Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/97510
Thursday, December 6, 2012 – Daily News SHOOTING Utility to fly helicopter patrols today Continued from page 1A release said. As Kinyon began to turn onto Happy Valley Road, he again fired toward the officer and then slowed, allowing two women, identified as Wendy Michaels, 29, and Michelle Short, 24, to exit the passenger side. The truck rolled forward a few yards, coming to rest about 200 yards north of Gas Point Road where Kinyon exited his pickup with a gun in hand and threatened the officer and another officer who had arrived to provide back-up, the release said. More gunfire was exchanged during which Kinyon was shot. Officers provided first aid to Kinyon and Short, who was injured sometime during the pursuit, until medical personnel arrived on scene. The officers were uninjured. Kinyon and Short were transported to the hospital where Short, who is pregnant, was treated and released. Kinyon remains in the hospital, recovering from his gunshot wounds. Following the shooting, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office was asked to take over the investigation. The Major Crimes Unit is being assisted by CHP, Redding Police, Anderson Police, Department of Fish and Game and Shasta County District Attorney's Office. Early investigation has turned up an eye-witness to the shooting on Happy Valley Road, whose statements are consistent with what was on the dashboard camera of the CHP patrol car. According to statements from Short and Michaels, Kinyon told them he would not go back to prison as he retrieved a firearm from under the seat and fired the weapon, the release said. Kinyon was sentenced to prison in 2005 for drug related charges with a prior felony, but was released under AB 109 and assigned to Shasta County Probation under Post Release Community Supervision. During a Jan. 6 probation check at Kinyon's lastknown address in Redding, law enforcement learned he had not lived there for about three weeks, the release said. Kinyon had been transient, keeping minimal contact with probation by telephone, prior to the incident. An arrest warrant had been issued for Kinyon, who failed to show up in court, on Nov. 6. He had two outstanding felony warrants for drug related charges. ——— Julie Zeeb can be reached at 527-2153, extension 115 or jzeeb@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @DN_Zeeb. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will be conducting pre-winter helicopter patrols to inspect electric distribution lines for maintenance in remote areas of eastern Shasta, western Tehama and Butte counties. The first flight will occur today near Big Bend, Montgomery Creek, Platina and Red Bank Road west of Red Bluff. Residents in these remote areas near these towns may notice a helicopter flying low to survey power lines. The second flight will occur Tuesday, Dec. 11 near Cohasset NEW Continued from page 1A because medical leave had diminished the skillset demands within the street maintenance division. The council split on an appointment to the Planning Commission. The city had received five applications for the and Oregon City. A helicopter will fly at around 250 to 300 feet, depending on the area and whether livestock are present. Helicopter patrols are usually done in rural areas where power lines are not close enough to roads to patrol by vehicle or foot. PG&E patrols remote power lines by helicopter as part of its continuing effort to ensure safety and reliability of its electric system. PG&E will patrol by air each day from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2-year term, but stuck with Jean Moran, who has served the past five years on the commission. Brown, Parker and Sheppard voted for Moran. Jackson voted for Robert Martin and Schmid voted for Gerry Reyes. The council reappointed Don Fereira to the Airport Commission, Mau- FILM "We have history with the Civil War here in Red Bluff," McCay said. "John Brown's widow had a house built for her family here and there were skirmishes between northern and southern sympathizers on Main Street." The public is invited to attend Friday's event, which has free admission. Refreshments will be available. Donations have been received from various area businesses including Dutch Bros., Costco, Walmart and Pepsi, McCay said. Mendoza charged taxpayers for nearly $2,300 worth of repairs to his 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid in the final two months the state owned it. That included more than $1,200 for four new tires, an oil change and a ''multi-point inspection'' about a month before he bought it. Hall had the state pay for $2,442 worth of work on his 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, including new tires and a cooling system flush, before he bought it. Nearly $1,700 of the work was done in the final month the state owned it. Other lawmakers took their vehicles into the shop just days before they were required to turn them in. Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, had a ''55 point vehicle inspection'' on her 2007 Toyota Prius Hybrid just three days before she was to surrender the vehicle she later bought. The $827 billed to taxpayers that day also included a new water pump, drive belt and update to the vehicle's GPS system. Twenty-five days before his 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid was sold, Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, replaced two tires, the windshield wipers and the automatic transmission fluid at a cost to taxpayers of $887. Mendoza, Hall and Miller did not respond to repeated requests from AP for comment, while Corbett declined comment. ''They wanted to frontload all the maintenance and repairs,'' said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. ''This was another example of 'Let's make the taxpayers carry the freight on this.''' Renewed hope in California buoys Gov. Jerry Brown SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown persuaded Californians to back his November tax initiative, and now they are rewarding him with a record high job-approval rating along with new faith in the state's fiscal future, according to a poll released Wednesday from the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll finds Brown's job approval has hit 48 percent after the passage of Proposition 30, the initiative that raised the statewide sales tax by a quarter cent and raised income tax rates for people who make more than $250,000 a year. The Democratic governor's approval rating is up from 42 percent in October and a low of 34 percent in February and March of 2011. Nearly half of Californians surveyed by PPIC said they feel better about the state's budget situa- reen Greer to the Audit Committee and J.B. Stacy to the Loan Committee. In each case they were the only candidates who applied. The city received no applications to serve on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. There are three 3-year terms, one 2-year term and one student appointment vacant. Ronald Eltzer was reappointed to the Tehama County Mosquito and Vector Control District. The council juggled some of its own representation on the various agencies and commissions individual members sit on. Notably, Schmid will join Brown on the city's budget committee. Flags of Our Fathers, 1 p.m., room 7208 Gettysburg, 1 p.m., room 7202 Tora, Tora, Tora, 1 p.m., room 7209 We Were Soldiers, 1 p.m., room 7210 The Patriot, 2:05 p.m., room 7116 Patton, 2:05 p.m., room 7206(B) Pork Chop Hill, 3:50 p.m., room 7208 Hamburger Hill, 3:50 p.m., room 7210 The Lost Battalion, 4:20 p.m., room 7206(B) Repairs requested by local lawmakers in the final months before the state was forced to end a one of its kind perk that provided vehicles to state lawmakers at taxpayer expense. Of the 64 lawmakers who had state-financed repairs, 36 then bought their vehicles. Dan Logue, R-Linda 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid State's purchase price: $48,499 State's Sale price: $14,200 Repairs prior to purchase: $792 for three new tires Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber 2009 Ford Edge Pickup State's purchase price: $39,950 State's Sale price: $11,525 Repairs prior to purchase: $1,640 for five new tires, flush fuel injectors, 90,000 mile service nine months of the program. Others did much more shortly before the sale, according to the documents. The AP also paid for records from the Department of Motor Vehicles to help determine which lawmakers had bought their vehicles. Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, had $5,984 worth of repairs. He had a dent in the rear bumper fixed, the power steering and brakes replaced, and a detailed cleaning performed on a 2005 Chevy Tahoe between August and November 2011. Much of the work was done seven weeks before the vehicle was sold to a dealer for $11,000 in December. The former Senate minority leader bought it for $12,681 in campaign funds as he prepared to leave office for an unsuccessful bid for Congress this year. Gary Winuk, chief of the Fair Political Practices Commission's Enforcement Division, said Dutton's use of campaign money raises legal issues because the vehicle was re-registered to Dutton as an individual instead of to his campaign committee. Dutton said he thought he acted legally because the money was intended to cover his expenses as a state lawmaker. He said he saved taxpayers money in the long run by driving a used vehicle. On the car, he said, a lot of work had to be done because it was closing in on 100,000 miles. Since he bought it, Dutton added, he had to make significant repairs, including fixing the transmission and speedometer. Among those whose cars had large bills were two Democratic assemblymen, Tony Mendoza of Artesia and Isadore Hall of Compton. weather permitting. The patrol will identify sagging lines, potentially hazardous trees, vegetation overgrowth, potential fire hazards and other problems. Issues identified from these patrols will be corrected to ensure system safety and reliability going forward. Crews are patrolling ahead of winter to allow time for needed repairs. To learn more, please visit www.pge.com/about/company/privacy/customer/. Festival Schedule Continued from page 1A Lawmakers got fixes then bought cars SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — At least a dozen California lawmakers repaired or upgraded their state-provided vehicles at taxpayers' expense in the final weeks before the one-of-itskind perk was ending, then later bought those vehicles for personal use. They ranged from cosmetic changes, such as fixing dents and replacing wheel covers, to billing the state hundreds or even thousands of dollars for fresh tires, multipoint inspections and new parts such as fuel pumps. Some had the vehicles they would soon buy inspected at no cost to them, while others had last-minute work done under warranty, according to state maintenance records obtained by The Associated Press through public records requests. Officials at the state Senate and Assembly said they did not ask lawmakers to have their vehicles repaired or upgraded before the state put them up for sale to independent dealers a year ago. ''Essentially what they did was get all their repairs done on the state's dime before they bought it,'' said Philip Ung, a spokesman for the government watchdog group Common Cause. The sale was the last step in ending a program dating to the 1950s that had been criticized as an unreasonable benefit for legislators who in recent years have slashed the state's social services safety net to stem billion-dollar budget deficits. The Associated Press has previously reported on various aspects of the perk, including that the Legislature had spent $5 million for one year's fleet and refused to publicly release the mileage on the vehicles or where they drove them. California was the only state that provided vehicles to its rank-and-file lawmakers for unlimited use, until the state Citizens Compensation Commission voted in April 2011 to do away with the benefit. Legislators were told to turn in their vehicles by Dec. 1, 2011, so they could be sold. Of 64 lawmakers who had statefinanced repairs after the citizens commission's decision, 37 purchased their vehicles. That includes 16 of 18 senators and 21 of 46 Assembly members. Many sought routine maintenance, such as oil changes, that accounted for a portion of the more than $78,000 the state spent to repair, clean and upgrade the state-provided vehicles in the final 7A tion because of Proposition 30. That rate of optimism mirrors the sentiment before the recession hit California. Twentythree percent said the passage of Proposition 30 has made them more pessimistic about the budget, and 28 percent said it has not changed their views. Judge orders arrest for TV host who set fire to Chico magician's hair SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP)— A judge on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a local television show host who set fire to the hair of a Chico magician, burning his scalp, face and arm. The judge announced the decision just hours after TV host Franklin Barazarte told The Associated Press in a phone interview from New York that the incident was an accident. He tossed flaming liquid on Wayne Houchin's head as a "blessing" during a Nov. 26 taping of the show. Barazarte, who was serving as guest host on an astrology and variety show called "Closer to the Stars," couldn't be immediately reached for comment after the judge issued his decision. He said during the interview that he was in the U.S. this week for previously scheduled work commitments. "I'm not hiding. I hope to sit down with Wayne and reach a settlement," Barazarte said. "It was a demonstration within a magical religious framework that turned out badly." In a widely viewed video that a member of the magician's crew captured on his iPhone and posted o n l i n e , http://goo.gl/oDFpm, Barazarte is seen trying to pat Houchin's head after it is set on fire. "It was an accident. It was under no circumstance an intentional act," Barazarte said. He said that he had performed similar blessings for more than 20 years and that "none of them had ever turned out badly." He said his hands also were burned during the incident. Monica Pena, a spokes- woman for the Dominican prosecutors' office, said a doctor certified that Houchin suffered first-degree burns on his scalp, face and right arm. Houchin said in an email Monday to the AP that he was seeking legal action. "The attack was intentional. The host didn't trip and accidentally spill it on me. He intended to pour flaming liquid on me," Houchin wrote. Houchin, 29, lived in Chico and graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2001. He recently finished a season as a host of the Discovery Channel show "Breaking Magic," and came to the Dominican Republic with his wife as part of the "Curiosities 2012" tour. He and two other magicians expected to be interviewed and perform magic on the local program. When Houchin came on stage, Barazarte said he wanted to give him a blessing and asked another magician, BJ Bueno, to give him a bottle of "Agua de Florida," a highly flammable cologne used in Santeria rituals. Barazarte then asked Houchin's wife to pour the cologne into his hands and asked Bueno to light the fluid. He then doused the fluid on Houchin's head. Houchin is still receiving medical treatment in the Dominican Republic. Barazarte said he had tried to contact Houchin without success. He added that while he understood the pain caused, he expressed resentment over the position taken by Houchin and others. "They're treating me like a criminal," Barazarte said.