Denial all over

Speaking to the unmasked, addressing "possibility"
by Anna Blackmon Moore | Posted August 25, 2020

photo by Karen Laslo
A sign at a Chico business reminds customers that masks are required in public by the state of California.

My father, who died two years ago, was an alcoholic. When I was a child and he was inebriated, I’d ask him whether he was drunk. He always said no before stumbling off to bed. I watched him go and felt I had been wrong to suspect drunkenness and even more wrong to ask.

I stood in our hallway, balanced unsteadily on a threshold between what my father said and what I knew to be true. It was very uncomfortable, deeply personal, and profoundly difficult for me to understand. My stomach churned; I developed a pre-ulcerous condition; I grew into adolescence an extremely insecure girl.

He might have believed he was neither drunk nor an alcoholic. He might have known he was both and lied because he wanted to drink as much as he pleased without interference from anyone. He did feel like his drinking was precious, a thing that was nobody’s business, something that belonged to him — lots of addicts feel this way about their addictions. I don’t know precisely what he told himself or what he believed, but I know he did not want his routines to change. He did not want his life to be upended. read more

Hispanic Resource Council launches COVID outreach campaign

COVID testing fear a problem
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 13, 2020

Reyna Nolta and the Chico-based group she works with knew, shortly after Independence Day, that they had been called to act.

She had read and been interviewed for a July 4 ChicoSol story that reported on the disproportionate way in which COVID-19 was slamming the Latino community in Butte County. Now, the Hispanic Resource Council of Northern California (HRCNC) – an organization with a clunky name but a trustworthy reputation — has in a matter of weeks organized five events targeting Latino, Black and Hmong families with information and supplies to stem the spread of the virus.

The first PPE (personal protective equipment) giveaway was a success, and the second will be held from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 22 at 1003 Newport Ave, Orland (at the Rancho de Soto apartments.) Events will also be held on following weekends in Oroville, Chico and Palermo and announced on ChicoSol. read more

War on immigrants escalates as pandemic worsens

Trump steps up assault on immigration and immigrant communities
by Sunita Sohrabji | Posted August 12, 2020

photo by Leslie Layton
Demonstrator at a Women’s March several years ago calling for immigrant rights.

The Trump administration has made 400 policy changes detrimental to immigrants through its tenure at the White House, with 63 fresh blows meted out amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) in a report released July 31.

“Many of the changes reflect the administration’s really strong knowledge of immigration law and regulations, and their willingness to enforce things that have been on the books for years, but have never been implemented,” said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at MPI, who co-authored the report with MPI Associate Policy Analyst Jessica Bolter. read more

Chico Flax addresses climate change

Farm produces linen and sequesters carbon
by Katie McCammon | Posted August 5, 2020

Varieties of flax fibers can become wearable threads.

Saving humankind from climate change disaster is an immense challenge, and there will be no silver bullet solution. However, there are many “silver buckshot,” and two of them involve greening our agricultural system and greening how clothing is produced.

Both are found in the farming practices that turn flax plant fibers into linen clothing. According to an article by The World Bank, the fashion industry is responsible for approximately 10% of global carbon emissions.

As an intern with Citizens Climate Lobby Chico Chapter, I joined a group visit to Chico Flax, a small farm that grows flax and produces local linen textiles through regenerative farming practices. We learned a lot in one visit to this farm, including how much work goes into producing material using more sustainable farming initiatives. read more

City of Chico says it will enforce mask-wearing

Council tries new approach to public participation at meetings
by ChicoSol staff | Posted August 5, 2020

photo by Karen Laslo
Because of the pandemic, city employees sat outside during the meeting, in the 90-degree heat, handing out speaker cards to those who wished to speak at the City Council meeting.

Public participation was allowed at the Aug.4 City Council meeting — but a citizen speaker tore off his mask at the microphone as he addressed the panel.

The Council allowed in-person public participation at the meeting for the first time since the pandemic set in, asking would-be speakers to wear a face covering in the chambers and line up outside, staying 6 feet apart, until their names were called. They were allowed to then enter one-by-one. One man pulled off his mask as he addressed the Council, pleading with it not to enforce mandatory mask compliance.

Face coverings are required in California in most public spaces. read more

Third anniversary of Rushing killing observed

Family files quick appeal after lawsuit tossed in federal court
by Dave Waddell | Posted July 24, 2020

photo by Dave Waddell

Scott Rushing, wearing his only son’s blue polo work shirt, had a question Thursday evening for two dozen people attending a sidewalk vigil on the third anniversary of Tyler Rushing’s death.

How many people have Chico police killed since Tyler died on a bloody bathroom floor inside a title company on July 23, 2017? The answer, as many in the group knew, is zero.

“Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so. … I believe we’ve saved lives,” Rushing said of the activism that followed the killings of his son and Desmond Phillips, a young Black man in mental crisis who was gunned down by Chico police on March 17, 2017. read more