Border-crossing journalism from the Sacramento Valley
by Leslie Layton
Councilor Scott Huber has stepped down from the Chico City Council after being subjected to attacks on social media and giving up a temporary summer job out of state.
“…given the tone and content of online discussions I genuinely fear for my family’s well-being. For all of these reasons I resign my Council seat, effective immediately,” Huber says in the June 21 letter.
by Leslie Layton
The Chico City Council, in a special Tuesday meeting, after several failed motions adopted a preliminary plan for spending more than $22 million in American Rescue Plan funds in a 5-2 vote.
A Council majority agreed to remove a jobs training program designed to get unhoused people into the local workforce when they adopted the plan brought to them by City Manager Mark Orme, who called it a preliminary “framework,” or a “road map.”
by ChicoSol staff
ChicoSol Editor Leslie Layton was honored June 3 for her November story, “An election ends Gridley’s political slumber” by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), a network that supports news outlets serving diverse communities.
In order to recognize the work of ethnic news outlets in 2020, EMS and California Black Media ran a statewide contest that attracted more than 235 entries in eight languages.
by Leslie Layton
Sometimes change happens quietly, and sometimes there is a quiet — almost imperceptible –shift in consciousness on a social issue that surprises.
A vigil held on this Memorial Day to remember people killed by law enforcement officers and encourage police reform was organized around the belief that messages can sometimes be heard best when people are quietest. About 50 people gathered for the “Say Their Name” vigil organized by Concerned Citizens for Justice (CC4J) at the Bidwell Park One Mile.
by Dave Waddell
Nine Butte County sheriff’s deputies, a majority of them armed with assault rifles, fired a total of 63 rounds two years ago at Richard Moulton, a 52-year-old Red Bluff businessman, killing him.
Recently, Seth Stoughton, a use-of-force expert who testified at the trial of George Floyd’s police killer, expressed concern about what seems to have been “contagious fire” from multiple deputies in the killing.
by Leslie Layton
Bobby Warren knows something about the crime of homelessness.
His court docket is a litany of supposed missteps, with various charges related to Chico ordinances. According to court records, he’s been caught in Depot Park when it was officially closed, stored belongings near a Chico creek, been cited for illegal camping — all examples of ways you might violate city code if you’re wandering unmoored, without an address, job or helpful relative.
