2013 Column Kendal Rautzhan Archive Stories

Yuba City resident Paul Hughes wiped tears away from his eyes on Sunday as he listened to the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony for the Freedom's Heroes War on Terror Memorial. For Hughes, a wounded Vietnam War veteran, hearing about someone else's fight with post-traumatic stress disorder hit close to home. "In our hearts, we're s

Max Smith wanted to cut down the old tree in his back yard. He wanted to cut his lawn, clean up his bushes and clear out the weeds, tall grass and bottles and cans others left in his yard. "I was going to do it, but I got all sick," the 86-year-old retired U.S. Air Force veteran said. He cares about the Olivehurst home on Brougha

WASHINGTON — Soon there will be fewer sick New Yorkers riding the subway, serving food in restaurants, or infecting their classmates, after the New York City Council recently decided to require local businesses to give workers time off if they are ill or have to care for a sick child. But mandatory sick leave, hailed as a progressi

A suspicious fire destroyed everything in a Linda home on Sunday, two days after an occupant's brother was sentenced to 13 years in Yuba County Jail, officials with the Fire Department said. Residents Matthew Pace, 21, and Robin Elliott, 32, were uninjured in the blaze, which started in a car trailer filled with personal belongings on th

FELONY ARRESTS Russell H. Peek, 39, of the 1500 block of Palm View Drive, Marysville, was arrested by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department at 11:30 a.m. May 18 on the 200 block of Fifth Street on suspicion of making threats to commit a crime and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He was booked into the Yuba County Jail

On Highway 70 between Fifth and east 24th streets, Caltrans reports motorists can expect various east and westbound lane closures from 9 p.m.-6 a.m. through Thursday. A contractor is scheduled to do miscellaneous work. Also, preparation work continues on a $48 million project for highways 70 and 20 to replace sections of road through Mar

Name: Merissa Silva. Age: 20. Family: Family of 10. Me and my two sisters were adopted. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: Full-time student at Yuba College. Hobbies, interests: Listening to music and reading. What brought you to the Yuba-Sutter? My cousins adopted me, so that's what brought me here

Q: Is it legal for motorcyclists to ride between vehicles that are waiting at stop lights? A: Yes, the practice sometimes referred to as "lane splitting" or "lane sharing" is allowed in California, in a "safe and prudent manner," the California Highway Patrol says. It's probably a good time to discuss a motorcycle issue; this bei

The Heritage Foundation recently issued a comprehensive report showing that Sen. Marco Rubio's plan to instantly legalize 11.5 million illegal immigrants would add $6.3 trillion to the nation's budget deficits over the next 50 years. Heritage assumed there are 11.5 million illegals, but other estimates put the number at 33 million, which would m

California's Legislature has declared war on gun owners. Currently, there is a bevy of new laws passing through Sacramento that will affect gun ownership in a myriad ways from restricting the purchase of ammunition to removing access to one's own gun in one's own home. Some of these bills will either create felons out of law abid

Homelessness is on the minds of several Yuba-Sutter agencies and individuals this month with the recent seventh annual Homeless Summit and the Homeless One Stop planned for Friday. More than 800 people in the area are reported as homeless, said John Floe, prevention services coordinator for Sutter-Yuba Mental Health Services. Of those, 1

At least 10 of the 11 officers and deputies involved in last month's deadly shooting of a Cleveland man in Yuba City returned to duty earlier this month. Officials from the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, the Yuba City Police Department and the California Highway Patrol confirmed their officers returned to work around May 10. S

After some uncertainty, Marysville's Friday Night Market is back on. The Marysville Business Improvement District on Monday scrapped the market, claiming it could not go forward without the support of downtown businesses. In late April, a petition was sent to the City Council from downtown business members to dissolve the distric

Pet owners converged on Saturday in Wheatland for the 89th annual Pet Parade. Dogs, horses, goats and every other kind of animal walked the streets of Wheatland for the event, which began at the park on Sixth and Main streets. Vendors, a photo booth and pet groomers were also present. The Wheatland Lions sponsored the par

This is a fish tale. Izabella Pacheco is just a little taller than the big fat catfish she caught on Saturday morning at Ellis Lake. "We caught it because of the lucky hot dogs," the 5-year-old Live Oak girl said. Izabella, her sister, Monica, and their father, Michael, had been casting hooked nightcrawlers into the dark,

This Week in Local History May 19 to May 25 100 years George Elling and Thomas Canon, the two striking electrical workers who were released from the Sutter County jail on $1,500 bail each, after being arrested on the charge of tampering with the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wires near Live Oak, were a

Colusa and Sutter counties had the second and third highest jobless rates in the state last month, the Employment Development Department said Friday. Colusa County's 19.9 percent was just behind Imperial County's 24 percent, worst in the state. Sutter County ranked third at 16.4 percent. Yuba County ranked ninth at 13.6 p

A Yuba City man suffered major injuries Saturday morning when his vehicle crashed into an irrigation canal in Sutter County while he was driving drunk, the California Highway Patrol reported. Narcissi Garcia-Mendez, 35, was transported to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento just after 6 a.m. with internal injuries, the CHP said.

A bizarre case of drug-fueled highway violence and harassment ended in Sutter County early Saturday after authorities said the teenage suspect led them on a high-speed chase. Misti Mathers, 19, of Glencoe (Calaveras County), allegedly followed another motorist for nearly 80 miles, tailgating the driver from Lodi all the way to Sutter Cou

Yuba City firefighters want to teach you to fight digital fires. "We want to make sure we can reach as many residents and business owners as possible," Fire Marshal Jim Mathews said. "If we can reach people through education first, maybe they won't have to see us show up at their house with a real fire truck." A $4,000 donation f

Sutter County sheriff's deputies took one look at video surveillance of a break-in at the Live Oak Market early Friday and recognized the 14-year-old suspected burglar, authorities said. The teenager has been contacted by law enforcement before, sheriff's spokeswoman Brenda Baker confirmed. Deputies responded around 1 a.m. to a b

Felony Arrests Alexander J. Martinez, 32, of the 1300 block of Dustin Drive, Yuba City, was arrested by the Yuba City Police Department at 1:10 a.m. May 17 at his home on suspicion of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He was booked into the Sutter County Jail. Tiffany M. Rieser, 31, of the 800 block of Cooper

Rarely since the Civil War have state officials anywhere in America been as close to openly defying federal authority as Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature are today. Brown averted a constitutional crisis in mid-May, when he acceded to the demand of a three-judge federal court panel and submitted a plan to reduce the state prison popul