Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/8157
Monday, March 22, 2010 – Daily News – 7A BUDGET Continued from page 1A and all overtime,” Nanfito said. Nanfito presented the board with numbers, using 2009 actual statistics and preliminary estimates for 2010, for the three large events associated directly with the fairground. In 2009, the Red Bluff Round-Up cost just less than $6,400 for 196 hours over a four-day period, he said. The Fourth of July Heritage Days event, which debuted at the fairground in 2009, cost just less than $1,800 for 45.5 hours of overtime, Nanfito said. “It’s overtime that wasn’t budgeted and wasn’t planned for,” Nanfito said of the July 4 event. “We still have to fill shifts if an officer is sick or in training. Extra events take away from filling the shifts.” Traffic control is necessary because, unlike other big events at the fairground participants don’t just trickle in, Nanfito said. With the Round-Up Parade held just before the rodeo event, there is a lot of traffic from people head- ing both to the event and home from the parade, which leaves the potential for traffic to back up onto Interstate 5. The monster truck and July 4 events have people arriving and leaving in large numbers as the show starts. When the events end, there are no incentives for people to stick around. In order to do traffic control for the big events it takes at least six officers for the main gates alone, Nan- fito said. Ali Abbassi, of Red Bluff, asked if those staffing the main gate had to be officers. “You have to consider the liability,” Nanfito said. “It’s a gain versus risk. What kind of risk do we want to take?” The board approved assembling a joint task force to look into solutions. The group would include represen- tatives from the fair, rodeo, bull sale, monster trucks and motocross. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. JOBS Continued from page 1A sures that impose new bur- dens, mandates and regu- FILM Continued from page 1A “We are in the age of movies,” Priest said. “We have children raised in church that can recite more about movies than the Bible.” Grants Pass resident David Twitchell, a retired police officer and producer, writer and director of Christian films, came to the festival because it was the closest of its kind. He said he expects big things lations that will make it much more expensive to attract and retain jobs in California. Our top priori- ty for 2010 must be putting jobs first, by pass- ing policies that lower costs for small businesses struggling to keep their heads above water and avoid layoffs or closure.” To review the federa- for the Christian film movement. The quality of Christian films has not only improved dramatically from the meager pickings of the 70s and 80s, it provides an alternative to the violent, sexually-charged mater- ial Hollywood puts out. The indus- try has managed to overlook the demand for G- and PG-rated films, a need the Christian film industry can help meet. As for the local festival, Twitchell expects that to grow, too. “They’re just starting,” he said. tion’s legislative score- card, visit http://www.nfib.com/Por- tals/0/PDF/AllUsers/states /CA/CA2009VR02-23- 2010.pdf. “From humble beginnings, come big things.” Those things may be coming sooner than next year’s festival. Nel- son said he will be screening addi- tional Christian films, with one film playing a month. More information is available by calling 209-7791. ——— Geoff Johnson can be reached at 527-2153, extension 114 or gjohn- son@redbluffdailynews.com. Lassen Peak accident unforeseen The fatal accident that killed 9-year-old Tommy Botell and seriously injured his 13-year-old sister, Kat- rina, 1.7 miles up on the Lassen Peak Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park was unforeseen as the park completed assess- ments of the trail earlier in the season. “We are so sorry this accident occurred.” said Park Superintendent Dar- lene M. Koontz. long history of the trail, there is no record of any- thing similar to this acci- dent and we had no idea that this rock wall would “In the fail in such a manner.” The extreme conditions of temperature, precipita- tion, wind, and the compo- sition of the volcanic rock of this mountain create a challenging environment to maintain this historic trail. There is also human- caused erosion from those hikers that cut switchbacks in summer and those that lose the trail as the spring melt partially covers the trail with snowfields. Each year park staff hike Lassen Peak Trail throughout the summer and flag the trail in the spring to help visitors find their way without fur- ther impacts to the trail. Three years ago, the decision was made to pur- sue a more comprehensive rehabilitation project beyond the annual summer trail work. The planning, surveys, and assessments were completed and the Environmental Assessment for the Lassen Peak Trail Rehabilitation Project was completed with a Finding of No Significant Impact decision approved by the NPS Pacific West Regional Director in February. The work has been planned for implementa- tion and completion in the next five years and will include widening of the trail, replacing rock struc- tures, establishing a route around the crater at the top and delineation of a route to the very top of Lassen Peak. This project is called, “Reach the Peak,” and is in partnership with the Lassen Park Founda- tion. The park will begin work as soon as weather permits. For more information- visit www.nps.gov/lavo or call the Kohm Yah-mah- nee Visitor Center (530) 595-4480 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily. Insurers, doctor-owned hospitals get late help WASHINGTON (AP) — Tucked into President Barack Obama’s health care bill are several 11th-hour changes that help major insurance companies and doctor-owned hospitals. Among the beneficiaries, according to lobbyists and con- gressional aides, are Kaiser Per- manente, the giant California- based insurance company; Geisinger Health Plan based in Pennsylvania; and doctor- owned health facilities in about a dozen states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. House leaders hoped to approve the revisions Sunday when lawmakers vote on the health care legislation. They were included in a 153-page bill revising the giant Senate-passed overhaul package, and in sepa- rate language that Democrats plan to add. Some of the special deals in the health care bill have been widely derided by Republicans and Democrats, and a few have been dropped. Last year, to help win the vote of Sen. Ben Nelson, D- Neb., the massive Senate mea- sure had included $100 million that only Nebraska would get in added federal Medicaid assis- tance. Dubbed the Cornhusker Kickback, it was eliminated in the revisions bill. The latest changes to the bill include: —Tax-exempt insurers would have to pay a new fee levied on insurers on only half their premiums. Kaiser Perma- nente and Geisinger are both tax-exempt. Chris Stenrud, a Kaiser spokesman, said Sunday that his company believes the revisions hurt them because they may been exempted from the entire fee under a different provision in the health legisla- tion that the revisions killed. —An Aug. 1, 2010, deadline on new doctor-owned hospitals to apply to the government for eligibility to serve — and get paid for — Medicare patients would be extended to Dec. 31. Aides and lobbyists said this would help roughly 13 facilities. These include Mercy Hospital in Monclova, Ohio; Scranton Orthopedic Specialists in Dick- son City, Pa.; and Paragon Rehabilitation in Goodlettsville, Tenn. The three facilities are repre- sented, respectively, by Democ- ratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Paul Kanjorski of Penn- sylvania, and Bart Gordon of Tennessee. Gordon has switched to support the health legislation after opposing an earlier version and Kaptur said Sunday she would stick to her ‘‘yes’’ vote. Kanjorski hasn’t indicated how he would vote. Aides to all three said the law- makers had nothing to do with the provisions and their votes would not be affected by inclu- sion of the language. Enviros, growers agree on farmland reuse Pelosi: Health bill honors LEMOORE (AP) — Cash- strapped farmers in California’s agricultural heartland and environ- mentalists at odds over water rights and wildlife protections finally agree on something: that thousands of acres of cracked, salty farmland is the perfect site for a sprawling utility-scale solar farm. The 47 square-miles of land pro- posed for the Westlands Solar Park in remote Kings and Fresno coun- ties is just one of dozens of unfin- ished solar projects in California, but renewable energy analysts say it is a rare one that enjoys the broad support of environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, powerful agriculture interests and state gov- ernment. Thousands of solar panels would be located on and near the salty- white, fallowed farm land, most of which is owned by the Westlands Water District, the largest such dis- trict in the country comprised of 600,000 acres of San Joaquin Val- ley farmland. Once completed, the first chunk of solar proposed for the site — the total size of which is roughly that of San Francisco — could generate up to 1 gigawatt of power, or enough to energize up to one million homes. ‘‘I think a better fit (for the land) is farming, but we have what we have and you go from there,’’ West- lands spokesman Sarah Woolf said. The embrace of solar power as a new cash crop comes at a time when the district is struggling with mounting debt. A decade ago, Westlands floated a bond to buy 100,000 acres of farm land where poor drainage had creat- ed a salt buildup called selenium, making the land unusable for grow- ers. But with the salty land came water rights, so Westlands bought it so it could divert the water alloca- tions to more productive farms. Since then, drought and environ- mental issues have cut revenue to Westlands by reducing the amount of water it can sell to members, who range from corporate giant Harris Farms to family farming operations. Over the past two years, Westlands has tripled farmers’ assessments to repay bonds when they can least afford it. Westlands now sees solar power as a way to put the land back to work. ‘‘(Solar is) a natural fit, it ‘In this part of the world it’s not often you find common ground between the water district, landowners and environmentalists, and this is a project that seems to have this potential’ Barry Nelson, Natural Resources Defense Council works,’’ Woolf said. ‘‘But the underlying motivation is we need to figure out a way to repay the debt.’’ Now, with Mojave Desert solar projects shrinking in number because of recent proposed legisla- tion by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would create two new national monuments there, Woolf said the valley has become ‘‘the prime location for solar.’’ The district has said it is also open to other types of energy devel- opment, including nuclear. Environmentalists like the site for solar panels because it had been intensively farmed for decades, so it does not contain habitat for endan- gered species, an issue that has stalled projects in the sunnier Mojave. ‘‘In this part of the world it’s not often you find common ground between the water district, landowners and environmentalists, and this is a project that seems to have this potential,’’ Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said. Another plus is the project’s proximity to transmission lines and substations that could deliver ener- gy produced at the site to homes throughout the state, said Daniel Kim, principal partner at Westside Holdings, the private investment group that has a lease contract with Westlands and neighboring farm- ers. Also, as utilities seek renewable energy to meet the state’s goal of getting one-third of its power from renewable sources by 2020, the California Energy Commission has identified a number of zones where large-scale projects can be devel- oped. The land that would be used by Westlands Solar Park is included in these identified areas, which means some regulatory hurdles already have been met. Despite the positive reaction to the project from disparate groups, the solar park has a number of hur- dles to overcome, including getting through the regulatory hurdles asso- ciated with getting built new power lines and substations that will be needed to deliver the power. Kim’s group is working on nego- tiations with utility companies, who would need to build the transmis- sion infrastructure upgrades before the site’s potential can be realized. Still, renewable energy experts say the project is promising, partly because landowner Westlands is a public agency operating under state authority, so many of the regulatory issues bogging down other large- scale solar projects do not apply. The path to the finish line is more clearly defined here than per- haps any other project in the state right now, said Carl Zichella, Sierra Club’s director of western renew- able programs. ‘‘This particular idea of using retired agricultural land for large scale renewable energy develop- ment ... has a lot of interest,’’ he said. Despite the area’s sun potential, large-scale solar projects had large- ly failed to gain traction in the San Joaquin Valley because of West- lands’ disinterest and a focus by developers on the more sunny Mojave. ‘‘The whole idea of farmers let- ting go of these farms is not easy,’’ Kim said. ‘‘When you’re a third generation farmer, it’s not a deci- sion taken lightly.’’ But with the more sunny desert sites mired in a political, regulatory and environmental morass, the Val- ley’s solar value has increased. ‘‘Lo and behold, three years later (desert sites) are far less desirable because the desert has tremendous ecological diversity and a lot of stake holders who don’t want to see desert with a lot of solar panels,’’ Kim said. nation’s traditions WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a sweeping overhaul of health care is a pro- posal that honors the nation’s traditions. She spoke moments before a historic House vote. Pelosi has guided the legislation through the House and appeared to have secured the votes to win passage. She credited President Barack Obama for what she called an ‘‘unwavering commitment’’ to extend health care to all Americans. Democrats greeted her with a standing ovation as she approached the lectern to speak. With the vote imminent, she called on Democrats to ‘‘make history for our country and progress for the American people.’’ Pelosi credited the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D- Mass., for making ‘‘health care his life’s work’’ and pushing for legislation until his death. Kennedy’s son, Patrick, gave her a kiss when she finished. Candidate pushes tough immigration stand LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the Republicans seeking to become Califor- nia’s next governor is promising to end taxpayer- funded benefits for illegal immigrants in a TV com- mercial that blames liberals for ‘‘doing too much for too many.’’ The 30-second ad by Steve Poizner appears tai- lored to appeal to conserva- tives who will dominate at the ballot box in the state Republican primary in June. But Poizner, the state insur- ance commissioner, risks turning off Hispanics who make up about a third of the state’s population and are a growing force in California politics. The ad, which begins air- ing statewide Tuesday, is Poizner’s latest bid to gain notice in a race in which he trails GOP rival Meg Whit- man by a wide margin in polls. Poizner wants to end state funding for non-emer- gency medical care for ille- gal immigrants and block illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition at state universities. ‘‘We all know California is heading right over a cliff,’’ Poizner says in the ad, as a car teeters and then falls off a precipice. ‘‘Politicians have lacked the guts to tack- le the problem.’’ ‘‘How did this happen?’’ he asks. ‘‘Years of liberal failure doing too much for too many.’’ In seeking to differenti- ate himself from Whitman, Poizner has argued he’s more conservative and has promised to take on an issue that has bedeviled the state for years. Population esti- mates vary, but it’s believed that 2 million to 3 million illegal immigrants live in California. Whitman has said she opposes cutting off health care or education for chil- dren who have come to the country illegally, and she has accused Poizner of changing positions on ille- gal immigration in recent years. Poizner’s remarks have echoed the 1994 debate over Proposition 187, which denied publicly funded social services to illegal immigrants. A federal court later found the law’s provi- sions unconstitutional. Though 16 years ago, fallout from that dispute still looms large anytime politics and immigration collide in California.