Red Bluff Daily News

June 19, 2010

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WEEKEND JUNE 19-20, 2010 Breaking news at: Troubled Men, Loving Dads USA Weekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Mickelson to 2nd SPORTS 1B Partly cloudy 78/59 Weather forecast 10B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County’s unemploy- ment rate shrunk again in May to 15.1 percent as the county added hundreds of jobs, many from the US Census, to its ranks. The unemployment rate broke records in March at 17.7 DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ 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 Unemployment rate inches down in May percent and has been dipping since, dropping in April when more than 400 residents, either finding work outside the county or stopping the search for work, were no longer counted as unemployed. But May showed around 240 more jobs were available in Tehama County, which would Gerber tries once more to shutter FD By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer GERBER — The Gerber-Las Flo- res Community Services District voted at Thursday’s meeting to resub- mit the Local Agency Formation Commission application to finalize the closure of the Gerber Fire Department. “What we’re approving tonight is resubmitting the LAFCO application and launching the process again,” said District Manager Mike Murphy. This is the second time the board has started the process, as there was confusion the first time an application was submitted. The board initially thought it was paying more than other local commu- nities, since it would be paying 17 cents on the dollar for assessed prop- erty values while others were paying an average of 7.3 cents on the dollar. What it came down to was that, while Gerber paid more for fire, the district paid less in other areas. The county decides how the property taxes are divided. “It’s just the way the pie is sliced,” said Board Chairman Larry Long. “It’s just the way the 1 percent (collected by the county from property taxes) is divided between all the entities it sup- ports.” The motion for the resubmission of the application included the accep- tance of the property tax exchange submitted by county counsel and pre- viously approved by the Board of Supervisors. The property tax exchange shifts $30,863 previously given to the Ger- ber Fire Department to CalFire, which took over fire protection for Gerber following the department’s March 2009 closure. The board approved the payment of a $1,000 check, which is required to start the process again. The board announced the matter of the fraud claim involving Lisa Lee Johnson is closed with the charges dropped. “The Community Services District See GERBER, page 9A This large striped bass was taken in 2009 near Chico. By MIKE TAUGHER MediaNews Group It was 1879 when a Harvard-educated fish scientist took striped bass caught in New Jersey’s Navesink River and poured 132 of them into the Carquinez Strait near Martinez. Livingston Stone, a Unitarian minister who started the nation’s first freshwater hatchery, shepherded the fish in wooden barrels and milk jugs on a transcontinen- tal railroad completed just 10 years earli- er. Lawmakers seek fix to $11B water bond SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers will consider altering an $11.1 billion water bond on the November ballot in an effort to deflect criti- cism that private corpora- tions stand to benefit. At issue is a provision in the bond that opponents say could allow private companies to partially own, operate and profit from water projects built with public money. Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Repub- lican state Sen. Dave Cogdill, said Friday the Legislature wants to make ‘‘crystal clear’’ that public money can be used only for the public’s benefit. The bill, AB2775, would ensure that bond money for dams, reser- voirs and water banks only go to joint power authori- ties made up of public agencies. It is scheduled to be heard Tuesday by the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Lawmakers placed the bond on the November ballot as part of a legisla- tive package intended to overhaul how Californians store, use and transport water. If it passes, a now- defunct California Water Commission appointed by the governor will be given full authority to allocate $3 billion in funds to storage projects. As it is currently writ- ten, some of that money could go to a Joint Powers Authority that has private members to oversee a dam or other storage project. One example might be the Kern Water Bank, once 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See BOND, page 9A The fish liked it here, and today striped bass are one of the most popular sport fish in California. The Sacramento River is filled with striper anglers in the spring, particularly between Colusa and Chico. The stripers also are a major economic factor for Delta communities that cater to sport fishing. But 130 years later a growing chorus wants to eradicate the fish, and no one is more insistent it appears than Stewart Resnick, a Los Angeles billionaire with See BASS, page 9A account for most of the drop in May’s unemployed residents. Federal government jobs, including jobs tied to the census, got the largest boost, adding 110 jobs. Mining and logging jobs grew, too, adding about 50 jobs to those rolls. State government jobs accounted for another 30 positions, and jobs in the leisure and hospitality category accounted for another 20 jobs. Local government jobs took the largest hit, dropping by about 20 jobs. Shasta County’s unemploy- ment rate, typically higher than Tehama’s, dropped to 15.4 per- cent, while Glenn County, also normally higher than Tehama’s, SoCal farmers want to eradicate stripers Bass ban? was just below at 15 percent. In Butte County, the unemploy- ment rate dropped to 13.3 per- cent. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.co m. Migrant camp raises worries By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer A controversial migrant labor camp is no closer to construction after the Tehama County Planning Com- mission met Thursday, voting to con- tinue a public hearing up through July 15. Owner Angelo Ferro has been pushing for the camp since 2009 as a way to secure labor at his olive orchard outside of Corning, south of South Avenue and near Woodson Bridge. Orchard manager Chris Hender- son, speaking before the commission, said the camp was an economic necessity. Though migrant labor is plentiful at the moment, putting in enough living trailers to accommo- date 140 workers for the harvest sea- son could get him laborers who would otherwise be unwilling to work with- out a place to stay. By making parking, catering and MNG file photo living accommodations available to workers, Henderson said he could reduce the traffic and messy parking situations already associated with seasonal harvests. The proposal received backing at the meeting from Pat Campbell, vice president of operations for local olive cannery Bell-Carter Foods, and of Corning City Council member Ross Turner, a fellow olive grower. “The majority of landowners in Corning will not rent (to migrants),” Turner said, following a disclaimer that he was not speaking as a member of the council. “It’s racially motivat- ed, whether you want to hear it or not.” But the camp’s backers are in the minority. By the time the commission convened Thursday, of the 60 letters the Planning Department had received, only a handful were in favor of the project. A staff report by Planner II Bob Halpin mentions almost a dozen com- plaints common across the letters, including a fear of increased crime rates, traffic, trash, sanitation and even air quality from gravel kicked up by traffic. “We enjoy a quiet family-oriented See CAMP, page 9A Who’s your CRAW daddy? Volunteers Ken Koch and Dana Campbell stir a freshly cooked batch of crawdads Friday evening at the Tehama District Fairground.The R Wild Horse Ranch Crawdad Festival continues 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Daily News photo by Chip Thompson * 200-1680 with any info. * LOST DOG Dark colored Yorkie/Poodle Please call

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