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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Much-needed rain fell on downtown San Francisco and elsewhere in California on Wednesday at the outset of what the parched state hopes is the start to a one-two punch of stormy weather. The storm was expected to move down the coast, dumping a half-inch to an inch of rain in southern areas late in the day, forecasters said. A potentially stronger storm moving in late Thursday could bring thunder and dump up to 2 inches of rain in central and southern valleys, 2 to 4 inches in the foothills and up to 6 inches in some mountain spots. State water officials plan Thursday to survey the ane- mic mountain snow pack, and will likely find that Cali- fornia's precipitation is badly lagging what's needed to quench the region's thirst. After 2013 ended as the state's driest year on record, all that predicted rain and snow should be nothing but good news. But there also was a risky side of the down- pours. If the rainfall rate is intense, it could bring flash flooding, ''and our ground is so dry ... that we'll proba- bly get more runoff than we're absorbing,'' said Bonnie Bartling, a National Weather Service weather specialist in Oxnard. The National Weather Service also noted the poten- tial for mud and debris flows from the burn area of the May 2013 Springs Fire, which scorched nearly 38 square miles of the Santa Monica Mountains as it burned from the edges of suburban homes down to the beach about 50 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. Numerous other wildfires statewide left scarred land- scapes over the past year, including a 400-square-mile area devastated by last summer's forest fire in and adja- cent to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada. A so-called Pineapple Express storm brought rain and snow to California earlier this month, and when it departed, the Sierra Nevada snowpack had grown but was still only 29 percent of normal. 7A Thursday, February 27, 2014 – Daily News Obituaries 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. ROBERT RANBERG Robert Ranberg, 83 passed away at Red Bluff Health Care February 18, 2014. Robert was born to Willis C. Ranberg & Nellie Potocki Ranberg on July 7, 1930,on Long Island, N.Y. In 1948 the family moved to Red Bluff after Robert's High School graduation. Robert worked for Corona Box, Commander Industries and Louisana-Pacific for over 40 years. Robert enjoyed photography and mak- ing films. Robert is survived by is twin brother Richard E. (Pat) and sister Lois (Tony) Mendosa, aunts, Harriett Baluk and Barbara Ranberg, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Robert is preceded in death by parents Willis C. and Nellie Potocki Ranberg, nephew Matt Mendonca and niece Elaine Ranberg Lowe. Robert's family wishes to thank the staff at Red Bluff Health Care for their outstanding care. Donation may be made to Tehama County Crippled Children and Adults, P.O. Box 605, Red Bluff, CA. No services will be held. JOHNNIE BRUCE THORNHILL May 8, 1958 ~ February 20, 2014 Johnnie Bruce Thornhill was born May 8, 1958 and died February 20, 2014. Born to Leslie "Tinker" and Donna Thornhill in Sterling City, CA. He was a few months old when his family moved to Red Bluff. He attended local schools and graduated from Red Bluff High School in 1976. He continued his education and became a diesel mechanic. He was truly brilliant with his mechanical abil- ities and could repair engines of all kinds. Along the way he was also a millwright for several lumber mills in the north valley area. His true personality showed by his lov- ing and compassionate nature to his friends and family. Always generous with a smile or helping hand, he made friends wherever he went and his quick witt made every- one laugh. Johnnie was an avid fisherman and deer hunter. He en- joyed spending weeks at a time in the mountains near Paskenta. A campfire and star filled sky made him feel at peace with himself and the world. He always felt more alive with his dogs and his hunting companions. Johnnie is survived by his mother Donna Thornhill, sis- ter Annie Peterson, ID, brother Eddie Thornhill, NV. His children Nicholas, Falisha and step-children April, Andrea, his grandchildren and many other young ones to whom he gave encouragement and fathering affection like his nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father "Tinker", brother Les, cousin Wiley Mayfield and grandparents Virgil and Bernice Mayfield. Johnnie is mourned by all who love him. Those who never knew him have missed the chance to be graced by his twinkling blue eyes and genuine friendship. He's tak- en his heart of gold to another place and ours follows with him. Until we meet again... A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Lorraine Hicks Lorraine Hicks, of Red Bluff, died Wednesday, Feb. 26 at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. She was 102. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Evelyn Newman Evelyn Newman, of Orland, died Monday, Feb. 25 in Red Bluff. She was 89. Arrangements are under the direction of F.D. Sweet & Son Mortuary. Published Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. John Bruce Thornhill John Bruce Thornhill, of Red Bluff, died Thursday, Feb. 20 in Red Bluff. He was 55. Arrangements are under the direction of Cremation Simplicity of Shasta County. Published Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. determined to be from a small cal- iber bullet that entered through the front of Gannon's skull, according to Chico State forensic anthropolo- gists. Gannon lived in the Loleta Avenue home with her husband, James Gannon, since the early 1970s. James Gannon committed sui- cide June 6, 2013 at his Loleta Avenue home. The suicide came more than two weeks before the dis- covery of Linda Gannon's remains. No further information was avail- able. Continued from page 1A WOMAN Over the course of the conspiracy, Martinez-Cruz and Garcia-Venegas were responsible for trafficking some 25,000 CDs or DVDs containing counter- feit copyrighted works. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investi- gation and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, which com- bines the efforts of 32 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in the Eastern District of California. Assistant Unit- ed States Attorney Matthew Morris is prose- cuting the case. All three defendants have been in custody since their arrests in February 2013. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Kimberly Mueller on May 14. They each face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Continued from page 1A MOVIE ''I imagine we'd walk right into a veto if we added any earmarks,'' said State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco. Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about how quickly the legislation is moving and point- ed to language in AB 80 they say could affect existing water rights. ''In the rush to do it, and to do it now, I think we need to be careful not to do it recklessly,'' said Assem- blyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, at a committee hearing. Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, countered that the package was thoughtfully put together. ''This is an emergency,'' Bloom said. ''We do need to move forward quickly to address this very, very real crisis.'' Under the legislation, the State Water Resources Control Board would have new powers to issue fines for illegal diversions of water. The bill was amended in the Senate to stave off fines for unintentional diversions, calming some Republi- cans concerns. Representatives of the governor's administration say existing water rights laws will not change, and that the new powers are only in effect during the state of emergency. Republicans also questioned the Democrats' plan to tap $40 million from a fund created for projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emis- sions. Under a landmark program, California businesses pay for emis- sions and the state is supposed to use the money to fight climate change. ''This is beginning to look more and more like an executive slush fund,'' said Patterson, who proposed drawing the money from the general fund, the state's main checkbook. The governor's office says water efficiency and energy efficiency go hand-in-hand. For example, the State Water Project, which supplies 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of agricultural land, is the state's largest energy user. The legislative package also will draw $47 million from the state's general fund to provide food and housing assistance for Californians hit hardest by the drought, primarily in regions heavily dependent on agriculture. Some Democratic law- makers raised concerns about whether that would be enough. ''It's a pittance,'' said Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose. The independent Legislative Analyst's Office released a report Friday laying out options for law- makers to immediately address the drought. Several are included in the relief package, including expanding groundwater management and con- servation programs. But lawmakers would also reduce water consumption by requiring rate hikes, the report says. Legislators can update the state's water rights system by allocating water based on assumptions includ- ing that farmers are using water-effi- cient technology and that homeown- ers are using low-flow shower heads. These approaches, likely to be controversial, are not included in the relief package. To meet Californians' long-term water needs, lawmakers are negoti- ating changes to an $11.1 billion water bond scheduled to go before voters in November. Republicans are emphasizing dams and reser- voirs to increase water storage, while Democrats focus on making more use of existing water and restoring watersheds and ecosys- tems. Legislative leaders expect a negotiated bill to come together by early summer. Continued from page 1A DROUGHT Wandering wolf OR-7 may have a pal in Cascades GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's wolf population continues to grow and has spun off another pathfinder that made it to the Cascades. A draft of the state's 2013 wolf report says tracks were confirmed in December after a sighting on the eastern flanks of Mount Hood, about 200 miles west of the wolf packs in northeastern Ore- gon. Three hundred miles south in the southern Cas- cades, the famous wander- ing wolf OR-7 has been shuttling between Oregon and California looking for a mate since fall 2011. It was not known if the Mount Hood wolf was a female and potential mate for OR-7, or another dis- persing male, said the department's wolf coordi- nator, Russ Morgan. But the area has plenty of deer and elk for prey. Rob Klavins, a wildlife advocate for the conserva- tion group Oregon Wild, said he hoped the two wolves would turn into a breeding pair, which would be the first in the Cascade Range since wolves came to Oregon from Idaho in the 1990s. ''That's a big step for wolf recovery, if that is true,'' he said. Until wolves started swimming the Snake River from Idaho and col- onizing Oregon in the 1990s, the last known wolf in Oregon was shot in 1946 by a bounty hunter in the Rogue- Umpqua Divide area of the Cascades. OR-7 roamed through the wilderness area in 2011 and has traveled south of Mount Lassen in Califor- nia, where he was spotted with some coyotes. Overall, the number of confirmed wolves statewide has grown from 48 in 2012 to 64 last year. The number of packs grew from six to eight. While the number of packs suc- cessfully producing pups dropped from six in 2012 to four in 2013, it marked the second year in a row that the state recovery goal of four breeding pairs was met. One more year like that and the depart- ment can consider remov- ing wolves form the Ore- gon endangered species list. Rod Childers, a Wal- lowa County rancher and negotiator for the Oregon Cattlemen's Association on wolf issues, said he had not carefully reviewed the report, but the growing number of wolves is no surprise, given the restric- tions on killing wolves that attack livestock. ''All I can say for the cattlemen is I told you so,'' he said. One of Oregon's origi- nal breeding females, OR- 2, has dropped off the radar, the report said. Her tracking collar stopped sending signals last sum- mer, and she has not been seen since with the Imna- ha pack — Oregon's first. Morgan emphasized it was not known if she was alive or dead. The seven pups she produced in the spring also were not seen at the end of the year, though OR-2 and some pups could have left the pack. Two new wolves were spotted to the south. A small light gray female, OR-2 was cap- tured and fitted with a tracking collar in 2009 and has been producing pups every spring with the alpha male of the Imnaha pack, OR-4. Since the dis- appearance of OR-2, OR- 4 has aligned himself with another female, which has an injured hind leg. ''Because of the time (wolves) have been around, now we are start- ing to see some of these dynamics kick in,'' Mor- gan said. ''Mates do get replaced in the wolf world.'' Three packs — Imnaha, Umatilla River and Snake River — were blamed for 13 livestock attacks last year, but none of the packs has qualified for consider- ation of lethal control. Five cows, six sheep and one goat were killed. That compares with four cows and eight sheep killed in 2012 by the Imnaha and Umatilla River packs. Under terms of a settle- ment of a lawsuit brought by Oregon Wild, and sub- sequent legislation, a pack must be blamed for four confirmed attacks on live- stock where the owner had taken steps to protect them with nonlethal controls, such as cleaning up old carcasses or putting out alarms triggered by a wolf tracking collar. The state gave ranchers $7,396 for confirmed wolf kills in Wallowa, Baker and Umatilla counties and $8,667 for missing live- stock in wolf country. And $43,932 was distributed to pay for preventative mea- sures, such as range riders, cleaning up cattle carcass- es and putting out electri- fied flags, known as fladery. Another first for Ore- gon wolves was the con- firmation of parvovirus, a deadly disease common in dogs. Necropsies con- firmed it in two pups found dead. Morgan said the dis- ease could reduce the growth of wolf numbers in the short term but was not likely to be a long-term factor. When the disease first appeared in wolves on Yellowstone National Park, numbers fell, then rebounded. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled to consider the report March 7. Redding home incineration costs more than $170K REDDING (AP) — Sheriff's deputies in far North- ern California say the operation that ended in the incin- eration of an explosive-laden mobile home cost the county more than $170,000. Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko disclosed the figure to the county's board of supervisors on Tuesday and said bills were still coming in. The costs included overtime and supplies. The Record Searchlight of Redding reports that the county is considering putting a lien on the property to recover some of the money. Authorities found more than 60 pounds of explo- sives at the Redding home on Feb. 6. after responding to an explosion that took off a resident's hand. Deputies determined the explosives were extremely volatile and evacuated dozens of neighboring homes. They incinerated the home on Feb. 16. California storms bring rain, threat of floods