Month: September 2017

Writer-consultant Roland Bunch discusses ways to stem famine

by Leslie Layton | Posted September 8, 2017

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

City Council: Arm the park rangers

Bidwell Park rangers will carry guns and receive police training
by Dave Waddell | Posted September 6, 2017

photo by Leslie Layton

Councilor Randall Stone voted in opposition.

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.”

Councilor Reanette Fillmer, while discussing increased dangers in the park, surprised some at the meeting by announcing that “now rape is a non-violent crime in the state of California.” (Rape by force has been and continues to be a violent felony in this state, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.) read more