January 2023 - ChicoSol News

First shooter in police killing sued multiple times

Gridley PD has no record of investigating officer’s prior shooting

by Dave Waddell | Posted January 26, 2023

Anthony Lara, the Gridley police officer who fired first in the fatal shooting of a man in mental crisis, has been a defendant in at least two lawsuits claiming excessive force and civil rights violations.

Lara initiated police gunfire that on Jan. 2 killed Baltazar Rubio, 43, of Gridley, who was allegedly pointing an unloaded handgun. The barrage came to total 31 shots fired by three Gridley-Biggs Police Department officers. Police bullets sped both directions down a skinny alley in the middle of a normally peaceful neighborhood, leaving residents stunned and shaken.

In a previous shooting in 2019, Lara fired his gun six times and slightly wounded an unarmed 19-year-old driver despite the teen’s girlfriend’s screams from the backseat. Gridley settled a civil suit stemming from that shooting, paying out $150,000, said Police Chief Rodney Harr. Gridley PD has no record of anyone in law enforcement, including Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, ever investigating the incident -– either criminally or administratively. read more

Public schools take center stage in battles over civil rights

Chico Unified School District sued by conservative group

by Natalie Hanson | Posted January 20, 2023

photo courtesy of EMS

Michaele Turnage Young

Civil rights advocates say that battles over student rights have become polarized by far-right “special interests,” and they foresee a fight ahead to protect childrens’ rights.

Those fights may involve issues ranging from protection against discrimination to materials students are allowed to access and read. And at a Jan. 18 Board of Trustees meeting for Chico Unified School District (CUSD), officials responded to concerns raised by a lawsuit filed by an organization that supports many of the political right’s causes with court fights.

At a Jan. 18 news briefing sponsored by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), experts said the battle over students’ rights starts in K-12 schools, including whether children can be protected from discriminatory bullying. read more

Health care providers struggle to reach essential workers

As cold-season viruses spread, barriers to health care seem to grow

by Natalie Hanson | Posted January 12, 2023

photo by Karen Laslo

Program Manager Norma Lacy

The COVID pandemic continues to impact California’s farmworkers and their access to health care -– particularly in more isolated rural zones like the Northern Sacramento Valley, doctors say.

The “tripledemic” — as flu and RSV add to the surging respiratory illnesses sweeping the nation -– may worsen existing barriers to health care access that marginalized communities face. In Butte County, health providers say it is hard to know which communities have been hit hardest by the virus, but they believe it is harder to reach essential worker communities like California’s farmworkers.

Nonprofit organizations have been working with local public health agencies to reach these communities, including “Promotores,” a program under Northern Valley Catholic Social Service. But there are ongoing struggles. read more

Chico State spirals into deep hole

Commentary: "The trust Hutchinson wants to rebuild may be hard won"

by Ariana Powell | Posted January 5, 2023

It’s been two years since the start of Professor David Stachura and Chico State’s spiral into a deep hole. Stachura’s alleged decision to engage in a “consensual” relationship with one of his students started it all. Following that, Chico State decided to keep the investigation, and later reports of violent threats, from its faculty, staff and student population.

Even though I am not a part of the biology department at Chico State, there are multiple aspects surrounding the handling of the Stachura situation that raised red flags for me -– both as a Chico State student and a woman.

When I first became aware of the situation, I was surprised by the school’s secrecy. In a society where the #MeToo movement is well known, and there is growing awareness surrounding sexual harassment, I would have thought that the school would be far more transparent regarding the “consensual” relationship that Stachura is alleged to have had. read more