dealership does have the capability to do the software update, he said most people are going to Hyundai to get the update done.

Kia and Hyundai recently announced a campaign to provide software upgrades for some of the impacted vehicle models. But Tong and other AGs point out that the announcement is long overdue and still not enough. They are urging the companies to do everything in their power to accelerate the implementation of the software upgrade and to provide free alternative protective measures for all those owners whose cars cannot support the software upgrade.

Calls and e-mails sent to the Connecticut State Police to ask for statistics or data about car thefts here in the state and these particular model car thefts were not returned.

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Tong Joins AG Coalition To Pressure Kia, Hyundai To Speed Up ... - CT News Junkie