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

Clinic’s abrupt closure leaves North State patients without care

Healthcare advocates: Federal health care cuts ripple through rural Northern California
by Yucheng Tang | Posted February 2, 2026
Tarichi Primary Care in Corning abruptly closed with a notice that mentions federal policy and last year’s government shutdown. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

Corning resident Glenna Secreto was scheduled to have a post-surgery check-up at Tarichi Primary Care in Corning last month. However, on Jan. 14, she found the clinic had been shut down a week earlier.

Secreto’s 95-year-old mother, Ada Boatman, had an appointment at the same clinic that morning. When Boatman reached the clinic, she saw the door locked, people pulling up for appointments, and a posted notice.

Secreto later found a new clinic for herself and her mom, but neither of them could get an appointment until the end of February when her mom will be able to get needed medications. Secreto, though, had to make a drive of more than two hours to St. Helena for her post-surgery check-up. read more

Weekend protests oppose ICE tactics

Local nurses close three days of protest with vigil
by Leslie Layton | Posted February 2, 2026
Eric Smith is an ICU nurse at Oroville Hospital. Photo by Karen Laslo.

This story was first posted Jan. 31 and updated Feb. 2

Three days of protest in Chico began with Jan. 30 student walkouts to protest immigration enforcement tactics. And the culmination was a Feb. 1 candlelight vigil organized by local nurses and their national union to honor people who have been killed by federal agents.

The vigil drew at least 200 protesters who lined the Esplanade across from Enloe Medical Center, many wearing red and some carrying signs paying tribute to Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti. read more

California chief justice steps up monitoring of immigration arrests at courthouses

by Cayla Mihalovich, CalMatters | Posted February 1, 2026
The Placer County Superior Court in Roseville on Jan. 23, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

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

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said she is taking a more proactive stance to preserve access to the judicial system as the Trump administration continues to make arrests in courthouses.

At a press conference on Thursday, Guerrero — the high court’s first Latina chief — expressed concern over the “chilling effects” of federal immigration enforcement in California courthouses and said the Judicial Council has been closely monitoring the situation. read more

Immigrant detentions continue in Butte & Tehama

ICE protests begin today and continue throughout weekend
by Leslie Layton | Posted January 30, 2026
Maya DeHoyos at today’s Chico State protest. Photo courtesy of Karen Laslo

In the wake of recent Butte and Tehama immigrant detentions and intensified enforcement nationwide, North State residents are organizing communities and discussing protest safety.

In Chico, a weekend of protests has been planned in response to the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents in Minneapolis, as well as to tactics in use by Immigration, Customs & Enforcement (ICE). (See protest schedule at end of article.)

ChicoSol learned this morning that many Chico High School students walked out early in the day. read more