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Tuesday, June 29, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Death Notice Christina Zlatunich Christina Zlatunich, a long time Tehama County resident died May 18, 2010, in Red Bluff. She was 57. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers is handling the arrangements. Published Tuesday, June 29, 2010, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. REAGAN Continued from page 1A crat before switching parties. That shows Republicans’ wel- coming nature, she said. In the end, the parties agreed that Reagan deserves to be CAPTAIN Continued from page 1A from boating to the coroner’s office and was particularly involved in budgeting deci- sions, Parker said. “He’s done a great job,” HEALTH Continued from page 1A policy, to be taking on this risk at this time, especially when the fed- eral health care reform is Parker said. “I can tell you, Captain Hosler was very instru- mental to my administration.” Acting on Hencratt’s cam- paign for more officers on patrol and fewer in the office, Parker recommended that Hosler’s position be terminated once Hosler retires as part of the department’s 2010-2011 not a done deal,’’ said Sen. Sam Aanestad, R- Grass Valley. Since the California Legislature began con- sidering legislation to enact federal health care reforms, some Republi- remembered on the anniversary of his birth. By a unanimous vote, the Assembly passed the legislation creating Ronald Reagan Day every Feb. 6. Schools would be encouraged to commemorate the accomplishments of the Republi- can governor and president. The bill, SB944, returns to the budget. Hencratt said he would eval- uate the position before he decides whether to reinstate it. In the meantime, Hosler, a skier, said he plans to take up working for the Mt. Shasta Ski Patrol, where he already holds a part-time job, full time. You will not find him on the cans have argued that the state is acting prema- turely because the bal- ance of power in Con- gress could shift in upcoming elections, leading to a repeal of the national law. state Senate for a final vote. If it becomes law, Reagan would be the third individual hon- ored with a special day in Califor- nia. Other days recognize conser- vationist John Muir and former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, a gay activist who was assassinated at city hall in 1978. Obama, activists to push on immigration reform WASHINGTON (AP) — Pres- ident Barack Obama is enlisting activists and labor leaders in a push for comprehensive immigra- tion legislation that will showcase Republican opposition and include a speech by the president. The strategy was discussed during a meeting Monday by a range of prominent labor leaders and activist groups. Participants said Obama reiter- ated his support for immigration legislation but noted the political realities that have stalled it in Congress. Latino leaders say they will work in coming months to pres- sure Republicans to give way and support an immigration bill — and make opponents pay at the ballot box if they don’t. ‘‘We’re going to make absolutely crystal clear who’s at fault here,’’ said Eliseo Medina, a leader of the Service Employees International Union. Prospects for passage of com- prehensive immigration legisla- tion look bleak this election year, and even many Democrats are wary of wading into the hot-but- ton issue. But Obama, who pledged as a candidate to make immigration reform a top priority during his first year in office, faces pressure from the Hispanic community to act — or at least to try. That’s only intensified in the wake of Arizona’s passage of a controversial law that requires police officers to question a per- son’s immigration status if there’s reason to suspect the person is in the country illegally. Obama has spoken out against the law and asked the Justice Department to examine its legali- ty. Activists anticipate that the Justice Department will sue to overturn the law, but in Monday’s meeting Obama said that decision would be left up to the depart- ment, and he didn’t give a time- line, participants said. Also Monday, high-ranking federal officials visited Arizona to brief the governor and others on Obama’s recently announced plans to send National Guard troops to the border. Red Bluff complex goes smoke-free Across the nation, landlords and management com- panies are instituting smoke-free policies. Some cover 100 percent of the multi-unit housing facility — common areas, pool areas, indoors and out- side, and private units. Some designate certain sections of buildings as 100 percent smoke-free. A 100 percent smoke-free designation means higher property values and lower fire risk, insurance and cleanup costs. Most importantly, 100 percent smoke- free multi-unit housing facilities mean a healthier life for everyone, especially children, the elderly and those with breathing disabilities. Owners are recognizing that smoke-free makes eco- nomic sense, and renters are beginning to demand smoke-free units. More than 84 percent of California adults do not smoke. Most Californians are aware of the health hazards of secondhand smoke and wish to be protected from it. However, many apartment owners are not aware that they have the right to designate all or part of an apart- ment building or complex as smoke-free. Smoke-free apartments are less costly to maintain and may be cheaper to insure. Tenants in both subsi- dized and market-rate housing deserve to be protected from exposure to second hand smoke. That is the realization that apartment manager for Cabernet Apartments, Nicole Price, made after serious consideration on the impact that smoke-free housing would have for tenants and the rental business. The apartments implemented the no-smoking policy for several buildings and all common areas including the pool and clubhouse effective Monday. The Tehama County Tobacco Education Program congratulates Price and Cabernet for being the largest multi-unit complex in Tehama County to implement smoke-free housing. Other existing smoke-free com- plexes include Tehama Estates, Mountain Valley Apart- ments and Creekside Village Apartments. For more information about Smoke-Free apartment living or quitting smoking, call Tehama County Health Services Agency, Tobacco Education Program at (530) 527-6824 or 1-800-655-6854. Small, mag-3.5 quake hits off of SF coast SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A small earthquake has struck just off the coast of San Francisco. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magni- tude-3.5 temblor about 3 miles west of Ocean Beach at 7:47 a.m. Monday. It was followed by a magnitude-1.2 quake at 8:05 a.m. Residents in the area described it as a light jolt that lasted only a few seconds. San Francisco police say they have not received any calls about injury or damage related to the earthquake. The National Guard decision dismayed some activists, who said there were complaints in the meeting with Obama about the administration’s emphasis on enforcement. But after talking with adminis- tration officials Monday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, denounced the National Guard deployment as inadequate — illustrating the divide facing Obama over immigration. The White House said Obama would deliver a speech soon on ‘‘the importance of passing com- prehensive immigration reform’’ but didn’t give more details. Given the difficulties of achieving a comprehensive bill, participants in the White House meeting said there was also dis- cussion of attempting to pass smaller pieces of legislation — such as a bill focused on agricul- tural workers, or one that would help illegal immigrant youths attend college. Obama is to meet Tuesday with Hispanic members of Con- gress. couch watching Oprah, he said. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.c om. About 7,000 Califor- nians who have pre- existing conditions buy health insurance through the state’s existing high- risk pool, but that pro- gram has a waiting list. ‘‘I applaud the Sen- ate’s bipartisan support to give thousands of medically uninsured Californians the oppor- tunity to purchase insur- ance,’’ Schwarzenegger said in a statement. New Internet, phone provider in Red Bluff By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Red Bluff residents have the opportunity to combine wireless Internet and land- line phone service in one device. Open Range, a company specializing in wireless Internet services and funded in part by the US Depart- ment of Agriculture’s Rural Development Program, was slated to debut its services over the weekend of June 26-27. Using fourth-genera- tion, or 4G, wireless tech- nology, the company said it can offer download speeds of up to three megabits per second with minimal set up. Subscribers receive a combination modem, wire- less router, broadband router, digital phone service device and answering machine. The modem picks up the Internet signal and relays it through the router, making it available to any household computers with wireless Internet capabili- ties. The equipment doubles as a phone line, using Voice- over Internet Protocol. By running phone conversa- tions through the internet, customers effectively receive unlimited long-dis- tance. “We call it the ‘Magic Box’ because it can make the complexity associated with these five devices dis- appear,” said Dan Gillan, the company’s market director for Northern Cali- fornia. The simple, self-con- tained box has little in the way of cords or antennas and is easily transported, he said. The technology works through using a receiver in Red Bluff, which sends Internet traffic through low- powered radio equipment. Because the tower is in Red Bluff, the signal may be limited, at first, to residents in and on the outskirts of town. The company will not make the mistake of selling the technology to customers unless they can receive the signal first, Gillan said. “We can actually take a look and see if our cus- tomers are in a serviceable area,” he said. Gillan said the company will provide live, local cus- tomer support. More information, including pricing, is avail- able by visiting open- range.net or by calling 1- 877-739-0890. Barred nurses still licensed in Calif LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thou- sands of registered nurses who were barred in other states for miscon- duct are still licensed to treat patients in California, according to a state board. The Board of Registered Nurs- ing has discovered that some 3,500 nurses no longer have licenses to work in medicine in other states, Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs, said Monday. Heimerich estimates 2,000 of those nurses were sanctioned else- where for serious violations, including sexual abuse, neglect, rampant drug use and criminality. The majority of those cases involved nurses who are licensed but not currently working in Cali- fornia, Heimerich said. The state attorney general’s office intends to assign two teams of attorneys to handle these cases and nothing else, Heimerich said. ‘‘It’s going to be a significant increase in workload,’’ he said. ‘‘But it will not clog up the existing machinery.’’ The cases would require a new round of discipline in California and could result in lost licenses. The board’s examination was prompted by a Los Angeles Times- ProPublica investigation last year that examined a national database and found many licensed California nurses had been in trouble else- where. As a result of the investigation, the board is proposing to replace its databases and hire 140 more inves- tigators to look into violations across the healing arts. Gov strikes 2 pension-reform deals SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Schwarzenegger administration and two more labor unions reached tentative deals Monday to lower salaries and roll back pension benefits for state workers. The administration announced two-year agreements with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists and the International Union of Operating Engi- neers. The unions repre- sent about 14,000 of the state’s 235,000 workers. The deals marked another victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his push for pension reform. ‘‘I commend these two unions for stepping up to help bring our unsustain- able pension and health benefits under control,’’ the governor said in a statement. ‘‘These agree- ments, along with the four agreements announced last week, will bring much-needed relief to California taxpayers and our state budget.’’ The contract language must be approved by union members and the Legislature. The two unions fol- lowed the lead of other unions representing 23,000 workers — the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, Cal- ifornia Department of Forestry Firefighters, California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Employees will con- tribute 5 percent more of their salaries toward retirement and for the first time send a fraction of their pay to retiree health benefits, starting in 2012. The International Union of Operating Engi- neers also agreed to increase the number of years it takes for mem- bers to qualify for retiree health benefits. Most newly hired employees would have to work five more years before they receive full pension benefits under a change designed to raise the retirement age of state workers. The unions also agreed to one day of unpaid per- sonal leave a month, the equivalent of a nearly 5 percent pay cut. The agreements were set to take effect July 1 and extend through July 1, 2012. In contracts ratified in 2006, the two unions agreed to prevent a prac- tice referred to as ‘‘pen- sion spiking’’ in which employees were given a raise during their final year of employment to boost their pensions. One of the administra- tion’s major goals is to calculate retirees’ pen- sion compensation from their highest three years of wages. Monday’s agreements were projected to save $66 million in the fiscal year starting July 1 in addition to the $72 mil- lion in savings from the four previous union agreements. If similar deals are reached with the six other employee unions repre- senting state workers, the administration estimates a total of $2.2 billion in savings in the new fiscal year. The administration was scheduled to begin bargaining Monday with Service Employees Inter- national Union Local 1000, the largest state employees union repre- senting more than 95,000 workers. Officials with that union said they would not comment on details of the other deals. ‘‘We’re ready to bar- gain over any issue that makes sense for Califor- nia,’’ Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000, said in a prepared statement. ‘‘However, we’re not going to agree to a contract at any cost. We want a contract that provides stability for our members.’’ Located in Chico, CA Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. 529-3655 www.affordablemortuary.net