August 2018 - ChicoSol News

Chico PRIDE explores concepts of gender

Four days of activities include plaza performances

by Jessica Lewis | Posted August 31, 2018

A crowd sporting an array of rainbow-colored flags gathered ‘round the stage in Chico’s City Plaza, amid a cluster of various organizations Saturday.

A woman, applauding from the gallery, encouraged a girl to give a dollar to a performer on stage – an obviously appreciated reward for Nikita Diamondz, making her drag debut performance. Each performer got their chance to lead the crowd in an exploration and celebration of gender, by proudly showcasing their own concepts of gender during this year’s “Seeds of Change” PRIDE event.

“There was PRIDE and LGBT in Chico before, but the size and scope of how big Chico PRIDE has become is a big deal,” PRIDE event coordinator Alyssa Larson said. read more

Mechoopda design to become part of S.F. street mural

Butte County contingent prepares for global action on climate change

by Leslie Layton | Posted August 28, 2018

photo by Karen Laslo

Ali Meders-Knight shows her painting next to the Mechoopda basket (lower right) that provided inspiration.

When Ali Meders-Knight was asked to provide mural art for the local contingent at the upcoming San Francisco march for climate action, she thought of the basket designs used by her Mechoopda ancestors.

She thought about historical descriptions of the Northern Sacramento Valley, when birds and butterflies were so numerous they sometimes blocked any view of the sky.

And before that day was out, she had a painting that will be used as a template for a mural panel at San Francisco Civic Center.

Some 60 Chico-area residents are expected at the Sept. 8 RISE for Climate, Jobs & Justice march in San Francisco that has been promoted as a major action to demand an end to fossil-fuel reliance and more governmental and private-sector support for renewable energy development. read more

Huber: Take time to do cannabis sales carefully

Chico council hopeful visited pot-selling Colorado city

by ChicoSol staff | Posted August 22, 2018

Scott Huber, a candidate in the Nov. 6 Chico City Council election, visited Boulder, Colo., in early August to find out first-hand how cannabis dispensary sales have gone there. ChicoSol News Director Dave Waddell explored with Huber in this Q & A what he learned and how it might apply to Chico and Oroville.

In 2016, California voters backed state Proposition 64 that allowed cities, beginning in 2018, to authorize the sale and taxation of recreational marijuana.

video by Guillermo Mash

ChicoSol: Tell us a little about the city you visited.

Huber: My wife and I flew to Boulder, Colo., specifically to learn how that city has managed the conversion to a cannabis-legal community. We chose to visit Boulder because of its superficial similarities to Chico. Boulder is a lot like Chico, and it isn’t. With a population of 108,000 to Chico’s 96,000 it’s slightly larger, but feels twice as big. The boulevards are wider, the buildings are larger, the lawns are greener and the affluence is palpable. read more

Reformers, police chief agree on principles

Concerned Citizens for Justice wants culture change, oversight

by Dave Waddell | Posted August 14, 2018

They aren’t yet holding hands and singing “Kumbaya,” but citizens wanting culture change at Chico PD are in basic agreement with Police Chief Mike O’Brien on principles for reform.

The group, Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ) — which will hold its monthly community meeting this evening — has produced a six-point plan for reform to encourage use of de-escalation practices by Chico police and to ensure there is training in behavioral health crisis intervention.

CCJ meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, at Rhema Hall, 574 E. 12th St. in Chico.

CCJ leader Emily Alma, a longtime critic of what she calls the “tactics of intimidation” of the Chico Police Department, said O’Brien has been receptive to the group’s concerns. read more

Red Bluff thanks tired firefighters

Fairground becomes more than a resting area

by ChicoSol staff | Posted August 12, 2018

In the Northern California town of Red Bluff, just south of the Redding Carr Fire, the Tehama District Fairground has been converted to a makeshift staging and resting area for the exhausted fire crews battling the catastrophic fire that has threatened to engulf the whole of Redding to the north.

The townspeople of Red Bluff, who have witnessed the daily exchange of firefighters to and from the fairground, have shown their gratitude for the fire crews by posting “Thank you” signs on the enclosing fence.

The Carr Fire started July 23, and as of Aug. 11, had burned 190,873 acres, destroyed 191 homes and was 57 percent contained, Cal Fire says. The Red Bluff Daily News reported that citizens came out to personally thank the firefighters Aug. 9. read more

Appeals court reversal orders city, ex-sergeant to trial

Fleeing teenager shot in back of her head in 2013 Chico police killing

by Dave Waddell | Posted August 10, 2018

When activists from the group Justice for Desmond Phillips crashed a “Town Hall with DA Mike Ramsey” in Paradise last spring, the district attorney seemed eager to discuss the 2013 Chico police killing of 19-year-old Breanne Sharpe.

After one of those activists, Kat Lee, called out for justice for Sharpe, Phillips, Tyler Rushing “and every other life that’s been taken by Butte County law enforcement,” Ramsey steered the tense exchange to Sharpe’s shooting.

“It’s interesting what you say about Ms. Sharpe,” Ramsey told Lee at the May 18 town hall at Paradise Lutheran Church. “You know that a federal judge found that (shooting) to be justified? Do you know that? I mean, I’m just asking you: Do you know that?” read more