Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/255268
SACRAMENTO (AP) — Voting and civil liberties groups sued Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Tuesday over a decision she made in 2011 that said tens of thousands of criminals who are serving their sen- tences under community supervision are ineligible to vote. The American Civil Lib- erties Union, League of Women Voters, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and other groups filed the lawsuit in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of nearly 60,000 convicts who are sentenced either to mandatory supervision or post-release community supervision. It's the second lawsuit challenging Bowen's inter- pretation of the 2011 crimi- nal justice realignment law, which is designed to ease overcrowding in state pris- ons by sentencing those convicted of less serious crimes to county jails or alternative treatment pro- grams. The first lawsuit includ- ed those serving time in county jails and sought an expedited hearing from the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. It would have allowed locally incar- cerated felons to vote in the June 2012 primary election. The initial attempt died when both the state appel- late court and the California Supreme Court declined to hear the case, without com- ment. As a result, ''the Secre- tary of State's reading of the law stands,'' Bowen spokes- woman Nicole Winger said in an email. Winger said she could not comment further on pending litigation. Both lawsuits argue that state law prohibits voting only by people who are in state prison or on parole. California already allows voting by those on county- supervised probation. The latest lawsuit con- tends that the two new forms of community super- vision were intended ''as innovative community- based alternatives to parole,'' with alternatives emphasized in italics. Felons under those pro- grams are supervised by county employees, not state parole agents. The 2011 memo written by Bowen's chief legal counsel to county elections officials said it does not matter if felons' supervision ''is labeled something other than 'parole.' '' The lawsuit says Bowen's decision under- mines the intent of the realignment law, which was pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown in response to feder- al court orders. The law also encourages rehabilitation, leading the plaintiffs to say in their lawsuit that partici- pating in society by voting should be a part of that effort. They also say Bowen issued the policy without going through proper legal procedures. Several of the groups were plaintiffs in both law- suits, including the nonprof- it Legal Services for Prison- ers with Children and its affiliated voter-education program called All of Us or None. 7A Wednesday, February 5, 2014 – Daily News The Passing Parade is brought to you by by Minch Property Management, 760 Main Street specializing in commercial leasing and sales. 530 527 5514 THE PASSING PARADE (From Dave Minch's I Say circa 1943) Newspapers and farm magazines have been running articles the last few weeks concerning the fat livestock that farmers are unable to sell. As a rule, it is blamed on the OPA (Office of Price Administration) or some other branch of the government. Without a doubt, there is an oversupply of livestock in some parts of the country occasionally, but the Pacific Coast does not have nor has it had an oversupply of cattle, veal or hogs for a long time. In line with its policy of presenting all sides of any question, the Daily News printed an article a week or so ago and incorporated a letter form Ellis Brothers in Cottonwood and Steve Schuchart of Paskenta. Ellis said they had some fat steers but were unwilling to take the price offered for them. However, they still haven't sold them. Steve's steers were not as fat as he likes them to be, so he has since sent them into our plant on consignment. The article in the Daily News stressed the hundreds of fat cattle in feedlots and hogs in this area for which there were no market. Well, I can state that the only fat cattle in this end of the state are in the feedlot at Gerber, and those 30 belong to us. Hogs are so scarce that we shipped in 8 decks last week from Oregon and Idaho…this in spite of the fact that we buy all the hogs we can from this area i.e. Beiber, Edgewood, Chico and Willows. The Siskiyou Daily News in Yreka had a front page article bemoaning the fact that hundreds of fat cattle were ready for market in the area but no one would buy them. Our buyer, Mr. L.C. Stephens, was in Yreka trying to buy some cattle for us, and when he read the paper he was very interested. The article was written by a Mrs. Hinkle, so L.C. looked her up to find where the cattle were located. She admitted writing the article but she did not know where the cattle were. She had heard a report given at the Greenhorn Grange Hall. She referred Mr. Stephens to the man who had given the report, a Mr. Fred Burton. Mr. Burton said he didn't know where the fat cattle were…but he did have a few hogs to sell. He then added that Mr. Ralson, the head of the Grange, probably knew where the fat cattle were. When Ralson was located, however, he admitted he did not know of even one head of cattle in the county at present, and furthermore, he believed that the original report had been greatly exaggerated. We may conclude, from these stories resulting in fruitless excursions, that hey come from newspapers and periodicals which had not thoroughly checked their sources. This could well apply to stories about the progress of the war. Dave Minch 1900-1964 Obituaries 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. REGINA ANN DONLIN-KOENIG September 14, 1908 ~ February 2, 2014 Regina (Jean) Koenig passed away on February 2, 2014, in Redding, CA, at the age of 105. She was the 8th child born to Thomas and Katherine Donlin on Sep- tember 14, 1908, at Fort Randall South Dakota. Jean met Vernal J. Koenig at a baseball game and was married on July 18, 1929, in Butte, Nebraska. The family moved to Red Bluff in June 1945. Jean worked many years in the Cafeteria at the Red Bluff Union High School. She also was the Head Dietitian at the Tehama County Hospital. She served 16 years with the Pink Ladies at St. Elizabeth Gift Shop. Jean enjoyed her home and family. Jean was a devoted member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and a member of the Ladies Guild. Jean is survived by her son, Robert E. Koenig (Phyllis A.) of El Dorado Hills, CA. Her daughter, Donna Faye Jones from Woodinville, Washington. Her daughter, Mary Jo Thompson (John) from Redding, CA. A nephew, Maurice Ness (Pam) of Red Bluff, CA Jean was preceded in death by her hus- band Vernal J. Koenig on November 1, 1985, in Red Bluff. A granddaughter Karen Lee on April 25, 1952. Al- so, her son Ronald E. Koenig, died on August 14, 2009, in Elk Grove, CA. He was the former Sheriff of Tehama County. His wife, Patricia Koenig, still resides in Elk Grove, CA. Jean has 13 grandchildren, 2 step grandchil- dren, 23 great grandchildren, and 22 great, great grand- children. The services will be held at the Red Bluff Sacred Heart Catholic Church as follows: Rosary: Thursday, February 6th at 6:00 p.m. Funeral Mass: Friday, February 7th at 10:00 Noon Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetary. Man arrested for LM forgery, abuse A 43-year-old Oroville man who claimed he was threatened early Tuesday morning at a Los Molinos bar over his sex registrant status was eventually arrested for elder abuse and forgery of financial doc- uments. Shortly before 12:30 a.m. Tehama County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Los Molinos area to contact William Franklin Bryan Veaver. Veaver had reported that while he was drinking at the Hayloft bar an unknown man threatened him regarding his sex registrant status. Veaver is listed on the National Sex Offender list for a sexual bat- tery crime. His last known address is listed as Oroville. When deputies arrived in the area, they could not locate Veaver. He was eventually found at the res- idence of a 68-year-old man on Reeves Avenue. The man said Veaver was told to leave, but had refused. Veaver was detained and deputies conducted a pat down search. That search revealed docu- ments and a completed bank check. The 68-year-old man said he had not filled out the check nor had he given it to Veaver. In addition to the check, a docu- ment was found on Veaver that gave him soul power of authority over the 68-year-old's business and money affairs. The 68-year-old man said he did not fill out or sign that document either. Veaver was arrested for falsify- ing or forging a record, possession of stolen property, trespassing and elder abuse. His bail was $12,000. — Rich Greene concerns to school offi- cials. He added that Binder has been placed on paid administrative leave, and that his students spent the day Tuesday cleaning the auto shop under supervi- sion of a substitute teacher. "I've only been on the job here two weeks," Har- rop said. "He appears to have had a good reputation with his class. It was a real shock when we found out about this." Harrop said Binder is a Career and Technical Edu- cation teacher who does not have a credential like a math and English teach- ers. He added that Binder, if proven guilty of the accusation, would not legally be able to continue teaching. "I was really pleased that the principal and vice principal took immediate action to get law enforce- ment involved," he said, adding that the student who initially came for- ward with concerns is a "true friend" and "hero." Harrop said the district is looking into attaining a substitute teacher so the auto shop class can contin- ue. The case remains under investigation. Continued from page 1A RBUHS Hern reportedly was inside the store where he made unusual statements and threatened to shoot somebody, the release said. He then took his gro- ceries to his truck and retrieved a firearm from the interior before point- ing the gun at the sky and then other shoppers. Officers responded as Hern left the parking lot. Hern was identified by bystanders and stopped nearby on Gilmore Road. Hern was arrested with- out incident and a .32 cal- iber Derringer was found inside his truck. No further information was available. Continued from page 1A GUN Chico photographer in the 25-year history to win the Valene Smith Award for Excellence in Visual Anthropology (2009). "I'm a determined person that doesn't let life's obstacles stop me from doing what I want to do," Smith said. "I love the outdoors and nature and have discovered the joys of photography. The obstacle I have is Cerebral Palsy, I have very limit- ed motor control and use of my muscles, I'm unable to do handheld photography. With the help of my business mentor, we have worked together to develop a system that allows me to attach a professional class Nikon DSLR camera and wireless Speedlight to my wheel- chair." Using Live View and a wireless remote shutter release Smith has more freedom and flexibility in cre- ating the images he sees. This includes doing event photography of protests at the California State Capi- tol in Sacramento, landscapes, architectural and macro-photogra- phy of local wild flowers. "I would like you to see into my world, not as a man with a disabili- ty, but as a man who sees beauty everywhere," Smith said. Walters-Fournier is a conserva- tion photographer who genuinely cares about the environment and wants to bring its issues to people's awareness and attention. "When I see human actions that harm the environment or native plant species it makes me angry," he said. Walters-Fournier is exceptionally good at seeing fine details that most others overlook. He is well versed in native plant species; the California Native Plant Society has used sever- al of his images for their publica- tions. He has also had several slide show presentations at their meet- ings. Walters-Fournier's interest in pho- tography began when he was 8 years old using disposable Kodak film cam- eras. His interest continued to grow as a child, and then when he went to high school he took and excelled in a digital photography class. His teacher was so impressed with his budding talent that she gave him a digital cam- era. After graduation, he enrolled in photography classes at Butte College in Durham. He is enrolled and taking a variety of photo technique and field trip classes. "I'd like to continue to expand my photography career, creating compelling images that people want to display in their homes and offices, to show them the beauty I see from my perspective," Walters- Fournier said. "I would also like to contribute images to national and international publications to further conservation causes." The Tehama Country Visitor Center is operated by North Valley Services. Its mission statement is, "Providing opportunities for per- sons with disabilities in the environ- ment of their choice." For more information, visit visittehamacoun- try.com. Continued from page 1A FILM through its third-straight dry year. Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a drought emergency, and state officials announced last week that they would not be sending water to California's agricultural customers. U.S. offi- cials are expected in late February to announce that they will allot only a fraction of the federally controlled water that farmers want, if any. The drought has fanned the flames of long-standing water battles between Republican and Democrat law- makers, but Costa said this is no time to talk in ''tired old'' sound bites. ''At the end of the day, they don't pro- vide one more drop of water,'' he said. Farmers and ranchers can apply by March 3 for the federal money. Priority will be given to farmers whose water allocations have been cut by at least 85 percent. Continued from page 1A FEDS Secretary of state sued over criminals' voting GOP lawmakers say convicted senator should resign SACRAMENTO (AP) — Three Republican state lawmakers are breaking with their leader to ask that a Democratic colleague convicted of voter fraud be immediately expelled or forced to resign. Sens. Joel Anderson of Alpine, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Andy Vidak of Hanford sent a letter to Senate leader Darrell Steinberg on Tuesday calling for the ouster of Sen. Roderick Wright. Wright could face more than eight years in prison at his March 12 sentencing after a Los Angeles County jury found him guilty of voter fraud and perjury. Missouri AG challenges California egg law JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's attor- ney general has asked a federal court to strike down a California law regulating the living conditions of chick- ens, setting up a cross-country battle that pits new ani- mal protections against the economic interests of Mid- western farmers. The lawsuit by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster takes aim at a California law set to take effect in 2015 that prohibits eggs from being sold there if they come from hens raised in cages that don't comply with California's new size and space requirements. Koster said Tuesday that the California law infringes on the interstate commerce protections of the U.S. Con- stitution by effectively imposing new requirements on out-of-state farmers. ''If California legislators are permitted to mandate the size of chicken coops on Missouri farms, they may just as easily demand that Missouri soybeans be har- vested by hand or that Missouri corn be transported by solar-powered trucks,'' Koster said. Missouri's lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Fresno, Calif. The California attorney general's office had no immediate comment Tuesday about the lawsuit. California voters approved a ballot initiative in 2008 that required egg-laying hens, pigs and calves to be raised with enough space to allow the animals to lie down, stand up, turn around and fully extend their limbs. The measure gave farmers until 2015 to comply with the provisions. But concerns were raised that the measure would put California egg farmers at a competitive disadvantage with counterparts in other states. In 2010, California legislators expanded the law to ban in that state the sale of eggs from any hens that were not raised in compliance with California's animal care standards. The California law cites concerns about protecting people from salmonella and other illnesses. But the Missouri lawsuit said the real intent was to protect California farmers from being put at a disad- vantage with their counterparts in other states.