Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/344747
GeorgeWill'scolumnin Thursday's edition was cut off. The last two para- graphs of the column are as follows: This certainly seems sen- sible as applied to the lead plaintiff, a woman caring for her severely disabled son. Because the court has now recognized her First Amendment freedom of association — which includes the freedom not to associate — and freedom from compelled speech, she no longer will be required to pay fees to a union she refuses to join. SEIU will have to look elsewhere for the approxi- mately $10million in fees it has siphoned annually from people like her. This is real campaign finance reform. Today's court — nine fine minds producing writ- ten explanations of their reasoning about important principles — has its own discord. It is, nevertheless, a lagoon of logic in the forest primeval of today's overheated politics and overbearing government. Twice last week the court played its indispensable role as constable, polic- ing portions of this forest where progressivism has produced government guilty of gratuitous bul- lying. The Daily News regrets the error. Itisthepolicyofthe Daily News to correct as quickly as possible all errors in fact that have been published in the newspaper. If you believe a factual error has been made in a news story, call 527-2151, Ext. 112. CORRECTION inwhateverway...thatthey want to vote, that they have an interest in voting, that's the only test that should be applied nationwide," Thomas F. Coleman, the group's legal director, said at a news conference out- side the federal courthouse, echoing a recommendation from the American Bar As- sociation. At issue in the California case is access to the ballot box for adults who enter so- called limited conservator- ships, legal arrangements in which parents or guard- ians assume the right to make certain decisions for people who lack the ability to manage their financial and medical affairs. In the course of taking that step in court, voting rights are rou- tinely voided, according to the advocacy group. California has over 40,000 such cases, and those covered by the ar- rangements usually live with their families or in group homes. A recent sam- ple of 61 cases by the advo- cacy group in Los Angeles County found that 90 per- cent of the people covered by limited conservatorships had been disqualified from voting. The complaint says judges in Los Angeles Su- perior Court use literacy tests to determine if adults in limited conservatorships should have voting rights, a violation of the federal Vot- ing Rights Act. It also says that judges and court-ap- pointed attorneys violate federal laws that allow people with disabilities to have assistance to complete voter-registration forms and cast ballots. "Autism is a broad spec- trum, and there can be low skills and there can be high skills. But what I ob- served was that people tend to just dismiss it as though they have no skills," Te- resa Thompson, whose son has autism and whose case helped prompt the com- plaint, said in a videotaped statement. Los Angeles Supe- rior Court spokeswoman Mary Eckhardt Hearn said Wednesday she had not seen the complaint and de- clined comment. The complaint could trig- ger an investigation by the Justice Department. It also asks Superior Court to re- scind thousands of voter- disqualification notices it has issued in those cases over a decade. For years, advocates brought attention to the obstacles to voting faced by the physically disabled. More recently, the focus has shifted to the mentally or developmentally disabled, who advocates say have long been stigmatized in the voting process. In the past, advocates in Missouri sued to make it easier for people un- der guardianship for men- tal disabilities to vote, and New Jersey voters in 2007 stripped language from the state Constitution that held "no idiot or insane person shall enjoy the right of suf- frage." All but about a dozen states have some type of law limiting voting rights for in- dividuals based on compe- tence. But how those laws are enforced varies widely, advocates say. A 2007 Bar Association report concluded that "ex- cluding the broad and in- definite category of persons with mental incapacities is not consistent with either the constitutional right to vote ... or the current un- derstanding of mental ca- pacity." The California com- plaint could create a test- ing ground for such cases. State election law says a person is considered men- tally incompetent and dis- qualified from voting if he or she cannot complete a voter-registration form, which the complaint ar- gues is an illegal literacy test. "There is this constant struggle to make sure ev- eryone can vote privately and independently, regard- less of disability," said Cur- tis Decker, executive direc- tor of the National Disabil- ity Rights Network. Voting FROMPAGE1 Cunningham: Herbert Edward Cunningham, 96, of Red Bluff died Thurs- day, July 10at his home. Arrangements are under the direction of Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers. Published Friday, July 11, 2014in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Death notices must be provided by mortuar- ies to the news depart- ment, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic informa- tion about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Clas- sified advertising depart- ment. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortu- aries or by families of the deceased and include on- line publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. Death notices additional carriers estab- lishing facilities at this lo- cation a new and separate lease agreement would have to be agreed to by the city and that particu- lar carrier," according to a city staff document. The tower would re- place an existing light pole at the park's south- west baseball field, and the existing light stan- dard would be remounted on the cell tower, accord- ing to the city. The city of Corning would receive $16,200 per year from Verizon, with a 2 percent annual increase from the previous year's rental. A public hearing on Ve- rizon's use permit applica- tion was held June 17 be- fore the Planning Com- mission, which approved the permit on three con- ditions, including paint- ing the new pole to match existing light poles at the baseball field, adding a net to cover the unmanned facility to prevent balls from falling in the area, and complying with local, state and federal regula- tions, "especially those im- posed by the city of Corn- ing building and fire de- partments," according to the staff document. The owners of DM- Tech, an Internet service provider based in Corn- ing, raised concerns at the City Council's May 27 meeting that its operation could potentially interfere with Verizon's licensed fre- quency, leading to a shut down of services to about 1,000 of its customers. DM-Tech's wireless In- ternet services are pro- vided over frequencies not regulated by the Federal Communications Com- mission known as the un- licensed spectrum, which is available for public use. Because the DM-Tech's equipment could possi- bly interfere with Verizon Wireless' private licensed frequency, the compa- ny's owners said it's possi- ble that a portion of their operation could be shut down. While DM-Tech's own- ers, Richard and Melody Poisson, did not attend Tuesday's meeting, it ap- peared that those fears had been allayed after talks between them, city staff and Verizon officials. Verizon FROM PAGE 1 Under questioning by the prosecution, a neighbor of Hougland's, Donny Gran- field, said he heard noises from Hougland's residence, walked out his front door and saw two people stand- ing on a porch across the street in the early-morn- ing hours of June 27 last year. Granfield said Fors- eth then walked across the street and said, "Help me," and, "Call 911." He added that he noticed blood. Granfield said Hougland was about five feet away from Forseth, and said to go ahead and call 911 and that he would help Forseth. A 911 recording was played for the jury in which Granfield could be heard saying that it looked like Forseth's throat had been slit, and that blood was pouring out. Under questioning by the defense, Granfield said he did not see Hougland stab Forseth or hold a knife. Another neighbor testi- fied that he was awoken by yelling and screaming, and saw Hougland and Forseth running in the street from his bedroom window, but also didn't see anyone get stabbed. Red Bluff police detec- tive Aaron Murray, one of the first police officers to respond to the incident, re- counted a "strange" scene when he arrived. Murray said he came upon two men in a seated position on a porch, and said it looked like one of them was applying pressure to the other's neck wound. Murray said he let Houg- land continue to give aid to Forseth, and that Houg- land said he had served as a medic in Afghanistan. Murray said Hougland appeared calm, wasn't cry- ing, and didn't seem up- set. He added that there was a trail a blood lead- ing to Hougland's resi- dence across the street, and a large amount of blood found on Hougland's garage floor when he was perform- ing a sweep to make sure the scene was safe. He added that he did not see Forseth move or talk. Red Bluff firefighter Brian Quigley testified that when he arrived at the scene on Pinon Way he no- ticed a person slumped over on Granfield's doorstep who seemed lifeless and had a cut to his neck. He also no- ticed a person, identified as Hougland, sitting in a chair on the doorstep. Quigley said Hougland mentioned that he had suf- fered a couple stab wounds. Quigley said Hougland had three "small cuts" that did not appear life-threaten- ing, and that when he asked Hougland how he was feel- ing, Hougland said, "I just killed my best friend. How do you think I'm feeling?" Under questioning by the defense, Quigley said Houg- land said that he was trying to stop Forseth from killing himself and was stabbed by Forseth. Quigley said he couldn't say if Hougland's wounds looked defensive. Mark Super, a doctor who works for the Merced County Sheriff's Office and who was hired by the Te- hama County Sheriff's De- partment to perform Fors- eth's autopsy, said that Forseth had wounds on his left hand that could mean he knew he was aware he was being attacked and tried to react defensively. He added that Forseth had four stab wound to his chest in a tight group, and cuts to his neck that would have greatly hampered his ability to speak, or remain conscious for more than 30 seconds. Super said that all things are possible, but that it is his opinion that Forseth wouldn't have been able to formulate words, or walk across the street with the cut wounds he suffered to his neck. D e fen s e at t or ne y Griffith asked Super who hired him to perform Fors- eth's autopsy, and whether he typically testifies for the prosection. Super said he was hired by the Te- hama County Sheriff's De- partment, and most of the time testifies for prosecut- ing attorneys. The prosection rested Thursday, and Judge Matt McGlynn told the jurors that one more expert wit- ness is expected to be called when the trial re- sumes Friday at 10:45 a.m. McGlynn said the case could be submitted to ju- rors by Friday afternoon. The defendant remains in custody. Trial FROM PAGE 1 By Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown announced Thurs- day that he signed legisla- tion creating a $420 mil- lion tax credit for aero- space contractor Lockheed Martin in a bill that also in- cludes other tax incentives apparently designed to ben- efit California-based elec- tric car maker Tesla Mo- tors Inc. California is one of five states competing for a $5 billion Tesla battery manu- facturing plant, but Brown's administration has largely declined to discuss what the state is doing to persuade the company to build it in its home state. A legislative debate that lasted for hours July 3 over AB2389 by Assemblyman Steve Fox, D-Palmdale, focused nearly entirely on the 15-year tax incen- tive for Lockheed Martin Corp., which is bidding for a $55 billion federal aero- space contract. Competitor Northrop Grumman Corp. complained it was unfair. The tax changes, includ- ing the language helping battery manufacturers, were sought by the gover- nor in the final days be- fore the Legislature broke for its summer recess. That prompted the incoming leader of the state Senate, Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, to call it a "jam job." The changes sought by the Brown administration included adding language covering tax credits for a range of industries, but no companies are specifically named. The word "battery" never appears in the bill's language, but is referenced in an analysis prepared by the Senate Appropriations Committee dated July 3, the last legislative business day before the summer break and the same day lawmak- ers voted on it. The analysis said tax re- lief would be available to companies that fall under federal NAICS manufac- turing code 3359, which in- cludes "battery manufac- turing." BUSINESS Gov. Jerry Brown signs tax bill benefiting Tesla RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Assemblyman Steve Fox, D-Palmdale, listens to the state Senate debate his measure to give a tax credit to an aerospace contractor at the Capitol in Sacramento on July 3. MOKIE(LILLIANKELUCHE)SULZER November 4, 1943 ~ October 19, 2013 Mokie was born to Robert and Reva Keluche on Novem- ber 4, 1943, she lived most of her life in Red Bluff. She worked for Bell-Carter for 30 years until retirement. Mokie passed away October 19, 2013. Mokie is preceeded in death by her parents and brother Mark Keluche, sister Charlotte Eveland and grandsons Dominic Ramirez and Trinnity Pryatel. Mokie leaves behind sister Roberta (Keluche) and Junior Anderson; daughters Tammy Sulzer, Meana (Sulzer) Pryatel, son-in-law Adam, son's Max Sulzer, Cristopher Ramirez and daughter-in-law Amanda; grandchildren Pey- ton Sulzer, Trace Sulzer, Mark Sulzer, Laney Sulzer and Bennett Ramirez, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. A celebration of Life will be held July 19, 2014 at 12:00pm at Forward Park. It's a potluck, bring chairs, a dish and memories. Burial of ashes will be held at a lat- er date. Obituaries The family of Roger"Perk"Perkins is having a celebration of life for Perk's family & many friends. Come lift a glass & share a nibble on July 12 th from 2-6 pm at Indian Oaks Ranch 21930 So.Wallen Rd., Red Bluff Bringyourselfandyour"Perk"storiestoshare 100JacksonStreet, Red Bluff (530) 529-1220 NEW Membership Specials CallorComeIn for details Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 7 A