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Thursday, January 30, 2014 – 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. Janet Alice Casey Janet Alice Casey died Tuesday, Jan. 28 at her Tehama home. She was 76. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Carl Leon Hall Carl Leon Hall, of Corning, died Thursday, Jan. 23 at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. He was 80. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Brothers Corning Mortuary. Published Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Virginia Hufford Virginia Hufford, of Paskenta, died Wednesday, Jan. 29 at Red Bluff Health Care. She was 73. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Brothers Corning Mortuary. Published Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Nancy Marylyn Ross Nancy Marylyn Ross, of Corning, died Tuesday, Jan. 28 at Enloe Medical Center in Chico. She was 79. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Brothers Corning Mortuary. Published Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. FUND Continued from page 1A teachers and school officials to craft an equitable and sustainable solution,'' said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Brown's Department of Finance, in an emailed statement He said the governor's office expects the legislative hearings ''to evaluate all parties' role in funding.'' Democrats have repeatedly cited the need to address the pension liabilities, but a solution that has support from teachers unions, school districts and state officials has proved elusive. The deficit for the nation's largest educatoronly pension fund is so large that the fund is projected to deplete all its assets in about 30 years. It would cost teachers, local school districts, community colleges and the state budget a combined $4.5 billion a year to bridge the gap. Unlike other professions, teachers in California do not pay into Social Security and thus do not receive it when they retire, making their CalSTRS pensions particularly vital. Less than an hour after Perez held his news conference Wednesday, the powerful California Teachers Association, which represents more than 325,000 teachers and other school employees, announced its endorsement of Perez in his bid for the office of state controller. Brown's Department of Finance estimates the unfunded liability at $80 billion, while the pension system itself estimates it is $71 billion. Perez and Bonta cited the lower figure Wednesday. Much-needed snow bound for parched Sierra RENO, Nev. (AP) — As much as 2 feet of snow is possible atop the Sierra by Thursday as the first significant storm in nearly two months blows in none too soon for a drought-stricken region where wildfire threats are unseasonably high. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced earlier this week it has hired 125 extra firefighters in Northern California and extended seasonal firefighting forces in Southern California because of the dry winter conditions. The move follows Gov. Jerry Brown's recent declaration of a drought emergency in California and is intended to provide necessary firefighting resources ''to address the prolonged elevated threat of wildfire due to drought,'' said Chief Ken Pimlott, the department's director. The storm is expected to start dropping moderate to heavy rain and high-elevation snow on the Sierra beginning Wednesday night, with precipitation changing to snow Thursday and Thursday night, the National Weather Service said. Snow levels should drop to Lake Tahoe's elevation — about 6,200 feet — by Thursday and to the valley floors by Thursday night. Snowfall could total up to 2 feet above 8,000 feet, with a foot or more above 7,000 feet. Between a half-inch and an inch of rain is expected in the greater Reno-Sparks area and Carson City. Foothill locations could get an inch or two of snow. ''This is only a moderate storm by Sierra standards. But considering we haven't had any storms for the last few weeks, it's a pretty big deal,'' National Weather Service meteorologist Zach Tolby told the Reno Gazette-Journal. As of Tuesday, snow water content was 12 percent of normal in the central Sierra and 5 percent of normal in the northern Sierra, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The Lake Tahoe Basin's snowpack was measured at 19 percent of normal, while the Truckee River Basin's snowpack was 11 percent. ''Right now we are seeing conditions we would typically see in August,'' Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant told the Tahoe Daily Tribune. ''We definitely are on track to be the third-driest year on record, if not the driest year on record if things don't change. That will translate into some pretty serious fire conditions this season if we don't see some relief,'' he said. The snowpack atop Donner Summit where U.S. Interstate 80 crosses the Sierra southwest of Truckee, Calif., is the lowest it has ever been at this time of year in records dating back to the late 1800s, Tolby said. 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. STREAMS salmon, both of which live part of their lives in fresh coastal streams and the ocean. ''To the best of our knowledge, Continued from page 1A this is the first time the department sures suggests how dire the dry has taken this kind of emergency weather has become for struggling action,'' said Jordan Traverso, a populations of steelhead and department spokeswoman. PREP Continued from page 1A is the connections with his schoolmates and the public. He told a story about walking around town recently, when a little kid ran up to him and told him he watched him play basketball the night before. "That's what it makes it fun for me," he said. Mitchell challenged the students to try new things when they get to high CALFIRE Continued from page 1A term elevations in the threat of wildfire, but these prolonged conditions warrant an even more aggressive action in order for us to be prepared to protect the people, property and natural resources of California." In Northern California, Calfire is adding two additional fire engines in each of the 12 northern administrative units plus a third fire engine in the Shasta-Trinity Unit. In addition, the Chico Air Attack Base has been re-opened with two fixed wing aircraft. The Governor's drought State of Emergency directed Calfire to "hire additional seasonal firefighters to COUNTY Continued from page 1A on smoking in recreation areas, which was a part of the smokefree outdoor air category. Twenty-two points were possible in the section, and the two points were all the recognition the city would get in the report. Tehama County was among the lowest-graded counties in the North State, according to the report. Butte County fared better, as Chico received an overall 'D' grade for tobacco control and Oroville came away with a 'C.' Redding, Anderson and the unincorporated areas of Shasta County earned overall 'D' grades. Eighteen cities or counties received an overall 'A' grade, including Contra Costa County, Santa Clara The agency also recommended that the state Fish and Game Commission close parts of the much larger American and Russian rivers at the commission's Feb. 5 meeting. ''Let's just all hope for rain,'' Traverso said. school, relating it to her experience joining the girls golf team — a sport she had never attempted at the time. "You don't always have to be the best, but at least just try," Villarreal said. National Girls and suppress wildfires and take other needed actions to protect public safety during this time of elevated fire risk." The increased staffing levels follow a series of actions from the administration to ensure that California is prepared for record dry conditions. Earlier this week, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Food and Agriculture released the California Water Action Plan, which will guide state efforts to enhance water supply reliability, restore damaged and destroyed ecosystems and improve the resilience of our infrastructure. Brown has called on all Californians to reduce their water usage by 20 percent and last week, the Save 5A Women in Sports Week is and initiative focusing on the positive results of Title IX.. Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or rgreene@redbluffdailyne ws.com. Our Water campaign announced four new public service announcements that encourage residents to conserve. Last December, the Governor formed a Drought Task Force to review expected water allocations and California's preparedness for water scarcity. In May 2013, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order to direct state water officials to expedite the review and processing of voluntary transfers of water and water rights. Calfire is asking everyone to be extra cautious during the heightened fire danger period in order to prevent wildfires. One less spark means one less wildfire. For more fire prevention tips visit www.PreventWildfireCA.org and for evacuation tips visit www.ReadyForWildfire.org. County and Marin County. "Many municipalities throughout California have passed local ordinances to protect their communities from the harmful effects of tobacco, despite the lack of action at the state level," according to the press release. "However, while many communities took action to improve their grades, a total of 330 cities and counties throughout the state — more than 60 percent of all municipalities — received an 'F' for their overall tobacco grade." While California received an 'A' for smokefree air, the report stated, it received an 'F' for "Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Funding and Cessation Coverage and a 'D' for its Cigarette Tax, which, at $0.87, ranks 33rd in the nation." 17 communities running low on water SAN JOSE (AP) — Seventeen rural communities in drought-stricken California are in danger of a severe water shortage within four months, according to a list compiled by state officials. Wells are running dry or reservoirs are nearly empty in some communities. Others have long-running problems that predate the drought. The communities range from the area covered by the tiny Lompico County Water District in Santa Cruz County to the cities of Healdsburg and Cloverdale in Sonoma County, the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/LmgFL2 ) reported Tuesday. Most of the districts, which serve from 39 to 11,000 residents, have too few customers to collect enough revenue to pay for backup water supplies or repair failing equipment, the newspaper reported. A storm expected to drop light and moderate rains on Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday won't help much. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Web site is predicting just a tenth of an inch of rain in San Francisco over the next two days and more than 2 inches in parts of Sacramento. National Weather Service forecaster Diana Henderson says the Bay Area has had only about 10 to 20 percent of the rain it usually gets by this time of year. More than 21 inches must fall by June 30 — an unlikely prospect — for the region to get back to its normal level of precipitation, Henderson said. The list of vulnerable communities was compiled by the state health department based on a survey last week of the more than 3,000 water agencies in California. ''As the drought goes on, there will be more that probably show up on the list,'' said Dave Mazzera, acting drinking-water division chief for the state Department of Public Health. State officials are discussing solutions such as trucking in water and providing funding to drill more wells or connect rural water systems to other water systems, Mazzera said. Lompico County Water District, in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton, has just 500 customers and needs nearly $3 million in upgrades to its water system. ''We have been unable to take water out of the creek since August and well production is down, and we didn't have that much water to begin with,'' said Lois Henry, a Lompico water board member. Henry said the district may soon have to truck in water. In Cloverdale, where 9,000 get water from four wells, low flows in the Russian River have prompted the City Council to implement mandatory 25 percent rationing and ban lawn watering. The city raised water rates 50 percent to put in two new wells, which should be completed by July. ''Hopefully, we'll be able to get through the summer and the development of this project will pay off.'' City Manager Paul Caylor said. Residents of urban areas for the most part have not felt the effects of the drought so far. Other areas on the state list include small water districts in Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Kern, Amador, Mendocino, Nevada and Placer counties. President Barack Obama called Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday for an update on the drought. The White House says Obama told Brown that the federal government will keep working to support California's response to the drought. Obama told the governor he was concerned about the impact of the drought on California's citizens, economy and environment. The White House says the National Drought Resilience Partnership is coordinating the federal response. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Agriculture Department are involved in the effort. Appellate court will hear high-speed rail case SACRAMENTO (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred a legal appeal over the state's high-speed rail project to a state appellate court, declining to take up the case directly as Gov. Jerry Brown's administration had requested. In doing so, it ordered an expedited hearing at the appellate level. Last week, the governor's Department of Finance, the state treasurer and the California High-Speed Rail Authority petitioned the court to overturn two lower-court rulings that have stalled progress on the $68 billion bullet train project. They said rulings by a Sacramento County Superior Court judge had crippled the government's ability to function. Judge Michael Kenny's rulings late last year have prevented the state from selling $8.6 billion in voter-approved bonds needed to finance the first leg of construc- tion in the Central Valley. Kenny also ordered the authority to rewrite its financing plan to explain how the state expects to pay for the first 300 miles of work, at a projected cost of $31 billion. The rulings came in lawsuits filed by a group of Central Valley landowners who claimed the state failed to comply with the promises made to voters when they approved Proposition 1A in 2008 to authorize selling the bonds. Wednesday's notice says attorneys for the landowners have until Monday to file briefs in the case. ''The state wanted the court to hear this case quickly. Today, the Supreme Court effectively granted that request by directing the Court of Appeal to consider our case in an expedited fashion,'' H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Brown's Department of Finance, said in an email.