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FRIDAY JULY 9, 2010 Breaking news at: Rizzoli & Isles Monday Premier Select TV www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Go Cart Champs SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 103/71 Weather forecast 10A By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Tehama County courts have backed the county’s approved general plan, but opponents are already planning an appeal. A ruling by Judge Edward King III dated June 25 rejected every claim issued by a coali- tion of plan opponents, includ- ing members of the Sierra Club and local group Citizens Alliance for Rural Environmen- 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 Suit challenging general plan rejected tal Sustainability. Members of CARES filed an extensive lawsuit in April 2009, much of which revolved around the discrepancy between the county’s expected annual growth of 2.2 percent and a maximum possible buildout of 417,000 people, the latter being a theoretical figure used for cal- culations and which is improba- ble for a county of 60,000 peo- ple. The suit alleged the 2.2 per- ‘Considering the importance of the subject matter to the future of Tehama County, I’m amazed that this ruling could be so incredibly short and lack any analysis’ Gary Catlin, CARES founder cent growth rate, used for the plan’s Environmental Impact Report, was unrealistic. Some of the suit’s backers Drowned out by Fall River called for a lower maximum buildout. One option champi- oned by supporters would have lowered it to 358,000, even lower than the figure used by the former, 20-year-old plan — a figure some officials said would prohibit any county growth. Those assurances did little to convince Bruce Waggoner, a Sierra Club member and one of See SUIT, page 9A Downtown project gets council nod By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Shopping downtown Red Bluff is being made more accessible and attractive. The City Council Tuesday approved a street rehabilita- tion project that will enhance the downtown area. The unanimous approval of the Walnut Street Enhance- ment and Rehabilitation Project helps demonstrate the city’s and council’s support for the shop local campaign. The decision comes following a recent urging by a group of local business representatives that aims to stimulate the economy and claims the city has not done its part. The Walnut Street rehabilitation project includes installing ADA ramps at all intersections, pavement grind- ing, street overlay and new striping and signs on Walnut Street, between Main and Madison streets. Bids will most likely be solicited in September with construction begin- ning Oct. 1, Public Works Director Mark Barthel said. About $250,000 of the city’s $400,000 Proposition 1B funds will be used for the project. Any remaining Proposition 1B funds will be spent on microsurfacing the area between Cedar and Walnut streets and a portion of Pine Street. That project has yet to be final- ized. Street rehabilitation in the downtown area is part of the 10 economic-boosting ideas the Red Bluff Rebound group presented to the council in June. Courtesy photo Brad Wagner removes a Spartan Radio sign from a campus board after the station was pushed off the airwaves by a larger station. Spartan Radio searches for signal By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Anyone listening to KRBH 107.7 may have noticed different programming. The fleeting sound of another station has pushed Spartan Radio off the airwaves. When Fall River-licensed station KKLC 107.9 increased its power to 13,000 watts, its signal streamed into Red Bluff and overtook Red Bluff Union High School’s student- run station. The encroachment of the larger station is forcing Spartan Radio to make some changes, but it does not Murder case dropped over destroyed evidence SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Fresno County judge has dismissed mur- der charges against a defendant after learning that authorities destroyed key evidence in the case. Jaime Morales, 54, was accused of fatally shoot- ing Porfirio Silva Gutier- rez and Rodimiro Quiroz during an argument over betting at a cockfighting party in Parlier in 1995. He was arrested last year in Arizona and set to go on trial this month. But Judge Edward Sarkisian Jr. dismissed two murder charges and two attempted murder charges on Tuesday after learning that ballistics evidence, including guns, diagrams based on wit- ness accounts and shell casings, were destroyed following the acquittal of another defendant, Santia- go Sanchez, for the same murders in 1996. Under state law, the court may destroy evi- dence following an acquittal, unless attorneys request its preservation. The court in this case informed prosecutors that the evidence would be destroyed, but for some reason was never told to hold onto it, said Sonia De La Rosa, a spokes- woman for the district attorney’s office. De La Rosa said on Thursday the destruction took place under the pre- vious district attorney, Ed Hunt, and the people who worked on the case are no longer with the office. The district attorney’s office, though, felt there was still sufficient evi- dence to go forward with the prosecution, De La Rosa said. ‘‘We had eyewitness identifications on the sus- pect,’’ she said. But Morales’s attorney, Bonnie Bitter, said the witnesses’ testimony dur- ing Morales’s preliminary hearing was inconsistent with their accounts during Sanchez’s trial. ‘‘Given the amount of evidence that was lost, it really prejudiced our case to an extreme extent,’’ she said. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Morales was facing a See CASE, page 9A mean the end for the station, said ROP Broadcast Technology teacher Brad Wagner. “The rules of the FM airwaves are kind of like boating rules, the bigger boats have the right away and smaller boats sometimes have to change course,” Wagner said. Wagner was aware of the poten- See RADIO, page 9A Members of the group are pleased with the council’s decision get the Walnut Street project moving forward and hopeful the city will start the microsurfacing project soon, said Bill Moule, co-chairman of the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce Local Government Com- mittee. The Walnut Street project will be combined with a light- ing project that was approved in March. The advantage of combining the two project includes cost savings and less disruption to business owners, who will now only deal with one project, Barthel said. For the street lighting project, dead lights along Walnut Street will be replaced with decorative ones, a strategic physical design element that should help draw people to the downtown area. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext.110 or by e- mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. 60 x 60 - Red Bluff native goes the distance By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Shirley Shaw reached an important milestone June 6, when she crossed the finish line and reached her goal of completing her 60th marathon by her 60th birthday. “It was pretty amazing and it was really cool because my son was there,” Shaw said. While her son, Chad, was unable to join her in the race because of an injury, Shaw said it was fun to see him at the start, seven-mile and 20-mile markers and the finish line snapping pictures of her. “I was only ever going to do just one, but the run- ning bug bit and I found that running marathons was really fun,” Shaw said. The daughter of Byron and Jeanie Shaw, Shirley began her education in kindergarten at Lincoln Street Elementary School and attended Jackson Heights and Bidwell Junior High schools before graduating from Red Bluff Union High School in 1968. Her love of running started with a homework assignment in college in Courtesy photo Shirley Shaw and her sister Denise Boehle pose for a picture at the 2004 Boston Marathon. which Shaw was required to run a mile for her phys- TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS MOULE’S SUNSCREENS Block up to 90% of the heat Call for details 515 Sycamore St. 529-0260 1 Year Anniversary SALE EVERYTHING 1 DAY ONLY SAT., JULY 10 10AM-5PM 620 Main St., Red Bluff 1/2 OFF Thurs, July 15th 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Job Training Center 718 Main St., Red Bluff Cost: $65.00 per person Space is limited! Call 529-7000 to register ical education class. Working part-time in DiSalvage Co. the athletic department office, Shaw became friends with a basketball coach who encouraged his players to run a mile in six minutes. “I thought if the guys on the team could do that, I could certainly do it, too,” Shaw said. A few years later, Shaw found herself teach- ing in Southern Califor- nia, but visiting her par- ents in Red Bluff to ski during winter breaks. “I wanted to ski like I did in high school, so I decided to get back into shape and thought run- ning would be a good way to do it,” Shaw said. Shaw made friends with other local runners and, while talking to a friend in a runners store, decided to sign up for a See 60, page 9A Intermediate EXCEL class