Month: November 2017

Desmond’s dad: State probing police killing

AG Xavier Becerra overseeing Chico case ‘personally’
by Dave Waddell | Posted November 28, 2017

photo by Dave Waddell

David Phillips with photo of T-shirt.

A state Department of Justice investigation has been launched into the Chico police killing of Desmond Phillips, a mentally ill young black man gunned down in his living room last March, Phillips’ father claimed at a news conference Monday.

Neither state Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s press office nor Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey responded immediately to requests from ChicoSol for comment on David Phillips’ claim.

Ramsey previously ruled that the shooting by Chico police officers Alex Fliehr and Jeremy Gagnebin, who together fired 16 rounds at Desmond Phillips, was justified. A wrongful death claim – often a precursor of a lawsuit – was filed by the Phillips family but denied by the city. read more

Professor’s new book chronicles challenges

Son’s autism transforms path to a dream teaching job
by Dave Waddell and Leslie Layton | Posted November 27, 2017

photo courtesy of Denise Minor

Denise Minor and son Max

Denise Minor had a dream that wouldn’t go away, a dream to teach Spanish at a university. And while it ultimately became a dream achieved at Chico State, it was first a dream deferred by the extreme challenges of mothering an autistic son.

Minor, an associate professor in CSU, Chico’s department of international languages, literatures and cultures, chronicles her story in a new book, “No Screaming Jelly Beans: Trying to Pursue a Career While Raising a Son With Autism.”

Minor’s new book includes essays published in different forms and at different times during son Max’s life. She believes she benefited from her work on “No Screaming Jelly Beans” — even beyond the therapeutic value that can come from writing narratives — after the notion of a book took hold in her mind. read more

Chico State paid former VP to work elsewhere

Hoffman grossed nearly $325,000 in severance deal
by Gabriel Sandoval | Posted November 15, 2017

photo by Jason Halley/CSUC photographer

Lorraine B. Hoffman in 2014

Lorraine Hoffman, Chico State’s former vice president for business and finance, hasn’t worked on campus since June 2016.

But for the last 16 months, she’s remained on Chico State’s payroll – first while on vacation, then on administrative leave and finally as a “special assistant” for California State University’s Office of the Chancellor in Long Beach – collecting employee benefits and grossing $324,256. The total compensation Hoffman received from Chico State for the 16-month period exceeded $418,000, including about $5,500 a month in retirement system payouts.

“They do this for the people that are making six figures, but they don’t do that for custodians,” said Pat Gantt, state president of the CSU Employees Union and a 36-year employee of Chico State. “You know, they don’t do that for the people that I represent.” read more

Chicoans pack meeting to discuss homeless

City Council will consider moving the Jesus Center
by ChicoSol staff | Posted November 8, 2017
Bill Such

The Chico City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to consider moving the Jesus Center and consolidating services to the homeless in southeast Chico. But Chicoans packed the meeting, some in favor of the plan, some opposed and some warning that the homeless shouldn’t be merely shuttled from downtown unless more services will be provided.

Bill Such, former Jesus Center executive director, said he fears the move could “compromise the identity” of the center. Such compared the homeless to Jesus of Nazarene, who he said was “intentionally homeless” and rejected by his family. “In Christian terms, Jesus, with nowhere to rest, is the homeless god,” Such said.

Leslie Johnson, co-founder of Chico Housing Action Team, cautioned that housing must be made available to people who complete Jesus Center programs or the center will be a “dead end.”
read more

DA: Deputy killed armed man in self-defense

Sniper Calkins was almost 130 yards away from Jensen
by Dave Waddell | Posted November 1, 2017

Butte County District Attorney’s slide

A Butte County sheriff’s sniper was nearly 130 yards away from a drunken, pistol-waving Mark Jensen when the officer shot him dead with a rifle Aug. 17 in the roadway in front of his Durham residence.

The distance between the two men was about the same as from the back of one end zone to the back of the other end zone on a football field.

Jensen never fired his .45 caliber Glock semi-automatic, but the sniper, deputy Matt Calkins, peering through his rifle’s scope, believed Jensen was pointing the handgun at him and fired in self-defense, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey ruled this week. Calkins was in a prone position behind a tree in an orchard wearing camouflage clothing, including a dirt-colored helmet, when he pulled the trigger on his .308 caliber rifle. read more