Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/256072
SAN JOSE (AP) — For- mer Federal Energy Regu- latory Commission chair- man Jon Wellinghoff said Wednesday an April attack on Silicon Valley's phone lines and power grid was terrorism — despite repeat- ed FBI statements that it had found no indications to back that up. Wellinghoff, who was in office during the incident, said he reached his conclu- sion after consulting with Defense Department experts about the attack that involved snipping AT&T fiber-optic lines to knock out phone and 911 service, and firing shots into a PG&E substation, causing outages. ''This is the most sophis- ticated and extensive attack that's ever occurred on the grid to my knowledge,'' Wellinghoff told The Asso- ciated Press. Similar state- ments were published on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal. FBI spokesman Peter Lee said Wednesday that at this point ''we don't believe it's an act of terror, interna- tional or domestic.'' The FBI is the lead agency in the investigation, and Lee said the agency has specific definitions of ter- rorism that involve motive, intent and political ideology. He said the investigation is ongoing and urged people not to jump to conclusions. Wellinghoff said he was speaking out on the issue now because he's con- cerned the grid isn't being adequately protected. He said he didn't know what the motivation was for the sabotage, ''but I don't know what the definition of terrorism is other than when an extremely well-trained group attacks a major piece of infrastructure in an expertly planned attack.'' His concerns under- scored earlier statements from high-ranking officials about the incident. In October, former CIA director Jim Woolsey said in a Commonwealth Club appearance that video from the incident showed a group of three or four men, in a ''disciplined military fash- ion,'' had conducted the attacks. He provided details about how they systemati- cally fired their weapons, and said they ''quickly and professionally disposed of everything they had.'' TEMECULA (AP) — A Southern California city has announced plans to host a Pamplona-style bull run, months after a neighboring town nixed the event because of safety concerns. The Riverside Press- Enterprise reports (http://bit.ly/1ewOfJ9 ) the Golden State edition of the Great Bull Run will be held at the Temecula Downs Event Center on June 21. The organizers held two bull runs last year in Virginia and Georgia. The spectacles mirror the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, where people run in front of a herd of toros let loose in the streets. Organizers say they toned down the U.S. ver- sions by creating escape routes for runners and blunting the animal's horn tips. In November officials spiked a planned bull run in Lake Elsinore, about 15 miles north of Temec- ula in Riverside County. ——— Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com 7A Thursday, February 6, 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 news- paper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. 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. Lou Ann Benesh Lou Ann Benesh died Wednesday, Feb. 5 at her Cot- tonwood home. She was 85. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Feb. 6 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Richard Ison Richard Ison died Wednesday, Feb. 5 at his Red Bluff home. He was 60. Arrangements are under the direction of Blair's Direct Cremation & Burial. Published Thursday, Feb. 6 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Garry Parish Garry Parish, of Corning, died Tuesday, Feb. 4 in Red Bluff. He was 65. Arrangements are under the direction of Hall Broth- ers Corning Mortuary. Published Thursday, Feb. 6 in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. the agency to hurry or found a way to make them do as much. Stoll Engineering's Terry Hanson said despite the delays there was a lot of good news his company had to share with the city Tuesday. That included the plans to renovate not only the boat ramp with the expect- ed grant money, but River Park as well. Hanson said the park's restroom would be reno- vated to be ADA accessi- ble, a new picnic pavilion area would be constructed and the cement pedestrian walking trail that once went along the river would be moved down to the gravel bar to once again be near the water. Hanson said he antici- pated that grant money to be available through the governor's budget as well as the excitement Wildlife Conservation had toward the Red Bluff project. A pair of residents had concerns about the pro- ject. Jamie Raglin ques- tioned whether the new boat facility would survive future storms and flood- ing, a concern coun- cilmembers said they had heard raised by other resi- dents. Stoll Engineering rep- resentatives said their pro- jects in other parts of the North State, such as Lake Redding Park, have held up over time and the River Park project would not be done without the proper hydraulic calculations. Raglin said he believed a lot more money was being spent than is need- ed, when the right permits and a tractor for an after- noon of cleanup would more than suffice to make the former boat ramp safe again. Shannon Hatfield ques- tioned why the city would spend $2.7 million on a park that has become home to undesirables and crime-ridden. Police Chief Paul Nan- fito said he believed mak- ing the park attractive would help drive away the criminal element such as the Disc Golf Course has done at Dog Island Park. He connected the project to the police department's plans for security cameras at the park. Those cameras he said could be operational as soon as the end of the month. Stoll Engineering rep- resentatives said addition- al cameras were included in their Phase 2 plans. Crabtree said he agreed with Nanfito's belief that the park could turn around with the proposed addi- tions. "It's a real opportunity to have something to miti- gate the loss of Lake Red Bluff," he said. Rich Greene can be reached at 527-2151, ext. 109 or rgreene@redbluffdailyne ws.com. Continued from page 1A PARK According to the release, Durrer said that while finding a temporary replacement is the press- ing issue at hand, the Fair board will also begin the process of creating a job description for a perma- nent CEO. The Fair board is next scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Tehama District Fairground in the Tehama Room. The meet- ing is open to the public. Continued from page 1A CEO The Tehama County Museum in Tehama will offer extended hours April 19 to showcase its Brands of Tehama County display. Cowboy Church will begin Sun- day, April 20, followed by a rodeo performance and possibly a concert by a Latino group. The Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce is gathering information about all community events planned for the 11 Days of Round-Up. To register an event with the chamber, pick up a form at 100 Main St., visit redbluffchamber.com or send an email to jason@red- bluffchamber.com. Events registered by March 14 will be included in a special section inserted in the Daily News prior to the events. Continued from page 1A EVENTS and cities, and urging statewide conservation. State wildlife officials said the drought-related fishing closures are the most extensive the state has ever implemented. Chuck Bonham, direc- tor of fish and wildlife, said the decision is meant to save as many fish as possible, so that when the drought eases there will still be some left to catch. Bonham said the condi- tions could worsen to the point that crews will have to go into rivers and streams to rescue endan- gered fish. ''We may need to put hands on legally protected fish, and bring them in to protect their DNA from extinction,'' Bonham told the commission. The commissioners found that dangerously low stream flows and dwindling reservoir stor- age presented a danger to salmon and steelhead habitat in both watersheds. The closures on both rivers will extend through April 30. Numerous fishing groups voiced support for the closures. Lowell Ashbaugh, a fly fisherman from Davis, said he hated having to close a river to fishing, but that it was for the greater good. ''The conservation of the river is very impor- tant,'' he told the commis- sion. ''If we don't have the fish, we don't have the fishing.'' Continued from page 1A FEDS Brown urges pension fund to address rising costs SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday urged California's largest public pension fund to act quickly to address rising costs caused by retirees' longer life expectancies, saying failure to do so would widen the fund's liabilities by billions of dollars. In a letter sent to the board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, he urged members to acknowledge the demographic changes immediately and phase in the costs over three years rather than wait- ing two years, as CalPERS' staff recommends. ''No one likes to pay more for pensions, but ignor- ing their true costs for two more years will only burden the system and cost more in the long run,'' Brown wrote. The pension fund is $45 billion in the red and will grow by $9 billion because of retirees living longer, the letter said. New projections show the life expectancy of retirees growing as much as two years. CalPERS staff will make formal recommendations to the board next week and has been reviewing its assumptions about contribution rates and retiree life expectancy, the fund said in a statement issued in response to the governor's letter. In December, CalPERS staff recommended using new assumptions in setting contribution rates for the 2016-17 fiscal year. The governor's letter said waiting two more years will lead to an additional $3.7 billion in costs over the next two decades. H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Finance Department, clarified that the figure refers to costs associated with delaying changes to projected investment returns, life expectancy and contribution rates. Palmer said the state is looking to start paying high- er rates as early as this summer. Earlier payments mean more interest to pay for growing pension costs. The board must consider the economy, financial markets and the ability of government workers and agencies to pay more for pensions, CalPERS wrote in its statement. The fund, with more than 1.6 million members, provides retiree benefits for both state and local government workers. Brown has faced criticism from Republican law- makers for not addressing another pension problem in his proposed 2014-15 budget: an $80 billion teachers' pension shortfall. The Legislature sets contributions for teachers' pensions but has no direct say in setting con- tribution rates for CalPERS. CalPERS has increased contribution levels twice in the last two years. California city OKs Pamplona-style bull run Deputies arrest 3 during pig seizure SHINGLETOWN (AP) — Sheriff 's officials in Northern California say they arrested three people while trying to seize pigs from a rural home. The owners of the property in Shingletown in Shasta County were allegedly raising too many of the animals. Authorities tell the Record Searchlight of Redding that offi- cials went there on Tuesday to take about 30 pigs, but the resi- dents tried to stop them. Sheriff 's Sgt. Steve Grashoff says sheriff 's deputies providing security at the site arrested 58- year-old Lynn Hamilton, and his 56-year-old brother, Brian, on suspicion of obstructing officers. Their father, 82-year-old Hugh Hamilton, was arrested on an out- standing warrant alleging he failed to appear in court for a stray animal citation. Reached by phone on Wednes- day, Lynn Hamilton denied the allegations and said deputies were harassing him and his fami- ly. Former federal official: Attack was terrorism