California sues as Trump cuts $600M in public health grants to four states

by Ana B. Ibarra, CalMatters | Posted February 12, 2026
Meredith Reyes, a lab technician 1, labels COVID-19 swab tests before processing at the Sonoma County Department of Public Health on June 8, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

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California is suing the Trump Administration over its plans to cut $600 million in public health funding from California and three other Democratic states, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Congress it would end Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. The attorneys general in those states filed a joint lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Wednesday, arguing the cuts are based on “arbitrary political animus” and would cause irreparable harm.  read more

Detentions at Redding’s ICE field office spike

Use of the unlisted office has increased since Trump’s inauguration
by Madison Holcomb, Shasta Scout | Posted February 9, 2026

REDDING — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Redding, about 160 miles north of Sacramento in largely rural Shasta County, has been detaining noncitizens for years, federal government data shows. 

The data also indicates that the rate at which immigrants were being detained at the facility significantly increased after President Donald Trump was inaugurated. Only about half of those detained since then have had a criminal record. read more

All-day literary festival coming to downtown

The Allies Pub Lit Fest will celebrate the 'power of words’ Feb. 28
by Dave Waddell | Posted February 5, 2026
From left, Steve Kay, Rob Davidson, Michael Bertsch, Jason Cassidy, Nancy Wiegman, Steve Metzger. Photo by Dave Waddell.

An all-day literary festival will be held on the last day of February at The Allies Pub in downtown Chico.

The Allies Lit Fest, beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, will be a celebration of “local writers, readers and the power of words,” said pub proprietor Steve Kay.

Kay emphasized that the festival, which is free and public, is not an academic conference, but rather “an approachable, social, multi-generational, pub-friendly, rooted-in-lived-experience” affair. read more

No action by City Council on outsourcing more services

Van Overbeek after hearing: Public Works has the "right balance"
by Yucheng Tang | Posted February 4, 2026
Skyler Lipski, director of operations and maintenance for the public works department, speaking at the meeting. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

A public hearing at the Feb. 3 City Council meeting featured Public Works employees in their orange jackets and a discussion on whether more of their work could be “outsourced.”

About 30 Public Works employees sat on the east side of the Chamber as a department administrator explained that outsourcing some services could in fact raise costs and reduce reliability.

Skyler Lipski, director of operations and maintenance for the Public Works department, noted that approximately 30 percent of the department’s services are already outsourced. read more