The Lompoc Record from Lompoc, California • 5

LOMPOC RECORD Sunday, July 17,2005 A5 Nation ps-T- 1 Enron agrees to settle price-gouging claims I'lMcbil 1ft Kij v. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Bankrupt energy company Enron Corp. has agreed to settle claims that it gouged California and other Western states during the energy crisis of 2000-2001, when the region was hit with blackouts and soaring electricity bills. The once high-flying company said Friday it would pay up to $1.5 billion7 but the exact amount could be far less because of Enron's bankruptcy proceedings.

"We'll get some of it, we just don't know yet how far the assets of Enron will stretch to these multiple claims," California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Friday. "We hope to recover as much as possible." The agreement requires approval by the bankruptcy court and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. California has sought nearly $9 billion in refunds for overcharges by dozens of companies stemming from the energy crisis, when wholesale energy prices hit record highs. The Enron deal is the second-largest of the state's energy settlements, behind a deal valued at more than $1.6 billion with Houston-based El Paso Corp. Besides a $47.5 million cash payment, Enron wuj proade California with an unsecured claim for $875 million.

Oregon and Washington would be entitled to $22.5 million each from that unsecured settlement. Unsecured claims are cur- rently valued between 22 cents and 25 cents on the dollar, Lockyer said. The settlement also calls for Houston-based Enron to pay a $600 million penalty to the three states. A penalty claim is one of the last to be paid under bankruptcy law, said Enron spokeswoman Jennifer Lowney, and may not be paid. Still, Lockyer said the settlement "represents economic justice for Californians." Enron's interim CEO Stephen Cooper said the settlement helps Enron resolve its bankruptcy "so that we can accelerate distributions to all other creditors." About $65 billion in claims are awaiting settlement in Enron's bankruptcy case, company officials said.

California's claims will be joining that long line. Once the settlement amount is set, California's three AP FIE PHOTO Purchase of the first ticket to Disneyland was made on July 17, 1955, by Dave MacPherson, of Long Beach. He achieved the distinction by getting in line at 1 a.m. By dawn almost 6,000 others were in line behind him. Disneyland skips invite for park's first paying guest AP HIE PHOIO Traffic on Pacific Coast Highway is jammed behind non-functioning traffic lights as rolling power blackouts struck Hermosa Beach, in March 20C1.

investor-owned utilities Pacific Gas and Electric Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric will calculate how much each will receive in refunds. How the utilities will use the refund is up to the California Public Utilities Commission, said Edison spokesman Gil sexual assaults DNA evidence links man to SALT LAKE CITY (AP)-Dave MacPherson won't be at Disneyland's 50th anniversary. He wasn't invited, even though he holds lifetime privileges to Disney parks and a special honor: "First Paying Guest." MacPherson, 72, will mark today's celebration in Anaheim, from 750 miles away at his southern Utah home, but he holds no grudge and proclaims himself Disneyland's biggest fan. "The first of 515 million visitors," the retired journalist said withpride by phone from Monticello, Utah. Disneyland officials said they were trying to keep today's celebration simple and didn't extend MacPherson an invitation.

The company plans to hold a modest ceremony before setting fans loose inside the park, spokesman John McClintock said. A bigger celebration was held May 5. In 1955, MacPherson was a 22-year-old student at Long Beach State College taking summer courses to complete an English degree. He was watching televised coverage of the opening of Disneyland for the media and invited TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) -DNA evidence has linked a man charged with the murders of three Indiana women to sexual assault cases in Nevada and California, according to court records.

An affidavit filed by prosecutors said Kevin Hampton's DNA matches evidence recovered from a rape in Las Vegas and a sexual assault in San Diego, both in 2000; Hampton, 43, was charged this week with three counts of murder in the strangulation deaths of two prostitutes last year and the killing of an 18-year woman five years ago after DNA evidence linked him to the slaying. Investigators obtained a sample of Hampton's DNA in February while he was in jail. Hampton, a self-employed construction contractor, has maintained his innocence in media interviews. He has Kl 1 1 Kevin L. Hampton is led into the Vigo County Courthouse by sheriffs deputies.

Hampton was charged Tuesday with the slaying of Dianna in 2000, and the 2004 deaths of Cassie Harris, 48, and Tanette Dickison, 18. acknowledged knowing the women. Vigo County Deputy Prosecutor Jim Walker and police investigators declined Friday to comment on the links between Hampton and the sexual assault cases. Prosecutors charged Hampton with killing Tanette Dickison, 18, and Cassie Harris, 48, both of whom disappeared within hours of each other in late November. The two women knew each other and worked as prostitutes, court documents said.

Hampton also was charged with rape and felony murder of Dianna Lehman, 18, who was found dead in her home in May 2000. Authorities declined to say how Hampton knew her but said she had no record of prostitution Hampton, whom investigators said used several aliases, was sentenced last month to 40 from the stomach back into the esophagus. Other possible causes include excessive vomiting, surgery and some medications. Cheney's vascular exam also "identified small, dilated segments of the arteries behind both knees." The vice president "is awaiting final recommendations from his medical team," the statement said. 1 1 i v.

I) Cheney completes routine physical Alexander. The PUC has directed utilities to use previous refunds to offset future rate increases, he said. Thousands of Enron workers lost their jobs and investors lost billions when the company declared bankruptcy in 2001 amid accusations of financial irregularities and fraud. in California AP PHOTO Real Estate This Week Scott Ehmer LOOKING THROUGH A BUYER'S EYES One of the secrets of a successful home sale is to envision your house through the eyes of a prospective buyer. Home ownership is very personal.

After living in a home for some time, you may view it differently than a person seeing it for the first time and considering its purchase. The number one rule for showing a house is to make it as clean and uncluttered as possible. Organize the furnishings, and straighten closets. Have a garage sale for unused clothing, old" storage items, and garage excess. Keep in mind that buyers imagine their belongings in your home, so you should accommodate this mentality.They have furnishing they will be bringing into the residence, and they view possible placements areas for these pieces as they inspect your home.

If they can't see beyond clutter and poorly organized furniture, their task becomes more difficult. Buyers are attracted to homes they describe as light and spacious. If you create neutral background white, cream, or beige the buyer can more easily visualize the space with his own belongings, often motivating him to make an offer. For the test professional results when buying or seizing real estate, contact Scott at Century 21 Preferred Realty, 80S-878-1188, or visit him online at www.century2 1 preferredagent.com. Js.

guests on July 17, 1955, a day before the parkopened to the public. He drove his Simplex motorbike to Anaheim, arriving shortly before 1 a.m. to take his place in line an hour before anyone else showed up. Workers still were putting finishing touches on the park and testing jungle noises on The crowd steadily grew overnight to about 6,000 people, and MacPherson made sure no one got in front of him. When the admission booth opened, a photographer for the Long Beach Press- Telegram captured him buying the first ticket.

Looking at the photo years later, he realized he had his own camera but didn't use it. Turning around to campus for a class, MacPherson didn't have time for even one ride. Instead, he visited the restroom and left without as much as a souvenir. A few weeks later his mail produced a lifetime pass for four to Disneyland and other Disney parks as they opened. "I was the most popular guy at the college," he quipped.

AT' Molly is a resident! OF LOMPOC Residential Setting Lompoc, CA 93436 RCFE l.k (M2SH0NHH years in prison on cocaine dealing charges. While no further information was available on the specifics of the Cheney case, a consumer information Internet site run by the Harvard Medical School says acid reflex is "by far the most common cause of esophagitis" and that it often can be prevented by "some very simple measures" such as avoiding heavy meals and is typically treated with anti-acid Hispanic civil-rights group meet PHILADELPHIA Cecilia Munoz has often been heckled about her ethnic background and has been told many times to go home. That would mean returning to the border town where she grew up, said Munoz, a member of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil-rights organization. Of the nation's 35 million Hispanics, the majority were born in the United States, said Munoz, vice president of policy for La Raza, which is holding its annual convention this weekend in Philadelphia. At least 15,000 delegates from the nonprofit group's more than 300 affiliates were expected to attend the four-day conference that runs through Tuesday.

Funeral held for toddler killed by police LOS ANGELES Family, friends and sympathetic strangers shared handshakes, hugs and tears Saturday during the funeral service for a 19-month-old toddler killed by police during a shootout with her gun-wielding father. The Spanish-language funeral service for Suzie Pena drew about 150 people, including new Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, to San Miguel Church in Watts, an area that remains riven by the girl's death. Protesters have staged nightly demonstrations since the July 10 shooting, heckling police and waving signs calling officers involved in the shooting "baby killers" and murderers. Deal with fitness magazines ended SACRAMENTO, Calif. In the showdown over dueling roles as chief executive of California and figurehead for muscle magazines, the nation's best-known former bodybuilder chose politics over striking poses.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he will end his consulting deal with Muscle Fitness and Flex magazines, pulling the plug on at least $5 million in payments from the glossies that rely on advertising from nutritional supplement companies. "As long as I'm governor, I will not continue the relationship," Schwarzenegger said in an interview with The Associated Press. By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) Vice President Dick Cheney has a mild case of esophagitis and some small dilation of the arteries behind both knees, his office said Saturday after he completed a two-part annual physical. Cheney, 64, was at George Washington University Hospital for a colonoscopy, an upper endoscopy and vascular screening.

The procedures completed his yearly medical checkup. In the first part of the exam last week, an annual heart checkup produced good news for Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, though none since he become vice president in 2001. The latest tests found Cheney's colon, or large intestine, to be normal, according to statement from his spokes-, woman, Lea Anne McBride. The endoscopy "indicated mild esophagitis" or swelling or irritation of the esophagus, the tube that leads from the back of the mouth to the stomach. The statement did not elaborate on the cause of Cheney's condition.

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