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SANGER (AP) — A gunman opened fire Thursday on authorities who tried to serve search warrants at his mobile home in Central Califor- nia, killing one law enforcement officer and wounding two others before barricading him- self in the residence dur- ing a raging gunbattle that also left him dead. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said authori- ties used a robot equipped with cameras to confirm the suspect's death Thursday evening following a tense, day- long standoff outside the home in Minkler, a tiny village in a rural section of the San Joaquin Val- ley. It was not immediately clear if his injuries were self-inflicted or suffered as he exchanged hun- dreds of bullets with offi- cers, Dyer said. Authori- ties need to fingerprint the man to confirm his identity before releasing his name, he said. About an hour before the robot was sent in, a woman who was inside the home voluntarily came out with a dog spat- tered in blood, according to Dyer. Her relationship to the gunman was not immediately known and detectives were inter- viewing her Thursday night, Dyer said. The bloodshed started just before 10 a.m. when two Fresno County Sher- iff's deputies and a state fire official arrived at the mobile home to serve the warrants connected to a series of arsons and a Tuesday shooting allegedly involving the gunman, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said. Mary Novack, who runs a convenience store across the highway, said authorities used a loud- speaker to repeatedly order someone inside to surrender, then smashed down the door. She saw deputies go inside before hearing gunfire. ''Oh my God, some- body's going to be dead,'' Novack recalled thinking at the time. She later saw an offi- cer on the ground. Both deputies were shot, one fatally, Mims said. The surviving Fres- no County deputy was in stable condition. ''We lost a good deputy sheriff today,'' Mims said. A police officer from the nearby city of Reed- ley was critically wound- ed while responding to a call for backup, Mims said. The names of the deputies and officer were not immediately released. Reedley City Manager Rocky Rogers said the wounded officer, who he identified as Javier Bejar, was on life support and not expected to recover. Rogers said Bejar, who had two years on the police force, was being kept alive so that his fam- ily can pay their last respects. ''He had a very com- manding presence about him, being a former U.S. Marine,'' Rogers said. Mims said the shooter was suspected in a recent series of suspicious fires involving sheds and other outbuildings and of ran- domly firing a weapon from his home on Tues- day. Authorities had no contact with the suspect after Thursday's gun bat- tle, she said. Minkler, which has a population of about 30 people, is located along the scenic highway to Kings Canyon National Park. Novack said a man and a woman lived in the mobile home located on sprawling rural property owned by another family in Minkler. They some- times came to her store for cigarettes and soda, but Novack said she did not know their names. SACRAMENTO (AP) — The state Assembly approved three relatively minor bills related to Cal- ifornia's budget Thursday, but postponed debate on ways to raise revenue. Assembly members could barely agree on giv- ing the state controller more borrowing flexibili- ty to make it easier for the state to keep cash flowing later this year, despite a call for unity by Assem- blyman Jim Nielsen, R- Yuba City, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee. Some Republicans said the state can't afford more debt. Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, accused Democrats of promoting the bill to keep the state solvent through the November election. The Assembly sent the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 54- 14 vote, the minimum needed because the mea- sure required two-thirds approval. Controller John Chiang has warned legislators that the state will run low on cash this spring unless lawmakers help close a $20 billion budget gap. Legislators have yet to consider proposals including requiring out- of-state online retailers to collect taxes on items sold to California residents, and adding a surcharge to residential and commer- cial insurance policies to help pay for the state's response to disasters. Assembly members approved, 63-0, a bill to keep California's bottle- and-can recycling pro- gram afloat. The program was out of money because law- makers had borrowed its surplus to pay for other services, endangering the ability of recycling com- panies to stay in business. Beverage distributors will now be asked to acceler- ate payments to the sur- plus fund. They split, 45-12, on the third bill, which extends for one year a 3 percent cut in funding for local developmental ser- vices and foster care providers. Both those bills now go to the Senate. Friday, February 26, 2010 – Daily News – 9A Located in Chico, CA Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service Family owned to provide you the best service & pricing in the area. It's what you can expect from family. 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-1732 • FD Lic. 1931 Death Notice Michael Siperek. Corning residents Robert Den- nis Johnson and Diana Marie Robertson have applied. Cynthia Banister, James Allen Banister and Mark Griffith of Cottonwood are on the list. Kevin L Brunnemer and Bur- ton Bundy of Los Molinos, Kristin Lamkin of Gerber, Don Osborne of Orland and Thomas Stratton of Sacramento have applied. On the list from outside Tehama County are Oroville farmer Kurt Albrecht, former Paradise mayor Steve Culleton, city of Chico Human Resources commissioner Ali Sarsour, rice marketer Mark Kimmelshue, Baldwin Contracting Company President Rene Vercruyssen and retired Butte County deputy administrator Starlyn Brown. The pool of applicants showed limited diversity. More than 75 percent of the 19 Tehama County applicants are male, four women and 15 men, and all but three applicants identi- fied themselves as white. The state applicant pool is 72 percent white. Those who identified them- selves as Republicans outnum- bered Democrats by nearly two to one, with nine Republicans and five Democrats. Three applicants declined to state a political party and one claimed to be registered in the American Independent Party. Six applications were submit- ted that did not get past the first step of the process. Applicants who passed through the first round of the process have until April 2 to complete a supplemental applica- tion, which includes the submit- tal of three letters of recommen- dation. At that time a panel will begin to pare the list down to a pool of 60 qualified candidates. The state ultimately expects to have the final 14 commission members chosen by the end of the year. Toni Scott is a staff writer for the Chico Enterprise-Record. Continued from page 1A PANEL Christine Ann Lawley Christine Ann Lawley died Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, at her residence in Red Bluff. She was 59. Memorial services are pending. Red Bluff Sim- ple Cremations & Burial Service are handling the arrangements. Published Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. patrick. Those wishing to apply for the position should send a letter and resume to City Clerk Lisa Linnet. Resumes can be sent to City Hall, 794 Third St. and should be in by the close of business at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 4. Fitzpatrick said letters and resumes would be public documents and that applicants should not put their social security num- bers or dates of birth on them. The council approved the appointment of Khrystie Shoemaker to the City Recreation Commis- sion to fulfill the term of Shannon Boles, who stepped down due to a conflict between meeting times and a youth pro- gram. Her term expires June 30, 2013. Shoemaker has two chil- dren, ages 11 and 13, and is employed as a secretary bookkeeper at Maywood Middle School, where she has been involved in the Site Council Board, Uni- form Committee and Gear- Up Committee. She has been involved with the Safety Committee at Blue Shield of Califor- nia. Strack gave an update on Councilman John Leach, who was absent after a medical procedure at Enloe Medical Center in Chico Monday, saying Leach was doing fine. The council meets the second and fourth Tues- days of the month at City Hall, 794 Third St. Meet- ing minutes and agendas are available at www.corn- ing.org. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. Continued from page 1A SEAT Rolling Hills, Holiday Inn Express and Ramada Inn at Rolling Hills Casino, Turner said. Linda Watkins Bennett will be the Mistress of Ceremonies and the Corn- ing Veterans Group Honor Guard will present the colors. Pastor J.R. Gonzales will give the invocation and lead the pledge of allegiance while Charles Troughton will sing the National Anthem. Tickets are $14 a plate and can be purchased at the door. For information, call 824-3240. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews. com. Continued from page 1A POLICE boss, Store Manager Muriel Maz- zone. "Lisa (Elliott) really runs the show," Mazzone said. "She's a wonderful addition to the leader- ship." A celebration was held for the store's accomplishments. Within the last 13 months, the store has been able to donate a little more than $33,000 to hospice care as a result of the volunteers' work, Elliott said. "We really want to honor our volunteers," said Sister Pat Mano- li, St. Elizabeth's director of Mis- sion Integration. "We wouldn't be able to serve the people like we do without you. You work circles around us." The store, at 320 S. Main St., is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. A barbecue open to the public is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, with a half price sale all day. For information about the store or to volunteer call 528-9430. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Continued from page 1A THRIFT Alameda judge says state employees owed back pay SACRAMENTO (AP) — An Alameda County judge is ordering back pay for more than 50,000 state workers he ruled were ille- gally furloughed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch on Thursday ordered the state to pay all employees who work in nearly 70 departments their full salaries. He also ordered an end to the three- day-a-month furloughs. The order applies only to workers in departments that are not funded through the state's general fund. S c h w a r z e n e g g e r spokesman Aaron McLear said the administration will appeal. State employee unions and others have filed more than 20 lawsuits challeng- ing the furloughs, which were implemented last year to help California address its budget crisis. AG subpoenas documents from health insurers SACRAMENTO (AP) — Cali- fornia Attorney General Jerry Brown subpoenaed financial records from the state's seven largest health insurance compa- nies Thursday, saying he's con- cerned companies are unjustly raising premiums. The subpoenas include Anthem Blue Cross, the state's largest for- profit health insurer, which has come under fire recently for a pro- posed rate hike of up to 39 per- cent. ''Not only are the rate increases devastating to Californians strapped by the economy, but in some cases, they are possibly ille- gal,'' Brown said in a statement. Brown said he's also worried that the companies have been denying payment for legitimate insurance claims. The subpoenas cover fee-for- service health plans that reimburse doctors and hospitals for each ser- vice performed. Last month, Brown's office issued subpoenas to the same seven companies regarding their managed care plans, known as HMOs. Brown said the companies had 30 days to hand over the requested documents. He said his investiga- tion will examine whether rate increases such as Anthem's violate state law and whether the other health plans are planning similar premium hikes. Brown's latest move comes on the heels of state Insurance Com- missioner Steve Poizner's announcement Monday that his office had uncovered more than 700 policy handling violations by Anthem between 2006 and 2009. The alleged violations include late payment of claims, providing mis- leading information to consumers and failing to cooperate with regu- lators. Poizner, a Republican, is run- ning for governor this year. He could face off against Brown, who is expected to announce his bid for the Democratic nomination soon. Anthem spokeswoman Peggy Hinz declined to comment on Brown's investigation Thursday, saying the company hadn't yet received a subpoena. Spokesmen for two of the other insurers, CIGNA and Health Net, also said they had not received subpoenas and declined to com- ment. Edwin Garcia, a spokesman for Kaiser Permanente, said the com- pany had not received a subpoena but intends to cooperate fully with any investigation. Cynthia Michener, a spokes- woman for Aetna, said the compa- ny is ''cooperating with the AG's office.'' Representatives from the remaining companies — Blue Shield of California and Pacifi- Care — did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. 'Not only are the rate increases devastating to Californians strapped by the economy, but in some cases, they are possibly illegal' Attorney General Jerry Brown State Assembly approves minor budget bills Have a news tip? Call 527-2151, Ext. 112 Gunman dead in rampage that killed deputy