Briefs: $625K OK'd for Yuba City bike lanes
Yuba City
$625K OK'd for bike lanes
The California Transportation Commission approved $625,000 for Yuba City on Tuesday to improve bicycle lanes along Butte House and Pease roads.
Funds will be used to expand road shoulder widths to accommodate bikeways along Butte House Road, between Madison and Tharp roads; and on Pease Road, between Stabler Lane and Live Oak Boulevard.
The commission said the projects will close gaps in bicycle/pedestrian routes, connect bicyclists and pedestrians to activity centers, increase the number of bicycle and walking trips, and improve safety/security for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Washington, DC
Garamendi backs jobs bill
US Rep. John Garamendi is pushing for a bill in Congress to require transportation infrastructure projects to be built with domestic materials and labor as much as and whenever possible.
The Invest in American Jobs Act of 2013 is sponsored by US Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and supported by Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove. Both are members of the House Transportation Committee.
"We have 70,000 structurally deficient bridges in this country, an infrastructure rated D by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and construction workers still suffering from the lasting effects of the Great Recession that began in 2007," Garamendi said in a release announcing his support for the bill. "In short, we have work that needs doing and workers ready to do it."
Yuba County
Man in shooting out of jail
An Olivehurst man charged with attempted murder is out on bail.
Joe Buck Stockton pleaded not guilty on Monday in the attempted murder of James E. Phipps during a dispute Thursday on Stockton's property in the 4700 block of Chippewa Trail.
Stockton, 79, admitted firing three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun at Phipps from about 25 feet away during an argument over a locked gate on Stockton's property, but missed. The fight stemmed from some type of ongoing "landlord-tenant eviction," according to a probable cause statement from the Yuba County Sheriff's Department.
Phipps, 57, suffered a small head laceration while running away, but was otherwise unhurt, the Sheriff's Department said.
Stockton is scheduled to appear again March 20 in Yuba County Superior Court.
Yuba City
Artists' reception on Thursday
Michelle Zearfoss and Agnes Laurent are the featured artists this month at The Theater Gallery, 752 Plumas St., Yuba City.
An artists' reception is from 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday at the gallery.
The work is on display through the end of March.
Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday to Friday.
Smartsville
Volunteers sought for historical figures
Volunteers are sought to play historical characters at the Smartsville Pioneer Day planned April 27.
This year's event features a new book by George Rigby. For more information, call the Smartsville Scruffies at 742-6508.
