Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/103600
TUESDAY Benefits vs. Dangers of Pot JANUARY 15, 2013 1 Win From SB Vitality Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Sunny 60/31 Weather forecast 8B TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 DA office takes down 'wicked web' of crime By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Tehama County District Attorney's Office announced Monday its investigators have arrested 26 people during a three-month undercover operation known as Wicked Web. The operation, targeting peo- ple using the Internet for criminal activity, netted arrests of sexual predators and those interested in buying or selling drugs. The sting is a proactive approach to fighting crime in Tehama County by taking care of the matter before the crime takes place, according to a Tehama County District Attorney's Office press release. "The District Attorney's Office feels strongly about protecting our children from sexual predators and keeping our community safe from drugs," the release said. In total, 25 adults and one underage girl were netted dur- ing the arrest that resulted from four search warrants. Those arrested included two men posing as tutors to meet minors for sex, a social worker and a Red Bluff girl who was prostituting herself, according to the District Attorney's Office. Among those arrested were a Digging in to careers Siskiyou County man and a man who has federal child pornography charges pending. A total of $36,355 in assets were seized, including 176.8 pounds of marijuana, 21 marijuana plants, 10 grams of concentrated cannabis, 52 See WEB, page 7A City to mull parks board, downtown By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer careers) to our students while they are young, starting in kindergarten," Renstrom said. Paullin, who is a registered professional archaeologist, talked with students about various finds through her years of study and the college path that she used to get there. To get the "cool jobs," such as archaeologist, a student definitely needs further education beyond The Red Bluff City Council is scheduled to get back to work tonight, holding its first regular meeting in nearly a month. On the agenda are appointments to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, a public hearing for the Downtown Red Bluff Parking and Business Improvement Area, several budget updates, a couple of cost studies and a supplemental budget appropriation to cover police overtime. • Six weeks after receiving five applications for one appointment to the Red Bluff Planning Commission and none to serve on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, the council should finally be able to fill the latter. Three of the four individuals who applied for the Planning Commission, Suren Patel, Gerry Reyes and Robert Martin, refiled for the Parks and Recreation appointment. There are three 3-year and one 2-year appointments available. A fourth candidate, Raymond Eliggi, has also applied. The council's only decision Tuesday may be filling the student representative vacancy, as it received two applications for the position. • Resolution No. 1-2013 will come before the council after a public hearing is held to determine whether any businesses desire to protest the annual downtown association assessments. If less than 50 percent of the businesses scheduled to pay the study protest, the council will move forward with the resolution confirming the assessments as filed by the Downtown Red Bluff Business Association. There would be no change from previous years with businesses within Zone A paying $250 if they are retail and $175 if they are non retail. Zone B retail would pay $125 and non-retail $100. • The council will be asked to approve a recently completed Cost Allocation Plan Report for Administrative Services. The council authorized Willdan Financial Services to provide the city with its first allocation study since 2004 in September. See CAREERS, page 7A See CITY, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Pam Paullin, a cultural resource specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture based at the Red Bluff office, shows students artifacts from other civilizations following a presentation on Friday at Jackson Heights Elementary School. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer As a part of its No Excuses University efforts, Jackson Heights Elementary School Friday hosted U.S. Department of Agriculture Cultural Resource Specialist Pam Paullin. Jackson Heights, one of several No Excuses University schools in Tehama County working toward a college awareness culture, is hosting a series of career exploration speakers, Principal Dottie Renstrom said. While the school did have speakers last year, this is the first year it has put together a series of speakers with Paullin being the fourth of the year, Renstrom said. The series, of which Friday's was for fifth and sixth grade students, takes place about once a month. "The whole purpose of No Excuses University is to provide the information (about college and Analyst agrees Brown's Calif. budget in balance SACRAMENTO (AP) — After years of cutting education and social services to close deficits, California's budget is finally in balance as long as state lawmakers follow Gov. Jerry Brown's guidance to hold the line on spending, the Legislature's nonpartisan budget analyst said Monday. Analyst Mac Taylor commended the Democratic governor for emphasizing fiscal restraint in the proposed spending plan for the 2013-14 fiscal year that he released last week. He urged lawmakers to consider Brown's education reforms, which include transferring more money to poorer districts, and the governor's proposal to expand health care for the poor under the federal Affordable Care Act. Last week, Brown released a $97.6 billion 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 state spending plan for the new fiscal year and projected a $1 billion reserve. Two months ago, the Legislative Analyst's Office had projected a more cautious outlook that forecast a $1.9 billion deficit. Taylor said Monday that higher tax revenue, increased savings and repayment of loans account for the slight differences. ''Over the past several years, each January governor's budget has included billions of dollars in proposed solutions ... in order to close budget shortfalls,'' Taylor wrote in his report. ''Now, however, the state has reached a point where its underlying expenditures and revenues are roughly in balance.'' He said that while California is on a much better financial footing, uncertainty remains about the federal deficit debate, the state's heavy reliance on wealthy earners, and huge unfunded pension and retiree health care liabilities. See BUDGET, page 7A Corning park inches forward By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Corning Community Park is inching closer to reality with the first phase out to bid and the city looking for additional funding. The City Council Tuesday approved pursuing a CalRecycle Grant, which is geared toward promoting the markets of recycled content products derived from California generated waste tires. "This grant is tied to what we're already doing because in our grant application (for Prop. 84 funding) we committed as part of the grant to use as much recycled material as possible," said Planning Consultant John Stoufer. "It gave us a bit of leverage for the park." The new grant was brought to the city's attention by a sales associate of the company the city is using to purchase rubberized bark made of recycled tires for the playground and other landscape areas in the park, Stoufer said. If approved for the grant, the city would receive just under DN file photo $150,000 to purchase the materials, which would free up some of the funding already dedicated to the park for other items, he said. Bids for phase one of the 18.42-acre park, which sits between Toomes and Houghton avenues, will be opened Feb. 5 with hopes, weather permitting, for breaking ground in April or May, Stoufer said. The first phase includes the 1,800-square-foot area designated for the skateboard park, which has been created to integrate bicycles, and an area See PARK, page 7A