Regenerative agriculture expert Roland Bunch was at Chico State today discussing the ways farming techniques can help end an African famine threatening 20 million people. Bunch has spent the last six years using these techniques to end famine in Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and other nations, and has consulted on regenerative agriculture in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
During years of working in other parts of the world, Bunch says he’s come to realize that sound priniciples that have been developed for tropical climates can be applied to agriculture everywhere. (Regenerative agriculture involves using techniques that mimic nature to nourish the soil in place of dependence on chemical fertilizers.)read more
Bidwell Park’s three rangers will begin carrying guns and taking their orders from the Chico Police Department as a result of a plan approved Tuesday night by the City Council.
The conservative majority of the council held sway in the 4-2 vote, with council members Ann Schwab and Randall Stone in the minority and Karl Ory absent.
“You can’t convince me this is anything but a revenue grab for the Police Department from the Public Works Department,” Stone said. “The park is the perpetual whipping boy … to placate a Police Department that needs to grow.”read more
Olive Bone, though just 14 months old, already knows what she likes when it comes to art, pointing Sunday to a piece displayed at the “Portraits of Desmond” art show in remembrance of Desmond Phillips. Phillips, a 25-year-old mentally ill black man, was shot dead by Chico police in his living room March 17. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey ruled the killing justified, but a group called Justice for Desmond Phillips has asked the state attorney general’s office for an independent criminal investigation. The Phillips family also is represented by the office of prominent civil rights attorney John Burris of Oakland. David Phillips, Desmond’s father, called the art pieces at the weekend exhibit at Estes Ranch “so Desmond" -- photo and story by Dave Waddell.
