Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/6708
SACRAMENTO (AP) — Democratic members of the Assembly on Monday called on their colleagues to reject the confirmation of Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg- ger's nominee for lieu- tenant governor, saying the Santa Maria lawmaker is out of step with the needs of average Californians. They referenced Repub- lican Sen. Abel Maldona- do's voting history on labor, immigration, health care and other issues, and urged lawmakers to leave the office vacant until voters choose a new lieutenant governor later this year. ''If you look at his vot- ing record, there's a clear disconnect between the everyday lives of working men and women in this state,'' Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Bar- bara, told reporters during a news conference at the Capitol. ''There's 121 days until a June primary, and my sense is, why don't we let the voters of this state make a decision on who they want to see on the bal- lot for this office?'' Schwarzenegger nomi- nated Maldonado in November after Democrat John Garamendi, the for- mer lieutenant governor, was elected to Congress last year. Maldonado, 42, has said he intends to run for the seat, no matter what hap- pens with his nomination. The Assembly and Senate have until Feb. 21 to act. If they don't, Maldonado automatically assumes the post. Maldonado is seen as a moderate within the Republican Party because he occasionally breaks ranks with his fellow GOP lawmakers. A year ago, for example, he provided one of just a handful of Repub- lican votes on a midyear budget deal that raised the vehicle license fee and the sales and personal income taxes. Despite Nava's con- cerns, lawmakers in both houses worry that the Sen- ate will not be able to find enough votes to pass bud- get bills this year if Mal- donado is confirmed. Bud- get bills and those that raise taxes require a two-thirds vote. ''From one moderate to another, I encourage Sena- tor Maldonado to remain where he is needed,'' said Assemblyman Jose Solorio, D-Anaheim. Nava said he decided to press the issue because of Maldonado's voting record. He handed out a seven- page list of votes with which he disagreed, includ- ing Maldonado's 2006 vote against single-payer health care. Nava said based on his discussions with other Democratic lawmakers, it is unlikely Maldonado will receive enough votes to be confirmed in the 80-mem- ber chamber. Newspapers throughout the state have editorialized on the Legislature's han- dling of Maldonado's nomination, criticizing lawmakers for playing petty politics. Many edito- rials have said confirming Maldonado would show voters that moderate posi- tions can be rewarded in the Capitol. ''I don't want this to be political,'' Maldonado said in a telephone interview Monday. ''The question is, 'Am I fit to serve as lieu- tenant governor?' And I believe the answer is yes.'' Maldonado said previ- ous Schwarzenegger nomi- nees have been given a fair hearing, and he wants equal treatment. Last week, the Senate Rules Committee voted 4-0 to approve his nomination, sending the matter to the full 40-member chamber. The Assembly Rules Com- mittee is scheduled to take up Maldonado's nomina- tion on Tuesday. The Assembly speaker's office did not return tele- phone calls seeking a response to Nava's com- ments. Schwarzenegger's office issued a statement saying it's time for the Assembly to follow the lead of the Senate Rules Committee. Tuesday, February 9, 2010 – Daily News – 7A 2498 South Main St • Red Bluff www.tehamafamilyfitness.com Tehama Family Fitness Center presents Winning With Losses Weight Loss Competition Join this highly successful program! Benefit from weekly weigh-ins, specialty classes, nutritional consultations, cash prizes and more! Program starting early February 15 th Call Aubrie or Kim for more details at 530-528-8656 The winner of our last competition lost over 50lbs and the group lost a combined 282.5 lbs. in 10 weeks! NORELLA "TREL" HOUGHTON ETZLER Norella "Trel" Houghton Et- zler, 91, of Red Bluff, passed away Thursday, February 4, 2010. Born Oc- tober 23, 1918 in Corning, CA. Trel was the youngest of 4 children born to Anson and Alice Houghton. She was a 3rd generation of the pio- neer Houghton Family from as far back as the 1850s. Trel owned and operated her own beauty salon in the Tremont Hotel for many years before deciding to stay at home to raise her 4 children, and after returning to work as a "Beauty Opera- tor". She loved to go camp- ing with her family, working in her garden, doing cross- word & jigsaw puzzles, cro- cheting, embroidering and cooking for her family and friends at gatherings. Surviving Trel are son Har- old, (Johnelle) Begbie of Red Bluff, daughter Ann Kel- ly of Monterey, CA., son Keith Etzler of Los Molinos, son Blair, (Vicki) Etzler of Red Bluff, and step-son, Gary Etzler of Lancaster, CA., 5 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandson, nu- merous nieces, nephews & cousins. We Love and will Miss you Mom, Grandma, Great-grandma, Great- great-Grandma & Aunt Trel. Preceded in death by hus- bands, Harold Begbie and Ancil Etzler. At Trel's request there will be no services. A Celebra- tion of Life will be held, Sat- urday, February 20, 2010 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm in the Tehama Room at the Tehama District Fair- grounds. In lieu of Flowers, donations may be made to Trel's favorite charity, North Valley Services, 1040 Washington St., Red Bluff, or a charity of your choice. The Family would like to thank the staff of Brentwood Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center and Dr. Datu for the care and kindness given to her. Obituary is asking for a $1,000 annual increase in its bud- get. John Richardson of The Corning Skate and Bike Park Association will be making a presenta- tion asking for a commit- ment from the city to help with the development of the park. The council meets at 7:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meeting minutes and agendas available at www.corning.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. Continued from page 1A POT will be seen during the gala show. There will be three competing in the primary division, ages 6 to 9, eight juniors, ages 10 to 14, and eight seniors, ages 15 to 18. All performers will be recognized with plaques. The top three winners from each division will receive cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25. Win- ners will then compete at the district level in May in Chico. In the last two years, senior division winners Jessica Rabalais in 2008 and Devin Penner in 2009, have gone on to win at the district level. There will be five local judges, including Tehama County Superintendent of Schools Larry Champion. The other four judges are members of the communi- ty who are involved in music or performing arts. The talent show is 7 p.m., Saturday at the Vet- erans Hall, 735 Oak St. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 years and younger. Proceeds support awards and sending divi- sion winners to the district competition. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Continued from page 1A LOCAL Assembly members criticize lt. governor nominee 'If you look at his voting record, there's a clear disconnect between the everyday lives of working men and women in this state' Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara Michael Jackson's doctor pleads not guilty LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's doctor pleaded not guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the pop star at a brief hearing that had all the trappings of another sensational celebrity court- room drama. Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of giv- ing Jackson a fatal dose of an anes- thetic to help him sleep, appeared in court in a gray suit and burgundy tie as Jackson's father Joe, mother Kather- ine, and siblings LaToya, Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Randy watched from courtroom seats behind prosecutors. Neither Murray nor the Jacksons showed much emotion as the six-foot- five Murray entered his plea through his attorney Ed Chernoff, but as he emerged from court, Joe Jackson declared, ''My son was murdered.'' ''We need justice,'' he added before leaving with family members in a fleet of Cadillac Escalades. Earlier, several people shouted ''murderer'' as Murray walked past a crowd of hundreds of reporters and Jackson fans on his way to a court- house adjacent to Los Angeles Inter- national Airport. Others held signs urging ''Justice For Michael.'' Murray, 56, a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died June 25, entered his plea just hours after he was charged. Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz set bail at $75,000, three times more than the amount people normally face after being charged with involuntary manslaughter. Murray posted it about two hours later. Chernoff said outside court that Murray plans to return to practicing medicine in Nevada and Texas while he awaits trial. snake oil science.'' Palin said California's heavy reg- ulatory environment makes it diffi- cult for businesses to succeed — a view that is shared by many busi- ness leaders in the state. Those who attended the 3 p.m. speech said Palin protested sealing off forests from timber harvesting. Palin said it's in the natural inter- est of loggers to limit the amount they cut, because their livelihood depends on leaving something to regrow, said Kim Johnson of Shin- gletown. Yet the government seems intent on building a fence around forests and sealing them off from public use altogether. Johnson, a contractor, said restrictions have become so strict that he can only find work undoing logging roads. Orland resident Karen Ordaz, a Northern Valley Catholic Social Ser- vice employee, said the speech was in line with her expectations. Oraz said she appreciated Palin's calls for a smaller government, and the gratitude she showed for the mil- itary. "I think they're highly underap- preciated, and they give us the right to have free speech," she said. But she said she wished Palin had spent more time talking about her personal life, and her struggles as a military mother. Oraz was accompanied by Anita Parker, of Corning, also with North- ern Valley Catholic Social Service. Though Parker usually strays from politics, Palin has her paying attention, Parker said. Palin came off not only as some- one who understands the difficulties facing the self-employed and small business owners, but as willing to use commercial techniques in gov- ernment, Parker said. About a dozen protesters used the event to share their frustration with the former candidate, waving signs with slogans like "Half-baked Alaskan" and telling passersby that they will feel different "when they have no health care." Those protesters included a pair of 82-year-old World War II veter- ans, Ed Coleman, of Shasta Lake, and Bob Mitchell. The two largest signs, however, were in favor of Palin. Rancho Tehama resident Don Bird held a waist-high rectangular board declaring that "Sarah Palin Supports the Fully Informed Jury Amendment Thank You." He was accompanied by a woman holding a sign of equal proportions reading "Sarah For President" with a list and a series of boxes for Vice- President. Among the potential VPs on the sign were Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailynews.com. Continued from page 1A SARAH HHS secretary asks insurer to justify rate hike LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Obama administration on Monday asked California's largest for-profit health insurer to justify plans to hike customers' premiums by as much as 39 percent, a move that could affect some 800,000 people. In a letter to the president of Anthem Blue Cross, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she was disturbed to learn of the planned increases, calling them ''extraordinary.'' ''I believe Anthem Blue Cross has a responsibility to provide a detailed justification for these rate increases to the public,'' Sebelius wrote. She said the company should also make public what percentage of customers' premiums go to medical care versus administrative costs. In a statement, Anthem Blue Cross of California blamed the weak economy and rising health care costs for the rate hike, while pledging to reply to Sebelius' query promptly. The rate hike ''highlights why we need sustainable health care reform to manage the steadily rising costs of hospitals, drugs and doctors,'' the statement said. Sebelius said Anthem Blue Cross' parent company, WellPoint Inc., ''has seen its profits soar, earning $2.7 bil- lion in the last quarter of 2009 alone.'' Not counting roughly $2.2 billion it gained from the sale of a pharmacy benefit management subsidiary, WellPoint earned $536 million in the final three months of last year. In a rare move, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is hiring an outside actuary to determine whether Anthem is abiding by state regulations and spend- ing at least 70 percent of premium dollars on medical care as opposed to administrative costs. Poizner's spokesman, Darrel Ng, said that's the only recourse because rate hikes do not need to be approved by the state. In a letter Monday, Poizner asked for the insurer to delay implementing the rate hike for two months, until the actu- ary completes his review. ''The department has received numerous complaints from irate Californians describing how Anthem's proposed rate increases would cripple them financially,'' Poizner said. Anthem officials did not immediately respond to a call seeking further comment or confirmation that the letter was received. President Barack Obama cited the Anthem rate hikes in an interview with CBS' Katie Couric on Sunday as a rea- son to move forward with his health overhaul legislation, which is stalled in Congress. ''That's a portrait of the future if we don't do something now,'' Obama said. ''It's gonna keep on beatin' down fam- ilies, small businesses, large businesses. It's gonna be a huge drain on the economy.'' Health insurance analysts agreed that the rise in individ- ual premiums will be echoed on a smaller scale in the rest of the health insurance market. Employer-based insurance and group policies are expecting 10 to 20 percent increases in the next year, said health industry consultant Robert Laszewski. About 13 million Americans purchased health insurance through the individual market in 2008, the most recent data available. Surges in their premiums can be explained by competing interests: Rising costs, policies being dropped. Daily News photo by Geoff Johnson Don Bird, of Rancho Tehama, left, displays his message outside the Redding Convention Center Monday afternoon.