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Saturday, October 27, 2012 FOUNDED IN 1864 TO PRESERVE THE UNION ... ONE AND INSEPARABLE WWW.THEUNION.COM 75 CENTS FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCORES AND HIGHLIGHTS| PAGE B1 VOLUME 147 ISSUE 315 Hwy 49/La Barr Meadows traffic signal to be activated Sunday The California Department of Transportation is alerting motorists to expect the new traffic signal at the intersection of La Barr Meadows Road and State Highway 49 by 8 a.m. Sunday. Construction message signs will be posted on Highway 49 to alert the traveling public of the new signal. Caltrans urges all motorists to use caution in this area and to “slow for the cone zone.” — The Union staff Woman convicted of embezzling from Calif. nuns LOS GATOS — A woman convicted of embezzling more than $100,000 from Catholic nuns in California may receive forgiveness, but is still facing possible prison time. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 66-year-old Linda Gomez pleaded guilty Thursday to taking the money from the Los Gatos convent where she worked. She entered the plea to 14 counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Gomez worked in various administrative capacities at the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Catholic Convent. Prosecutors say she used those positions to embezzle cash and charge personal expenses to a convent charge card. Cat trapping plan put on hold by Los Angeles judge LOS ANGELES — A $150 million renovation project at a Venice apartment complex is on hold until November because of a couple dozen stray cats. Owners of the Lincoln Place apartments planned to trap the cats Tuesday. But Los Angeles-based Stray Cats Alliance went to court and got a temporary injunction to stop it. The alliance’s attorney argued that thousands of dollars have been spent feeding, sterilizing and vaccinating the cats. He says the population has been reduced from 100 to around 20 in the last 18 months. He claims apartment owners will take the cats to a shelter where they will be euthanized. For now, a Los Angeles judge says the cats can stay. — Associated Press Mary Ramey, 73 Freda Allaine Thomas, 90 Joyce Molinari, 49 Obituaries on Page A6 Advice .............................. C5 Blotter .............................. A8 Comics ............................ C4 Cryptoquote..................... C2 Lottery ............................. A6 Opinion...................... A4, A5 Sports ............................. B1 Stocks ............................. A8 Sudoku ............................ C2 WEATHER MAN INDEX LIVES LIVED NEWS BRIEFS Partly cloudy H: 73˚ L: 47˚ See full forecast, Page A11 PAGE C1 A host of ghosts will be tak- ing over Bridgeport this weekend with a series of fun-filled Halloween events. “It’s a combination of history with scary halloween,” said festi- val coordinator Janine Martin. e Bridgeport Fall Festival will be featuring a theme of “e Ghosts Return to Bridgeport” Sunday at the South Yuba River State Park. e event is presented by the South Yuba River Park Association and the state park. Among the various events taking place, a live “Ghosts of Bridgeport” play with perfor- mances by local magician Nick Fedoroff and actors Mark Lyon and Marion Jeffery will take stage. e script, written by Lyon, will feature ghosts from the late 1800s, including the legendary Yankee Jim and the Kneebone family, according to festival coor- dinator Janine Martin. Yankee Jim was a sailor who had a mysterious load of gold the local miners sought to find to no avail, according to a story published at www.thetombstone- news.com out of Tombstone, Ariz. One day, he told a man named Ben Currier that he would let him be his partner if he could ward off the pesky miners, then subsequently disappeared, until he was captured and hanged in Bridgeport, so the story goes. “e whereabouts of Yankee Jim have been a mystery from the time Ben Currier last saw him,” the website said. “However, in the fall of 1852, a man rode through Bridgeport driving several fine horses before him. “Hours after he had passed through town, word was received that the horses were stolen. A posse set out in pursuit, and the man was captured. Although he protested his innocence, they hanged him anyway. When the body was cut down, a money belt was taken from around the waist. It was filled with rough, oblong chunks of gold.” Along with ghost characters, the festival will feature music by Ragged But Right, wagon rides, Ghosts return to Bridgeport Submitted photo by Herb Lindberg Wagon rides will be offered at the Bridgeport Fall Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free; there is a $5 parking fee. BY JENNIFER TERMAN Staff Writer Not only was Nevada City’s courthouse not one of the seven courthouse projects eliminated Friday from among more than 30 statewide construction projects, but more details have surfaced on project’s future. e Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) will study Nevada City’s plans to renovate the existing courthouse over the next six to eight months, accord- ing to documents presented this week to the Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the state’s judicial branch, Plans for a renovation, devel- oped by a group of Nevada City and county officials, are a depar- ture from what was originally budgeted as a $108 million re- build of the 148-year-old facility that sits overlooking downtown Nevada City. In 2009, the AOC determined that the courthouse is “unsafe, substandard, overcrowded and functionally deficient.” However, plans on how to alleviate that prognosis, which shifted from completely demolishing and re- placing the courthouse perhaps elsewhere to simply renovating it, drew the ire of locals. “is is a complete reversal from what we were dealing with,” said Nevada City resident John Givens, a prominent voice in the courthouse debate. e working group-endorsed renovation proposal instead calls for six courtrooms and the sup- port office space in the two exist- ing structures. “Whether they ultimately take that advice will ultimately be de- pendent on the analyses (AOC staff) conduct,” said Nevada County Courthouse Chief Executive Officer Sean Metroka, a member of the group of Nevada City and county officials who proposed the renovation. “Some of the working group were skeptical on the numbers,” Metroka said. e AOC came under scath- ing scrutiny when a group of cur- rent and former judges published a report that described the agency Preliminary courthouse renovation schedule surfaces See COURTHOUSE A10 BY CHRISTOPHER ROSACKER Staff Writer County to pay $600k per year to defend Lester et al Anticipating to foot a more than $600,000 bill annually to de- fend three individuals embroiled in a major real estate fraud case, Nevada County officials are seek- ing the aid of statewide agencies to avoid “a financial disaster,” said county Executive Officer Rick Haffey in a Friday memo. Philip Lester, CEO of Gold Country Lenders, and his wife, Ellen, along with Susan Laferte, the firm’s chief financial officer, and Jonathan Blinder face charg- es that allege that their organiza- tion engaged in a pattern of theft and fraud-related crimes for over eight years, bilking investors of more than $2.3 million. While Blinder did not request or qualify for representation by the public defender’s office, the other three defendants have “ironically” declared themselves indigent and deserving of a public defender’s services in accordance with the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, Haffey said. ose costs are funded out of See COUNTY A10 BY CHRISTOPHER ROSACKER Staff Writer State senate e 2012 race for state sena- tor has been complicated by re- districting and a special election to replace former state Senator Doug LaMalfa, who resigned his seat in pursuit of national office. Nevada City Democrat Julie Griffith-Flatter is compet- ing with Roseville Republican Incumbent Ted Gaines to rep- resent Nevada County as the District 1 state senator. However, there is also a special election for the District 4 sen- ate seat, recently vacated by Doug LaMalfa, whose term will run for two more years, before the District 1 senator becomes the sole repre- sentative of Nevada County. e ballot for the District 4 special election features six candi- dates, of which only four will run. Ben Emery, a Nevada City Independent, withdrew from the race in late September, citing a potential conflict of interest due to his involvement with a non- profit organization that works in association with Assemblyman Dan Logue. Logue withdrew from the race in early October, citing health issues and a desire to focus his energy on his race in the 3rd Assembly District. e remaining candidates in- clude three independents, Dan Levine and Jann Reed, both of Chico, and Mickey Harrington of Magalia and Republican Jim Nielsen of Gerber. BY MATTHEW RENDA Staff Writer Two races feature full slate of candidates See SENATE A7 See BRIDGEPORT A10 In the wake of the recent California Department of Parks and Recreation’s financial revela- tions, area nonprofit associations want the public to know local donations stay local. Presidents of the South Yuba River, Empire Mine and Malakoff Diggins nonprofit as- sociations released a joint state- ment on the topic this week. “Donations to, and profits made by, the Associations stay right here in Western Nevada County at each of the three local State Parks,” a news release states. Donations to local state parks stay local BY GLENN FULLER Submitted to e Union See DONATIONS A10 KNOW & GO WHAT: Bridgeport Fall Festival WHEN: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday WHERE: South Yuba River State Park, Pleasant Valley Road COST: Free admission. Parking $5 CONTACT: Contact the visitors center (530) 432-2546 or visit www.southyubariverstatepark.org. Read more on the Web at TheUnion.com “This is a complete reversal from what we were dealing with.” — NC resident John Givens 2012 Call for a free consultation and no-obligation estimate: 530-272-8272 ByersLeafGuard.com Water rolls in. Everything else rolls right off. No climbing. No cleaning. No danger. That’s Byers. Guaranteed to NEVER clog for as long as you own your home, or we’ll clean it for FREE. The only seamless, one-piece leaf protection gutter system. A patented system – not an add-on screen or cover. 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