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FRIDAY Sports Day at CSU Chico DECEMBER 13, 2013 Four More Years Education Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 5A SPORTS 1B DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF Mostly sunny 59/38 Weather forecast 10A TEHAMA COUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Poll shows little support for Jefferson move By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Only one in four California voters supports the idea of allowing the state's northern counties to withdraw and form a new State of Jefferson, a Field Poll survey shows. The independent and nonpartisan survey group released the results of the poll Wednesday, in which it asked 1,002 registered voters within the last month whether they supported the State of Jefferson proposal. Overall 25 percent approved of the plan, 59 percent disapproved and 16 percent had no opinion. Even a plurality of voters polled in Northern California disapproved with 47 percent saying they were against the state of Jefferson and 41 percent approved. However the Field Poll said the population sample in Northern California was so small compared to the rest of the state that it couldn't give any statistical reliability. All four of California's geographical regions had large enough sample sizes and all produced majorities that disapproved of Jefferson. Across the state there was bipartisan disapproval of Jefferson. Registered Democrats sampled in the poll were 18 percent in favor of the withdrawal and 65 percent opposed. Onethird of registered Republicans approved with 53 percent in opposition. Formally seceding from the state of California would take approval from both houses of the Legislature as well as the US Congress. Those sampled also opposed two-to-one a plan with less legal hurdles that would establish the northern counties as a special territory called the Jefferson Republic. Last week the Tehama County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to place an Closing time advisory measure on the June 2014 ballot asking Tehama County voters whether they supported a split from the rest of the state. Earlier this year the Siskiyou and Modoc boards of supervisors adopted declarations calling for succession from the state. Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or rgreene@redbluffdailynews.co m. Murder scene recounted in court By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer A Red Bluff man accused of murder sat silently Thursday at Tehama County Superior Court as Red Bluff police personnel gave vivid details of a crime scene during a preliminary hearing. Christopher Hougland, 39, is charged with murder in the death of his friend, Samuel Forseth, who was a military veteran from Hougland See COURT, page 9A PDs to go high tech with laptops By ANDRE BYIK DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Rich Greene Red Bluff True Value Hardware at the Riverside Plaza at 328 S. Main St. is closing its doors for good by the end of the month. By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer A run of 56 years serving the residents of Red Bluff will end in the coming days when Larry and Wayne Brown close the doors of True Value Hardware for a final time. The Brown brothers grew up as part of a family business after their parents Rex and Marie moved to Red Bluff in 1957 and opened Baron's Top and Upholstery. That business lived on at one location or another for 40 years until the Browns purchased the True Value at Riverside Plaza in 1997. The hardware store at 328 S. Main St. first opened up in 1962 and became a True Value in 1992, joining the national cooperative of independent retail locations. With all that history, the Browns have a simple message for the halfcentury of support they've received — thank you. The Browns said Dec. 21 will likely be the store's final day. With their lease ending and the pair nearing retirement age, the two decided it was the right time to close the store. "It's going to be hard — to miss the dealing with the public," Larry said. While Larry said he enjoyed A snapshot of California's increasing population By The Associated Press California's population grew nearly 1 percent during the past year, the highest annual rate in nearly a decade. While the bulk of the increase can be attributed to births, demographic experts say the uptick that added 332,000 people to the state also stems from increased migration to the recovering labor market. Q: How big is California's population? A: The state's population is the largest in the U.S. with 38.2 million residents. Q: Why did the state experience higher annual growth last year? A: As California's economy recovers and 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 adds jobs, more foreign immigrants are being drawn to the state. Q: What is immigration's impact on growth? A: Without foreign immigration, more people would be leaving California for other states than moving here. The state drew 169,000 new foreign immigrants over the past year, while nearly 103,000 people moved to other states. Q: Who are these foreign immigrants: A: Many are young, well-educated people from Asian countries who are pursuing job opportunities in Silicon Valley. Q: Where is the state growing fastest? A: Alameda County, near Silicon Valley, grew fastest during the year, increasing its population to nearly 1.6 million people, a gain of almost 1.7 percent. working with the public throughout two professions he's also enjoyed 40 straight years of working alongside his brother Wayne every day. "We've never had an argument between us," he said. Larry said he believes he was 14 when he started working for his parents at Baron's and Wayne was even younger. Through that time they've learned a few things about customer service. "If you treat people right they will support you," Larry said. Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or rgreene@redbluffdailynews.com. CORNING — Tehama County's two municipal police departments are scheduled to get some upgraded technology. Red Bluff police Chief Paul Nanfito made the case at Tuesday's Corning City Council meeting for a project that would add Panasonic Toughbook laptops to Corning and Red Bluff patrol cars over the next three years. The computers, which are designed to withstand a beating, would increase efficiency by allowing officers to access information in the field, ease workloads for dispatchers and allow the authorities to track the location and speed of patrol vehicles, Nanfito said. Nanfito added that if there's a complaint that a patrol officer is speeding, that information could be quickly verified. He previously told Red Bluff council members that parking tickets also would be easier to issue. Nanfito added, however, that officers shouldn't view the project as "Big Brother" watching them. "This isn't about tracking them," he said. "This is about, No.1, protecting them. The best example I can give you on that is when Officer Dave Mobilio was murdered, he was getting fuel at one of our service stations in Red Bluff and he was not responding to the radio. We did not know where he was at initially. We just started backtracking his last known location and that's how we found him." Corning council members unanimously approved the project, which will be paid for with state funds allocated See TECH, page 9A Calif. population growth highest in years SACRAMENTO (AP) — California's population grew by the highest rate in nearly a decade over the last year, swelling the state's ranks to more than 38.2 million, new population figures released Thursday showed. The state added 332,000 people between July 1, 2012 and July 1 of this year, a growth rate of 0.9 percent that is the highest since 2003-04, before the recession, the state Department of Finance reported. Demographic experts said the increase highlights the recovery in the job market, especially since net migration added 66,000 people to the state — an increase of 71 percent from the year before. Alameda County, on the outskirts of Silicon Valley and home to a fast-growing technology sector, accounted for the largest share of the migration, with more than 15,000 new arrivals from other states and countries. ''We are at the beginning of an upturn in population growth driven by the reemergence of job growth in the state,'' said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Santa Clara County, home to Silicon Valley, and Orange County, which houses a sizable number of tech firms, each received more than 15,000 foreign immigrants, he noted. While population growth is largely driven by new births, the uptick in the state's growth rate stems from the rise in migration to California, said Hans Johnson, senior and Bren fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. For many years, counties in the San Francisco Bay Area were among the state's slower growing regions due to restrictions on land and housing, but that has changed as foreign immigrants, many highlyeducated and from Asia, have flocked there in search of jobs, Johnson said. ''If you attract young, well-educated migrants — which we are — many of them are at points in their lives where they're starting families, so that will have an impact on births,'' Johnson said. Over the year, the state gained 169,000 foreign immigrants and saw nearly 103,000 residents leave for other states, the state reported. Alameda and Santa Clara counties in the Bay Area saw the largest percentage increases in population, followed by Santa Barbara, Placer and Kern counties. Ten counties, mostly in more remote areas, saw population declines. More than half of all Californians live in just five counties: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino. The Daily News office will be closed Friday, Dec. 13 from 11am-2:30pm for our annual Christmas party. Please leave a message and we will return your call. Thank you Daily News staff DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF THE VOICE OF TEHAMA TEHAMA COUNTY C O U NTY SINCE 1885 527-2151 • FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF