With the economy like it is, very few things are for sure. One of those, though, is...we will always have taxes to pay. The purpose of taxes is to run government responsibly....so we will always have taxes. Are you prepared for this, dah?

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This was in the Record Searchlight today and very clearly explains where Redding is financially....

This is what's on for tonight...and this was in the Record Searchlight today....Should be fun.

Photo by Greg Barnette

Members of North team participate in a final walk-through Friday in preparation of today's 32nd annual Lions All Star Football game. The 7:45 p.m. game at Shasta High School's Thompson Field pits the bigger North team against the smaller, but quick, South team.

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Today's the day to find out just how big of an advantage the North's size edge is.

But there's a lot more than girth to determine which team will win the 32nd annual Lions All-Star Game, at Shasta High's Thompson Field tonight at 7:45 p.m.

Running backs, wide receivers, quarterbacks will be just as instrumental.

North coach Shaun Wood of Modoc High is insistent he's got a lot more than just his "hogs" in the trenches. He's confident his skill players can be another avenue to victory aside from the massive offensive line.

"The biggest strength I think is that we have good running backs, a strong line, good receivers and a couple quarterbacks," he said.

For those counting, Wood declared every offensive spot a strength. Don't look for a whole lot more detail from him, though. Questions about how he plans to use his weapons generally bring about a smile and laugh that allude to possible surprises.

Photo by Greg Barnette

Yreka's Manny Barragan, from left, Modoc's Josh Wood, Corning's Caleb Nelson and Anderson's Colt Littlle listen to a coach Friday.

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Modoc is famous for running in between the tackles. Wood said it probably won't be a Modoc-like performance. But it could be, he added.

"That's what I want them to think," he said about a between-the-tackles run game. "If we can pound it and get 5 yards a shot, that's what we're gonna do and keep ball possession."

Yreka's Manny Barragan, Anderson's Colt Little and Enterprise's Chace Taylor figure to rotate in the backfield, and West Valley's Josh Barrett is the man taking the snaps at quarterback.

Barrett, who's headed to NAIA Southern Virginia University to play football, said he's had to adjust to new offensive schemes, different than the Eagles' Fly offense.

"It's just a whole different offense, but the coaches have been taking it really slow and getting us used to it," he said. "Footwork-wise, it's different handoffs and where you need to drop back on passes and how far."

When he throws, his two most-recognized targets are both college recruits. Red Bluff's Cole McKenzie is headed for Southern Oregon and had a monster season for the Spartans, while Trinity's Kurtis Cartwright will also see lots of time before he heads to Division II Humboldt State.

The South is confident in its skill players, coach Cullen Meyer has said all along. And his linemen, though smaller, bring many accolades with them. All-state lineman Ryan Gates from Paradise will team with Bobcats teammate Chris Crabtree and Chico High standout Anthony (A.J.) Jones. Meyer said he's particularly high on Jones.

"His speed off the ball is something I don't know I've seen at this level," Meyer said of the aspiring Butte College player.

Behind the line, Meyer will have Sutter's Jon Garcia at quarterback. The 6-foot, 190-pound QB also starred as a wrestler in high school and Meyer said he'll bring loads of versatility to the South attack.

"He's a Wing-T quarterback that really could thrive in any system," Meyer said. "He could have been an all-section quarterback running anything."

Wheatland's Malcolm Webb figures to get a lot of carries, Meyer said, as will Dane Turner, a coach's son from Sutter who is headed to Boise State after scoring 24 touchdowns this year.

The South also boasts two outstanding small-school receivers.

Willows' Cody Pastorino and Durham's Richard Galvin each surpassed 1,000 yards receiving. They're joined by Marysville's Matt Horsfall, a Sac-Joaquin Section performer, and Quincy's Trey Ross.

Wood stopped short of saying nothing but a win will equal success.

Still, he made it clear that his boys want to win and stop the South's two-game winning streak.

"We want to make sure everyone gets lots of playing time and we want them to end on a positive note," Wood said. "All that being said, we want it to end positive on a winning note."

The North leads the all-time series 16-14-1, but lost 27-19 last year on a late South touchdown at Oroville's Harrison Stadium.

Reporter Leland Gordon can be reached at 225-8263 or lgordon@redding.com.

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Lake College...A good job...Thanks, Posted April 04, 2009 at 10:23 AM ronlargent Lake College in Redding has done a great job helping many....thanks for being part of our community...and here is to hope the new Technology Institute can carry on as Lake has... Denver firm takes over Redding's troubled Lake College By Scott Mobley (Contact) Saturday, April 4, 2009 A Denver-based firm has taken over Lake College, the private vocational school whose financial troubles and possible sale have been rumored since early January. The college closed Friday and promptly reopened as the Institute of Technology. Students arrived on the Redcliff Drive campus Friday morning to find a large banner announcing the school's new name covering the Lake College logo on the white, two-story building. Lake College students were told Friday they will be able to complete their certificate programs at the Institute of Technology through a "teach out" program under an agreement approved by the federal Department of Education and the national Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). The Institute of Technology has its headquarters campus in Clovis with branches in Modesto and Roseville. The school seeks federal permission to open a branch in Redding at the former Lake College campus. Jim Haga, CEO of Brightstar Education Group, the firm that owns the Institute of Technology, said there are "big plans" to expand program offerings in Redding once branch approval is granted. Brightstar will first swap out all of Lake College's computers for new machines. Soon, crews will start remodeling the Redcliff Drive building to create 5,000 square feet more of classroom space inside, said Haga, a former Kaplan Higher Education executive. The firm intends to hire more instructors and staff as it boosts enrollment from the current 140 students to about 250 students over the next year, he said. Brightstar hopes eventually to add associate degree programs in criminal justice, accounting and human resources at its Redding branch. The firm also plans technician certificates in pharmacy and heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC). The Institute of Technology has gotten state Board of Vocational Nursing permission to offer a licensed vocational nursing program at the Redding location, once the branch is approved, Haga said. Brightstar would pay for students to take their nursing boards, he said. Richard Schofield, who was vice president at Lake College and will continue in a similar capacity at the Institute of Technology, called the Brightstar takeover a "step in the right direction." "For a long time we had limited resources," Schofield said. "This will allow us to offer a much higher quality of education." Lake College students are relieved they're going to be able to finish the programs they started, said Kathi Daily, student services adviser. She described the change in the college as "exactly what Redding needs." Nursing student Rick Ortega said he initially had questions about the teach-out agreement forms students received Friday. Students have been asked to sign and return these forms within 10 days. Ortega said he was suspicious after a long silence from campus administrators about what was happening with the college. Instructors had gone weeks without pay during the transition and no adequate explanation was given, Ortega noted. But Ortega said he's confident the teach-out agreement with the Institute of Technology is legitimate after further conversations Friday with administrators, who were finally free to talk openly since the federal Department of Education had approved the takeover. "It looks like maybe things really worked out," Ortega said. "Hopefully it will turn out to be a big success. I feel extremely good about it, but I'm still really upset the transparency wasn't there, especially since no sale went through." Haga confirmed Brightstar never actually bought Lake College, although the firm tried to strike a deal with owners Jim Koenig and Gary Armitage. Koenig, a Redding real estate investor, and Armitage, a former Santa Rosa-based financial planner, are named in multiple lawsuits claiming investor fraud. The two men also face possible indictment by the state Attorney General's Office for an alleged Ponzi scheme involving $250 million and some 2,000 mostly elderly investors. The Redcliff Drive building was headquarters for Koenig's firm, Asset Real Estate Investment Co. (AREI), until it moved in late 2006 to a new building less than a mile away on Hemsted Drive. Koenig owned the Red- cliff building until February, when it transferred to Lakeside Mortgage Fund LLC through a trustees deed foreclosure, according to Shasta County Assessor records. Lakeside has been another Koenig-related corporation, and Koenig at one point earlier this decade briefly took over the firm. But Koenig has no current control of the Redcliff Drive building, Haga said. Brightstar will lease the building from Lakeside and remodel it with that firm's permission, he said. There are no plans for Brightstar to own its Redding campus. Brightstar made the first overture to Koenig and Armitage to buy the Lake College business, which was struggling financially. The Institute of Technology had three central valley campuses and a fourth made sense from an operations standpoint, Haga said. Haga declined to comment on his negotiations with Koenig and Armitage or describe the deal with the federal government in detail. "Lake closed and we partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to conduct a teach-out of their students at our expense," Haga said in an e-mail. The Institute of Technology will keep "the majority" of Lake College instructors through the teach-out period, he said. Lake had laid off at least three employees in a restructuring before the takeover. Those employees could apply to work at the Institute of Technology, Haga said. But any outstanding payment obligations of Lake to its employees stay with Lake College, he said. "Whatever happened, happened in the past," Haga said. "Lake College is closed." Jennifer Bare, a Clinical Medical Assisting and Medical Office Administration and Billing instructor, has filed a wage claim against Lake College with the state Department of Industrial Relations for $4,137.86 in back pay owed since early January, records show. Bare was the only Lake College employee to file a wage claim as of Thursday, said Erika Monterroza, public information officer with the state Department of Industrial Relations. Martha West, a University of California at Davis law professor, said the Institute of Technology teach-out agreement with the federal government sounds like it's designed to protect tuition-paying students but not necessarily school employees. "These people are just left high and dry," West said of instructors. "They have to get in line with the other creditors." Brightstar Education Group, founded in 2004, plans to expand in California and other states with a $50 million capital investment from parent company Arlington Capital Partners, a private equity firm, according to the firm's Web site. The three Institute of Technology campuses are ACCSCT-accredited and offer medical, business, technical, culinary and other vocational programs. Lake College was also ACCSCT-accredited. Reporter Scott Mobley can be reached at 225-8220 or at smobley@redding.com. This was in the Record Searchlight today....thanks, Scott. www.ronlargent.com www.ronlargent@kw.com

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Posted April 04, 2009 at 09:37 AM ronlargent This just came to me from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA.org)....and is worth reading if you are concerned about taxes and what is happening in California.... As a Spending Limit, Prop. 1A Does Not Cut It March 30, 2009 Jon Coupal and Michael Reagan Speaking before a meeting of over a thousand members of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in 1992, former President Ronald Reagan told the audience, "We tax reformers bear our scars proudly." The recipient of the Howard Jarvis Lifetime Tax Fighter award was referring to his own effort to control spending, Proposition 1, which was rejected by voters in 1973. Among the key elements of the Reagan limit was that spending from "proceeds of taxes" would have been limited to the then current percentage of state personal income, less .01 percent annually for 7 years and would then stabilize at that level. "I think taxpayers are fed up with big government continually digging into their pockets for more and more," Governor Reagan said at the time. After Proposition 1 was defeated at the polls, pundits speculated that the result was due to its "complexity." And of course it didn't help that the California Teachers Association and public employee unions dug deep into their wallets to assure the defeat of a measure that would retard the growth of government. But five years later, Sacramento's continued emphasis on spending rather than the burden this was placing on struggling taxpayers, resulted in the overwhelming passage of Proposition 13, with enthusiastic support from Ronald Reagan -- he voiced radio spots supporting the measure -- and, one year later in 1979, the Gann Spending limit. The Gann measure, known as the "Spirit of 13" initiative, limited government spending to the percentage change in inflation and population growth or the change in per capita personal income, whichever was lower. That the Gann limit was substantive was proven in 1987 when taxpayers received a rebate check after revenues surpassed the spending cap. However, the success of the Gann limit proved to be its undoing. In 1990, transportation interests placed Proposition 111 on the ballot, a gas tax increase that was accompanied by extravagant promises that it would end freeway congestion. But Prop. 111 was just one more bait and switch scheme. Because the new tax revenues would be so substantial that they would run afoul of the Gann limit, backers of the new tax buried in the measure a reconfiguration of the way the limit was calculated. Unknown to many at the time, passage of the 111 transportation "panacea" made the Gann limit nothing more than an archaic curiosity. Without enforced spending discipline, the state ran up a $38 billion deficit under Gov. Gray Davis, and now another $42 billion under Gov. Schwarzenegger. Now we are being told by those who created these astounding deficits -- the governor and the majority of the Legislature -- that we must approve their version of a "spending limit," Proposition 1A on the May 19 special election ballot, to compel them to behave responsibly. One is reminded of the serial murderer who leaves a message for police saying, "Stop me before I kill again!" While they admit that they have no control over their spending impulses the solution they offer would actually allow continued increases in spending without any connection to the taxpayer's ability to provide revenue. Proposition 1A ties spending to income, income which can be increased under the measure through new taxes. The State Constitution already requires a balanced budget, so the only effect would be a reiterate the same requirement, one that is already being ignored with impunity. It is ironic to note that many of the same entities, who objected to Ronald Reagan's firm spending cap in 1973, including the California Teachers Association, are now backing Proposition 1A. This is a clear indication that the 1A spending limit is a phony. So just why are the governor and most legislators pushing so hard for Proposition 1A and its ineffectual spending cap? Well, in addition to allowing them to claim that they are dealing with the spending issue, it includes a very real $16 billion tax increase. The tax increases approved in February, which will begin appropriately on April 1, are scheduled to sunset in two years. If Proposition 1A passes, the taxes will remain in effect for an additional two years, costing Californians another $16 billion according to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office. Gov. Schwarzenegger, we know spending limits and your Proposition 1A is no spending limit. Proposition 1A is just another grab for the taxpayer's wallet. Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Michael Reagan is a political consultant and eldest son of our 40th President, Ronald Reagan. www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com