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Conviction in Terror Trial; Festival Boaters in Polluted Lake

Posted on: Sunday, 30 April 2006, 15:00 CDT

By The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Apr. 30--Terror trial conviction News from the Lodi terror trials gripped headlines all week when Hamid Hayat, 23, was convicted of supporting terrorism and lying to the FBI about his al-Qaida training. His 48-year-old father, charged with lying to the FBI about his son's alleged activities, may be let out of jail as early as Monday after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. It's not yet clear whether he will be retried. Hamid Hayat's attorneys last week asked for a new trial after a juror said in a sworn statement that she was pressured into changing her "not guilty" vote. She said jurors listened to and may have read media reports about the trial, some made racist comments about Pakistanis, and the jury foreman suggested they "hang him" just two days into testimony.

Bacteria in lake

People rode paddle boats at the Stockton Asparagus Festival even after the city found McLeod Lake so full of fecal bacteria that nobody should touch the water, The Record reported Saturday. The city and its private water operator, OMI-Thames Water, posted warning signs by the lake before the festival opened. A statement prepared for people calling about the pollution read in part: "People should have no bodily contact with the water." Municipal Utilities Director Mark Madison said the city didn't know the boats would be used and he would have pulled the boats had he known.

Insurance not needed Part of a massive housing development planned on Lathrop's Stewart Tract is outside a 100-year flood plain designation, meaning future residents will not be required to buy flood insurance, according to an announcement last week by project and city officials. The developer of the 11,000-unit River Islands project received a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicating that about 900 acres surrounded by a levee being built by the developer are no longer deemed in the flood plain, project director Susan Dell'Osso said Monday. That area was inundated during the 1997 floods.

Pollution report mixed Central Valley residents still breathe some of the worst air in the nation and suffer a medley of ailments from it, according to a report released by the American Lung Association. But there is also evidence that programs to reduce pollution and incentives for farmers, drivers and businesses have improved air quality and are helping air districts meet federal standards. San Joaquin County received a C for smog pollution, up from a D last year, and an F for dust particle pollution levels, according to the report. Nearby Stanislaus and Sacramento counties failed in both areas, while Calaveras failed to meet smog standards but received an A for particle pollution.

Execution put off again A hearing that will help decide how the state will execute a condemned Stockton man was delayed until September, giving attorneys more time to prepare for the highly anticipated hearing over the state's lethal injection methods. Michael Angelo Morales, convicted 25 years ago for killing a Tokay High School senior, was originally scheduled to die Feb. 21. The execution was delayed for hours, then for a day, and then until after a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Legal arguments that caused the delays focused on whether a lethal injection could cause excruciating pain, violating his right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment. Morales' attorneys presented evidence that past inmates may have felt pain during their executions.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

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Source: The Record

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