Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/224151
Saturday, December 7, 2013 – Daily News Death Notices Death notices must be provided by mortuaries to the news department, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic information about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Classified advertising department. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortuaries or by families of the deceased and include online publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. 9A Job Training Center gives thanks William Mortimer Hoffer William Mortimer Hoffer died Wednesday, Dec. 4 at his residence in Red Bluff. He was 82. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Judge refuses to block airline merger NEW YORK (AP) — A judge refused to block a merger between American Airlines and US Airways on Friday, saying a bankruptcy judge correctly rejected arguments made by a lawyer for some consumers. San Francisco attorney Joseph Alioto argued that the deal would harm fliers because it would result in less competition and higher prices. But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska repeatedly noted that his arguments relied on outdated facts, had no evidence to support them and sometimes made no sense. ''There is nothing in the record from which I can make a finding that your clients are likely to be irreparably injured — personally,'' she said. American is owned by AMR Corp. and is based in Fort Worth, Texas. The company has said it plans to complete the merger with Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways on Monday. Preska said a federal bankruptcy judge was ''correct in all respects'' in deciding last week to let the merger proceed. She also refused to stay the effect of her ruling while Alioto appeals to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Alioto complained Friday to Preska that he'd gotten ''the bum's rush, with all due respect, by the bankruptcy court.'' Preska said Alioto had failed to show consumers would suffer irreparable harm or that he was likely to succeed in his effort to temporarily block the merger until a trial could be conducted on his antitrust lawsuit. Lane said last week that even if Alioto won his lawsuit, he could demand additional divestitures by the two airlines but could not wreck the merger. Alioto's case lacked proof, said Attorney Dan Wall for US Airways Group Inc. ''We're here on just attorney argument and rhetoric,'' he said. The merger means American, United, Delta and Southwest will control more than 80 percent of the U.S. market. A series of mergers in the industry since 2005 has reduced nine big airlines to four. In August, the Justice Department had sued to block the merger, saying it would hurt competition and produce higher prices. But regulators settled their case in exchange for the airlines' promise to surrender some coveted landing rights at Reagan National near Washington and LaGuardia in New York and a few gates at five other airports. Medicare's 'Extra Help' program for prescriptions Making ends meet should not mean going without your medications. If you have limited income and resources, Medicare's "Extra Help" program sets it up so this year you might pay no more than $2.60 for each generic drug and $6.50 for each brand name drug. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that more than 2 million people with Medicare may be eligible for the subsidy, but are not currently enrolled to take advantage of these savings. A recent law changed how your income and assets are counted: • Life insurance policies do not count as resources • Any help you get from relatives, friends and others to pay for household expenses—like food, mortgage, rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes—does not count as income Many people qualify The changes that took place in 2010 allowed more people than ever to qualify for "Extra Help." Even if you were previously turned down for "Extra Help" due to income or resource levels, you should reapply. If you qualify, you will get help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage premiums, copayments, and deductibles. To qualify, you must make less than $17,235 a year (or $23,265 for married couples). Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some extra help. Your resources must also be limited to $13,300 (or $26,580 for married couples). Resources include bank accounts, stocks, and bonds, but not your house or car. There's no cost It's easy and free to apply for "Extra Help." You or a family member, trusted counselor, or caregiver can apply online at socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778). All the information you give is confidential. Medicare beneficiaries can also receive assistance in their local communities from their State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), the Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) and many tribal organizations. For information about how to contact these organizations go to www.eldercare.gov. To learn more about Medicare prescription drug coverage, visit www.medicare.gov, or call 1-800MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048. This information prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Setting it straight –––––––– It is the policy of the Daily News to correct as quickly as possible all errors in fact that have been published in the newspaper. If you feel a factual error has been made in a news story, call the news department at 527-2153. Daily News photo by Andre Byik The Tehama County Job Training Center in cooperation with the county's Employer Advisory Council put on its holiday dessert and appetizer social Thursday at the training center in Red Bluff. The event saw 18 businesses donate plates for the social, which was billed as an event to give thanks to businesses and organizations as well as to provide networking opportunities. About 75-100 people were expected to attend, and desserts and appetizers included banana cream pie and cherry pie from Cozy Diner, bread pudding from Green Barn Steakhouse and chicken yakisoba from Sugar Shack Cafe, to name a few. FDA approves breakthrough hepatitis C drug WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials have approved a highly anticipated hepatitis C drug from Gilead Sciences Inc. that is expected to offer a faster, more palatable cure to millions of people infected with the liver-destroying virus. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it approved the pill Sovaldi in combination with older drugs to treat the main forms of hepatitis C that affect U.S. patients. Current treatments for hepatitis C can take up to a year of therapy and involve weekly injections of a drug that causes flu-like side effects. That approach only cures about three out of four patients. Sovaldi is a daily pill that in clinical trials cured roughly 90 percent of patients in just 12 weeks, when combined with the older drug cocktail. Between 3 million and 4 million Americans are estimated to carry hepatitis C, though most do not even know they are infected. Others have tested positive but are waiting for more effective treatments to become available. Hepatitis C symptoms may not appear until two or three decades after infection, though the virus can cause liver failure, cirrhosis and cancer if left untreated. Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City, Calif., is one of a half-dozen companies battling to develop more effective treatments for hepatitis C. Many industry analysts predict Soval- di will quickly dominate the field. Gilead said Friday it would price the drug at $84,000 for one 12-week supply. Patients with a less common subtype of the disease may need to take the drug for 24 weeks, raising the cost to $168,000 for one course of treatment. Drugs already on the market run between $25,000 and $50,000 for a full course of treatment. The approval comes as the federal government urges all baby boomers to get tested for the disease. People born between 1945 and 1965 are five times more likely than other age groups to have hepatitis C, with many contracting the virus by sharing needles or having sex with an infected person in their youth. For most of the last 20 years, the standard treatment for hepatitis C involved a grueling one-year regimen of pills and injections that caused nausea, fever and headaches and cured fewer than half of patients. Then in 2011, the FDA approved two new drugs from Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuticals that raised the cure rate to about 65 and 75 percent, respectively, when combined with the older treatments. Gilead's once-a-day pill pushes the cure rate much higher. In a company study of patients with the most common forms of the disease, 90 percent of participants had undetectable levels of the virus after 12 weeks taking Sovaldi plus the older pill-and-injection cocktail. The form of the disease studied in the trial accounts for about 75 percent of hepatitis C cases in the U.S. Gilead's drug is less effective in treating a less common form of the disease that accounts for about 10 percent of cases in the U.S. Patients with that strain of the virus had to take the drug for 24 weeks, twice the normal duration, to achieve an 85 percent cure rate. But even for those patients, experts say Gilead's drug represents an important step forward. The company's approach uses only pill-based medications — Sovaldi and another antiviral drug — while excluding interferon, the injectable medication that is the backbone of standard treatment and causes diarrhea and other unpleasant side effects. For patients with this less common subtype of the disease, Gilead's approach provides the first all-oral approach to treating the disease. Next year Gilead expects to file for FDA approval of a combination pill containing sofosbuvir and ledipasvir, another antiviral drug, that could become the first all-oral regimen for the most common form of hepatitis C, long viewed as the holy grail of treatments by drugmakers. Similar development efforts are underway from Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Vertex Pharmaceuticals and others. Man linked to Mexican cartel gets 21-year sentence SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man whose brother is believed to be a prolific cartel hit man was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder in what authorities said was a plot to kill a mother and son in Southern California who owed a drug debt. Jorge Sillas, 30, apologized in court after his mother and a cousin pleaded for leniency. His attorney, Paul Pfingst, said this client was influenced by his older brother and noted his clean criminal history. ''Older brothers do have a disproportionate impact on younger brothers,'' said Pfingst, a former San Diego County district attorney. Sillas, a U.S. citizen, was working on the orders of the Arellano Felix cartel, one of Mexico's oldest and once one of its most powerful drug trafficking organizations, according to prosecutors. U.S. and Mexican authorities say his brother, Juan Sillas, was one of Tijuana's most violent hit men when he was arrested in 2011. Juan Sillas has not been charged in the murder-forhire case, but the criminal complaint said he offered to pay $50,000 for the killings. U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite him from Mexico in an unrelated case. Jorge Sillas, who was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance but spent most of his life in Mexico's Sinaloa state, and two other defendants planned to kill the mother and son said to owe money for drugs, according to prosecutors. The plot was foiled when authorities raided Jorge Sillas' home in Palmdale in February 2011, The family of Donald Waits would like to thank Dr's Chua, Gentry and Coronado, and the staff of St. Elizabeth Hospital. A special thanks to all who called, sent notes and cards. They were greatly appreciated seizing two AR-15 rifles, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition and about $20,000 in cash. Jorge Sillas and Victor Gonzalez pleaded guilty to attempted murder and gang allegations. Gonzalez, 32, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison. Jorge Sillas got 21 years and four months. A third defendant, Danny Cepallo, 36, was sentenced in June to five years in state prison. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser acknowledged that Jorge Sillas was a first-time offender and that Gonzalez played a minor role, but he said Mexican cartels cannot be permitted to settle scores on U.S. soil. ''If it is allowed to continue and fester, then we become as lawless as Tijuana,'' Fraser said. The elder Sillas — known as ''Ruedas,'' or ''Wheels'' in English — was paraded before reporters at a Mexico City news conference after his arrest. Juan Sillas is presumed responsible for the 2010 kidnapping of a niece of Ismael ''El Mayo'' Zambada, who leads the Sinaloa cartel along with Joaquin ''El Chapo'' Guzman, one of the most-wanted men in the world. U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite Juan Sillas to face charges in North Dakota involving the 2005 killing of a man who was shot nine times in front of two small children over a soured drug deal. Juan Sillas boasted that he was responsible for killing 20 to 30 people a month, said West Fargo, N.D., police Detective Brad Berg.