Red Bluff Daily News

July 21, 2012

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EXTRA Continued from page 1A auditoriums by theater staff. "Patron security is what we care about most," Figone said. The "Dark Knight Returns" had two mid- night showings Friday night at the theater. Figone said a few peo- ple were dressed in cos- tume, but typically the theater doesn't see many costumed moviegoers. The Hollywood block- buster is scheduled to play seven times a day through the weekend. —Rich Greene County workers protest move to Redding By RICH GREENE Tuesday to declare the July 4 fire that destroyed the Child Support Services building an emergency and temporarily relocate staff to Shasta County. The decision was opposed by the union representing the county workers. DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Board of Supervisors voted ATTACK Continued from page 1A midnight opening of ''The Dark Knight Rises.'' The gunman, identified by police as 24-year-old James Holmes, used a mil- itary-style semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a pis- tol, stopping only to reload. Joint Council Union representative Robert Belgeri said the move would be a hardship on county employ- ees, who would have to add 65 extra miles of travel a day to their schedule as well as lose personal time dri- ving to and from work. Janice Stout, a Child Support Services employee, said the drive was even longer for Los Molinos and Rancho Tehama employees. She said her trip would be 100 miles per day and she had agreed to work within Tehama County when she was hired. there was not enough proper space within Tehama County's existing facilities to accommodate the staff of around two dozen employees. Child Support Services Director Sharon Stone said The Social Services department requires special access to state computer systems and specific types of security measures because of the confidentiality of its work. Tehama County for those people needing local ser- vices. Most other work can be done over the phone. Stone said the temporary location at 2600 Park Mari- na Drive in Redding was chosen because Shasta Coun- ty's own Child Support Services had a training center available for use with computers hooked into the state system. find a Tehama County location to get employees back home after the fire destroyed their 940 Diamond Ave. location. Following a brief discussion, the supervisors adopt- ed the declaration unanimously. Supervisor Greg Avil- la was absent. She said she was working as quickly as possible to Woman wakes to find burglar By JULIE ZEEB woman awoke to find someone leaving her El Verano Avenue residence through her living room sliding door. DN Staff Writer A 19-year-old Corning Corning Police were sent to the residence in the 600 block of El Verano at 1:37 a.m. and contacted Megan Ashcraft. Ashcraft told officers she had been asleep on the couch in her living room when a noise woke her up, Chief Don Atkins said. Officers checked the residence and the area but were unable to find the person, who was described as wearing all black, Atkins said. Officers found Ashcraft's bathroom slid- ing glass window lying outside against a bush next to the bathroom, which may have been SACRAMENTO (AP) — The director of Califor- nia's state parks resigned and a deputy was fired Fri- day after officials learned the department sat on nearly $54 million in surplus money for years while parks were threatened with clo- sure over budget cuts. Ruth Coleman, director of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, stepped down, and chief deputy Michael Harris was let go amid questions about the underreported funds that date back 12 years, announced state Natural Resources Agency Secre- tary John Laird, whose agency oversees the parks department. Laird said it's not clear why the account balances weren't properly reported but so far there's no indica- tion any money was stolen or misappropriated. He declined to speculate if it was an accounting mistake or if there was intentional wrongdoing. ''I'm obviously deeply where the person entered the residence, Atkins said. Nothing was reported missing, but the 19-year- old said it appeared as if someone had gone through her and her boyfriend's dresser drawers. Officers were sent back to the resident at 2:14 a.m. when she called to report she thought someone might possibly still be inside her residence. Ashcraft told officers she thought someone had been in her hall because her dog had been growl- ing and she heard a door close, Atkins said. Officers checked the residence and the area but were unable to find any- one.——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews .com. Follow her on Twitter @DN_Zeeb. Three computer workstations have been set up in The suspect marched up the aisle in the stadium- style theater, picking off those who tried to flee, witnesses said. Authorities said he hit 71 people. One of them was struck in an adjacent theater by gunfire that went through the wall. ''He would reload and shoot and anyone who would try to leave would just get killed,'' said Jen- nifer Seeger, adding that bullet casings landed on her head and burned her forehead. Within minutes, frantic 911 calls brought some 200 police officers, ambu- lances and emergency crews to the theater. Holmes was captured in the parking lot. Police said they later found that his nearby apartment was booby-trapped. Authorities gave no motive for the attack. The FBI said there was no indication of ties to any terrorist groups. In New York City, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said: ''It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He has his hair painted red. He said he was the Joker, obviously the enemy of Batman.'' Saturday, July 21, 2012 – Daily News 9A MediaNews Group photo Tom Sullivan, center, hugs two women outside Gateway High School, Fri- day, in Aurora, Colo. Sullivan is still missing his son, who he said was at the movies where 71 people were shot, 12 fatally early Friday. for daytime showings. The film's director, Christopher Nolan, issued a statement on behalf of the cast and crew, express- ing their ''profound sor- row at the senseless tragedy.'' ''Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families,'' Nolan said. Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates would not con- firm that information, but did say he had spoken to Kelly. The two used to work together in New York. Asked whether Holmes had makeup to look like the Joker, Oates said: ''That to my knowl- edge is not true.'' It was the worst mass shooting in the U.S. since the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at Fort Hood, Texas. An Army psychiatrist was charged with killing 13 soldiers and civilians and wounding more than two dozen others. It was the deadliest in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre in suburban Denver in 1999, when two students killed 12 class- mates and a teacher and wounded 26 others before killing themselves. The new Batman movie, the last in the trilo- gy starring Christian Bale, opened worldwide Friday with midnight showings in the U.S. The plot has the villain Bane facing Bale's Caped Crusader with a nuclear weapon that could destroy all of fictional Gotham. officials to cancel the red- carpet premiere in Paris, and some U.S. movie the- aters stepped up security The shooting prompted disappointed and feel truly sorry (for) everybody that was involved,'' Laird said. ''It's my take that the chal- lenges to parks are so much greater than this and we still have to meet them. We're going to do our best and move ahead.'' keep most parks open despite ongoing budget cuts. Last month, park offi- cials announced most of the 70 state parks once slat- ed to close would remain open. Coleman, who joined the department in 1999 and served under three gover- nors, said she was unaware of the surplus but accepted responsibility for the accounting problem. ''I am personally appalled to learn that our documents were not accu- rate,'' she wrote in her resig- nation letter released by the governor's office. Gov. Jerry Brown accepted Coleman's resig- nation and appointed Cali- fornia Natural Resources Agency Undersecretary Janelle Beland as acting interim director of the department. The shake-up comes at a time when state lawmakers and park advocates have been trying to find ways to The attack began short- ly after midnight at the multiplex in Aurora, an urban community on Den- ver's eastside. Audience members said they thought it was part of the movie, or some kind of stunt associated with it. The film has several scenes of public mayhem — a hallmark of superhero movies. In one scene, Bane leads an attack on a stock exchange, and in another he leads a shoot- ing and bombing rampage on a packed football stadi- um. ment official said Holmes bought a ticket to the show, went into the theater as part of the crowd and propped open an exit door as the movie was playing. The suspect then donned protective ballistic gear and opened fire, the offi- cial said, speaking on con- dition of anonymity to dis- cuss the ongoing investi- gation. A federal law enforce- At some point, the gun- man appeared to have stepped outside because several witnesses saw him come through the door. ''All I saw is the door swinging open and the street lights behind, and you could see a silhou- ette,'' said Crofter, who was sitting on the left side of the theater and toward the front. Sylvana Guillen said the gunman, clad in dark clothing, appeared at the front of the theater as the character Catwoman appeared in the movie. Then they heard gunshots and smelled smoke from a California parks director resigns amid scandal first reported Coleman's resignation after inquiring about the possibility of a surplus. In addition, the newspaper reported Sunday about a secret vacation buy- out program for employees at department headquarters that cost taxpayers more than $271,000. State officials said the The Sacramento Bee ''hidden assets'' that prompted the investigation were found by a new park fiscal staff member, Aaron Robertson, while the attor- ney general's office was looking into the unautho- rized vacation buyouts. The administration said it disclosed the accounting problem within 48 hours of the discovery. Friday's announcement sparked outrage from state lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Noreen Evans of Santa Rosa, who crafted legislation allocating new funds for the belea- guered parks system in the face of $22 million in bud- get cuts. ''This discovery uncov- ers the ultimate betrayal of public trust,'' Evans said in a statement. ''If one depart- ment can hoard $54 million for 12 years, who else is playing the same tricks of deceit and thievery?'' Separately, state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg called for an over- sight hearing. State officials said the canister he was carrying. As she and her friend, Misha Mostashiry, ran to the exit, Guillen said, they saw a man slip in the blood of a wounded woman he was trying to help. wore a gas mask and a bal- listic helmet and vest, as well as leg, groin and throat protectors. He said among the guns was an AR-15 rifle and that the gunman used two gas can- isters. ''I thought it was show- manship. I didn't think it was real,'' Seeger said. She said she was in the second row, about four feet from the gunman, when he pointed a gun at her face. ''I was just a deer in headlights. I didn't know what to do,'' she said. Oates said the gunman crawling toward an exit when she saw a girl of about 14 ''lying lifeless on the stairs.'' She saw a man with a bullet wound in his back and tried to check his pulse, but ''I had to go. I was going to get shot.'' Later, police began entering the theater, ask- ing people to hold their hands up as they evacuat- ed the building. Then she ducked to the ground as the gunman shot people seated behind her. Seeger said she began Some of the victims were treated for chemical exposure apparently relat- ed to canisters thrown by the gunman. Those hurt included a 4-month-old baby, who was treated at a hospital and released. Authorities started to remove the bodies from the theater on Friday after- noon. Officials wheeled a black bag on a stretcher out of the front entrance, placing it in the back of a minivan. Ten people died in the theater, while two others died from their injuries later. neighborhood in San Diego. Holmes played soccer at Westview High School and ran cross- country before going to college. On Friday morning, police escorted Holmes' father, a manager of a soft- ware company, from their home while his mother, a nurse, stayed inside, receiving visitors who came to offer support. Holmes also has a younger sister. ''As you can under- stand, the Holmes family is very upset about all of this,'' Lt. Andra Brown, the San Diego police spokeswoman, told reporters in the driveway of the family home. ''It's a tragic event and it's taken everyone by surprise. They are definitely trying to work through this.'' Police released a state- ment from his family that said: ''Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved.'' There have been no indications so far that Holmes had any run-ins with the law before Friday. Tom Mai, a retired electrical engineer, said Holmes was a ''shy guy'' who came from a ''very, very nice family.'' University of California, Riverside, in the spring of 2010 a bachelor's degree in neuroscience, a school spokesman said. Mai said the mother told him Holmes couldn't find a job after earning a master's degree and returned to school. Holmes graduated from Those who knew Holmes described him as a shy, intelligent person raised in California by parents who were active in their well-to-do suburban In 2011, he enrolled in the Ph.D. neuroscience program at the University of Colorado-Denver but was in the process of with- drawing, a university spokeswoman said. Holmes lived in an apartment in Aurora, and FBI agents and police who went there discovered it was booby-trapped when they used a camera at the end of a 12-foot pole to look inside. Lawmakers hand out pay raises amid cuts attorney general's office is investigating and finance officials will conduct a full audit of the department. Deputy Finance Director Michael Cohen said the administration will move to make sure the same prob- lem isn't happening in other special funds. tion shows the parks depart- ment underreported two funds as far back as 2000. have handed out raises to more than 1,000 employees of the Legislature in the last year, even as they made deep budget cuts and trimmed pay for other state work- ers. The news comes as Democrats promote a Novem- ber ballot initiative seeking to temporarily raise income and sales taxes to help ease California's ongoing bud- get woes. Newly released documents show that officials in the state Assembly and Senate approved raises as high as 10 percent for some top-level staffers. More than 110 of the 1,090 raises given out in the last fiscal year went to legislative employees who were making salaries above $100,000, according to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the raises. Senate President Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg, D- Sacramento, said he would seek to freeze pay increases in the Senate for the coming year, but the Assembly has not made any such move. SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers A preliminary investiga-

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