Pubdate: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 Source: Times-Standard (CA) Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 ( Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) 2003: YEAR OF DIVISION, STRUGGLE -- AND CHANGE War. Protests. Recalls. Layoffs. Lawsuits. Soaring costs and deficits. 2003 -- the third year of a new decade and new millennium, and what a year it's been. Not since the 1960s have we seen our nation, our world, our state -- indeed, our own neighborhoods -- faced with such division, struggle and change. It was a year of struggle; it was a year of hope. It was a year of promise and a year of looming disaster. The war on terror, initiated following the terrible events of two years ago, took on a deeper and more somber aspect this year when U.S. troops invaded Iraq. The triumph of ousting brutal dictator Saddam Hussein was tarnished by widespread opposition to the war, as well as continuing struggles to rebuild the country. In 2003 Californians threw Gov. Gray Davis out of office and replaced him with Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Mr. Universe and highly successful Hollywood actor. Even more memorable, we saw some 130 other people vie for the job, in a wild field that included former TV child star Gary Coleman, porn star Marey Carey and even one of our own, HSU instructor Darin Price. On the North Coast, Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos was probably the biggest newsmaker of the year. Soon after taking office in January, Gallegos introduced broader medical marijuana guidelines, much to the chagrin of some in area law enforcement. He sparked wider controversy not long after, when he filed a massive lawsuit against the Pacific Lumber Co. PL is one of the area's oldest and largest employers, but it's also a company that this year once again spent a lot of time and money dealing with activists who protest the company's timber practices. PL has loudly proclaimed it has committed no wrongdoing. The company has also pumped some $40,000 into the recall effort. On the positive side, many schools received a facelift. Garfield, McKinleyville High, Fortuna High and Rohnerville schools celebrated long-planned modernization work, and Eureka City Schools started its lengthy construction process. As the Gang Risk Intervention Program and Eureka High School's school resource officer both faced the budget ax, this year began increased discussions on school safety. Both were ultimately saved, and McKinleyville High also gained a new school resource officer thanks to a grant. But dozens of schools lost AmeriCorps workers who'd worked with at-risk youth. Substance abuse among teens was also a concern. Students at Eureka High took the lead in getting teens from across the county discussing teen drinking, while parents and counselors tried to raise awareness of the growing prescription drug abuse problem. Murders drop, pot plunges In 2003, Humboldt County saw its homicide rate cut nearly in half from last year. Also, the county's statewide ranking in the yearly Campaign Against Marijuana Planting dropped. Two high-profile homicide cases from 2002 were also resolved this year with the convictions of the suspects. The Humboldt County Coroner's Office documented seven homicides for 2003, down from 13 in 2002. Of the seven, two of the victims were more than likely killed before 2003, one was a murder-suicide and one was the result of a gang drive-by shooting. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is also investigating the unrelated disappearances of two men and the death of an infant in a Fortuna fire as homicides. Two high-profile 2002 homicide suspects were tried, convicted and sentenced in 2003. Dianna Mae Preston and Rafael Alejandro Noguez were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July. Preston, 59, of Trinidad, shot and killed the father of her granddaughter in the kitchen of a Eureka restaurant in July 2002. She said she believed Kevin LaPorta, 47, was molesting the toddler, but DNA evidence received by the Eureka Police Department shortly before the murder cleared LaPorta of the allegations. Preston was tried in Napa when Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna deemed she wouldn't get a fair trial locally. Noguez, 21, was convicted of killing Crystal Ann Brantley, 18, and Jarliz Amador Rivera, 26, sometime in 2001. The bodies were discovered in January and March of 2002 and Noguez was arrested on homicide charges in an Oregon jail while in custody for an unrelated crime. He gave investigators information on the location of Rivera's body, buried under an Orick barn, and was extradited to California. Humboldt County's ranking during the autumn CAMP program dropped from the seventh most marijuana plants seized in 2002 to 12th in 2003. Locally, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department Drug Enforcement Unit seized about 17,000 more plants this year than last. A total of 116 indoor gardens were found and destroyed, up from 66 in 2002, and 198 outdoor gardens were raided, down from 303 last year. The most impressive number in 2003's marijuana raids is the amount of cash seized. This year it was $366,155 -- nearly triple the $109,492 seized in 2002. Countywide, there were 29 fewer arrests this year and 54 fewer weapons seized. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin