The Modesto Bee du lieu suivant : Modesto, California • 17

The Modesto Bee THE STATE Thursday April 2 1998 B-3 State worker pay raise clears committee Bee news services SACRAMENTO Their own cushy 26 percent pay raise was uncomfortably in their minds Wednesday as state lawmakers decided to give state workers a tinier hike and penalize themselves for late budgets One Assembly committee criticized the Wilson administration for stiffing 190000 state workers who were promised a pay raise last summer The committee then approved a 6 percent pay hike for the workers immediately and an additional 3 percent in January A different Assembly committee approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would take away $108-a-day expense money when the budget is late The measure also would make passing a budget easier by reducing the vote requirement from two-thirds to a simple majority Meanwhile a Modesto man who is a member of the salary-setting commission said he is concerned that some panel members may have been influenced by legislators before last vote Modesto benefits consultant Nicholas Bavaro called the pay commission vote total that had not been anticipated this orchestrated it was one hell of a Bavaro said He said he believe commission members should have direct private discussions with legislators about pay raises a legislator wants to say something they can come say it at the public Bavaro said adding that before last meeting he received an unsolicited call from a former legislator urging him to boost the pay Francisco said any lawmakers who vote for the pay raise bill should not accept their own pay hike in December The vote by the Public Employees Retirement and Social Security Committee was 7-0 for the bill with one Republican abstaining The proposed constitutional amendment would require lawmakers to forfeit their expense money if the budget is not passed by their scheduled summer recess day which is usually in the first two weeks of July They would lose $108 every day until the budget is passed It also would change the vote requirement from two-thirds to a simple majority California is the only state that requires a two-thirds vote for a budget That has often contributed to the many budget stalemates tonio Villaraigosa D-Los Angeles author of the pay raise bill know this administration has not done that refused to give these employees a raise not been about economics been about He said Wilson like state workers because they did not support him in his runs for governor And he realizes that Wilson would veto the bill want to put pressure on the governor to do the right thing negotiate with state workers and give them a decent pay he said governor feel pressure on matters like this said Sean Walsh press secretary for the Republican governor He said the administration has offered the 3 percent raise but have balked at civil service reforms Wilson wants Assemblyman Kevin Shelley D-San The huge surprise pay raise granted by an independent commission was definitely an issue as lawmakers considered both measures The California Citizens Compensation Commission created by a 1990 ballot measure last week increased the pay from $131014 to $165000 and lawmakers from $78624 to $99000 The raises are effective in December State workers have not had a pay increase since January 1995 and took a 5 percent cut for 18 months during the recession Gov Wilson agreed to give them a 3 percent raise as part of a deal last summer that included the $1 billion tax cut he wanted But negotiations have stalled of bargaining is to bargain in good said Assembly Speaker An New guidelines may keep pupils too busy to play IN BRIEF Where is the time for music art computer technology? Are we not setting up a tremendous number of students to fail? Judith Panton The Associated Press Roller coaster enthusiasts test the new Revenge ride Wednesday at Six Flags Wild new ride at Six Flags Weak-kneed warned to away from Revenge coaster By Ann Bancroft The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Ambitious new guidelines for what California students should learn might be so rigorous they will leave little time for art music vocational classes or sports according to some members of a commission writing the guidelines The Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards met Wednesday ostensibly to discuss the first draft of standards for K-12 students in science history and social sciences There was little discussion of the specifics and acknowledgment that the drafts are likely to be revised following public hearings But one commissioner said she had a sleepless night after poring over the science and history drafts along with rigorous standards already adopted for English language arts and mathematics great the said Commissioner Judith Panton who owns a private elementary school in San Diego County Panton said she grew concerned however after reading all the academic guidelines as a whole Adding up the time she thought it would take each day to teach the material covered in the standards Panton came up with six to seven hours not counting homework is the time for music art computer she asked we not setting up a tremendous number of students to She urged review of the standards by child development specialists a prioritization of the standards and consideration of taking the action of phasing in the tougher standards over several years Commissioner Mark Ortiz shared her concerns saying teachers have repeatedly told him they cannot teach the breadth of knowledge required in the standards in the amount of time they are given Other commissioners on the 21 -member panel however suggested that teachers will find ways to handle the material by integrating subjects and using more efficient teaching strategies Commissioner Bill Evers said students are more capable of absorbing vast amounts of knowledge than educators believe The academic guidelines are aimed at providing a comprehensive and specific outline of the body of knowledge students should know if they are to be educated by standards Commissioners acknowledged that they represent an ideal it may take years to achieve California schools have long been recognized as a leader in curriculum for history and social sciences educators say In the sciences however students in California and nationwide have in the past decade performed dismally on science assessment tests compared with their peers in other industrialized nations Commissioners and educators say the rigorous new science standards if ever achieved would go a long way toward turning such performance around By Cynthia Webb The Associated Press VALENCIA touted as the green machine and with almost a mile of shamrock-color steel curves loops and barrels the new Revenge roller coaster is Six Flags Magic opening shot in this theme park wars The ride billed as the tallest and fastest stand-up coaster opens Saturday to the public It was unveiled Wednesday to roller coaster enthusiasts who watched as the first train took off to the boom of fireworks and Batman-themed music under a gloomy gray sky said 16-year-old Christopher Hussain a high school sophomore from Calaba-sas who sported green hair to fit in with the green-themed ride named for nemesis the Riddler Forming a snakelike outline against the Santa Susana Mountains the streamlined mass of green and black steel stands 156 feet tall and is like a giant confused pretzel with six upside down curves two of which make 360-degree loops A lime-toned bullet-nosed train carrying 32 people at a time zooms on the tracks at 65 mph Revenge is not for the weak at heart or for anyone with weak knees Riders file into the train four in a row and have to adjust a bicycle-style seat between their legs before pulling a yellow-padded upper-body guard over their heads The three-minute ride exerts most of the force on legs and knees Park officials would not release the exact cost of the ride but said the most they have invested in one attraction was smooth fast and fun not said Tony Gonzalez an arcade game designer and member of the 5000-member American Coaster Enthusiasts Club who was one of the riders feel the changing G-forces not only in the seat of your pants but you feel it in the legs really a sense of said Paul Ruben a coaster historian and editor of Park World magazine been riding coasters worldwide for 55 years and been on more than 400 roller said Ruben 60 is a world-class thrill Pilot deaths probed LOS ANGELES Four pilots shooting coyotes from low-flying planes have been killed in the last 17 months in California and Utah prompting an investigation into a little-known federal government program The most recent death was March 1 1 when a plane piloted by LaWanna Clark crashed on a cattle ranch near the Grapevine in Kern County Clark 51 of Mariposa was the first female pilot in the program Lawmaker detained LOS ANGELES A federal judge Tuesday ordered Rep Jay Kim to remain in the Washington DC area and perform his congressional duties while serving two months of a home detention sentence for admitted campaign finance violations The judge refused to allow Kim a Diamond Bar Republican seeking a fourth term to delay his sentence until after primary Trial to proceed SAN FRANCISCO The state Supreme Court refused Wednesday to block next scheduled trial to determine whether Horace Kelly is too insane to be executed April 14 for three murders in Riverside and San Bernardino counties The trial the first of its kind in California since 1951 was ordered last week Whale elusive SAN DIEGO Tracking JJ the gray whale is proving nearly just as challenging as raising and releasing her Although she strayed far from the point where she was dropped into the Pacific Ocean Tuesday information from satellite transmitters fitted on her back takes hours to dispatch and analyze The best tracking of JJ so far has come from researchers following her this week iri a boat at a distance of about 300 yards Harassment case done SACRAMENTO A Superior Court judge has approved landmark awards totaling more than $4 million to three female prison workers who accused iheir male bosses of sexual harassment and retaliation at the California Colony in San Luis Obispo A major portion of the awards will be used to satisfy fees Evacuees return RIO NIDO Seven weeks after El Nino storms forced hundreds from their houses some residents of this Sonoma County river hamlet began returning home Wednesday Residents living in more than 140 homes were ordered to leave when a mudslide tore down the canyon side Feb 6 Wednesday officials allowed residents back to all but about 30 homes in the upper canyon Probe expands LOS ANGELES The investigation of a hospital worker who confessed to mercy killings at one facility has been expanded to include other hospitals that employed him officials said Wednesday Police obtained by search warrant variety of records" pertaining to Efren employment at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley Pacifica Administrator Trude Williams said Assembly panel OKs bilingual standards that in light of the Board of Education action there was no need for her bill because local districts now had the authority to create their own programs But Alpert argued that absent her bill districts could opt out of bilingual education altogether No Republicans voted for her measure Wednesday in committee and Alpert acknowledged she would face an uphill battle when the bill comes to a floor vote in the Assembly The California Teachers Association supports SB 6 while the California Association for Bilingual Education is among the groups opposing it By Steven A Capps Bee Capitol Bureau SACRAMENTO A key Assembly panel Wednesday approved a bill creating minimum standards for bilingual education in California in a move by Democrats to head off a June ballot measure that would largely eliminate the current system The measure Senate Bill 6 would give local districts the power to fashion their own bilingual education programs with the state serving as a monitor of performance leave this up to the local control of school boards of communities of par English-immersion instruction for limited English-speaking students and limit it to one year Traditionally the state has required bilingual education to be offered through the various grade levels although that requirement was recently struck down by a Superior Court judge in Sacramento Following the court ruling the state Board of Education rescinded its policy requiring bilingual education Assemblyman Joe Baca D-San Bernardino who voted for the Alpert bill said the court decision put California in kind of a black Alpert said some Republicans told her said the author state Sen Deirdre Alpert D-Coronado The measure passed by an 11-5 vote in the 21 -member Assembly Appropriations Committee where it had been stuck since last summer after winning passage in the Senate It now moves to the Assembly floor Alpert and her supporters portrayed the proposal as an alternative to Proposition 227 on the June ballot the initiative to end the current system of bilingual education Sponsored by Silicon Valley software entrepreneur Ron Unz Proposition 227 would establish a statewide system of Bombings puzzle frighten residents in Fremont rate and well-paid high-tech workers suddenly has become a violent place One of the town's upscale neighborhoods is Mission Heights where the last three bombs were found Sharma a builder who emigrated from India more than 20 years ago has constructed several multimillion dollar homes He described the neighborhood as a harmonious mix of different races and professions but concedes that members of his family have suggested leaving until the bomber is arrested Sharma has no intention of going live scared in the he laid By Catalina Ortiz The Associated Press FREMONT Mohan Sharma is baffled by bombings that have targeted the quiet and scenic neighborhood where building his $2 million dream house There have been three bombings since Sunday and two more were found before they went off No one has been hurt but residents are scared and angry know why target anyone Sharma said Wednesday lunatic is just disrupting the peace of this tranquillity was shatterecP house under construction Another bomb went off on the town's water tower A bomb threat forced the evacuation of 3000 students at Ohlone Community College on Tuesday but nothing was found Authorities including federal investigators described the bombs as sophisticated and therefore have ruled out teen-age pranksters But so far police had no suspects down a phone book and start looking how close we police Sgt Robert Nelson said Residents are baffled why this city of 192000 people blessed with low crime early Sunday morning when a firebomb exploded at the house of Police Chief Craig Steckler The blast ripped a 10-foot-wide hole in the roof and set the porch on fire That afternoon former police chief Councilman Bob Wasserman found a second explosive in a brown bag on his front walkway It was safely disabled Sunday evening two pipe bombs stuffed into a crawl space ripped through a newly built home A 17-year-old girl was home at (he time and escaped injury On Monday evening police detonatecj a pipe bomb hidden in crawl space in a.