Department spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said one of the suspects agreed to sell an ounce of the drug and met with an undercover officer at 1:07 p.m. Tuesday.

Derek Alexander Hooks, 37, of Sacramento was taken into custody on suspicion of possession and transportation of the drug for sale and of conspiracy, Gunther said.

Two other people police believe to be working with Hooks were arrested nearby on suspicion of possessing meth for sale and of conspiracy, she said. They were identified as Giovani Perez, 23, and Sonja Lynn Bailey, 43, both of Sacramento.

Hooks and Perez were held in the Placer County jail in Auburn on $250,000 bail. Bailey was released after posting $15,000 in bail.

Gunther said more than $1,000 in cash and drug paraphernalia also were seized when the arrests were made. The 41 grams of methamphetamine, or 1.4 ounces, had an estimated street value of $1,700, she said.

About one in five young adults last year acknowledged illicit drug use within the previous month, a rate similar to previous years. But cocaine use declined by one-quarter and methamphetamine use by one-third. Drug use increased among the 50-59 age group as more baby boomers joined that category. Their past month drug use rose from 4.3 percent in 2006 to 5 percent in 2007. “The baby boomers have much higher rates of self-destructive behavior than any parallel age group we have data from,” said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Walters, 55, is a boomer himself. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health, being released Thursday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is based on interviews with about 67,500 people. Overall, about 20 million people 12 or older reported using illicit drugs within the past month. Marijuana was the most popular by far, with 14.4 million acknowledging use of marijuana in the past month. Among adolescents, age 12 to 17, drug use dipped from 9.8 percent in 2006 to 9.5 percent last year, continuing a five-year trend. Their use of alcohol and cigarettes also fell during the same period. “The earlier you use drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, the more likely you are to have a lifelong problem,” Walters said.

Much of the progress in curbing drug use occurred between 2002 and 2005. Critics of the nation’s drug policies warned not to read too much into the latest numbers. “Use of marijuana and other drugs naturally fluctuates and if you look at long-term trends, current rates are smack in the middle of the range they’ve been in for decades,” said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates the decriminalization of marijuana. “There is simply no evidence that current policies … have made any difference.” A World Health Organization survey of 17 countries this year showed that people in the U.S. were more likely than people elsewhere to have tried illicit drugs. The U.S. tied New Zealand for the highest rate of marijuana use and far outpaced other countries on cocaine use, the survey found. The U.S. report measured drug use over the past month, while the WHO’s looked at drug use over a lifetime. The WHO survey concluded: “The use of drugs seems to be a feature of more affluent countries. The U.S., which has been driving much of the world’s drug research and drug policy agenda, stands out with higher levels of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, despite punitive illegal drug policies as well as a higher minimum legal alcohol drinking age than many comparable developed countries.” More than half the people who tried drugs for the first time in 2007 used marijuana, according to the U.S. survey. The rate of new marijuana users came to about 6,000 people a day.

The overall rate of illicit drug use dropped from 8.3 percent of those 12 and older to 8.0 percent in 2007. Walters also acknowledged concern about nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers among young adults. He urged parents to have more awareness of where they keep their prescriptions and to throw them away when the drugs are no longer needed. The survey, which also examined mental health, indicated that 24.3 million people 18 or older experienced “serious psychological distress over the past year.” It stressed the link between mental health and substance abuse, noting that adults experiencing depression within the past year were more than twice as like to have tried illicit drugs during that time than other adults.

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It’s just the first in many steps needed before a quarter percent sales tax hike becomes reality.

The money would go to wipe out gangs.

A similar proposal was recently dropped by Sacramento County leaders.

Sacramento city leaders will draft new language and council members will then vote on whether to put it on the November ballot.

Some experts say the bad air has a greater impact on kids than healthy adults, and Roseville officials have begun taking steps to limit children’s exposure.

It’s the summer break, and smoky skies can’t keep kids like Harrison Reagan inside all day. “I can’t be out as long [as usual], only a couple hours at a time because of the bad air quality,” the 13-year-old said.

The poor air quality reached unhealthy levels for everyone this afternoon, leading Roseville’s Parks and Recreation Department to cancel soccer and tennis camps, a first for the city.

Officials say cancellations will be made on a day-by-day basis, but they expect more because of the smoky skies that are expected to remain through the week.

“There are other things we can do during hot times like take breaks, but when air quality is bad, we have the same advisory: It’s not good for kids to be out,” said Megan MacPherson.

There are others who have no choice but to beat the heat and bad air because it’s part of their job. Kris Clark, a valet attendant, has found the air quality to be a hindrance.

“It’s not fun, can’t breath, hard to run,” he said. “Got to work, got to pay the bills.”

At around 3:20 p.m. a spokesperson for the jury announced that they were “hopelessly deadlocked.” The jury was split 9-3 in favor of a not guilty verdict for the defendant, Veronica Salcedo.

The jury announced a deadlock this morning, but was was ordered back into deliberation by the judge. Salcedo’s first trial also ended in a mistrial because that jury was also deadlocked.

The case has drawn a lot of public attention due in large part to Scott Juceam, Hanna’s father, who has vigorously campaigned for new laws to protect infants from shaken baby syndrome and started an awareness campaign to prevent child abuse. He’s also apparently someone to be feared, according to Salcedo’s attorney, Mary Beth Acton, who obtained a restraining order against Juceam.

Salcedo is accusing of shaking then 15-month-old Hanna Juceam to death while the child was in her care in 2006.
If Salcedo is found guilty, she could face 25 years to life in prison.