DEAR SENATOR PLEASE SUPPORT THE ZADROGA BILL

ONE FINAL EFFORT, CAN YOU HELP US BY CONTACTING YOUR SENATOR?

With the end of the lame duck session ending soon and the Republicans about to take over, SADLY, it appears that political support to 9/11 Responders who are ill, is just about lost.

NY Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand again pushed for bipartisan support of the James Zadroga 9/11 Heath and Compensation Act on Tuesday of this week.
The bill would guarantee health care and financial compensation to all the first responders, iron workers and volunteers involved in the Ground Zero clean up.
It would give up to $7.4 billion to those workers sickened during the cleanup. The bill seeks to create a more than $7 billion fund for volunteers who worked at Ground Zero and are now suffering health problems as a result.
In January, the newly elected House takes over, and is unlikely to support the bill. Gillibrand is leading the charge to convince all Senators to support the bill, but the Senate only has a couple weeks left to sway opinions. Convincing Republicans has been "very hard" Gillibrand said.

IF YOU SUPPORT THE ZADROGA BILL, PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR SENATOR TODAY:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Updated: Missing Child FOUND: 15-year-old Stephanie Cudd, Possibly Endangered

Update 1-28: "Our prayers have been answered," the family said in a statement. "Carl MArino of Butler and Associates Investigation located Stephanie. While she is not home, we know that Stephanie is safe and nearby." 

 Sheriff's detectives believe that Concord resident Eva Nichols, 39, hid Cudd in her home during the entire time the teen was missing. They charge that Nichols, Cudd's boyfriend's mother, faked a phone call and misinformed investigators. In one instance, detectives say that Cudd was hiding in a crawl space as they searched Nichols' house.
More here: http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_17343775

Stephanie Cudd, a 15 years old sophomore at College Park High, has been missing for 3 days… She is approx 5’ 4” about 100 pounds, last seen in her home last Sunday night.

15-year-old Stephanie Cudd, is missing.

The girl pictured above, 15-year-old Stephanie Cudd, is missing from Martinez/Pacheco area.

Her friends and family aren’t sure if she ran away or left under other circumstances, they just want to find her. She did take a suitcase full of clothes, according to a family friend, but her parents aren’t sure why she would have left.
She’s from the Martinez/Pacheco area, and the photo shown above is the most recent picture of her.
Unconfirmed but information is she did not bring her cell phone with her, and the sim card was missing. Her computer was also totally cleaned out, all of her accounts were deleted.

Stephanie Cudd, Facebook photo

If anyone has any information on her location, they can contact the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department at 925-646-2441, case # 10-2199 

More information: 
Claycord.com: http://claycord.com/2010/12/01/15-year-old-girl-missing-from-martinezpacheco/
Missing Person website: http://www.findstephaniecudd.com/
Facebook Missing page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Stephanie-Cudd/136126229774608
Stephanie's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000948458050
Photo from: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1139.snc4/148182_1689221105890_1098570637_31911359_6485357_n.jpg

Redding: Missing teen's story to air on national TV show

A missing Redding teen will again be the topic of a national television program on CNN’s HLN channel.

Jacob Berlinghoff, 33, father of Jean Marie Berlinghoff, 15, said he’s set to be on the “ISSUES with Jane Velez-Mitchell” show today at 4 p.m. In the show Velez-Mitchell “takes a stand on some of the most emotionally charged ISSUES of the day,” according to the show’s website.

Jean’s been missing since Nov. 10 and is believed to be with her uncle, Charles David Berlinghoff, 44, of Los Angeles. Charles Berlinghoff is wanted on a $100,000 warrant for keeping Jean from her parents.

Early after Jean went missing her family and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office asked for an Amber Alert – an urgent bulletin telling law enforcement agencies and media of an abduction – issued in the case, but the California Highway Patrol office that issues Amber Alerts from Sacramento said the case didn’t meet the law’s criteria.

CHP officials and sheriff’s investigators said it appeared Jean went willingly with Charles Berlinghoff and she wasn’t in immediate danger of harm.

Jacob Berlinghoff said he didn’t know whether the Amber Alert angle of Jean’s story will be addressed on the ISSUES program or not. He said he wants to tell as many people as possible that the two many be hitchhiking or panhandling anywhere around the country.

“This is a great chance to get Jean’s picture out there,” he said.

Eight days after Jean’s disappearance the story was featured in a five-minute segment on the Nancy Grace show, which airs at 5 p.m. on the same channel. Both are on cable channel 56 in Redding.
Grace questioned why the CHP hadn’t issued an Amber Alert for Jean.
“I don’t understand why there was not an Amber Alert,” Grace said.

Charles Berlinghoff was convicted of sex crimes in Shasta and Tehama counties in the 1990s but the cases were later dismissed and expunged. Grace argued that his history should have been cause for an Amber Alert.
Berlinghoff said Jean’s story may again be on Nancy Grace but he’s not sure when. Jean’s mother, Heather Vega, 33, of Redding, was on the show via telephone during on Nov. 18 segment.

For his appearance on ISSUES, Berlinghoff said he’ll use Skype, a video conferencing program, from his home in northeast Redding.

Shasta County Secret Witness, Inc., and an anonymous donor have teamed up to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to Charles Berlinghoff’s arrest and conviction.

Anyone with information about Jean Berlinghoff’s whereabouts should contact Secret Witness at 243-2319 or the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office at 245-6540.

Source article: http://www.redding.com/news/2010/dec/01/missing-redding-teens-story-air-national-tv-show/

State Fire Marshal: Hmong Festival Under Investigation After Boy Burned

The state fire marshal is investigating the Sacramento Hmong New Year Festival, which is held at Cal Expo, after a boy was critically burned there during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- State law requires that any festival held on state property must obtain a permit from the state Fire Marshal's Office.
However, the office said it doesn't have a permit on record for the event, which began Thursday and ended Sunday.
The investigation was launched after a 9-year-old boy was burned by a space heater inside a tent.
A spokesperson for the state fire marshal told KCRA 3 that the office didn't know there was an event being held at Cal Expo until after the festival ended."Any time you have an assembly of more than 50 people inside of a structure, inside of a room or even inside of a tent -- which is what this one was -- a permit from the state Fire Marshal's Office is required," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
Cal Expo police confirm to KCRA 3 that they are investigating the incident.
KCRA 3 contacted organizers for the Hmong festival Monday, but no calls were returned.
Source article: kcra.com Link

RRU: RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Stand-alone fire department would be costly

Severing ties with Cal Fire and creating an independent Riverside County fire department would increase costs by $46.6 million a year, a new report concludes. 


In addition, setting up a stand-alone agency would require the county to replace three state-owned fire stations at a one-time cost of $11.9 million, the analysis found.
Riverside County has contracted with Cal Fire for fire protection since 1946. The Board of Supervisors ordered the study earlier this year amid concerns over the administrative fee the state agency charges.
Cal Fire proposed increasing the fee at a time when the county faced budget cuts.
"The study clearly shows we have a good deal with Cal Fire," board Chairman Marion Ashley said Monday.
"Cal Fire is functioning extremely well."
It's the second time in five years the county has analyzed the costs of establishing a separate fire department. A 2005 report concluded that remaining with Cal Fire was the county's best option.
The county, through its contract with Cal Fire, provides fire protection for the unincorporated areas, 19 cities and one community services district. Under the current arrangement, it costs $178 million to do so.
With a stand-alone agency, the costs would jump by $46.6 million, the result of staffing increases, county overhead and a $22.7 million boost in pension liabilities, according to the report.
Of the $46.6 million, the 20 contracting agencies would be responsible for $21.4 million; the county would pay for $25.2 million out of its general fund. The report assumed cities would continue contracting with the county.
Ashley said the "sticker shock" alone should be enough to keep the county from pursuing its own department.
"This is not a time to spend $25 million more in general fund money to operate a fire department," he said.
Still, Ashley said studying the issue was worthwhile, given the potential rise in Cal Fire's fees.
At the same time the county began the latest study, officials were negotiating with Cal Fire for budgetary relief. Under recently retired director Del Walters, Cal Fire eventually agreed to provide the county $2.2 million in savings.
Supervisor Jeff Stone, who requested the study, said Monday that analyzing whether to create a stand-alone department was never about the quality of Cal Fire. The report found Cal Fire's effectiveness excellent.
Stone said studying the issue sent a message to Cal Fire that the county has options. He said he believes it contributed in the negotiations between the county and Cal Fire.
"This is an exercise we should do every five years to make sure Cal Fire is kept in check," Stone said.
Source article:  http://www.pe.com Link

TCU: Trees come down at new Cal Fire Station site

Trees come down at Cal Fire site
Construction crews began work clearing several trees for the construction of a new Altaville Cal Fire station. Despite much community protest over cutting down the trees, particularly one sequoia that was sitting where a new parking area is planned, trees were taken out Monday in one of the first steps in building a new station.

According to Cal Fire Division Chief Steven Hollett, the crews are in the process of removing about 40 trees as part of a 16-month project to build a new Cal Fire facility.

“I appreciate the public’s concerns and I imagine they’re not totally happy (about the tree removal), but I think in the long run they’ll be pretty happy with what they get out of it.”

Hollett said the current station was built around the late 1940s and is outdated. From reports he’s read, the sequoia was planted in the mid-1950s.

He said wood from the sequoia will be used to craft a dining room table for the new station, and possibly signs, benches and other materials.

“For many to leave it standing would be best, but this is kind of our (way) ... to keep the tree kind of living in that sense,” Hollett said.

The sequoia was out of the ground and off the site by Monday afternoon.
Source article: calaverasenterprise.com Link

Obituary: PILOT: BOB "SNAPPER" FINER

Robert Meyer Finer (1953 - 2010)

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ROBERT MEYER FINER AKA: BOB "SNAPPER" FINER

Bob was called home by his loving heavenly father on the 17th of November 2010. Bob had a zest for life, meeting each new day with excitement and looking for the next opportunity that may come around the corner. Bob was born in Mt. Carroll, Illinois on the 4th of March 1953. He resided there until he graduated from High School in 1971. After leaving Mt. Carroll he attended Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin graduating in 1975 with a B.A. in history. Bob believed strongly in the bible verse Matthew 17:20 "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' and it will. Nothing will be impossible for you." He lived his life in this manner through and through. In 1972 Bob was accepted into the Platoon Leader's Class (PLC)/U.S. Marine Corps (U.S.M.C) and was PLC Honor-man in 1973 and 1974. He earned his private pilot's license in the U.S.M.C flight indoctrination program in 1975 and graduated as an Honor Graduate from the U.S.M.C officer basic school. After graduating officer basic school Bob was competitively chosen to participate in the Army Ranger School and was an Honor Graduate there as well. From 1976-79 Bob commanded infantry troops in the Marine Corps. In 1979 he was accepted into flight school and flew until he retired in 1995. Bob held a variety of leadership positions during twenty years of active duty in the Marines, serving both as an infantry officer and naval aviator flying the A-4M, A-4E, TA-4J/F, OV-10A and OV-10D before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Bob was a Marine to the core; he spent 20 years commanding men on the ground as well as in the air. While he was an inspiration to his men, he received probably more inspiration from them, which led him to be an outstanding officer and leader. Upon retiring from the Corps Bob explored several avenues such as working as a team building coach for Team Trek and teaching High School history before landing back into the flying world, where his true passion resided. Bob flew the OV-10 in South America before landing a job flying the S-2 Grumman aerial tanker during fire season for DynCorp/CalFire.

Bob loved flying. It was his passion and his avocation for the past 35 years. He was a stick and rudder man who was a master at energy management. When he flew he had the grace of an eagle soaring in the sky. Bob believed that without continual growth and progress, such works as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. When not flying fire Bob spent much of his time expanding Finer Flying, his personal flying business. This included performing awesome aerial exhibits flying Dena Rae, his Pitts stunt bi-plane, in a variety of air shows and conducting specialized training and flight operations.

When not flying, Bob loved life to the fullest. He enjoyed skiing, motorcycle riding, working out, swimming, scuba diving, hiking, and the great outdoors. He had four loves in his life: Jesus Christ our Savior, his wife Dena, his children Danny, Jonathan, Shawna, and Chasity, and flying the great Blue Skies above. He will be deeply missed by them all!

If Bob had to summarize his life, he would say he had a great ride. He is flying free in the heavenly kingdom and is blessed to be in the presence of God almighty and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Isaiah 40:31 "Those who hope in the lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Bob is survived by his wife, Dena R. Finer; Children, Danny M. Finer (son), Jonathan R. Finer (son), Shawna R. Tapp (stepdaughter), and Chasity G. Tapp (stepdaughter). And a sister, Suellen Myers.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Melvin Finer and Eva Mae Finer.

Memorial service will be held at Calvary Chapel, 123 Auto Drive, Boise, ID on Thursday, December 2, 2010, at 12:30 p.m. Burial will follow at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. will full military honors by the United States Marines. Local arrangements are by Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel, Boise, Idaho.

Published in Chico Enterprise-Record on November 28, 2010

Sonoma County: Man posing as fire inspector, accomplice arrested in Petaluma burglary

A Sonoma man posing as a fire inspector raised suspicions Sunday in a Petaluma restaurant, leading to the man's arrest as a suspected burglar, Petaluma police reported.

Wearing a Cal Fire baseball cap, the man went into Tres Hombres restaurant on Petaluma Boulevard South at about 5:10 p.m. Sunday, Sgt. Andrew Urton reported.

He'd entered an employee-only area, grabbed a worker's purse and was concealing it when an employee stopped him, Urton said.

The man told the employee he was a fire inspector conducting a routine sprinkler inspection.

But the suspicious employee asked for identification. The man couldn't produce any and left the restaurant, followed by employees. On the way to an awaiting car he dropped the purse, Urton said.

Employees called police with a car description and officers spotted the car a few blocks away in a parking lot.

The suspected burglar wasn't in the car. A citizen in the area pointed out the man hiding between parked cars and officers arrested Frank Sullivan, 45, of Sonoma on suspicion of burglary, grand theft and possession of stolen property.

Officers also arrested Sullivan's driver, Carrie Leenert, 43, of Santa Rosa on suspicion of burglary, being an accessory and possessing stolen property.

In her purse and in the car officers found items recently reported as stolen from Marin and Sacramento counties.

One of the thefts was at a Marin County shopping mall. In that case, workers reported a man posing as a mall employee who said he was checking the fire sprinkler system. Items disappeared from an employees' area at the time of the man's appearance.

The suspect in that case matched a description of Sullivan, Urton said.

Officers took the pair to Sonoma County Jail. Both were being held in lieu of $10,000 bail.


Source article by: By RANDI ROSSMANN THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Link

NEU: False Time Sheet Investigation involves more than one firefighter

Cal Fire Captain Under Investigation
Source: Woman May Have Falsified Time Sheets

Fire captain Karrie Paletta, interview with KCRA
Credit: Screenshot from KCRA video

ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection captain is under investigation on allegations of falsifying time sheets and saying she worked when she didn't, according to a source within Cal Fire.
At least one other firefighter is also being investigated, according to that source.
Fire captain Karrie Paletta, who worked at a fire station adjacent to Thunder Valley Casino, is being investigated for claiming more than $10,000 in pay that was not worked over the past year, according to a Cal Fire source.
Public records show that Fire captain Karrie Paletta, made more than $92,000 in 2009 -- that's $17,000 more than the year before."Because this is an ongoing personnel issue, I cannot comment about details of that," Cal Fire Chief Brad Harris said.
When contacted by KCRA 3, Paletta said she was "blown away" by news that she was under investigation."No, not under investigation," Paletta told KCRA 3.
Another firefighter is being investigated on allegations of claiming to be working while on vacation, according to a Cal Fire source. However, no other details of that investigation were confirmed.

Original Source article: KCRA Link

New Ben Lomond Fire District Chief

New Calif. Chief Follows in Her Father's Footsteps

Kimberly White - Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif. 

Nov. 25--SANTA CRUZ -- Stacie Brownlee never intended to follow in her dad's footsteps as a firefighter, but when he died, she was saddened not only by his loss, but also the possibility of losing an entire family.

"I just didn't want to see the fire department out of my life," recalled Brownlee, 44, who last week was appointed as the newest fire chief at the Ben Lomond Fire District. "I thought it was going to be hard because all my girlfriends' dads were fire chiefs and I thought, How am I going to get through this whole thing, seeing them go to firemen's musters and stuff like that and not be a part of it anymore?'"

Her father, Michael Smith -- who served as chief of the Ben Lomond Fire District from 1974 until his death in 1984 -- passed away on Brownlee's 18th birthday, around the time when she was deciding on a career path.

So she took the required fire-related courses at Cabrillo College and joined the district in 1984, becoming the first female firefighter in the entire San Lorenzo Valley.

"It was tough. They didn't like girls in their little men's club," she remembered, adding that her uncles -- who also worked as firefighters -- didn't even want her there. But "once I proved I could do the job, they left me alone. They knew that they didn't have a problem."

She moved up the ranks to captain and battalion chief before her appointment as chief. She'd served since May as interim chief, following the April 30 retirement of the previous fire

chief, John Charcho.

Brownlee was initially undecided whether to accept the position when board members first approached her about the possibility.

Fire chiefs perform largely administrative duties, and part of their job requires them to ensure the members of the crew -- all but one of the 35 firefighters under her charge are volunteers -- stay current on their training and certifications.

"My favorite position is being a fire captain and being on line and being with the guys, and this is a totally different position," she explained, but added that she decided to accept the position because "we were nervous that if we had somebody else come in from out of the area that didn't know the small town, they would try to run it differently."

No changes are on tap at the district, which pays for its volunteers' firefighting educations. Brownlee wants to keep it a small department where volunteers can continue to come to receive training, and hopefully eventually land full-time positions with larger departments.

"When other paid departments pick them up, like San Jose, it's a win-win situation," she added. "They've got education, they've got classes, they've got experience. They're trained firefighters."