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Goodmorning,thanksforsubscribing Amy Gibbs SUNRISE Browntakesover as president Lifestyles A4 STATE THEATRE Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to play in Red Bluff A+E A5 FORECAST High:73 Low: 44 B8 DON'TBE SCAMMED Scamalerts Readour online scam alert section to learn how to avoid being scammed. VISIT REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM/ SCAMALERT By Fenit Nirappil TheAssociatedPress ECHO LAKE California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered state offi- cials Wednesday to impose man- datory water restrictions for the first time in history as the state grapples with a serious drought. Standing in dry, brown grass at a site that he said normally would be snow-covered this time of year, Brown announced he had signed an executive order requiring the State Water Resources Control Board to implement measures in cities and towns to cut water us- age by 25 percent compared with 2013 levels. The move will affect residents, businesses, farmers and other us- ers. "We're in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action," Brown said at the news conference at Echo Summit in the Sierra Nevada, where state water officials found no snow on the ground for their manual survey CALIFORNIA Go ve rn or o rd er s mandatory water re st ri ct io ns By Andre Byik abyik@redbluffdailynews.com @andrebyik on Twitter RED BLUFF State legislation that would allow property own- ers an extra month to pay a state assessed fire prevention fee has gained the support of the Tehama County Board of Supervisors. The board voted 5-0 on Tues- day to approve a letter of sup- port for Assembly Bill 203, which would allow property owners in the State Responsibility Area 60 days — up from 30 — to either dis- pute or pay an assessed fire pre- vention fee. According to a draft of the let- ter, about 8,288 parcels in Te- hama County will receive an an- nual fire prevention fee invoice from the state that will be due 30 days from the notice. "Due to the rural nature of those being billed, many individ- uals do not (receive) their bills in a timely manner," according to the letter. Additionally, "many of these individuals are on fixed in- comes, making it nearly impossi- ble for them to pay their Fire Pre- vention Fee by the 30-day dead- line." The state charges property owners about $152 per year for each habitable structure in the state's State Responsibility Area (SRA), according to the let- ter. There is a $35 reduction for those living within the bound- aries of a local fire protection district. The letter is addressed to As- semblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear, who introduced the bill in January. "Increasing the payment due date of the Fire Prevention Fee from 30 to 60 days will ensure greater compliance with the law by giving all owners of habitable structures in an SRA more time to receive and pay or dispute their bills," according to the letter. "AB 203 will also give those taxpayers on fixed incomes more time to ad- just their budgets." The SRA is an area where the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) "provides a basic level of wildland fire pre- vention and protection services," according to FirePreventionFee. org. The SRA fire prevention fee was signed into law in 2011, and the fee funds such Cal Fire activ- ities as fuel reduction to lessen the risk of wildfires, evacuation routes, defensible space inspec- tions, fire prevention engineer- ing and fire-related law enforce- ment, among other activities, ac- cording to the website. CAL FIRE Supesbackbilltoextendfeeduedate By Rich Greene rgreene@redbluffdailynews.com @richgreenenews on Twitter RED BLUFF Thirteen Red Bluff Union High School students were lauded by NASA scientists Tuesday evening for their year- long study program at Lassen Volcanic National Park. The students, nine juniors and four seniors, took part in the Lassen Astrobiology Intern Program, a partnership between the school, Lassen Park and the NASA Ames Research Center. The interns worked on a year-long research project studying Warner Valley at Las- sen, where they looked to make a connection between the hy- drothermal environments at the park and the search for ev- idence of past microbial life on ancient Mars. Science Teacher David Mi- chael said the school, park and NASA have created a "truly spe- cial relationship" over the past five years. Michael said the students find mentors and colleagues in the field of science with a relation- ship that shows who the people are beyond being world class sci- entists. National Park Service Ranger and Education Specialist Steve Zachary said that Lassen offers an incredible outdoor classroom for the students. The evening included a key- note lecture from Dr. David Des Marais, a senior scientist at the Ames Research Center and member of several Mars rover missions. Des Marais spoke about the educational evolution scientists have had learning about Mars and Earth's early formations and the search for evidence of life on the former. Des Marais explained how the work Red Bluff students perform assists NASA is determining where to look for life on Mars. The students themselves then gave a 40-minute presentation about their research and exper- iments in a presentation they named "Lassen: A Martian Analogy." The students said the past year gave them more confidence in their own abilities and taught them about high pressure dead- lines and working together as a team. They were presented certifi- cates of recognition from Zach- ary and Mike Kubo from the NASA Ames Research Center. Dr. Niki Parenteau, a re- search scientist at the SETI In- stitute and NASA, said Red Bluff students' work in the past has helped lead to the discovery of new microbial organisms. This year's program included seniors Maryn Spangler, Jesse Cantrell, Molly Shea, Jillian Strom and juniors Grant Cottier, Emilie Louisell, Jacob Thornton, Emily Wise, Judith Killam, Jer- emy Cantrell, Tanner Durfee, Christina Zumalt and Haley Isaacson. RED BLUFF HIGH FROM LASSEN TO MARS DAILY NEWS PHOTOS BY RICH GREENE NASA Ames Research Center Space Scientist Dr. David Des Marais gives the keynote lecture on Tuesday at the Lassen Astrobiology Intern Recognition Night at Red Bluff Union High School. Red Bluff Union High School students in the Lassen Astrobiology Intern program give a presentation on Tuesday night linking their research at Lassen Volcanic National Park to the search for the evidence of life on Mars. Christopher David Prest received his Eagle Scout promotion from the Boy Scouts. PAGE A3 COMMUNITY Prest presents Eagle Scout rank The Red Bluff Spartans baseball team got back into the win column Tuesday at a tournament in Fresno. PAGE B1 SPORTS Spartans win one, lose one at Fresno tourney A massive ball of flames engulfed an oil platform, kill- ing four and sending terrified workers into the sea. PAGE B5 GULF OF MEXICO Ball of fire engulfs Mexican oil rig, 4 dead Be prepared to pay a bit more if you're going to visit some of the national parks this sum- mer. PAGE B4 NATIONAL PARKS Admission to recreation areas to get steeper Community.....A3 Lifestyles........A4 Opinion............A6 Sports.............. B1 Comics ............B3 A + E ................A5 INDEX DROUGHT PAGE 7 School,parkandNASAprogrambenefitall RED BLUFF Police Chief Paul Nanfito has decided to retire ef- fective May 15, according to a press release issued late Wednes- day afternoon by the city. Nanfito has been the subject of an internal investigation after the Red Bluff Peace Officers As- sociation issued a vote of no con- fidence in him at a Dec. 2, 2014, City Council meeting. He was placed on administrative leave. An attorney for the group, Brett Sherman, said at the time, "Chief Nanfito's management style is adversarial and stems from po- sitional power as a narcissistic manager. He leads by fear and intimidation and has bred a cul- ture of fear and discontent within the Red Bluff Police Department." The Tehama County Deputy Sheriffs' Association (DSA) in Jan- uary voted to support the POA's effort to remove Nanfito from his post. In a letter addressed RED BLUFF Police chief set to retire on May 15 Move comes amid investigation prompted by vote of no confidence RETIRE PAGE 7 » redbluffdailynews.com Thursday, April 2, 2015 50CENTS AN EDITION OF THE CHICO ENTERPRISE-RECORD 7 58551 69001 9 Volume130,issue95