COFFEE BREAK
8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, MAY 6, 2021
Boyfriend makes a grab for woman’s child tax credit
DEAR ABBY: My daughter
received her tax refund recently.
It amounted to $8,700. Approxi-
mately $5,000 is for overpaying
on taxes. Approximately $3,000 is
the child tax credit
she receives for her
two children. Her
boyfriend, the father
of the two boys,
thinks he’s enti-
tled to some of her
money.
Now, I understand the child tax
credit is given for financial help
for the children. My daughter and
I agree that the $5,000 is hers
exclusively as she is the one who
paid those taxes. As far as the
child tax credit is concerned, her
boyfriend thinks that he should
be entitled to at least half of that
because he’s the father. We think
because she is the one paying for
the year’s health
insurance, doctor
copays, prescrip-
DEAR
tions and most of
the diapers, wipes,
ABBY
pullups and other
incidentals, it
should all be hers.
Don’t get me wrong. Her boy-
friend does contribute to the
household and is a great guy.
They split most of the bills. After
five years, this is their first big
disagreement.
five years, I had been there for
Frank and his daughter, but I was
always waiting for an apology
from him that never came. Now
it’s all I dwell on. How can I move
past this and try to remember the
good times?
— PERPLEXED
DEAR PERPLEXED: Your
religious adviser may be able to
help you with that. However, if
you are not religious, it may take
some sessions with a licensed
mental health professional. Your
niece, Frank’s daughter, should be
asked if her father ever did any-
thing that made her uncomfort-
able because, if he did, she may
need professional help.
your daughter should repay him
out of her salary, not by forking
over half of her tax credit. That
money is intended for the kids,
not for any one parent. If things
aren’t clear enough, consider put-
ting the tax credit money in a sep-
arate account.
DEAR ABBY: My brother
“Frank” passed away last month.
He didn’t have any underlying
medical conditions, so it was a
shock. My problem is, when I was
9 and he was 14, he used to molest
me while my mother was working.
For years, I never told anyone,
but when I was 40, I told my
mom and big brother. Both of
them believed me. For the past
He chooses to get money
during the year, so of course he
gets a lower tax refund at the end
of the year. FYI, she pays less for
the baby supplies because she
works at a warehouse. He con-
tributes when they are low by
picking some up at the grocery
store. What advice do you have?
— MONEY WOES
DEAR MONEY WOES:
Watch your daughter’s “great”
boyfriend closely because his
stance is troubling. Because he is
the father (!) doesn’t mean he has
a right to any portion of the child
tax credit. If he needs reimburse-
ment for the items he picks up for
his children at the grocery store,
News of the Weird
Wine that went to space for sale
with $1 million price tag
LONDON — The wine is out
of this world. The price is appro-
priately stratospheric.
Christie’s said Tuesday, May
4, it is selling a bottle of French
wine that spent more than a year
in orbit aboard the International
Space Station. The auction house
thinks a wine connoisseur might
pay as much as $1 million to own
it.
The Pétrus 2000 is one of
12 bottles sent into space in
November 2019 by researchers
exploring the potential for extra-
terrestrial agriculture. It returned
14 months later subtly altered,
according to wine experts who
sampled it at a tasting in France.
Tim Tiptree, international
director of Christie’s wine and
spirits department, said the
space-aged wine was “matured
in a unique environment” of near
zero-gravity aboard the space
station.
The trip turned a
$10,000-a-bottle wine known for
its complexity, silky, ripe tannins
and flavors of black cherry, cigar
box and leather into a scientific
novelty — and still a fine bottle of
wine, Tiptree said.
“It’s just a very harmonious
wine that has the ability to age
superbly, which is why it was
chosen for this experiment,” he
said. “It’s very encouraging that it
was delicious on return to Earth.”
Private space startup Space
Cargo Unlimited sent the wine
into orbit in November 2019 as
part of an effort to make plants
on Earth more resilient to climate
change and disease by exposing
them to new stresses. Researchers
also want to better understand the
aging process, fermentation and
bubbles in wine.
At a taste test in March at
the Institute for Wine and Vine
Research in Bordeaux, France, a
dozen wine connoisseurs com-
pared one of the space-traveled
wines to a bottle from the same
Christophe Ena/Associated Press
A bottle of Petrus red wine that spent a
year orbiting the world in the International
Space Station is pictured in Paris Monday,
May 3, 2021. Christie’s said Tuesday, May
4, 2021, it is offering the bottle of French
wine for a private sale, with a stratospheric
price tag in the region of 1 million euro.
vintage that had stayed in a cellar.
They noted a difference that
was hard to describe. Jane Anson,
a writer with the wine publica-
tion Decanter, said the wine that
remained on Earth tasted a bit
younger, the space version slightly
softer and more aromatic.
The wine, being offered by
Christie’s in a private sale, comes
with a bottle of terrestrial Pétrus
of the same vintage, a decanter,
glasses and a corkscrew crafted
from a meteorite. It’s all held in a
hand-crafted wooden trunk with
decoration inspired by science fic-
tion pioneer Jules Verne and the
“Star Trek” universe.
Proceeds from the sale will
fund future research by Space
Cargo Unlimited. Several other
bottles from the dozen that went
to space remain unopened, but
Christie’s says there are no plans
to sell any of them.
Tiptree says the price esti-
mate, “in the region of $1 mil-
lion,” reflects the sale’s likely
appeal to a mix of wine connois-
seurs, space buffs and the kind of
wealthy people who collect “ulti-
mate experiences.”
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
Virginia Mayo/Associated Press, File
Microbar food truck owner Bart Smit holds a container of yellow mealworms during a food truck festival Sept. 21, 2014, in Antwerp,
Belgium. Dried yellow mealworms soon could be hitting supermarket’s shelves and restaurants across Europe. The 27 nations of the
European union gave the greenlight Tuesday, May 4, 2021, to a proposal to put the Tenebrio molitor beetle’s larvae on the market as a
“novel food.”
The lot includes the bottle of
2000 Pétrus that remained on
Earth so the buyer can compare
the two — should they decide to
open the one that went into orbit.
“I would hope that they will
decide to drink it, but maybe not
immediately,” Tiptree said. “It’s
at its peak drinking, but this wine
will last probably another at least
another two or three decades.”
Food of the future? EU nations
put mealworms on the menu
BRUSSELS — Dried yellow
mealworms could soon be hitting
supermarket shelves and restau-
rants across Europe.
The European Union’s 27
nations gave the greenlight
Tuesday, April 4, to a proposal to
put the Tenebrio molitor beetle’s
larvae on the market as a “novel
food.”
The move came after the EU’s
food safety agency published a
scientific opinion this year that
concluded worms were safe to
eat. Researchers said the worms,
0 Patience for others? Small
island’s only home hits market
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. —
Zero patience for the company
of others? Anyone who’s ever
wanted their own private island
getaway now has a chance — and
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
45/56
Kennewick
44/61
St. Helens
46/63
48/61
49/63
47/62
44/63
Condon
FRI
SAT
Clouds and sun
Baker City
44 57 31
Comfort Index™
La Grande
8
Comfort Index™
8
Eugene
8
2
10
44/62
59 38
54 39
67 37
9
2
10
59 37
8
2
10
2
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
High: 100°
Low: 14°
Wettest: 6.25”
64°
35°
66°
38°
69°
42°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Tuesday
Trace
Month to date
0.03
Normal month to date 0.16
Year to date
1.69
Normal year to date
3.21
Trace
0.02
0.24
5.86
6.05
Trace
0.03
0.28
13.74
9.97
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
35%
NW at 7 to 14 mph
6.8
0.12
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
Elkton
44/59
23% of capacity
99% of capacity
56% of capacity
97% of capacity
63% of capacity
100% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
6860 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
46 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
168 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
743 cfs
Minam River at Minam
1070 cfs
Powder River near Richland
77 cfs
Palm Springs, Calif.
Hazen, N.D.
Alabaster, Ala.
OREGON
The Dalles
Odell Lake
John Day
High: 77°
Low: 28°
Wettest: 0.04”
On May 6, 1975, near Omaha, Neb., a
tornado killed three people, injured 133,
and caused $150 million in damage. The
tornado struck during the late afternoon
and moved through west-central Omaha.
SUN & MOON
THU.
5:34 a.m.
8:05 p.m.
3:57 a.m.
3:04 p.m.
FRI.
5:32 a.m.
8:06 p.m.
4:17 a.m.
4:08 p.m.
MOON PHASES
New
First
Full
May 11 May 19 May 26
Beaver Marsh
45/63
Last
Jun 2
Burns
Jordan Valley
Paisley
Frenchglen
41/58
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
Hi/Lo/W
56/44/sh
55/30/c
63/38/pc
61/45/pc
57/28/pc
56/40/sh
61/38/c
58/34/pc
57/37/c
62/39/c
68/43/c
61/43/sh
56/35/pc
54/33/pc
54/32/pc
69/42/c
56/27/pc
59/26/s
Hi/Lo/W
54/46/c
62/37/pc
60/41/pc
63/46/c
61/34/pc
57/43/pc
65/41/c
59/34/pc
58/38/pc
65/42/c
69/47/pc
63/50/pc
58/37/pc
58/35/pc
54/35/pc
72/47/c
63/33/pc
62/31/pc
Grand View
Arock
54/69
49/63
44/62
Klamath Falls
33/56
Lakeview
36/59
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
SAT.
Diamond
40/57
Fields
Medford
FRI.
Boise
46/59
37/60
30/53
46/65
45/61
46/64
51/63
46/69
Brookings
Juntura
40/57
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Ontario
55/67
32/56
45/64
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
32/49
30/53
Roseburg
Powers
Brothers
41/54
Coos Bay
Huntington
34/50
38/55
Oakridge
49/58
51/64
Seneca
Bend
TUESDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
Florence
Council
44/57
40/54
39/55
44/56
Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels
very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable.
40/46
John Day
37/57
Sisters
45/63
49 36
47/60
Baker City
Redmond
45/54
45/56
Halfway
Granite
42/61
Newport
65 35
55 37
41/59
39/51
46/61
Corvallis
56 34
3
42 55 33
MON
Enterprise
42/55
43/56
Monument
45/61
Idanha
Salem
58 34
2
43 56 38
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
8
SUN
Cloudy and cool Clouds and sun;
milder
Elgin
42/57
La Grande
39/53
Maupin
Cloudy and
cooler
47/62
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
54/64
Hood River
44/64
TIllamook
Partly cloudy
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Walla Walla
48/69
Vancouver
44/62
45/55
TONIGHT
it might be less expensive than
you’d think.
The only house on a small
island in Rhode Island’s Narra-
gansett Bay — with the unique
address of 0 Patience Way — has
hit the market for an asking price
of $399,900, The Newport Daily
News reported Monday.
The cottage on Patience Island
is off the electrical grid, but comes
with just under a half-acre of land
and approximately 600 square
feet of living area that includes
two bedrooms, a kitchenette, a
half bath and what is described
as a “picturesque front porch.” A
single solar panel does provide
some electrical services.
“Perfect for comfortable
camping, getaways, amazing
Airbnb potential & more,” the
listing from Rhode Island Real
Estate Services says.
The cottage also has a unique
address — 0 Patience Way.
The island, officially part of
the town of Portsmouth, is about
one-third of a square mile.
— Associated Press
either eaten whole or in powdered
form, are a protein-rich snack or
an ingredient for other foods.
Allergic reactions may occur
for people with pre-existing aller-
gies to crustaceans and dust
mites, the Commission said.
Insects as food represent a very
small market but EU officials said
breeding them for food could have
environmental benefits. The U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion calls insects “a healthy and
highly nutritious food source with
a high content of fat, protein, vita-
mins, fibers and minerals.”
Following Tuesday’s approval
by EU states, a EU regulation
authorizing dried yellow meal-
worms as a food will be adopted
in the coming weeks.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
FRI.
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W
64/44/pc
61/43/sh
56/37/c
65/38/c
54/42/c
59/38/sh
67/42/pc
68/40/c
64/40/c
62/44/c
59/37/c
57/29/c
63/39/c
61/40/c
59/37/pc
63/46/c
54/29/c
62/42/c
Hi/Lo/W
65/44/pc
61/45/c
59/38/pc
71/44/pc
54/44/c
59/43/c
66/42/pc
71/44/c
64/45/pc
64/47/c
64/48/pc
61/34/pc
67/43/pc
65/44/c
60/41/pc
66/50/pc
57/35/pc
63/46/pc
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
Unseasonably cold
Cooler
31
17
50
30
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Cloudy and colder
A passing shower
42
30
60
35
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A passing shower
Cooler
41
19
51
31
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
A shower; cooler
Cooler
54
32
61
38
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Windy and cooler
Cloudy and cooler
57
31
56
38