Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/14446
Saturday, August 7, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Obituaries Schwarzenegger optimistic about budget compromise SANTA CLARA — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he is guardedly optimistic that he and lawmakers can reach a budget compromise in the weeks ahead. During a business round table in Santa Clara, Schwarzenegger said Republicans and Democ- rats want to finish negotiations as quickly as pos- sible but remain divided over how to close about $4 billion of the state’s $19 billion deficit. He said the big challenge is agreeing to longer-term reforms on pensions and taxes. ‘‘I promised the people in 2003 that I would bring some sort of order into our budget system so this is why I’m fighting for budget reform and pension reform and tax reform,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s something that I have not been able to get but I think we have a good chance of getting it this year because we are in a crisis. And I see great opportunities in crisis.’’ The governor reiterated, however, that he would not sign a budget if those reforms aren’t included in the plan. Schwarzenegger said he has been meeting with Democratic and Republican leaders to try to bring them together on a budget compromise. But he said there is a basic philosophical differ- ence between his ideas and a plan proposed by Democrats earlier this week. ‘‘I want to make us live within our means, they want to continue raising taxes and borrow- ing money,’’ he said. ‘‘I promised the people in 2003 that I would bring some sort of order into our budget system so this is why I’m fighting for budget reform and pension reform and tax reform. It’s something that I have not been able to get but I think we have a good chance of getting it this year because we are in a crisis. And I see great opportunities in crisis.’’ — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Earlier this week, Democrats released a new budget plan that included some spending cuts, lowering the state sales tax, and increasing the vehicle license fee and personal income tax. Republican lawmakers oppose the plan, saying it hurts the middle class and rejects sensible spend- ing reductions. Schwarzenegger said Friday the Democratic plan makes California’s system more volatile. ‘‘I understand that we need more revenues but there are revenues available without raising taxes,’’ he said. Without a budget, the state will start to have trouble meeting its obligations. According to the state controller’s office, California will have enough cash for the month of August. After that, the state has to delay payments to schools and local governments and possibly issue IOUs again. Schwarzenegger emphasized the need for a rainy day fund to get the state through tough times that would help pay for things like higher education, kindergarten through 12th grade and social services when the state ran out of cash. He said the key to stimulating the economy is making the state more business-friendly, includ- ing giving companies tax incentives for new hires, cutting through the permitting process and enacting tort reform. Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, said those reforms and pension and tax changes were possible in the next few weeks. ‘‘I’m an optimist. So I would say the chances are good that we will get those reforms,’’ he said. 3rd month of weak hiring signals long slog ahead WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation isn’t creating nearly enough jobs to reduce persistently high unemployment. For the third straight month, the private sector hired cautiously in July. And those meager gains in the job market were nearly wiped out by tens of thousands of cuts at all levels of government. Making matters worse: Many of the new jobs that are being created do not pay well enough to signifi- cantly jump-start spending by shop- pers and stimulate the broader econ- omy. The unemployment rate was stuck at 9.5 percent for the second straight month, the Labor Depart- ment said Friday. Analysts said it would probably claim back into double digits because the private sector is not creating jobs fast enough. Private employers reported a net gain of 71,000 jobs for July — far below the 200,000 it takes for the unemployment rate just to hold steady and keep pace with the grow- ing work force. Counting the jobs that were lost at the local, state and federal levels in July, the net gain was only 12,000 jobs. And on top of that, 143,000 temporary jobs with the Census Bureau for the 10-year population count came to an end. So far this year, state and local governments wrestling with budget shortfalls have shed 169,000 jobs. And further losses are on the way — about 20,000 to 30,000 more job cuts a month expected over the rest of the year, despite $26 billion in federal aid. I-5 Continued from page 1A her grandparents from Texas and had been on her way to Redding with her grandma to run errands. He said the girl had some scratches, while the grandma had lacera- tions to her head and looked like she may have injured her arm. While most people were standing around calling 911 among the bystanders were a vol- unteer firefighter and an emergency room nurse who stepped in, Shields said. The off-ramp to the Cottonwood Scales was closed to traffic about 2 p.m. to allow a heli- copter to land and traf- fic was backed up with- in minutes. Reports from the scene said frustrated drivers on the Hooker Creek/Auction Yard Road on-ramp were dri- ving in reverse on the on-ramp after realizing they couldn’t get onto the interstate. Reports on the scan- ner at about 4:45 said northbound traffic was backed up all the way to the Jellys Ferry exit. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailyne ws.com. Daily News reporter Tang Lor contributed to this story. Economists are especially con- cerned that the recovery is losing momentum as it enters the second LION Continued from page 1A sites such as Bidwell and Dog Island Park. While they have not located the mountain lion, signs such as a paw print have been located, Busekist said. A subtle difference between a mountain lion print is that where a dogs would have claw marks a mountain lion’s will not, he said. “We want citizens to be aware they have been seen, but typically they don’t like LAKE Continued from page 1A tional violation, she said. It could curb marijuana growth in the community’s common area, where growth has been reported. “I am so terribly fearful people are out there driving their vehicles...innocent people are going to get hurt,” Wilkinson said. Not everyone was in favor. Medical marijuana patient and Lake California resident Kim Moore called the move “sad” and “pathet- ic.” “It is nauseating that one small minority of citizens, who are supposed to be rep- resenting the community as a whole can take actions that are in violation of state law,” Moore wrote in an e- half of this year, when the benefits of most of the government’s stimulus spending will start to wear off. For now, most of them are bet- ting the economy will continue to grow, though at a lackluster pace, through the rest of this year. Some analysts fear the recovery could fiz- zle altogether, though. ‘‘If we don’t see significant job growth by the end of the year, the economy could be in serious trou- ble,’’ said Bill Cheney, chief econo- mist at John Hancock. President Barack Obama noted that the economy has added private- sector jobs for seven straight months but said the progress ‘‘needs to come faster.’’ Job seekers face tough competi- tion these days. On average, there are 4.7 people vying for each open- ing. That’s down from the peak of 6.3 last year, but more than double the 1.8 unemployed per opening when the recession began in Decem- ber 2007. Those who do have jobs are working longer and getting only scant increases in pay. ‘‘Employers do not want to take chances,’’ said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State Uni- versity, Channel Islands. In particular, the economy has struggled to add high-paying jobs, which help power the economy by putting more spending money in people’s pockets. So far this year, the economy has added only 117,000 high-paying jobs in industries such as construc- tion, manufacturing and mining. Over the past 12 months, it has lost 352,000 of these jobs. The number of higher-paying jobs in engineering and at law firms has fallen over the past 12 months, too. Electrical engineers make an human contact,” Busekist said. “They are elusive and although there have been several sightings in the last week — they are generally rare.” A mountain lion was first spotted Sunday at 1:12 a.m. walking behind the Villa Columba Apartments on Rio Street eventually winding up in Red Bluff River Park where Busekist spotted it about 50 feet from the Sacra- mento River. A second sighting was reported at 10:05 p.m. Wednesday by a Tehama County Sheriff’s Deputy who saw the mountain lion mail. Moore contacted both the Board of Directors and property management and asked them to postpone the vote until the county settles its own marijuana lawsuit, she said. “What Betty Stewart and the other board members have done is position Lake California for more legal actions, during a time when we have other legal actions going that could ultimately average of about $41 an hour, lawyers $62. Arthur Santa-Maria was laid off at Intel Corp. in 2007 after 25 years as an engineer. Now, he’s selling refrigerators at Sears and has all but given up on finding an engineering job, instead just trying to make a lit- tle money before retiring. After he lost his job, the 58-year- old landed some interviews, but competition was fierce for every opening, he said. He took the Sears job even though he is paid on com- mission and has no health benefits. ‘‘Usually, on Fridays and Satur- days I’ll make minimum wage, but beyond that, I don’t even make lunch money because no one is spending right now,’’ he said. The meager job growth in the economy has mainly come from the lower-paying service sector, which has generated 513,000 jobs so far this year. Examples of those jobs are cashiers, who make an average of $9 an hour, and hairdressers, who make $13. That helps explain why Ameri- cans overall have reined in their spending and will probably stay hes- itant. In addition, about a quarter of the job gains this year have been at tem- porary help firms, according to Moody’s Analytics. Those jobs gen- erally offer no benefits and are often part-time. And 70 percent of the employment gains this year have been among workers with a high school degree or less. Some companies that lack confi- dence in the durability of the recov- ery are turning to temporary, rather than permanent, hires. Federal- Mogul Corp., which makes car parts, has hired 1,400 workers in the United States in the past year as car walking west across Main Street near Dog Island Park. Red Bluff Police can’t say whether the mountain lion sightings involve the same animal. “We talked to DFG today and they said it could certain- ly be more than one, but it’s anybody’s guess,” Busekist said Friday. Sgt. Dan Flowerdew has said if a mountain lion is seen far away it should be left alone, but if it is close people should make loud noises and make themselves look big. If people go for walks they shouldn’t walk alone bankrupt the homeowners association,” Moore said. But as California, Tehama County and Lake California come to terms with medical marijuana law, some still push for a ban. “I would like to have seen (the policy) be even tougher,” wrote Barbara Turner, a Lake California property owner. “I would have liked to see all cultiva- tion of marijuana in Lake California outlawed.” sales have grown. But many of them are temporary hires, allowing the company to stay flexible and get smaller if the economy sours, said Jose Maria Alapont, CEO of the Southfield, Mich., company. ‘‘There is a very clear recovery during the first half of the year, but there are still questions whether that will continue in the second half,’’ Alapont said in an interview. The bleak government report ini- tially sent stocks falling, with investors seeking the safety of more conservative Treasury bonds, but stocks shaved their losses. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 21 points, or 0.2 percent. The report was being closely watched by the Federal Reserve, which is considering ways to ener- gize the recovery. The report could persuade the Fed to take new steps to help the economy and pledge to keep interest rates at record lows when it meets next week. The economy lost speed in the spring, growing at just a 2.4 percent pace in the April-to-June quarter. And it’s probably growing even more slowly now, analysts said. It takes about 3 percent growth to cre- ate enough jobs to keep up with pop- ulation growth. All told, there were 14.6 million people unemployed in July, roughly double the number without jobs when the recession started in December 2007. Counting people working part-time who would prefer full-time work, plus unemployed workers who have given up on their job hunts, 25.8 million people were ‘‘underemployed’’ in July. The ‘‘underemployment’’ rate was 16.5 percent, the same as in June. Even if hiring picked up, it would take years to regain all the jobs lost. and keep a close eye on chil- dren, Busekist said. According to the DFG website, people should avoid hiking, biking or jogging during a mountain lions nor- mal hours, which are from dawn to dusk. More information on mountain lions including Is cremation your choice? pictures of their paw prints next to dog paw prints is available at the DFG Web- site: www.dfg.ca.gov/keep- mewild/lion.html. Anyone sighting a moun- tain should get out of the area if possible and report it to Red Bluff Police at 527- 3131. owns and operates the only on-site crematory in Tehama County. • Your loved one NEVER leaves our care. • For your peace of mind, we personally perform cremations on site. • No hidden charges. If cremation is your choice, there really is no other choice for you than the cremation experts at Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Contact us today so we may answer your questions. Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers Funerals • Cremations • Prearrangements 816 Walnut Street | Red Bluff (530) 527-1174 www.chapeloftheflowers.net Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers