Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/387874
Ruff:JohnRuff,93,ofPaskentadied Wednesday, Sept. 24in Paskenta. Ar- rangements are under the direction of Affordable Mortuary. Published Friday, Sept. 26, 2014in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Deathnoticesmustbeprovidedby mortuaries to the news department, are published at no charge, and fea- ture only specific basic information about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Classified ad- vertising department. Paid obituar- ies may be placed by mortuaries or by families of the deceased and in- clude online publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run mul- tiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. DEATHNOTICES son's current hourly rate at $75 per hour, which City Manager John Brewer said is a "bargain." Andersonhasbeenanen- gineering consultant to the city for more than 45 years, starting in 1968, according to city staff. Anderson began work with the city of Corning "as a member of Ellis Rolls & Associates, eventually be- coming part owner" of the firm based in Chico, accord- ing to city staff. After retir- ing from the firm, he en- tered into a contract with the city in 1996. In its recommendation to approve Anderson's con- tract, city staff said Ander- son "has not requested an increasesinceJuneof2000." Thefive-yearcontractret- roactively begins Sept. 1 of this year. The new contract came about after Caltrans re- quested that the city com- ply with its consultant stan- dards, according to city staff. Because the city's Solano Streetscape Improvement project, which is expected to be constructed in 2015, will use federal funds ad- ministered by Caltrans, the city requested qualifica- tions and experience from seven engineering firms, according to city staff. After reviewing the top applicants, "The consensus of the evaluation team was to recommend a new con- tract with current City En- gineer Ed Anderson." Contract FROM PAGE 1 his wife when the man, who he said also had a backpack, ordered everybody on the ground. Nigra said the man spoke with a "Texas twang" and noticed that the man ap- peared to be armed with a "black semi-automatic pis- tol." "He was real calm, cool and collected," Nigra said, adding that the man held the gun to his side, point- ing it to the floor. He said he heard the man order a bank employee to open the drawers, don't do anything stupid and "put it in the bag." Nigra said as the man was leaving the bank's front doors, the man said, "Have a nice day." Nigra estimated that about five customers and several bank employees were in the building at the time, and the ordeal lasted about three minutes. "He was so calm and cool about," Nigra said. "No one was screaming or scared to death. It seemed to me like he'd probably done it before." The Tehama County Sheriff's Department and the FBI are conducting a joint investigation into the case, according to the re- lease. No injuries were re- ported. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the Sheriff's De- partment at 530-529-7920 or 22840 Antelope Blvd. in Red Bluff. Robbery FROM PAGE 1 it'snot 'sfault byTheShelterPetProject.org By Lisa Leff The Associated Press SACRAMENTO The chal- lenger in the unexpectedly tight race for California's elected schools chief said Thursday that if he wins in November he would im- mediately withdraw the state superintendent from an appeal of a landmark legal decision that struck down teacher-tenure laws and other job protections. Former charter schools executive Marshall Tuck said during an appear- ance before the Sacra- mento Press Club that unlike incumbent Tom Torlakson, a former high school teacher and ca- reer politician who enjoys strong backing from Cali- fornia's powerful teachers unions, he supports both the ruling and the goals of the student plaintiffs who brought the case, Vergara v. California. "What is going on in California right now? We have students filing law- suits to get a quality ed- ucation because we are not leading and we are not doing right by them," said Tuck, whose candi- dacy to deny Torlakson a second term is supported by wealthy entrepreneurs and education reform groups. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last month finalized his June ruling finding that five laws gov- erning the hiring and fir- ing of teachers violate the California Constitu- tion by depriving some of the state's 6.2 million students of a quality edu- cation. The laws at issue, which dictate when teach- ers are given tenure, sub- ject to budget-based lay- offs and dismissed for unprofessional conduct, offer California teach- ers some of the of the na- tion's strongest profes- sional safeguards. Torlakson and Gov. Jerry Brown, the lawsuit's two defendants, have ap- pealed the decision. So have California's two larg- est teachers unions, mean- ing the appeal would still move forward without Tuck's backing, if he wins. Tuck said that notify- ing the court of his posi- tion nonetheless would be on his first actions if he de- feats Torlakson. "I'm going to say I'm not appealing it and I'm on the side of the plain- tiffs," he said. "We'll say the state superintendent of this state believes strongly in the kids behind this law- suit." Tuck said he also would convene a group of teach- ers, lawmakers and ac- ademic experts to rec- ommend revisions to the challenged statutes that could be considered by the Legislature next year. California, for example, now grants teachers ten- ure, also known as "per- manent employment," af- ter two years on the job, which is sooner than in all but four other states. Tuck said the minimum thresh- old should be at least four years, both to give princi- pals more time to evaluate new teachers and teach- ers more time to learn the ropes. Polls show that of all the statewide offices vot- ers will fill in November, the nonpartisan superin- tendent's race is currently the tightest. A Field Poll of likely voters released earlier this month found Torlakson and Tuck in a statistical tie with 41 per- cent still undecided. Torlakson was invited to debate Tuck at the Sac- ramento Press Club event, but he declined because of a scheduling conflict, Paul Hefner, his campaign spokesman, said. Hefner said he thinks Tuck has been able to mount such a strong challenge because the contest between the two men, both Democrats, has not attracted a lot of attention. "And because the super- intendent's race is non- partisan, voters aren't told on ballot materials — or in the Field Poll — that Tor- lakson is the Democratic Party's nominee," he said. In response to Tuck's comments on the teacher tenure case, Hefner said that Torlakson has al- ready convened an ex- pert panel to make rec- ommendations for im- proving teacher quality in the state and that it concluded that strong job protections are an impor- tant component. "The Wall Street for- mula — throwing out the rules, tossing aside job protections— nearly wrecked our economy. Why on earth would we risk letting someone with no experience as a teacher, principal or superintendent do the same thing to our public schools?" he said. POLITICS Sc ho ol s ch al le ng er w ou ld d ro p te nu re -r ul in g ap pe al RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Marshall Tuck, a former charter schools executive who is running for the Superintendent of Pubic Education, responds to a questions while appearing before the Sacramento Press Club in Sacramento on Thursday. By Joan Lowy The Associated Press WASHINGTON The gov- ernment granted six movie and television production companies permission to use drones for filming, an important step toward greater use of the technol- ogy by commercial opera- tors, Transportation Sec- retary Anthony Foxx an- nounced Thursday. Dozens of other indus- tries are lined up to follow Hollywood's lead. Until now, the Federal Aviation Administration, which is part of the Transportation Department, had banned commercial drone opera- tions with the exception of a lone oil company in Alaska. However, the FAA per- mits come with limita- tions, including that the unmanned aircraft be used only in a restricted area and that they be flown un- der 400 feet in altitude and within the line of sight of an operator who holds a private pilot's license. Each aircraft must be in- spected before flight, and nighttime flights are pro- hibited. Reality television shows or other unscripted events won't qualify for the permits. "Today's announce- ment is a significant mile- stone in broadening com- mercial (drone) use while ensuring we maintain our world-class safety re- cord in all forms of flight," Foxx said. "These compa- nies are blazing a trail that others are already follow- ing, offering the promise of new advances in agri- culture and utility safety and maintenance." Brendan Schulman, a New York attorney who represents several drone operators and interest groups that have chal- lenged the FAA's drone re- strictions, said he is con- cerned that limitations attached to the drone per- mits may be so onerous that their benefits will be outweighed by the cost and the headache of com- plying. "I'm worried that it's too small a step forward and it's too narrowly limited," he said. The FAA is considering 40 requests for exemp- tions from other commer- cial entities. Congress and industries that want to use or sell the technology have been pressuring the FAA to relax its ban. Com- panies want to use drones to monitor pipelines, in- spect the undersides of oil platforms and bridges, and spray crops. Amazon and Google want to use them to deliver packages. Wed- ding videographers, real estate agents, journalists and many others are clam- oring to use them as well. The only previous FAA permit for commercial drone operations was granted to the Conoco Phillips oil company, which has flown two kinds of un- manned aircraft in unpop- ulated areas of Alaska and over the Arctic Ocean with significant limitations on their use. But the commercial drone ban is being under- mined daily. Many opera- tors see no harm in flying small, lightweight drones, often no bigger than a back- pack, despite FAA warn- ings that they could collide with manned aircraft or in- jure people on the ground. Even a congressman who is a member of the House committee that oversees the FAA, Rep. Sean Pat- rick Maloney, D-N.Y., hired a photographer to produce a video of his wedding us- ing a camera mounted on a small drone. In 2012, Congress di- rected the FAA to safely in- tegrate drones of all sizes, from high-flying Global Hawks to small quadro- copters weighing no more than a few pounds, into the national airspace. But the agency has missed several milestones and isn't ex- pected to meet Congress' deadline of October 2015 for full integration. In November, the agency is expected to propose rules commercial operators can follow to fly drones weigh- ing 55 pounds or less. But it could be months or years before the rules are final. Final rules for larger ones are even further off. The six production com- panies — Aerial MOB LLC, Astraeus Aerial, HeliVideo Productions LLC, Pictorvi- sion Inc., Vortex Aerial and Snaproll Media LLC — have been working with the Mo- tion Picture Association of America for two years to win FAA approval. A sev- enth aerial video company that applied with the other companies, Flying-Cam Inc., has been asked by the FAA to supply additional information. Tony Carmean, a part- ner in Aerial MOB of San Diego, predicted drones will fundamentally change moviemaking, providing directors with the abil- ity to get shots they could never get before and mak- ing films more dynamic. Small drones with video cameras will be able to fly through a building and in and out of windows, for example, he said. They are also far less expensive than hiring a manned helicop- ter, he said. Major movie studios "want their hands on this right away," but have held off using the technology until the FAA gives the go- ahead, he said. Drones have already been used in in filming some movies overseas, including "Skyfall" and "Transformers: Age of Ex- tinction." TECHNOLOGY Dr on es f or m ov ie ma ki ng w in F AA a pp ro va l By Scott Smith The Associated Press FRESNO California farm- ers who spray a widely used insecticide on some of the state's most abun- dant crops may soon have to overcome the nation's steepest restrictions or find another pest killer, of- ficials said Thursday. Regulators are proposing heavy restrictions — but not an all-out ban — on chlor- pyrifos, used to treat crops like grapes and almonds. The pesticide, in use since 1965, has sickened dozens of farmworkers in recent years. Traces have been found in waterways, threatening fish, and regulators say overuse could make targeted insects immune to the pesticide. "We've come up with a clear idea of when it's re- ally needed and what are the alternatives," said Brian Leahy, director of the Cali- fornia Department of Pesti- cide Regulation. "We want to preserve this tool for when you really need it." But he expects pushback from across California's ag- ricultural industry, which leads the nation in produc- tion. Joel Nelson, president of the California Citrus Mu- tual, said that because some- body misused the pesticide, everybody shouldn't be pun- ished with restrictions. Nel- son said regulators in Sac- ramento want to apply a "broad-brush approach," which isn't right. Alterna- tives pesticides exist, but he said they're not as effective and are more expensive. "What's a producer to do, let his cotton production be destroyed by a pest, or should they spray it?" Nel- son said. The pesticide is sprayed on 60 different crops, which also include alfalfa, walnuts, oranges and cotton. Up to 2 million pounds each year are sprayed in California. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2012 enacted restrictions on chlorpyrifos, placing buf- fers around sensitive sites, like schools. That wasn't enough for California officials, who say the history of companies not following the rules re- quires a proactive stance. No deaths have been reported, but the state cites 136 peo- ple reporting exposure to the pesticide between 2001 and 2011. Symptoms include diffi- culty breathing, coughing, itchy eyes, nausea, light- headedness, disorientation and headache. In 2007, officials say 26 vineyard workers in Tulare County were ex- posed to chlorpyrifos be- ing sprayed in a neighbor- ing almond orchard. The firm that applied the pes- ticide was fined $28,600. AGRICULTURE California may restrict common pesticide RonaldMoore January 27, 1938 - September 14, 2014 A Celebration of Life will be held at the Corning Senior Center on Sunday, September 28th at 1:00 pm. He is survived by his loving wife Charlotte, 2 children, Brian and Theresa, 8 grandchildren, 1 great grandson and 1 brother Fred. Obituaries FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A