Visalia Times-Delta from Visalia, California • 22

Weekend, September 30-October 1, 2006 IRS caught in political pulpit fight Tax agency struggles to stay neutral in politics and religion The Associated Press LOS ANGELES As the investigation of a liberal Pasadena church highlights, the IRS has become a referee in a struggle over religion and politics a role some fear is straining the taxman's neutrality. Months before November's midterm elections, the Internal Revenue Service promised to scrutinize speech in churches, with the potential penalty a loss of protection from taxes. Groups both liberal and conservative have responded by lodging complaints against adversaries they claim are increasingly political. "Any citizen can form a group and spy on all these churches and report the results," said Ed McCaffery, dean of the University of Southern California School of Law and a tax law expert. "This entanglement of church and state vis-a-vis the tax laws is deeply out of control." Churches have become important political platforms and forums for election season organizing.

At the same time, they can't endorse or oppose candidates. The agency saw a spike in complaints during 2004, the last national elections. Now, changes in how the IRS handles such cases could make it more vulnerable to political manipulation, experts said. In Ohio, a group of pastors filed a complaint with the IRS against two megachurch pastors they accused of actively supporting Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a Republican who is running for governor. And the IRS was most recently in the national spotlight last week when Pasadena's All Saints Church, an Episcopalian IRS, he said, and has received two more during this year's mid-term contests.

He also said he doesn't think the IRS should be used for partisan advantage. "I actually believe that what I'm doing with this is wrong, but I'm doing it in a defensive nature," said Murray, executive director of the Religious Freedom Action Coalition. "Somebody has to defend the conservative churches and the only way to protect them is to attack the liberal churches." The IRS will not say if it is investigating a church or charity a and does not comment on cases that do become public knowledge. Yet those familiar with the agency say recent changes in the way it handles such complaints could jeopardize its ability to remain a nonpartisan arbiter. Until 2000, the decision to investigate churches and charities was made by one of a handful of highranking regional commissioners.

Now that decision is made by a lower-level administrator who may be less politically attuned, said Marcus Owens, All Saints' attorney and a former IRS administrator. "What was not intended to be a biased audit program is at risk of becoming one," Owens said. "It's the raw material coming into the process has already been distorted." Steve Miller, commissioner of the IRS' tax exempt and government entities division, said that was impossible because each complaint is reviewed by a three-person panel before being forwarded to the administrator. The decision to investigate a church must also be approved by an attorney, he said. He also dismissed concerns that the IRS would be influenced by partisan politics because of its complaint system.

He said half of all complaints are immediately thrown out as frivolous. Deal would allow island hunts to continue The Associated Press WASHINGTON -Deer and elk trophy hunts on California's Santa Rosa Island would continue under a deal reached Friday by congressional negotiators. The plan defies a federal court settlement and is strongly opposed by the National Park Service, which wants the nonnative game removed. Language permitting the hunts was included in the final version of an annual defense bill agreed to by House and Senate negotiators as Congress completes work before recessing for the Nov. 7 elections.

The House passed the defense OBITUARIES Carrie Abbona Carrie Ellen Abbona, 38, of Lindsay, passed suddenly into the arms of her Lord and Savior following injuries sustained while competing with her favorite horse Pic A Peppy Nic in the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Non Pro Cow Work Prelimi- naries in Reno, Nev. Carrie was born July 19, 1968, raised in Visalia, and attended Visalia schools. Her lifelong love of horses beginning with lead line classes at the Carrie Abbona age of three led to competing in the National Youth Quarter Horse Finals, Trail Division, in Oklahoma City, and more recently in NRCHA events. She worked with her parents and Flying Rodeo Company in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and riding in the Grand Entry. Carrie was known affectionately as Cinderella Cowgirl, having designed a line of clothing and accessories which became popular on the show circuit.

She was also known for breeding quality quarter horses. Carrie is survived by her loving husband John and her two daughters Adonas and Shelby Abbona of Lindsay, parents Rich and Ellen Henderson of Visalia and David and Susan Haddock of Madera Ranchos. Aunt Jackie Huckaby and husband Gary of Carmichael, Uncle Richard Haddock and wife Patty of Oceanside, and Aunt Frani Irwin and husband Larry of Auburn. Also mourning her loss are a brother Andrew Haddock of Portland, OR and Amersterdam, Netherlands; stepsisters Kelli Eberlein of Fresno and Erin EberleinSage and her husband Nick of Las Vegas, Nevada; Tracy Saunder and husband Jerry of Visalia, Wendy Methias and husband Mike of Tulare, Heidi Gonne and husband Richard of Thousand Oaks. In addition to numerous cousins Carrie is Governor to open phone Prescription drug discount bill also signed into law The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Telephone companies can dive into California's $5.3 billion-a-year cable TV industry under a law signed Friday by Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. He said the measure, backed by millions of dollars in corporate contributions, will offer consumers better service and lower prices. Rushing to beat a midnight Saturday bill-signing deadline, the Republican governor joined with Democratic legislative leaders Friday to also back programs lowering the cost of prescription drugs for poor Californians and to test thousands of volunteers for possible toxic contamination. All three bills could serve as models for other states and the nation, supporters said. Inc.

and I Verizon Communications Inc. promised more viewing choices and technological advances now that they can seek statewide licenses to deliver Internet and television services to homes and businesses. The bill frees the telecom giants and cable companies from negotiating with individual communities as they have done until now. Local governments opposed the bill, fearing they will lose money, service to poor areas, publicaccess programming and free Internet in schools and libraries. Schwarzenegger sided with telephone companies that spent millions of dollars for television ads, lobbyists and campaign contributions to promote a bill they hope could persuade Congress to adopt a similar national plan.

"Increased competition will translate into better service and lower prices for everyone," Schwarzenegger said. The author, Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, added provisions to his AB2987 that he said will shield communities and the poor from losing local cable contracts. But Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, said there are not nearly enough protections in a bill he called "the biggest gift to any special interest in Sacramento this year." Graveside services 2 p.m. at Smith Mountain Cemetery, Dinuba. Dopkins Funeral Chapel, Dinuba.

Oct. 6 Carrie Abbona, 38. Memorial services 4:30 p.m. at Whitney Wild Oak Ranch, Exeter. Oct.

27 Dorothy Weiland, 92, died Sept. 20. Memorial service 11 a.m. at First Christian Church of Visalia. Salser and Dillard Funeral Chapel, Visalia.

signs bill cable TV to companies Discount drugs Schwarzenegger also signed into law a prescription drug discount program projected to aid about 6 million Californians. His Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, labeled it an election year flip-flop after Schwarzenegger vetoed six prescription drug bills the last two years. But Schwarzenegger stood side-by-side in the ornate Capitol Rotunda with a smiling Nunez, who praised the governor in English and Spanish for signing his prescription drug bill, AB2911. "The governor didn't think twice about saying, 'I want to do this, I want to make this happen'," Nunez said. For a $10 annual enrollment fee, the program will provide discounts of about 40 percent for name-brand drugs and 60 percent for generics to households that make up to three times the federal poverty level, or about $60,000 a year for a family of four.

Drug companies have until Aug. 1, 2010, to comply voluntarily. If they fail to meet the benchmark discount levels, the state can ask the federal government to remove the company from the preferred drug list used by the state Medi-Cal program, which provides about $4 billion in drugs annually to the poor and elderly. "This bill will have national implications" as California uses its vast buying power to negotiate bulk rates for prescriptions, said Anthony Wright, executive director of the consumer group Health Access California. The governor had previously supported programs that required only voluntary compliance from drug companies.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH The Associated Press Rev. Edwin Bacon center, rector of the All Saints Church, speaks during a news conference while surrounded by supporters Sept. 21 in Pasadena. congregation, refused to cooperate with an investigation into an antiwar sermon a guest pastor delivered before the 2004 presidential election. William Murray, who started the Web site www.ratoutachurch.org in 2004, predicts the number of IRS complaints about politics in the bill, which sets policy for weapons and other programs, by a 398-23 vote on Friday.

But its fate was uncertain in the Senate, where GOP infighting on unrelated matters was holding up final passage. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R- pushed the hunting plan over objections from congressional Democrats including Rep. Lois Capps, whose district includes Channel Islands National Park. Santa Rosa Island, 40 miles off Santa Barbara, is the secondlargest of five islands in the Chan- also survived by in-laws Jim Anne Abbona of Alta Loma and brother-in-law Bobby Abbona, niece Lexi and sister-in-law Arlene Tepper and husband Jan and niece Alyssa of Southern California. A host of friends, including close friend and trainer Wayne Hinder also mourn her loss.

Memorial services with reception following will be held Friday, Oct. 6, 2006 at the Whitney Wild Oak Ranch 19262 Ave. 304, Exeter, at 4:30 p.m. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a youth memorial which has been established in Carrie's honor through the National Reined Cow Horse Foundation, or to a fund for her children, also in care of Att: NRCHA Office, 13181 US Highway 177, Byars, Okla. 74831, (580) 759- 4949.

Maria Espinoza Laborer Porterville died Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006. She was an agricultural laborer. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Sunday at Myers Chapel, Porterville.

Vigil service will be 6 p.m. Sunday at the chapel. Services will be 9 a.m. Monday at St. Anne's Church, Interment will be at Hillcrest Memorial Park, Porterville.

Maria Candelaria Espinoza, 46, of Arlene Audrey HunterGorman Arlene Audrey Hunter-Gorman went to be with the Lord on Sept. 9, 2006. She was 80 years old. Arlene was born on June 8, 1926 in Augusta, Maine. Her parents were Ruth Castle and Alden Adams.

She grew up in Augusta and in Lake' Worth, Florida. She married Edwin Vibberts when she was 19 and moved to Meriden, Connecticut where she started a family. Her oldest son, Donald Vibberts, did in a house fire when he was only seven. In 1955 Arlene moved back to pulpit will increase in two years a as Republicans and Democrats hone their church-based targeting even further. Murray said he collected more than 30 complaints against liberal, mostly black, churches on his Web site during the last presidential contest.

He referred several cases to the nel Islands park. Under the federal court settlement, private trophy hunts now run on the island are supposed to end in 2011, and the deer and elk are to be removed. The Park Service bought Santa Rosa Island in 1986 for $30 million from a local ranching family that still owns the hunting concession. Litigation over terms of the deal led to the court settlement. The National Park Service says the hunts and the nonnative game interfere with indigenous plants and animals on the undeveloped and remote island, including some Lake Worth with her second husband, Robert Cirillo, and her four children.

In 1960 she and her family moved to Pasadena, California where they resided until 1971. Arlene worked as a bookkeeper and accountant until she became disabled in June 1971. Arlene moved to Oklahoma for a short period of time with her third husband Boyd Chapman and moved to Visalia when he died. She then married Earl Hunter of Watsonville, who preceded her in death. Arlene remained a resident of Visalia for 21 years moving for a short period of time to Klamath Falls with her husband, Mark.

While Arlene lived in several different parts of the country, she always wanted to move back to Visalia and felt it was her home. She spent the last month of her life in Visalia. Arlene enjoyed going to Christ Lutheran Church where she was an active member for 20 years. She also enjoyed going out to lunch and dinner with her family, reading Reader's Digest, doing word searches, and short trips to Reno on the bus with other seniors. Survivors include a sister, Beatrice Hodge of Royal Palm Beach, Florida; her sons, Howard Cirillo of Miami, Florida, Earl Cirillo of Hesperia, California, and daughters, Joanne Jones of Seattle, Washington, and Beverly Cirillo of Visalia.

She has 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday (Oct. 2, 2006) at Christ Lutheran Church, 3830 W.

Tulare Visalia. Her ashes will be spread on Morro Bay, as were her last wishes. Remembrances may be made to Mouth Cancer Foundation.org Steven Moore Bus driver Arlene HunterGorman Steven James Moore, 59, of Chemical monitoring Moments later, Schwarzeneg- endangered species. The hunts also restrict public access since much of the island is off limits to visitors while they go on. Hunter says his legislation is meant to give military veterans, particularly those who are paralyzed, somewhere to go for hunting and recreation.

"This will bring happiness to many, many military families, so I think it's appropriate," he said Friday. "All we're telling the ranch family is when you turn it over, don't wipe out, don't exterminate, the deer and elk, leave them for the veterans." Porterville died Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006. He was a bus driver. Services will be 10 a.m.

Monday (Oct. 2, 2006) at Myers Chapel, Porterville. Interment to be private. Services Today Victor Durbin, 77, died Aug. 21.

Memorial service 1 p.m. at Westlake Village Clubhouse, Visalia. Edmund Hurlbutt, 85, died Sept. 22. Mass of Christian Burial 9 a.m.

at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Salser and Dillard Funeral Chapel, Visalia. Harold Lane, died Sept. 17.

Memorial service 11 a.m. at Woodlake Presbyterian Church. Debra Lockwood, 48, died Sept. 21. Funeral services 1 p.m.

at Evans-Miller Exeter Chapel. Gene Scott, 75, died Sept. 23. Memorial service 2 p.m. at Presbyterian Church, Woodlake.

Dean Tyler, 41, died Sept. 17. Memorial service 12:30 p.m. at Dinuba Kingdom Hall. Dopkins Funeral Chapel, Dinuba.

Sunday Paul Upton, 88, died Sept. 28. Memorial service 2-4 p.m. at Upton family home. Myers Chapel, Porterville.

Monday Rebecca Carolina, 69, died Sept. 24. Services 11 a.m. at Heritage Complex, Tulare. Peers Lorentzen Funeral Chapel, Tulare.

Emily Carrion, 75, died Sept. 27. Services 9 a.m. at Dopkins Funeral Chapel, Dinuba. Maria Espinoza, 46, died Sept.

26. Services 9 a.m. at St. Anne's Church, Porterville. Myers Chapel, Porterville.

Arlene Hunter-Gorman, 80, died Sept. 9. Memorial service 11 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, Visalia. Salser and Dillard Funeral Chapel, Visalia.

Steven Moore, 59, died Sept. 26. Services 10 a.m. at Myers Chapel, Porterville. Vera Wipf, 89, died Sept.

27. ger signed another bill, SB1379, this one sponsored by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata of Oakland, creating the nation's first biomonitoring program to measure chemical contamination in the general public. Dangerous amounts of toxic chemicals such as mercury and the pesticide DDT were found in the bodies of actor Peter Coyote, newspaper columnist Steve Lopez and other prominent Californians during sample tests conducted to promote the bill this year. The new law will make the results of voluntary testing available to public health planners. Pending Goble-Miller Funeral Chapel, Tulare Francisco Bejar, 56, of Visalia died Sept.

29. Obituary policy The Visalia Times-Delta reports deaths and funeral information at no charge. For a fee, obituaries can include additional information in print and online at www.VisaliaTimesDelta.com. Complete information is available from Visalia-area funeral homes or from the Times-Delta, 735-3270. From Our Family To At life's most difficult moments, our family is here to help.

We can help relieve your loved ones from the anxiety and burden of making these decisions at a very difficult time for them. Call today to speak to one of our Pre-Arrangement Specialists for choice, trust and peace of mind. You may also visit www.dignitymemorial.com Miller Memorial Chapel, A Name You Can Trust Dignity MILLER MEMORIAL CHAPEL Funerals Cremations Crematory on site 1120 W. Goshen, Visalia 732-8371 24 Hours Next to the Visalia Cemetery CA FD LiC. EVANS MILLER EXETER CHAPEL CA FD tic.

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