The Sacramento Bee du lieu suivant : Sacramento, California • A1

V1N39VIAI yiovna 091-90 I "IVNId 3383VS -e- B1 D1 I BIO Mostly sunny 83155 Buddhist realm CalPERS tries new tack on rate hikes SPORTS 1 Marcos Breton A prayer for the world of sports A group of nuns make themselves at home in West Sacramento 2003, The Sacramento Bee Volume 291, No. 135 fttf fl FOUNDED 1857 The Sacramento Bee Final edition 50 cents THURSDAY May 15, 2003 sacbee Round 2 for Davis on deficit Both parties spar over revised proposal Governor tries to blend policy, politics Inside CSU students, faculty protest proposal to increase fees. Page A3 Cities, counties receive some welcome news. Page A1 6 By John Hill BEE CAPITOL BUREAU Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday offered a revised plan for coping with a state budget deficit that now tops $38 billion, saying he sought to accommodate all sides to get a spending plan on time and avoid an even greater fiscal calamity.

But lawmakers from both parties showed little sign of budging from entrenched positions. Republicans said they continue to oppose new taxes. By Alexa H. Bluth BEE CAPITOL BUREAU Gov. Gray Davis once famously said it was legislators' job to implement his vision.

Now, as he reveals a massive makeover of his state spending plan, Davis is bending over backward to try to carry out theirs. The Democratic governor and his financial team acknowledged Wednesday that Davis' revised $100.4 billion budget proposes tax increases to pay off $10.7 billion of the deficit over five years and to fund a shift of some responsibilities to local governments. "We are willing to negotiate on everything except the issue of taxes," said Senate Republican leader Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga. Democrats, sounding their own familiar refrain, accused Republicans of failing to negotiate and said no bud- BUDGET, pageA16 "I learned a long time ago that part of leadership is listening," Davis said. "I believe this plan will result in a responsible, timely budget.

The centerpiece a 1 0 7 billion loan to be paid off over five years was a Republican idea. But Davis' effort to win over the GOP wasn't immediately successful and not only be- ANALYSIS, page A16 ANALYSIS they remolded major pieces of the Davis budget to reflect the specific wants of Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The revised spending plan, they say, is designed to gain quick approval in the Legislature, satisfy skittish Wall Street lenders, and prevent a fiscal catastrophe. Gray Davis His proposed tax hikes still draw opposition from GOP lawmakers. 7 Jt Deafening noise is a hallmark of Kings games at Arco Arena.

Noisemakers raise the roof even more rrenni ulxDj msira mum Thunder sticks alarm ling Kings fan Cowbell Whistle Hand-held ala Kings fan Hand-held Screaming For 18, trailer was tomb Illegal immigrants were left to suffocate; suspected driver is held. Loud and Clear At The Bee's request, a UC Davis audiologist measured Arco Arena sound levels during 1 0 games this season. Here's how they compare to everyday sounds: Rock concert Highest recorded noise level during a Kings game BEE NEWS SERVICES Sheriff's deputies on a desolate south Texas highway early Wednesday discovered the bodies of 17 undocumented immigrants who survivors said suffered "horrifying" deaths amid the baking heat of an overcrowded trailer. An 18th person from the trailer died later in the day, making it the INSIDE most lethal incident involving suspected illegal immigrants in at Deaths demon-least 16 years. Wednesday after- strate again the noon, federal authorities arrested challenges of a man suspected to have been the trying to close driver of the tractor-trailer rig, U.S.

borders to which he had apparently aban- illegal entry, doned at a truck stop near Victo- Page A24 ria, Texas, about 175 miles north of the Mexican border along Highway 77. Survivors of the asphyxiating conditions that killed the immigrants described the heat inside the sealed container. Some of the 39 survivors in U.S. custody told Mexican consular officials sent to interview them that smugglers had loaded them into the trailer Tuesday in Harlingen, Texas, near the Mexican border. BODIES, back page, A24 Big rig Average noise level after big play Chain saw Booing opposing team Average ambient crowd noise Gas lawn mower Rebels say Iran making major bioweapon push Sacramento BeeHector Amezcua Kings fans, including season ticket holder Vern Cross of Rancho Cordova, raise a ruckus for their team Sunday at Arco moment during a Arena during Game 4 of the Western Conference playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks.

INSIDE There is no margin for error tonight for the Kings in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series against the Mavericks. Sports, page CI A play-by-play for the Kings' Joe and Gavin Maloof. Scene, page El game Kings game noise may minimum level at which ai ter hearing, but eff ects extended exposure can 0 cause hearing loss seem to be short-lived. By Dorsey Griffith BEE MEDICAL WRITER Phone ringing mgs fans may not want to hear 1 this or be able to but NBA ALbasketball games at Arco Arena Busy street traffic can reach dangerous decibel levels, leaving ears ringing and even causing Normal conversation temporary hearing loss. As amplmg of nois le vels from 1 0 Kings games this season, including A whis er Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks, sources: osha; uc Davis; showed noise levels well above those Bee research Sacramento BeeSheldon Carpenter for nealtnY hearing.

NBA Playoffs Round 2 Mavericks at Kings 7:30 p.m. today ESPN, ABC On the bright side, any hearing damage resulting from a Kings game shouldn't last long, unless an Arco Arena visitor also regularly spends long hours drumming with a rock band or operating a jackhammer. "It gets loud enough at games to cause temporary changes in hearing," said David Sheaffer, a University of California, Davis, audiologist who at The Bee's request measured Arco Arena sound levels and tested the hearing of five volunteers before and after the 10 games. The survey, which makes no claim to meeting scientific standards, showed the arena environment can become hostile to ears especially when fans whistle, ring cowbells or NOISE, pageA21 By Joby Warrick WASHINGTON POST WASHINGTON Iran has begun production of anthrax and is actively working with at least five other pathogens, including smallpox, in a drive to build an arsenal of biological weapons, according to an opposition group that previously exposed a secret nuclear enrichment program in the country. The group, Mujahedeen Khalq, citing informants inside the Iranian government, says the anthrax weapons are the first fruits of a program begun secretly in 2001 to triple the size of Iran's biowarfare program.

The push for new biological weapons was launched in parallel with a more ambitious campaign to build large nuclear facilities capable of producing components for nuclear bombs, said officials of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political arm of the Mujahedeen, which seeks the overthrow of the Iranian government. IRAN, pageA24 U.S. lowers 'normal' blood pressure limit INSIDE WORLD A15 WASHINGTON A23 NASA accused The chief investigator of the Columbia disaster says that there were grave errors by NASA and that a rescue might have been possible. Safety concerns A U.S. envoy says Saudis failed to act on a request to increase security before this week's deadly bombings.

By Denise Grady NEW YORK TIMES Millions of people who in the past would have been told that their blood pressure was normal or "high normal" should now be told that they actually have a condition called prehypertension that threatens their health, according to guidelines issued Wednesday by government health experts. The new category includes 45 million Americans whose blood pressure is 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury systolic (the top number in a reading) or 80 to 90 diastolic (the bottom number). People with readings in this range do not have high blood pressure and do not need to take medication. But the new guidelines advise doctors that such people are likely to develop high blood pressure and that they should be advised to try to lower their pressure by losing excess weight, exercising more, quitting smoking, cutting back on salt, having no more than one or two alcoholic drinks a day and eating more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. The new guidelines and a report were issued by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, part of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

They were posted Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the American Medical Association (www.jama.com) and will be published in the May 21 edi- PRESSURE, pageA23 Complete index, page A2 OUTPUT: 051403 23:22 USER: JWILUAMS BEEBR0AD MASTER 06-26-02.