Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/424106
tricity from the system," said Eric Paul of Ecoplexus, who presented details about the project to council mem- bers. "So, our incentives are aligned. We want that sys- tem to operate as expected." Paul said the solar system would take about nine to 12 monthstoconstruct,andcould be online by the end of 2015. City officials have been in talks with Ecoplexus since 2012, and have ultimately come up with a plan that could realize savings at the city's wastewater treatment plant and other city build- ingssuchasCityHallandthe police and fire departments. While some savings through bill credits would be funneled to specific en- terprise funds — such as the Sewer Enterprise Fund — which have restrictions on how money in those funds could be spent, the city can see general fund savings as well, City Manager John Brewer said. "I've been pulling my hair out for years about what's go- ing to give us the best bang for our buck, and I'm pretty convinced this (proposal) will," Brewer said. The 20-year agreement — known as a power purchase agreement— will gothrough some legal housekeeping be- fore it is signed. The city has an option to extend the con- tract for five years. The project will not re- quire any "up-front capital" from the city, according to Paul's presentation. First-year savings for the city is estimated to be about $50,000. Solar FROMPAGE1 I T only T A K E S A S P A R K . O N L Y Y O U C A N P R E V E N T W I L D F I R E S . s m o k e y b e a r . c o m Please JOB Findusonline! By Jill Lawless The Associated Press LONDON Mystery writer P.D. James, who brought realistic modern charac- ters to the classical Brit- ish detective story, has died, her publisher said. She was 94. Faber and Faber said publisher said James died Thursday at her home in Oxford, southern England. James' books, many featuring sensitive sleuth Adam Dalgliesh, sold mil- lions around the world, and most were just as pop- ular when adapted for tele- vision. Faber, James' publisher for more than 50 years, said in a statement that she had been "so very re- markable in every aspect of her life, an inspiration and great friend to us all. It is a privilege to publish her extraordinary books. Working with her was al- ways the best of times, full of joy. We will miss her hugely." Because of the quality and careful structure of her writing — and her el- egant, intellectual detec- tive Dalgliesh — she was at first seen as a natural suc- cessor to writers like Dor- othy L. Sayers, creator of Lord Peter Wimsey in the between-the-wars "Golden Age" of the mystery novel. But James' books were strong on character, avoided stereotype and touched on distinctly mod- ern problems including drugs, child abuse and nu- clear contamination. "She has pushed, as a modernist must, against the boundaries of the clas- sical detective story," critic Julian Symons once wrote. "The greatest mystery of all is the human heart," James said in a 1997 inter- view, "and that is the mys- tery with which all good novelists, I think, are con- cerned. I'm always inter- ested in what makes peo- ple the sort of people they are." Although there was nothing remotely "genteel" about P.D. James' writing, she was criticized by some younger writers of gritty urban crime novels. They accused her of snobbery because she said she liked to write about middle-class murderers, preferably intelligent and well-educated, who ago- nize over right and wrong and spend time plan- ning and justifying their crimes. Dalgliesh of Scot- land Yard, hero of more than a dozen of James' novels, is a decidedly gen- tlemanly detective, who writes poetry, loves jazz and drives a Jaguar. Phyllis Dorothy James was born in Oxford on Aug. 3, 1920. Her father was a tax collector and there was not enough money for her to go to col- lege, a fact she always re- gretted. Even as a child, she said, she had been inter- ested in death. As a little girl, when someone read "Humpty Dumpty" to her, she asked, "Did he fall or was he pushed?" But she did not start producing her mysteries until she was nearly 40, and then wrote only early in the morning before go- ing to the civil service job with which she supported her family. Her husband, Connor Bantry White, had returned from the war mentally broken and re- mained so until his death in 1964. "It was a late beginning for someone who knew from early childhood that she wanted to be a nov- elist, and, looking back, I can't help regret what I now see as some wasted years," James wrote in a 1999 autobiography, "Time to Be Earnest." Phyllis White's career took her from the Na- tional Health Service to the Home Office, where she worked in the forensic science department and then the criminal law de- partment. Her first novel, "Cover Her Face," was published in 1962 under her maiden name and was an imme- diate critical success, but she continued to work in the Home Office until 1979. In 1980, with the publi- cation of her eighth book, "Innocent Blood," her small but loyal following exploded into mass, inter- national popularity. "Monday, I was ticking along as usual, and by Fri- day I was a millionaire," she once said. The Crime Writers' As- sociation gave P.D. James its Diamond Dagger award in 1987 for lifetime achievement, and in 2005 the National Arts Club honored James with its Medal of Honor for Liter- ature. Her work was not con- fined to the mystery genre. Her 1992 science fiction novel "The Children of Men," about a dystopian future in which humanity has become infertile, was turned into a critically praised 2006 movie by Al- fonso Cuaron. In 2013 she published "Death Comes to Pemberley," introduc- ing a murder mystery into Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." Queen Elizabeth II made her Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991, in recognition of her work as a governor of the BBC, a position she held from 1988 to 1993. James was a member of the Church of Eng- land's Liturgical Commis- sion and expressed doubts about the modernized Book of Common Prayer, the 16th- and 17th-century Anglican service book fa- mous for the beauty of its language. "Something vital is lost, surely, when 'Let not your heart be troubled' is trans- lated as 'Do not be worried and upset,'" she said. James was often spo- ken of as an heir to Ag- atha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, icons of the classic British mystery, but her admirers thought she transcended both. "Doyle and Christie are genre writers — clever, yes, but one must sus- pend considerable disbe- lief right from the get- go when reading their works," said author Anita Shreve. "No such acrobat- ics are necessary with a James novel." OBITUARY Ac cl ai me d no ve li st PD James dies aged 94 FILE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Author P.D. James discusses her novel, "The Lighthouse," during a 2005interview in New York. By Mark Stevenson and Jose Antonio Rivera Associated Press MEXICO CITY Mexico's president announced a na- tionwide anti-crime plan on Thursday that would give Congress the power to dissolve local govern- ments infiltrated by drug gangs, and give state au- thorities control over of- ten-corrupt municipal police. The plan announced by President Enrique Pena Nieto came two months af- ter 43 students at a teach- ers college in the Guer- rero city of Iguala were reportedly killed and in- cinerated by a drug gang working with local police, and massive marches have been held to protest their disappearance. Pena Nieto suggested Thursday's plan was influ- enced by the Iguala trag- edy, whose "cruelty and barbarity have shocked Mexico." "Mexico cannot go on like this," Pena Nieto said. "After Iguala, Mex- ico must change." As if to underscore the problem, authorities said Thursday they had found the decap- itated, partly burned bod- ies of 11 men dumped on the side of a road in the southern state of Guerrero The president's plan would also relax the com- plex divisions between which offenses are dealt with at federal, state and local levels. At present, some local police refuse to act to prevent federal crimes like drug traffick- ing. It would also seek to establish a national iden- tity number or document, though it was unclear what form that would take. The plan would fo- cus first on four of Mexi- co's most troubled states, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco and Tamaulipas, sending more federal po- lice and other forces to the 'hot land" area of the first two states, where the gov- ernment has already sent significant contingents of federal police and sol- diers. "My response to the police operation in the hot lands is, 'What? An- other one?'" said Mexico City-based security ana- lyst Alejandro Hope, al- luding to a string of other anti-crime initiatives in the area. "The same as the others, for a limited time and without the right con- ditions?" The reforms, some of which would require con- stitutional changes, will be formally presented next week. They would include a single, nation- wide emergency telephone number, which the presi- dent said could be "911," as in the United States. But Pena Nieto was vague in describing some reforms. Dissolving local gov- ernments could open the door to political vendet- tas, Hope noted, unless strict prerequisites are set for such actions. And cen- tralizing police command has not improved forces in many cases so far. "We have unified command of state detective forces, and are they very good?" Hope said ironically. The focus on corrupt lo- cal governments reflects the shocking accusations made about the mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca. Prosecutors say he collab- orated with a local drug gang and ordered the de- tention of the students by local police, who turned them over to gang gun- men. Municipal govern- ments currently enjoy high levels of autonomy and control their own po- lice forces, something the president is now seeking to weaken. But it was not clear whether the new plan would eliminate lo- cal police forces, or simply change their command structure. Similar broad, fed- eral anti-crime plans an- nounced in 2004 and 2008 brought some im- provements in areas such as vetting of police, but failed to prevent some entire municipal police forces from being coopted by crime gangs. As a re- sult, Mexicans have be- come skeptical of such an- nouncements. "More than announce- ments, the public needs to see concrete actions that make this rhetoric seem believable," said Pedro Torres a law professor at the Tecnologico de Mon- terrey university's school of government. "There is definitely nothing new here that they haven't tried to implement be- fore." Pena Nieto began his administration in 2012 hoping to concentrate on economic and legal re- forms, and avoid the fo- cus on drug-gang vio- lence that had dominated the term of his predeces- sor, Felipe Calderon. Thursday marked Pena Nieto's first broad policy statement on the subject, tacit acknowledgement that the issue had become unavoidable. The 11 decapitated bodies were found early Thursday on a road near the city of Chilapa, an area that is known for gang violence and plan- tations of opium poppies. It is not far from the ru- ral teachers college that the missing students at- tended. The Guerrero state gov- ernment said the victims had been shot to death, and their heads have not been found. VIOLENCE Mexico leader announces anti- crime crackdown tion tends to have this ac- tivity associated with it," said Laura Vazquez, senior immigration legislative an- alyst at National Council of La Raza, a Latino advo- cacy group. "There are peo- ple who really want to get right with the law and seek any opportunity to adjust their status. They'll some- times believe things that aren't true." Harris, whose state is home to an estimated 2.4 million people who im- migrated to the U.S. il- legally, issued a lengthy "consumer alert" Tuesday, saying changes of the mag- nitude Obama announced often invite con artists. Her tips include making sure that attorneys are li- censed and advisers are recognized by the U.S. Jus- tice Department's Board of Immigration Appeals. The Coalition for Hu- mane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles warned of fraud when deliver- ing Thanksgiving turkeys Wednesday and will repeat the message at a workshop next month at the Los An- geles Convention Cen- ter, said political director Apolonio Morales. The ad- vocacy group recommends working through trusted community organizations. There have been few re- ports of efforts to profit from the president's an- nouncement, which prom- ises work permits for par- ents of U.S. citizens and legal residents who have been in the country for five years and have a clean criminal record. It also makes more people who arrived as young children eligible to stay. Some are encouraged that a 2012 reprieve for some young immigrants didn't produce widespread abuse. Dan Kowalski, ed- itor of Bender's Immigra- tion Bulletin, credits advo- cacy groups for aggressive outreach and says social media has allowed word of scams to spread quickly. The Federal Trade Com- mission reported 891 com- plaints for immigration services last year, up from 746 the previous year but down from 1,220 in 2011. The extent of abuse is believed to be underre- ported. "A lot of immigrants don't have anywhere to go," said California Assem- blywoman Lorena Gonza- lez, a San Diego Democrat who plans to propose dis- closure requirements for anyone selling services tied to Obama's moves. "It's in the shadows." Kowalski, like many at- torneys and advocates, be- lieves it is too early to hire anyone because the gov- ernment isn't expected to publish applications for three to six months. "There's no applica- tion date, there's no form, there's no procedure," he said. "Anyone who pays a dime is gambling." Waiting is the hardest part for some. A woman at the San Diego gath- ering to watch Obama's speech asked if someone who gets stopped by po- lice would be deported be- fore applying. Jacobs said she didn't know but that U.S. Immi- gration and Customs En- forcement was unlikely to expel someone who qual- ifies under Obama's an- nouncement. She recom- mended carrying chil- dren's birth certificates, leases and other docu- ments. Another attorney, Cesar Luna, agreed that agents were unlikely to deport someone who appears el- igible, saying, "They tend to give the person the ben- efit of the doubt." Scam FROM PAGE 1 ARTHURLEETENNISON December 19, 1933 ~ November 23, 2014 Art was born in Tahlequah, OK, and moved to Califor- nia during the dust bowl at the age of 3. Survived by his son: Steve (Karen), daughter Donna Koch (Paul), 2 sisters Mary Mattoon, Ruth Broadnansky, 5 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, and special friend Mary. Preceded in by by his beautiful wife of 43 years Carol, son Roger, and his parents and 3 brothers. A veterans service will be held Monday, December 1 at Tehama Cemetery at 1:00pm, viewing will be Sunday No- vember 30, from 4pm - 6pm at Hall Brothers Mortuary in Corning. A potluck will follow at the Veterans Hall in Los Molinos. Obituaries FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A