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nizance, and one was re- manded to jail without bail until his next court appear- ance. Their identities were not released because they were arrested on civil war- rants. More arrests are ex- pected and this first sweep focused on people who owed large sums of money or who have not complied with orders to appear in court. In Tehama County, there are more than 3,300 cases in which back child sup- port is owed, according to the District Attorney's Of- fice. Payments are not be- ing made in 43 percent of those cases. "I think it's a credit to the local law enforce- ment agencies that partic- ipated, that they're mak- ing a statement," said Tonya Moore, director of the county's Child Support Services department. "You need to take care of your children, and this is important." District Attorney's in- vestigators, Corning Police and the Tehama County Sheriff's Department as- sisted with the sweep. Moore said there can be a variety of barriers keep- ing people from paying child support, such as a los- ing a job, but those people should keep in contact with their case manager and the child support services de- partment. "That will help us get them the most reasonable order, and hopefully make them successful in provid- ing for their child," Moore said. "Which is the bottom line." The sweep was the first of its kind in more than 10 years. Cohen added that based on the results, more sweeps will be carried out in and outside Tehama County. "It wasn't something we were unwilling to do, it was something we needed to work in coordination with the Department of Child Support on," Cohen said. The sweep was coordi- nated over the past several months, Cohen said. Sweep FROMPAGE1 playground equipment. Metteer Elementary School is set to receive $15,000 for the purchase of tables and chairs for the establishment of a new Sci- ence, Technology, Engi- neering and Mathematics Smart Lab. Two other Tehama County organizations re- ceived money. The Tehama County Re- source Conservation Dis- trict will receive $49,800 for the purchase and in- stallation of a footbridge and walking trails. The Tehama County Museum Foundation was awarded $40,000 for ren- ovations and repairs at the museum. More than $12 million in grants has been awarded by the Shasta Regional Com- munity Foundation since 2000. The McConnell Fund was established in 2001. It accepts grant requests up to $50,000 from eligible or- ganizations in Shasta, Sis- kiyou, Modoc, Trinity and Tehama counties. Volunteer panelists from the counties review the pro- posals, conduct site vis- its and make recommen- dations to the Community Foundation board of direc- tors, which oversees the McConnell Fund. Donation FROM PAGE 1 By Jim Kuhnhenn TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Setting the stage for upcoming restric- tions on coal-fired power plants, the Obama admin- istration is making a con- certed effort to cast its en- ergy policy as an economic success that is creating jobs, securing the nation against international upheavals and shifting energy use to cleaner sources. In a 42-page report re- leased Thursday, the White House argues that signif- icant increases in the do- mestic production of natu- ral gas and reductions in oil consumption have better po- sitioned the United States to advance its economic and en- vironmental goals. Few of the report's con- clusions are new, but it in- cludes a detailed analysis of how past reliance on petro- leum imports made the U.S. economy especially suscepti- ble to oil price shocks, a vul- nerability that White House economists say has been di- minished by a reduced U.S. demand for foreign oil. The report, obtained in advance by The Associated Press, is designed to inoc- ulate the administration against criticism that new Environmental Protection Agency regulations on coal- fired power plants, expected to be unveiled Monday, will increase electricity costs, cost jobs and be a drag on economic growth. Conser- vatives and business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have argued that the reductions in emissions will be too small and the con- sequences to the economy too large to justify new re- strictions. While the White House economic report does not address those criticisms di- rectly, it says greater domes- tic energy production, the use of wind and solar power and the reduction in oil con- sumption "have had substan- tial economic and energy se- curity benefits, and they are helping to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sec- tor and thereby tackle the challenge posed by climate change." A quarter of the report is devoted to analyzing the eco- nomic impact of the United States' shift from import- ing more energy than it pro- duced to producing more than it imports. The White House makes the case that the U.S. economy is bet- ter protected from high oil prices now than before. So, if an upheaval occurs in an oil-producing country and sends prices soaring, U.S. consumers would still pay the higher costs at the pump, creating adverse eco- nomic reverberations. But because the U.S. is produc- ing more than it imports, a greater portion of that con- sumer spending would stay in the U.S. and contribute to the economy instead of fleeing overseas. In theory, U.S. drillers would get more money, pay more in taxes and create jobs to find more oil. That said, the U.S. re- mains a top oil importer, sec- ond only to China, and is the No. 1 consumer of oil. The White House report offers a lengthy list of Obama energy initiatives, ranging from new vehicle fuel econ- omy standards to electric plants powered by renew- able energy sources, that have contributed to less re- liance on foreign oil. It also cites energy-efficient build- ing projects and reduced processing time for onshore drilling permits and issu- ance of new offshore per- mits. Yet many of the trends that buttress the adminis- tration's case are attribut- able to dramatic techno- logical advances that have vastly expanded the extrac- tion of domestic natural gas and oil. The main process, called hydraulic fracturing, has caused a furor within the environmental movement. Natural gas is cleaner- burning than coal or oil, and the White House has em- braced it as a "transitional fuel." The report concedes "extraction of natural gas raises some environmental concerns," and says the ad- ministration supports "safe and responsible develop- ment." In addition, some of the positive trends predate Obama's presidency, which began in 2009. The report acknowledges that the de- cline in petroleum consump- tion, for example, began in 2006, though it attributes much of the initial decline to the start of the recession. Meanwhile, natural gas con- sumption has risen 18 per- cent since 2005. WHITE HOUSE Obama touts energy policies CAROLYNKASTER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama waves as he walks from the Marine One helicopter to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. By Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO The state Assembly on Thursday re- jected a medical marijuana regulation bill, a day after competing legislation pre- ferred by local governments and law enforcement sailed unanimously through the Senate. The bill, AB1894, failed on a 26-31 vote following years of unsuccessful attempts to rein in the free-wheeling in- dustry. "The way things are now are not acceptable," said Assemblyman Tom Ammi- ano, D-San Francisco, who has led regulation efforts. "There is chaos; there is no order. It allows for so many bad actors that the whole is- sue becomes besmirched." In 1996, California voters made the state the first to le- galize marijuana for medic- inal use. Lawmakers said Thursday that a lack of reg- ulations caused dispensa- ries to pop up near schools and proliferate to the ex- tent that they are more nu- merous than coffee shops on some streets. Ammiano's bill would have placed statewide reg- ulations on marijuana, simi- lar to the way alcohol is reg- ulated. A new entity through the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control would be in charge of ensuring com- pliance. That attracted op- position from the League of California Cities and law enforcement groups, which said they did not trust the agency's track record with shutting down problematic liquor stores. The groups sought to maintain local control of dispensaries. The city as- sociation also opposed pro- visions that would allow the agency to regulate dispen- sary signs and the number of dispensaries in each ju- risdiction. The California Police Chiefs Association and the league instead supported SB1262 after blocking previ- ous attempts to impose uni- form, statewide regulations. That bill, by Sen. Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, re- quires the state Depart- ment of Consumer Affairs to license only those dispen- saries that receive permits from local governments. Ammiano's bill would have preserved local re- strictions and bans, but not explicitly require permits. Correa's bill also em- phasized security mea- sures in dispensaries and tighter controls on doctors prescribing marijuana, al- though marijuana activists pressured him to remove provisions requiring train- ing. While marijuana activists are neutral on Correa's bill, they favor a more compre- hensive regulation scheme similar to those in place in Colorado and Washington to avert federal raids. "It needs to be more than on paper and enforceable and funded in order to stop federal interference," said Glenn Backes, a consultant with California Cannabis In- dustry Association. Ammiano's bill included provisions for regulating medical marijuana pack- aging and provided more money and personnel for en- forcing rules, Backes said. Correa's bill heads to the Assembly, where it likely will come before the As- sembly Public Safety Com- mittee, which is chaired by Ammiano. Carlos Alcala, a spokesman for Ammiano, says his office might try and work with Correa to amend his bill or pursue new legis- lation next year. Follow Fenit Nirappil on Twitter at http:/www.twit- ter.com/FenitN STATE ASSEMBLY 26-31 vote: Legislature splits on medical marijuana bills By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A plan to provide preschool programs for children in low-income families passed the state Senate on Thursday. But it represents a proposal that is far less than what its author had originally intended. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacra- mento, modified his original $1 billion-plus proposal for universal preschool, which would have made the pro- gram available to all Cali- fornia children. His revised SB837 would still offer pre-kindergar- ten to more than 234,000 children, nearly half of all 4-year-olds in California, he said. The Senate Budget Com- mittee last week approved a companion proposal that would cost a projected $378 million in its first year. Steinberg said his hope is to find the money in the state's $107.8 billion bud- get before the Legislature passes a spending plan by June 15. The bill now goes to the Assembly, where he said it could be used if pre-K is not funded in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The program would be "a major advance in early child- hood education" that can be accomplished with a "rel- atively limited amount of additional public dollars," Steinberg said. The measure passed on a 26-10 vote, with one Re- publican — Sen. Anthony Cannella of Ceres — joining Democrats in support. Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, said the state might better spend its education money on programs to keep teen- agers from dropping out of school or paying down the state's long-term debt. He also cited studies sug- gesting that the benefits from preschool largely dis- appear by the time children reach fourth grade. Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said the Brown administration is generally concerned about the Legislature's inten- tions to spend money that is largely expected to flow from an increase in revenue from the volatile capital gains tax. That revenue could dwindle again in future years if the economy cools. The benefits of spend- ing money on the preschool program outweigh the risks, supporters said. Children who start learning early are more likely to stay in school and less likely to get in trou- ble, they said. "We cannot afford not to do this," said Sen. Hannah- Beth Jackson, D-Santa Bar- bara, citing the need to keep up with similar programs in other industrialized na- tions. "We would be penny- wise and indeed pound fool- ish not to start this work yes- terday." SENATE Scaled-down preschool proposal passes In Tehama County, there are more than 3,300 cases in which back child support is owed, according to the District Attorney's Office. Payments are not being made in 43 percent of those cases. 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