Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/551444
"The delta smelt is basi- cally on its last legs right now. We'll be lucky if it sur- vives the coming year," said Peter Moyle, a fish biologist at the University of Califor- nia, Davis who has been studying the fish for four decades. On a recent fish survey, Moyle and three other re- searchers trawled the tur- bid waters of the sprawling estuary that once teemed with the delta smelt. They pulled a net out of the water and emptied doz- ens of fish into a plastic bin on their research boat. They logged and tossed back 13 species, including carp, crappie, catfish and striped bass — but no delta smelt. Delta smelt populations have been declining for de- cades due to invasive pred- ators, pollution, habitat loss and increased water exports to farms and cit- ies. The drought has wors- ened conditions by reduc- ing freshwater flows and raising water temperatures. "The drought has basi- cally made all the things that were bad for smelt worse," Moyle said. The delta smelt has been at the center of vicious water fights between farmers, fish- ermen, cities and environ- mentalists ever since it was listed as a threatened spe- cies under the U.S. Endan- gered Species Act in 1993. It was listed as an endangered under state law in 2010. The government has reg- ularly cut water exports from the delta to protect the smelt and other threat- ened fish from being sucked into the giant pumps that send water south. The last cuts related to delta smelt were in February 2013, said Steve Martarano, a spokes- man for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Scientists and environ- mentalists say the sensitive fish needs protection be- cause it's a key indicator of the delta's health, but farm- ers say too much precious water has been wasted on the fish — water that could be used to grow crops and fill reservoirs. Stanislaus County al- mond grower Jim Jasper, who relies on delta water to irrigate his orchards, was a part of a lawsuit that chal- lenged the federal wildlife service over delta smelt pro- tections. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected their appeal earlier this year, leaving the water restrictions in place. Last year, Jasper pulled out 400 acres of almond trees — about one-fifth of his orchards — because he couldn't get enough water to irrigate them, reducing his almond production and forcing him to cut employee work hours. Standing next to the ir- rigation canal that delivers water from the delta, Jas- per said endangered species protections have worsened the agricultural impacts of the drought. "The delta smelt contin- ues to wrack a lot of havoc on today's farming commu- nity," said Jasper, who runs Steward & Jasper Orchards, the Newman, California- based almond company his father co-founded in 1948. "If it became extinct would anybody's lives change? I really don't think so." The UC Davis Fish Con- servation and Culture Lab- oratory in Byron may be the last place where you can still find large numbers of delta smelt. The hatchery was re- cently awarded a $10 mil- lion federal grant to con- tinue its work breeding the smelt in captivity for sci- entific research and to en- sure its survival if the spe- cies vanishes from the wild. "One of our most impor- tant projects is to maintain a refuge population of this species," said Tien-Chieh Hung, the lab's director. "We may be the place that holds the most delta smelt in the world." While the lab could even- tually release its carefully bred smelt into the delta, there's no guarantee they could survive in the wild and there would be no point if their native habitat can no longer support them. That's why researchers say it's better to protect the smelt now before they dis- appear from the delta. "If you're saving the smelt," Moyle said, "you're saving the habitat for other species in the delta as well." Smelt FROMPAGE1 RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Luke Ellison, research supervisor at the University of California Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Lab, displays a delta smelt that he has just placed an orange identification tag on for future study at the lab in Byron. "Some have never gone clothes shopping, some have never had new shoes. It's just such a great day," Berry said. "I couldn't do it without the community's support." The money raised this year was able to provide every student that applied and qualified the opportu- nity to get the things they need to start the school year off right. "Because of the funds raised and the sponsors and community support, we don't have to turn kids away this year," Berry said. The project is looking for volunteers who could help out for an hour on Saturday at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. Cuts for Kids is looking for licensed stylists to give children's hair cuts so they look and feel ready for the new year. The Cuts for Kids event will have free hair cuts, free food, games and music. The Walmart Distribution Center has donated school supplies that will be given away at the event. To learn more about the events and how to volun- teer, call 529-4074 or visit backtoschoolproject.com. Project FROM PAGE 1 COURTESY PHOTO Children enjoying their shopping day and the new shoes they bought in 2014with the funds raised by the Back to School Project. Go-Biz works with busi- nesses that are looking to relocate to or expand within California. According to the state website, it was created to be a single point of con- tact for economic devel- opment and job creation efforts. Go-Biz offers a range of services to busi- ness owners, including at- traction, retention and ex- pansion of services, site selection, permit stream- lining, clearing of reg- ulatory hurdles, small business assistance and international trade devel- opment. Seeking to create jobs is phase two of the new Te- hama County Marketing Plan that was approved at the July 28 Board of Su- pervisors meeting to be sent out for certification by Three Fold Communication in Sacramento. The first phase allows Tehama County to not only accept donations from groups, but to pub- licly acknowledge them as well. Car FROM PAGE 1 By Tami Abdollah TheAssociatedPress LOS ANGELES A weeklong manhunt launched after a killing, kidnapping and the wounding of two sheriff's deputies in California fo- cused Tuesday on a remote area of sparsely populated mining territory. Authorities said there was a strong possibility that all three crimes were committed by a dangerous man on foot who has been breaking into unoccupied homes and taking firearms. "We believe at this point that we're looking for one suspect," Kern County sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said. The crime spree be- gan on July 28 when three young men were held hos- tage at gunpoint in a cabin before escaping. Two days later, a man was found dead in a dwelling about 10 miles away, and on Satur- day two SWAT team mem- bers were wounded as they searched a mobile home. Dozens of deputies and helicopters were combing the high-desert 30 miles east of Bakersfield in tri- ple-digit heat. Peaks in the area reach 7,000 feet, with the vast expanse of the Mo- jave Desert to the east and the San Joaquin Valley to the west. Authorities warned res- idents to stay inside and lock their doors and win- dows. Two elementary schools and a middle school were closed indefinitely. "We're having to move very slowly and meticu- lously," Pruitt said about the manhunt. "This is a suspect we consider to be armed and very danger- ous. He has shown he is not hesitant to engage law enforcement officers in a shootout." The manhunt began when three young men ap- proached a squatter in a cabin who asked why they were on his property. When one of the men said it was his cabin, the squatter pulled a shotgun and ordered them inside, holding the men for more than an hour and threaten- ing to kill them. The trio escaped and hiked several miles to a road. Meanwhile, the gun- man left in their car, which was found abandoned two miles away on Wednes- day. Several firearms sto- len from the men and the cabin also were found but not the shotgun. The next day, David Louis Markiewitz's worried family found the 64-year- old man shot to death in his cabin. Pruitt didn't know what type of weapon was used to kill him. A man with a high-cal- iber handgun confronted the SWAT team members on Saturday as they en- tered the mobile home during their search, Pruitt said. The deputies returned fire, and Deputy Michael Booker was shot twice — once in each arm — and taken by helicopter to a hospital with severe inju- ries. He remained hospi- talized in stable condition. Senior Deputy Jose Perez was treated for a minor wound to his right ear. Authorities described the fugitive as a white man in his early 30s, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds, with long brown hair, blue eyes and wearing a brown corduroy hat and green bandanna. CRIME SPREE Manhunt focuses on rugged area of state a er attacks By Julia Horowitz The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Califor- nia restored voting rights Tuesday to tens of thou- sands of criminals serving sentences under commu- nity supervision, reversing a decision by a state official that they could not partic- ipate in elections. Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the set- tlement between the state and the American Civil Liberties Union of Califor- nia, which sued on behalf of nearly 60,000 convicts who became ineligible to vote when then Secretary of State Debra Bowen de- termined in 2014 that com- munity supervision was equivalent to parole. Her decision stemmed from a 2011 realignment of the state's criminal jus- tice law that aims to re- duce overcrowding in state prisons by sending people convicted of less serious crimes to county jails or alternative treatment pro- grams. A judge later overturned Bowen's policy, stating that community supervision and parole are different. Bowen's office appealed the decision, but Padilla, a fellow Democrat, de- cided to let the court rul- ing stand. The secretary of state's office found the lower court's opinion thorough and convincing, said Pa- dilla spokesman Steve Reyes. He added it is Padil- la's position to err on the side of maintaining voting rights in contentious cases. "When there are ques- tions, we're in favor of keeping the right to vote intact," Reyes said. Tuesday's announcement was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act. "Secretary of State Pa- dilla is bucking a national trend in which voting rights are under attack," Lori Shellenberger, direc- tor of the ACLU of Califor- nia's Voting Rights Proj- ect, said in a statement. "We are thrilled that this administration has effec- tively said 'no' to Jim Crow in California." Still, California's ruling is a narrow one and un- likely to establish prece- dent, said Michael Risher, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. COMMUNITY SUPERVISION Many convicts to regain voting rights CASEY CHRISTIE — THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN A Ridgecrest Police vehicle drives on U.S. Highway 178 near Weldon. GAECLELAND Gae Cleland passed away Saturday, August 1st after a valiant fight with cancer at the age of 75. He was born in Red Bluff and graduated from Red Bluff High School in 1959. Gae worked at Minch's Wholesale Meats until their closure in 1975 and retired from Johns Manville Fiberglass in 2001. He was a highly regarded and respected taxi- dermist for over forty years. Gae is survived by his bride of 56 years Diane, children Bret wife Susan; Tara Eden husband Monty and Susan Jennings husband Kirk; eight grandchildren, Erika Zamarron, Megan Eden, Kalyn Burnell, Cliff Cleland, Kim- berly Martinovich, Casey Cleland, Karlie Jennings & Bailey Jennings. He also leaves six great-grandchildren. Gae Cleland will always remain in the hearts of every- one who knew him and as a man who was loved by many and disliked by none. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Elks Lodge, Red Bluff, on Saturday, August 8, 2015, 11am to 2pm. In lieu of flowers you may make a donation to the American Cancer Society or the charity of your choice. Obituaries ThePassingParadeisbroughttoyoubyMinchPropertyManagement, 760 Main Street specializing in commercial leasing and sales. 530 527-5514 THE PASSING PARADE (ExcerptsfrommyISayColumnsofAprilandJuly 1966) Highway billboard advertising is of growing concern…and it has caused us to see the pro and con of it. In the past, I harbored the urge to burn down the signs that clutter up our magnificent north state scenery and probably not have purchased the advertised product just for spite. But then, the other day, coming back from San Francisco, whizzing down on a stretch of the new freeway prior to and bypassing the City of Corning, I had a change of heart. The missus was driving and I was idly gazing at the backsides of olive stands which line the old 99W highway, when I spotted an old sedan parked in a field near the new freeway. Wired precariously to the top of the old heap was a hand printed sign reading, "GLASSBLOWER. NEXT TURNOFF." I knew immediately what advertising was all about. Here was a guy with a novelty item at best, depending upon the curious tourist to stop by and watch him shape glass into a bottle…or the unlikely event of him sucking in inadvertently and creating something in the shape of his throat. Whatever, I'm fairly certain he was just getting by and making a living, when suddenly the freeway kicked in, old 99w became a dusty rural connector, with few customers! So, in desperation, he runs that old clunker out in the south forty and with hopes that somebody zipping down the freeway will say, "Look, kids, a Glassblower! Let's go take a look." I hope they do. As a sidebar to the above, one of my father's pet sayings was, "Running a business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. She won't know what you may have to offer." … Sister Mary Columba asked our family down to the hospital for a little ceremony. We had wanted to donate something in the name of David F. Minch. She had a large ceramic wall mural designed on which we placed my father's favorite motto, "Everything is possible to those who have faith." … Winston Churchill once told anAmerican journalist, "I was lucky enough to start out in life with a name well known in England. In your country, however, it is somewhat of a handicap to have a great father; few of your great men have had great sons." Winston, if you are listening, you know how to hurt a guy… … Some may find the name "Minch" difficult to spell. Of course many foreigners change their names when they come to these shores. Curiously those coming from south of the border seldom do.Anyhow, our original name was "Mensch", Dutch or German I think, so we've seen it every conceivable way. However, a letter to our meat plant the other day was over the top. It was addressed to "Mench's Whale Meats "but promptly delivered. I'm glad the Post office didn't "beach" it. Robert Minch WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A