Imperial Valley Press Quick News

California lawmakers pass long-overdue budget

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — State lawmakers have sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger the main bill in a legislative package aimed at ending California's record budget impasse and closing a $19 billion deficit.

The Senate's vote early Friday comes more than three months after the start of the fiscal year, as the state was preparing to issue IOUs to state contractors.

The Senate's approval came hours after the Assembly acted Thursday.

The $87.5 billion general fund spending plan lawmakers sent to the Republican governor is nearly $16 billion less than the general fund just three years ago. It's a stark indication of the economic conditions in the nation's most populous state.

Schwarzenegger helped negotiate the budget deal, which includes no new taxes or fees, and is likely to sign it quickly.

For more information about the local impact, read Saturday's edition online or in print.

-- Elizabeth Varin, staff writer

Defense motion denied for convicted Brawley man

An Imperial County Superior Judge denied a Brawley man's defense motion for a new trial today and ordered him to return for sentencing Tuesday.

But Gerardo Miguel Gonzalez's defense attorney John Breeze plans to make a motion to strike an allegation that would lengthen his client's potential sentencing term by10 years. The motion for a new trial was based on a defense contention of juror misconduct which did not sway Judge Barrett Foerster.

Gonzalez, who was wounded in an officer-involved shooting behind Garcia's Market on March 29, was convicted of assaulting a Brawley Police officer. Two jury findings related to the use of a firearm was found to be true.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Fungicide found in water near Holtville

Test results received Tuesday afternoon show low levels of metam-sodium after a suspected chemical spill last week.

Results show that water samples taken from unflushed cisterns fed by the Alamo Canal last week had 1.62 parts per billion of metam-sodium, a herbicide/fungicide used before planting crops, according to a press release from the county's Public Health Department.

It is a very low quantity, said Public Health Officer Dr. Stephen Munday in the press release.

“Exposure at this level will not cause serious or long-term health effects," he said. "Metam-sodium is known to give off a strong odor when it reacts with water, this can be expected even with very low levels.”

Anything at or below 20 parts per billion of metam-sodium in drinking water is considered safe for long-term exposure, according to the press release.

Metam-sodium degrades with time, and the initial levels could have been higher, according to the press release.

Tests for a second substance in the water, methoxylienozide, have not been received by the Agricultural Commissioner's Office.

For more information read Thursday's edition online or in print.

-- Elizabeth Varin, staff writer

Gas leak detected near two Calexico schools on Encinas Avenue

CALEXICO --- Students at both Dool Elementary and De Anza Junior High school were moved to other locations within their campuses after a gas leak was detected coming from the middle of Encinas Avenue, officials said.

Calexico Unified School District Superintendent Christina Luna said that kindergarten pupils were moved to another classroom for the duration of the school's shortened day. Parents were then called to pick up their children as firefighters and the gas company were called to address the problem at about 8 a.m., Luna said.

Students from De Anza Junior High School were moved to the gymnasium as a precautinary measure away from the gas leak that was detected by a custodian from the elementary school, said Calexico Fire Capt. Damian Gonzalez. No injuries were reported during either incident.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer 

Feds approve solar project in Imperial Valley

Federal land managers for the first time approved today the construction of a solar installation project on public land that would cover about 10 miles in the Imperial Valley.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the projects which is expected to generate renewable energy to hundreds of thousands of homes, according to a statement by the governor's press office and an Associated Press news story. It was not immediately known where the project would be built in Imperial County.

The approval comes five years after developers in solar energy asked the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for the rights to develop solar plants on federally owned desert, the AP reported. The project in the Imperial Valley is one of two solar installations that received approval.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

County supervisors approve cost sharing plan to cover reverse 911 system

County superivsors unanimously voted today to approve a cost sharing agreement with Imperial Valley cities to continue operating a reverse 911 telephone system at annual rate of $30,000.

The Telephone Emergency Notification System was put into place when communities would need to be warned about any impending danger during any type of emergency or natural disaster. The system was funded for two years since the Homeland Security's Grant Program awarded the TENS grant to Imperial County during the 2007/2008 fiscal year.

The grant covered the expense of the initial system but an agreement, or Memorandum of Understanding, was set with the cities of Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial and Westmorland to enter into a cost sharing program in January.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

 

Memorial to be held today for woman shot in El Centro

Friends of Amber Bryant will be gathering at Brunswick Zone after 3 p.m. today to memorialize her and take donations for her services and for her son.

Bryant was fatally shot this morning by the father of her pre-teen child before he turned the gun on himself. The incident stemmed from a domestic dispute. Bryant was a well-liked 6th grade teacher at Sunflower Elementary.

For more information, contact Yulil Alonzo-Garza at (760) 791-9125.

-Brooke Ruth, digital media news editor

Shooter turned gun on himself after killing woman, El Centro police say

An Imperial man killed himself today after killing the mother of his pre-teen child at an El Centro intersection, a press statement from the El Centro Police Department read.

The victim, identified as 38-year-old Amber Bryant, was shot to death inside her vehicle after Nathan Veliquette approached the passenger side of the car and fired, said El Centro Police Cmdr. Jeff Mason.

The couple's child was inside Bryant's car and apparently saw the whole incident. The child whose age and gender Mason would not confirm is in the care of grandparents, he said.

Bryant was a well-liked and longtime sixth-grade teacher at Sunflower Elementary School, said Bob Pletka, superintendent at El Centro Elementary School District. Bryant spent her entire 14-year teaching career at Sunflower Elementary, Pletka said.

Veliquette, according to witnesses, walked back to his truck to reload his gun after he tried killing himself when the gun misfired, Mason said. Veliquette returned to the side of Bryant's car and fatally shot himself. Police believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute that is being investigated.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

One person killed in shooting was schoolteacher, sources say

Joselito Villero Photo.

One of the people in the fatal shooting that erupted today at the intersection of La Brucherie Road and Cruickshank Avenue was a teacher at Sunflower Elementary School in El Centro, sources familiar with the incident said.

The victim's name was not released pending notification of relatives. Police suspect that the shooting witnesses called about shortly before 7 a.m. stemmed from a domestic dispute involving the victim and the shooter in separate vehicles.

Both vehicles, one of which was a City of Holtville owned utility truck, were apparently heading south on La Brucherie Road. A 10-year-old child who police believe saw the whole incident was inside one of the vehicles. It was not known whether the child was harmed.

By SILVIO J. PANTA, staff writer

Two dead after shooting in El Centro UPDATED

Two people were reported to be dead after a shooting took place before 7 a.m. this morning.

El Centro police believe the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence dispute.

The shooting took place on Cruickshank Drive and La Brucherie Road in El Centro and involved two vehicles. One of the vehicles belongs to the City of Holtville.

A 10-year-old child in one of the vehicles witnessed the shooting.

No other information is currently available.

Check Quick News for updates throughout the day.

-Silvio Panta, staff writer