The sunrise ceremony will begin at 5 a.m. near the Bloody Island site, located off of Reclamation Road near the Bloody Island marker, a mile and a half east of Upper Lake. Drive a quarter of a mile down Reclamation Road and park on the roadside.

Organizers say the event is held to honor the Pomo Indian people who were killed by US Army forces in May of 1850.

The massacre was in retaliation for the December 1849 murders, on the other side of the lake in what is now Kelseyville, of Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone, who had brutalized local Indians.

According to historical accounts, some of those Indians fled to the Bloody Island area – known as “old island” or Badon-napo-ti – which was the site of an established village.

Captain Nathaniel Lyon led a US Army company to Lake County in the spring of 1850 to punish Chief Augustine's band of Pomos for Stone's and Kelsey's deaths.

They didn't find the band in Big Valley, and then traveled to Upper Lake, where they found and attacked the band at Bloody Island using whaleboats and two small brass cannons from the Benicia Army arsenal, according to historians.

The estimated number of casualties is between 60 and 100, based on varying accounts.

The Saturday ceremony will be followed by a potluck breakfast with speakers and dancers at the Oddfellows Hall in downtown Upper Lake.

The community also is invited to participate in an all-night campout and dancing ceremony on Friday, May 13. Meals will be served at 6 p.m. and midnight, with a fire at 9 p.m. To get to the camp area, enter Robinson Rancheria on Pomo Way, go to end of road and turn left

Following the Saturday events, dancing at rancheria will continue from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information, to donate or to be part of the agenda, contact Clayton Duncan at 707-274-6788 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Superior Court is seeking at least 30 applicants willing to serve as jurors and alternates on the 2011-12 Lake County Grand Jury panel.

The 19-person grand jury is selected from the different supervisorial districts in proportion to the population of each district.

The grand jury serves as the public’s “watchdog” by investigating and reporting upon the affairs of local government.

The term of service runs from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, and may entail from 10 to 20 hours of work per week attending committee and general meetings, responding to citizens’ complaints, performing research, and investigating the operations of governmental agencies and allegations of wrongdoing by public officials or employees.

The court is looking for applicants in good health who are interested in community affairs, are objective, and are able to work cooperatively with others.

Experience in researching, interviewing, writing and editing, and/or auditing is desirable and having a general knowledge of the responsibilities and functions of governmental and other public entities is helpful.

A grand juror must be a U.S. citizen, age 18 or older, speak English, be a resident of California and Lake County for at least one year prior to selection, and not hold an elected office or have any felony convictions.

Applications may be obtained at www.lake.courts.ca.gov or by mailing a letter with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Grand Jury Coordinator, 255 N. Forbes, Fourth Floor, Lakeport, CA 95453. Applications are also available at each Superior Court Clerk’s Office; located at 255 N. Forbes, Fourth Floor, in Lakeport, or at 7000 A South Center Drive, in Clearlake.

Applications must be received by June 15, 2011.

Personal interviews will be scheduled prior to final selection.

If you are interested, please apply. If you are not interested, but know someone who may be, please let them know of this opportunity.

Further information may be obtained by calling the Grand Jury Coordinator at 707-263-2282.

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Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, left, and Humboldt Marine Logistics President Stephen Pepper discuss the creation of a Pacific Coast marine highway at the 11th Annual California Maritime Leadership Symposium Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at the Sacramento Convention Center. Courtesy photo.

SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) and Humboldt Maritime Logistics President Stephen Pepper were featured speakers on the topic of creating a Pacific Coast marine highway at the 11th Annual California Maritime Leadership Symposium Wednesday in Sacramento.

A marine highway on the West Coast would “save 5.4 million gallons of diesel fuel a year compared to transporting goods the same distance by truck,” said Chesbro, who served as moderator of a panel that that explored the role of the state and federal governments in support of maritime commerce.

“It would also eliminate 60,000 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year, decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 68 percent, eliminate 34 million truck-travel miles per year, help decrease our dependence on foreign oil and directly work to create jobs,” Chesbro said.

A Pacific Coast Marine Highway, servicing U.S. ports from Canada to Mexico has long been a dream of Stephen Pepper of Arcata, whose Humboldt Marine Logistics won a $275,000 award from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a West Coast Hub-Feeder Project.

The project, which Pepper named Blue Coast Intermodal, is a public-private partnership sponsored by the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District (HBHRCD).

This marine highway venture will use marine barges to freight goods in and out of secondary ports on the Pacific Coast.

Pepper said he envisions Humboldt Bay and Long Beach becoming the first two terminals.

This mode of shipping has the potential to save West Coast businesses a lot of money compared to over-the-highway trucking, but it also gives “shippers a way to move cargo that is more environmentally responsible when coupled with clean Diesel technologies in the ports,” Pepper said.

Also attending the Symposium were HBHRCD commissioners Mike Wilson and Richard Marks and CEO David Hull.

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Retired Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Thomas Loyd Dudney, 60, of Fulton to four 25-to-year life terms and additional time for a series of felony charges a jury convicted him of in March for the attack on Ronald Greiner.

Dudney and an accomplice whose identity has not been confirmed allegedly broke into Greiner's home on S. Main Street in Lakeport early on Oct. 20, 2009, beating him so severely that he suffered numerous broken bones to his face and torso, shooting him several times, stabbing him and leaving him hogtied with barbed wire before stealing 12 marijuana plants from him, according to the investigation.

Dudney was convicted of attempted murder, mayhem, torture, robbery, burglary, assault with a firearm, assault with a blunt force object, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, battery with serious bodily injury, participation in a criminal street gang, and five special allegations that included infliction of great bodily injury and gang enhancements, as Lake County News has reported.

Just how much time he will serve is still being sorted out, according to Deputy District Attorney Art Grothe and defense attorney Doug Rhoades.

They said Mann didn't announce a total time amount, but ordered a number of concurrent and consecutive terms based on Dudney's convictions.

Grothe said Dudney received at least four consecutive 25-year-to-life terms plus additional time, which he and Victim-Witness Division staff estimated ran somewhere between 116 and 131 years.

Mann gave Dudney “the aggravated term” due to lack of remorse, viciousness, callousness and a lengthy criminal record going back to 1968, Grothe said.

“The sentence exceeds more than 20 years and anything in addition to 20 years is effectively a life sentence for him,” said Rhoades.

Rhoades said the initial recommendation for Dudney's sentencing was 184 years to life, which Mann reduced substantially.

“Mr. Dudney is grateful to Judge Mann for the imposition of sentence as he found it appropriate,” said Rhoades.

Rhoades said he wasn't surprised at the sentence based on the number of counts and enhancements.

During his statements to the court at the sentencing, Grothe argued that Dudney was motivated by revenge, intimidation, profit and gang standing.

He said that the best characterization of Dudney's life and conduct was contained in the business card in his wallet that said, “Misfits: “We’re not prejudiced, we hate everyone.”

Greiner was in court for the sentencing. Grothe said a Victim-Witness advocate read Greiner's statement to the court into the record.

Dudney also read a two-page statement in which he blamed Greiner for the incident because of marijuana growing, said Grothe, who characterized it as an “in your face” statement that ended with Dudney telling the court, “Have a nice day.”

While Dudney originally had several codefendants in the case, charges were dropped against all of them due to lack of evidence.

Grothe said investigators are still looking into the possibility of new evidence developing against one or more other individuals. Dudney has refused to identify anyone else, and Greiner called on him to do so in his written statement.

Rhoades said Dudney has continued to maintain his innocence.

“An appeal was filed today before court was concluded,” said Rhoades, adding that an appeal with a sentence such as Dudney received “is virtually automatic.”

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COBB, Calif. – A 3.3-magnitude earthquake was reported near The Geysers geothermal steamfield on Monday morning.

The quake occurred at 7:36 a.m. two miles east of The Geysers, four miles southwest of Cobb and five miles west northwest of Anderson Springs at a depth of 2.5 miles, according to the US Geological Survey.

The survey received shake reports from Calistoga, Oakland, Geyserville, Healdsburg and Roseville.

The Geysers area was hit by a 3.9-magnitude quake on April 26, as Lake County News has reported.

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The California Department of Education's latest Academic Performance Index report lays out the testing goals for schools in the coming year, and in doing so shows a mix of strong performances and academic challenges across Lake County's districts and schools.

The report, released May 5, marked the beginning of a new reporting and testing cycle, according to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

“This is the jumping-off point where, based on last year's testing results, schools are given a number of points by which they must grow in order to satisfy the requirements of our state accountability system,” Torlakson explained.

The API data can be found at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/index.asp.

The May 5 Base API Report includes the Base API, growth targets and school ranks, the state said. The Growth API Report, which will be released in early fall, includes the Growth API, growth achieved, and whether or not targets were met.

According to the Department of Education, it is the Growth API Report that will come out in the fall that determines whether a school met or exceeded its growth target and whether it may be identified for participation in state intervention programs designed to help a school improve its academic performance.

Tim Gill, senior director of education services for the Lake County Office of Education, said the scores used to establish the schools' goals were from tests students took from mid-April to early May of 2010.

“I believe that there is a lot of optimism in the county this year regarding the tests,” Gill said. “I'm optimistic that we're going to see some big jumps in the API across the county this year.”

He said local schools did a fantastic job of preparing students this year. Despite economic hardships and dwindling resources, “Our teachers and schools are still getting after it and working really hard.”

Gill said the Lake County Office of Education offers districts technical assistance around the entire testing system, helps schools align their curricula with testing blueprints and design tests to give reliable information on how students are doing on the standards.

“I'm kind of the interpreter of the system and I help everyone understand it,” he said, explaining that he goes through the hundreds of pages of reports to assist principals and administrators understand the information, since most local schools don't have specialists to devote to such in-depth analysis.

Gill said the testing has several “performance bands” – advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic.

In the last three to four years, local schools been doing a good job of reducing the number of students in the bottom two bands, below basic and far below basic, Gill said.

He said all of the schools have interventions in place for students who need help to improve their understanding of the core subjects.

The API has set the score of 800 and above as statewide performance target.

Based on the 2010 API scoring, several local schools have achieved that goal, including Rivera Elementary School in Kelseyville, with 805; Coyote Valley Elementary in Middletown, with 827; Middletown Middle School, with 810; and Cobb Elementary School, at 900.

Cobb Elementary has been the county's top scoring school for the last three to four years, said Gill, explaining that they're focused on standards and following the testing blueprints. Schools that pay attention to that information do well on the test.

Gill said the school also has a lot of advanced students to do so well.

Middletown Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Korby Olson noted, “Cobb is unique.”

He credited the school's “very veteran staff” with many years of hard work to implement the standards.

“We've got some outstanding teachers in the classrooms up there,” he said, adding, “We've brought some of those same things to the other schools.”

Lakeport Unified also showed strong growth amongst its schools.

“Our teachers and administrators are very proud of the academic growth our students made on the API last year because all of our district schools are getting close to achieving the statewide performance target of 800,” said Lakeport Unified Superintendent Erin Hagberg. “Their success is a result of great teaching and hardworking students.”

Understanding the rankings

The Department of Education said that a school's statewide rank is based on the school's Base API and is calculated separately for three types of schools – elementary, middle and high schools.

Ranks are established by deciles, with each decile containing 10 percent of all schools of each type. The agency said there always will be schools ranked 1 and schools ranked 10 because of the nature of the decile system.

A 10 ranking is best, down to the lowest ranking, 1. Cobb Elementary had a 9 ranking, the highest countywide.

Clear Lake High School in Lakeport, which the state recently named a distinguished school, had a base API score of 791 and was ranked 8, the highest ranking for a high school in the county.

Coyote Valley and Middletown Middle School each were ranked in the 7 decile, as was Middletown High School, with a 776 base API.

In the Konocti Unified School District, Lower Lake High had a 3 rank, the best for the district, followed by Pomo Elementary with a 2. The rest of the district's schools had 1 rankings, the lowest on the scale.

Upper Lake Elementary and Upper Lake Middle School both had 2 rankings, while Upper Lake High ranked 4, and Lucerne Elementary was ranked at 3.

In Kelseyville, Riviera Elementary was ranked 6, Mountain Vista Middle School 4, Kelseyville High 3, and Kelseyville Elementary, 2.

Besides Clear Lake High's strong 8 ranking, Lakeport Unified's schools showed mid-range scores, with Lakeport Elementary, Terrace Middle School and Lakeport Alternative all were ranked at 5.

In Lakeport, Hagberg noted, “As a district, we will continue to focus on narrowing the achievement gap in our English Learners and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.”

Schools don't have to just meet state guidelines – they also have federal performance expectations.

Olson said Minnie Cannon Elementary, which has a 1 ranking and a 2010 base API of 682, has entered program improvement under federal – not state – guidelines.

“I really like accountability. I think it's a good thing,” he said, but noted that federal accountability doesn't take into account improvement and growth.

He suggested that it's going to be impossible to meet some of the performance standards set to take effect in the next few years, and that could result in more schools following Minnie Cannon into that government-mandated performance monitoring.

The impact of the tests

Since the testing started in 1999, some critics have claimed that meeting the standards is more an issue of teaching to the test than truly improving education.

“Opponents of the testing system are correct when they say that it's a snapshot of what students can do,” said Gill. “It's one day.”

He said no one can argue that what's tested is not valuable, although he said many teachers feel like they can't do all the things they would like to do for students because of the need to focus on the specific standards.

“The standards movement has definitely raised expectations for students across the board,” he said. “What does it do for our students? I think that's harder to say.”

At the same time, Gill said that even in the face of tough economic times, when colleges and universities are cutting back on the number of slots for incoming students, the number of Lake County students accepted to universities is growing.

He said at a recent university admission reception 124 students accepted to four-year colleges and universities were honored. Gill estimated that's about 29 more than the previous year.

Is that because of the testing?

“I don't know about that,” he said, although he pointed out that when the tests began in 1999 this year's graduating seniors would have been in kindergarten.

After more than a decade of working on state standards, there's a big change on the horizon for teachers, students and schools when it comes to testing, Gill said.

“Two to three years out from today, we're going to see a big overhaul to the system again,” he said.

Gill said schools are just now starting to take a closer look at the new standards to explore the differences.

From the math side, Gill said the new standards will shift from a focus on students being procedurally proficient to having a deep understanding of the fundamental concepts of mathematics.

“It's going to be a big challenge for our schools to make this adjustment,” he said.

There will be teacher training, new textbooks written to the standards and the requirement that the tests be taken online to give instant feedback, rather than having to wait four months for test results, according to Gill.

Both Olson and Hagberg said their respective districts are looking at the standards ahead as they're working to meet the current expectations.

“We're refining what we do every day,” said Olson.

Said Hagberg, “Although I support the concept, schools do not currently have the resources to begin preparing for the shift to national core standards. I do not understand how the state or federal governments can expect districts to make that transition with the tremendous cuts that have been made to school budgets.”

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May 2011 - Lake County API Scores

Ralph Bullard, 75, of Lakeport was injured in the single-vehicle collision, which took place on Highway 29 just south of Park Way at about 1:20 p.m. Sunday, May 8, according to CHP Officer Steve Tanguay.

Tanguay said Bullard was driving southbound on Highway 29 when his 2006 Hyundai Sonata shot across the opposite lanes, drove through a fence, went across another road and finally stopped when he hit another fence.

Initial CHP incident reports said that Bullard was suffering from chest pains and was bleeding from the nose.

Tanguay said Bullard suffered serious injuries and was flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Officer Josh Dye is investigating the collision, Tanguay said.

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State Controller John Chiang updated his Web site April 26 with the new local government payroll information, part of an effort launched last year in the wake of salary concerns that arose in the southern California city of Bell.

The information, which covers calendar year 2009 both for elected officials and public employees, can be found at the Local Government Compensation Reporting Web site, http://lgcr.sco.ca.gov/.

The Web site shows minimum and maximum salary ranges; actual wages paid; applicable retirement formulas; contributions by the employer to the employee’s share of pension costs; contributions by the employer to the employee’s deferred compensation plan; employer payments for the employee’s health, vision and dental premium benefits; and also shows employees who hold multiple positions within a single local government.

Last October, Chiang began posting the information in four phases, beginning with wages and benefits of what his office said totaled more than 600,000 city and county employees.

That was followed in February and March by information from 1,285 special districts across the state, the Controller's Office said.

The third phase – launched last week – includes almost $357 million in payroll reported by 533 local agencies, according to the state.

The latest figures Chiang's office posted include the salary, pension benefits and other employee compensation for several hundred cemetery, electric, financing and construction, facilities, flood control and water conservation, recreation and park, and community service districts.

Chiang's office has planned the fourth and final phase – which will include any remaining special districts, such as library, mosquito abatement, conservation, air quality and airport agencies, and state employees' compensation – to be posted in June.

The newest information for Lake County shows 33 special districts. Seven of them are among the final phase that must submit information later this spring.

The state reported that 84 percent of all special districts in the third phase followed the new reporting requirements. All Lake County districts and local governments appear to be in compliance, based on a review of the list of agencies that failed to file in time. Each noncomplying agency could face a penalty of $5,000.

The site is updated weekly with any new information submitted, Chiang's office said.

A look at the districts

In-depth information on the special districts is available at the site, but the following is a summary of the salary ranges.

Among the districts, a small number only have unpaid board positions and no salaried employees.

Those districts include Adams Springs Water District, Butler-Keys Community Service District, Glenbrook Cemetery District, Middletown Cemetery District, Lake Transit Authority and Reclamation District No. 695.

Among the community service districts, Hidden Valley Lake Community Service District is one of the largest, serving an estimated 2,200 residences, according to district staff.

The district reports that it “provides safe drinking water that meets all State and Federal standards, maintains a sewer treatment facility that disposes wastes in an effective and efficient manner, and provides reclaimed water to the Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course.”

It has five board members, each paid up to $1,200 annually, and 12 paid employee positions, the highest being the general manager, a position currently held by Mel Aust, who receives $185,532 in compensation annually, along with $15,303 in health, dental and vision coverage, according to the data.

Clearlake Oaks County Water District has six unpaid board positions and 10 paid employees. The highest paid position is general manager, held by Darin McCosker, who received $97,327 in salary for 2009. No benefits were listed.

County Water Works District No. 1 (Lake) has five board members who received between $150 and $254 for 2009. There are six paid employees; the general manager received $82,506 and $700 in health benefits.

Callayomi County Water District has five unpaid board positions. It also has four paid positions, once again led by the general manager, who received $74,768 plus $3,265 in benefits for 2009.

Konocti County Water District's five board members receive up to $1,400 annually, and their general manager received $67,871 in salary for 2009, the highest of the district's eight paid employees, along with $8,811 in benefits.

The Cobb Area County Water District has five unpaid board members and an unpaid district secretary, with seven other paid positions. The general manager received $64,320 in salary and $22,464 in benefits.

Buckingham Park Water District has five unpaid board positions and five paid positions, ranging from $8,091 for a utility worker to $51,548 for the general manager.

There are five board members, paid up to $594 annually, in the Upper Lake County Water District, which has only two paid staff – an assistant operator, paid $30,548 with $594 in benefits, and the general manager, paid $47,203 and $5,360 in benefits.

Kelseyville Cemetery District's four board members are unpaid. It has only two paid positions, a groundskeeper that received $26,238 in pay and $1,720 in benefits, and a superintendent who was paid $46,211 in salary and $19,236 in benefits.

Lower Lake Cemetery District pays each of its board members $1,875 annually. Its four paid employees range between $17,305 for a grounds superintendent, who received $8,710 in benefits, to a sexton who was paid the same in benefits and a salary of $41,974.

Hartley Cemetery District has five unpaid board members, and three paid positions, from a maintenance assisting, paid $15,513 with no benefits, to the supervisor, paid $40,480 and receiving $22,464 in benefits.

The Upper Lake Cemetery District has five unpaid board members and three paid positions, ranging from a maintenance assistant who received $1,940 in 2009 to the supervisors, who was paid $29,582 and $1,388 in benefits.

Like most of the special district, the Redbud Healthcare District has five unpaid board members, and one paid position, a manager, who received, $23,153 and no benefits.

The Anderson Springs Community Services District has five unpaid board positions and two water operators, with salary maximums of $43,680 and $37,440, but who were paid only $14,091 and $2,288, respectively, in 2009.

Fire district data included

The county's fire districts were included in the latest data release. The districts have large numbers of paid employees, but many are part-time or seasonal.

Northshore Fire Protection District, which covers the entire Northshore area and is the largest fire district by area in California, has six board members who were paid between $350 and $965 for 2009. It has 62 other paid positions, the highest of which is the fire chief, a position held by Jim Robbins, who is paid $91,447 annually, with $7,398 in benefits.

Lake County Fire Protection District, which covers Clearlake and Lower Lake, has seven unpaid board members and 37 paid positions. Its chief, the highest-paid employee, received $102,835 in 2009 with $8,273 in benefits.

South Lake County Fire, the third-largest fire district by size in the state, has five board members who were paid between $700 and $1,200 for 2009. Among the 28 other paid positions, the highest paid was a fire engineer who was paid $22,614, with no benefits. The district contracts with Cal Fire, which covers additional salary costs.

Kelseyville Fire Protection District is led by a five-member, unpaid board. There are 49 paid positions; the highest salary paid was $87,530 to an engineer paramedic. Mike Stone, who took the chief's job later that year, didn't draw a full salary and was paid $39,071 with no benefits. No salary range was given for his position for the 2009 time period.

Lakeport Fire Protection District's five directors were paid between $1,000 and $1,200 for 2009, while among the 39 paid positions the highest salary, $84,981, was for Chief Ken Wells, who also received $18,336 in benefits. A few firefighters were paid more than Wells that year; Wells attributed those instances to payments out for a retirement and to overtime.

Lake Pillsbury Fire Protection District has five unpaid board members and 21 paid firefighter positions, ranging between $8 and $680.

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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League and District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown have coordinated their efforts to complete a much-needed makeover of the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church Youth Center.

In March, Sheriff Frank Rivero met with Sheriff’s Activities League Program Director Dave Borjon and Board Secretary Mary Borjon during a board meeting to share his ideas about the program, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.

Subsequent to that meeting, the Borjons asked for assistance from the sheriff’s office in repainting the interior of the youth center, which is primarily used by the Sheriff’s Activities League program for youth sporting and recreational activities, Bauman said.

Bauman said that soon after the Borjons’ request, Rivero offered the services of minimum security inmate workers from the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility to take on the project and repaint the interior of the Youth Center.

As sheriff’s correctional officers and the Borjons began planning and scheduling the work, Brown offered his assistance and donated all of the paint needed for the project, Bauman said.

In conjunction with Kelseyville School District’s spring break during the week of April 18, Bauman said a crew of inmate workers spent three days repainting the complete interior of the building under the supervision of correctional officers.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League was established in 1997 and is funded through grants and fundraising activities that generate donations from private citizens and local businesses, according to Bauman.

He said the league provides Lake County youth with sporting and recreational programs that develop ethical conduct and self-confidence. Boxing, baseball, dance, kayaking, rock-climbing, cross-country bicycling, and computer classes are just a few of the programs offered through Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League is a nonprofit organization comprised primarily of community volunteers who devote their time to Lake County youth in promoting skill development and good citizenship. Bauman said members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office also participate in Sheriff’s Activities League programs to promote a positive relationship between kids and the law enforcement community.

Anyone wishing to become a volunteer, or donate items to the Lake County SAL program, may contact Dave Borjon at 707-279-1050. Tax-deductible monetary donations can be sent to the Lake County Sheriff’s Activities League at P.O. Box 465, Kelseyville, CA. 95451.

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The Senate Governance and Finance Committee considered SB 286 during its meeting on Wednesday, May 4.

The bill was authored and introduced by Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) in response to the growing concern about the loss of redevelopment agencies.

Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed eliminating funding to redevelopment agencies and enterprise zones to help address the $25 billion budget deficit.

Opponents of Brown's plan to eliminate redevelopment say it would hinder job creation and the development of affordable housing projects.

Wright's bill is meant to be an alternative to Brown's proposal.

SB 286 has been amended to include redevelopment reforms supported by the California Redevelopment Association, the League of California Cities and other members of the Protect Local Jobs and the Economy coalition.

Wright's office said the amendments would tighten the definition of blight; prohibit agencies from collecting the school share of local property tax or tax increment in new project areas starting in 2012; limit the percentage of total land area of a jurisdiction which may be included in redevelopment project areas; prohibit use of tax increment for specific purposes such as golf courses and race tracks; strengthen agency reporting and accountability requirements; and focus redevelopment activities on priorities such as job creation, cleaning up contaminated property, basic infrastructure needs and affordable housing.

At the May 4 hearing state senators from Los Angeles and San Jose as well as prominent organization spoke in favor of the bill.

They praised its ability to decrease the need to increase taxes while solving problems for more than 80 percent of California’s population, who live in underdeveloped towns.

Nevertheless, opposition on the bill's benefits centered on such matters as encouraging debt without repaying it.

There also were questions about the bill allowing local fire and police departments to lose money to redevelopment agencies. Wright asserted that fire and police departments actually would receive more funding under the bill.

The opponents didn't appear to find adequate faults with the bill because the bill addresses most of the major issues, according to Gale Connor of the California Eminent Domain Report.

Connor writes that the proposal to cut funding for redevelopment agencies arose, in part, because there are questions about redevelopment agencies’ failure to report how funding is used, and the agencies appear to have no reliable or accurate measure to prove that they are creating jobs.

SB 286 would require that redevelopment agency reporting and accountability requirements be strengthened.

At the May 4 hearing committee Chair Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) left the bill on hold while it's amended.

Wolk emphasized the need to address matters including allowing redevelopment agencies to take funding from special districts.

Questions that remain include whether Wright can address these issues in a bipartisan manner and garner enough county-by-county votes.

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