Bay Area News Briefs

By Maya Strausberg

May 8, 2008

Vallejo bankruptcy decision based on the numbers

In the end, the Vallejo City Council’s unanimous decision late Tuesday night to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection came down to the numbers.

Letters from Assemblywoman Noreen Evans and state Sen. Patricia Wiggins advising the council against bankruptcy didn’t hold sway.

Councilwoman Joanne Schivley said the two state legislators didn’t offer any solutions.

“It’s a question of numbers,” she said. Then Schivley released a number of her own, her phone number. She read it twice and urged Vallejo residents to call her if they have other options to bankruptcy.

There were accusations the city was hiding money in investment accounts that it could use for the 2008-2009 $83 million general fund, which has a $16 million deficit. The city’s police and firefighters’ unions said an audit by the Harvey Rose firm disputes the city’s dire financial scenario. The audit report has not been made public.

The 17-page report by City Manager Joseph M. Tanner, his assistant Craig Whittom and Finance Director Robert V. Stout was loaded with numbers.

Employee costs have risen 11 percent while revenue has grown 2.6 percent over the past two years. Public safety employees’ salaries increased 21.4 percent during the past, current and upcoming fiscal year. Salaries for electrical workers’ union members would increase 10 percent and 6 percent for confidential and management personnel.

The final number of the long council session Tuesday and early Wednesday morning was the 7-0 vote in favor of filing for bankruptcy protection, making Vallejo the largest California city to do so.

Three ducks, 400 fish killed by toxic chemical spill

The California Department of Fish and Game reported Wednesday that cleanup crews at the site of a toxic chemical spill in Richmond’s Parchester Village have so far found about 400 dead fish and three dead mallard ducks — two drakes and a hen.

Crews from Clean Harbors Environmental Services have collected about 8,000 gallons of contaminated water from an irrigation ditch near the
spill, which occurred some time between Friday night and Monday morning at Reaction Products Co., Inc., located at 840 Morton Ave., U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Lauren Kolumbic said.

From looking at the company’s records, Coast Guard officials have estimated that about 3,300 gallons of the chemical solvent toluene leaked out of the tank.

Toluene is commonly used to make benzene and urethane, which are in turn used to make plastics, resins, nylon and synthetic fibers, foams, pesticides, pharmaceutical drugs and some types of lubricants, rubbers, dyes and detergents, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Short-term exposure to toluene can cause minor nervous system disorders such as fatigue, nausea, weakness and confusion. Long-term exposure can cause more severe disorders such as liver and kidney damage, spasms, tremors, and impairment of speech, hearing, vision, memory and coordination, according to the EPA.

Police have said the spill was caused by a thief who cut a hole in the fence surrounding the company’s property and stole brass fittings from five above-ground chemical storage tanks, one of which contained toluene, despite being mislabeled as empty.

School district rescinds 535 planned layoffs as city pledges funding help

Hundreds of teachers and other San Francisco Unified School District staff will keep their jobs next year because of the disbursement of millions of dollars in city rainy day funds, school district officials announced Wednesday.

Estimating that proposed state budget cuts could reduce funding for San Francisco schools by $40 million next year, district officials in March said 535 teachers and other staff might have to be laid off.

However, city leaders, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, pledged to assist using the rainy day reserve funds, and on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the appropriation.

Wednesday morning, the district announced that the funding — which still has to navigate the city’s budget hearings later this year but that current estimates put in the $18 to $20 million range — will now allow the planned layoffs to be rescinded.

“Our dedicated teachers and certified administrators in good standing can rest assured that they will have a job with SFUSD next year,” said Superintendent Carlos Garcia in a prepared statement.

Garcia added that the district is still likely to face a $13 million budget shortfall next year.

According to district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe, that shortfall could force cuts in special education and physical education programs, as
well as programs serving students whose first language is not English.

Animal activist group releases footage of farmers abusing chickens

An animal rights group Wednesday released video footage from a large, shelled-egg distributor in California that shows farm workers kicking, stomping on and breaking the necks of live animals.

An undercover investigator for Mercy For Animals worked at Gemperle Enterprises Inc. from January through February armed with a hidden camera that filmed workers abusing chickens. Executive director of Mercy For Animals Nathan Runkie said the eggs produced from those chickens are distributed all over the western U.S.

The Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, which represents California egg farmers and ranchers, released a statement in response to the footage.

“Let us state strongly that we condemn many of the graphic images and activities depicted in this film. Such images and actions are inconsistent, out-of-practice, and in violation of our high standards for animal welfare,” the association said in the statement.

Mercy For Animals submitted the footage to the local sheriff’s office and the district attorney in Merced County in an effort to have charges pressed against Gemperle, which is based in Turlock. Runkie said the group’s biggest concern is the way the animals are treated.

“We’re not making any sort of health claims but I do believe that anyone who sees birds crammed in cages where they can hardly move, sometimes living next to rotting carcasses, would have a hard time,” said Runkie.

He said the group randomly picked Gemperle to investigate, which leads him to believe many other shelled-egg farms host similar animal
cruelty.

“It’s not a matter of this being the bad apple but rather the whole bushel is rotten,” he said.

However, the association representing California eggs and farmers stated the video does not represent the majority of the whole.

Defense attorney confirms former radio host expected to change plea

Former radio talk show host Bernie Ward is expected to enter a change of plea to Internet child pornography charges at a federal court hearing in San Francisco today, according to his lawyer.

Defense attorney Doron Weinberg confirmed Wednesday that Ward, 57, is expected to change his previous not-guilty plea at the session before U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker.

But Weinberg declined to say to which charges Ward will plead and whether he will plead guilty or no contest.

Ward, a former host on KGO radio in San Francisco, is currently \charged with three counts in an indictment filed last year.

The charges are sending child pornography via the Internet on Dec. 23, 2004; attempting to send child pornography via the Internet between Jan. 1 and 13, 2005; and knowingly receiving such material between Jan. 1 and 13, 2005.

In plea agreements, defendants sometimes plead guilty to fewer charges or lesser charges than those originally filed.

A no-contest plea is treated the same as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes, but can’t be used as an admission of guilt in a civil lawsuit.

Ward, a former Catholic priest, is married, has four children and lives in San Francisco. He had been scheduled to go to trial on the three counts in Walker’s court on June 9.

Weinberg said last year that the case stems from an “error of judgment” made by Ward while doing research for a book on hypocrisy.

Police reports filed by the Oakdale Police Department in Stanislaus County in 2004 and 2005 allege that an Oakdale woman told police that Ward sent her an image of child pornography on Dec. 23, 2004.

Today’s court session was originally scheduled as a pretrial hearing on Ward’s bid for the right to present a First Amendment defense, in which he would argue at trial that he had “a legitimate, journalistic purpose” for his actions.

Former co-worker already in prison arrested for 2006 Ben Lomond murders

Santa Cruz County authorities announced Wednesday that a former co-worker of Joann “Asha” Veil’s who is already serving a lengthy state prison sentence for an unrelated offense has been charged with murdering her and her unborn child.

Michael McClish, 38, is facing a possible death penalty after being charged with two counts of murder and a special circumstance, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee said at an afternoon news conference.

McClish worked with Veil at the Ben Lomond Market but their relationship went beyond that of coworkers, according to Santa Cruz County sheriff’s Lt. Phil Wowak.

“Asha and McClish had both a professional and personal relationship,” Wowak said.

McClish is in custody in Santa Cruz County Jail. He was transferred there Wednesday from Salinas Valley State Prison where he is serving an 18 years to life sentence for sexual assault.

Lee said his office will make the decision about whether to seek the death penalty “in the next few months.” He also held out the possibility that he would try the case himself.

“I’ll be personally involved,” Lee said.

Veil was last seen leaving the Ben Lomond Market on Sept. 9, 2007. Her strangled, bludgeoned body was found three days later by the side of Love Creek Road.

Authorities would not release further details about the case or the evidence that led to McClish’s arrest Wednesday.

McClish is scheduled to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. today in Department 7 of Santa Cruz County Superior Court.

Inmate found dead in cell had no history of self-harm

A 22-year-old female inmate at Santa Cruz County Jail who was found dead in her cell early Tuesday did not have a history of self-harm while in jail, according to the sheriff’s office.

Rita Kraft was unresponsive when officers conducted a safety check at about 3:20 a.m. Medical personnel attempted to revive her but she was pronounced dead at 3:55 a.m., sheriff’s officials reported.

Kraft’s cellmate said she was tending to Kraft who appeared to be ill when officers arrived for the routine safety check. The last time officers saw Kraft was at 2:19 a.m. during the previous safety check.

There were no signs of trauma, nor is foul play suspected, according to the sheriff’s department.

Kraft had been in jail on charges of attempted homicide since October 2007, sheriff’s officials said.

UC and CSU systems face tuition hikes

Governing boards of the University of California and California State University systems are scheduled to consider tuition hikes during meetings next week.

The UC administration is leaning toward proposing a 7.4 percent tuition increase that would be considered by the UC Board of Regents at a meeting next week at University of California, Los Angeles, UC spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said Wednesday.

“We expect that the regents will receive a proposal that includes a fee increase,” Vazquez said. “The details of the proposal are being worked out.”

He said that the difference in funding between what the UC system requested from the state and what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had in his budget was $417 million for fiscal year 2008-2009.

“Student fees have a role to play in covering the budget gaps but it needs to be a limited role,” Vazquez said.

A 7.4 percent increase would bring the yearly system-wide tuition to $7,126 and to $8,007 when factoring campus fees, according to Vazquez.

He also said that the regents will have the flexibility to revisit the issue of student fees “contingent on what happens to the state budget.”

The rise in student fees would go into effect for students during the upcoming summer and fall terms, Vazquez said.

Also next week, the CSU Board of Trustees will consider a proposed tuition increase of 10 percent, a $276 bump that would bring system-wide tuition up to $3,048, said CSU spokeswoman Claudia Keith.

Keith said that the CSU system has already been forced to make cutbacks such as closing enrollment for first-time freshman on March 1, which will limit the amount of incoming students. Other sacrifices will be fewer guest lecturers and larger classes, she said.

Tuition increases at CSU campuses would be effective as of July 1.

State Highway 4 reopens after fatal collision

All lanes were cleared on state Highway 4 in Brentwood after a fatal three-vehicle collision Wednesday afternoon stopped traffic in both directions, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Around 2:50 p.m., Brentwood police and CHP officers were dispatched to the Highway 4 bypass north of Sand Creek Road after reports of a multi-vehicle crash. A Sig-alert was issued at 3:13 p.m.

Three people were transported to area hospitals and another was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Officers determined that one vehicle sideswiped another vehicle before hitting a third vehicle head on.

Lanes began to open around 9:40 p.m. and by 10 p.m., all the lanes were clear, the CHP said.

The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin, police said.

The Brentwood Traffic Safety Unit is investigating the incident and asking anyone with information about the collision to call Officer Mike Homa at (925) 634-6911.

SBC Park fatal stabbing suspect says he surrendered to save his ‘soul’

A 26-year-old Daly City man accused of stabbing another man to death following a San Francisco Giants game in 2004 claimed Wednesday during his trial in San Francisco Superior Court that after fleeing to Mexico, he decided to turn himself in as an act of religious conscience.

Rafael Cuevas, then 22, was arrested at the Mexico-Arizona border about two weeks after allegedly stabbing Timothy Griffith, 21, of Redwood City, during a fight outside of then-SBC Park on the night of Sept. 17, 2004.

The incident reportedly began as crowds were leaving the game, when Griffith struck the window of Cuevas’ car with his hand, and then friends on both sides brawled along Terry A. Francois Boulevard and Griffith was stabbed in the chest.

Cuevas, a former marble company worker, has been charged with murder. He contends he acted in self-defense.

Cuevas testified Wednesday that when he found out a day later that Griffith had died, “I was scared…scared of going to jail…and kind of, like, devastated.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to explain what it feels like when you find out you killed somebody,” Cuevas told jurors as he was questioned by his attorney, Michael Gaines.

“I ran,” Cuevas said.

He said he and family members drove south to his grandfather’s property in the northern state of Sonora, Mexico, crossing the border on foot because he feared authorities would recognize his car.

Staying there for a few days, Cuevas said he decided to take a pilgrimage to a religious festival in Magdalena, several miles away.

“I was just praying that I could be forgiven for killing somebody,” he testified. “I was a lot more worried about my soul than my body,” he went on.

Cuevas said it was then that he decided to call his father and make plans to surrender himself.

Preliminary hearing begins for Richmond man accused of murdering estranged wife

A preliminary hearing began in Contra Costa County Court in Martinez Wednesday for a Richmond man accused of murdering his estranged wife in January.

Valentin Vargas, 51, has been charged with one count of murder in connection with the death of Antonia Vargas, a 48-year-old Richmond resident.

Richmond police Detective Eric Haupt testified Wednesday that Antonia Vargas’ body was found on the front porch of her home at 2416 Andrade Ave. in the early morning of Jan. 30.

She was found lying on her back fully clothed and appeared to have puncture wounds on her stomach, chest and neck.

Shortly after they arrested Vargas for the murder, police said that they believed Antonia Vargas was killed inside her house before being placed on the front porch.

When police arrived that morning, however, they found the house securely locked and had to force entry to search it.

Haupt said he found what appeared to be dried blood on a bedspread and carpet and evidence that a bedroom window had been broken and recently repaired — he found shards of glass near the window and noticed that only one window was clean while the rest had a layer of dirt on them.

Haupt said that during a search of Vargas’ house he found what appeared to be a dried drop of blood on a pair of cowboy boots. He also found jewelry that allegedly belonged to Antonia Vargas stuffed inside several pairs of cowboy boots.