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By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press GRANTS PASS, ORe. » Inves- tigators are trying to deter- mine if a suspect's path of bloodshed started with the slaying of an elderly Oregon man. They know it ended with his death in a police shootout on the Northern California coast, shortly af - ter he killed a sheriff's dep- uty. The cause of the rampage remained unclear Thursday, Mendocino County sher - iff's Capt. Greg Van Patten said as colleagues mourned one of their own. "Today is much harder than yesterday to grasp," he said. In addition to the shoot - out in California, Eugene, Ore., police said Ricardo Antonio Chaney, 32, was also "more likely than not" responsible for the slay - ing of 79-year-old George Bundy Wasson, a retired University of Oregon an- thropology instructor and Coquille Tribe elder. Eu- gene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said he was found shot to death in his burning house early Wednesday morning. McLaughlin would not di - vulge any more details of the slaying of Wasson, who lived alone. Chaney had been con- sidered a person of interest by police because he knew Wasson's family. Less than an hour after the fire was discovered, po - lice say Chaney pulled a gun on two men in their 20s out- side their home near the uni- versity's football stadium, lo- cated about five miles away, and sped off in their 2006 black BMW 330i sedan. Ini- tially forced into the trunk, the men managed to escape in the parking lot and called 911. Two weeks earlier, po - lice had questioned Chaney after tracing a stolen cell- phone to the location where he was living in his car next to a city park, according to the police website. After impounding the car, police searched it and found some methampheta mine, sev - eral guns, including a mod- ified AR-15 assault-style ri- fle, and body armor. Chaney was booked into the jail, but released the same day with- out being charged. The district attorney did not respond to an email ask- ing why no charges were filed, but Lane County has had to lay off prosecutors due to declining funding. About 10 hours after the carjacking, the sheriff's of - fice received a call from an employee of Confusion Hill, a tourist attraction along Highway 101 that of - fers train rides through red- woods. John Mills, 55, a front- desk worker, said he had found a man — later identi - fied by authorities as Chaney — urinating outside a bath- room in a fenced park area. When Mills told him to leave, Chaney cursed and briefly drove away, but then re - turned with a double-bar- reled shotgun, Mills said. "Things went sideways from there," said Mills, who grabbed a baton and hit the shotgun as the attacker came through the entrance, causing the weapon to fire a round into the ground. Mills said Chaney then pointed the shotgun di - rectly at him. Mills said he dropped down and rolled into a kitchen door, as an- other round was fired. Mills said he got a pistol from the kitchen and shot back at Chaney, who fled to his car and drove away. "Unfortunately, my aim wasn't too good. If I had been better, then he might not have made it to do what he did later," Mills told The As - sociated Press on Thursday. Chaney was spotted about an hour later by a deputy but got away during a chase that reached speeds of more than 100 mph. He was en - countered by Del Fioren- tino in Cleone, a rural area with a mix of homes, forest and open fields, a little be- fore noon Wednesday, about 12 hours since Wasson was found dead. A l l ma n sa id Cha ney opened fire with an AK-47- style assault rif le, spray - ing Del Fiorentino's vehi- cle with bullets. Fort Bragg police Lt. John Naulty, who was searching for Chaney nearby, heard the gunfire and found Chaney going through the deputy's vehi - cle, the sheriff said. Chaney fired six or seven rounds at Naulty, who re- turned fire, Allman said. Chaney was later found dead. dePuTy SlAyiNG Police: Likely link to rampage, Oregon death By Carla K. Johnson The Associated Press CHiCAGO » For uninsured people, the nation's new health care law may offer an escape from worry about unexpected, astronomical medical bills. But for Steph - anie Payne of St. Louis, who already had good insurance, the law could offer another kind of escape: the chance to quit her job. At 62, Payne has worked for three decades as a nurse, most recently trav - eling house to house caring for 30 elderly and disabled patients. But she's ready to leave that behind, including the job-based health bene - fits, to move to Oregon and promote her self-published book. She envisions herself blogging, doing radio inter - views and speaking to se- niors groups. "I want the freedom to fit that into my day without squeezing it into my day," she said. One of the selling points of the new health care plan, which has a March 31 en - rollment deadline, is that it breaks the link between af- fordable health insurance and having a job with ben- efits. Payne believes she'll be able to replace her cur- rent coverage with a $400- to $500-a-month plan on Or- egon's version of the new in- surance exchange system set up under the law. Federal experts believe the new insurance option will be a powerful tempta - tion for a lot of job-weary workers ready to bail out. Last month, congressio- nal budget analysts esti- mated that within 10 years, the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers could be working less because of the expanded coverage. But is the new option a gamble? That's a matter of debate, not only among the politicians who are still argu - ing furiously over the law's merits, but among econo- mists and industry experts. "We don't know what the future of exchange insur- ance will be," said econo- mist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a center- right public policy insti - tute. Premiums should re- main stable if enrollment picks up and broadens to in- clude younger, healthier peo- ple. But if older, sicker peo- ple are the vast majority of customers, prices eventually could spike. For Mike Morucci, 50, the idea of leaving his informa - tion technology job and its health benefits is "terrify- ing," he said. But he decided to take the plunge after reviewing the range of coverage avail - able at different price points. Tax credits will help those with moderate incomes pay their insurance premiums. And coverage is guaranteed even for those with pre-ex - isting conditions. Twenty- five states also agreed to ex- pand their Medicaid pro- grams, providing health care for more low-income people. "It definitely freed up my thinking when I thought, 'Do I want to give this a go?'" Morucci, of Ellicott City, Md. Morucci has been writ - ing scripts at night and on weekends for four years and is on a team of writers for a web-based comedy series ti - tled "Click!" launching this spring. Before giving notice at the job he had held for 18 years, he made a spreadsheet of health plans available on the Maryland exchange and found one for $650 a month to cover him and his 23-year- ol d da ug ht er . "I turned 50, so for me it's time to focus on my passion instead of my paycheck," he said. The United States has been unique among industrialized nations in tying insurance and employment closely, said labor economist Craig Garth - waite of Northwestern Uni- versity, who co-authored a fre- quently cited study on how the health law may break what's known as "job lock." Even in Germany and Japan, where insurance remains private, people who can't afford it get public assistance and cover - age is guaranteed. However, one rub may be the cost. The insurance on the new marketplace is often more expensive than what a worker has now because employers often make large contributions to premiums. Th e av er ag e an nu al p re - mium paid by an employee is $999, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey. In the new markets, the average annual premium is $5,558 for a 50-year-old and $8,435 for a 60-year-old, according to an analysis run fo r Th e As soc ia te d Pr es s by HealthPocket. AffORdABle CARe ACT Workers pondering the I-Quit option Kelli Kennedy — The AssociATed Press Anthony rouzier helps Valentina Adarraga, 22, sign up for the Affordable care Act in Miami on Friday. By Terry Collins The Associated Press OAKlANd » An Iraq War veteran whose skull was fractured during an Occupy Oakland protest when he was hit by a beanbag round fired by police has reached a $4.5 million agreement to settle a federal lawsuit with the city of Oakland, his law - yers and city officials an- nounced Friday. Scott Olsen, 26, sued the city in 2012 for medical ex- penses and injuries that also included a fractured verte- brae and hemorrhaging of the brain. Olsen was among more than 1,000 demon- strators protesting the po- lice clearing of an Occupy Oakland encampment when struck by a beanbag fired by an officer outside City Hall on Oct. 25, 2011. Olsen, who served two tours of duty as a U.S. Ma - rine in Iraq, suffered per- manent brain injuries and has not been able to return to his career as a computer systems administrator, his attorney Rachel Lederman said Friday. Olsen's lawyers said police investigators concluded he was struck by the round that was fired by an officer less than 30 feet away during the 2011 clash. The incident, which was recorded and vent viral on the Internet, became a flashpoint for the Occupy Oakland movement and generated outrage within the city and abroad. OCCuPy OAKlANd Lawyer: Veteran reaches $4.5M settlement with city By Michael R. Blood The Associated Press lOS ANGeleS » Talks are underway to resolve a costly question at the shut- tered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California — who pays a bill that could top $3 billion, officials dis - closed Friday. Edison International — the parent company of plant operator Southern Califor - nia Edison — said in a gov- ernment filing that a meet- ing would be held next week to discuss details of a pos- sible deal. SCE and minority owner San Diego Gas & Electric Co. have been negotiating with consumer advocates over how to divide a long list of costs from repairs and inspections at the now- closed reactors to replace - ment power once the plant shut down. At issue has been who should take the hit — com - pany shareholders or rate- payers. The twin-domed plant between San Diego and Los Angeles was closed perma - nently by Edison last year after a long and costly fight over whether it was safe to restart. The plant hadn't produced electricity since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the dis - covery of extensive damage to tubing that carried ra- dioactive water. SOuTHeRN CAlifORNiA Utility in talks over closed-nuke plant costs We Do That 1375 Montgomery Rd. Red Bluff, CA 530 529-0797 530-366-3166 545 Adobe Rd. Red Bluff www.redbluffdodge.com Get loans for bills, personal debt consolidations, medical emergencies Business, 1st or 2nd mortgages, home renovations, vehicles, etc. 24 HRS. IMMEDIATE RESPONSE CALL: 1-818-666-8549 NEED FAST CASH NOW? 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. sATurdAy, MArch 22, 2014 redBluFFdAilyneWs.coM | NEWS | 7 A