Butte County says State I-O-U’s will Hurt Health and Human Services

Butte County gearing up for the issuance of I-O-U’s by the state of California. Sang Kim with Butte County Administration says those involved with Health and Human Services will be hurt the most, but the state’s lack of a budget will affect all county operations.

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For instance, the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney get state funding or grant money. The last time the state issued I-O-U’s was in 1992. He says that only lasted a few weeks and banks accepted them, but there’s no guarantee banks will accept I-O-U’s now.

More Cases of H1N1 Flu Virus in Butte County

More cases of the H1N1 or swine flu virus keep turning up in Butte County. The Public Health Department says 8 more cases have been reported, bringing the total number to 13 cases in Butte County. As of Wednesday, County Health Officials turned over 78 cases to state labs and 13 came back as confirmed H1N1 virus. A news release says those 13 include 4 middle aged persons, 8 young adults and one child.

Jobless Rate at 9.5 Percent

WASHINGTON (AP) – Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy’s road to recovery will be a bumpy one. Economists had expected 363,000 job cuts last months, and that the jobless rate would rise to 9.6 percent from 9.4 percent in May. If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994. The government also says the number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment insurance dropped last week, a sign job cuts are easing. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial jobless benefit claims fell by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 614,000. A survey by Thomson Reurters says that nearly matches analysts’ estimates. The total jobless benefit rolls fell for the second time in three weeks. The number of continuing claims is down 53,000 to 6.7 million, defying analysts’ expectations of a small rise.

Burn Ban in Place in Butte County

The annual burn ban went into effect at midnight Wednesday for most of Butte County. Cal Fire’s Mary Ann Aldrich.

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The ban affects the unincorporated areas of Butte County.  Agricultural burning can continue with a permit from the county’s Air Quality Management District.

CIA report on Interrogation expected Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Justice Department is expected to release on Wednesday an internal CIA report on the agency’s secret detention and interrogation program during the Bush administration. The report had been expected to be made public two weeks ago but was delayed over debates about how much of it should be censored. The government published a version of the report in 2008 but its contents were almost entirely blacked out. The report was written in 2004 by the CIA’s inspector general. The review questioned the effectiveness of harsh interrogation methods employed by CIA interrogators, such as waterboarding. That’s according to references to the report contained in Bush-era Justice Department memos that were declassified this spring.

More Construction Slated for E. 8th Street in Chico

The second phase of construction to calm traffic along east Eight Street in Chico is underway this week. From Forest Avenue to Bruce road, crews will be installing “traffic calming features” known as speed tables. Chico Capitol Project Services Director Tom Varga says the speed tables will be elevated to make drivers feel uncomfortable if they are speeding.

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He says the road will be shut down periodically during construction, and weather permitting construction will be wrapped up by the end of the year.

Cal-Fire to Implement Rotating Brown Outs Starting Today due to Reduced Budget

Brown outs hitting Cal-Fire stations in Butte County, starting today.

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Deputy Chief George Morris says the brown outs are the result of a reduced budget. He says the station closures are rotated, spreading the overall risk across the county, instead of the permanent closure of two stations within selected communities.

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Morris says during all emergencies, the closest first responder will be dispatched immediately.

11,000 Pot Plants Eradicated in Glenn County

More than 44 million dollars worth of marijuana eradicated this week in Glenn County. The Sheriff’s Office says more than 11 thousand pot plants were removed from public land Tuesday. The operation focused on two pot gardens in the Mendocino National Forest. Although authorities found camps in and around the gardens, no suspects were located.

Glenn County Man Killed in Tractor Accident

A Glenn County man is dead after apparently being run over by a tractor. The Sheriff’s Office says the wife and brother-in-law of 53-year old Reginaldo Talamantes went looking for him after he failed to come home from work Monday night. They found his body wedged under the wheel of the tractor. Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones says this is one of seven deaths since Friday, and investigating some of them will take a long time.

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Sheriff Jones says results from toxicology reports can sometimes take 12 weeks. He says two of the deaths were from natural causes, but the death of 16 year old Cody Carter Saturday is especially puzzling.

Shutdowns loom for Some States because of Budget Battles

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Lawmakers in more than a half-dozen states are frantically working to stave off government shutdowns and service cuts. The end of June marks the end of the fiscal year in many states. Several states are starting a new fiscal year today with no budget in place. California is among them after lawmakers failed to meet the midnight deadline. Now it may need to issue IOUs instead of paying bills. Voting largely along party lines, the state Senate rejected three bills designed to save $5 billion, including $3.3 billion in education funding cuts that had to be enacted by midnight Tuesday.