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WEEKEND OCTOBER 9-10, 2010 Breaking news at: One-Dish Meals USAWeekend www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Week 6 Wrap SPORTS 1B Partly cloudy 84/54 Weather forecast 8A By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer A Corning man who beat his live-in girlfriend to death was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter Friday but not the 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 Court rules manslaughter in beating death original murder charge he faced. Steven Arcangelo Piazza, 49, beat 55-year-old Linda Griggs to death on Nov. 23, 2009. The maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter is 11 years, according to the Califor- nia Penal Code. If convicted of murder, he could have faced life in prison. Piazza and the victim dated for 12 years and had a 10-year- old daughter together. Students stage Moyer’s Mayhem The last two years of their relationship were rocky, according to court documents. Piazza was convinced Griggs was cheating on him and tex- ting other men, according to a pre-trial memorandum filed by Deputy District Attorney Aubrey Alvey. On Piazza’s 49th birthday he returned home from his truck- ing job to find his daughter alone and Griggs missing. See DEATH, page 7A 7 face off in Corning race The following are answers from all seven Corning City Council candidates, starting with five running for the two open council seats followed by two for mayor. Candidates are responding to the prompt: Provide a short biography focusing on why you are running for City Coun- cil and what qualifications you have that make you a good choice for the job. Council race Gena Bowen The city must be fiscally pru- dent. City employees need to start paying their share of their PERS. retirement. The number of management employees, their salaries and benefits must be evaluated and excesses reduced. City's streets need to be repaired on a continuous basis. The city must work with busi- nesses and property owners to enhance the appearance and utility of their buildings. November 2 ELECTION See CORNING, page 7A Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Firefighters make their way into the Red Bluff Union High School Performing Arts Center during a training Thursday. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer Firefighters were greeted with the eerie sounds of screaming victims and roaring flames as they burst into the Red Bluff Union High School Per- forming Arts Center Thursday evening. While the fire alarm that went off just before firefighters entered the smoke-filled room was unintentional, the presence of Red Bluff Fire and CalFire was no mistake. The fog machines during a joint training, otherwise known as Moyer’s Mayhem, tripped the alarm system. The training, with Engineer Mark Moyer at the helm, was an evening full of surprises planned by five students from an ROP class taught by Joe Palubeski. ‘We chose this building because of the amount of potential for a large number of people present on any given night’ Engineer Mark Moyer The scenario set up was that of a play rehearsal gone awry, Moyer said. “We’re doing a simulation of res- cue and fire suppression in an assem- bly occupancy,” Moyer said. “Any problems that come up in practice are things that could come up in a real incident.” Firefighters were focusing on com- munication between different groups and the training was for fire grounds operations utilizing the incident com- mand system, Moyer said. “We chose this building because of the amount of potential for a large number of people present on any given night,” Moyer said. “We’re working with the students to make it a little more realistic.” Student Joel Woodard, the lead tech out of the group, said he had never done anything quite like the show they put together for firefighters. “We were trying to put together an obstacle course with fog and lights to distort them a bit,” Woodard said. See STAGE, page 7A New state budget perpetuates deficit SACRAMENTO (AP) — Even as California law- makers passed a budget Fri- day to end an unprecedent- ed 100-day impasse, their spending plan looked to be so tenuous that the next governor was expected to face a multibillion dollar deficit from the moment he or she steps into office next year. Two-thirds of the budget solutions expected to be signed soon by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are based on one-time or temporary money — some of which may never materialize. That will leave Califor- nia to face ‘‘sizable annual budget problems in 2011- 12 and beyond,’’ the Leg- islative Analyst’s Office said in a report issued after the Senate passed the main budget bill Friday morning. Lawmakers bridged a $19 billion shortfall, more than 20 percent of the $87.5 billion general fund spend- ing plan. It includes no tax or fee increases but uses a combination of cuts, fund- ing shifts, delayed corpo- rate tax breaks and assump- tions about money the state hopes to receive. Among those assump- tions is $5.4 billion in new federal funding, which is $4 billion more than the state has received so far this year and $2 billion more than Schwarzenegger projected in the revised budget pro- posal he released in May. Most of the money has not been authorized by Con- gress, which could change into Republican hands in November. 2 candidates forums scheduled Monday in Red Bluff City Council By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer In the only forum of its kind this election season, Red Bluff City Council candidates will face off against each other giving voters a chance to pick their favorites among the eight. The event will be 7-9 p.m. Monday at the Vet- erans Memorial Hall, 735 Oak St. Doors open at 6 p.m. Early arrival is recommended, as seats are limited. The Red Bluff- Tehama County Cham- ber of Commerce and the Daily News are co- sponsoring the forum. This is the first time the chamber will be hosting a political forum, said CEO Dave Gowan. “We’re glad to pro- vide this service to our 300-plus members and the community,” Gowan said. “It will let them have an educated vot- ing opportunity by meeting the candi- dates.” The chamber’s Exec- utive Committee has prepared a number questions for the candi- dates regarding busi- ness and economic development, Gowan said. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 The public is encour- aged to submit ques- tions, as well. Cards and pencils will be available, and anonymi- ty is guaranteed for those who want it. Questions from the floor will be pre- screened. “We don’t want any- thing that’s inappropri- ate,” Gowan said. A maximum of five questions will be pre- sented. Candidates will be given a chance to provide a 2-minute opening and closing speech. The eight candidates running for three open seats are incumbents Wayne Brown, Jim Byrne and Jeff Moyer and challengers Larry Stevens, Tim More- house, Daniele Jackson, Joseph Durrer and Robert Schmid. All can- didates are expected to attend. Chamber Chair- woman Kristin Behrens will provide opening and closing comments, and Chairman-elect and Daily News Pub- lisher Greg Stevens will serve as the moderator. For information, call 527-6220. School Board By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer The discussion of ath- letics versus academics continues at Red Bluff High School as seven school board hopefuls are set to be grilled by staff on issues involving athletics and other pressing topics. A candidates night will be held 7 p.m., Monday, in the Performing Arts Cen- ter. The forum is hosted by the high school’s Califor- nia Teachers Association and California School Employees Association. The event will give the staff and community a chance to meet the candi- dates, said teacher and for- mer volleyball coach Kim Wheeler, who heads the teachers association’s Political Action Commit- tee. “We’re doing this to get information about the can- ‘Some of these candidates are new, and we know nothing about them’ Teacher Kim Wheeler didates,” Wheeler said. “Some of these candidates are new, and we know nothing about them.” The associations have already provided the can- didates with a list of ques- tions and received their replies, Wheeler said. Daily News Saturday print delivery will be late due to football coverage …but now you can read the Saturday paper online after 8:00 am Saturday mornings www.redbluffdailynews.com Click on Digital Edition Though the responses are already on the record with the associations, during the forum candidates will be asked those same ques- tions providing them with a chance to make their responses public. See SCHOOL, page 7A FISHERMEN Live Crawdads in stock Red Bluff Sporting Goods 501 Madison 529-3788