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SHOTS Continued from page 1A bation for violating the terms of his release. In 2009 he received a 3-year sentence for evad- ing an officer. He had previously been convicted following a series of events in 2006 that included battery, the transport of drugs and unlawful driving. Anyone who knows of CORNING Continued from page 1A White's whereabouts or who witnessed Wednes- day's incident is being asked to call the police department at 527-3131. prices jump in May SAN DIEGO (AP) — Demand for more expensive properties lifted California home prices to a nearly two-year high in May as sales across all pricing categories showed healthy gains, a research firm said Thursday. The median price for new and existing houses and con- dos reached $270,000 last month, up 8.4 percent from $249,000 in the same period last year and matching the highest level since June 2010, DataQuick said. The median price is still well below a peak of $484,000 in early 2007 but up from $221,000 in April 2009. California home sales and year-ago levels. The median price has risen three straight months from The number of homes sold in May rose 17.6 percent from last year to 41,790, the highest tally for that month since 2006, the San Diego-based research firm said. Foreclosed homes, which tend to sell at a discount, made up a smaller part of overall sales, lifting the median price. DataQuick said properties that had been foreclosed upon in the previous year accounted for 28.3 percent of existing- home sales, down from 35.3 percent a year earlier and 58.5 percent in February 2009. The San Francisco Bay area's median sales price was $400,000, up 7.5 percent from $372,000 a year earlier, DataQuick said. The median is still well below a peak of $665,000 reached in 2007 but up from $290,000 in March 2009. would only cost about $2,000 to do a strip sign, which would just be an addition, Brewer said. Councilman Dave Linnet asked about the possibility of doing half of the Solano Street repaving project in the fall and half in the spring in order to save the money to make sure it wouldn't be needed for some- thing else. Brewer said it would be easier to do it all at once and thereby get a better bid. The repaving project, adopted in June 2011, breaks the street into segments. First Street east to Mar- guerite Avenue is the next up to be paved. Corning is in good shape thanks to an increase in sales tax revenue and the recovery of sales tax rev- enue mistakenly sent to another city, Brewer said. While the $210,000 in recovered sales tax has not been received, it is more than was origi- SNAKE Continued from page 1A Sales in the nine-county Bay area soared 26.1 percent from last year to 8,810, with the most significant gains in pricier categories. Sales of homes between $400,000 and $800,000 jumped 26.2 percent, while homes below $300,000 rose a more modest 12.5 percent. ''It's not exactly a stampede, but people are starting to move off the housing market sidelines in numbers we haven't seen in quite a while. And it's not just first-time buy- ers and investors,'' said DataQuick President John Walsh. The lowest-priced homes, particularly foreclosed prop- erties, have long been driving sales in California, but the lat- est figures show that all pricing categories are drawing more interest from buyers. Calif. work release bill OKed over MADD objections SACRAMENTO (AP) — Offenders sentenced to jail could get work release credit for participating in education- al, vocational, drug treatment and other programs under a bill approved by the state Senate on Thursday. The bill is intended to help sheriffs deal with a new state law that sends less serious offenders to local jails instead of state prisons. It would give them more flexibility in handling criminals while easing jail crowding, said Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, who carried the bill in the Sen- ate. and October when snakes and humans are most active outdoors. About 25 percent of the bites are "dry," meaning no venom was injected, but the bites still require medical treat- ment. The potential of run- ning into a rattlesnake should not deter anyone from venturing outdoors, but there are several pre- cautions that can be taken to lessen the chance of being bitten when out in snake country. snake country First, know that rat- Dos and don'ts in Senators approved the bill despite objections from Moth- ers Against Drunk Driving, which wanted people convicted of drunken driving exempted from AB2127. ''This bill would establish a catch-and-release program for drunk drivers,'' said Sen. Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa. Sheriffs could free drunken drivers on work release, then let them complete that requirement by attending ''life skills classes'' or the like, he said. Negrete McLeod said the bill applies to offenders, including drunken drivers, who were going to be released to a work program already. ''We have limited resources. We have to use them in the wisest way possible,'' added Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Fran- cisco. drunken drivers get treatment that would count toward completing their sentence. Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, said the bill could help Egypt court dissolves tlesnakes are not confined to rural areas. They have been found near urban areas, in river or lakeside parks and at golf courses. Be aware that startled rat- tlesnakes may not rattle before striking defensive- ly. There are several safety measures that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of startling a rattlesnake. •Never go barefoot or wear sandals when walk- ing through wild areas. Wear hiking boots. • When hiking, stick to well-used trails and wear over-the-ankle boots and loose-fitting long pants. Avoid tall grass, weeds and heavy underbrush where snakes may hide during the day. • Do not step or put your hands where you cannot see, and avoid wandering around in the dark. Step on logs and Friday, June 15, 2012 – Daily News 7A nally expected, he said. The city's goal is to end employ- ee furloughs by Dec. 31, fill Public Works maintenance and director vacancies by January 2013 and replenish the operating reserve, Brewer said. The city looks to return the oper- ating reserve, reduced by the coun- cil to $500,000 due to the recession, back to its original amount of $800,000, he said. Former City Councilwoman and Corning resident Susan Price had questions on a few of the budget items, including the administration. She asked why the amount was so much more for the 2012-2013 bud- get. Former City Manager Steve Kimbrough said the 2011-2012 bud- get included his position as a part- time position by contract with few benefits and included furloughs. Turner questioned the need for another public works director in January. Former City Councilman Ross Brewer said the need was in light rocks, never over them, and be especially careful when climbing rocks or gathering firewood. Check out stumps or logs before sitting down, and shake out sleeping bags before use. •Never grab "sticks" or "branches" while swim- ming in lakes and rivers. Rattlesnakes can swim. • Be careful when step- ping over the doorstep as well. Snakes like to crawl along the edge of build- ings where they are pro- tected on one side. •Never hike alone. of the new Corning Community Park being constructed. The park is set to go out to bid sometime soon. regarding the park and whether arti- ficial turf had been considered instead of grass. Turner also had a question Planning Director John Stoufer said it had been thoroughly researched and he had found that maintenance of artificial turf it is difficult with it lasting 10-12 years and it retains a lot of heat. Cost was considered since the hybrid of bermuda grass chosen is $2 per square foot and artificial turf is $8 per square foot, Stoufer said. The City Council meets the sec- ond and fourth Tuesdays of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. For the full budget, meeting minutes or agendas visit the city Website: www.corning.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @DN_Zeeb. Always have someone with you who can assist in an emergency. • Do not handle a fresh- ly killed snake, it can still inject venom. •Teach children early to respect snakes and to leave them alone. Children are naturally curious and will pick up snakes. Is it a rattlesnake? Many a useful and non- threatening snake has suf- fered a quick death from a frantic human who has mistakenly identified a gopher snake, garter, racer or other as a rattlesnake. This usually happens when a snake assumes an instinctual defensive posi- tion used to bluff adver- saries. A gopher snake has the added unfortunate trait of imitating a rattlesnake by flattening its head and body, vibrating its tail, hissing and actually strik- ing if approached too closely. heavy-bodied, blunt-tailed snake with one or more rattles on the tail. It has a A rattlesnake is a dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament Thursday and ruled his former prime minister eligible for the presidential runoff election this weekend — setting the stage for the mil- itary and remnants of the old regime to stay in power. The politically charged rulings dealt a heavy blow to the fundamentalist Islamic Brotherhood, with one senior mem- ber calling the decisions a "full-fledged coup," and the group vowed to rally the public against the military. The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effec- Islamist-led parliament CAIRO (AP) — Judges appointed by Hosni Mubarak tively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt's troubled transition in the past year, leaving the country with no par- liament and concentrating power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak. Several hundred people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square after the rulings to denounce the action and rally against former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, the presiden- tial candidate seen by critics as a symbol of Mubarak's auto- cratic rule. But with no calls by the Brotherhood or other groups for massive demonstrations, the crowd did not grow. Activists who engineered Egypt's uprising have long suspected that the generals would try to cling to power, explaining that after 60 years as the nation's single most dominant institution, the military would be reluctant to sur- render its authority or leave its economic empire to civilian scrutiny. forced him into sex acts BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Three more accusers took the stand at Jerry Sandusky's sex-abuse trial Thursday, one of whom said the former Penn State assistant football coach called himself the "tickle monster" before embracing him in a shower and another who said he was forced into sex acts during more than a hundred nights he spent in the ex- coach's home. A state investigator also testified that authorities heard about a key witness, assistant coach Mike McQueary, through an anonymous email to Centre County prosecutors. The investigator, Anthony Sassano, said authorities identi- fied some of Jerry Sandusky's alleged abuse victims through pictures and lists seized from his home and office and that the university was "not very quick" in getting inves- Accuser says Sandusky tigators information as part of the probe. A third alleged victim who testified Thursday said he triangular-shaped head, much broader at the back than at the front, and a dis- tinct "neck" region. The rattlesnake also has open- ings between the nostrils and eyes, which is a heat- sensing pit. The eyes are hooded with elliptical pupils. Additional identi- fying characteristics include a series of dark and light bands near the tail, just before the rattles which are different from the markings on the rest of the body. Also note that rattles may not always be present, as they are often lost through breakage and are not always developed on the young. the yard Keeping snakes out of The best protection against rattlesnakes in the yard is a rattlesnake proof fence. It can be expensive and requires maintenance, however. The fence should either be solid or with mesh no larger than one- quarter inch. It should be at least three feet high with the bottom buried a few inches in the ground. Slanting your snake fence outward about a 30-degree angle will help. Vegetation should be kept away from the fence since the snake could crawl to the top of an adjacent tree or shrub. removing piles of boards or rocks around the home. Use caution when remov- ing those piles — there may already be a snake there. Discourage snakes by Encouraging and pro- tecting natural competitors like gopher snakes, kingsnakes and racers will WORLD BRIEFING loved Sandusky and that he viewed him as a father figure, but that he became angry with Sandusky because he never reached out to him after the witness moved away. The three alleged victims who testified Thursday brought to eight the number of accusers to take the stand over the trial's first four days. Jurors also heard about two other alleged victims who have not been located by investi- gators. Holder says he is prepared to provide evidence WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is proposing to meet with Rep. Darrell Issa by Monday to settle a dispute over Justice Department documents the con- gressman is demanding on a flawed gun-smuggling probe. Holder said Thursday the department is prepared to turn how the department's understanding of the facts of Fast and Furious evolved." When problems with Operation Fast and Furious came to light in early 2011, the Justice Department denied to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that agents in the operation had relied on gun-walking — letting illicitly purchased guns be transported instead of intercepted in an effort to track them to major arms-traffickers. The tactic has long been barred by Justice Department policy, although Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents in Arizona exper- imented with it during both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. over documents detailing how Justice Department officials came to the realization that federal agents in Arizona had used a controversial investigative tactic that resulted in hun- dreds of illicitly purchased guns winding up in Mexico, many of them at crime scenes. Two of the weapons were recovered at the scene of the slaying of a U.S. border agent, Brian Terry. In a letter to Issa, the attorney general said the informa- tion he is prepared to provide will fully address concerns of the congressman and House Republican leaders. Issa, R- Calif., has scheduled a committee vote for next Wednesday on a contempt citation against Holder for failing to turn over relevant documents on the operation and its aftermath. Along with the documents, the attorney general said the department is prepared to provide a briefing "explaining overrun by Syrian troops BEIRUT (AP) — Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death greet- ed U.N. observers who entered the nearly deserted Syri- an town of Haffa on Thursday, a day after President Bashar Assad's forces overran it as part of a major offen- sive to recover rebel-controlled territories. The observers had been trying to get into the town for a week after fears were raised that a brutal assault by regime forces was under way. They found the main hos- pital burned, state buildings and an office of the ruling Baath party in ruins and a corpse lying in the street. "A strong stench of dead bodies was in the air," said Sausan Ghosheh, spokeswoman for the U.N. observers. She said there was still fighting in some pockets of the mountainous town in the seaside province of Latakia. The number of casualties was unclear, Ghosheh said, and it appeared likely that, as in the past, bodies had been removed or buried before the U.N. mission got in. UN observers enter enclave reduce the rattlesnake population in the immedi- ate area. And, kingsnakes actually kill and eat rat- tlesnakes. What to do in the event of a snake bite Though uncommon, rattlesnake bites do occur, so have a plan in place for responding to any situa- tion. Carry a portable phone, hike with a com- panion who can assist in an emergency, and make sure that family or friends know where you are going and when you will be checking in. The first thing to do if bitten is to stay calm. Gen- erally, the most serious effect of a rattlesnake bite to an adult is local tissue damage which needs to be treated. Children, because they are smaller, are in more danger if they are bitten. Get to a doctor as soon as possible, but stay calm. Frenetic, high-speed dri- ving places the victim at greater risk of an accident and increased heart rate. If the doctor is more than 30 minutes away, keep the bite below the heart, and then try to get to the doc- tor as quickly as possible. The California Poison Control Center advises: • Stay calm •Wash the bite area gently with soap and water • Remove watches, rings, etc, which may con- strict swelling ed area • Immobilize the affect- •Transport safely to the nearest medical facility