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Local News

• Sac PD, DUI force target St. Patrick's Day



They won't be wearing green, but Sacramento Police Department officers will conduct DUI operations this weekend and on St. Patrick's Day.

The Police Department will join with a special DUI task force for operations on the holiday.

Sacramento police officers will conduct a DUI and driver's license check in the downtown area this weekend.

On Wednesday, the date of the holiday, the Avoid the Capitol 15 DUI Task Force, made up of officers from the California Highway Patrol and other agencies, and the Sacramento Police Department's DUI enforcement team will be patrolling city streets.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• Gus Vina named Sacramento's interim city manager




Acting City Manager Gus Vina speaks at the mayor's weekly press conference at City Hall on Tuesday, March 2, 2010.

Acting Sacramento City Manager Gus Vina was elevated to interim city manager today.

In announcing Vina's appointment, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Vina will hold the post for the next 9 to 12 months until a permanent replacement is picked by the mayor and council.

Vina was named acting city manager last week to replace City Manager Ray Kerridge, whose last day is Friday.

The mayor said Vina was chosen because of his background in the city's budget process and labor negotiations.

As an assistant city manager under Kerridge, Vina oversaw the budgets of the police and fire departments.

Vina said the city faces challenges but that "I don't plan to squander this opportunity."

• $62 million UC Davis center puts Sacramento at hub of stem cell research




Jan Nolta, director of the new UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures, discusses the state-of-the-art hot-cells device, left, at the new facility housed in a former State Fair exhibit hall on Stockton Boulevard. The device generates radio tracers to locate cancer stem cells before they form a tumor, Nolta said.

A hub for regenerative medical research opens today in Sacramento, putting the University of California, Davis, in the forefront of stem cell research.

UC Davis already is testing dozens of therapies in the laboratory, such as HIV treatments and organ regeneration, and is even using stem cells to repair injuries in horses.

The new $62 million UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures will consolidate those efforts, which are scattered in various locations in the region. The center will bring 200 scientists and laboratory personnel together under one roof.

Experts say the new center reflects where medical advances are heading.

"Regenerative medicine will take us into a whole new era of medicine, especially personalized medicine, because we can make a cell line for each patient," said Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis stem cell institute.

The red brick building a few blocks south of UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento will be the first of a dozen major laboratories to open in California, funded in part by Proposition 71 of 2004. The initiative, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, authorized $3 billion in bonds.

The new institute, housed in a former California State Fair exhibit hall on Stockton Boulevard, received $20 million from the state's agency in charge of stem cell funding – the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Outside, the 1940s structure has arches and Corinthian columns. Inside, it sports 90,000 square feet of hallways and pure-white state-of-the-art research facilities.

Giant tanks of liquid nitrogen store stem cells, and the researchers will work at rows and rows of laboratory benches.

Powerful filters hum and change the air every minute to discourage contamination. A normal cubic foot of air has 35 million dirt particles. This lab has fewer than 10,000.

"When we start working here in a month, we're going to have to wear all sorts of coverings and masks," said Nolta, one of America's top stem cell researchers with more than 20 years of research experience.

A year ago, President Barack Obama lifted a ban on embryonic stem cell research that was imposed by former President George W. Bush.

But UC Davis now is moving away from using embryonic stem cells, Nolta said. Instead, researchers have found that skin cells have the ability to function much like embryonic stem cells.

Lab designer Gerhard Bauer said skin cells can produce a more favorable outcome.

"With skin cells we can make a personalized stem cell line, so there is no chance the patient would reject the stem cells," he said.

Bauer hopes to get the skin cell technique to clinical trials within five years.

The opening of California's first major center comes as national policy and public acceptance of stem cell research has shifted, observers said Tuesday.

Robert Klein, who conceived, wrote and led the campaign for Prop. 71, said the change has been sweeping. He cited three examples:

• First, the scientific community has identified new therapies it believes will be successful in treating a number of chronic diseases. The therapies are expected to reach human trials within 48 months.

• Second, $270 million in bond funds combined with another $880 million of donor, institutional and matching funds are financing the new stem cell centers, most attached to the UC system.

• Third, he said, there has been a "broad-based global validation" of California's leadership in the field, with more than a half dozen nations seeking collaboration and bilateral funding of some projects.

Judy Roberson, president of the Northern California chapter of the Huntington's Disease Society of America, said stem cell research is more accepted. Her husband died from Huntington's in 2003 at age 51.

"Before, people used to think of stem cells only as embryonic," she said. "Now there are a lot more types of cells. And people are starting to listen."

Acceptance grew, too, with the personal stories of well-known public figures who sought the benefits that stem cell research could bring.

The late Christopher Reeve, who became a quadriplegic after he was thrown from a horse, was perhaps the best known advocate for research to treat spinal injuries.

Actor Michael J. Fox has promoted stem cell research to aid those with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

Lisa Hughes, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research in Washington, D.C., said both have been powerful persuaders of public opinion.

She said Obama's decision to reverse Bush's policy on embryonic stem cell research was pivotal.

"Just lifting that policy alone has breathed new life into the research community, and there is a sense they can move forward now, supported by the federal government," Hughes said.

California isn't the only state paying for stem cell research. New York is spending $600 million, said John Robson of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The California institute reports that it has funded more than 425 discoveries being published in scientific journals, each discovery moving closer to new therapies.

At UC Davis, dozens of therapies are being tested. Nolta, the stem cell institute director, described the process of using bone marrow cells for damaged hearts with a bit of awe.

"We put the stem cells into the bloodstream through an IV bag, and the stem cells find the injured area and repair it," she said. "It's really amazing."


Don Cross climbs up to secure a banner welcoming visitors to today's grand opening of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures in Sacramento. The facility boasts 90,000 square feet of hallways and state-of-the-art research facilities.


Jose Nunez, of Classic Party Rentals, aligns one of 400 chairs being set up for today's grand opening of the $62 million laboratory for stem cell research, funded in part by 2004's Proposition 71.

• Sacramento's new auditor will dive into development department probe



For the first time in nearly a year, the city of Sacramento has an auditor to look at its books.

Jorge Oseguera began his appointment as city auditor Monday and will immediately dive into the ongoing examination of the embattled development department.

Hired from a crop of three finalists by a unanimous City Council vote late last month, Oseguera will be involved in finding a third-party auditor to look at the development department amid reports of uncollected developer fees and other issues.

Once the third-party auditor is chosen, Oseguera will help oversee the examination of the department.

The city has been without an auditor since former auditor Marty Kolkin left for a job in Santa Monica last May. When he left, Kolkin had been scheduled to audit the development department, the city's health care costs and overtime granted to the police and fire departments.

Councilman Steve Cohn, who chairs a City Council audit committee, said he expected Oseguera would have a work plan of his own in place by July. In the meantime, Oseguera, a former auditor for the city of San Jose, is expected to assist in Sacramento's budget process in addition to the development department probe.

"I have felt for a long time that we need internal auditors and external auditors because there's waste, fraud and abuse," Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a news conference Tuesday introducing Oseguera. "And when you can get those people in place, it becomes proactive."

Oseguera will report directly to the mayor and City Council. Past auditors had reported to the city manager, who played a role in developing the auditor's list of projects each year.

• Man in motorized wheelchair struck, killed by vehicle while crossing road



A 66-year-old Sacramento man died Tuesday evening after being struck by a vehicle near Norwood and Jessie avenues in the Robla area of Sacramento, police said.

Sgt. Norm Leong said the man, who was in a motorized wheelchair, was crossing east on Norwood north of Jessie outside of the crosswalk about 7:30 p.m. when the collision happened.

A 67-year-old motorist driving a white Subaru Outback was northbound on Norwood and struck the wheelchair, police said.

The man, whose name was not released, was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where he died, Leong said.

Police said the driver is cooperating with the investigation.

• Appetizers: Grand opening set for Cafeteria 15L



The wait is almost over to see the rebirth of an upscale Sacramento restaurant that's being turned into an urban eats spot.

Cafeteria 15L, formerly Mason's, will hold its grand opening on April 6, with proceeds from the event benefiting a Hope Productions Foundation, a local nonprofit that provides fundraising and marketing resources for youth and children's charities.

The downtown restaurant is transforming itself due to the economy's toll on fine dining restaurants.

As Bee columnist Bob Shallit reported in January, the decor, menu and pricing all will shift to encompass the restaurant's "urban casual" feel.

The new menu will include dishes like buttermilk-battered fried chicken, meatloaf and sausage-filled corn dogs, Shallit wrote.

The Cafeteria 15L reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. and includes live music by "Utz! & the Shuttlecocks," hosted food and a no-host bar.

Tickets are $45 in advance and $55 at the door. For tickets, go to Hope Productions' Web site or call (916) 782-4673.

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Regional News

• Sacramento man jailed for allegedly terrorizing ex-girlfriend



A Sacramento man sits in the Sacramento jail on $75,000 bail after being accused of stalking and assaulting his former girlfriend, according to jail records and a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department crime summary released this week.

As the victim was sitting in her vehicle at the intersection of Coloma Road and Sunrise Boulevard, Neil Robinson, 28, allegedly jumped into the backseat on Feb. 26, the report states.

He allegedly told the woman to drive him home or he would kill himself. However, the women drove to a nearby parking lot where there were people around and asked for help.

Deputies were called and Robinson was arrested, the summary states.

The victim told deputies that she was in the process of getting a restraining order against Robinson and had sought help at Women Escaping a Violent Environment, or WEAVE. She said she feared Robinson would harm her.

She said she dated Robinson for about a year and had spent the last six months trying to break up, according to the summary.

Robinson is being held on suspicion of four felony and one misdemeanor count, according to jail records.

• Ask Sacto911: Man pleaded no contest in Gold River slaying



Q: What happened in the case of someone being stabbed to death last year on Prospect Hill Drive in Gold River? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: Daniel Ortega pleaded no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter on Nov. 4 in the stabbing death of Martin Ramirez, according to court records and Bee reports.

He received a sentence of one year in jail and five years probation, court records show.

Ortega and Ramirez argued at a residence in the 1100 block of Prospect Hill Drive early in the morning of April 11, investigators said.

Ortega then stabbed Ramirez, investigators said.

• Sac sheriff says arrested on-call deputy resigns from force




Eric Maurice Cephus, an on-call sheriff's deputy, was arraigned in Placer Superior Court on one felony count each of lewd acts on a child under 14 and transporting a person for a sex act.

The on-call Sacramento County sheriff's deputy accused of picking up a 13-year-old girl he met on duty and having sex with her in a Lincoln hotel is no longer employed by the Sheriff's Department, authorities said today.

Sheriff John McGinnness confirmed that Eric Cephus, who remains in custody in Placer County, resigned from the Sheriff's Department on Friday.

Lincoln police arrested the 39-year-old Cephus on March 2 at his San Jose home. He was arraigned two days later on one felony count each of lewd acts with a child under the age of 14 and transporting a person for a sex act.

Cephus was working a contract shift for a north Sacramento County parks district - meaning he was in uniform and driving a marked patrol car, but his work was paid for by the parks district - the night of Feb. 26 when he allegedly met his victim.

After his shift ended, Cephus and the girl allegedly drove to a Lincoln hotel and had sex. Police have not said whether the sex was forced or whether Cephus paid the victim.

• Sacramento drunken killer, road-rage slayer due parole hearings



A man who killed an 18-year-old while he was drunk and a man who shot to death another motorist in an act of road rage are among Sacramento area convicts who have paroles hearings scheduled next week.

They are:

-March 18, Kenneth Roy Stark, 55, Mule Creek State Prison.

A Yolo County Superior Court judge sentenced Stark to life in prison for the June 13, 1985 beating death of a homeless man, The Bee reported.

The body of Ronald Eugene Meyers, 42, was dumped in a Yolo Bypass field.

-March 18, Ralph Kendall Blasingame IV, 34, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Blasingame to 19-year-to-life in prison for fatally shooting an 18-year-old stranger in a drunken act of bravado, The Bee reported.

Blasingame killed Sean Michael Renfro with a single bullet fired from 100 feet at a car leaving a river party late at night on Oct. 16, 1993.

According to testimony, someone had shouted an obscenity and Blasingame, who was standing on the road, mistakenly thought the passing Honda was filled with people he and his friends had tangled with earlier that night. He claimed to have fired wildly into the night, never knowing he hit anything.

-March 18, Thongsanh Phongsavat, 34, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Phongsavat to 18-year-to-life in prison on April 26, 1996 for shooting and killing a motorist in a driving dispute on Interstate 80, The Bee reported.

Killed during the rush hour as he exited Interstate 80 at Northgate Boulevard on Oct. 10, 1995, was Brit C. Bahn, 24. Bahn and his brother, Chad, 25, were driving from Woodland to a store to return a television.

Bahn was hit in the temple with a single rifle shot fired from a Honda in which Phongsavat was riding as a passenger.

The incident began on I-5 when the Honda was tailgating the truck, and the occupants became embroiled in an exchange of gestures and racial slurs.

-March 18, John Lee Hart, 52, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Hart to life in prison for shooting to death Charles Mojeske, 22, of Sacramento at his home in 4200 block of May Street, The Bee reported.

The July 27, 1991 attack also resulted in injuries to two of the victim's brothers, neither of whom was hurt seriously.

Hart shot Mojeske when he opened the door to his house. Testimony showed that Mojeske earlier had been involved in a fight with Hart's 15-year-old brother.

-March 19, James Elmer Harmon, 69, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Harmon to life plus 17 years in April 1987 for a kidnap-robbery with a couple of accomplices that netted them $3,000, The Bee reported.

Harmon hit the victim with a pipe in the September 1986 crime.

Harmon had an extensive criminal history going back to 1959. The deputy district attorney who prosecuted him for the kidnap-robbery was the son of the deputy district attorney who won a conviction of Harmon in 1960.

If you want to give your opinion of an inmate's suitability for parole, you may mail a letter to:

Martin Hoshino, executive director

Board of Parole Hearings

1515 K Street

Sacramento, CA 95811

For more information on the Board of Parole Hearings, go to:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/BOPH/

• Sac sheriff: Woman arrested in imprisonment, torture of man



A Sacramento woman accused of beating a man and holding him against his will was being held in lieu of $1 million bail tonight at the Sacramento County Jail.

Kathlyne Alycia Smart, 46, of Sacramento, was arrested late Friday by Sacramento Sheriff's deputies on suspicion of torture with intent to cause cruel or extreme pain, false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon with the likelihood of causing great bodily harm after deputies were called to an apartment in the 5100 block of Andrea Boulevard, said Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

Neighbors told deputies they heard sounds of screaming coming from the apartment about 10:50 p.m. Friday, Curran said.

Deputies arrived to find a 41-year-old man who said he was being held against his will. It was unknown how long the man had been held.

Curran said the man had been beaten and burned and was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.

Curran did not know the extent of the pair's relationship, but said the two were acquainted.

Smart is scheduled to appear Tuesday in Sacramento County Superior Court.

• Sacramento postal worker indicted for worker's comp fraud



A federal grand jury has indicted a 46-year-old Sacramento postal worker for allegedly illegally claiming $278,000 in workers' compensation benefits, according to the U.S. attorney Benjamin Wagner.

The 15-count indictment issued earlier this week alleges that Nicki Lee Buxmann falsely claimed to have been injured on the job and then denied she had outside employment and income, Wagner said in a news release.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel Loomis Rimon, who is prosecuting the case, the indictment alleges that Buxmann defrauded the Postal Service by claiming that she had injured her back, neck, and shoulder while on the job and then denying that she had outside employment and income while receiving benefits.

The indictment alleges that Buxmann owned and operated TNT Takeover/MMA Boxing and Fitness 180 businesses in Elk Grove and Roseville, Rimon said.

Buxmann is also charged with separate counts of theft of U.S. property and false statements or fraud to obtain employee's compensation, Rimon said.

The case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service's Office of Inspector General, Wagner said.

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National News

• Women fliers honored 65 years after war

Some 65 years after their service, a group of former civilian women pilots whose unheralded work was key to helping the U.S. effort in World War II were honored Wednesday with the Congressional Gold Medal.


• Air traffic jams in New York likely to jump

Flying in and out of New York -- which is usually no picnic -- is likely to get worse this spring and summer. A new nationwide rule on tarmac delays, possible exemptions to that rule and a runway closure may create a perfect storm for air travelers when bad weather is added to the mix.


• Chief Justice slams State of the Union 'pep rally'

Simmering tension between the White House and U.S. Supreme Court spilled into public this week when Chief Justice John Roberts labeled the political atmosphere at this year's State of the Union address "very troubling."


• Police: 'Jihad Jane' attempted suicide in '05

Colleen LaRose, the Pennsylvania woman indicted for allegedly conspiring to support terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country, attempted to commit suicide in 2005, according to a police report filed at the time.


• N.Y. State Police lose second chief in 2 weeks

New York state's top police official announced Wednesday he was quitting, the second acting superintendent to step down in as many weeks.


• Obama pledges to continue Haiti aid, says situation 'remains dire'

President Obama met Wednesday with Haitian President Rene Preval to discuss relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

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