Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5665
Daily News staff Economy - private sector Economists have pre- dicted the recovery from 2008's financial meltdown will be slow, and, sure enough, aftershocks contin- ued to rock Tehama County in 2009. Red Bluff parted ways with landmarks like the Holiday Market packed up and shut down its Cedar Street location and the State Theatre announced its run would end in June 2010. Cash for Clunkers sped up auto sales, but it couldn't save Red Bluff Ford, which had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008. In 2009, the dealer- ship liquidated its inventory and locked its doors. The Red Bluff Chrysler dealer- ship moved to Corning. Countywide, unemploy- ment reached heights not seen since 1993. Results for December will not be avail- able for weeks, but March had the highest jobless rate at 14.8 percent and January the lowest at 13.1 percent. Marijuana Perhaps it was the strong odor of a neighbor's garden, increasing late night calls from burglars — as in the January home invasion rob- bery and murder of a Los Molinos man — or the fed- eral government backing off, but something hap- pened that made Tehama County wake up to face the medical marijuana issue growing in its own back- yard. Local authorities thought medical marijuana was like an invasive plant they could get rid of by using a weed killer known as zoning ordi- nances. Medical marijuana patients thought authorities were just being invasive, treading on their state rights under the Compassionate Use Act. The issue first popped up at a the county level. Tehama County Supervi- sors introduced a zoning ordinance in June to ban medical marijuana collec- tives, cooperatives and dis- pensaries. They settled on a temporary ban for unincor- porated areas that is in place until August 2010. The cities of Corning and Red Bluff followed suit. Corning's ban extends into this year. Red Bluff almost made history by becoming one of the first municipalities to ban cultivation. It backed off after threats of litigation and retracted the entire ordi- nance. Instead, a temporary ban has been placed. A crowd of 150 gathered to strum up support for patients' rights and got the attention of attorneys as far away as the Bay Area. An attorney fund was created and several thousand dollars have been collected and doled out. Several court cases are ongoing. The most high profile is that of local mon- ster trucks promoter Joe Froome who faces charges of cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell. A handful of cannabis collectives sprouted up, and all but one were quickly squashed. With more than 900 members, Tehama Herbal Collective in Corn- ing is the only one still open in the county. Supporters of marijuana use are trying to get a mea- sure that would legalize marijuana for the general public on the statewide November ballot. Economy - budget cuts Decreasing sales tax rev- enues and plummeting property tax revenues across the county have forced local governments to tighten their belts, not to mention the county and cities having to deal with a record-breakingly dysfunc- tional state budget. As the picture darkened, Corning, Red Bluff and Tehama County all found themselves resorting to a mixture of furloughs and pay cuts. Red Bluff asked its police chief, Scott Capilla, to retire early; cut its police pay by 7 percent and cou- pled another 7 percent cut with furloughs for city man- agement. The city opted to cut 20 percent of the money it gives to the Tehama Coun- ty-Red Bluff Chamber of Commerce, reducing its funding by $5,000. It was enough that the county Board of Supervi- sors, who earn about $1,040 a month each plus expenses, took a voluntary pay cut of 10 percent — a symbolic gesture that did not stop the county from cutting all gen- eral fund spending by 5.5 percent and public safety funding, including the sher- iff's department, by 3.5 per- cent. The hostile economic climate prevented the coun- ty from implementing stricter development requirements designed to improve air quality, though similar complaints did not stop the building depart- ment from increasing costs to pay for services. Corning waited the longest for its budget and will be shutting down all City Hall services every other Friday, at least through June, and cut $7,000 from the Corning Chamber of Commerce. Lake Red Bluff After years of uncertain- ty, Tehama County finally got some answers concern- ing the future of Lake Red Bluff and the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, even if they weren't the answers many were hoping for. On April 1 the city dropped its lawsuit with the Tehama Colusa Canal Authority challenging plans to build a screened pumping station to divert water from the Sacramento River in the wake of an endangered species lawsuit, which had altered the customary oper- ations at the dam. Two weeks later, the canal authority was award- ed $109.8 million in federal stimulus money from the U.S. Secretary of the Interi- or to proceed with the Fish Passage Improvement Pro- ject. The final blow to the future of Lake Red Bluff came in June when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion released a biological opinion regarding opera- tions at the dam to satisfy the ruling made by the fed- eral court. The opinion stated gate operations at the dam would continue normal summer operations until 2011. If the pumping plant is not fin- ished by 2012, an additional year of operation may be granted. After that the gates would remain raised perma- nently and Lake Red Bluff would be no more. While the $250 million annual agricultural econo- my connected to the dam's irrigation may have been saved, the city is left search- ing for ways to replace an estimated $4 million in rev- enue associated with recre- ational activities at the lake. With a $30,000 settle- ment from the canal author- ity, the city ended the year pitching Congress for funds to bring a biomass fuel pro- ject to town. Swine flu The pandemic Swine flu virus, also known as H1N1, hit the states in early spring. Between April and November, an estimated 47 million people have been effected resulting in 9,820 deaths across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention. Two cases of swine flu in Tehama County were reported in May with one H1N1 related death occur- ring in September. The 50- year-old man did have pre- existing medical conditions. In Tehama County, the public health agency started informational campaigns to prevent further spread of the disease. Still, Tehama County schools reported 20 percent to 30 percent student absences were due to chil- dren staying home because of flu-like symptoms. In the rush to make swine flu vaccines available to all, the production of the seasonal flu vaccine went by the wayside and all sea- sonal flu vaccine clinics planned for October in the county were canceled. In November the county received its share of swine flu vaccines and held sever- al clinics throughout the county. A few days after the Tehama County Public Health Division announced that it had enough vaccines to offer to the general pub- lic, the CDC announced a voluntary recall of 800,000 doses of the vaccine. Tests indicated that some of the doses did not meet potency standards. The county sent back 100 doses. As the seasonal flu peaks this month and February, public health agencies, par- ents and school officials will have to stay on top of their game to determine if flu-like symptoms are the seasonal flu or swine flu. TANC Whether it was botched public outreach or some- thing more sinister, the Transmission Agency of Northern California awoke a hornet's nest of protest when it announced plans for new transmission towers running through the North State. In meetings as large and angry as any Tea Party, hun- dreds of North State resi- dents took TANC to task at town halls for its transmis- sion plan. The complaints against TANC were numerous, ranging from assertions that property values went down by just being associated with the project to accusa- tions that the maps were too vague to determine who would be affected to the ever-present threat of emi- nent domain. Project backers eventual- ly pulled their support from the project, by which time, involved parties were swamped with letters and irate phone calls. If the transmission plan was any indication, officials will have to consider the "where" as much as the "how" as the state strives to meet increasing energy demands. Corning Corning had a lot on its plate this year with new buildings like Corning Healthcare District's in the works and the formation of the Corning Skate and Bike Park Association. After five years, the long-awaited ground-break- ing of the $2.6 million Meuser building, which will be a one-stop facility for social services and other amenities, took place in December. On July 6, the Skate and Bike Park Association held the first of many meetings dedicated to bringing a new park to Corning, however, without a location organiz- ers say its hard to get dona- tions. The group was formed when, after several meet- ings with the City Council and Recreation Commis- sion, Madaline Brooks and Shannon Petersen stepped up to the plate to take on on the roles of committee co- chairwoman. With more than 60 vol- unteers and a raffle coming up Jan. 18 to raise money for the cause, the group is well on its way. The group is hopeful that a portion of the land that could be acquired if the city gets a Prop. 84 grant, which could be used for a skate and bike park. The outcome of the grant application won't be revealed until Sep- tember 2010, Planning Director John Stoufer said. The year also saw City Manager Steve Kimbrough in the news with everything from his week-long suspen- sion over e-mails to a motion from the council to consider his termination, which was defeated in exec- utive session. New events New events blossomed all over Tehama County in 2009, however, two of the more noticeable ones were the Heritage Days Fourth of July Celebration and the Ribs, Rods and Rides hot air balloon festival. Heritage Days was born out of a tradition of fire- works on Fourth of July. When Red Bluff firefight- ers, represented at a brief ceremony before the show by Kevin Turner, stepped down after putting on the show since the late 1950s, a committee of various Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce members stepped up to fill the void. The Independence Day event featured plenty to do all day for youth and adults alike and was capped by a large fire- works show. The Ribs, Rods and Rides festival, held the weekend of Oct. 24-25 at Rolling Hills Casino, was a giant success with more than a dozen balloons lift- ing off Saturday, 172 vehicles in the rods por- tion and Red Bluff Fire Department winning the friendly competition with Corning Fire in the ribs cookoff. The event was also a success in raising funds for the chamber, which organized the festivities. New campus Higher education in Tehama County took a giant leap forward in 2009 with the opening of Shasta College's Dia- mond Avenue campus. When the project's Weather forecast 8A Cloudy Rain 51/40 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ FRIDAY JANUARY 1, 2010 Bowl season Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 SPORTS 1B 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 MOULE'S TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260 for Fireplace Glass N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY Red Bluff Daily News Saturday delivery will be late due to the sports coverage. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Economy and pot top 2009 news A judge's ruling brought the long-standing debate over the loss of Lake Red Bluff to a close in 2009. Daily News file photos The opening and eventual closure of several medical marijuana collectives in Tehama County dominated the news in 2009. See 2009, page 7A