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WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 Breaking news at: 4-H group at Whiskeytown Community www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 2A RED BLUFF Cardinal Football SPORTS 1B Sunny 96/67 Weather forecast 6B By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Looser medical marijuana dis- pensary regulations may be com- ing to Tehama County next year — but not nearly fast enough for local cannabis advocates. In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, county supervisors voted to renew a tem- porary ban on dispensaries, collec- tives and other marijuana exchanges for another year, again citing uncertainty about state laws and a fear of crime tied to large 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 County extends pot ban for last time medical marijuana collectives. Only Supervisor Charles Willard, who has consistently voted against medical marijuana regulations, dissented. “The findings that we have here, I find hard to deal with,” he said. Both Supervisors George Rus- sell and Chairman Ron Warner, who voted to extend the ban, expressed a preference for dispen- sary regulation instead of an out- right ban, but deferred to staff who said it would take at least nine ‘We’ve got a lot of people out there growing cannabis, or you wouldn’t be dealing with this issue’ Ken Prather, Tehama Herbal Collective months to research and write a new policy. Warner said he favored a sys- tem that made dispensaries safe for both patients and everyone else. Cat’s all that Russell said he had “no prob- lem” with dispensaries. But to implement rules that could be overturned in court would be pointless, Russell said. For the handful of speakers who attended the meeting, all of whom expressed opposition to an outright ban, this tentative hope was not enough. Some framed the decision in moral terms, arguing the ban, combined with a the county’s con- troversial growing restrictions, would push patients onto conven- tional painkillers. Others cited recent grocery store robberies in Corning as evidence that crime is not isolated to marijuana theft. Ken Prather, who owns and See POT, page 3A Man beaten in home robbery A 25-year-old man was reportedly found bleeding on Sunday morning after a Rio Vista Avenue robbery and assault. Donavan Lynn Rogers was reportedly found injured in a home at about 9:42 a.m. Sunday after a caller heard glass break, according to Tehama County Sheriff’s Department logs. See BEATEN, page 3A City, workers reach a deal on pay cuts By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The city has finished its employee bargaining process with the adoption of a memorandum of under- standing with the miscella- neous unit Tuesday. With the 12 percent Daily News photo by Tang Lor The Cat in the Hat visits kindergartners at Metteer Elementary School to promote a new PBS show “The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That.” The series will premiere with a special primetime broadcast at 8 p.m., Monday on KIXE.The rest of the time, the show will air at 8:30 a.m. weekdays.The program is designed to appeal to children’s natural curiosity with the goal of fostering a love of learning and an interest in science. Lawmakers take up competing budget plans SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers on Tuesday began their overdue debate about how to close a $19 billion bud- get deficit, casting their dif- ferences as a struggle over the future of the nation’s most populous state. Neither party expected a breakthrough that would end the summer-long stale- mate, but the debates in the Assembly and Senate allowed lawmakers to air sharp differences over their visions for the role of state government. California is two months into its 2010-11 fis- cal year and still has no budget. Payments to schools and counties are being deferred, while some health clinics that serve Medi-Cal patients are struggling to pay their bills. The Democrats who control the Assembly and Senate called for votes Tuesday on two different versions of how the state’s new budget should look — Democrats want a combi- nation of spending cuts and tax increases, while Repub- licans want only cuts. The budget proposals failed in the Assembly and were rejected on initial votes in the Senate, which was scheduled to take final action later Tuesday. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D- Sacramento, said he hopes the debate — even if the plans fail — will set the stage for serious negotia- tions in the weeks ahead. The debate, he said, would be over ‘‘whether we are going to continue to invest in the institutions that helped make Califor- nia great, or whether we are going to continue down a path of disinvesting in what made California great. There are choices here.’’ Democratic lawmakers in both houses noted that the Legislature has cut tens of billions of dollars from See BUDGET, page 3A 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Red Bluff Outdoor Power employee concessions now accepted by all bargaining units, the city is expected to save about $534,000 in the general fund, City Manager Martin Nichols said. The miscellaneous unit, which represents the largest group of employees, includes workers from the several departments and consists of those who are paid through the general fund and the enterprise fund. Among the terms of agreement for the miscella- neous unit is an after tax biweekly payroll deduction of $97 per each employee that will be placed into the General Fund or other fund as determined by the city. Employees will forgo pay- out of unused leave time beyond 1,000 hours and the annual 40 hours buyback. The council adopted a resolution for the police mid-management unit that is similar to the contract adopted for other police officers under the Red Bluff Peace Officers’ Associa- tion. Mid-management police See CUTS, page 3A Herger takes part in marijuana raid Rep. Wally Herger par- ticipated in a marijuana eradication effort Monday, led by Shasta County Sher- iff Tom Bosenko in coordi- nation with state and federal agencies. Herger wanted an “up close and personal” assess- ment of the enormous chal- lenges facing local law enforcement as they deal with the explosion of illegal marijuana gardens planted by Mexican drug cartels, according to a press release issued Tuesday. “It is a daunting task, but we cannot surrender to the drug lords,” Herger said in the release. “This is a feder- al government obligation, but too much of the burden is falling upon local law enforcement agencies. They need reinforcements and additional resources.” In late June, Herger introduced a resolution call- ing on the Office of Nation- al Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to develop a coordinated strategy to per- manently dismantle Mexi- can drug trafficking organi- zations operating on federal lands. Earlier this year, Herger arranged a meeting between the ONDCP, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Drug Enforcement Administra- See RAID, page 3A Courtesy photo Rep. Wally Herger takes part in a marijuana raid in Shasta County Monday. Red Bluff Daily News Saturday delivery will be late due to the football coverage. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region