Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/5833
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An outspoken gay marriage opponent serving as an official litigant defend- ing the state's ban on same- sex weddings on Friday asked a judge to remove him from the lawsuit because he feared the trial would generate publicity that could endanger him and his family. Hak-Shing William Tam was one of five people who formally intervened to defend the state from a fed- eral lawsuit filed against California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attor- ney General Jerry Brown have declined to mount a defense on behalf of the state. Tam and the other four interveners were also the official proponents of Proposition 8, which passed in November 2008 and was upheld four months later by the California Supreme Court. ''I dedicated the majority of my working hours between January 2008 and November 2008 toward qualifying Proposition 8 for the ballot and campaigning for its enactment,'' the San Francisco resident told the judge in May in urging to be named an official party to the lawsuit. On Friday, Tam told the court that he was harassed and his property vandalized during the campaign, and feared similar retribution if he continued to represent gay marriage foes' interest in the lawsuit and trial, which is scheduled to start Monday in San Francisco. ''In the past I have received threats on my life, had my property vandalized and am recognized on the streets due to my associa- tion with Proposition 8,'' Tam said in a court filing. ''Now that the subject law- suit is going to trial, I fear I will get more publicity, be more recognizable and that the risk of harm to me and my family will increase.'' In the months leading up Weather forecast 8A Mostly Cloudy 55/39 N EWS D AILY DAILY 50¢ WEEKEND JANUARY 9-10, 2010 'Work in Progress' Denzel Washington Shoot Out Semi Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY 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 See Inside SPORTS 1B USA Weekend 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 CALL TODAY (530) 529-1222 237 South Main Street As Local As.... Are you tired of being Nickel and Dimed by your current bank? It's time to move around the corner to Cornerstone Community Bank. • With our Better Than Free Checking • No Fees • No Monthly Service Charges • No ATM fees • No Minimum balances required Learn QuickBooks this year! (Six Wed. Evenings) Jan 13 TH - Feb. 17 TH Time: 5:15 pm to 7:15 pm Cost: $99.00 per person Location: Job Training Center, 718 Main St., Red Bluff Call 529-7000 to Register Gov's budget — 'Hope and hard choices' By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer Cuts to prison spending remains a top concern for Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R- Gerber, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented Fri- day his proposed budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Nielsen, the ranking Republi- can on the Assembly Budget Committee, gave his approval to the majority of the proposal dur- ing a telephone interview, but said it would need some tweak- ing before he could see himself backing it. "It's a budget of what I would call hope and hard choices," Nielsen said. Chief among Nielsen's objec- tions was the governor's propos- al to cut some $1.2 billion to California prisons, part of which would come from transferring to county jails many less serious offenders. Nielsen staunchly opposed the governor's attempts during the last budget negotiations to cut prison spending by the same amount through the early release of some 27,000 lesser offenders. He also has opposed the gov- ernor's proposal to amend the state constitution to mandate more spending on higher educa- tion than prisons since the gov- ernor introduced the idea on Wednesday. Much of the governor's bud- get hinges on reclaiming about $7 billion in federal funds, and the governor is unlikely to be able to reclaim all of it, Nielsen said. "It's owed and it should be paid," he said. "Will it all be 'Will it all be paid? No. But you can always fight for every federal dollar you can get' Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber Sun City setback Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson The road to the proposed Sun City Tehama project. By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer An appellate court ruling may require a major housing project to sub- mit its paperwork to the county anew and for the developers to consider additional infrastructure funding. In a Dec. 30 ruling, Tehama County Judge Richard Scheuler declared Tehama County must "set aside and vacate" the documents it has approved for Sun City Tehama, a proposed 3,700-home, 3,320 acre Del Webb senior housing project. The ruling follows the June decision of the California Court of Appeal, which threw out all but one of the Cal- ifornia Oak Foundation's claims that the project's Environmental Impact Report was inadequate. The Oak Foundation had previously argued the county failed to mitigate the removal of some 774 oak trees, which the project would destroy — a claim both Scheuler and the Court of Appeal A budget for 'tough times' SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has warned Californi- ans that they face more economic pain in the year ahead, and on Friday he delivered on that promise by proposing an austere budget that takes the state back to its spending level of six years ago. To make up for a drastic drop in tax revenue and plug a $20 billion deficit, Schwarzenegger proposed making cuts to health and human ser- vices, welfare, prisons, transportation and envi- ronmental programs. He also seeks to raise money by rolling back recent corporate tax breaks, expanding oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast to provide $140 million for state parks and demanding more money from the federal government. The Republican governor vowed to protect spending for public schools and colleges after cutting their funding by billions of dollars in recent years, actions that have sparked student protests throughout the state. Unlike last year, Schwarzenegger said he would not agree to any tax increases. The continued austerity measures are a fall- out from the national recession, which has pum- meled California's economy and boosted the state's unemployment rate to 12.3 percent, third highest in the nation. The resulting fiscal crisis has forced California to shave $60 billion from state government spending over the last two years. Schwarzenegger said the state is beginning to emerge from the downturn but that it would be three to four years before tax revenue recov- ers. ''Tough times still lie ahead,'' he said. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins in July contains $82.9 bil- lion in spending from the general fund, the state's main account to pay for its daily opera- tions. The amount is $3.1 billion lower than last year and the lowest amount California has had to spend on government operations since the 2004-05 fiscal year. It is $20 billion less than the high point of Price is right for Red Bluff woman By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer With nearly 40 years of airtime, The Price is Right has been around long enough to see a gen- eration of viewers go from play money to real stakes. Viewers like Nicky Bosworth. A Red Bluff resident since elementary school, Bosworth has seen countless spins of the wheel and an endless stream of nail-biting showcases. Watching the show has been a life- long pleasure that she continues today. "I absolutely watch it when I'm not work- ing," she said. But on Thursday she'll be on the other side of the camera. Bosworth was visiting friends in Southern California when they invited her to be part of the audience during taping of the show. Her appearance on the show would have been enough to warrant a group viewing. But Bosworth, along with her fiance Jess Photo courtesy of CBS — The Price is Right Red Bluff resident Nicky Bosworth, left, will be featured on "The Price is Right," along with her fiance Jess Vandyke and friend Katye Smith, at 10 a.m. Thursday on CBS. See HOPE, page 7A See SETBACK, page 7A See TOUGH, page 7A See PRICE, page 7A Gay marriage foe wants out of case See FOE, page 7A