A6 The BulleTin • SaTurday, april 17, 2021
Offices
DEAR ABBY
Continued from A5
Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com
or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Dear Abby: I’ve been in a
long-distance relationship for
2 1/2 years. We are now en-
gaged, but haven’t set a date
for our wedding.
We are both in the military,
and we have maintained this
relationship well. But there
was a time before we dated
that I was dating someone
else. I ended that relation-
ship, but haven’t healed from
it because I see him at work
often, and I still have feelings
for him.
He lives in my neighbor-
hood, and I enjoy talking to
him. I like the attention he
gives me, and I’m attracted to
him. I blame the geographi-
cal distance from my fiance
for this. I want someone close,
and I would love for it to be
the person I am engaged to,
but although I try to abstain
from this other person, I find
myself drawn to him.
— Caught Between Two
Dear Caught: You say you
have been together with your
absent fiance for 2 1/2 years,
but are still carrying on an
YOUR HOROSCOPE
Stars show the kind of day you’ll have
DYNAMIC | POSITIVE |
AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR SATURDAY, APRIL
17, 2021: Inventive, ardent and outrageous, profes-
sional challenges get your juices flowing. This year, you
create excitement with a new project. Remember to ask
for assistance if you need it. Your income stream contin-
ues to flow. Keep your finances in a safe account. Step up
your exercise plan with a trainer or guide. If single, travel
in circles with likeminded people. If attached, make date
nights a priority. PISCES enchants you.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Friends could ask your opinion about something
that you’d rather not talk about. You are honest and di-
rect, but that can backfire. Switch the topic and divert the
discussion. Take an exercise routine up a notch. Tonight:
Family fun and games.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
Today is earmarked for creating a family budget. Be
prepared for a lengthy discussion revolving around which
items you need and which you can live without. Buy pas-
tries or bake your own to sweeten the day. Tonight: Time
to socialize.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20)
Harmony is today’s keyword. Avoid unpleasant
situations and conversations. Organize an outing with a
group of friends. Bypass responsibilities for the day. Get-
ting out of town could be the change of scenery you all
need. Tonight: Wind down with romance.
CANCER (June 21-July 22)
Take a break from nonstop mental activity. Cre-
emotional affair with the man
you broke up with. When you
say you are “trying to abstain”
from this person, clearly you
can’t.
What is going on isn’t fair
to the man you are engaged
to. If he knew, I’m sure he
would agree. Do not chalk
this up to “when I’m not with
the man I love, I love the one
I’m with.” Be honest about
what you really want, follow
through, and you won’t be
writing me again years from
now asking what to do.
Rent
Continued from A5
By Madalyn Aslan
Tonight: Home cooking.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Tie up loose ends from the week but don’t spend
too long on it. Switch gears and use your mind in other
ways. Browse the web, catch up on email and clean out
your inbox. Tonight: Binge a series you missed.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Think about that vacation or weekend getaway
you deserve to take. Browse travel websites for bargains.
There may be great deals for destinations you never con-
sidered until now. Thinking about it will set it in motion.
Tonight: Experiment with spices.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
House Bill 2966A wouldn’t
help commercial tenants who
are still struggling to pay their
rent now.
Instead, it would apply to
tenants who missed rent pay-
ments between April and Sep-
tember of last year, when busi-
nesses were forced to close due
to pandemic restrictions. It
would give them until Sept. 30
to make up those missed pay-
ments.
The bill would be retroactive
to March 31 and any eviction
may guide decisions on when
companies return to their of-
fices.
Doney predicted that many
companies will reduce the
size of their offices in the fu-
ture as remote labor becomes
routine, but that they will re-
turn to working together for
the most part.
People will come back to
the office over the summer,
he said, but the return will
be substantial after Labor
Day when the working-age
population is largely inocu-
lated and children are back in
school.
process for nonpayment of rent
that was initiated before the
bill went into effect but has not
yet been resolved will be stayed
until Oct. 1 or dismissed.
Nosse said the extension
would give the state time to get
business owners and landlords
relief through its $100 million
commercial rent relief pro-
gram.
Business Oregon, the state’s
economic development agency,
announced earlier this month
that it will distribute nearly $50
million to cover the missed
rent of a combined 2,609 com-
mercial tenants across the state
through the first round of the
relief program before opening
applications for another $50
million round of relief later this
month.
Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond,
voted in favor of the bill Fri-
day but suggested it wouldn’t
have been necessary if Busi-
ness Oregon had delivered that
aid more quickly. Lawmakers
voted in January to allocate the
$100 million to seed the pro-
gram.
“I think we should be put-
ting some real pressure on
them to get those funds out,”
Zika said.
higher taxes over the next two
years.
Employers reported tax bills
rising by several hundred dol-
lars per worker, jeopardizing
their ability to recall staff after
the pandemic and potentially
putting Oregon’s economic re-
covery at risk.
Oregon’s trust fund has
more money than any other
state’s — $3.8 billion, despite
the steepest, sharpest eco-
nomic downturn in state his-
tory. So a bipartisan group of
lawmakers drew up a series of
reforms to blunt the impact of
this year’s tax increases and re-
duce the overall tax burden in
the future:
• Employers who faced a tax
hike of at least 0.5 of a percent-
age point this year can defer up
to a third of that bill until June
2022. And those facing higher
increases can have a portion of
that higher bill forgiven.
• Layoffs that took place in
2020 and 2021 won’t be used
to calculate employers’ tax
rates in the future. So there
won’t be an ongoing penalty
associated with pandemic-re-
lated layoffs.
• And Oregon will consider
20 years of economic history,
rather than 10, when evaluat-
ing how much money the trust
fund needs — and how much
to tax employers to keep the
fund solvent. Legislative ana-
lysts expect that using a lon-
ger time frame will result in a
lower target for the trust fund
balance, and lower employer
taxes.
Sign up for a race, marathon or team sport that
pushes you beyond your comfort zone. Notify friends and
relatives so they can cheer you on. Give someone you
love undivided attention. Together you can solve a mys-
tery. Tonight: Feeling content.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
There may be an unexpected change of plans
that works in your favor. Go out with your favorite person
and do whatever makes you happy. Hold off on deep con-
versations. Be supportive. Kindness allows relationships
to grow. Tonight: Imagining the future.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) 6
Speak your truth in a way that does not hurt
anyone. You may have to leave things out of the conver-
sation. Share healthy eating tips with friends or an online
group. Nourishing recipes set you on the right path. To-
night: Dinner guests.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) 5
Use your imagination today and see where it takes
ate a photo album that makes the perfect gift. Take out
a sketch book or musical instrument. Revive an artistic
interest or talent that made you happy. Try to recapture
that emotion. Tonight: Check your email.
you. Snap photos of things you love most. Take an excur-
sion to a farm or zoo. Animals and children will put a smile
on your face. Tonight: Engage in a stimulating dialogue.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)
Organize a family meeting to map out travel
Spend quality time with a special friend you
haven’t seen in a while. Share memories that make you
both sad and happy. Record your conversations so you
can listen to them again. Make this day one to remember.
Will companies need less
room if people are working
at home sometimes, or must
they have a devoted desk
waiting for each worker when
they do come in? Will work-
ers still be seated close to
each other as they have been
in many offices in recent
years, or must they have more
elbow room to feel safe from
viruses?
A recent survey by consult-
ing firm KPMG found that
only 17% of chief executives
are looking to downsize their
office space as a result of the
pandemic, a steep drop from
August, when 69% said they
planned to shrink their of-
fices.
Before they return to the
office, though, the major-
ity of chief executives would
like to see more than 50% of
the general population vacci-
nated. They especially want
to see their own employees
get COVID-preventing shots
— 90% of bosses said they are
considering asking employees
to report to them when they
have been vaccinated, which
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)
plans. If everyone is on a different page, you will act as
mediator. Finding a destination that has something for
everyone will do the trick. Tonight: Zoom with children
and grandchildren.
Tax cuts
Continued from A5
That made sense in normal
times — employers that draw
the most from the state’s un-
employment insurance fund
pay the most to support it. But
in 2020, the formula resulted
in organizations hardest hit
by the pandemic’s economic
impact facing the biggest tax
hikes.
The Oregon Employment
Department forecast that 20%
of the state’s employers would
have to shoulder nearly all of
a $183 million increase in un-
employment taxes this year.
And because the state allocates
the impact of layoffs over a
three-year period, those orga-
nizations would keep paying