Most people think it is crazy to jump out of a plane into a blazing wildfire, but Redding smokejumpers say it is their dream job. Recruits took to the skies for their first jump ever on Tuesday. There are only 40 smoke jumpers in the whole state of California, and Redding is their home base through fire season, which can last up to six months in some years. After two weeks of high-intensity training, the smokejumpers geared up and started the climb to 15,000 feet. When they got to their target over Millville, one-by-one they jumped from the plane, landing in a quiet cow pasture. But in an emergency, they would be jumping right into the heart of a raging fire. The recruits said that even though it was their first jump, they felt like they were prepared. More than 120 people apply each year, but only six are chosen. That is why the rookies look at this as the elite of fire fighting. The rookies need to have 15 jumps under their belts before they can go on a fire. After Tuesday, they will have 12 more to go before they hit the front lines.

The fight against childhood obesity is literally being taken to the streets. Eight schools from Shasta, Tehama, and Butte Counties will benefit from "Safe Routes to School" money. According to Cal-Trans statistics, fewer than 15% of children who live within two miles of their school walk to get there. Compare that to 60% 30 years ago.

A controlled burn went out of control on Friday. Dry conditions and high winds fanned the flames in Butte County. The fire started in Concow east of Paradise, just after 7 on Friday morning. It took 60 firefighters to get it under control after it burned five acres. About 8 buildings were threatened, but no buildings were burned. The person who started the burn will be fined.

A Big Bend man convicted of trying to kill two Shasta County Sheriff's Deputies faces life in prison. On Friday, Daniel Christiansen was sentenced to 35 years to life. He was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The charges date back to 2006. Officers were called to Christiansen's house on reports of shots fired. When officers got there, Christiansen shot at them. After an 8-hour stand-off, he was arrested.

You can find sex offenders on the web through the Megan's Law website. But soon, finding domestic violence offenders could also be just a click away. On Friday, the State Assembly Public Safety Committee voted in favor of creating this site to put that type of information at the public's fingertips. If approved by the Governor, it could be the first of its kind in the nation and would provide details surrounding the most violent domestic crimes. Right now, you have to check county-by-county to find out if someone has a domestic violence felony on their record. But with this web site, you could search across California by simply providing a person's name and date of birth. Maggie John with Shasta Women's Refuge is a fan of the proposed site. She says it is a great idea to look up your potential partner when starting a new relationship and see if they have any domestic violence convictions under their belt. However, Maggie says that it is hard enough for domestic violence victims to report cases, and she is afraid victims might not come forward if their attackers would be posted on the net. Next, the bill goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. If it is eventually approved, the website could be up as soon as next January.

All along it was said it was for a good cause…seems like a lot men agreed. Having the men walk a painful mile in high heels was worth it for the Shasta Women's Refuge. Last weekend, nearly a hundred men from all over the community strapped on women's shoes to raise money. All in all, they raised about $35,000, which far exceeded everyone’s expectations. The money will go toward helping people affected by domestic violence and sexual assault in Shasta County. For those men out there who are interested in the next run, it is never too early to begin thinking about next year…

Chico Police are warning people about displaying air-soft guns in public places. After making two separate arrests on two high school campuses in one week, officers say the guns taken from the teenagers all looked like real firearms. The situation took greater importance when the students brought the guns onto campus. Telling the difference between real and toy guns is harder than ever. Police say that there are some companies out there taking real guns and painting them to look like toy guns.

With drugs circulating throughout the area, the Tehama County Interagency Drug Enforcement Team, or TIDE as they are known, says they are still one step ahead of the bad guys. TIDE just released their annual report for 2007. It details everything from how many searches they did to the number of guns they seized. Of the 87 cases opened last year, 86 of them were closed. Investigators say that this year has been more successful than last. Why is that? Last year, the agency, formerly known as TAGMAT, included Glenn County. Since the two have separated, TIDE has been able to put all its eggs into one basket. Despite State-wide budget cuts, TIDE is fully staffed with five agents.

Lithia Chevrolet is pulling the plug, for now, on plans to build a new dealership off Airport Road. The City of Redding has been trying to keep Lithia Toyota and Chevrolet within the city limits for several years. But it looks like a lack of potential buyers for Lithia's Cypress Avenue location is ultimately the deciding factor. Redding's Redevelopment Agency originally proposed to buy the Cypress property outright for almost $8 million. The City Council then proposed a second offer: a million bucks to purchase an 18-month option with Lithia. But according to Redding City Manager Kurt Starman, Lithia was looking to have a buyer already in place before moving to their new location. Lithia still owns the 35 acres at Highway 44 and Airport Road that had been slated for the dealership. For now, Lithia will stay right where it is on Cypress.

Chico is finally starting to kick its partying reputation to the curb, but now the City's budget problems could reverse the progress. There may be fewer police officers patrolling downtown Chico on the weekends. City Council members are thinking about balancing the City's checkbook by cutting back on public safety. The plan would cut 14 and a half positions from the Police Department. Chico Police say that the looming cuts leave them with few options. One is to cut back on overtime. The other option is to scale back on special teams. They say they do not want to do either, so something has got to give. Chico Police say there will still be enough uniforms on the street to respond to life-threatening crimes. But if the cuts pass, they will have a slower response time to low level crimes like theft.

After 14 years, part of the Butte County Jail is going to get some security upgrades. It is going to cost more than $600,000 dollars, but Jail officials say that it is money well spent. More cameras, new control panels in the security tower, and a change from analog to digital are all part of the new package. Jail officials say that officers and inmates will be protected, and tax payers are saving money. After the design phase is done, it will take about six months to install the new equipment.

A Shasta County man will spend the next three years in prison for shooting someone at a Bella Vista house party last year. Anthony Partee was arrested last May for the crime. He was originally charged with attempted murder, but was later charged with a lesser accusation of gross negligence with a firearm. Partee will spend less than three years in State prison for the time he has already served in the Shasta County Jail.

A 22-year-old Redding man was called before a judge after being accused of abusing his newborn baby girl. This is the latest in a string of cases of young men harming infants. Jimmy Lee Shasteen was arrested on Tuesday. Redding Police say Shasteen shook his infant daughter so badly she began vomiting and seizing. They say an examination revealed she had bleeding on the brain behind both of her eyes and two broken legs. The infant is out of the hospital and recovering. On Wednesday, the baby's father, Jimmy Lee Shasteen, was formally charged with hurting her. The judge set his bail at $105,000. $5,000 was added because Shasteen was on probation for a DUI. He is expected back in court later this month.

More details have been released in the investigation of the two men who were found dead in their home in Cottonwood. We have learned the names of the two men: 67-year old John Sullivan and 34-year old Daniel Townsend. They both died from gunshot wounds to the head. Shasta County Sheriff's Investigators and the evidence lab are working together in what is still being ruled a homicide investigation.

There are new developments on the lookout point viewing area in Butte County. The Board of Supervisors approved the plans Tuesday morning for the Skyway Lookout Point. The project will allow people to park in a lot and overlook Butte Creek Canyon. It will also include placing boulders to stop vehicles from going over the cliffs. The County will work to remove 50 wrecked and abandoned cars that are at the bottom of the cliffs. Officials expect the project to be done by this summer.

If you work for the City of Chico, you may be out of a job sometime soon. Tuesday morning, the City's Finance Committee met to talk about cutting nearly $5 million from its budget. To do that, Chico City Manager David Burkland wants all departments to trim 7½% from their budgets. Burkland says that it is a difficult task, but a necessary one, and he said that he is committed to making the cuts happen and get the City out of its budget situation. The Finance Committee will meet again in two weeks to discuss moving forward with specific cuts. Burkland says that the Chico Fire and Police Departments will be affected the most.

It has been called "Area 51", named by mountain bikers for the place near Roswell, New Mexico, where aliens supposedly landed. 216 acres of land near the town of Shasta, west of Redding, has been used for years for outdoor recreation. But now it is in private hands, and no trespassing is allowed. On Tuesday afternoon, a news conference was held at what was once the public entrance to Area 51. Three conservation groups announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management, challenging a decision to trade Area 51, which was then public land, for private land in Trinity County. The suit claims BLM violated environmental laws and did not adequately consult with the locals, who say Area 51 is too valuable to be developed.

Methamphetamine takes a toll on more than just users. The Butte County Meth Strike Force wants to find out how much it costs businesses. Butte County business owners are being asked to take a survey asking this: how have crimes committed by meth users affected their bottom lines? Officials say that the drug is often linked to crimes like robbery, because hard-core addicts will do anything for their next hit. The Meth Strike Force is also collecting crime statistics from police and the sheriff's departments. The answers will be used by the Strike Force, which is a group that includes Butte County agencies and volunteers. You can take the survey online in about 10 minutes. Go to www.2stopmeth.org.

A healthy diet means everything, and soon more than 15,000 people who receive WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) assistance will be able to eat healthier thanks to changes in the food they can buy. Right now, WIC offers the bare essentials to mothers who need the extra help, but soon fruits and veggies will be added to their diets. WIC provides women, infant and children under the age of five with the essentials to get by. Foods like cheese, milk, cereal and baby formula are all covered by WIC, but in the next year, WIC will see an added bonus: produce. 5,000 people in Shasta County who are on the WIC program will benefit from the change. Tehama County has over 2,000 people on WIC. Butte County on the other hand has 7,000. Shasta County's new WIC program should be up and running by summer of 2009.

In just over four months, there have been four sexual assaults in Willows, which is a lot for such a small town. If there is any good news to report, it is that authorities believe they have all the people responsible behind bars. It began in December with a particularly disturbing case. A 15-year old boy was arrested for repeatedly raping a 10-year old girl. In another case, Michael Bindner was arrested on charges that he raped one woman, and sexually assaulted another on the same night in March. Additionally, Joseph Wilcox is accused of raping a developmentally disabled woman on Saturday. The assaults all happened at homes in Willows. Willows Police Chief Bill Spears says that he is surprised by so many sexual assaults in such a short period of time. Chief Spears tells us that the suspects in these cases all knew their victims.

Highway 44 was a tangled mess on Monday afternoon. A pick-up truck slammed into a white Ford Taurus head-on while driving at a high rate of speed. 6 people were rushed to the hospital. It happened just before 2 on Monday afternoon on westbound Highway 44 just west of Deschutes Road. People who saw it tell us that the truck was driving erratically when it plowed into a white Taurus. Two men were inside the truck, and four women were inside the Taurus. All six are seriously injured. A witness to the accident said that he swerved out of the way of the oncoming truck, only to see the crash in his rearview mirror. About a mile of the highway was closed for more than an hour. All six people were rushed to the hospital. Highway Patrol Officers said that they smelled alcohol in the cab of the truck, and suspect the driver may have been drinking. CHP administered tests on the driver at the hospital.

Shasta County's Haven Humane Society now has a temporary President and CEO. As of Thursday, Norm Ryan no longer has that job at the animal shelter. Haven Humane officials will not comment as to why Ryan is no longer in that position. Board Chairperson Yvonne Preston is now the temporary President and CEO.

Redding's most well-known eagles are now parents. For the past several months, the two bald eagles have been nesting just north of the Highway 44 Bridge over the Sacramento River. Construction on the bridge widening project has started, but the eagles do not seem to mind at all. Cal-Trans officials were worried that the eagles would not be able to successfully breed with all the heavy equipment around. A few months ago, a move to force the birds to leave failed. On Friday, it was learned that the happy couple of eagles are the proud parents of not one, but two eaglets. Work in the area of the nest is not scheduled to start until early July. By then, the young eagles should have taken off.

Shasta College's dental hygiene program is a $100,000 richer, just 3 months after opening in downtown Redding. On Friday, the program received two checks for $50,000 from two different dental foundations. Scott Thompson from Shasta College says that this area needs more hygienists, and this money will help the college train them. The college will use the money to make sure students are trained to use the latest state-of-the-art technology.

A new report says that if we do not have health insurance, we are much more likely to die an early death. A study put out by Families USA says that 8 Californians die every day because they do not have health insurance. But doctors we spoke with say that number may be understating it. Shasta Community Health Center's Hope Van sees low income patients everyday. Some do not have health insurance, while others are not willing to pay the high cost of healthcare. No matter what the reason is, doctors and nurses say there are plenty of people being priced out of being healthy.