Month: October 2019

Micalizio ‘would never do anything against police’ Reports: Woman shot dead by Butte deputy had tried to help CHP officer

Hali McKelvie with her mother, Myra Micalizio, in 2014. Photo courtesy of family.

by Dave Waddell

Not long after Myra Micalizio was shot five times in the back and killed last year by a Butte County sheriff’s deputy, District Attorney Mike Ramsey declared before television cameras that Micalizio had tried to attack deputies with her vehicle.

Micalizio’s family never bought that scenario, but Ramsey reaffirmed it many months later when issuing a report clearing deputies Charles Lair and Mary Barker of any criminal wrongdoing in the killing. Micalizio’s three children – Lisa Rutledge, Sean McKelvie and Hali McKelvie – recently settled a wrongful death suit against Butte County for $250,000, said County Counsel Bruce Alpert.

Through many of her 56 years, Micalizio lived with undiagnosed mental illness and was in unprecedented crisis when shot dead on April 26, 2018. On that day, Micalizio was “delusional, depressed, and experiencing hallucinations,” while conversing with what she called her “imaginary friends,” according to her children’s lawsuit. read more

Almond Bowl T-shirt design at Chico High stirs debate Winning design opens doors for Latinx students

VOCES Latinxs at Chico High produced the winning design for the school’s Almond Bowl T-shirt that includes a sugar skull-like image.

essay by Denise Minor

On the surface, this story appears to be about a disagreement over the T-shirt design chosen to commemorate this year’s Almond Bowl, the cross-town football game that each fall marks athletic rivalry between two local high schools.

But beneath the surface, the story is really about how we, as individuals and a society, choose the symbols and imagery we find acceptable to represent ourselves to the rest of the world. And beyond that, it is about the divisions between whom we view as “us” and “them.”

Some background: Every year the Chico High School (CHS) Associated Student Body holds a design contest for the T-shirts and sweatshirts that students and fans wear to the big game against Pleasant Valley High School. This year’s game falls on Nov. 1, the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead. Given that coincidence, a club for Latino students called VOCES Latinxs came up with the idea of combining the school’s panther mascot with some typical Day of the Dead design touches. (In English, “voces” means “voices.”) read more

“Biblioburro” opens Third Thursday Film & Discussion series KIXE says it wants to encourage "collective effort"

photo courtesy of KIXE

by Lindajoy Fenley

Colombian schoolteacher Luis Soriano began his literacy campaign with just a few books in the 1990s, delivering them to remote areas from the back of his burro.

His efforts have since become internationally known, bringing thousands of books to rural areas. The film “Biblioburro” that tells his remarkable story will be screened at the Butte County Library at 6 p.m. Oct. 17.

“Biblioburro” is part of a KIXE pop-up 12-film project geared to creating an environment in which the public can learn about and discuss important social issues, called the “Third Thursday Film & Discussion” series.

“We wanted to use documentary films as a catalyst for discussion about place, race, poverty and other important topics of social civic engagement,” Julie Driver told Chicosol in a telephone interview. “The underlining theme is collaborative impact that starts with one person.” read more

County releases Micalizio documents ChicoSol requests officers' records under SB 1421

Myra Micalizio (left) with her daughter, Hali McKelvie.

by Leslie Layton

In July 2018, a Sacramento civil rights attorney noted just how much information had been withheld in the shooting by Butte County sheriff’s deputies three months earlier that had killed a Palermo woman.

Myra Micalizio, 56, died in April of that year during an encounter with a pair of deputies who together fired 13 rounds. Attorney Mark Merin, representing Micalizio’s family, issued a press release noting that Butte County had “refused to produce any interviews, investigation reports… statements of the officers, coroner’s report…”

Journalists and the public in general have been forced to rely on reports issued by Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, who often, after a law-enforcement killing, acts swiftly to give an initial media statement and to issue preliminary findings that justify the actions of officers. And in the case of Micalizio, it wasn’t until Feb. 11 of this year – almost 10 months after she had been killed – that Ramsey ruled there had been no criminal wrongdoing by deputies Charles Lair and Mary Barker and provided the results in detail of his investigation. read more