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ByChristopherWeber TheAssociatedPress LOSANGELES Californians cautiously ventured out- side Thursday after days of powerful El Niño-driven storms drenched the re- gion, stopping cable cars in San Francisco, strand- ing motorists and dump- ing heavy snow in north- ern Arizona. Earlier in the day, the last major storm expected this week lashed coastal areas of California, stirring waves as high as 16 feet and flood- ing some low-lying streets, before turning east toward Nevada and Arizona. The sun eventually came out in parts of Los Angeles but rain lingered in San Di- ego County, where 45-year- old Eddie Vera marveled at the monster surf that crashed against the closed Ocean Beach Pier. "This city in general is not ready for this type of rain," he said, as gawkers took selfies using the giant waves as a backdrop. Vera, a maintenance su- pervisor, had spent time fill- ingsandbagsforuseatapart- ment buildings where drain- age systems flooded during the storms that began Sun- day and answered the ques- tion: When will it rain? For months, Californians watched El Niño — a natu- ral warming in the Pacific Oceanthatinteractswiththe atmosphere — grow stron- ger and waited for the skies to open up and take the edge off four years of drought. Officials said the week's wet weather would provide some relief but much more would be needed to end the drought. They warned res- idents against abandoning their conservation efforts and reverting to wasteful water-use habits. The storms stalled traf- fic, closed schools and top- pled trees, including a 19th century pepper tree out- side historic Mission Santa Barbara. Many residents of foothill areas where wild- fires had destroyed vegeta- tion and created the dan- ger of mudslides volun- tarily evacuated until the rain had passed. California is expected to begin drying out Fri- day before another round of light rain moved in over the weekend. More El Niño storms have been forecast over the coming months. The strongest storm of the week struck Wednesday, dumping up to 5 inches of rain along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to Eu- reka. Angeles National For- est in Southern California saw 3.5 inches. Higher elevations re- ceived heavy snowfall. A foot of snow fell Wednes- day at resorts in San Ber- nardino County and around Lake Tahoe. Michelle Mead, a meteo- rologist with the National Weather Service, said two to three feet of snow accu- mulated in the Sierra Ne- vada from Monday night to Wednesday night — a major boost to the snow- pack that supplies a large amount of water when it melts in spring. To the south, Flagstaff, Arizona, had 19 inches of snow on the ground and the Arizona desert saw its fourth straight day of rain. In Ventura, Marlyss Aus- ter took a break Thursday from her job as director of the city tourism bureau and joined dozens of resi- dents snapping photos of huge waves pounding the city pier, which was dam- aged last month by other high surf. "The pier was hold- ing strong," she said. "The swells were huge. Every- body was just really in awe watching them." WEATHER He re c om es t he s un a e r El N iñ o st or ms MIKEELIASON A surfer takes advantage of the high surf on Thursday at the entrance of Santa Barbara harbor as a wave slams into the protective harbor breakwater in Ventura County. By Don Thompson and Juliet Williams The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a $122.6 billion budget plan for Cal- ifornia on Thursday that includes billions more in spending for education, health care and state in- frastructure, increases the state rainy day fund to $8 billion and takes steps to pay down debts. "Relative to budgets of the past, this budget is in good shape," Brown said of his 2016-17 spending plan. "We also ought to look at what's the capacity of the state, and what's the tax- payer willingness to spend more." The budget also includes a $1.1 billion compromise on a new tax on health insur- ers to replace one that will expire in June. Brown said the tax is critical to main- taining the state health care program for the poor, which is projected to cover 13.5 million people by 2017, nearly a third of the state's population. The budget would keep tuition flat for another year at University of California and California State Univer- sity schools, while a voter- approved minimum fund- ing guarantee will send funding for public schools and community colleges soaring along with state tax revenues. Per-pupil spending would increase to $10,591 under Brown's plan, a $368 per- pupil increase over 2015- 16. Brown also wants to direct money from other sources to compensate pub- lic schools for earlier lean years, which would increase spending to $14,500 per student in 2016-17. The substantial invest- ments proposed by Brown's administration underscore the state's soaring economic recovery. The state faced a $26 billion budget deficit when Brown took office in 2011, forcing deep cuts to social welfare programs, schools and universities. The state's economy is highly reliant on vola- tile capital gains revenues from the wealthy, which are soaring along with the state's economy, and Brown warned again Thursday of the inevitable boom-and- bust cycle, proposing to end the fiscal year with an $8 billion rainy day fund. Republicans cautioned against expanding social welfare programs that will require long-term funding. Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Val- ley, said the state must not spend money "as if it will re- appear every year." "Democrats should pay attention to the legisla- tive analyst and Governor Brown's warnings about overspending, and balance the need to invest in crit- ical infrastructure proj- ects to improve our roads, schools and dams with one- time money," Mayes said in a statement. Special funds and bond money will push overall state spending to $170.7 billion, but the Legislature and governor only are re- sponsible for allocating money from the general fund. Brown's announce- ment sets the stage for a months-long debate with lawmakers over spending priorities. Despite the large spend- ing increases, Brown ac- knowledged there is not money for everything on lawmakers' wish lists. "It's not a candy store where you can pick out whatever you want," he said. Advocates also have been pushing the state to raise reimbursement for doctors who provide care in the Medi-Cal program, which was cut by 10 percent dur- ing the recession. Brown did not propose an increase Thursday. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los An- geles, said the state afford to can maintain its fiscal stability while helping the most vulnerable Califor- nians. Brown called special sessions last year to ad- dress the health care tax and a $59 billion back- log in transportation in- frastructure spending, but neither gained traction. He said Thursday that he'll get more involved in talks with lawmakers on both issues this year. He said his adminis- tration has been deep in talks with health insurers to come up with a fair pro- posal to plug the $1.1 billion health care hole. The plan still needs Republican votes. The budget plan also re- flects Brown's transporta- tion proposal to spend $3.6 billion a year on infrastruc- ture improvements, funded through a combination of vehicle registration fees, in- creases to the diesel and gas taxes, and diverting money from the fees charged to polluters. Republicans have re- jected tax increases, argu- ing that the state should in- stead return diverted trans- portation money and make major cuts to Caltrans. CALIFORNIA Governor proposes $122.6 billion budget RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Gov. Jerry Brown gestures to a chart as he discusses his proposed 2016-17state budget at a news conference on Thursday in Sacramento. By Olga R. Rodriguez The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A ma- caque monkey who snapped clear, perfectly framed selfies that would have made the Kardashi- ans proud still cannot own a copyright to the photos because it's an animal, not a human, a federal judge said. U.S. District Judge Wil- liam Orrick said Wednes- day that Congress did not extend federal copy- right law to animals. That means the monkey cannot control the rights to the photos and profit from their distribution. The ruling came in a novel lawsuit filed last year by People for the Eth- ical Treatment of Animals that sought a court order allowing PETA to rep- resent the monkey and let it administer all pro- ceeds from the photos for the benefit of the mon- key, which it identified as 6-year-old Naruto, and other crested macaques living in a reserve on the Indonesian island of Su- lawesi. The photos were taken during a 2011 trip to Su- lawesi by British na- ture photographer David Slater. The monkey took the photos by "purposely pushing the shutter re- lease multiple times, un- derstanding the cause- and-effect relationship between pressing the shutter release, the noise of the shutter, and the change to his reflection in the camera lens," PETA said in its lawsuit. Slater said he was the brains behind the photos, setting up the tripod the camera was on and po- sitioning and holding it throughout the shoot. He said the British copyright obtained for the photos by his company, Wildlife Per- sonalities Ltd., should be honored worldwide. He moved to have PETA's lawsuit dismissed, ar- guing that "monkey see, monkey sue is not good law." LAWSUIT Judge: Monkey can't own selfie photos copyright 525AntelopeBlvd,RedBluff (530) 527-5272 Mon.–Fri.8am-5pm Saturday by appointment Locally owned & operated 413WalnutStreet•530-528-8000 Sat.-Mon. 10am-4pm • Tues-Fri 10am-5:30pm Se Habla Español www.redbluffgoldexchange.com www.angelsamongusall.com ServingOurCommunityForOver21Years Pleasedropthemoffat The Gold Exchange Allitemswillbedonatedtothe homeless shelter Even Travel Size? Soap, Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Might You Have Extra Toiletries? 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