Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/51611
Monday, January 2, 2012 – Daily News 7A New Year babies As of 8 p.m. Sunday, no babies had been born in 2012 at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff, according to hospital staff. The New Year boy and girl features, normally pub- lished in the first edition after New Year's Day, will be published when information and permission are gath- ered by hospital personnel. CUTS Continued from page 1A He warned Californi- ans that they will face billions of dollars in a new round of cuts in 2012 if voters reject his plan for tax increases next fall. He is support- ing a proposed ballot ini- tiative that would raise the state sales tax by half a cent and income taxes on individuals making $250,000 a year or more. ''I don't take it for granted. I think this is going to be a very diffi- cult campaign to win the revenues,'' Brown, a Democrat, said when he announced the midyear cuts in mid-December. ''The people of Califor- nia are saying they don't want cuts but also expressing reservations about taxes, so when that public dissidence and problem is there, we ought to resolve it by a vote. We can't resolve it until we get to Novem- ber.'' Republican lawmakers blocked Brown's propos- al this year to extend an expiring series of tax increases and say the governor and Democratic lawmakers have rejected their proposals, such as allowing public services to be provided by private contractors. Republicans say the majority party also rejected their calls for regulatory relief for businesses, refused to address frivolous law- suits and remained unwilling to confront their labor allies on pub- lic pension reform. They also accused Democrats of being untrustworthy, noting how legislative leaders postponed a vote on a pre-approved spending cap measure to the 2014 ballot. ''It was a pretty sorry year,'' said Assembly- man Jim Nielsen, a Republican from Gerber who serves as vice chair- man of the Assembly budget committee. ''For the Republicans, we offered a roadmap to higher levels of spending than the Democrats had provided and no need to fund it with tax increas- es. We offered some good alternatives. There was no meeting of the minds.'' Brown, however, has expressed frustration with the inability of law- makers to compromise on the most challenging issues facing California. In reflecting on his third term, the governor said the political land- scape had changed dra- matically since he was last in office in 1983. He found the parties too polarized. ''If any of these Republicans have some ideas other than just poor people they'd like to take child care from, I'll be glad to listen,'' he said. For students and oth- ers who have felt the effects of rising tuition and reduced services, the situation will only wors- LAWS Continued from page 1A • DUI checkpoints: Law enforcement can no longer impound a car if the driver's only offense $1B budget cuts at a glance Gov. Jerry Brown announced in December that California's tax revenue will fall short of his earlier projections, triggering automatic budget cuts to schools, colleges and social services. The governor said revenue is projected to fall $2.2 billion short of that figure for the current fis- cal year, prompting about $1 billion in cuts that will take effect starting Jan 1. Brown warns that additional trigger cuts will be part of his budget proposed for the fiscal year starting July 1 if voters reject his plans for tax hikes. Here is a look at the midyear cuts: —$100 million to the University of California. —$100 million to California State University. —$100 million to the Department of Develop- mental Services. The cut rises to $200 million starting July 1. —$100 million for In-Home Supportive Ser- vices; also imposes a 20 percent reduction in service hours.A federal judge is expected to rule Jan. 19 on a lawsuit to block that cut. —$72.1 million to juvenile justice; increase county charge for youth offenders sent to the adult prison system. —$30 million to community colleges, which will raise fees by $10 per unit starting May 1 to make up for the cut. —$23 million to child care assistance, which will eliminate 7,500 slots. —$20 million to the Department of Correc- tions and Rehabilitation. —$15.9 million in state grants for local libraries. —$8.6 million in Medi-Cal savings; extends a cut to providers in all managed care plans. —$14.6 million by eliminating grants to district attorney's offices for a trend referred to as ''verti- cal prosecution.'' —$10 million by eliminating IHSS anti-fraud efforts. Because revenue fell short by more than $2 billion, the following cuts will be made to public schools: —$248 million by eliminating home-to-school transportation. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced it would sue to block that cut. —$79.6 million to school districts, county offices of education and charter schools. The reduction will take effect Feb. 1. —$102 million to community colleges. ——— Source: California Department of Finance. en in 2012. Rose Coleman, 41, of San Leandro, a recipient of the state's In-Home Supportive Service pro- gram, said she will get less help under the state's $1 billion midyear reduc- tion announced by Brown. Starting next month, in-home care recipients will receive a 20 percent reduction in assistance. For Coleman, who suffers from cerebral palsy and uses a wheel- chair, the cut translates into fewer baths and less help in the bathroom from her state-subsidized caretaker, who will make $720 instead of $900 a month. ''Each time I hear about cuts, I'm always thinking about turning off my phone or comput- er to supplement her pay so that I don't lose her,'' Coleman said. ''It does- n't make sense. It should be compassion first, money second.'' Ashley Wardle, a stu- dent at San Diego State University, was one of four students arrested in November at a California State University board of trustees meeting in Long Beach. She then appeared before state lawmakers on Dec. 14, warning them that stu- dents will not stop protesting until the state starts to boost funding for higher education. ''Until tuition increas- es end, until class sizes stop rising at the same time as executive com- pensation, until all those things end, I will contin- ue to protest and I'll bring in students with me because I believe in the necessity of affordable, quality education,'' War- dle said during the com- mittee hearing. At the same hearing, embattled University of California, Davis Chan- cellor Linda Katehi made her first direct plea to lawmakers since videos caught campus police officers pepper spraying student protesters who were sitting on the ground linking arms. Images of officers jab- bing protesters with batons on the University of California, Berkeley campus also sparked sim- ilar outrage and prompt- ed investigations. ''They're frustrated and angry about tuition increases. They're wor- ried about how they will is failure to hold a valid driver's license. • Smoking in rentals: Landlords will be autho- rized to prohibit smoking of tobacco products on the property, in a dwelling unit, in another interior or exterior area or on the repay their loans and how they will find jobs. And those opportunities don't seem to be as good as they used to be any more,'' Katehi said. ''They are justifiably frustrated, and so am I.'' This year, University of California tuition for in-state students rose 18 percent to $12,192 a year, an amount that does not include various cam- pus fees that can add $1,000 or more to the cost. Without a boost in state funding, the 10- campus system will like- ly raise tuition again next year. Tuition at California State University has risen more than 22 percent to $5,472, not including room, board or campus fees. In November, the CSU Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition by another 9 percent, to $5,970 for next year. State general fund spending is at its lowest level since the 1972-73 fiscal year when mea- sured as a share of the state's economy. California has cut tens of billions of dollars in state spending since the recession began in late 2007 and sent tax rev- enue plunging. The state general fund this fiscal year is $86 billion, down from $103 billion before the recession. The state had more than 245,000 employees on June 30, 2008. The count fell to slightly less than 233,000 as of June 30, 2011, according to the state controller's office. They include full- time, part-time and inter- mittent employees. The figure does not include employees of the Legis- lature, lieutenant gover- nor or teachers and uni- versity workers. Sen. Mark Leno, D- San Francisco, Democra- tic chairman of the Sen- ate budget committee, said he hopes lawmakers can work together in the coming year despite dis- trust that has been build- ing for years. ''My first earnest request would be, 'Everybody tear up their pledges and say goodbye to Grover Norquist and say hello to the people of California,''' said Leno, referring to the no-tax pledge pushed by the national anti-tax crusad- er. ''You can't do busi- ness when you've signed away your job responsi- bilities.'' Senate Republican leader Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga said the governor and Democ- rats have not cut govern- ment bureaucracies deeply enough. Republi- cans say salaries of six figures and higher for state workers have com- pounded the budget prob- lems. ''He wants to get more taxes from the people with the idea somehow that state government is doing everything all right. And that's just not true,'' Dutton said of the governor's ballot propos- al for tax increases. premises on which the dwelling unit is located. • Tanning: All those wishing to use an ultravi- olet tanning device will have to be 18 years or older. Existing law allows 14- to 18-year-olds to use tanning devices with the MAN Continued from page 1A appeared before turned up on Interstate 5, the release said. Tehama County Sher- iff's Department and Cali- fornia Highway Patrol were notified to be on the lookout for the subject. Corning Fire Department was briefed and given a description of the subject. The temperatures was reported to be 39 degrees, which heightened concern for the subject's safety, the release said. consent of a parent. That rule will no longer apply. An in-depth review of these new laws and a complete list can be found at http://leginfo.ca.gov/pdf/ BillsEnacte- dReport2011.pdf. Incident command was turned over the fire depart- ment, which initiated a search. Firefighters found the man around 3:30 a.m. Sat- urday laying in a steep ditch at the southeast cor- ner of Toomes and Black- burn avenues, the release said. He appeared to have fallen off the road and into the ditch. The man was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. No further information was available. Staff report Occupy activists target Rose Parade for protest PASADENA (AP) — Anti-Wall Street demonstra- tors are not officially part of this year's Rose Parade, but that's not stopping them from joining in. Activists with the Occupy movement, which protests perceived corporate greed and growing economic inequality, are planning to turn out en masse at Mon- day's annual event accompanied by their own floats of sorts — a massive octopus whose tentacles epitomize Wall Street's influence on American society and a giant U.S. Constitution, the symbol of the right to free speech, as well as plenty of banners and drums. ''We are going to be as peaceful and nonviolent as possible,'' said Pete Thottam, organizer of Occupy Rose Parade, which will tag along at the end of the offi- cial parade. Although the 122-year-old parade is renowned for its sunny extravaganza of elaborate floral floats, pranc- ing ponies and spirited marching bands, political state- ments are nothing new to the venerable New Year's tra- dition. In years past, activists have used the 5.5-mile pro- cession — and its vast TV audience — as a platform to make points ranging from calls to impeach President George Bush to decrying Chinese policies. But police and officials say those incidents have been sporadic and never taken away from the event's message of uniting people from all walks of life. ''The Rose Parade is a nonpolitical parade,'' said Bill Flinn, executive director of the Tournament of Roses. ''It really is an American cultural festival.'' Despite a difficult economy, parade participation remains steady, with three fewer floats than last year and three more than in 2009. Eleven float sponsors pulled out this year, including the cities of Beverly Hills and West Covina, in subur- ban Los Angeles County, citing difficulties in raising money. Anheuser-Busch, whose famed Clydesdale horses clopped down the parade route for 58 years, also withdrew, saying it had changed its marketing strategy. But eight new sponsors stepped forward, including Paramount Pictures, Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360, and the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. This year's grand marshal, Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez, will lead a full complement of 44 floats, which must be decorated with flowers or other ele- ments of nature such as leaves and seeds, 20 equestrian units and 21 marching bands that hail from Sweden to Japan. Some 700,000 spectators are expected to view the two-hour procession, which starts at 8 a.m. Monday. Although the parade usually takes place on Jan. 1, it's being held on Jan. 2 this year because New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. The parade, whose theme this year is ''just imag- ine,'' will be broadcast on eight television networks and will be seen in 220 territories around the globe, includ- ing an estimated 40 million people in the United States. With such a high stakes event, police are leaving nothing to chance with Occupy activists, who have a penchant for loud, disruptive tactics including erecting tents in bank lobbies and blocking roads into ports, as well as acts of civil disobedience. Pasadena police are increasing their manpower and have held numerous meetings with Occupy organizers to go over procedures, said Lt. Phlunte' Riddle. Offi- cers from county, state and federal law enforcement agencies will also be on hand, as they are normally. ''We will ensure the parade is not hampered,'' Rid- dle said. Occupy will not be in the official procession, but will be allowed to trail after the four police cars that end the parade. Many groups have done the same over the years, including animal rights activists and apocalyptic religious sects, as well as regular spectators. The Occupy action, however, may be the largest political statement the parade has seen. Protests have typically been limited to small num- bers. A group of AIDS activists, for instance, staged a sit-in along the parade route once, while several Native Americans threw red paint on the route to symbolize blood. Stolen monkey resting safely in zoo after ordeal SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A beloved little monkey known as Banana Sam was resting safely in the San Fran- cisco Zoo on Sunday follow- ing what a spokesman called a ''trying few days.'' The 17-year-old squirrel monkey was found in a park Saturday evening and returned to the zoo, two days after being stolen. Banana Sam appears to be doing well after his ordeal, zoo spokesman Danny Lath- am said. He didn't say when the pocket-size primate would be back on exhibit, except to say it would be ''very, very soon.'' Meanwhile, zoo officials have increased security, putting more guards on duty overnight. ''We doubled our security efforts for the graveyard shift, with guards patrolling the exterior, the interior and the grounds,'' Latham said. The zoo said the thieves had cut a back perimeter gate and made it to the top of a roof that houses five other pri- mate exhibits. The vandals cut two holes into the mesh of the squirrel monkey exhibit and snatched Banana Sam. While he was missing, zoo officials were concerned for a number of reasons, including a special diet required for Banana Sam to survive, as well as his age. Officials were also concerned about the public, because while squirrel monkeys are not large ani- mals, they have sharp teeth and will bite if provoked. Police said the man who found the monkey put him in his backpack after seeing him emerge from bushes in the park. The name of the man has not been released, but he could be in line for a $5,000 reward that was offered for Banana Sam's safe return. Police on Sunday had no additional information to release about the incident, only to say the investigation was ongoing. The two-pound, one-foot- tall Banana Sam at 17 is an elder among squirrel mon- keys, whose lifespan is about 20 years. Common squirrel monkeys like him are not endangered, and are often seen in pet mar- kets and medical research. While some states allow keep- ing monkeys as pets, in Cali- fornia it is illegal.