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WEDNESDAY APRIL 28, 2010 Breaking news at: Prison to Pew Local Author www.redbluffdailynews.com See Below RED BLUFF Spartans Soccer SPORTS 1B Showers 60/41 Weather forecast 6B Sun City approved, again By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer The sun may be setting on the legal battle over the proposed Sun City Tehama housing development. On Tuesday, Tehama County Super- visors voted 4-1 to take the first steps to putting the housing project back in motion, though construction is unlike- ly to occur anytime soon. By its attor- ney’s own admission, the 3,700-home development in the northern county is unfeasible considering current home prices. “We don’t hide from the fact that the project won’t work for now,” Pulte Home Corp. Attorney Richard Zeilen- ga told the board. “But we hope it will in the future.” Tuesday’s vote may have removed a legal block standing in the project’s way. In January, following an appellate court decision, the county was ordered to undo the stack of legal documents it approved relative to the project and examine an e-mail the Chief Adminis- trator had declined to share with the board at the time. Only then could the supervisors re-approve the project. The e-mail, from consultant Robert Spencer, concerned the money devel- opers had set aside for infrastructure development, including work on Inter- state 5. Spencer states in the e-mail that 15 percent to 20 percent of the prices of finished homes is usually the most developers can contribute before going bankrupt. In this case, developers had agreed to 14 percent. But the rule is derived from suburban development, and could be different if land prices in a rural area are different. Whether the county was asked to completely reconsider how much the corporation will spend on infrastruc- ture or whether the county just had to include the e-mail in a new Environ- mental Impact Report has been the subject of contention for weeks between attorneys. To safeguard itself, the company conducted another feasibility study, one that argues that with plummeting See SUN, page3A Courtesy photos The Redding Rollergirls’ Angry Beavers will take on Chico’s NorCal Rollergirls in a May 22 as a fundraiser for breast cancer. Rollergirls battle Chico for breast cancer funds Special to the DN REDDING — When you think of the battle against breast cancer, the image of women in span- dex outfits on rollerskates trying to knock each other out of a ring is unlikely to come to mind. Until now. On the evening of Satur- day, May 22, Redding Rol- lergirls’ team Angry Beavers is slated to face off against Chico’s NorCal Rollergirls. But this is no ordinary roller derby bout, it’s a special bout against breast cancer. A Beavers for Boobies Lawmakers reject hurdle for delta canal SACRAMENTO (AP) — California lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a bill that would have required the Legislature to approve or deny plans for a canal that routes water around the delta, sidestepping a dispute over who will have the final word. At issue is whether the state could one day sign off on a proposed canal now being studied by Southern California water contractors and farmers who want to divert Sacramento River water around the delta. The Schwarzeneggger adminis- tration has said it doesn’t need the Legislature’s bless- ing to approve a canal as part of the state’s sprawling water delivery network. Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said lawmakers can inter- vene at any point. ‘‘If the administration or anyone else proposes a facility as big as what some are pushing for ... I think it would require legislative approval right now,’’ said Red Bluff Outdoor Power Huffman, who chairs the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. The committee killed the bill by Democratic Assem- blywoman Alyson Huber, D-Lodi, after Huffman gave assurances that he and other lawmakers already intend to scrutinize any plan that calls for a canal or tunnel to bypass the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A maze of rivers, islands and sloughs where moun- tain runoff collects before spilling into San Francisco Bay, the delta supplies drinking water to some 25 million Californians and irrigation water to thou- sands of acres. Water contractors say a canal or tunnel could ensure future water deliveries to Southern California and Central Valley farmers, which have been curtailed because of drought and pumping restrictions. Business Connections Has added another service! LIVE SCAN FINGERPRINTING With results electronically sent to DOJ & FBI Appointments and/or walk-ins. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 332 Pine St., Red Bluff 527-6229 Since 1979 Art Auction will take place at half time and proceeds of the evening will go to ben- efit the local chapter of Think Pink, Breast Impres- sions, Inc. and other local breast cancer programs. In November 2009, Erica Waters, aka Alotta Patron #80 Proof, a board member of Redding Roller- girls, enlisted the help of Judi Grove of Tulsa, Okla., co-founder of Breast See MELEE, page 3A DAILYNEWS Melee For Life? Hemp fest TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ 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 overhaul By GEOFF JOHNSON DN Staff Writer The proposed World Hemp Expo Extravaganja, and future festivals, are now in the hands of Tehama County Planning Director George Robson. County supervisors Tuesday unan- imously approved a massive overhaul to the county’s 1970 policy regarding festivals not staged at the Tehama District Fairground. The existing pol- icy, written in response to Woodstock, could have been deemed unconstitu- tional if challenged, officials said. But with most major county events held at the fairgrounds, the policy was forgot- ten until medical marijuana advocate and patient Donna Will proposed a Memorial Day hemp festival. Robson, along with Environmental Health Director Tim Potanovic, Pub- lic Works Director Gary Antone, Sheriff Clay Parker and County Counsel drafted a new policy and introduced it as an urgency ordinance, to take effect as soon as it passed. Events on the fairgrounds or on public land are exempt from obtain- ing a permit. So are funerals, sponta- neous parades, demonstrations or any event with fewer than 500 people. Planned events, like Will’s WHEE 2010, must comply with a 15-page set of guidelines. Will previously said she had been taking measures to accommodate the traffic she anticipates. County documents put that traffic at around 1,800 people per day, of the three-day event. Robson has not stated publicly whether he intends to approve the event. Among the ordinance’s clauses is one allowing him to deny or revoke a permit if he believes the proposed activity will “violate any state, feder- al or local regulation,” and several others that would allow him to stop the event if it poses a threat to public safety. Local artist Josifa Casey turned this casting of Donnelle Black, a Red Bluff skater on the Angry Beavers, as part of the fundraiser. Red Bluff resident Kathy Nelson, speaking before the board, said WHEE 2010 would have just that problem. “How can they guarantee that there is no child under the age of 14, See HEMP, page 3A Prison to pew; local author’s journey By TANG LOR DN Staff Writer Michael Hill has had a rough life — he was menace, a drug addict, someone who robbed anyone to sup- port his habit. Then he found someone who gave him hope and courage. It was enough to get him to turn his life around. In his recently self-published book, “The Courage to Change the Things I Can,” Hill writes about his past and how finding God changed him. Hill was adopted at a young age and ended up on drugs when he was 12 years old. He was in and out of juvenile hall and jail until he “graduat- ed” to prison, convicted of strong arm robbery. “For years I was a menace in Tehama and Shasta counties,” he said. “I pulled home invasion burglaries, strong arm robbery, you name it, I did it. But I went from being an animal to sanity.” Hill has the looks of an ex-con, arms covered in tattoos and his prison nickname “Chainsaw” inked around his throat. But on the inside he’s truly a changed man, he said. In October 2005, after spending 30 Michael Hill straight days high on methampheta- mine, he had a life-changing experi- ence that left him pleading to God, Hill said. When he asked God for a mira- cle, He answered his prayers, and now Hill is keeping his promise. “This is a story of hope and PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-800-990-9971 CHW North State Region courage,” he said. “It’s crazy and on edge but truly inspiring.” Hill has been clean of methamphet- amine for 4 years and 8 months. It is a life that he cannot not go back to, nor does he want to. See AUTHOR, page 3A prompts rules