The Man Who Cried at Grant Park

Jesse Jackson was never meant to be convenient. That is exactly why we needed him.
by Robert A. Morton Sr. | Posted February 19, 2026
Photo by David Bacon courtesy of ACoM.

I want to start with the tears.

November 4, 2008. Grant Park, Chicago. Barack Obama has just been elected president, and the cameras find Jesse Jackson standing in the crowd, not on the stage, in the crowd, with his face completely undone. Tears running. Jaw tight. Eyes somewhere between here and thirty years ago. The facial posture alone carried the weight of a whole life. Impression and expression layered together the way only real grief and real joy can produce, each one refusing to yield to the other. read more

Butte County voters will get two ballots in May

Which to return? Both, separately!
by Yucheng Tang | Posted February 18, 2026
Screenshot from the clerk-recorder’s website.

A vacant seat in California’s 1st Congressional District — caused by the passing of former congressman Doug LaMalfa, as well as recently approved redistricting — have set up an unusual and potentially confusing election year for voters in Butte County.

Butte County voters will receive two separate ballots for two June 2 primary elections.

One is the primary for a special election to fill LaMalfa’s seat for the remainder of his term.  read more

Three days in review: Feds cut state’s public health funding, Southside Oroville a campaign stop

Sunny's podcast: Catch up with ChicoSol
by Sunny | Posted February 18, 2026

“We need the minimum wage to go up, we need job security” — Ife Sainte in Sunny’s podcast.

Oroville residents tell candidate they want jobs, affordable housing

Democrats warn that the November election needs vigilance
by Leslie Layton and Yucheng Tang | Posted February 15, 2026
Sen. Mike McGuire, who is running for U.S. Congress to represent District 1, listens to an Oroville resident. Photo by Yucheng Tang

The Southside Oroville Community Center gave District 1 voters the chance to voice concerns in a Feb. 12 town hall featuring state Sen. Mike McGuire.

McGuire, a candidate for California’s 1st Congressional District seat under the Proposition 50 redrawn map, spoke to an audience of about 70 people. Whoever wins the Nov. 3 race will take the seat that was occupied for a dozen years by Rep. Doug LaMalfa, the Richvale rice farmer who represented District 1 and passed away earlier this year. read more

California sues over public health funding cut

Trump cuts $600M in 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 in June 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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