Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/432611
Staffreports RED BLUFF TheTehamaDistrict Attorney's office announced the convictions of two Corning res- idents for felony welfare fraud charges. David Leroy Brown, 43, and Sherry Ann Brown, 37, were sen- tenced to 180 days in jail and placedonprobation forthreeyears, according to a press release issued Wednesday.Theyalsowereordered to pay $22,023 in restitution. The convictions followed a month-long investigation by the DA's Office that found the Browns "provided fraudulent informa- tion to the Welfare Department regarding income they had re- ceived while on welfare," accord- ing to the release. The Browns received about $22,000 in public assistance that they were not en- titled to receive. The DA's Office investigates al- legations of welfare fraud with the Tehama County Department of Social Services. Anyone with information re- garding suspected welfare fraud is asked to call DA investigators at 530-529-3590. Anonymity can be provided. TEHAMA COUNTY Pairconvicted on charges of welfare fraud Corningresidents sentenced to 180 days in jail, probation By Don Thompson TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO California's pop- ulation climbed to 38.5 million people over the last year as the state recorded its most significant back-to-back growth in a decade, new population figures released Thursday showed. The state's population grew by 335,000 people between July 1, 2013 and July 1 of this year, the state Department of Finance re- ported. That is a growth rate of 0.9 percent, the same as the pre- vious year and the highest since 2003-04, before the recession. It's the first time in six years that growth exceeded 300,000 people. "That's not a big number by California historic standards, but it's bigger than we've had for a while and it reflects the improve- ment in the state's economy," said Hans Johnson, senior and Bren fellow at the Public Policy Insti- tute of California. Birth rates continue to decline, but still accounted for 243,000 of the state's new residents. Califor- nia also had a net gain of 92,000 people moving into the state dur- ing the last fiscal year. Much of the growth is in urban coastal counties, with Los Ange- les, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, and Santa Clara counties add- ing the most people and provid- ing more than half of the state's growth. "It's almost like we have three states here, as demographics go," said John Malson, a research manager in the state's Demo- graphic Research Unit. Home construction and job opportunities are recovering in those coastal counties. The San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, which traditionally had slower growth due to land and housing restrictions, became the fastest-growing region during the recession for the first time since the 1860s, Johnson said. That growth is now spreading into the second region, the Cen- tral Valley. Some counties there were among those with the high- est percentage increases in pop- ulation, led by Alameda, Contra Costa, Placer, San Benito and San Joaquin counties. The third region is the moun- tain and rural counties that showed a declining population as residents age and young people CALIFORNIA Populationgrowsto38.5million Staff reports RED BLUFF A severe storm that arrived Wednesday night flooded roadways and caused school closures and power fail- ures on Thursday. The storm, which is pre- dicted to last through to- day and could bring thunder- storms, was said to be a "once every several years" event for Northern California, accord- ing to the National Weather Service. The weather service is- sued flood warnings for the Sacramento River above Bend Bridge, below the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, at the Te- hama Bridge and at the Vina Woodson Bridge. A flood watch is in effect in Tehama County until tonight. About 2.95 inches of rain was recorded at the Red Bluff Municipal Airport from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 11 a.m. Thursday. Two to four inches of rain- fall is expected for the valley, three to six inches in the foot- hills and mountains and snow levels will lower to about 4,500 feet today. The Red Cross opened evac- uation centers at the Red Bluff Community and Senior Center at 1500 S. Jackson St., the Vet- erans Memorial Hall in Corn- ing at 1620 Solano St. and the Veterans Memorial Hall in Los Molinos at 7980 Sherwood Blvd. in Los Molinos. About 20 people at the Red Bluff Community and Senior TEHAMA COUNTY SEVERE STORM PELTS REGION PHOTOSBYCHIPTHOMPSON— REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS The Sacramento River as seen from Rio Street around 8:30a.m. Thursday. Dibble Creek swells just north of Adobe Road in Red Bluff Thursday morning. Sports.............. B1 Life...................A5 Comics ............B8 Community.....A3 Opinion............A4 Education........A8 Index............... ## INDEX With the winter season upon northern California, the CHP offers tips for driving through inclement weather. PAGEA3 NORCAL STORM CHPoffersdrivingtips for inclement weather The Corning Cardinals won a dual meet with Red Bluff 67-4 Wednesday night, dropping just one match. PAGE B1 SPORTS Corning wrestling slams rival Red Bluff Effectiveness of the pertussis vaccine is called into question amid the worst epidemic in seven decades. PAGE A6 DISEASE California officials battle whooping cough Obama, Republicans join forc- es to pass compromise that eases some regulations and avoids a shutdown. PAGE B4 WASHINGTON House narrowly OKs $1.1 trillion spending bill RED BLUFF Two people were rescued from Spider Island in the West Sand Slough Thursday after becoming stranded from the rising water. The Tehama County Sher- iff's Department with the as- sistance of California High- way Patrol Air Operations res- cued the two people from the area near Del Taco and Burger King in Red Bluff, according to a press release. The two people had been camping in the area when wa- ter came through causing them to be stranded. The people called 911. They were lifted by the air operations and neither were injured. The Sheriff's Department said NORCAL STORM Two campers rescued from Spider Island GROWTH PAGE 9 ISLAND PAGE 9 STORM PAGE 9 » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, December 12, 2014 50CENTS AN EDITION OF THE CHICO ENTERPRISE-RECORD 7 58551 69001 9 Volume130,issue16 Good morning, thanks for subscribing Charles Walter CORNING Friends of the Library fundraiser Lifestyles A5 RED BLUFF HIGH Physics students test projects Education A8 FORECAST High: 50 Low: 41 A10 Checkoutourcontinuous news feed, short Tout videos, photo galleries and more. VISITREDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM EVENMORE ONTHEWEB