2013 Column Kevin Cotter Archive Stories

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

A few more thoughts about the Mosquito Beach access cut-off: Another major issue concerning Mosquito Beach access road, aside from the fact it makes that walk very difficult for some people (elderly, disabled, children, etc.), is security. Yes, they put a small parking lot outside the gate, but you won't be able to keep an eye on your ve

In defense of Margaret Thatcher: She rescued her country from the decades of decline following World War II. Her economic policies came to be known as Thatcherism and were adopted by some 50 other nations. She restored Great Britain to prosperity and greatness. She believed in the reality of right and wrong. She brought under control the powerfu

We couldn't help but feel proud of the folks working as greeters and servers, general aides and speakers — all of them clients — during a Salvation Army Yuba-Sutter dinner Tuesday. Attendees were toured around facilities — the corps building (church), the transitional housing development, and the Depot Family Crisis Center.

Yuba Community College graduate Jeni Alcantar has one thing on her mind now. "Jobs, jobs, jobs," the 25-year-old Radiological Technology alumnus said. "I want to get that first paycheck." Alcantar, a Chico native, was one of more than 200 Yuba College students who graduated Friday at a ceremony on the campus football field. A tot

After more than 12 years of legal wrangling, federal officials earlier this week placed 40 acres of Yuba County land into trust for the proposed Enterprise Rancheria casino. Glenda Nelson, chairwoman of the Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe, said Friday it was significant milestone. "It took an awfully long time and a lot of rigorous work

Almost everybody wants Linda's Markus Lee Pace behind prison bars. "He deserves to go to prison. That's where he belongs," Pace's mother, Heide, said Friday. But Pace, 26, is not going to prison. Instead, he was sentenced to nearly 14 years in the Yuba County Jail for stealing more than six vehicles, including five in one

A Yuba City man charged with embezzling money from an elementary school parents group surrendered earlier this week to authorities in Yolo County. Jonathan Tyler Burton, 30, was booked late Thursday into the Yolo County jail on a $25,000 warrant accusing him with felony counts of identity theft and grand theft in connection with the alle

Calvary Christian Center is opening its Freedom Heroes War on Terror outdoor memorial — which honors American servicemen and women who have died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — with a dedication on Sunday at the church. The 20 panels of the memorial bear the names of the 6,999 people who have died since the beginning of the

A Yuba City union manager and his wife were sentenced to prison in federal court in Sacramento on Friday for misappropriating at least $120,000. U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. sentenced Robert L. Carr, 58, to two years and six months in prison and his wife, Theresa Ann Carr, 55, received three months, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B

A lion, a leopard, a cape buffalo. Oh, my. They are three of the most exotic animals Grady Miller has worked on during his seven-year career as a taxidermist, but none of them measure up to his most recent project — a 16-foot giraffe. "When someone walks in the door and says, 'Oh my gosh, that is incredible,' that gives me