Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/768438
ByJoshLederman TheAssociatedPress HONOLULU Eager to stop Republicans from destroy- ing his signature health care law, President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers will meet next week to try to forge a com- mon strategy. Obama also plans a major valedictory speech in Chicago, his hometown, shortly before his presidency ends. Obama will travel to the Capitol on Wednes- day morning for the meet- ing with House and Senate Democrats, according to an invitation sent to law- makers. The White House is casting it as an effort to unite Democrats behind a plan to protect the law, known as the Affordable Care Act, before Republi- cans have a chance to set- tle on their own plan for re- pealing it. Democrats are on edge over the future of the ACA, given the GOP's disdain for "Obamacare" and Presi- dent-elect Donald Trump's vows to gut it. Though Re- publicans are united behind the notion of repealing the law, they're split over how best to replace it. Some want to strip out unpopu- lar provisions while leaving others intact, while other Republicans prefer a start- from-scratch approach. It's that lack of unanim- ity among Republicans that Obama and Democrats hope can be exploited, if they can lay the ground- work even before Trump takes office. To that end, Obama also planned to an- swer questions about the future of the health care law next Friday during a livestreamed event at Blair House, just across Penn- sylvania Avenue from the White House. Initially stunned by the defeat of Hillary Clinton, Democrats are now trying to organize a counter-at- tack to preserve the ACA, among the most significant expansions of the social safety net since Medicare and Medicaid were created 50 years ago. House Dem- ocratic leader Nancy Pelosi has urged her lawmakers to make health care their fo- cus at the start of the year. Defenders of the law have also launched a political co- alition called "Protect Our Care," bringing together more than 20 groups, in- cluding the NAACP and the Service Employees Interna- tional Union. One of their objectives is to try to prevent Repub- licans from repealing the ACA without also enact- ing a replacement. (Cur- rently Republicans plan to quickly vote on repealing the law, and delay the effec- tive date to give them time to craft a replacement.) An- other goal for Democrats is to pre-empt bigger health care changes to Medicare and Medicaid long sought by Republicans. Since the ACA passed, about 20 million people have gained coverage and the uninsured rate has dropped to a historic low of around 9 percent. Some of the coverage gains are due to employers offer- ing jobs with health care in a stronger economy, but most experts mainly credit Obama's law. A recent poll suggests that defenders of the law may get a receptive hear- ing from the public. Only about 1 in 4 Americans want Trump and the GOP- led Congress to completely repeal the ACA, according to a post-election survey by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "Republicans don't fully appreciate the implications of even a partial repeal of the ACA," said Rob Restuc- cia, executive director of Community Catalyst, one of the advocacy groups in the coalition trying to pre- serve the law. "People use the analogy of the dog that caught the car." Obama's speech in Chi- cago on Jan. 10 is expected to serve as his closing words to the nation as president. His appearance will be open to the public and fol- lowed by a "family reunion" for alumni of Obama's for- mer campaigns, according to a save-the-date notice sent to Obama alumni and obtained by The Associated Press. WHITE HOUSE Fi na l mo nt h: ' Ob am ac ar e' d ef en se , Ch ic ag o sp eec h PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Washington. By Emery P. Dalesio The Associated Press RALEIGH,N.C. A North Car- olina judge granted a small victory to the state's incom- ing Democratic governor on Friday, temporarily block- ing a law by Republican lawmakers stripping him of control over elections in a legislative power play just weeks ago. Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens blocked the new law, which would end the control gov- ernors exert over state- wide and county election boards, as Gov.-Elect Roy Cooper is set to take office Sunday. Stephens ruled that the risk to future free and fair elections justified the temporary block and said he plans to review the law more closely Thursday. North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin also could appoint a three-judge panel to hear Cooper's challenge to the law's constitutionality. Cooper sued on Friday to block the law, which passed two weeks ago. He said the GOP-led General Assembly's action is unconstitutional because it violates sepa- ration of powers by giving legislators too much control over how election laws are administered. Under cur- rent law, all elections boards would become controlled by Democrats in 2017 — unless the legislation in question takes effect. Though that law creates a new body described as in- dependent, Stephens got a lawyer representing Sen- ate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore — both Republicans — to admit that legislators would exert the greatest control on the new, combined elections and ethics board. "That's what I thought the answer was," Stephens said during an emergency hearing Friday. The new law came as part of two special Gen- eral Assembly sessions this month. In the first, legis- lators passed a package of laws limiting Cooper's power in several ways. In the second, legislators came together to repeal the law known as the "the bathroom bill." The contro- versial legislation directs transgender people to use public bathrooms that cor- respond with the gender on their birth certificates and limits other protections for LGBT people. But the deal to repeal it was thwarted, dealing Cooper another blow before he even took office. The changes to the law at the center of Cooper's Friday lawsuit convert the five-member state elections board from one with a par- tisan majority matching the governor's into a bipartisan body with equal numbers of Republicans and Demo- crats.Countyelectionboards would have two members from each party, rather than the current three members with a majority from the governor's party. Cooper argued that the new law could create longer lines at polling places, less early voting and general dif- ficulty for voters. "This complex new law passed in just two days by the Republican legislature is unconstitutional and anything but bipartisan," he said in a statement. "A tie on a partisan vote would accomplish what many Re- publicans want: making it harder for North Carolin- ians to vote." But Berger said Cooper was trying to preserve his own power. "Given the recent weeks- (backslash)long uncertainty surrounding his own elec- tion, the governor-elect should understand better than anyone why North Carolinians deserve a sys- tem they can trust will set- tle election outcomes fairly and without the taint of partisanship," Berger said in a statement. Cooper won the Novem- ber election against out- going Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by about 10,000 votes out of 4.7 million. The transition was made bump- ier by a protracted debate over vote-counting. Mc- Crory didn't concede until a month after the election. The state Republican Party and its allies filed doz- ens of formal complaints about alleged voter fraud. Almost all of the protests were dismissed or side- lined by elections boards on which Republicans held the majority. PO LITI CS So me p ow er r es to re d to i nc om in g North Carolina governor — for now "T hi s c ompl ex n ew l aw p as se d i n ju st t wo d ay s b y t he R ep ub li ca n le gis la tu re i s u nc on st it ut io na l a nd an yt hin g b ut b ip ar ti sa n. " — N or th C ar ol in a G ov .- el ec t R oy C oo pe r By Justin Juozapavicius The Associated Press TULSA,OKLA. Prosecutors said Friday that they won't file new criminal charges against a former Oklahoma sheriff who has faced scru- tiny since a reserve deputy fatally shot an unarmed black man last year. Former Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz al- ready had been sentenced in July to a one-year sus- pended term on misde- meanor charges stemming from a separate grand jury investigation. Robert Bates, the former volunteer deputy who shot Eric Har- ris, has been sentenced to four years in prison for sec- ond-degree manslaughter. Prosecutor Rob Barris' announcement that Glanz will face no further charges stems from an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investiga- tion probe into misconduct allegations that began after the April 2015 fatal shoot- ing of Eric Harris. After the shooting, ques- tions arose about the coun- ty'sreservedeputyprogram and about Bates' training and whether he received special treatment from Glanz, who was a long- time friend. Bates said he mistook his handgun for a stun gun when he shot a re- strained Harris during an illegal gun sales sting. The reserve deputy program was shuttered and partially revived earlier this year. The prosecutor said in a statement: "Based upon the (state bureau of inves- tigation) report and the previous actions taken by the grand jury in 2015, no further action is required and this office determines this matter to be closed." Consultants hired by the county issued a scathing, 238-page report in Febru- ary that found that the sheriff's department suf- fered from a "system-wide failure of leadership and supervision" and said the agency had been in a "per- ceptible decline" for more than a decade. Shortcom- ings in its reserve dep- uty program were just the most-visiblesignsoftrouble within the agency, it said. That report followed Glanz's indictment in Sep- tember 2015 in which a grand jury accused him of failing to release a 2009 in- ternal report that raised se- rious concerns about Bates' ability to do its job. The memo alleged that superi- ors knew Bates didn't have enough training but pres- sured others to look the other way because of the wealthy insurance execu- tive's relationship with the sheriff. POLICE KILLING Pr os ec ut or : No cha rg es against ex-sheriff LEGALNOTICE NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF THOMAS MICHAEL WULFERT CASE NO. 16PR000050 To all heirs, beneficiaries, cred- itors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of THOMAS MICHAEL WULFERT A Petition for Probate has been filed by MICHAEL J. WULFERT in the Superior Court of California, County of TEHAMA. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE re- quests that Michael J. Wulfert be appointed as personal repre- sentative to administer the es- tate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent¹s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are availa- ble for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal repre- p p sentative to take many actions without obtaining court appro- val. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to inter- ested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The inde- pendent administration authori- ty will be granted unless an in- terested person files an objec- tion to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: January 23, 2017 at 1:30 p.m. in Dept. 5, located at 1740 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objec- tions with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contin- gent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative ap- pointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months ( ) from the first issuance of letters to a general personal represen- tative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal de- livery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Re- quest for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inven- tory and appraisal of estate as- sets or of any petition or ac- count as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner Kate Swain 3017 Douglas Blvd, Ste.300 Roseville, CA 95661 916-774-7562 Publish: December 31, 2016 and Janaur y 7 & 14, 2017 LEGAL NOTICE Notice Re: Seizure of Property and Initia- tion of Forfeiture Proceedings, Health and Safety Code Sections 11470 et seq. and 11488.4. To: All persons claiming any right, title, or legal interest in the following seized property (appraised values appear in pa- rentheses): Four thousand dol- lars ($4,000.00) valued in terms of United States Currency, seized from or about the person or property of Chong Vang and Robbie Vang Notice is hereby given that the above described property was seized on May 13, 2015 dur- ing a traffic law enforcement stop at or near northbound In- terstate 5 at Hooker Creek Road, Cottonwood, CA by T.I.D.E. for al- leged violations of California Health and Safety Code sections 11359 and 11360. On June 8, 2015, non-judicial forfeiture proceedings were commenced by the Tehama County District Attorney in Ac- tion #AS15-692. Please use this case number on all documents and corres pondence. h hi ( ) d p You have thirty (30) days from the date of the first publi- cation of this notice to file a verified claim, unless you have received actual notice. The claim must state the nature and extent of any interest you hold in the property, must be veri- fied, and must be filed with the Superior Court Clerk, 1740 Wal- nut St., Red Bluff, CA, 96080, or the property will be forfeited to the State. An endorsed copy of the claim must be served on the District Attorney, 444 Oak St., #L, Red Bluff, CA 96080 within thirty (30) days of the filing of your claim. Claim forms can be ob- tained from the Asset Forfeiture Clerk, District Attorney's Office. Dated: December 19, 2016 Gregg Cohen, District Attorney By: AUBREY R. 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