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TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Democratic legislators in Sacramento blocked a proposal by Re- publicans to order a state audit of Planned Parent- hood after undercover vid- eos surfaced of the group's officials discussing aborted fetal organs it provides for research. Thirteen GOP law- makers, led by Assembly- woman Melissa A. Melen- dez of Lake Elsinore, asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to approve a re- view to determine whether taxpayer funds were used to improperly harvest and sell fetal tissue. Melendez said the au- dit should look at whether Planned Parenthood is im- properly profiting from the sale of fetal parts, organs and tissues Democrats scuttled the proposal on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times re- ported. Planned Parenthood re- ceives more than $200 mil- lion annually in state Medi- Cal patient reimburse- ments, and its clinics are licensed by the state De- partment of Public Health. Some Planned Parent- hood officials were secretly videotaped talking about harvesting fetal organs for medical research. The group's California af- filiates collected less than $100,000 last year from tis- sue donations, which are done only with the consent of the women who have abortions, according to Beth H.Parker,chief legalcounsel ofPlanned Parenthood Affil- iates of California. "It is legal to donate fetal tissue to medical research, and Planned Parenthood fully complies with all fed- eral and state laws in the limited instances where it offers patients the opportu- nity to donate their tissue," Parker told the committee. Democratic Sen. Con- nie Leyva of Chino said the proposal did not jus- tify spending an estimated $300,000 of taxpayer dol- lars for the audit. She noted that Planned Parenthood provides vital health care services to women. Information from: Los Angeles Times, http:// www.latimes.com/ REPUBLICAN PROPOSAL StateauditofPlannedParenthood funding blocked by legislators By Sudhin Thanawala The Associated Press SANFRANCISCO Los Ange- les County sheriff's investi- gators can he held liable for allegations they withheld evidence from two mur- der defendants who have since been exonerated, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals would allow the law- suits brought by Fran- cisco Carrillo and Frank O'Connell against three sheriff's officials to pro- ceed. The appeals court said the sheriff's officials — Craig Ditsch, J.D. Smith and Eric Parra — were not immune from liability be- cause the law at the time of their murder investiga- tions clearly established that they had to turn over exculpatory evidence. "Any reasonable officer" would have known that the specific evidence the three officials were accused of withholding had to be dis- closed, Circuit Judge Ray- mond Fisher wrote for the three-judge panel. A call to an attorney at the law firm representing the sheriff's officials was not immediately returned. Courts overturned O'Connell's conviction in 2009 and Carrillo's convic- tion in 2011. Both men had spent years in prison. O'Connell was con- victed in 1985 of murder- ing Jay French in the park- ing lot of French's apart- ment building. French and his ex-wife, Jeanne Lyon, were fighting over cus- tody of their children, and O'Connell had been ro- mantically involved with Lyon, according to the 9th Circuit's ruling. The judge who over- turned O'Connell's convic- tion cited notes that Smith and Parra had failed to turn over showing one wit- ness identified someone other than O'Connell in a photo lineup and investiga- tors had come up with an- other possible suspect. Carrillo was convicted in 1992 of killing Donald Sarpy in a drive-by shoot- ing in a gang-ridden neigh- borhood in Lynwood. His conviction was over- turned after five of the six eyewitnesses who testified against him recanted. In a police report, Ditsch wrote that one witness se- lected Carrillo's photo but did not mention the wit- ness had selected several photos of other individu- als first, or that he had con- firmed the witness's choice of Carrillo, the 9th Circuit said. MURDER EXONERATIONS Court OKs lawsuits against LA officials The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A group of neighbors and activ- ists has sued bottled water company Crystal Geyser and Siskiyou County over plans to build a bottling plant near Mount Shasta in parched Northern Cal- ifornia. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednes- day that the suit accuses Crystal Geyser of pushing through an illegal plan to suck thousands of gallons of water a day from an aqui- fer that feeds the drought- parched Sacramento River. The group says the com- pany failed to get proper permits and will be violat- ing land-use provisions if it carries out its plan this fall to tap Big Springs, which burbles out through lava tubes at the base of Cali- fornia's largest volcano, the newspaper reported. "The ultimate goal is to have an environmental impact report," said Bruce Hillman, president of the board of directors for the nonprofit group We Advo- cate Thorough Environ- mental Review. "We don't know what the effect of this plant will be on the lo- cal environment, so we are asking for an injunction until these issues have been decided." Siskiyou County was also named in the suit for allegedly ignoring its own rules and pushing the proj- ect through. City and county officials have said they have no legal authority to require an en- vironmental impact report. Judy Yee, the executive vice president of market- ing and business strategy for Crystal Geyser, said company officials would not comment on pending litigation. Information from: Los Angeles Times, http:// www.latimes.com/ MOUNT SHASTA Group sues over bottling plant in parched state By Amy Taxin The Associated Press SANTAANA Whiledrought- plagued California is eager for rain, the forecast of a potentially Godzilla-like El Nino event has commu- nities clearing out debris basins, urging residents to stock up on emergency supplies and even talking about how a deluge could affect the 50th Super Bowl. Roofers, on the other hand, are reveling in the uptick in business as home- owners ready for the pros- pect of downpours after four years of dry weather. In San Francisco, officials are discussing how to con- tend with possible street closures if there is exten- sive rain or street flooding during the Super Bowl in February. "As we move forward with Super Bowl planning, this is one of the things we've put out to various departments and entities," said Rob Dudgeon, deputy director of San Francis- co's department of emer- gency management. "What if it has been raining re- ally hard? What if it has been raining three or four days?" In a state known for striking mountain land- scapes and dramatic sea- side cliffs, Californians are used to preparing for natu- ral disasters ranging from treacherous wildfires and earthquakes to devastating floods and landslides. Often, the state's resi- dents must be ready for more than one potential ca- lamity at a time. Right now, firefighters are battling blazes during the state's wildfire season but also getting ready for the pros- pect of wet winter months ahead. Federal meteorolo- gists recently said the El Nino event is already the second strongest on re- cord for this time of year. While the warming of Pa- cific Ocean waters tends to bring heavy winter rain to California and much of the southern and eastern U.S., California's state climatolo- gist noted only half the time when there have been big El Ninos has there been mean- ingful, heavy rains. California would need 1 ½ times its normal rainfall to get out of the extended drought, which is unlikely, according to Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Na- tional Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center. Emergency planners said the prolonged dry condi- tions across the state could lead to more debris, fallen trees and flooding during early rains. "The potential for flood- ing is a very definite possi- bility with strong storms af- ter a drought," said Tammy Dunbar, emergency plan- ning coordinator for Santa Clara County. In Los Angeles County, workers have been clear- ing basins and channels to prevent flooding and cap- ture as much storm water as possible to replenish lo- cal water supplies, said Bob Spencer, a spokesman for the county's public works department. In Laguna Beach, offi- cials are urging homeown- ers to clear terrace drains and install floodgates where needed. They will also have code enforcement officers personally visit flood-prone properties, said Ben Siegel, deputy city manager. FORECAST Drought-plagued California readies for El Niño storms By Josh Lederman The Associated Press WASHINGTON Sweeping into office in 2009, Presi- dent Barack Obama cap- tured near rock-star status around the world among millions who saw him as the embodiment of a new sense of social purpose. Now, that baton has largely been passed to Pope Fran- cis, whose visit to the White House next month will put his common cause with Obama on vivid display. Obama has made no se- cret of his affection for the outspoken pope, call- ing him a "transformative leader" whose influence has transcended the Roman Catholic community. The pope has embraced many of the issues Obama has sought to advance, includ- ing global warming, pov- erty and diplomacy with Iran and Cuba. Vice President Joe Biden, a Catholic, said the pope's Sept. 23 visit will mark an important moment not only for Catholics but for all Americans. "Pope Francis has breathed new life into what I believe is the central mis- sion of our faith: Catholic so- cial doctrine," Biden said in a statement to The Associ- ated Press. Invoking key el- ements of Obama's agenda, Biden added that Francis "has become a moral rud- der for the world on some of the most important issues of our time, from inequality to climate change." The pope's brief visit to the White House is part of his highly anticipated trip to the U.S. and Cuba. It's a reunion of sorts for Obama and Francis, who first met when the president visited the Vatican last year. Despite deep differences on some social issues such as abortion, Obama and the pope are expected to focus on areas of agreement. The White House said economic opportunity, immigration and refugees, and protec- tion of religious minorities were high on the agenda. "It's going to be a come- to-Jesus moment — no pun intended — for the many politicians who want to claim the mantle of Pope Francis," said Michael Wear, a former White House offi- cial who led faith outreach for Obama's 2012 campaign. For Obama, the visit of- fers a chance to imbue his remaining goals with a sense of moral authority as he approaches the end of his presidency. Viewed as largely above politics, Francis is extremely popular in the U.S. Tickets to his speech to Congress are such a hot commod- ity that an overflow crowd of thousands is expected to watch on Jumbotrons from the National Mall. "In a way, Pope Francis has become a conscience for this age of the world. When President Obama came to office, he too had that aura for at least the first couple of years," said Stephen Sch- neck, who runs the Catho- lic politics institute at Cath- olic University of America. "But Pope Francis' mes- sage is moral and religious. He's not going to be talking about legislation." 'TRANSFORMATIVE LEADER' PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE President Barack Obama meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2014. Obama to seek unity with pope on issues in White House visit DAMIAN DOVARGANES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Roofer Joel Camberos with Hull Brothers Roofing & Waterproofing resurface townhomes roofs at the Marina del Rey seaside community of Los Angeles on Tuesday. FacebookPage 4,276fans + 10 this week .. and growing, every week! Daily News Facebook fans receive special posts of breaking news, sports, weather and road closures, clicking right to full stories and photos published on redbluffdailynews.com ... Tehama County's most-visited local website ... things that that fans want to know about, sooner rather than later! www.facebook.com/rbdailynews "LIKE" us at "Like" a story or item, leave a review, make a post on the site ... and more! YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B