Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/51649
TUESDAY JANUARY 3, 2012 Breaking news at: Get In Step American Profile www.redbluffdailynews.com See Inside RED BLUFF Bowl Bonanza SPORTS 1B Mostly Sunny 66/37 Weather forecast 8B 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 Capitol crisis City to discuss downtown, speed limits The Red Bluff City Council will have a short agen- da when it meets at 7 tonight for its first meeting of 2012. A public hearing is scheduled regarding the fiscal year 2012 assessment for the downtown parking and business improvement area. A second reading is scheduled for amending the code regarding speed limits on portions of certain streets. Committee reports are expected from the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), 3Core, Tehama County Transportation Commission, Down- town Red Bluff Business Association, Community Action Agency, Tehama Economic Development Cor- poration, Tehama County Sanitary Landfill JPA I and Executive Committee -- Tehama County/City of Red Bluff Landfill Management Agency JPA II. The next regular meeting of the council will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17 at the Red Bluff City Council Chambers, 555 Washington St. The meeting is open to the public. MCT file photo SACRAMENTO (AP) — California's budget deficit appears more man- ageable than in past years, but the state's ongoing fis- cal crisis will continue to dominate debate over other matters in the Legis- lature during the coming session. Whether to delay a vote on an $11 billion water bond, approve online poker, reform pub- lic employee pensions, keep state parks from closing or scuttle a bond sale for the state's high- speed rail project are among the issues that will be considered against a backdrop of lower state tax revenue. Lawmakers will reconvene on Wednesday. Legalizing online poker and perhaps other forms of gambling as a way to bring more rev- enue to the state is shap- Trial set to begin in traffic killing of SF family SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to start in a long- awaited triple murder trial of an illegal immigrant accused of fatally shooting a man and his two sons in traffic nearly four years ago. Edwin Ramos is sus- pected of opening fire on Tony Bologna, 48, and two of his sons, Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, who were shot in their car at an inter- section in the city's Excel- sior district while driving home from a picnic on June 22, 2008. A third son inside the car wasn't injured. Ramos was a member of the MS-13 street gang and mistook one of the sons for a gang rival, prosecutors said. Ramos has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder, claiming he was the getaway driver and another man in his car was the gunman. That passen- ger, another suspected MS- 13 member, has not been found. Jury selection is expect- ed to begin Tuesday and take a few weeks. If con- victed, Ramos could face life in prison without parole. The shootings sparked public outrage over San Francisco's sanctuary city policy for illegal immi- grants. Under a loophole, juveniles charged with felonies were not turned over for deportation, which allowed Ramos to stay in the U.S. despite his crimi- nal record. A state appeals court ruled last year that San Francisco was not legally liable for the deaths because of its sanctuary policy. Bologna's widow and daughter argued that the city was responsible for the shootings because it failed to turn Ramos over to feder- al immigration authorities after his prior brushes with the law. Ramos was previously arrested for assault in Octo- ber 2003 and attempted purse-snatching in 2004 and was sent to juvenile shelters. Court documents don't reveal if police or juvenile courts knew that Ramos had entered the country illegally. Under the juvenile authorities' interpretation of the sanctuary policy, they would not have turned him over to immigration author- ities. The murders led to a change in the policy. In July 2008, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city employees to report sus- pected underage illegal immigrants to the federal government after a felony arrest. City supervisors then passed an ordinance that requires a youth to be found guilty before being report- ed, but the mayor refused to implement it, saying it vio- lates federal law. HAVOC WITH YOUR SOCKS? toenails WREAKING Are your COMPLETE AUTO REPAIR PODIATRY CENTER AEROFEET Painless Topical Treatment THAT REALLY WORKS. Treat your neglected nails and cracked heels with our at home SPA EXPERIENCE. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 Call today for an appointment (530)527-7584 QuickBooks 2012 Class Six Wednesday Nights (1-11-12 to 2-15-12) 5:15 pm - 7:15 pm Cost: $99.00 per person Location: Job Training Center, 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 Smog Inspection $ 2595 + cert. (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) Pass or FREE retest 195 S. Main St. Red Bluff 530 527-9841 Photo courtesy of Linda Pritchett Workers install a bull sculpture on Main Street in Cottonwood Dec. 9. The Cottonwood Enrichment Council, which oversees the instal- lation of cattle drive sculptures in the street medians of downtown Cottonwood, recently installed a new community bull. The steel silhouette was installed Dec. 9 in the center median near Tri Counties Bank on Main Street. Although the group had sold similar sculptures in the past as fundraisers, the latest bull sculpture was not purchased by a single busi- ness or organization, said council member Linda Pritchett. This will be a community sculpture and peo- ple can purchase a brand to go on the bull. It got too expensive for people in this economy to be able to sponsor an entire sculpture, she said. Now, people can be involved on a smaller scale with individual brands on the sculpture. Many volunteers and local busi- nesses contributed to the erection of the sculpture, including the Baker family, who donated time and offered the steel at wholesale costs from their business. FIREARMS TRAINING Call for Class details January 8TH Walt Mansell 527-1154 Early morning & evenings & 15TH ing up as one of the more contentious legislative questions for 2012. ''I'm not a huge fan, but if there really is the potential for hundreds of millions of dollars for education, higher educa- tion, health care, then I'm open to it,'' said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. He previously put a hold on Senate considera- tion of two competing bills, including one that would allow online bet- ting on games beyond poker. Sen. Lou Correa, D- Anaheim, said his SB40 would bring the state an immediate $250 million by requiring upfront pay- ments from online poker operators. Former state finance director Tim Gage projected it would create See CRISIS, page 7A Mother reunites with biological child 77 years later SAN CLEMENTE (AP) — For most of her 100 years, Minka Disbrow tried to find out what became of the precious baby girl she gave up for adoption after being raped as a teen. She hoped, but never imagined, she'd see her Betty Jane again. The cruel act of violence bore in Disbrow an endur- ing love for the child. She kept a black and white pho- tograph of the baby bundled in blankets and tucked inside a basket. It was the last she saw of the girl — until the phone rang in her California apart- ment in 2006 with the voice See CHILD, page 7A Community bull