Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/81263
SEPTEMBER 1, 2 2012 WEEKEND New Orange Standard to Debut Agriculture Page 5A RED BLUFF Breaking news at: www.redbluffdailynews.com Weather forecast 10A Sunny 90/58 By RYAN OLSON MediaNews Group SACRAMENTO — Ahead of his November bid for a con- gressional seat, state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, resigned from Senate at the end of the legislative session Friday. Speaking from Sacramento, LaMalfa said the move would save taxpayers $2 million, as a special election to fill his state DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY $1.00 T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 LaMalfa resigns Senate seat, saves state $2M Senate seat could be consolidat- ed with the November general election. The consolidation could save Butte County about $240,000. "It would be the best out- come for the district, the tax- payers and all involved," LaMalfa said. The move could also Pool like new advance an expected battle for the vacated seat. Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, has pre- viously announced his intent to seek the position. For LaMalfa, he is running against Jim Reed, D-Fall River Mills, for the 1st Congressional Dis- trict seat in Novem- ber. If he were to win and had not resigned from the Senate, a separate special elec- tion in about April would have been needed to select someone to com- plete the remaining two years in LaMal- fa's Senate term. LaMalfa said he LaMalfa spoke with Gov. Jerry Brown and the governor will act to ensure that the two elections are consol- He said he made the decision to pursue this course over the summer, but the idea began in January when U.S. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, announced his retirement after 26 years in Congress and endorsed LaMal- fa to succeed him. In addition to saving taxpay- ers money, LaMalfa noted a idated. See LAMALFA, page 9A Fireworks group gets to work By JULIE ZEEB Jennifer Orton will be secretary and Mary Jayne Eidman the treasurer. For Nason, the fireworks are something she would like to have as a tradition for her 3-year-old son. A sen- timent that was echoed by Justin Iiams who has a 4- year-old. problems persist Gerber levee By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer McGlynn Pool might be 76 years-old, but it's going to seem as if the city of Red Bluff is opening up a new pool next summer. A complete fiberglass resurfac- ing of the pool was recently com- pleted and Cleaner Greener Red Bluff event saw volunteers paint the pool building over the weekend reviving a complex that has brought smiles for generations of residents. cilwoman and Blues for the Pool Secretary Daniele Jackson. Jackson, who has found herself on both sides of the pool issue, said she can't wait to see it filled with kids next summer. City officials have dealt with the "It's just fantastic," Said Coun- pool's leaking problem for years, but it wasn't until they received a state grant that they took on the more than $200,000 resurfacing and Americans With Disabilities Act compliance projects. Advanced Pool Coatings, which did the resurfacing, said his company had been eying the project for near- ly 20 years. "We were excited to finally be able to jump on this project," he said. Walter said the fiberglass is Daily News photo by Rich Greene Dave Walter, vice president of The Gerber Communi- ty Service District's prob- lems with the levee con- tinue as the district works to ensure its residents are covered by PL 84-99 and will not have to carry flood insurance. extremely affective at healing the previous cracks in the pool's con- crete foundation as well as protect- See POOL, page 9A Rodent control prob- lems led the 1.6-mile levee to be red lined as unacceptable by the Army Corps of Engineers in the inspection report received by the district on Jan. 13, District Manager Mike Murphy said. If the district's rodent problem and other levee issues are not taken care of or the district isn't at least showing signs of working on the problem, it could cause the district to loose eligibility for fed- eral funds under the PL 84-99 Program, which is an assistance program in case of a levee break and flood, Murphy said. If the district loses its eligibility, residents with mortgages would most likely be required to carry flood insurance. "The Levee issues continue with more inspections from Depart- ment of Water Resources and the Army Corps to meet the PL 84-99 requirements," Murphy said. "The district has been filling the squirrel holes with grout as they See GERBER, page 9A California legislature OKs pension changes SACRAMENTO (AP) — The state Legislature on Friday approved a package of changes to California's public employee pension system that is expected to save taxpayers billions of dol- lars, even as Republican lawmakers said much more needs to be done to fix a system with massive liabilities. The main pension bill, AB340, passed 49-8 in the Assembly and 38-1 in the state Senate. Gov. Jerry Brown negotiated the reforms with the Leg- islature's Democratic leadership. The legislation will increase the retirement age for new employees, cap the annual payout at $132,120, eliminate numerous abuses of the system and require work- ers who are not contribut- ing half of their retire- ment costs to pay more. Brown said he supports the legislation even though it falls short of the 12-point reform proposal he offered last October. ''This is the most far- reaching pension reform in the history of Califor- nia,'' he told reporters before the final legislative vote. was a difficult compro- mise with many ''con- He said the package tentious parties.'' Lawmakers voted even as companion legislation was hustled up to make key fixes in the hastily written bill, which was taken up on the final day of the legislative session. Some Republican law- makers complained the process was rushed and preferred to delay a vote until the drafting mistakes were fixed. But several GOP lawmakers voted for it while saying the Legis- lature also needs to do much more to address the unfunded public pension liability of roughly $165 billion in the state's two main systems. ''What we have before us is not pension reform, but a pension change,'' said Sen. Mimi Walters, a Republican from the Orange County communi- ty of Lake Forest. ''While I will support this mea- sure today, it is my hope that our vote today will be the beginning of achiev- ing real reform and taking on the challenge of our unfunded pension liabili- ty.'' approach approved Fri- day. She and other Republi- cans also noted that none of the changes was enshrined in the state con- stitution, meaning they can be changed by a majority vote of a future legislature. Brown announced the pension package this week, 10 months after he released a more compre- hensive reform proposal that would have gone much further than the ations was staunch oppo- sition from public employee labor unions that are supporting Brown's November ballot proposal to temporarily raise sales taxes and taxes on high-income earners. While some union Underlying the negoti- leaders expressed dismay over the final bill, Democ- rats appeased their labor allies by removing some of the most important ele- ments of Brown's original proposal, such as institut- ing a hybrid pension plan that would have included a 401(k)-style savings See PENSION, page 9A THE DAILY NEWS OFFICE WILL BE Monday, September 3 in honor of Labor Day CLOSED DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 527-2151 • FAX 527-3719 545 DIAMOND AVE., RED BLUFF DN Staff Writer The Tehama County Fireworks Committee is off and running with about a dozen people in attendance at its first meeting Wednesday and Shannon Nason officially voted in as chairwoman. "This community has already lost a lot of things See GROUP, page 9A