Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5786
SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed an aggressive agenda of job creation and reforms to the budgeting and pension sys- tems while promising to protect California schools from further spending cuts. Left unanswered was how the state will pay for his plans in the midst of another gaping budget hole, with the latest shortfall pegged at $20 billion. In his final State of the State address, the Republi- can governor said the feder- al government should be among the chief sources to help ease California's bud- get woes. He lamented that the state sees only 78 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington, D.C. The ever-optimistic Schwarzenegger acknowl- edged that more pain lies ahead for California but indicated he will push hard for some of his long-sought financial reforms during his final year. ''To strengthen the econ- omy, which is the founda- tion of all jobs, we here in this chamber must reform California's budget and we must reform our tax system. That would be a huge stim- ulus,'' he said. He said pension costs for retired state employees have risen 2,000 percent over the last 10 years, while tax revenue to the state has increased 24 percent, a situ- ation he said was not sus- tainable. Calling job creation his top priority for 2010, Schwarzenegger outlined a $500 million plan to train 140,000 workers and create 100,000 jobs in a state that is facing an unemployment rate of greater than 12 per- cent. He said the state could pay for the program through a loan from an unemployment fund that currently has a surplus. By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The pumping plant that will replace the Red Bluff Diversion Dam gates is on track to be completed by its target date of May 2012. In a presentation to the City Council Tuesday, repre- sentatives from the Bureau of Reclamation laid out what has been completed and what still needs to be done on the Fish Passage Improvement Project. All project designs have been completed and construc- tion will occur in three phas- es, Bureau of Reclamation representative Lauren Carly said. The first phase is building a bridge and siphon on the right side of the project site. On Tuesday the bureau announced the contract for this phase was awarded to a Novato-based construction company. The second contract award for supplying pumps and motors is expected to be announced in a few days. This second phase will include fabrication of the pumps and motors. Bids for the third contract will be solicited at the end of the month with the award contract anticipated in May. Construction of the fish screen and pumping plant will be the last phase of the project. The pumping plant will replace the dam gates that will be permanently raised in two years as ordered by a fed- eral judge. Completion of the project will ensure that farmers who need water get it while migrating fish can pass unim- peded. The pumps are being designed to supply up to 2,500 cubic feet per second of water from the river to canals operated by the Tehama- Colusa Canal Authority and Corning Canal. The project will cost an estimated $230 million. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act covers $109.8 million. Other funding includes federal water-related grants in the amount of $114.7 and a state bond of 5.5 million. Most of the money will be spent on labor contracts and Red Bluff Outdoor Power POWER PRODUCTS DOLMAR Weather forecast 6A Morning Showers 56/43 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ THURSDAY JANUARY 7, 2010 Peking Acrobats Prep Round-up 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 Pastimes, Page 5A SPORTS 1B Coming to Chico 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 FIREARMS TRAINING Concealed carry handgun class for 1st time applicants JANUARY 9 TH & 10 TH Walt Mansell 527-1154 Early morning & evenings Jack the Ribber Choice Black Angus NY Steak Dinner $ 10. 00 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 Friday Nite Special Jan. 8 th till 9pm Walmart gets nod, opponent vows appeal By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The Walmart Supercenter is one step closer to happening as the City Council voted Tuesday to accept an addendum to the Envi- ronmental Impact Report. In October, Judge John Gar- aventa ruled the comparison of idling trucks at an El Camino truck stop and trucks at the pro- posed Walmart site was not ade- quate because it failed to consider the background noise of Interstate 80. Consultants had that informa- tion but didn't include it in the EIR. The addendum was made to add the information. The council voted for approval with little discussion among them- selves, but the public had a lot to say. Attorney William Kopper said just adding information to the EIR is not enough. He wants a subse- quent EIR to be performed because the numbers would show that the noise is louder than what's acceptable by CEQA guidelines. "This is more than just provid- ing data, it's about what the data shows," Kopper said. Kopper represents Citizens for a Healthy Community and Red Bluff Citizens for Sensible Plan- ning, two groups that are against the Walmart expansion. Walmart attorney Miriam Montesinos said consultants who performed the tests say the data doesn't show any significant envi- ronmental impact so the adden- dum is enough. There is no need for a subsequent EIR. Several citizens spoke up 'This is more than just providing data, it's about what the data shows' Attorney William Kopper Fish passage on track Courtesy photo illustration A conceptual design of the site at the Red Bluff Diversion Dam once the pumping plant is completed. State speech draws mixed reviews from lawmakers By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his final state of the state address Wednesday to intro- duce a mixed bag of solutions for the state's sour economy — solutions that met with a mixed response from local lawmakers. State Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, who has long called for lower taxes, agreed in a telephone interview Wednesday with the gover- nor's proposal to lift sales taxes for manufactur- ing equipment purchased by qualifying green projects. He also agreed with an expansion of last year's $10,000 tax credit for home buyers, pro- vided the budget allows for it. Aanestad and Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R- Gerber, gave their support to Schwarzenegger's proposal to allow the Business, Housing and Transportation Agency to declare certain pro- jects exempt from California Environmental Quality Act lawsuits, which can stop or derail a project altogether. "The sad reality is the CEQA process has been co-opted by certain groups out there who have used the legal challenges to stop this kind of progress, to stop this kind of construction," Aanestad said. Nielsen went one step further. While he approved the speech overall — he was "delight- ed" at the attention given to the economy — limiting CEQA lawsuits should only be one part of a larger effort to strip away California's bureaucracy, which Nielsen said is the largest obstacle to business in the state. "He did talk about a tax return, a tax credit for new homes — fine," Nielsen said. "That will have some impact." Open Open By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Little Caesars' hot-n- ready pizza is now available in Red Bluff thanks to entre- preneurs Bhupinder Singh, Kamaldeep Singh and Sat- nam Singh. "You can get all the pizza you want with no limit," Bhupinder said, "You can order 100 or whatever you want, we'll have them ready for you." Bhupinder was a bit scared about jumping into the new venture of being part of a large pizza chain, but more than anything he's excited. The Singhs are originally from Yuba City, where they own a convenience store. They chose Red Bluff because of the community. The people are just really nice, friendly and welcom- ing, Kamaldeep said. That was evident in the turnout of Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce members during a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednes- day morning. With shiny new equip- ment and plenty of fresh ingredients ready to be used, the store's 20 employ- ees spent the rest of the prepping for the store's offi- cial opening to the public today at 108 Main St., Ste. C near the entrance to Red Bluff River Park. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Daily News photo by Chip Thompson Martin Nichols, Sue Hubbard, Satnam Singh, Kamaldeep Singh, Bhupinder "Bob" Singh, Kristin Behrens, Ben Hughes pose for a ribbon cutting at Little Caesars. Schwarzenegger urges fiscal reform in final year See NOD, page 3A See FISH, page 3A See STATE, page 3A See FISCAL, page 3A