Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/7413
SACRAMENTO (AP) — University of California students from around the state traveled to Sacramento on Monday to protest steep fee hikes and cuts to higher education funding. Three days before a planned nationwide demon- stration, more than 150 stu- dents gathered outside the Capitol, waving signs that read ''Freeze the fees,'' and chanting ''Shame!'' as they urged lawmakers to take action against rising tuition. Later in the afternoon, five protesters were arrested after refusing to leave Assemblyman Jim Nielsen's office, according to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Steven Stone. The individuals were removed without incident, Stone said. Fellow demonstrators said the group was seeking an audience with Nielsen, R-Yuba City, a member of the Legislative Budget Committee, and with Sen- ate President Pro Tem Dar- rell Steinberg. Monday's protest focused mainly on the 32 percent student fee increase approved by the UC Board of Regents in November to help offset a 20 percent drop in state funding. That hike raises in-state undergraduate fees to about $10,302 and comes on the heels of a 9.3 percent fee boost approved in May. Students at the 23 Cali- fornia State University cam- puses are under similar financial strain: in July, the CSU Board of Trustees approved a 20 percent tuition increase, bringing student fees this year to about $4,800. One speaker at Mon- day's rally, Christine Petit, a graduate student at UC Riverside, said the combi- nation of higher fees and reduced course offerings and enrollment means stu- dents are ''paying more and receiving less.'' ''These legislators are balancing the budget on our backs,'' she said. The protesters' voices could be heard inside the Assembly, where new speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, was being sworn in. In his speech, Perez, a UC Berkeley graduate, promised to make higher education a top priority. ''I ask each of you to join me in working to turn around an upside-down sys- tem where we demand stu- dents pay more every semester for classes that they can't get, to fulfill ever- changing requirements for their education,'' he said. Monday' was a stark contrast to a demonstration last week by UC Berkeley students in which protesters broke into and vandalized a campus building and threw rocks at police. Tuesday, March 2, 2010 – Daily News – 7A Combining Quality and Low Cost is what we do. www.affordablemortuary.net 529-3655 Located in Chico, CA Death Notice Marilyn E. Parson Marilyn E. Parson died Saturday, February 27, 2010, in Los Molinos. She was 79. No services are planned. Red Bluff Sim- ple Cremations & Burial is handling the arrange- ments. Published Tuesday, March 2, 2010, in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. A call to McKim's attorney was not returned. Public meetings may be delayed to give the county time to examine a report by consultant Bob Spencer, whose advice the county has been ordered to incorporate into its Sun City documents before reapproval. The court order stems from a lawsuit filed by the California Oak Founda- tion in 2006. The founda- tion sued over oak trees the project would destroy, and had most of its claims tossed out by a California Appelate Court. But the court found merit in the foundation's claim that the county did not seek Spencer's profes- sional opinion on how much developers could afford to invest in infra- structure. Normally, a housing development can afford infrastructure costs that go no higher than 15 to 20 percent of the finished home price. Tehama County's agreement with Pulte Homes settled at 14 percent, a price tag that would include improve- ments to Interstate 5. Spencer told county officials in an e-mail that the rule is meant for subur- ban areas, not rural areas, and feasibility costs could be different for the Sun City development. The county declined to ask him to research the matter. Putting Spencer's opin- ion in the original docu- ments should be straight- forward, Planning Direc- tor George Robson said. But, according to court documents, the county will need time to evaluate Spencer's opinion, which it received Feb. 19. Preparing a compre- hensive report for the Board of Supervisors will take time, Robson said. "We do business very, very carefully, and very thoroughly," he said. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohnson@redbluffdailyn ews.com. Continued from page 1A SUN with new tools," McMahon said. "I went back after a month or so and took the job. I've been in woodworking my whole life and got a lot of friends out of it." McMahon said he loves hear- ing of former students who have gone into careers that are related to the skills they learned in his class. Originally from the San Fer- nando Valley, McMahon jokes he ended up in the North State, where he met his wife Pat, because of his mother. "My mother said go north young man and I did," McMahon said. After retiring from the wood- shop, McMahon spent five years in the construction business and another four in the refinishing business. From there, he began spending more time on woodworking and expanding his skills in woodturn- ing, including blind turning, which is when an item is put on the lathe and the woodturner checks the progress by feel. "I fell in love with this work and I decided to do it as a hobby," McMahon said. "I cut and cure all kinds of woods." McMahon has never had to buy the wood he turns and most of it has come from Tehama County. "I go down the road and I hear a chainsaw and back up to ask if I can have a cut," McMahon said. So far, he has used 32 different varieties of wood, having occa- sionally searched an entire orchard to find the one that he wants, McMahon said. McMahon's search for the apricot wood surrounded by ivy that landed him in Woodturning Magazine, took him only as far as his neighbor. "Most pieces are round, but I was able to gouge it out with a chainsaw and make it oblong," McMahon said. "It's a unique piece and it's one of the foremost woodturning magazines so I was pretty proud to think they pub- lished my bowl." McMahon has sold the bowl, but visits it occasionally in the office of a dentist in Red Bluff. "I was really pleased when Dr. Van Opijnen bought it," McMa- hon said. "In a house, the same people see it all the time, but in a doctor's office there are always different people." ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Continued from page 1A WOOD helping identify and establish green energy and river recreation projects. Invitations would be extended to other agen- cies, such as the Tehama County Board of Supervi- sors, the chamber and Tehama EDC to join the committee. • Nine streetlights along Walnut Street between Main Street and the railroad tracks need to be replaced. The council will be asked to approve the project and allow for funds from a $172,103 allocation from the Tehama County Trans- portation Commission to be used. The money has to be used for road related projects. If the council does not approve the funds to be used for the lighting project, it could be used for road mainte- nance. Consent agenda • Fire Chief Michael Bachmeyer will ask for a road closure on Washing- ton Street between Walnut and Hickory streets to perform fire training. The training will be 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Thursday. Cal Fire and the Corning Fire Department will join Red Bluff Fire in the training. • The council will be asked to allow staff to use a $7,000 grant for Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act upgrades and advertise for bids for the job. The grant, funded by the Northern California Cities Self Insurance Fund, will be used to install an automat- ic door opener at the entrance of the Council Chambers in City Hall. The council will meet 7 p.m. at City Hall, 555 Washington St. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Continued from page 1A COUNCIL usually turns out to be something of value. The treasure hunters encourage guests to not clean their antiques or col- lectibles and bring them as is. All types of jewelry are welcome, and a free test- ing to determine the weight and value of jewel- ry will be available. "Come with an open mind," Enright said. "Those who think they don't have anything are usually the ones that do." The Roadshow will be taped and is set to air in the fall, though the compa- ny has not decided on which network the show will run, he said. Some local antique shop owners welcome the competition while others are wary of the legitimacy and ethics of traveling antique shows. Had Tana Lewis known the treasure hunters were coming, she would have helped promote the event and encouraged her cus- tomers to take their items to the show, she said. The owner of TJ's Antiques does not mind the competition. Joanne Ehorn of Ehorn's Antiques & More and Gary Tande at the Gold Exchange both said road shows usually offer people less than what their items are worth, and they do not want to see locals getting ripped off. Lt. Kyle Sanders of Red Bluff Police Depart- ment said the treasure hunters have been up front about their visit and have worked with the police department to try to obtain the proper licensing. Sanders declined to comment on the legitima- cy of the roadshow, as he is not familiar with the company or antiquing, but as a general rule police warn people to be cautious any time they are making business deals. Items for appraisal and sale can be taken to the five-day event Tuesday through Saturday, March 2-6, at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 620 Adobe Road. The event will held 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The event is free, and there is no limit to the number of items a person can bring. ——— Tang Lor can be reached at 527-2153, Ext. 110 or by e-mail at tlor@redbluffdai- lynews.com. Continued from page 1A HUNT Assembly leader sworn in, breaks barrier LOS ANGELES (AP) — A consumer watchdog group filed a lawsuit Monday against California's largest for-prof- it health insurer on behalf of policyholders, claiming they were pushed to take coverage with fewer benefits and high- er deductibles. In the case filed in Ventura Superior Court, Anthem Blue Cross is accused of violating a California law requiring health insurers to offer new, comparable coverage or mini- mize premium increases when they close a policy. According to the lawsuit, plaintiffs Mary Feller and Randy Freed received similar form letters from the Woodland Hills-based insurer, stating their policies were closed and they could ''switch to any Anthem Blue Cross individual health plan with no underwriting required.'' The lawsuit alleges that the few plans Anthem would allow Feller and Freed to switch into had higher premiums, higher deductibles, less coverage, or a combination of those undesirable traits. Anthem Blue Cross spokeswoman Peggy Hinz said the insurer hasn't yet reviewed the case, declining further com- ment. Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica-based consumer advocacy group, filed the case on behalf of Feller and Freed. When the practice was outlawed in 1993, legislative ana- lysts called it a ''death spiral'' because rates inevitably increased until policyholders could no longer afford cover- age. As the coverage pool shrank over time, rates went up and up. ''It's a very profitable practice, and what we know is the insurance industry is very focused on short-term returns,'' said Jerry Flanagan, a health advocate for Consumer Watchdog. The lawsuit comes on the heels of government scrutiny of a steep Anthem Blue Cross rate hike for roughly 700,000 individual policyholders in California. The hikes average 25 percent — some premiums will rise as much as 39 percent — but implementation of the hike has been delayed until May 1 while a state regulator investigates. Anthem executives have blamed the current economic climate, flaws in the national health care system, high costs of health care and fewer young, healthy people holding onto insurance policies for the rate hikes. SACRAMENTO (AP) — The first openly gay lawmaker to lead either house of the California Legis- lature was sworn in Monday as speaker of the state Assembly, tak- ing over at a time of fiscal turmoil and partisan divisions. Democrat John Perez of Los Angeles said creating jobs as the state struggles with an unemploy- ment rate above 12 percent will be his legislative priority. He also wants to start healing rifts between Democrats and Republicans that have made it diffi- cult for either house to pass mean- ingful legislation in recent years. Perez announced during his acceptance speech that he will appoint two Republicans to serve as chairs of Assembly committees. While Republicans are the minority in the Assembly and Senate, he said their ideas deserve to be considered. Getting both sides to work together, he said, will be key to solving the state's ongoing fiscal crisis. California faces a budget deficit of about $20 billion through June 2011. Democrats have argued against deep spending cuts, while Republicans oppose tax increases. ''We don't have sufficient resources to meet all our needs, but that cannot be an excuse to turn on each other,'' Perez told his col- leagues in a packed Assembly chamber. Not all of Perez's ideas were designed for reaching across the aisle. Perez said he wants to elimi- nate the requirement that the state budget must be passed by a two- thirds majority of the Legislature, favoring instead a simple majority vote. The move would reduce Republicans' influence. ''We're the only state in the country that requires a super- majority,'' Perez told reporters. ''It obviously delays the decision mak- ing.'' Republican Minority Leader Martin Garrick said in a statement there was ''absolutely no support'' from Republicans for eliminating the two-thirds rule. Perez plans to make the budget process more accessible to Califor- nians by holding budget hearings in other parts of the state and limiting closed-door meetings. He also announced a plan to ban text messages from lobbyists to lawmakers during floor sessions and committee hearings. The speaker position is being vacated by Assemblywoman Karen Bass, another Los Angeles Democ- rat, who is running for Congress and will be termed out at the end of the year. Perez, who becomes the 68th Assembly speaker, can serve four more years in the Assembly. He is the cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The atmosphere in the chamber during Perez's swearing-in ceremo- ny resembled a pep rally, complete with cheers, standing ovations and the Gay Men's Choir of Los Ange- les singing, ''Can you feel a brand new day?'' ''He is someone that sends a sig- nal to the nation that being gay is no longer a barrier to greatness,'' said San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. ''And that in California, we believe in equal rights.'' The California Democratic Party was following the nomination with an evening fundraiser at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. Tick- ets to the ''Post Swearing-In Cele- bration'' were selling for $2,000 to $50,000. 'We don't have sufficient resources to meet all our needs, but that cannot be an excuse to turn on each other' Assembly Speaker John Perez Consumers sue Anthem UC students protest budget cuts, fee hikes Historic ranch to house horse program LIVERMORE (AP) — A nonprofit equestrian program for the poor and dis- abled will have a permanent home in one of the Tri-Valley's most historic sites, say city officials. Hoofprints on the Heart, which pro- vides horse therapy to children and adults who have cerebral palsy, autism and other disabilities, will acquire five acres in western Livermore that com- prise the last chunk of the original land that helped establish the Tri-Valley in 1839, according to records. The ranch boasts some of the oldest structures in the area, including a farm- house, barns and blacksmith shop. It boasts a 400-year-old oak tree on the National Register of Historic Places. The city received financing from the Federal government to purchase the property, said Jean Prasher, the city's human services program manager. The $1.8 million, low-interest, 20- year loan will be used to acquire the land from a local builder who had wanted to partially develop it with housing.