The Californian from Salinas, California • 12

an a PI Californian Inside: U. Julie Copeland, City Editor E-mail: FRIDAY, June 2, 2000 Phone: 754-4280; Fax: 754-4293 Marketplace Money Foreign BUSINESS BRIEFS El Marisquero closes after 9 years Staff and wire reports El Marisquero Restaurant served -up its last meal of Mexican-style seafood on Wednesday after a nine-year run at 23 W. Alisal St. in Salinas. "We decided we needed to concentrate on one business," said Alejandro Rodriguez.

The Rodriguez family also operates the Playa Azul Restaurant at Seventh and Alta streets in -Gonzales. The time had come to make the move, Rodriguez said. Playa Azul will continue to specialize in seafood, he said. Finch honored as a top insurance agent Patrick Finch has been recognized as one of the top Cal Farm Insurance agents in California in 1999. Finch was also recognized as the top new representative in Monterey for the insurance company.

He was recognized during a ceremony in Mauna Lua, Hawaii. "Wardwell joins 00 hospital board Ad Harry Wardwell was appointed to board of directors for the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthscare System. Wardwell's term will run from now WARDWELL until November. He has served on the "board of governors for -SVMH for Arseven years. -He will replace the retiring direcactor Leonard BRESCHINI who served on the board for 17 years.

Cell phones may get own area code SACRAMENTO Legislation -that tries to slow the spread of new area codes by allowing, separate "codes for pagers cellular telephones has passed the Senate. The bill by Sen. Debra Bowen, del Rey, would order the Utilities Commission to -seek permission from federal to create "technology-specific" area codes. Supporters say that would ease the -need to create new land-based area codes that inconvenience businesses sand residential customers. "I do not want my area code RA changed again," said Sen.

Betty Karnette, D-Long Beach. "I think there are a lot of people who feel that way." Adams MING, EVERYONE SAYS OUR WEB SITE IS UGLY. SAID PERSON REALLY? EVEN THAT? ON EVERY EARTH TIBETAN MONKS? www.dilbert.com 4C. of MAYBE AND YOU IT WAS CONFUSED JUST HIM WITH ONE THE ENTIRE PERSON. PLANET? County home sales drop Area house prices remain on an upswing By Brian Seals The Californian Monterey County joined the rest of the state in seeing housing sales cool in April with a drop of 10 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Monterey County Association of Realtors.

Statewide, a 7.5 percent sales decline for the same period was reported by the California Association of Realtors Thursday. The dip comes amid continuing house price increases and as interest rates are beginning to inch upward. Sandy Haney, chief executive officer of the Monterey County Association of Realtors, said she thinks the market in Monterey County will continue to be healthy. April's numbers reflect 210 houses sold in April in Monterey County compared to 239 a year ago. Sales in Monterey County increased during the first three months of this year.

Haney said the county is less likely to see sales downturns experienced in other parts of the state which have higher inventories of houses available, and because of a continuing influx of Silicon Valley commuters. "We'll not see the effects as much as other areas of the state," Haney said. Dale Handley of Town 'n Mortgage said he has noticed more of a slowing in May than April. "I'm seeing a downturn in the latter part of May," Handley said. "I think April was very good." He said that is noticeable in the number of offers made on particular prop- erties.

In the spring there might have been six or seven offers made on a house, lately there have been one or two. Handley said the traditional peak season comes June through August and he doesn't expect it to be slow in those months. "It could just be a bump in the market," Handley said. While sales have seen at least a momentary dip, house prices remain on an upswing. The median price for a single-family house in Monterey County in April jumped to $375,000, compared to $270,000 a year ago, according to the county realtors asso- 'I love being able to check on my child during the Vicki Swoboda-Branin 'Peeking in' on kids gets easier Web cameras let parents look in on day-care facilities By Jonathan D.

Epstein Gannett News Service WILMINGTON, Del. Vicki Swoboda-Branin likes to peek in on her 4-year-old daughter, Amber, during the day. But the site manager for a contractor isn't leaving her at the DuPont facility. Instead, she goes to her computer in her office and punches in a Web address supplied through her daughter's day care for $24.99 a month. She enters a password, and moments later she's watching Amber on her screen happily playing at Great New Beginnings.

"It's a real secure feeling when you're able to log in and see your child playing and know their wellbeing is taken care of," she said. "It's just very beneficial. I love being able to check on my child during the daytime. I'm very happy that the center went with the program." Swoboda-Branin, 33, is one of a growing number of parents who are discovering the benefits of Internet video cameras in day-care centers. Introduced about four years ago, such cameras allow working parents or those who are traveling to check on their children every now and then during the day without ever setting foot in the center or letting anyone know they're watching.

That enables busy parents to concentrate at work without worrying about their children. And it allows grandparents and other relatives who live far away to see the child grow even when they can't visit often. So far, however, the cameras haven't developed a significant following among either parents or daycare centers, in large part because not many people are aware of their availability, industry experts said. Also, many -care centers don't yet have up-to-date technology, and the cost of installation is high and often prohibitive for many centers and parents. A video camera and Internet system can cost more than $10,000 to install.

Many day-care administrators and workers said they are worried about monitoring and interference from parents or don't want parents to think they look silly as they play and run around with the children. Only about 400 to 500 of the nation's 100,000 private day-care Taxpayer Bill of Rights come in handy this time of year ciation. The state association placed the median price in Monterey County even higher, at $401,390. Haney that is because the state association includes the major communities in its figures and the county association includes numbers from smaller areas of the county. The median sales price in the first quarter of this year was $350,000, compared to a $267,000 for the first quarter of 1999.

In North Monterey County, the median price for the first quarter of this See 6B KSBW gets new transmitter By Brian Seals roomfull of children and teachers at make life easier for busy working parents. There are about a dozen companies that make and install Internet video cameras for day-care use, including about a half-dozen large players, such as New York-based ParentWatch and Atlanta-based KinderCam. But the industry is growing and attracting attention, particularly from Wall Street. For example, ParentWatch recently received $10 million in venture financing. Founded in February 1998, it began installing cameras later that year and now has cameras in more than 200 centers nationwide.

The firm pays the cost of installing the cameras, phone lines and Internet service provider connections, while charging parents $24.99 a month for the abili- have the right to suspend an IRS tax interview immediately whenever you wish to consult with an advisor. It is now clear that you need not personally appear except under formal summons. You are also given the right to make a sound recording of an interview. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights also affected a number of IRS collection procedures. For instance, the use of quotas to judge the work of IRS collection agents is specifically banned.

It is now more difficult for an IRS agent to change or terminate tax payment agreements. More notice is required before the IRS can levy your property or bank accounts. One area which the IRS contested strongly was the Taxpayer Bill of Rights provision that, in some cases, allow a person to recover some fees and expenses incurred during the administrative and judicial process. A person now also has statutory right to The Californian KSBW Channel 8 will begin using a more powerful transmitter that will sent a stronger signal to more areas of the county, a station official said Thursday. The transmitter will be operational June 7.

"Our biggest reason is to get a better signal into our coverage area," explained Randy Foulds, the station's director of creative services. Most of the station's market tunes in on cable, but Foulds said 25 to 30 percent of its viewers still receive the station over the airwaves. The new $4.5 million transmitter site is located at Fremont Peak, just outside Fremont Peak State Park in the GaviIan Mountain Range, and includes a 5,600 square foot facility to provide infrastructure to the tower. Construction began last August. Foulds said the station's old transmitter, built in 1983, at Mount Madonna, northwest of Gilroy, gave a strong signal as far north as the Golden Gate Bridge but wasn't as strong in southern Monterey County.

The new signal will get to southern Monterey County and the King City area while still providing a strong signal to San Jose. It will also better serve mountainous areas of the county. With the new transmitter, people receiving the station through the airwaves might need to reposition their television antenna. "Depending on where you are, it could be a complete direction change," Foulds said. A video camera overlooks a Center in Bear, Del.

centers have video cameras installed. But industry experts and day-care operators believe that will change as more parents become aware of the technology and as the cost comes down. "I think we probably will start to see them popping up here and there, but it may just take a little bit of time," said Gerri Weagraff, vice president of marketing for Wilmingtonbased Family Workplace Connection, a service that contracts with many employers to provide workers with referrals and other services for child care. "As more parents get comfortable with the technology part, the more they'll ask about it, and the more it'll drive child-care centers to install it." The slow growth of Internet cameras represents the latest effort to provisions designed to clarify and strengthen your rights as taxpayers, better inform you of your rights and give you more ways to get relief from Internal Revenue Service action. Many of the provisions serve to ensure that you are well-informed of the IRS examination and collection process and your rights to appeal within that process.

Toward that end, the IRS will be required to give you a comprehensive statement explaining your rights. The IRS must fully explain the collection process every time it plans to issue a levy. Deficiency and Tax Due Notices must also be more clearly stated. You now have greater rights during an IRS interview. You have the right of representation by a an attorney, CPA, or other individual qualified to practice before the IRS.

While you had this right previously, this act formally established the right. In fact, you now Gannett News Service Great New Beginnings Child Care ty to access the service. KinderCam has about 10,000 users in 50 centers. The company charges the facilities for installing the cameras. The tiny cameras, which typically look like security cameras, are usually unobtrusive, protruding slightly from the walls or a corner of the room.

Day-care teachers said the children usually don't even know they're there, and even the teachers can often forget about them. Security is tight on the Web sites to prevent pedophiles, hackers, kidnappers or others from getting access or finding the children. Parents who sign up for the program go to a special Web site and gain access only with a password given to them by the See 6B bring civil suit against the government when IRS collection employees act recklessly and improperly. This recovery provision does have its limitations. While you may incur significant costs during the collection process, it is not clear when these costs may be recovered.

Because the IRS collection process is a multi-step process, more clarification will be needed to determine when recoverable costs begin. Awards against the IRS a are permitted only if you prove that the IRS position in the collection proceedings was not substantially justified. In most instances, this will be no easy task. The rules regarding the types of cost that you can recover and requirements for recovery follow very closely those for recovery of normal litigation costs. Very wealthy individuals and large businesses may not be eligible Disney launches co-branded auction service with eBay The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Disney's Go.com has launched a co-branded auction site with eBay, the first of four such sites designed to increase eBay's market share and sell "authenticated" Disney memorabilia.

The partnership between the Walt Disney Co. and eBay was announced in February. The co-branded site debuted this week as a link from Disney's Go.com. The auction site differs from the eBay Web page by adding distinct Go.com navigation at the top and bottom of each page. The main page also features links to other Disney sites, such as the ones touting its new movies and video releases.

Ebay is paying Disney $30 million over the next four years to have its service featured on various Disney Internet sites. Tt's about that the government sending out problems on tax returns. The great majority of notices deal with math errors or differences between your tax return and third party reporting (W-2 forms, interest statements, Although most notices are of a minor nature, they concerting. Usually questions will be, have?" You do have rights. ago Congress passed Bill of Rights." It time of year when computers begin notices about possible Brett Scholl can be very disone of your first "What rights do I Several years the "Taxpayer is a collection of to seek recovery.

Who determines whether or not you will be awarded recovery of costs? The Internal Revenue Service does. That decision to either grant or deny an award may be appealed to the tax court. To read more about your rights, visit the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms and read Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer. Or you can call the IRS at the number listed in your local telephone directory to order a printed copy. BRET SCHOLL is a certified public accountant in Salinas.

He specializes in taxes. His column usually appears Thursdays in The Californian but is appearing today because of production constraints. Write to him care of The Californian, 123 W. Alisal Salinas, 93912; fax to 754- 4293 or e-mail him at: bret 2000.