By Adam JarmanThe Tribune

If approved, a federal highwaybill could provide the remaining$33.4 million needed to widenthe dangerous section of High-way 46 East between Paso Rob-les and Shandon.The Transportation EquityAct which includes the fund-

ing was approved by a Houseof Representatives committeeWednesday. Its expected to beconsidered by the full Housenext week. If approved, then itwould go to a House/Senateconference before going to Pres-ident Bush for his signature.If the local project remains inthe bill, the funds would be avail-able sometime after October,and the work would begin byearly 2006.Currently $76 million hasbeen set aside to widen about 20miles of Highway 46 East fromAirport Road in Paso Robes to

the area near Shandon. The pro-ject would take the road to fourlanes from two.In 1999, that was believed to

be enough money.But as the project proceeded,

THE TRIBUNESaturday, March 27, 2004Missed your paper? 781-7878 S a n L u i s O b i s p o C o u n t y , C a l i f o r n i a

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Newspaper of the Central Coast SanLuisObispo.com

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Lottery A2

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Weather C12

Your guide to this newspaperWeatherSunny and mildconditions. Highs of72 at the coast, 74inland and 76 in theNorth CountyFull forecast, Page C12

SUNDAYCENTRAL COAST LIVING

Growing up witha teacher-parentPLUS, travel to Point Reyes anda whole page for dog lovers

GREAT OUTDOORS

Area running andtriathlon scheduleIn LOCAL: Silas Lyons commentary

COMING THIS WEEK IN THE TRIBUNE

New trendsin cabinets

Horse trailer casein the hands of the juryClosing arguments center on negligence

TUESDAYMONDAYVOICES

LOCAL READERSSOUNDOFFON THE ISSUES

Small wondersLittle things such as animals, rocks will get kids hooked on hiking

OUTDOOR EVENTS SCHEDULE | INGREAT OUTDOORS,C12

Av i la Valley

By David SneedThe Tribune

Fred and Nancy Dubois love the creek thatruns near their Avila Valley home.Every winter they eagerly await the spec-tacle of 2-foot-long steelhead trout swimmingupstream from the ocean and spawning intheir section of See Canyon Creek.Right after the first big rains, I know tostart looking for them, Fred Dubois said.But in recent years the couple has noticeda disturbing new development. At the begin-ning of summer, usually around MemorialDay, the creek dries up. Thousands of steel-head fingerlings the progeny of the spawn-ing adults they had seenmonths before arekilled when they are left high and dry or diein stagnating pools.Wildlife and other resource managers saythe phenomenon of creeks drying up, evenduring years of normal rainfall, is a growingtrend in San Luis Obispo County and else-

where along the Central Coast. This trend hasserious implications for many wildlife speciesas well as farmers and rural residents who useand sometimes overuse creek water.The Dubois family was so alarmed by thedeath of the little fish that they resorted toflooding the creek with three garden hoses inan effort to save them.

Hwy. 46 East widening awaits cash from D.C.

Bill will goto full House

next week

TRIBUNE MAP

Cholame

Airp

ortR

d.

Miles0 4

46

101

PasoRobles

41

46

Shandon

Section of Hwy. 46 to bewidened to four lanes

WhitleyGardens

When creeks dry up in SLO County even in years of normal rainfall, fish are left high and dry.The problem can be traced to some property owners draining the water for their own use.

By Carol RobertsThe Tribune

A white rights concertscheduled for tonight in theCambria Veterans MemorialBuilding has been canceled.Still, local law enforcementwill be on alert just in casethat word isnt out around thestate yet.The concert organizers per-mit was declined insuranceThursday, after underwriters

learned that the event probablywasnt going to be the smallgarage band session organiz-ers said it would be.No insurance means no con-cert, said Vern Hamilton, gen-eral manager of the CambriaCommunity Services Districtthat owns the veterans hall.The people here who didntwant it are relieved, Hamiltonsaid. But now theyre con-cerned about potential conflictthat could occur when thewhite rights groups show upand find out theres no con-cert.Stan Cooper of Paso Robles,

CSD cancelssupremacistconcert

Cambria agencyacts after eventloses insurance

TRIBUNE PHOTO BY JOE JOHNSTON

Fred and Nancy Dubois were so alarmed by the death of spawning fingerling steelhead that they resorted to flooding thecreek with three garden hoses in an effort to save them.

Hanford Sentineland Tribune staff report

A Sonora man was arrestedafter allegedly hitting anArroyo Grande woman andkilling her with his van onHighway 41 in Lemoore lateThursday night.Forest Milton Rade wasbooked into Kings County Jailon suspicion of voluntary

manslaughter. The 47-year-oldremained there late Friday inlieu of $60,000 bail, accordingto staff at the jail.Eve Tracy Goodwin, a 41-year-old former San LuisObispo County Health Depart-ment employee, received fatalinjuries to her head and chest,according to law enforcementreports.Goodwin is the wife of DavidGoodwin, a San Luis ObispoCounty sheriff s deputy cur-rently on administrative leave.Goodwin was one of two

Arroyo woman dies insuspected auto crime

Man allegedlyhit her with avan in Lemoore

INSIDESpecial sections

Extraordinarywomen in thecommunitySUCCESS profilesleaders. Also, a springdecorating guide forhome and garden.

By Frank AhrensThe Washington Post

WASHINGTON In thedreamworld of some televisionviewers, they would pay theircable or satellite companiesonly for the channels theywant.Reality is far different.

No U.S. cable or satellitecompany offers what are calleda la carte plans. In order toget the Discovery Channelfrom Comcast Corp. cablecompany, for instance, Wash-ington viewers have to pay foran expanded basic packagethat includes MTV, FX,MSNBC and 33 other chan-nels.That may change, if somelawmakers and consumergroups get their way, as the

But industrysays packagingis preferred

Cable subscribers pushingfor a la carte choicesA fish-out-of-water story

San Luis Bay Dr.

See Canyon Rd.

Avila

Beach D r.

TRIBUNE MAP

101

SeeCanyonCreek

San

Lu

is Obispo Creek

See Canyon Creek runsthrough Avila ValleySteelhead trout, a federally protectedspecies, are dying because See CanyonCreek is drying up, due to overpumpingof wells and diverting of water,according to federal agencies thatoversee environmental regulations.Landowners face fines and possibly jailtime if they are convicted of killingsteelhead by dewatering See Canyon ornine other creeks in the county with thesimilar problem.

Miles0 .5

Trend has seriousimplications for wildlifespecies and for humans

Please see HWY. 46, A6

Please see CONCERT, A6

Please see ACCIDENT, A6

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM GAFFNEY

Juvenile steelhead found in See CanyonCreek die because sections of the streamrun out of water because of intensive usefrom wells or surface diversions.

Please see CABLE, A6

Please see SEE CANYON, A6

deputies who arrested SantaMaria resident Gerald Bernalesin February 2001, a case cur-rently being reviewed by theU.S. Attorneys Of fice overexcessive force allegations.Bernales claims he now has per-manent brain damage frominjuries he suf fered whendeputies arrested him.Rade and Eve Goodwin weretogether in Rades van, travelingsouthbound on Highway 41,said Kings County AssistantSheriff Allan McClain. After averbal dispute, Eve Goodwingot out of the van and then washit by the van. No informationwas available about what kind of

relationship, if any, existedbetween Rade and Eve Good-win.The Kings County Sheriff sDepartment was dispatched tothe accident scene at Highway41 and Lacey Boulevard justafter 11 p.m. Thursday.Kings County Sheriffs Cmdr.Jack Amoroso said investigatorsbelieve Rade was behind thewheel when his van hit Goodwinat a slow rate of speed.Since the investigation wasnew, few details were availableabout the two people late Fri-day. The Kings County Sher-if f s Depar tment is stillinvestigating the incident todetermine the vans speed, andofficials with the departmentsaid more information will beavailable Monday.

cable industry finds itself underincreasing scrutiny. Lawmakersreport that their constituents areangry about cable bills that haverisen at three times the rate ofinflation since the industry waslargely deregulated in 1996. Oth-ers want government to dosomething about the rising inci-dence of profanity and nudityfound on pay-television systems.Onepossible solutionbeingpro-posed is a la carte cable, a way togive consumers more choice overwhat they watch and how muchthey pay for it. But its not ananswer thecable industrywill swal-low easily, if a Senate CommerceCommittee hearing Thursday oncable rates is any indication.Committee Chairman JohnMcCain, R-Ariz., peppered CoxCommunications Inc. PresidentJames Robbins, asking the headof the nations fourth-largestcable company why consumershave to pay for channels theydont want. Robbins answer:Giving consumers that degree ofchoice would cost too much.Expensive set-top boxeswould be needed to give con-sumers the pick-and-choosecapability, and the upgrade couldcost the industry billions of dol-lars. Companies wouldinevitably be forced to pass onsome or all of the expense tosubscribers.Frankly, that is where long-term the industry is going to go to video-on-demand, saidRobbins, whose system has 6.3

million subscribers. But theresa $30 (billion) to $40 billionbridge to get there.Besides adding to the cost,cable companies say, selling chan-nels individually might make itdifficult for lesser-watched, nichechannels to survive.Under an a la carte system,top-rated cable channels such asUSA Network would likelythrive because ratings suggestenough people would choose tobuy it individually to make itworth a programmers while.However, less-watched channelsthat serve distinct but smalleraudiences, such as TechTV andBET, may not survive, becausenot enough viewers would payfor them. Under the current sys-tem, consumers effectively sub-sidize less-popular channels,which cable companies say pro-vides diversity in the cable andsatellite universe.However, some consumeradvocates and members of Con-gress dont buy that logic.When I go to the grocerystore to buy a quart of milk, Idont have to buy a package ofcelery and a bunch of broccoli,McCain said in an interview. Idont like broccoli. He arguesthat its not an either-or situationfor cable companies: They couldcontinue to offer packages forconsumers who wanted themand a la carte for other viewers.In the interview, McCain saidhe probably would propose anamendment this year it couldbe attached to an authorizationor spending bill, he said requiring cable companies tooffer a la carte programming.

The fish were dying, andthey were easy prey for rac-coons, Nancy Dubois said. Itwas sad.

Drying up

Tom Gaffney, a special agentwith the National Marine Fish-eries Service, received reportsabout the creek drying up andinvestigated. Steelhead troutare federally listed as a threat-ened species, and any activitythat harms the fish violates fed-eral law.Steelhead, a form of ocean-going rainbow trout, was onceabundant in the county, but ithas since become a symbol ofhow coastal streams have dete-riorated. Dams, water diver-sions and other forms of habitatdestruction over the past cen-tury have pushed the fish tonear extinction.Gaffney, stationed in SantaMaria, made 60 to 70 trips toSee Canyon over the last coupleof years. He discovered that, ofthe dozens of property ownersin the canyon, three are pri-marily responsible for the creekdrying up.Gaffney would not disclosethe names of the property own-ers and they could not be iden-tified for comment. Two ofthem are pumping too muchwater from creek-dependentwells while the third is divert-ing surface water from thecreek. This water is used to sup-ply farms and residences.Intensive water use, bothfrom surface diversions andwell pumping, is causing harmto many steelhead streams inour region, Gaffney said. Thisis shaping up to be a majorfocus of my efforts.

Ten creeks at risk

The problem is bound to getworse as more people move toattractive areas like SeeCanyon, and the regions wineand tourism industries continueto flourish and require largequantities of water.All of the things that makethe county run contribute to theproblem, Gaffney said.Nine other steelhead creeksin the county have also experi-

enced problems of drying upbecause of diversions and toomuch pumping fromwells. Thisincludes Arroyo Grande Creek,Pismo Creek,Morro Creek andSan Simeon Creek.The problem is particularlyintense along the Central Coastbecause 83 percent of the areaswater comes from undergroundaquifers. Many aquifers lie deepunderground and pumpingthem does not affect creeks.However, other areas, manyalong the coast, do not havedeep aquifers and wells mustpump from shallower aquifersthat are fed by creeks, said TimCleath, a San Luis Obispohydrogeologist.If a well is adjacent to thecreek it can actually dry thecreek up, he said.

Costly solutions

Joy Fitzhugh, with the SanLuis Obispo County FarmBureau, said the situation in SeeCanyon is typical of the chal-lenges faced by local farmers. Itis difficult for them to keep upwith changing rules and envi-ronmental conditions that canput them in violation of endan-gered species laws.This is a real concern foragriculture, she said. Manypeople dont have a clue theyare in jeopardy.Agents have sent letters tothe three See Canyon propertyowners advising them of the

problem and warning them toreduce their take of creekwater. They face fines as highas $13,200 every time theirwater use kills steelhead, andimprisonment of up to sixmonths.However, the agency preferscooperation rather thanenforcement. There are stepsthey can voluntarily take toavoid harming the fish whilecontinuing to use creek water,Gaffney said.These include pumping lesswater over a longer period oftime and concentrating pump-ing during themorning. Streamflows tend to peak during thecool of the morning.We are always trying to getpeople to comply without hav-ing to swing the big hammer,Gaffney said. But some wateractivities are going to have to berethought concerning the eco-nomic benefits versus the envi-ronmental cost.In the case of the See Canyonproperty owners, the cost isliable to come in the form ofsome sort of additional waterstorage, either tanks or a pond,Fitzhugh said. In order to com-ply with Gaffneys recommen-dations, farmers will have topump during high flows to storethe water for irrigation duringlow flows.Its going to cost more,Fitzhugh said. The solutionmay be a real problem for the

landowner.

Thousands of fingerlings

Wildlife managers think thesteelhead fishery in SeeCanyon is worth the cost.The city of San Luis Obisporecently surveyed the entireSan Luis Obispo Creek water-shed, of which See CanyonCreek is a tributary, and found10,000 steelhead fingerlings. Aquarter of those were found inSee Canyon, said MichaelClarke, the citys biologist.See Canyon is very impor-tant for the production of steel-head, he said. Loss of thefishery there would affect theentire watershed.Meanwhile, Gaffney and theDubois family anxiously wait tosee what happens to the creekthis summer. Whether or not itdries up again will influencewhether enforcement action istaken, Gaffney said.But for the Duboises, its per-sonal. See Canyon Creek is anintegral part of their lives, andthey dont want to see it dam-aged.We really and truly enjoy it,Fred Dubois said. It was one ofthe reasons we bought thisplace.

David Sneed covers environ-mental issues for The Tribune.E-mail story ideas and com-ments to him at dsneed@thetribunenews.com.

A6 FROM PAGE ONE S at u r d ay , M a r c h 2 7 , 2 0 0 4THE TRIBUNE SANLUISOBISPO.COM

who had organized a candlelightprotest vigil across the streetfrom the veterans hall,announced Friday that eventwould be canceled as well.The concert, billed as a West

Coast White Unity show, wasadvertised on several whitesupremacy Web sites. includingone called storminthenorth.The sites offered directions fromnorthern and southern parts ofthe state to Santa Rosa Park inSan Luis Obispo and a restau-rant parking lot in Paso Robles.Specific directions to the concertsite were to be given from there.Friday evening, thestorminthenorth Web site wasupdated with a message readingThe show has been canceleddue to red tape.The concert was to have beensponsored by the Northern Cal-ifornia Aryan Volk and theGolden State Skinheads.Sheriffs Capt. Gary Hovingsaid even though there was nomention of Cambria on the Inter-net, we felt there was a linkbetween the advertisementthere and rental of the veteransbuilding.He worked with CCSD offi-cials to investigate a permit thathad been granted to KennethCampbell of San Jose. Campbellpaid last month to have a pri-vate party in the hall. He toldCCSD staff he expected about100 people. Attempts by The Tri-bune to reach him have beenunsuccessful during the past fewdays.When Hoving contactedStatewide Insurance Services,which usually provides coverageto applicants for the halls rental,and the Web sites were scruti-nized, Campbells insurance was

canceled. The hall cant berented without insurance, so hispermit was revoked.As a public agency, CCSDcouldnt have refused Campbella permit because of his constitu-tional rights.We cant prohibit certaingroups and allow others, saidHamilton, the general manager,just like we cant say somegroups can serve alcohol andothers cant. It has to be a blan-ket thing.George Koster, manager ofStatewide Insurance Services inSacramento, said Friday that ifhis underwriters had known thenature of the event and its spon-sors, they never would haveagreed to provide coverage.They can discriminate, hesaid.They have to make a call onwhich account will make themmoney and which one has thehigher chance of loss, he said.Hoving said several more thanthe usual number of deputiesand California Highway Patrolof ficers will be in Cambriatonight. Theyll also be workingwith San Luis Obispo and PasoRobles police at the destinationsites given on the Web sites.We really havent changedour earlier plans, Hoving said,even though the event has beencanceled.

ConcertFrom Page A1

See CanyonFrom Page A1

Steelheadspawn in SeeCanyonCreek. SeeCanyon hasbeen calledveryimportantfor theproduction ofsteelhead.

PHOTO COURTESYOF TOM GAFFNEY

the cost estimates changed andwe were basically $34 millionshort, said Darren Brown,transportation planner for theSan Luis Obispo County Councilof Governments.The increased costs are gen-erally attributed to realigningthe road and building a newbridge over the Estrella Riverand rerouting the highway andutility lines where they conflict,said Ron DeCarli, executivedirector of SLOCOG.The new federal bill would fillthat gap, helping to bring abouta widening long sought by somelocal residents and lawmakers tomake the two-lane highway saferafter dozens of fatal accidents inrecent years.Simply put, this funding willhelp save lives, CongressmanBill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, saidin a statement.At least 10 people have beenkilled on Highway 46 East in ornear San Luis Obispo County inthe last two years.Funds for the local projectwere included in the bill at

Thomas request, according tohis statement. The legislationwould authorize federal highwayand transit spending through2009.If the bill is eventuallyapproved, construction on thethree-year widening project couldbegin at the end of next year orearly in 2006, said Caltransspokeswoman Susana Zavala.Widening 46 East to thecounty line is estimated to cost$168 million. That includes the20-mile stretch from Paso Rob-les to Shandon, another 12 milesor so of widening between Shan-don and the county line and anew interchange at the roadsintersection with Highway 41near Cholame.The entire project wouldrequire removingmore than 200oak trees, encroaching on 120pieces of property and couldrequire the demolition of up toseven homes, according to anenvironmental report releasedlast year.

Adam Jarman covers theNorth County for The Tribune.He can be reached at 238-2720ext. 25 or ajarman@thetribunenews.com.

Hwy. 46From Page A1

AccidentFrom Page A1

CableFrom Page A1

Channel:NickelodeonRanking: 1Owner: ViacomLower-rated channels owned bysame company: Nick Toons, CMT,BET, Nick at Nite, Noggin, MTV2.

Channel: TNTRanking: 2Owner: Time WarnerLower-rated channels owned bysame company: Turner ClassicMovies, CNNfn, Headline News.

Channel:Cartoon NetworkRanking: 3Owner: Time WarnerLower-rated channels owned bysame company: Turner ClassicMovies, CNNfn, Headline News.

Channel:Disney ChannelRanking: 4Owner: DisneyLower-rated channels owned bysame company: ABC Family*,ESPN*, Soapnet.

Channel: LifetimeRanking: 5Owner: Disney/HearstLower-rated channels owned bysame company: History*,Biography.

Channel: TBSRanking: 6Owner: Time WarnerLower-rated channels owned bysame company: Turner Classic

Movies, CNNfn, Headline News.

Channel: Fox NewsChannelRanking: 7Owner: News Corp.Lower-rated channels owned bysame company: F/X*, NationalGeographic, Fuel, Speed.

Channel:USA NetworkRanking: 8Owner: Universal Television**Lower-rated channels owned bysame company: SciFi*, Trio.

Channel:A&ERanking: 9Owner: Hearst/NBC/ABCLower-rated channels owned bysame company: History*,Biography.

Channel:MTVRanking: 10Owner: ViacomLower-rated channels owned bysame company: Nick Toons, CMT,BET, Nick at Nite, Noggin, MTV2.

* Networks rated in the Top 20.

**NBC is buying Vivendi Universalstelevision channels, pending approval.

The Washington Post

SOURCE: Nielsen Media Research,week ending March 21.

Dont Want It? Too Bad

To get the most popular cable channels, consumers mustalso pay cable and satellite companies for channels thatfewer people watch. A look at last weeks top-rated cablechannels and their lower-ranked corporate cousins:

The people here who didnt

want it are relieved. But now

theyre concerned about

potential conflict that could

occur when the white rights

groups show up and find out

theres no concert.

Vern Hamilton,general manager of the CambriaCommunity Services District