The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 1

SPORTS Cl One to watch On and off the field all eyes are on Sac best-ever wide receiver WEATHER B8 natter of faith With cathedral restoration the man in charge undergoes his own renewal Sunny 9057 2003 The Sacramento Bee Volume 291 No270 MET CHASE FOUNDED 1857 me SATURDAY September 27 2003 wwwsacbeecom Final edition 50 cents SCENE El Judge to Bustamante: Prove you spent funds RECALL VOTE New Davis ad zooms in on Schwarzenegger ByAlexaHBluth BEE CAPITOL BUREAU A Sacramento judge ordered Lt Gov Cruz Bustamante on Friday to prove that he tried in earnest to cancel television ad contracts and return money for the recall campaign that he collected in violation of the campaign finance laws If state Sen Ross Johnson who filed the original lawsuit against Bustamante is not satisfied that he made a good-faith effort to comply with the order the judge wrote Johnson may seek contempt charges The move signifies another twist in an ongoing legal battle over allegations that the Democratic lieutenant governor sought to skirt new campaign finance limits by collecting millions of dollars into an old account Bustamante was ordered Monday to return any portion left of the BUSTAMANTE pageA6 Darrell Issa endorses Republican front-runner Arnold Schwarzenegger then steps up pressure on Tom McClintock to drop out of the campaign Page A3 analysis of "People' a 30-second TV spot paid for by Arnold prorecall committee Page A3 By Gary Delsohn and Laura Mecoy BEE STAFF WRITERS WEST HOLLYWOOD Eleven days before voters decide whether to oust him Gov Gray Davis on Friday refocused his campaign on Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger demanding a debate with the movie star and airing a biting new attack ad The 30-second television spot which began airing statewide ac cuses Schwarzenegger of mixing up facts about the state budget and avoiding tough questions in his campaign And it bashes him for failing to vote in more than half of recent elections has no experience answer press questions debate unless he has the questions in advance the announcer de- Gov Gray dares he even bother Davis' new TV to vote in 13 of the last 21 elec- ad attacks his DAVIS page A6 top GOP rival Cruz Bustamante says TV ads couldn't be canceled New vista for light rail Poverty level Increases People living below the poverty level 1992 to 2002 40 million 393 346 316 UH i 35 30 25- 20 i I Incomes fell in 2002 for a second straight year officials say By Lawrence BEE WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON Nearly 17 million people in the United States fell into poverty in 2002 and Income levels declined for the second year in a row the Census Bureau announced Friday Moving quickly to ward off political attacks the White House declared that the poverty and income trends would be reversed as the economy improves and more jobs are created White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the economy to pickup" But Democratic members of Congress and 2004 presidential candidates jumped on the Census Bureau report as evidence that President Bush has mishandled the economy latest census data is more evidence that Republican government has only led to rising poverty falling family incomes and POVERTY backpage A26 uuu VO 02 while household income falls Median household annual ncome levels 1992 to 2002 $43915-1 $42409 $45000 I $38287 Sacramento Bee Andy Alfaro Riders disembark Friday from a train at the Meadowvlew end of light rail's latest expansion from downtown to south Sacramento 40 35 so-: 1st new line in 16 years opens to fanfare I 93 09 Source Census Bureau Associated Press Key deal reached for living wage plan Union Pacific right of way 63 miles for a 22-minute excursion into downtown leapfrogging Florin Road on a bridge stopping at Sacramento City College and five other new stations It hooks up with the existing light-rail line at several midtown and downtown stations Its turnaround point is on the Street Mall Sacramento Regional Transit officials project 8100 weekday boardings by 2005 many of them people headed to and from work downtown In speeches that stretched through the morning Friday -threatening to put the new line behind schedule on day one -transit officials and politicians repeatedly encouraged people to give the system a try At the same time they promised to increase light usefulness by turning RT back page A26 By Tony Bizjak BEE STAFF WRITER With hoopla and high hopes Sacramento opened its first new light-rail line in 16 years Friday launching a fleet of boxy blue-and-yellow trains between downtown and Mead-owview Road The $228 million system appeared to run smoothly from the get-go even as politicians transit officials train fans and curious residents hopped aboard the first trains by the hundreds Gevel Woods a south Sacramento resident and student at Sacramento City College currently earless pronounced the ride enjoyable skippy use itl" he said is much better than the bus" Midtown resident Tom Prittie recalling trolley cars of old as impressed basically what they ripped out in Ijanee Johnson 3 with aunt Jewelle Baker watches as the light-rail train she had been awaiting pulls Into the station By Andy Furillo BEE STAFF WRITER A deal has been struck to enact a living wage ordinance in Sacramento with Mayor Heather Fargo and City Council member Steve Cohn announcing their support Friday for a scaled-back measure that is scheduled for a vote next week Fargo and Cohn said in interviews Friday that they would support the measure setting the living wage at $9 an hour for companies that provide health insurance for their workers and $1050 for those that With four of the nine members of the council already on record in favor of the ordinance the Fargo and Cohn votes would appear to give living wage supporters more than enough to get the proposed law passed is a significant step forward for the working people of said John Borsos a spokesman for the coalition of labor and community groups that has campaigned for the living wage measure for 2'i years been a long time The new wage scales would go WAGE pageA24 1947 and should have kept" he said He liked the roominess but unlike others who found the ride smooth he said that were sliding left to From its southern terminus at Meadow-view Road the new line follows the old opinion urged on downtown arena INSIDE THE BEE B4 Grammy winner Robert Palmer was 54 Robert Palmer the British rocker who created one of the first iconic music videos with the look-alike models of to dies of a heart attack in Paris Fargo broached the idea of a downtown arena when she ran for mayor three years ago and has been its strongest backer on the council She sees it as the ideal way to spark redevelopment of the 240-acre Union Pacific railyard adjacent to downtown and Old Sacramento Estimates for the redevelopment plan range from $300 million to $500 million depending on the infrastructure considered The mayor stresses that the idea does not include the arena alone but also a new transportation center and other amenities Vice Mayor Dave Jones said he contin- ARENA page A24 month Fargo said Once the public is allowed to absorb that information she will ask the City Council to place a nonbinding question before the voters asking whether the city should pursue the project sooner the better" Fargo said what seen this is (financially) possible but not a done deal not something that I can decide alone or the owners) can decide alone" The March primary is the next regularly scheduled election when residents will vote in the presidential primary and in races for mayor and four City Council seats among other things Fun-loving author George Plimpton dies From pro football to the circus George Plimpton turned his experiences into books that delighted millions The author of and of My was 76 Fargo wants an advisory measure added to the March primary ballot By Terri Hardy BEE STAFF WRITER Mayor Heather Fargo said Friday she will ask the public to weigh in on whether the city should push for a downtown sports arena with an advisory vote to come as early as March A study on ways to fund the arena a possible new home for the Sacramento Kings and a downtown entertainment district is expected to be released next Complete Index page A2 7 60606 8 499.