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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24, 2011 Breaking news at: RB Shop in the Hot Seat Commerce www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 4A RED BLUFF Cards, Chico Scrimmage SPORTS 1B Mostly sunny 98/64 Weather forecast 8A DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Social structure Meetings today on LM library By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Los Molinos library supporters and those with fundrais- ing ideas are invited to come to either of two meetings today at the branch. The meetings, at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to accommodate working people, are part of a long-term plan to sustain the smallest of the three county library branches that was threat- ened with closing its doors. The branch was given a death sentence after the Tehama County Board of Supervisors approved a preliminary bud- get June 29 that cut funding to the storefront library in response to the loss of state funds. More than 20 community members spoke out and per- suaded the board to reconsider and allow them time to come up with a way to keep the doors open. Supervisors voted not to send a letter to the property See LIBRARY, page 7A County sets price for new courts By ANDREA WAGNER DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Nancy Lukerralli gets ice cream from members of Boy Scout Troop 154 at the 2010 Kelly-Grig- gs Summer Social.The 2011 event will be Sunday at the museum, 311 Washington St., in Red Bluff. By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer The Kelly-Griggs House Muse- um, 311 Washington St., in Red Bluff will be holding its annual Summer Social 12:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday. "The event is a fundraiser for the continuation of our building pro- ject, which is focused on the south wall, windows and foundation," said Museum Board Director Betty Brown. "It's just needs some loving care and everything we raise helps." Formerly the Kelly-Griggs Ice Cream Social, the event has blos- somed and grown with the name changing to Summer Social in 2009 to accommodate vendors added to the event, Board President Sharon Wilson said. Funds for the south wall and foundation of the house, built in the 1880s by Sidney Allen Griggs, have been slowly coming in, Wilson said. "We're trying for another McConnell grant," Wilson said. "Money is coming in slowly through fundraising like I'm sure it is for everybody, but the money's not there to do what really needs to be done." The south wall exterior and the windows need to be done, but can't be fixed until the foundation is, she said. "This museum really is a part of the county and that's why we're try- ing to connect with the whole coun- ty and not just Red Bluff," said Wil- son. The board has been in the process of working on the founda- tion, breaking it into 14 phases to make it easier. The foundation under the south wall is the sixth part. The museum has received per- mission to shut down the part of Ash Street that runs along the side of the museum and will be adding about half of Washington Street directly in front of the museum, Brown said. "We're just so pleased to have an Millions lost in state land leases SACRAMENTO (AP) — California is doing a poor job of collecting rent from energy companies and other businesses that are profiting from public land, costing the fiscally challenged state millions of dollars, according to an audit released Tuesday. The examination by the state auditor found the Lands Commission, which is responsible for natural and cultural resources on public land, could have generated $8.2 million from a sample of 35 leases, some dating back 30 years. Besides holding sur- face and mineral rights on dry land, the commis- sion's jurisdiction extends to the 4 million acres of tidelands and submerged lands that lie along the Red Bluff Outdoor Power coast and the beds of rivers and lakes. The report found the commission has failed in many cases to collect rent from energy companies, marinas and other busi- nesses that use Califor- nia's public land. It also has not properly reassessed the land's value. ''This report concludes the commission has not always managed its more than 4,000 leases in the state's best interest with the result that it has missed opportunities to generate millions of dol- lars in revenues for the state's general fund,'' state Auditor Elaine Howle wrote in a letter accompanying the audit. The commission's executive director, Curtis Fossum, blamed budget cuts for hampering the commission's ability to conduct appraisals, man- age leases and enforce agreements. Of the 242 positions supported by general state taxes that 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 See LEASES, page 7A additional street closure this year," Brown said. "We'll be having the Tehama County Shriner's Club with their hamburgers, Burnsini Vine- yards from Cottonwood, Pacific Sun Olive Oil from Gerber and Rosser's Bakery in Red Bluff." Rosser's will have its breads available, but is adding cookies to purchase to go with ice cream being served inside the gates of the Kelly- Griggs. Booths outside the gates includ- ing those listed above will be free. Joining those booths will be The Leatherman, Solano Street Silk Company, the Tehama County Photo Club, Red Bluff Art Associa- tion and Sun Country Quilters. A car club from Rancho Tehama will be bringing vehicles and Har- vey Iness will have his vintage cars available for photo opportunities, Brown said. Volunteers will be running a 50/50 raffle and members of Sun Country Quilters will also be hold- See SOCIAL, page 7A The Board of Supervi- sors brought down the gavel Tuesday, approving the sale of the three county proper- ties to the state as another step toward a new county courthouse. After months of negotia- tions, the board settled on a $1.23 million price tag for the 4.43 acres at 1740, 1750 and 1760 Walnut St., the site selected for the new build- ing. The properties house the Agricultural Commission- er's Office, the Public Guardian/Administrator, the Air Pollution Control Dis- trict, the Cooperative Agri- cultural Extension Service and various other county departments. The county plans to lease the space back temporarily until the new courthouse is complete, ten- tatively in the fall of 2014, according to the project's website. The resolution passed Tuesday is the biggest step on the project since 2009 when the state approved ini- tial funding through Senate Bill 1407. The Tehama County Courthouse was considered one of the highest priority projects in the state's Trial Court Capital Outlay Plan announced in 2008. The plan focused on 41 courthouse fixer-uppers throughout the state and offered only 13 projects ini- tial funding. Tehama Coun- ty was on the list, touted as desperately in need of an overhaul. "These court facilities are functionally deficient, overcrowded, and among the worst in the state in terms of security and physi- cal condition," stated early reports by the Administra- tive Office of the Courts about Tehama County's facilities. Future plans are to build a 62,033-square-foot struc- ture with five courtrooms, according to the state courts' website. Building the new facili- ties will eliminate use of the Corning courthouse annex and consolidate the six cur- rent facilities in use in the See COURTS, page 7A Group demands released inmates go back Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber Tues- day joined Crime Victims United of California at the State Capitol to call on the Governor and the Califor- nia Board of Parole Hear- ings to immediately take the necessary actions to return to custody dozens of inmates — mostly mur- derers — who were wrongly released under a decision by the Ninth Cir- cuit court in 2010, accord- ing to a release from Nielsen's office. "These particularly dangerous individuals were wrongly released onto our streets," said Nielsen, who has served on the parole board. "These individuals were found unsuitable for release by the parole board because they remained a threat of dan- ger to society. "I would strongly urge the Governor to issue an immediate order to the parole board that they take action to rescind these releases and return the inmates to custody per board procedures and as per Supreme Court deci- sion," Nielsen said. "Jus- tice and public safety demand no less." The early release was Courtesy photo Assemblyman Jim Nielsen addresses media Tuesday alongside Crime Vic- tims United of California. initially ordered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal after reviewing cases in which inmates were not granted release by parole board, the state courts and the governor. The court's decision was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States as of Jan. See GROUP, page 7A PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region