The Californian from Salinas, California • Page A6

NEWS Wednesday, December 5, 2012 Wardens kill mountain lion cubs HALF MOON BAY The California Department of Fish and Game has ordered a necropsy on two mountain lion cubs that were fatally shot by wardens in downtown Half Moon Bay. Fish and Game officials say the lions were behaving abnormally before they were killed on Saturday in a backyard. They had blank stares and did not run away when the wardens approached them. Spokeswoman Janice Mackey said trying to tranquilize them would have been difficult and endangered the public if they managed to escape. She called shooting the animals a last resort.

The lions appeared to be 9 months old and around 25 to 30 pounds each thin for their age. The necropsy will try to explain what may have caused their behavior. Mayor fined $37K over charity donations SACRAMENTO California's political watchdog agency has fined the mayor of Sacramento for failing to report donations he solicited for charity organizations. The Fair Political Practices Commission said on Monday that it found 25 cases in which Mayor Kevin Johnson failed to file timely reports on donations to a nonprofit made at the request of an elected official. Johnson has been fined $37,500.

The FPPC investigation was triggered by its September report revealing thousands of dollars in donations to the mayor's Think Big arena task force had not been reported on time. The mayor has raised $4 million from national groups, local companies and individuals for his city initiatives and the nonprofits he supports. His initiatives now operate under an umbrella organization called the Sacramento Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit with no formal affiliation with the city. Supervisor must repay credit card charges SAN JOSE A scathing Santa Clara County internal audit shows Supervisor George Shirakawa used his taxpayer-funded credit card for prohibited personal expenses such as hotel rooms, meals, car rentals and golf games. Shirakawa was ordered on Monday to immediately reimburse nearly $13,000.

The latest pay-back demand brings the total amount of forbidden credit charges to nearly $37,000 in the past four years. Shirakawa's county credit card is supposed to be used for small-item pur chases and county business trip expenses. State restricts citrus movement FRESNO State officials will restrict the movement of citrus fruits and trees in parts of California's Central Valley where a potentially devastating citrus pest was discovered. The Department of Food and Agriculture said on Tuesday the restriction will apply to 5-mile zones around two sites in Tulare County where Asian citrus psyllids were recently found. The county is part of the state's citrus belt.

Psyllids can carry the huanglongbing bacteria, which is deadly to citrus trees. The disease has not been detected in Tulare County. Under the restrictions, only citrus fruit that has been commercially cleaned and packed can be transported outside the 5-mile zones. The cleaning process must include the removal of all stems and leaves. Officials are investigating whether the psyllids indicate an established breeding population or hitchhikers from infested counties in Southern California.

LA County to bury ashes of 1,656 people LOS ANGELES Los Angeles County will bury the unclaimed cremated remains of 1,656 people in a mass grave on Wednesday. The county Board of Supervisors observed a moment of silence for them at Tuesday's meeting. City News Service quoted Supervisor Don Knabe as saying that the individuals, for one reason or another, have no one but the county to provide a respectful and dignified burial. Knabe says some were homeless, many were poor and some had no families to grieve for them. The remains will be interred at the Los Angeles County Crematory and Cemetery in Boyle Heights.

Woman pleads not guilty in beheading SANTA ANA The ex-girlfriend of a California man charged with beheading a neighbor and killing a friend has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the deaths of the Orange Coast College students. Orange County prosecutors say 25-year-old Rachel Mae Buffett entered pleas on Monday to lying to Costa Mesa police and repeating 28-year-old Daniel Patrick Wozniak's fabricated account. Wozniak pleaded not guilty in May to murder counts for the 2010 killings of 26-year-old Samuel Herr and 23-year-old Juri Kibuishi. km kilK a TREES oj LIFE HOLIDAY MUSIC TREE LIGHTING Monday, December 10, 5:30 p.m. National Steinbeck Center, One Main Street, Salinas Featuring the highly talented Salinas High School Choir Open to the Public; No charge to attend IIP WWW 9BE HOSPICE FOUNDATION To name a light for someone, call (831) 333-9023 or visit www.HospiceGiving.org Monterey County South County Newspapers Your Hometown News (Comcast SPOTLIGHT cjrn VS-9 0001 56750.