Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/279208
By Christopher Weber The Associated Press LOS ANGELES » A pre-dawn earthquake rolled across the Los Angeles basin on Mon- day, rattling nerves and shaking buildings along a 150-mile swath of Southern California but causing no major damage. The 4.4-magnitude quake was centered 2 miles from Encino and 15 miles west- northwest of the downtown civic center, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS seismologist Rob - ert Graves called it a "typ- ical" Southern California quake and said expectations were that damage would be slight, if it occurred at all. Los Angeles police and fire officials said there were no immediate reports of damage. Encino resident Joann Smith described the ini - tial jolt as "a big crash" that shook her house. "My dog got out of bed and she came looking for me," Smith said. "She was shiv - ering terribly." The 6:25 a.m. quake oc- curred at a depth of about 5 miles. There were several aftershocks, including one of 2.7 magnitude that caused very minor shaking, Graves said. Marita Ipaktchia was in the kitchen at her Encino home when the quake hit, sending salt and pepper shakers and collectible glass figurines on her shelves crashing to the ground. "The whole kitchen was shaking," she said "Every - thing broke. Everything came down." The quake was felt as far away as Orange County to the south and Santa Barbara to the north. It was one of the largest to hit Los Angeles since the 6.7-magnitude Northridge quake killed several dozen and caused $25 billion in damage two decades ago, Lucy Jones, a USGS seismol - ogist, told KABC-TV. "It's not that large by California terms. It's the size of earthquake we have across the state once every couple of months," Jones said. "But we haven't had one like this in LA for quite a while." A magnitude 4.7 quake struck near Inglewood in 2009, she said. "I was in bed and I heard the rumbling. The bed was moving," said Rania Jurdi, a school therapist who lives in Glendale. "I jumped out of bed and ran to the kids' r o om . E ver y b o dy w a s asleep." Jurdi said that's only proof that her two teenagers can sleep through anything. Broadcasters live on the air immediately announced that an earthquake was oc - curring. Anchors at KTLA- TV took cover underneath their desk before quickly resuming the broadcast by seeking USGS information. The quake was somewhat unusual because of its loca - tion within the Santa Mon- ica Mountains, a 40-mile- long range that crosses Los Angeles and stretches west through Malibu to Ventura County. SOuthErN CALifOrNiA Earthquake strongly felt across Los Angeles Nick Ut — the AssociAted Press egill hauksson, a caltech seismologist, talks about an early morning earthquake during a news conference at caltech in Pasadena on Monday. By Gene Johnson The Associated Press SEAttLE » A 20-year-old California man has been arrested near the Cana- dian border in Washington state and charged with at- tempting to travel to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists, federal prose- cutors said Monday. Nicholas Teausant, of Acampo, an unincorpo- rated area near Lodi, was taken off a northbound Am- trak bus just short of the border overnight. A crim- inal complaint filed in fed- eral court in Sacramento described him as a student at San Joaquin Delta Com- munity College in Stock- ton and a member of the National Guard who is be- ing discharged for failing to meet basic academic re- quirements. Beginning last spring, Teausant began express- ing on his online photogra- phy account a desire to see America's downfall, saying "I would love to join Allah's army but I don't even know how to start," the complaint said. Later in the year, he took to another online fo - rum to say he hoped to fight in Syria, it said. It wasn't immediately clear if Teausant had a law - yer. He was charged with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist orga - nization and was due to ap- pear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Monday after- noon. The complaint said he had been planning since last October to support the efforts of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has been fighting in Syria's three-year-old civil war and is designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. Investigators said he dis - cussed his scheme at length with a person who turned out to be a paid FBI infor- mant, repeatedly affirming that he was serious about it. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is a break - away organization from al-Qaida that is consid- ered one of the most brutal groups fighting in Syria's civil war, made up largely of non-Syrian Islamic mil - itants. It has seized several areas in Syria as it fights the government of Presi- dent Bashar Assad. Among Teausant's plans was to appear in videos for the group, without cover - ing his face — to be "the one white devil that leaves their face wide open to the cam- era," he was quoted as say- ing in the complaint. The informant put Teau- sant in contact with a "men- tor" — in reality, an under- cover federal agent — who could purportedly approve his efforts to join the ex- tremists. Early this month, the "ment or " bles s ed Teausant's travels, and he boarded a train for Seat - tle Sunday night, the com- plaint said. When the bus arrived in Blaine, just south of Van- couver, British Columbia, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped it and questioned Teausant about where he was headed. He responded that he was traveling to Vancouver and was arrested, the complaint said. The complaint said Teau - sant enlisted in the Na- tional Guard in April 2012, but never underwent basic training because he didn't meet academic require - ments. The maximum penalty for attempting to provide support to a foreign terror - ist organization is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. CrimE Californian arrested in Syria terrorist plot By fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACrAmENtO » Bowing to pressure from within their party, Democrats in the Legislature on Monday abandoned an attempt to repeal California's voter- approved ban on affirma - tive action in the state's higher education system. Assembly Speaker John Perez said he does not have enough support to place the constitutional amendment before voters in November. Instead, he said lawmak - ers will form a task force to study the issue of access in higher education. California voters passed Proposition 209 in 1996, banning the use of race and ethnicity in public univer - sity admissions, state hir- ing and contracting. The amendment, SCA5, was ini- tiated to address the drop- off in black and Latino ad- missions, primarily in the University of California sys- tem. The amendment's au- thor, Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Covina, asked Perez to spike the effort until there was broader debate. "This is really driven most by my interest in mak - ing sure we come up with the best policy," Perez told reporters during a news conference. Asian enrollment in the UC system has been more than double their share of California's total popula - tion since the ban on racial preferences took effect, and SCA5 drew a fierce back- lash within that community. Three Democratic Asian senators who voted for the constitutional amendment when it passed the Senate on a party-line vote in Jan - uary wrote Perez last week asking that he not proceed with debate on the amend- ment. The lawmakers, Sens. Ted Lieu of Torrance, Carol Liu of La Canada Flintridge and Leland Yee of San Francisco, said they had heard from thousands of people expressing con - cerns about the amendment in the weeks after their votes. Many Asians told the lawmakers they wor - ried that reinstating racial preferences in the UC and California State University admissions process would leave their children shut out of the college of their choice. "As lifelong advocates for the Asian American and other communities, we would never support a pol - icy that we believed would negatively impact our chil- dren," the lawmakers said in their letter to Perez, dated March 11. The political calculations for this year's election sea - son also are in play. The proposed constitutional amendment was a point of discussion at this past weekend's California GOP convention, with some Re - publicans planning to use it as a way to drive a wedge between Democrats and Asian voters in this year's campaigns. The amendment can be placed on a statewide bal - lot only with two-thirds votes in both houses of the Legislature. If Democrats lose their supermajorities in just one of the chambers this year, the amendment is unlikely to succeed. SACrAmENtO Democrats scrap plan for affirmative action amendment on ballot The Associated Press YOSEmitE NAtiONAL PArK » A plan to rename a Yosemite National Park peak after the wife of 19th century explorer John Fremont is running into opposition from the National Park Service, which says it does not support the com - memorative naming of land- scape features in national parks, a newspaper reported. A bill in Congress would change the name of 12,000- foot Mammoth Peak to Mount Jessie Benton Fre - mont, the Fresno Bee re- ported last week. The peak is Yosemite's sixth highest and lies in the park's east. Jessie Fremont, born in 1824, was a strong advocate of preserving Yosemite Val - ley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees. She chronicled her husband, John Fremont's, expeditions to the West and was a cham - pion of the country's west- ward expansion. "The naming of the peak is an important and overdue step in recognizing her im - portant contributions to Cal- ifornia and the nation," said Rep. Tom McClintock, who is pushing for the legisla- tion. His Congressional dis- trict includes Yosemite Na- tional Park. But the National Park Service says in addition to generally discouraging such commemorative nam - ing, Jessie Fremont has no link to Mammoth Peak. "There should be a com- pelling justification for the recognition and a strong, direct association between the landscape feature and the person being commem - orated," National Park Ser- vice Associate Director Vic- tor Knox testified last month. CALifOrNiA Officials oppose plan to rename Yosemite park peak Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K Members Welcome N O TIFIC A TIO N O F EVID EN TIA R Y H EA R IN G S R EG A R D IN G PA C IFIC G A S A N D ELECTRIC COMPANY'S SUPPLEMENTAL FILING FOR SUMMER 2014 RESIDENTIAL ELEC TR IC R A TE R EFO R M (R .12-06-013,Phase 2) M arch 24-26,2014 from 9:30 a.m .– 4:00 p.m .atthe address below : C alifornia Public U tilities C om m ission C ourtroom State O ffice Building 505 Van N ess Avenue San Francisco,C A 94102 O n January 28, 2014, Pacific G as and Electric C om pany (PG &E) provided the C alifornia Public U tilities C om m ission (C PU C ) a supplem entalrequestto change residentialrates,to be effective summer of 2014. PG&E's request complies with a ruling from the CPUC inviting electric utilities to file proposals that w illbetter align rates w ith the actualcosts ofproviding electric service and to sim plify rate plans. A B O U T TH IS PR O PO SA L O n O ctober7,2013,Assem bly Bill327 (AB 327)w as signed into law .This new law authorizes the C PU C to consider several changes to California's electricity rate structure. Through this filing, PG &E is requesting approval to begin reform ing its residential electric rate structure consistentw ith AB 327. PG&E's summer 2014 rate reform proposal includes: Increases to tier1 and tier2 rates to provide fordecreases fortier3 and 4 rates for standard r esidentialand tim e-of-use rate plans. Increases to tier 1, 2, and 3 rates for residential custom ers on the C alifornia Alternate R ates forEnergy (C AR E)program .This proposed change is an initialstep to reduce the C AR E discountto bring the discountcloserto the 30-35 percentrange required by AB 327. The chartbelow illustrates the proposed changes in rates. N on-C A R E C A R E C urrent ($/kW h) Proposed ($/kW h) Proposed R ate C hange C urrent ($/kW h) Proposed ($/kW h) Proposed R ate C hange Tier1 $0.136 $0.147 $0.011 $0.086 $0.091 $0.005 Tier2 $0.155 $0.170 $0.015 $0.099 $0.104 $0.005 Tier3 $0.314 $0.286 -$0.028 $0.14 $0.148 $0.008 Tier4 $0.354 $0.346 -$0.008 PG&E's proposal will not change the amount of total revenues PG&E collects. A residential custom erliving in clim ate zone X and using 550 kW h perm onth w ould see a m onthly increase of $9.95 (or 11 percent) from $89.81 to $99.76. If approved by the C PU C , som e residential custom ers w ould see billincreases and others w illsee billdecreases,depending upon their m onthly usage levels and theirrate plan. EVID EN TIA R Y H EA R IN G S Evidentiary hearings are scheduled for this proceeding. At the hearings, PG &E and other form alparties to the proceeding presenttheir evidence through testim ony and are subjectto cross-exam ination before an Adm inistrative Law Judge. The hearings are open to the public,but only those w ho are form alparties are perm itted to present evidence and/or cross-exam ine w itnesses.Afterconsidering allproposals and evidence presented during the formal process, the Judge will issue a proposed decision which may accept PG&E's proposal, m odify it or reject it. The C om m issione rs m ay also issue alternate decisions based on the record. The proposed decision and any alternates w ill be acted upon at a C PU C voting m eeting w here the C om m issioners w illdecide w hether to adoptthe proposed or an alternate decision. The C om m ission C ourtroom is w heelchair accessible. If you w ish to attend and need specialized accommodations, please contact the Public Advisor's Office at least three business days priorto the hearing date.A ny changes to the dates,tim es,and locations of the hearings w illbe posted to the CPUC's Daily Calendar. If you would like a copy of PG&E's supplemental filing and exhibits, please write to: PG&E, R esidentialR ate R eform (R .12-06-013,Phase 2)P.O .Box 7442,San Francisco,C A 94120.A copy of PG&E's supplemental filing and exhibits are also available for review at the C PU C , 505 Van N ess Avenue,San Francisco,C A 94102,M onday – Friday,8 a.m .- noon.PG &E's supplem ental filing (w ithout exhibits) is available on the CPUC's website at w w w .cpuc.ca.gov/puc. PU B LIC C O M M EN TS A N D O PIN IO N S A R E IM PO R TA N T TO TH E C PU C As part of its decision-m aking process, the C PU C is interested in your public com m ents or opinions on any aspect of the company's operations, including proposed rates, service quality or any other issue of concern. If you are w riting a letter or sending an e-m ailto the Public Advisor's Office regarding this proposed supplemental filing, please include the proceeding num ber(R .12-06-013,Phase 2)to w hich you are referring. Allcom m ents w illbe circulated to the C om m issioners, the assigned Judge, and other appropriate C PU C staff. All inform al comments are also provided to the CPUC's Formal Files Office as part of the formal public com m entfile forthis proceeding. Please send alle-m ails orw ritten correspondence regarding yourcom m ents and opinions to the address listed below : The Public Advisor's Office C alifornia Public U tilities C om m ission 505 Van N ess Avenue,R oom 2103 San Francisco,C A 94102 E-M ail:public.advisor@ cpuc.ca.gov 1-866-849-8390 (toll-free)or1-415-703-2074 1-866-836-7825 (toll-free)orTTY 1-415-703-5282 We Do That 1375 Montgomery Rd. Red Bluff, CA 530 529-0797 Servicing your disposal needs in Tehama County, and the City of Red Bluff including Residential, Commercial, and Temporary bin services. GREEN WASTE OF TEHAMA A WASTE CONNECTIONS COMPANY 530-528-8500 1805 AIRPORT BLVD. RED BLUFF, CA GreenWaste is a proud supporter of local events. | NEWS | redBLUFFdAiLYNeWs.coM tUesdAY, MArch 18, 2014 8 A