Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/27571
Monday, March 21, 2011 – Daily News – 7A CHAPEL Continued from page 1A the cemetery, Fansler said. He appreciates what has been done and is looking forward to having use of the chapel in the future. “We’ll be able to do ceremonies in a little more dignified fashion, really,” Fansler said. The chapel is not desig- nated for any certain reli- gion. “Any religion should be comfortable with it,” Fansler said. Many members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Post No. 11188 of Rancho Tehama attend- ed the dedication and memorial services. One member, Penny McGee, had been to the cemetery before to see her brother-in-law and a friend buried. After those services, she was thankful to see the completion of the chapel. “It’s beautiful,” McGee said. “Having stood in the rain and wind for two ser- vices, this is wonderful.” Harold and Bertha Morreira of Rancho Tehama are both veterans and members of the Marine Corps League and VFW. Having been at the cemetery for its official opening and for various other events, the chapel is an added bonus, Bertha Morreira said. The Missing in Ameri- ca Project Veterans Memorial Service honored 24 veterans and one spouse, many of whom did not have living family members nor a place for their ashes to be interred. Of those honored, some were from the Red Bluff area, including Second Lt. Samuel French who served in the Army in the Korean War. A list of the honored veterans is below. Gunfire, followed by music, signaled the start of the memorial ceremony. As the crowded chapel stilled and quieted, the only noises breaking the silence were the winds howling against the build- ing and the clicking of cameras. One by one, members of a U.S. Air Force Color Guard interspersed with clergy members of about a dozen different religions, solemnly carried in the remains of veterans and the flags that would be given to their families. Missing in America Project’s founder and Executive Director Fred Salanti began introduc- SUPES Continued from page 1A son to understand. The letter to Huffman was signed Tuesday and solidifies the supervisors’ support for the bill. Since the California Public Utilities Commis- sion approved the installa- tion of automated meter- ing technology in 2006, PG&E has installed 5.7 million SmartMeters throughout Northern Cali- fornia, the letter states. “Along with these installations, there has been a surge of customer complaints regarding over-billings, inaccura- cies, information privacy and concerns about expo- sure to radio frequency emissions,” the letter states. Daily News Photo by Andrea Wagner Wintu representative Rod Lindsey (right) and John Berglund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (left) carry the remains of veterans honored Saturday at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo. The ceremony included faith community leaders of more than a dozen organizations to reinforce the interfaith, non- denominational usage of the newly constructed chapel during the Missing in America Project Veterans Memorial Service. The chapel was dedicated just before the service. Veterans honored by Missing in America Project 2nd Lt.Samuel French, Army, Korea Airman John H.Baker Jr., Navy, WWII & Korea Spec 3 Edward Bonin, Army, Korea Pvt. Billy Banning, Marine Corps, Korea Pfc. Harry S. Edwunds, Army Air Corps, WWII & Korea Pvt. Michael F. Hanley, Marine Corps, Korea Cpl. Robert M. Justin, Army, Korea Seaman Recruit Felder E.Kester, Navy, Vietnam Pvt. Jimmie Lemons, Marine Corps, Vietnam Av. Machinist Mate Edmond Linder, Navy, WWII, Korea Cpl. William L. Martin, Army, Korea Seaman Apprentice Craig L. Minkler, Navy, Vietnam Airman 1st Class Aaron M. Neil, Air Force, Korea Cpl. James M.Nightingale, Army Air Corps, WWII Cpl. Joseph Parker, Marine Corps, Korea TEC 4 Homer C.Petterson, Army, WWII Pfc. Sylvester C. Richardson, Army, WWII BM 3 Richard A Roulon, Navy, Cold War Spec 4 Marvin L. Roberts, Army, Vietnam Cpl. Robert W. Smith, Marine Corps, Korea Airman 1st Class, Donald L.Tuttle, Air Force, Korea Oiler Freeman B.Weeks, Merchant Marine, WWII Airman 2nd Class Ronald M.West, Air Force, Korea Recruit Frederick Wiley, Army, Cold War Spouse Louise Petty tions in tears. “The biggest thing we have to remember is that there is family here for some, but many up here are without a family,” Salanti said. “So we have to become their family.” Many of the veterans’ remains had been located in storage sheds or shelves, tucked away without honor. The cere- mony was even more dig- California GOP rejects divisive open primary plan SACRAMENTO (AP) — California Republicans on Sunday approved a compromise that leaves in place the current nominating system for GOP candi- dates in 2012 and will let party members use mail-in balloting to endorse candidates for office starting in 2014. The party was beset by infighting at its weekend spring convention in Sacramento over how to respond to Proposition 14, the voter-approved ballot measure that was intended to produce more moderate candi- dates for office from both political parties. Under that system, the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The GOP delegates on Sunday passed a plan that calls on the party to let members vote by mail to nom- inate candidates, starting in 2014. It was unclear how the vote-by-mail process will occur, how much it will cost or whether it will have any real effect on cam- paigns by discouraging other Republicans from aggressively contesting primary seats. Delegates rejected a more conservative plan that could have allowed small groups of local party offi- cials — who are the most actively involved internal party politics and campaigning — to decide the nom- inees. Instead, they opted to rely on the system used now for special election candidates, in which local officials can endorse a candidate by a two-thirds majority of all central committee members in a dis- trict. The compromise plan was endorsed by most of California’s GOP congressional delegation and Republican state lawmakers. U.S. Rep. Tom McClin- tock backed the amendment as a way to “restore the role of the rank-and-file Republican voters.” “I think it will be the great revival of the Republi- can Party in California,” he told a committee debating the competing plans late Saturday night. The top-two primary system, which is getting its first test in special elections this year, and California’s independent citizens’ redistricting commission, which takes the role of drawing legislative and congression- al boundaries away from the Legislature, promise to scramble California’s political map and have forced both major parties to reconsider their campaign strate- gies for 2012 and beyond. nified by the use of the chapel, he said. “I thank Mr. Johan- nessen that this building was built so we could be in here to dignify these peo- ple,” Salanti said. “Some- one with a dream made something happen, and we’re going to honor that.” Faith community lead- ers of at least a dozen denominations and reli- gions came forward one- by-one to offer prayer and blessings over the new chapel. Those included Rod Lindsey of the Wintu Nation, Pastor Ed Sulpice of Ono-Igo Community Church, the Rev. Judith Churchman of the Center for Spiritual Living, Imam Abu Bakr Salahuddin of the Islamic Center of Red- ding, John Berglund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Eddie McAllister of Second Baptist Church, the Rev. Sung Kim of Cornerstone Community, Amarjit Singh Grewal of The Sikh Centre of Anderson, the Rev. Kacey Alexander of the First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Jim Busher of Baha’i Commu- nity and Deacon Mike Mangas of St. Joseph Parish. After the ceremony, the chapel served as a place for remaining guests and family members to chat and connect with other supporters and veterans. “Today’s ceremony was a perfect example of why (the chapel) was here,” Salanti said. Johannessen was among the individuals who formally carried the flags and remains of the veterans to the areas of their final resting places. “I hope this is a legacy for all of our veterans,” Johannessen said. The urgent bill would immediately stop installa- tion of the meters statewide until an alterna- tive is in place. Existing law requires the PUC to develop and submit a smart grid deployment plan to the commission for approval by July 1. However, the new bill would require the PUC to identify alterna- tives to wireless meters as part of the smart grid deployment plan by Jan. 1, 2012. “Greater energy effi- ciency and conservation is a worthy goal, which should include providing the public with reasonable choices and accurate, reli- able and safe technology information,” the supervi- sor’s letter says. To view the county’s letter or a copy of AB37, go to the county website at co.tehama.ca.us and look for the supervisors’ agen- da for March 15. The Tehama County Board of Supervisors meets at 10 a.m. Tuesdays in the Board Chambers at 727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. ——— Andrea Wagner can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or awagner@redbluffdailyne ws.com. CAdrivers awaiting new licenses face long delays SACRAMENTO (AP) — Tens of thousands of dri- vers awaiting one of California’s new, high-tech licens- es are experiencing lengthy delays as production prob- lems slow distribution — in some cases, for months. Internal emails between the Department of Motor Vehicles and its Massachusetts-based contractor, L-1 Identity Solutions, indicate that the licenses’ enhanced security features have contributed to the holdup, according to a review by The Sacramento Bee. The delays started immediately after the DMV began issu- ing the new cards in October, and the backlog briefly swelled to 850,000 earlier this month. The DMV receives up to 40,000 applications for new or renewed licenses each day. Touted as the most advanced identity card in use anywhere, the new license features hidden photos visi- ble only by ultraviolet light, laser-engraved signatures, and miniscule perforations that form the shape of a bear, the official state animal. DMV officials declined to comment on the specifics of the production delays, citing security concerns. But heavily redacted documents examined by The Bee reveal that the agency’s contractor has experienced problems with its printers, engravers and laminating machines, as well as human error that resulted in large batches of substandard licenses. Some workers have been reprimanded for poor performance, the docu- ments show. Several emails show L-1 managers apologizing for the mistakes. “We understand the seriousness of this and the risk of problems and embarrassment that this type of error poses for DMV,’’ one official wrote. L-1 declined requests from The Bee to discuss the production problems. DMV director George Valverde told the newspaper the agency informed L-1 in December that it was in breach of its $63 million, five-year contract. The DMV has not made any payments to the company, which has begun making changes to its production process, he said. Valverde said 3 million new licenses have been issued so far, and the DMV is slowly but steadily reduc- ing the current backlog. ‘‘We are bringing (the delay) down, but it is not going to happen overnight,’’ he told The Bee. Lawmakers to take up second half of budget deficit SACRAMENTO (AP) — With half the state budget gap resolved, California lawmakers saved the toughest questions for this week as they decide on possible tax exten- sions, the elimination of redevelop- ment agencies and how to tax busi- nesses. A five-year extension of the increases to the sales, personal income and vehicle taxes enacted two years ago is the cornerstone of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to fill a $26.6 bil- lion shortfall. The Democratic gover- nor wants lawmakers to call a special election June 7 so voters can decide the tax question. While no GOP legislators have stepped forward in support of the plan, Brown could have a slightly easier time trying to sway Republi- cans this week now that their state party convention has closed. A con- servative faction within the California Republican Party, which met this weekend in Sacramento, wanted to label as a traitor any GOP lawmaker who votes for the governor’s plan. But the faction withdrew its “traitors” resolution at the last minute, with the author saying she regretted its “nega- tive language.” Republican lawmakers no longer have the convention hanging over their heads, although most have signed pledges against raising taxes. ‘‘The state isn’t broke, it’s broken,’’ Sen. Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, said as he argued against putting the tax extensions on the ballot during a floor debate on the budget plan last week. He and other Republicans argued that more taxes would drive away employers and harm the economy. Brown is resting his hopes on a group of five Republican senators who have left open the possibility of compromise if the governor is willing to bend on pension reforms, a state spending cap and regulatory changes, primarily to state environmental laws. Republicans pose Brown’s top challenge now because he already corralled Democrats behind his spending cuts last Wednesday and Thursday, when many of them noted how difficult it was for them to cast those votes. Most of the nearly $14 billion in cuts, loans and transfers were approved with little or some- times no Republican support. Democrats complained that Republicans appeared unwilling to support either spending cuts or the special election calling for an exten- sion of the tax increases. Republicans remained focused on the structural changes they said are necessary to right the state’s finances over the long term. “The reductions that are being made are not really necessary,” said Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R- Dana Point. “We need to start at the state bureaucracy before we start cut- ting from the really needy.” The cuts targeted welfare recipi- ents, poor families in need of health care for their children, the disabled and college students and their fami- lies. About a dozen activists, some in wheelchairs, disrupted the weekend Republican Party convention at a hotel across from the Capitol, protest- ing the social service cuts and saying the Legislature needs to broaden the state’s tax base. They carried signs reading ‘‘Tax the rich’’ and ‘‘Tax big oil,“ an apparent reference to previous attempts to tax companies that drill for oil in California. Among them was Sheela Gunn- Cushman, who is blind, has cerebral palsy and receives in-home supportive services, Supplemental Security Income and Medi-Cal. She lay on the floor of the hotel Saturday in a show of civil disobedience against the cuts. “I don’t think that money should be taken away from people,” said Gunn-Cushman, 39, a registered Republican. If all Democrats support the gover- nor’s call for a special election, two Republican votes are needed in the Assembly and the Senate to authorize it. The Legislature, which reconvenes Monday, also acted on Brown’s plan to make local governments more responsible for some services now provided by the state. For example, the Legislature voted to give counties more responsibility over inmates and parolees. Democrats said they were frustrat- ed that because Republicans did not agree with all parts of the governor’s budget plan, they said they would not vote for any of it. “Why is it in this case, if you only have half a loaf, you don’t have a loaf at all?” said Bob Blumenfield, a Democrat from Sherman Oaks and chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee. A two-thirds majority vote also is needed to pass SB77, which would eliminate the state’s more than 400 redevelopment agencies, saving $1.7 billion. The Legislature could pass parts of the bill with a majority vote, but the entire package, which involves transferring property tax revenue from redevelopment agencies to schools, police and other local services, requires the supermajority.