Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/23691
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 – Daily News – 9A Obituary DELMER SPILLANE Delmer Spillane passed away at his home January 16, 2011. He was born November 14, 1929 to Jack and Viola Spillane in Los Molinos. The family lived in Los Angeles until 1941. Del attended Los Molinos Elementary and graduated from Los Molinos High School. Del went to work for Pacific Telephone. He was in the Army from 1950 to 1953 and served in Korea. He returned to Pacific Telephone as a lineman and later as a splicer. He returned after 30 years. He traveled all over the U.S. on his vacations and remembered in great detail the places he had been, and the people he had met. He was a kind person, always willing to help when asked. He is survived by his sister Margot O’Dell, nieces Mona Humphreys of Corning, Kate Caswell of Napa, and neph- ew Tony O’ Dell of Houston, TX., and 10 great nieces and nephews. No services are planned. RAIL (Continued from page 1A) ject in 2008 through the passage of Proposition 1A, which authorized issuance of $9.95 billion in bonds. The project has also received signif- icant federal funding, with $3.1 billion allo- cated to the project in 2010. The total cost of the project has been esti- mated at $42.6 billion. But LaMalfa said the project will likely end up costing taxpayers much more than that. A 2008 study jointly sponsored by the Rea- son Foundation, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foun- dation and Citizens Against Government Waste, determined the final cost of the project would likely exceed $65.2 billion and could come with a pricetag as high as $81.4 billion. LaMalfa said he sees the study’s cost figures as more accurate and said since Proposition 1A was passed, the costs of the project keep increasing. LaMalfa also said anticipated ridership numbers are much lower than originally reported and trip times will likely be longer than first expected. In light of that, LaMalfa said he wants to give California voters another chance to review the project. “We need to respect the voter’s decision,” LaMalfa said. “But the key is, the information that was presented to voters was at best bad math and at worst, deception.” LaMalfa wants to freeze all state spending on the project until a new review of the costs is conducted. He also plans to bring the matter back to a bal- lot in a statewide elec- tion. “I think the voters deserve another look at this,” LaMalfa said. “If the voters had another chance at this, they would likely rescind it.” Rachel Wall, press secretary for the Cali- fornia High Speed Rail Authority, disagrees. NEW (Continued from page 1A) tions in the administration of the department. “There are a lot of things as parole sergeant that I wasn’t aware of,” he said. “I’m still a beat cop at heart.” Hencratt and Johnston toured the jail Wednesday morning. They are work- ing to be more visible in the community, but first they have to understand the policies and proce- dures of the administra- tion, Johnston said. “It’s baby steps until we get full-stride,” he said. Other restructuring plans include placing Cap- tain Danny Rabalais as the new custody commander at the county jail. Jail supervisor Captain Ronald Dodd is scheduled to retire effective March 8, Johnston said. Dodd is training Rabal- ais. Previously, Rabalais Wall said she could not speculate on the future success of LaMalfa’s legislation, but said high speed rail has received “over- whelming” support from voters and California residents in the past. Wall said the project will bring much needed jobs into the state while fulfilling a need to bet- ter the California’s transportation system. She said there are strong statewide sentiments in favor of the project. “It’s pretty clear that California wants high speed rail,” Wall said. One of the colleagues LaMalfa will certainly have to work with as he strives for success with his legislation is Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D- Long Beach. Lowenthal chairs the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and has remained extremely active in the high speed rail discus- sions. John Casey, chief of staff for Lowenthal, said although Lowenthal encourages a watchful eye on the high speed rail project, he would likely be unwilling to suspend state funding for the project, as LaMalfa’s legislation calls for. In the past, Lowen- thal has requested an audit of the rail authori- ty and has been critical of its spending prac- tices. However, his sup- port of high speed rail for California has been unwavering. Still, for LaMalfa, the costs of the having high speed rail in the state seem to outweigh the benefits. And though the rail will not run in the 4th Senate District LaMalfa represents, he said he is taking up the issue for the good of all Califor- nia taxpayers. “I’m looking at it strictly from a state fis- cal viewpoint,” LaMalfa said. “We can’t afford it. It doesn’t matter whose district it goes through. California can’t afford this.” headed the sheriff’s Oper- ations and Investigations Division. This is an opportunity to put members with spe- cific talents to use in spe- cific jobs, Hencratt said. With people retiring in certain positions, there is a chance to put people with less entitlements and salary requirements into those positions, thus sav- ing money in the budget. Salaries are the biggest way to save money, Hen- cratt said. This way, the department can avoid lay- offs and still be fiscally responsible. Other changes include combining duties, he said. Some deputies will be asked to take on other roles, such as Lt. David Greer, who is being appointed as a public information officer. “It’s not a personal agenda for me,” Hencratt said. “I want to do what’s best for the community.” SACRAMENTO (AP) — The state controller’s office announced Monday that it will examine how well tax dollars are being used by redevel- opment agencies, which have emerged at the center of a debate over Califor- nia’s budget. Controller John Chiang said his office will examine 18 of the state’s more than 400 redevelopment agen- cies, including those in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Riverside. The audit will review how well agencies are fighting urban blight, whether they are sending enough tax money to school districts, and the com- pensation levels of their executives. Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a phase-out of redevelopment agencies, known as RDAs, as one way to help close California’s $25 billion deficit. City and local government officials have criticized his plan, defending redevelopment agencies as one of their main tools to kick-start construction projects and create jobs. The Democratic governor said the tax revenue would be better used for schools and public safety but city offi- cials fear Brown is taking away an important economic development tool. ‘‘The heated debate over whether RDAs are the engines of local eco- nomic and job growth or are simply scams providing windfalls to political cronies at the expense of public ser- vices has largely been based on anec- dotal evidence,’’ Chiang said in a state- ment. Chiang spokesman Garin Casaleg- gio said the controller hopes to have the audit completed in early March to inform lawmakers as they take up the redevelopment debate as part of budget negotiations. He said the 18 agencies were selected to reflect urban, subur- ban and rural communities. Controller to audit redevelopment agencies ‘‘As lawmakers deliberate the governor’s proposal to close RDAs and divert those funds to local schools and public safety agencies, I believe it is important to provide factual, empirical information about how these agencies perform and what they bring to the communities they serve.’’ Controller John Chiang statement Krista Noonan, a spokeswoman for the California Redevelopment Associ- ation, said the selected redevelopment agencies are encouraged to participate in the audit. ‘‘We’re confident that the controller will finally validate that redevelopment is a major economic development tool,’’ Noonan said. ‘‘It’s the best job creator in California right now.’’ Chris McKenzie, executive director of the League of California Cities, said redevelopment agencies create 304,000 jobs each year, over half of them in construction. They generate $40 billion in statewide economic activity, he said. Redevelopment was a movement born out of the post-World War II era as an effort to fight urban decay. Today there are 425 redevelopment agencies in California and they have authority to acquire land using eminent domain, clean up or demolish dilapidated prop- erties, and develop them for commer- cial and residential use. The agencies are funded by increas- es in property tax revenues from the blighted areas they fix up, known as tax increment financing. Over time, critics say redevelop- ment has become a cash cow for devel- opers of big box retailers, sports arena and even amusement parks while cities, counties and schools are losing out on billions in property taxes. According to the state controller’s office, tax increment revenues amount- ed to $5.7 billion in 2008-09, an increase of 5.8 percent from the previ- ous year. Last fall the state Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes found the public has little assurance that redevel- opment officials were spending 20 per- cent of their revenues on affordable housing as the state requires. The report looked at a dozen rede- velopment agencies and found much of affordable housing funding was being used on staff salaries and admin- istration, rather than for constructing and rehabilitating homes. The report also raised questionable spending practices, such as hiring a lobbyist and funding a public relations campaign. Noonan, of the redevelopment association, said that while any case of abuse is one too many, there are ‘‘hun- dreds of other good things that rede- velopment is doing throughout the state.’’ STATE BRIEFING Judge recommends probation for doctor of Octomom LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California judge believes Octomom Nadya Suleman’s fertility doctor should be allowed to keep practicing medicine, and the state’s move to revoke his license was too severe, according to a copy of the proposed decision obtained Monday. Dr. Michael Kamrava should be placed on proba- tion for five years for his substandard treatment of Suleman and two other patients, Judge Daniel Juarez said in the 46-page document provided to The Associated Press. The Beverly Hills fertili- ty doctor still faces a final decision by the Medical Board of California, which is expected to meet this week to discuss the case and other business. The board can approve the judge’s decision or come up with its own punishment for Kamra- va. Kamrava has testified that he implanted Suleman with 12 embryos — six times the norm for a woman her age — before the preg- nancy that resulted in her octuplets. Kamrava also said Sule- man had agreed to have fetal reduction if too many of the embryos became viable, but the now-infamous multi- mom never returned for fol- low-up care, despite his repeated attempts to reach her. The babies were born Jan. 26, 2009 and have become the longest-living set of octuplets in the world. Juarez found that Kamra- va ‘‘committed acts of gross negligence and repeated negligent acts’’ by implanti- ng too many embryos in Suleman and a 48-year-old patient whose name was not used during the proceed- ings. The other patient was implanted with seven embryos resulting in quadruplets, but one fetus died before birth. Kamrava succeeded in presenting a defense to the majority of allegations, the judge said. The evidence did not establish Kamrava ‘‘as a maverick or deviant physi- cian, oblivious to standards of care,’’ the decision said. The decision proposes to revoke Kamrava’s license then stay the action and place him on probation for five years. Under probation, Kamra- va would be required to enroll in an ethics course, have his practice monitored by a licensed physician and submit quarterly reports on his compliance. A call to Kamrava’s lawyer Henry Fenton was not immediately returned. Dad is victim of attack 19 years after poisoning REDWOOD CITY (AP) — A Northern California man whose mother was convicted of trying to kill his father with a poisoned milk- shake two decades ago is now accused of severely beating the man. Prosecutors say 20-year- old Jonathan Ortiz attacked his father twice because he apparently blamed him for his mother’s imprisonment. Ortiz pleaded not guilty Friday in San Mateo County Superior Court to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and inflict- ing great bodily injury. Ortiz’s mother, Elizabeth Fuentes, was the subject of an eight-year manhunt after she fled to Mexico with her then-2-year-old son follow- ing the 1992 poisoning. After being caught in 2000, Fuentes was sentenced to 13 years to life in prison for attempted murder. Ortiz has since been liv- ing with his father and other family members. San Fran police find woman’s body in burning car SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco police are investigating the early morning death of a woman whose body was found inside a burning car. Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman, says the discovery was made around 3:18 a.m. Monday when firefighters responded to reports of a gray 2000 Ponti- ac on fire in the city’s Lower Haight neighborhood. Esparza says the woman’s body was found in the car’s passenger seat. The vehicle had been illegally parked on a one-way street. Homicide and arson investigators are trying to determine the circumstances leading up to the fire and the woman’s cause of death. Her name has not been released. Attorney faults security in LA school shooting LOS ANGELES (AP) — The shooting of two 15- year-olds during a class at a Los Angeles high school could have been avoided if officials had followed prop- er security protocol and searched students for weapons, a lawyer for a wounded boy said Monday. The family of Trendell Gholar, who was hit Jan. 18 by a bullet at Gardena High School, intends to file a damage claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District — although no dollar figure has been worked out yet — and will sue if the claim is rejected, said attorney Joseph M. Barrett. Authorities said the boy and a girl were wounded after another student reached into his backpack during class and a gun went off. A 17-year-old boy has been charged with two felony counts of bringing a gun to a school zone and discharging it. He remains in juvenile custody. ‘‘This is a tragedy that was inevitable because there was no security on these campuses’’ and that Located in Chico, CA Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service Family owned & Operated Honor and Dignity 527-1732 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. 529-3655 www.affordablemortuary.net created ‘‘an atmosphere of danger,’’ Barrett said at a news conference, expand- ing on comments he made in a statement last week. ‘‘The children on that campus didn’t feel like any- one was watching them so they could do what they needed to do to protect themselves.’’ Police have not publicly commented on why the stu- dent brought the gun to school. The girl remains hospi- talized. The bullet didn’t penetrate her brain, but it fractured her skull, and doc- tors said it was too early to determine whether she might have suffered perma- nent damage. Bell doesn’t have to pay mayor’s fees BELL (AP) — A judge has ruled that the city of Bell doesn’t have to pick up the mayor’s legal expenses in a lawsuit filed by the former state attor- ney general. The Los Angeles Times reports Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalin ruled Monday that Mayor Oscar Hernandez can’t bill the city for defending himself against a lawsuit brought by former Attor- ney General Jerry Brown to recover tax dollars. Hernandez and seven other current or former city leaders are also fac- ing criminal corruption charges. He and two officials argued they were sued in their official capacity as Bell public officials, so the city should pay their legal costs. Kalin says asking the city to cover Hernandez’s legal bills would essen- tially be saying the mayor had proved his case.