Protesters gather outside congressman’s pricey fundraising event

By ChicoSol staff | Posted July 31, 2018

photo by Karen Laslo

Wes Owens, Raeanne Flores-Owens and Micha Lehner were among those protesting the conservative District 1 congressman.

Chico’s Raeanne Flores-Owens protested with about 19 other people Monday, saying that while Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) was raising money for his re-election campaign, much of the Northern Sacramento Valley was burning. “We are covered in smoke, it’s hazy, our children can’t play outside,” she said of the Carr Fire’s impact.

The 110,000-acre Carr Fire has been identified as the most destructive fire in Shasta County’s history, and the weather system the fire is generating has been linked to climate change. Air quality in the northern valley today ranges from “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “hazardous,” according to KRCR news. read more

Carr Fire driven by changes in climate

Chico can prepare for extreme weather events that will be more common
By Leslie Layton | Posted July 28, 2018

photo courtesy of CSUC’s Jason Halley
Associate Professor Mark Stemen

The Shasta County Carr Fire, with its towering, tornado-like flames tearing into the city of Redding, is the kind of summer fire that could cease to be an anomaly as climate change reshapes the Northern California environment, said Mark Stemen, a professor in the Chico State Geography and Planning Department.

It’s also the kind of fire that this city must work to prevent, said Stemen in a telephone interview Friday. “A fire like this could absolutely happen in Chico if the winds were strong and blowing down the canyon,” Stemen added in an email to ChicoSol.

“One of the things that climate change has done is extended the fire season and created these inferno flames,” Stemen said. “The Carr Fire is a climate-change enhanced fire because of the extreme heat and the extreme winds.” read more

Family sues deputies over shooting death

Unarmed Palermo woman in mental crisis reversed car
By Dave Waddell | Posted July 27, 2018

Myra Micalizio, about seven years ago with her nephew Justin Widener, who is a police officer in Aurora, Colo.

Above all else, her family says, Myra Micalizio of Palermo was a gentle woman who loved the Lord. And she got along really well with her imaginary friends as well.

Micalizio, 56, who lived with mental health issues, was shot dead April 26 in a hail of bullets from two Butte County sheriff’s deputies. On July 20, her family filed a federal civil rights complaint seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages from Butte County, sheriff’s deputies Charles Lair and Mary Barker, and Sheriff Kory Honea.

“It would have been apparent to any law enforcement officer adequately trained to contact and communicate with persons suffering from mental illness that … Micalizio was experiencing mental illness, as opposed to engaging in criminal conduct,” says the complaint, filed in the Sacramento Division of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. read more

‘Angelversary’ of Rushing shooting observed

Family of Palermo woman killed by deputies gains ‘voice’
By Dave Waddell | Posted July 25, 2018

photo courtesy of Rushing family

A couple dozen citizens gathered Monday evening for an “angelversary” to remember the life and death of Tyler Rushing, one year to the day after he was killed in a downtown shooting involving Chico police.

“It’s a very hard day for us,” said Scott Rushing of Ventura, Tyler’s father. Rushing said he expects to experience “a lifetime of trauma” over the killing of his only son on July 23, 2017. The shooting involved a private security guard and a Chico police sergeant.

In addition to Rushing and his wife Paula, in attendance at the commemoration were members and supporters of two other families who have had loved ones killed in officer-involved shootings in Butte County in the past 1½ years. read more

From Africa to Inglewood to Chico State

Senior from Nigeria overcomes challenges
By Nicte Hernandez | Posted July 18, 2018

Krystle Tonga with Samuel Akinwande

Although he’s dealt with typical challenges that come with being the first person in his family to attend a university, Samuel Akinwande’s route to Chico State was far from typical.

Akinwande was born and raised in Nigeria, moving at age 11 to Inglewood, where education took a backseat to everyday worry about simply making it home alive after a day’s schooling.

“We had no help in high school when pursuing higher education,” Akinwande said. “Our counselors literally gave us our transcripts and said figure it out. That’s it.”

Chico State presented its own brand of culture shock to Akinwande, now a senior in the social work and Multicultural and Gender Studies program. But he became involved in multiple clubs and activities, serving as president of the African Student Union and Associated Students’ director of university affairs. read more

A newly-elected president, a new beginning

CSUC graduate says AMLO is a "beacon of hope"
By Floritzel Salvador | Posted July 5, 2018

CSUC 2018 grad Floritzel Salvador

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) has officially won the presidency with 53.5 percent of the national vote. This is a new and hopeful beginning for Mexico, and AMLO is a beacon of hope for someone like me.

Mexico is a country that has been plagued with brutal murders, disappearances and extremely low wages, and these conditions have forced many Mexican citizens to flee and cross the U.S. border.

I am currently in my home state of Oaxaca, Mexico, a beautiful state that is rich in culture and tourism. Yet, it continues to be one of the poorest states in all of Mexico. In Oaxaca, teachers who have been killed and brutally tortured have made international news, indigenous communities that should be valued and cared for have been forgotten. read more