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SEAT Continued from page 1A too costly for taxpayers. Reade said LaMalfa Continued from page 1A were dismissed. He was sentenced Monday. Divine molested girls over a period of time, starting when they were as young as 5 and 3 years old, accord- ing to court documents. The girls are now teens. Divine will have to register as a sex offender and pay the victims restitution. TWO Continued from page 1A where they found Strahle and Foster in possession of the stolen jackets, a Corning Police release said. Further investigation revealed that the Ford had been reported as a stolen vehicle in Shasta County and the rear license plate on the vehi- cle had been replaced with a plate from another vehicle, the release said. Foster and Strahle were both found to be in possession of a switch blade knife and a hypo- dermic syringe. The two were arrested and booked into Tehama County Jail where Strahle was found to have five bags of methamphetamine, with 5.6 grams total, in her possession. Strahle was booked on the charges of pos- session of stolen proper- ty/vehicle, possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, posses- sion of a switch blade knife and bringing a controlled substance into a jail facility. Bail was $52,000. Foster was booked on the charges of posses- sion of stolen property/vehicle, pos- session of controlled substance paraphernalia, possession of a switch blade knife, manufactur- ing, selling or possess- ing a dangerous weapon, driving without a license and fraudulent license plate. Bail was $65,500. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynew s.com. North Coast opens to commercial crabbers Sunday EUREKA (AP) — Another wave of Dungeness crab is expected to hit the market next week. California's North Coast is scheduled to open to commercial crab fishing on Sunday. The northern California fishery normally opens Dec. 1, but the season was delayed because the crustaceans weren't mature enough to harvest. State biologists say this is the latest the North Coast crab season has started in two decades. The central California fishery officially opened on Nov. 15, but the season was delayed by a couple weeks because fishermen and buyers couldn't agree on price. The central California fishery hasn't been as produc- tive as last year when crabbers hauled a whopping 19 million pounds. State biologists are not anticipating an especially strong harvest for the northern fishery. Analysis highlights Brown's many budget challenges SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown received praise from the Legislature's nonpartisan analyst Wednes- day for producing a plan that could ultimately balance the state's perennially deficit-ridden budget, but the governor also received a sobering reminder that his proposal faces a number of obstacles in the months ahead. The Democratic governor's budget essentially gives California's a choice: Approve higher taxes in the fall, or the state will immediately enact another $5.4 billion in cuts that could include reducing the school year by three weeks. The state's nonpartisan legislative analyst, Mac Taylor, said Wednesday that if the Legislature passes a spending plan similar to what the governor proposed, California will have taken a dramatic step toward solving its ongoing deficit. ''The Legislative Analyst's Office report underscores the fundamental uncertainty of our time and, therefore, the financial imperative to be prudent, make the tough cuts now and give the voters a choice on additional revenues,'' Brown said in a statement Wednesday, reacting to the analysis of the budget proposal he released last week. But the plan faces hurdles: It perpetuates the state's reliance on tax revenue from the rich, a volatile source that fluctuates greatly from year to year, requires support from Democratic lawmakers who are opposed to another year of deep spending cuts to education and social service pro- grams, and hinges what is perhaps the most difficult to read: the whim of California voters. Brown estimated that California faces a $9.2 billion deficit in the 2012-13 fiscal year, which begins July 1, and has called for closing that shortfall with a near equal bal- ance of spending cuts and the temporary tax increases he wants voters to approve in November. The analyst, however, gave a more conservative esti- mate of state tax revenue than the one Brown presented, citing a lower forecast of income and capital gains taxes from the wealthiest residents. The difference in overall revenue between the governor's estimate and the analyst's is $3.2 billion, mostly in income taxes. Taylor told reporters that his analysis was like waving a ''cautionary yellow flag'' to lawmakers about Brown's optimistic revenue projections that he said make the gov- ernor's budget risky. ''I think what we're concerned about is the capital gains assumptions that the administration is making is a little bit optimistic,'' Taylor said. Revenue from capital gains taxes has been a huge boost to California's general fund during boom times, such as when shares of Apple or Google soar. Tax gains from an initial public offering for Facebook, based in Silicon Val- ley, could provide another windfall to California's budget this year, but Taylor said even that would not be enough to close the budget deficit. Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, a Republican from Diamond Bar, said the governor's proposal will only increase the state's dependence on income taxes from the wealthy, which can be volatile from year to year. Photo by Ross Palubeski Firefighters exit a home on Spyglass Drive Saturday morning after a search for occupants turned up empty. Originally published on redbluffdailynews.com Sat- urday Staff report Report of a person trapped inside a burning home on Spyglass Drive Saturday morning were unfounded, but the Red Bluff Fire Department quickly worked to extin- guish the fire. Firefighters responded to the structure fire around 10:20 a.m., and found smoke venting from a bedroom window at the front of the residence at 570 Spyglass Drive, Chief Michael Bachmeyer said. Concerned neighbors were attempting to hold the fire in place by using garden hoses with the assistance of a Red Bluff Police officer. Neighbors told fire fight- ers the resident of the house may be trapped inside, Bachmeyer said. After a thorough search of the structure, it was deter- mined no one was home. The fire crew then quickly extinguished the fire, minimizing the damage to the contents, which was estimated at less than $5,000. Crews remained at the scene for about hour and a half to clean up and perform an investigation. The preliminary cause of the fire has been deter- mined to be electrical. Ten firefighters from Red Bluff Fire and CalFire responded to the incident. Lawmaker with gun highlights Capitol security gaps SACRAMENTO (AP) — Had Assemblyman Tim Donnelly not been stopped by airport securi- ty, he could have walked straight into the state Capitol carrying his loaded Colt .45-caliber handgun. Unlike civilians, state lawmakers do not have to pass through metal detec- tors to get inside the build- ing, security officials said Wednesday. Another gap in the Capitol's security system that has been highlighted since Donnelly's gun inci- dent last week is the park- ing garage used by law- makers. There is no secu- rity checkpoint for law- makers — or anyone else — coming from the underground garage into the Capitol. There is nothing to pre- vent lawmakers and others who use unsecured entry ways from bringing a weapon inside the build- ing, but no changes are planned, according to sergeants-at-arms in the Assembly and Senate, and the California Highway Patrol. However, Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, said the Senate leader would discuss Capitol security with the Rules Committee, other sena- tors, and the Senate sergeants to see if there is a need to revisit the Legis- lature's current security policies. Lawmakers are sup- posed to get permission from the Assembly and Senate sergeants-at-arms if they want to bring in a weapon, but sergeants take them at their word. Moreover, employees who work in the building have electronic pass cards that let them enter after hours without going through a security screening. Donnelly said he had no intention of bringing his loaded handgun with him to work. He was cited for a misdemeanor after Transportation Security Administration screeners spotted the gun at Ontario International Airport, east of Los Angeles, as he was headed to the Capitol for the first day of this year's legislative session. Donnelly said he had the handgun because he had received death threats over his support for a potential ballot referen- dum that sought to undo a new law related to public financial aid for illegal immigrant college stu- dents. He said he had for- gotten that he had placed it in his briefcase before taking it to the airport. The San Bernardino County district attorney's office is still reviewing Donnelly's misdemeanor citation, said spokesman Christopher Lee. Officer Sean Kennedy, spokesman for the CHP Office of Capitol Protec- tion, said the Donnelly incident raises ''a great question'' about the gap in security. But Kennedy said rules for entering the building are set by the Assembly and Senate sergeants-at-arms, who in turn answer to the Legisla- ture's Joint Rules Com- mittee. Armed CHP officers back up security screeners and sweep vehicles in the Capitol's basement garage for bombs after the occu- pants have left the vehi- cles to be parked. The Rules Committee decided to exempt law- makers from passing through security check- points when metal detec- tors were installed at the Capitol after 9/11, said Tony Beard, the Senate's chief sergeant. ''We're always looking at the security of the Capi- tol. Those are constant conversations,'' said the Assembly's chief sergeant, Ronald E. Pane. Both said they see no reason to make a change. Several lawmakers who sit on the Rules Committee had no immediate com- ment on whether they might seek a review of the Capitol's security gaps. Both sergeants-at-arms said they are confident that lawmakers who felt the need to carry weapons would inform them as required by Capitol rules. Last year, four Assem- bly members asked to bring their guns to work for self-defense, though they were denied permis- sion after sergeants-at- arms in the 80-member Assembly began carrying handguns full-time. has indicated he would endorse Nielsen in suc- ceeding him in the State Senate and is expected to make an official endorse- ment soon. MOLESTATION BUDGET Continued from page 1A attrition, said Steve Allen, the asso- ciation's negotiating representative. Lt. Kyle Sanders said the sug- gestion shows extreme shortsight- edness, ignorance and a lack of understanding for the role of the police chief. Police administrators have a heavy workload that requires putting in more than 40 hours per week. If the police chief is reduced to half-time, his work would go to someone else, causing the city to pay more in overtime. "The other half of the workload needs to go elsewhere, and there is nowhere it can go. I can't work 100 hours a week," Sanders said. "If you play it out there is no cost-sav- ing." Sanders, Police Chief Paul Nan- fito and other police administrators are not members of the Police Offi- cers' Association bargaining union. Members of the association said the suggestion is not meant to be an attack on Nanfito or a move to get him out of the job. It's simply a model they see has been successful in Corning that could possibly be applied in Red Bluff, at least until the economy improves. "We are running out of ideas, and we saw a model to the south," Det. Brett McAllister said. The association estimates the city would save more than $50,000, but City Manager Martin Nichols said the move would increase costs by $80,000. The police chief position was eliminated when the last chief retired. Nanfito is a captain serving as acting chief. If the city were to follow through on the suggestion, it would be hiring for a position with a salary of about $160,000. Half of that would be $80,000. Nichols said he would do some research and bring the idea back at a future meeting, if the council Thursday, January 12, 2012 – Daily News 7A wanted to further explore the idea. Mayor Forrest Flynn said he was surprised by the suggestion, but appreciated the association having the courage to stand up and put an idea out there. McAllister said, as a 12-year veteran of Red Bluff Police, he has seen many great officers leave, and the association is simply trying for any ideas to keep officers. In the past three years the department has gone from a sworn officer staff of 27 to about 21. Cuts in wages and other incentives have resulted in a large number officers leaving Red Bluff for other agen- cies. "We know were not going to be rich," McAllister said. "We stay because we like being cops, but the same time, we need to make money to pay rent." ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527- 2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdailynews.com. No injuries in Spyglass Drive fire Located in Chico, CA Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. 529-3655 www.affordablemortuary.net