Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/468658
ByLindsayWhitehurst The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY People across a wide swath of the West, from Arizona to Can- ada, looked up at the sky late Monday to see a clus- ter of weird lights followed by an orange tail streaking across the night. The lights were not a me- teor, but a Chinese rocket booster that broke apart, said Maj. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. Strate- gic Command. There were no reports of damage or injuries, O'Donnell said, pointing to statistics showing there is a 1 in a trillion chance of be- ing hit by space debris. Canadian photographer Neil Zeller was on his way home from shooting the Northern Lights when he saw the cluster of fireballs in a rural area outside Cal- gary about 11 p.m. MST. "I'd never seen anything like it," he said. He captured several shots of an orange streak slashed above dark trees. More than 150 people re- ported seeing the group of about three dozen fireballs, said Mike Hankey with the American Meteor Society. It lingered in the sky for more than a minute, show- ing slow movement that is a sure sign of a man-made ob- ject re-entering from space, he said. Naturally occurring meteors last just a few sec- onds. "It was pretty significant — over 150 reports is a lot. It covered a real wide range," Hankey said. The reports came from nine Western states as well as Alberta and British Co- lumbia in Canada. Zeller, a freelance pho- tographer, said he first thought it might be a plane crashing, and then was re- minded of the 1986 Chal- lenger explosion. He was re- lieved when he discovered it was a rocket booster. The rocket that launched a satellite on Dec. 27, wasn't abnormally large, said O'Donnell. Angle of re-en- try and weather conditions can make space objects look brighter from earth. Matthew Hepworth, a video producer, said he was driving south of Salt Lake City when he saw very bright orange lights that looked like a searchlight at first. He captured the bright streak on his dash-cam, an investment he made be- cause of the meteor footage caught by such cameras in Russia in 2013. Utah-based NASA am- bassador Patrick Wiggins said most such events go unnoticed. "There are literally thou- sands of satellites orbiting the earth and these things fall out of the sky all of the time," he said. "This one just happened to be pass- ing over some fairly large metropolitan areas and it did it at night." ARIZONA TO CANADA Fireballs seen over western US as rocket burns up NEILZELLER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A 10-second time exposure photo shows a streak of light from what is believed to be a Chinese rocket burning up upon re-entry in the atmosphere. By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Organiz- ers of last fall's swearing- in celebration for Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said no taxpayer money was used to put on the event at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, but a review by The Associated Press found taxpayers subsi- dized more than $25,000 for legislative staff and se- curity to attend. Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins also spent $15,000 from her budget to fly staff members to swearing-in events at the Capitol and in San Diego's Balboa Park, the AP found. Senate and Assembly ex- pense reports obtained un- der the Legislative Open Records Act show nearly 30 security and top-level staff- ers traveled to Los Angeles for de Leon's event while 20 legislative employees trav- eled to Atkins' events. Jon Coupal, president of the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associ- ation, said there are in- stances when staff needs to travel. A swearing-in is not among them. "It's not like an inaugu- ration," Coupal said. "The pomp and circumstance for a legislative leader just doesn't make any sense." The two Republican leaders, Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, and Assem- blywoman Kristin Olsen of Modesto, did not hold swearing-in celebrations as minority party leaders, according to their offices. Both declined to comment on the events held by de Leon and Atkins. Bob Stern, who ran the former government reform- group Center for Govern- mental Studies and worked as an aide in the Legisla- ture, said as long as tax- payers weren't paying for food and drinks, he thinks the spending is appropriate. "I have no problem with staffers, particularly flying in California, to attend the swearing-in of a leader," Stern said. "In a sense, I think they almost should be there." The speaker and the president pro tem are elected to lead the bodies by fellow lawmakers at the beginning of each session. Previous ceremonies took place at the state Capitol and have been relatively low-key, according to the California State Library's research bureau. An excep- tion was former Los Ange- les Mayor Antonio Villara- igosa in 1998. De Leon invited 2,000 guests, including about 200 officeholders, to wit- ness his swearing-in cer- emony Oct. 15 at the Dis- ney hall. LEGISLATIVE SWEARING-IN California taxpayers billed $40,000 for events Washington 41/26 New York 36/16 Miami 82/72 Atlanta 43/34 Detroit 19/5 Houston 58/35 Chicago 21/12 Minneapolis 15/-3 Kansas City 46/13 El Paso 64/38 Denver 38/9 Billings 34/10 Los Angeles 74/50 San Francisco 64/50 Seattle 53/44 AIRQUALITYFORECAST Whatitmeans: 0-50:Good; 51-100:Moderate; 101-150:Unhealthyforsensitivepeople; 151+:Unhealthyforall. Source: Airnow.gov City Today'sairquality City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W CALIFORNIA CITIES National and world forecast s-sunny,pc-partly cloudy,c-cloudy,sh-showers,t-thunderstorms,r-rain,sf-snow flurries,sn-snow,i-ice City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Summary National Extremes World Extremes North and South America Asia, Australia Africa CarsonCity Hawthorne Reno Herlong Lovelock Sacramento Yuba City Napa Ukiah Chico Corning Lakeview Alturas Susanville Redding Red Bluff Laytonville Fort Bragg Point Arena Eureka Redway Mount Shasta Yreka Crescent City Ashland Shown is today's weather. Temperatures are today's highs and tonight's lows. Shown are today's noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. ALMANAC Precipitation Temperatures ALLERGY REPORT Pollenlevels Source: National Allergy Bureau TODAY'S UV INDEX (The higher the number, the faster skin damage will occur.) Extreme Very high High Moderate Low SUN SETTINGS, MOON PHASES Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Hoursofsunlight River Levels SacramentoRiver Flood 7a.m. 24-hr Stage yest. chg. Lake Levels Elevation Yesterday Storage (acre-feet) Percent Capacity Q: A: THURSDAY 70° 44° FRIDAY 66° 42° Pe riods of ra in Nic e with periods of sun SATURDAY 65° 41° Mostly cloudy , sho we rs around SUNDAY 66° 36° Sunn y TODAY 73° 47° Sunny and nice. Clear tonight. High ....................................................................... 70° Low ........................................................................ 35° Normal high ......................................................... 62° Normal low ........................................................... 42° Record high ............................................. 83° in 1947 Record low .............................................. 30° in 1956 Humidity noon today ........................................ 25% 24 hours through 2 p.m. yesterday ................. 0.00" Month to date ................................................... 1.77" Normal month to date ..................................... 3.48" Season to date ................................................ 18.16" Normal season to date .................................. 17.48" Red Bluff through 2 p.m. yesterday Chico .......................................................... Moderate Napa ........................................................... Moderate Red Bluff .............................................. Not available Redding ..................................................... Moderate Yuba City ................................................... Moderate Allergy, dust and dander today: Neutral Grass .................. Absent Mold .........................Low Trees ....................... Low Weeds ................ Absent 4 Highest at 12 p.m. Today 6:49 a.m. 5:56 p.m. 11:15 a.m. 12:51 a.m. Thursday 6:48 a.m. 5:57 p.m. 12:03 p.m. 1:49 a.m. 11 hr., 07 min. Feb25 First Mar5 Full Last Mar13 New Mar20 aboveBendBridge......................27 ...........1.24 ......+0.04 atHamiltonCity.........................148 ......129.28 ....... -0.12 atOrdFerry................................114 ........96.92 ....... -0.08 atRedBluffDiversionDam.......253 ......237.91 ......+0.01 atTehamaBridge ......................213 ......200.71 ....... -0.09 atVinaWoodsonBridge............183 ......166.49 ....... -0.11 BlackButte ....................451.22..............56,874 .....39.6% LakeOroville..................754.19.........1,716,956 .....45.9% LakeShasta ...................988.66.........2,589,105 .....56.9% LakeTrinity..................2269.71.........1,135,800 .....42.9% Whiskeytown...............1199.55............208,789 .....86.6% Weather Trivia ™ When is the rainy season in California? November to April. Today Thursday Anaheim 74/48/s 74/49/s Bakersfield 65/40/s 66/43/s Chula Vista 69/48/s 68/52/pc Crescent City 58/44/pc 58/47/c Death Valley 81/48/s 79/51/s Eureka 57/43/pc 57/47/pc Fremont 65/45/pc 67/50/pc Fresno 65/40/s 66/44/s Glendale 73/50/s 73/49/s Huntington Beach 67/52/s 67/54/pc Irvine 70/50/s 70/52/pc Lake Tahoe 55/25/s 53/26/pc Long Beach 71/51/s 72/52/pc Los Angeles 74/50/s 73/54/pc Mammoth Mountain 53/20/s 53/25/s Modesto 66/40/s 67/43/pc Monterey 62/44/pc 64/50/pc Moreno Valley 70/40/s 70/41/s Napa 64/40/pc 67/45/pc Needles 74/48/s 75/47/s Oakland 63/45/pc 66/50/pc Oxnard 68/49/s 67/50/pc Redding 75/46/s 72/44/pc Riverside 70/36/s 71/35/s Sacramento 66/42/s 69/43/pc San Bernardino 74/37/s 72/38/s San Diego 68/53/s 67/56/pc San Francisco 64/50/pc 67/55/pc San Jose 67/42/pc 68/49/pc San Luis Obispo 70/41/pc 71/44/pc Santa Ana 74/53/s 73/55/pc Santa Barbara 71/43/s 71/48/pc Santa Clarita 74/43/s 72/44/s Stockton 66/38/s 69/42/pc Ventura 66/48/s 66/50/pc Yosemite Valley 63/30/s 61/34/pc Today Thursday Albuquerque 55/27/s 48/25/c Atlanta 43/34/r 47/29/c Baltimore 36/20/s 31/16/sn Boston 33/12/pc 22/9/c Buffalo 12/-2/sf 12/-3/sn Chicago 21/12/pc 15/-2/sf Cincinnati 32/15/pc 25/2/sf Dallas 50/31/sn 40/23/c Denver 38/9/sn 20/1/sn Detroit 19/5/s 17/-3/pc El Paso 64/38/s 55/30/s Fargo 5/-13/pc 4/-12/s Honolulu 83/70/pc 83/69/pc Houston 58/35/r 61/34/pc Indianapolis 27/13/pc 20/0/sf Kansas City 46/13/sn 17/1/sf Las Vegas 66/44/s 65/44/s Louisville 37/22/pc 32/12/sf Miami 82/72/s 86/70/t Minneapolis 15/-3/pc 9/-6/pc New Orleans 52/37/r 55/37/pc New York City 36/16/s 26/16/c Oklahoma City 50/21/pc 33/16/pc As a fresh batch of arctic air expands over the Midwest today, spotty snow and flurries will mark its arrival over the central Appalachians. Another southern storm will spread drenching rain along the Gulf coast, expanding to the southern Atlantic Seaboard. Snow will fall along the northern flank of the southern storm with several inches possible from parts of northern Mississippi to southern Vir- ginia, before the storm heads out to sea. Another swath of snow will extend from the central Plains to the northern Rockies and High Plains. High ................. 87° in Fort Lauderdale, FL Low ........................ -29° in Morrisville, VT High .............. 111° in Birdsville, Australia Low ... -71° in Summit Station, Greenland Bogota 67/46/c 69/45/c Buenos Aires 80/68/r 77/64/t Caracas 89/76/s 88/76/s Ensenada 71/45/pc 71/47/s Mexico City 78/49/s 77/44/s Montreal 21/-9/sn 8/-9/pc Rio de Janeiro 95/78/t 94/76/t Tijuana 68/48/pc 68/52/s Toronto 13/-7/sf 13/-7/pc Vancouver 47/37/r 48/39/c Orlando 76/64/pc 73/55/sh Philadelphia 36/19/s 29/16/c Phoenix 72/48/pc 75/50/s Pittsburgh 26/9/sf 21/6/sn Portland, ME 33/7/sn 23/6/pc Portland, OR 52/44/c 53/44/sh St. Louis 39/21/pc 26/7/sf Salt Lake City 50/28/s 48/29/sn Seattle 53/44/pc 53/44/sh Tucson 68/41/s 73/44/s Washington, DC 41/26/s 33/22/sn Cairo 69/53/s 75/57/pc Casablanca 61/41/s 62/45/s Johannesburg 78/59/t 81/58/pc Kinshasa 92/72/c 89/72/t Lagos 93/79/t 93/78/t Nairobi 86/59/s 87/59/s Tripoli 60/45/s 59/47/pc Baghdad 66/45/pc 68/48/s Beijing 41/20/s 39/21/s Hong Kong 75/68/pc 76/67/c Jerusalem 55/43/pc 65/49/s Kabul 41/23/sn 41/21/s Manila 89/75/s 90/75/s Melbourne 79/60/pc 77/59/pc New Delhi 81/55/t 74/49/pc Seoul 50/30/pc 35/23/pc Singapore 89/75/t 89/75/t Sydney 75/66/sh 81/69/pc Tehran 48/35/c 50/32/pc Tokyo 51/44/c 50/44/r Amsterdam 45/34/sh 46/35/r Athens 61/50/sh 58/49/sh Belgrade 51/42/r 48/35/c Berlin 45/31/pc 46/33/s Budapest 53/39/r 48/35/c Dublin 52/43/pc 45/33/pc London 52/46/pc 53/34/r Madrid 55/40/pc 60/42/pc Moscow 36/24/pc 35/27/c Paris 47/39/sh 51/35/sh Rome 59/45/r 60/42/pc Stockholm 42/31/pc 40/32/pc Vienna 44/36/sn 45/33/c Zurich 40/26/sn 41/30/pc 59/26 60/32 60/29 58/29 58/29 66/42 68/41 64/40 70/38 69/41 74/47 53/27 56/24 60/27 75/46 73/47 70/36 61/48 62/49 57/43 68/38 57/30 60/30 58/44 56/31 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2015 PineStreetPlaza 332 Pine Street, Suite G Red Bluff, CA (800) 843-4271 Every Wednesday March 4, 11, 18 & 25 Stacy Garcia, Hearing Aid Dispenser Lic. No. HA-7440 NBC-HIS, Certified by the National Board of Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences RedBluffUnionElementarySchoolDistrict (530) 527-7200 Kindergarten & Transitional Kindergarten Registration for Bidwell, Metteer & Jackson Heights School Monday, March 2, 2015 • Time: 3-6pm JacksonHeightsSchool,225JacksonSt. Kindergarten: Must be 5 years of age on or before September 1, 2015 Transitional Kinder: Children whose 5th birthday falls between Sept. 2, 2015 & Dec. 2, 2015 Please Bring: Address Verification, Child's Birth Certificate, Immunization Records Kindergarten packets will be available in the school offices on Feb. 23. SacredHeartSchool SACRED HEART SCHOOL -2255 MONROE STREET -RED BLUFF,CA. 96080 WWW.SACREDHEARTREDBLUFFSCHOOL.ORG StrongAcademics Moral Formation - Values embedded in the curriculum College Preparation Small Class Size Family Atmosphere Safe, nuturiing environment Music, Art, Technology, and Library time Electives Extra-Curricular Spports Program SACRED HEART SCHOOL IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR KINDERGARTEN AND TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN FOR THE 2015-2016SCHOOLYEAR. CHILDREN 4 YEARS OLD BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 CAN BE ENROLLED IN TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN - FULL DAY CALL SACRED HEART SCHOOL @ 527-6727 FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO ARRANGE A TOUR. | WEATHER | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015 8 B