TAXING TIMES: Valley residents are among the...

TAXING TIMES: Valley residents are among the millions of taxpayers whose returns are being delayed by new IRS procedures. . . . H & R Block Valley District Manager Diane Lipinski said delays have struck as many as 50% of customers seeking the earned-income credit. And 15% of married couples have encountered delays because the IRS is cross-checking Social Security numbers. Said Lipinski: “It’s a big problem.”

ADD TAX: . . . But IRS spokesman Keith Kimball says the delays are designed to protect taxpayers. “The new procedures are necessary to prevent fraudulent and questionable refund claims, which cost taxpayers between $1 billion and $5 billion annually,” Kimball said. . . . Although some refunds could take up to several extra weeks, Kimball said “only about 8% of filers nationwide should experience delays.”

IGUANALAND: Who says you can’t learn anything from an iguana? . . . Peter Wilson and Camille Salcedo, above, have found that the Iguana Cafe in North Hollywood is the perfect place to catch up on their reading. With free coffee and live bands for only a small cover charge, this coffeehouse is a popular pad for many Valley creatures of the night. See Valley Life! Page 26.

NAME GAME: In the Valley, immortality grows on trees . . . and on freeways, books and even bricks. For a small donation of time or money, many nonprofit groups offer public recognition by placing donors’ names on plaques or signs. From the Tree of Friends sculpture at CSUN’s Oviatt Library to the Adopt-a-Highway program, the price of fame is usually less than acting lessons. Valley Life! Page 8.

NEW GENRE: A Burbank movie theater will help usher in the interactive film genre. . . . New York-based Interfilm will open “Mr. Payback” Feb. 17 at 44 theaters nationwide, including the AMC Burbank 14. With the auditorium rewired, audiences get a chance to pick the plot’s twists and turns (D4).