January 2025 - ChicoSol News

Hmong elders may face isolation, animosity California hotline and Oroville's cultural center offer assistance

photo by Yucheng Tang

Seng Yang, director of Butte County’s Hmong Cultural Center.

by Yucheng Tang
posted Jan. 21

Among more than a thousand reports received by the California vs Hate hotline in the first year, the most commonly cited form of hate was based on race and ethnicity.

Anti-Black bias was the most common, followed by anti-Latino and anti-Asian, said Kevin Kish, director of the California Civil Rights Department, during a Jan. 17 briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services (EMS).

The Civil Rights Department launched the hotline in May 2023, and connects victims and witnesses of hate incidents and hate crimes with the resources they may need, including legal services, counseling, mental health services and financial assistance. People can report online in 15 languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, Filipino and Chinese, or by phone in 200 languages. read more

Saving the nation begins “inside of us” Pastor Robert Morton reminds a Chico audience that hope is necessary

photo by Yucheng Tang

Keynote speaker Pastor Robert Morton

by Yucheng Tang
posted Jan. 20

Pastor Robert Morton told an audience of hundreds that “saving” the country requires “seeing value in your neighborhood” during a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration held Jan. 19 at St John’s Episcopal Church in Chico.

“I’m not entirely sure how America is going to be saved,” Morton said. “But if she is, it begins in here, it begins inside of us, it begins not simply by us marching, not by us protesting, not by us arguing or fighting or being keyboard warriors in the comments section. But it begins by you seeing value in your neighborhood.” read more

People’s March on Chico prepares to fight for change Voting is important on everything from "dog-catcher to president"

by Yucheng Tang
posted Jan. 18

Hundreds of people joined the People’s March on Chico today, marching from City Plaza to the Women’s Club as many passing drivers honked in support, prompting cheers and screams from the protesters.

Lead coordinator of the People’s March Chico coalition and Women’s March Chico, Angela Silva, said the coalition formed in “response to Trump’s second election. We have welcomed in so many groups.” Silva said more than 500 people participated in the march and rally. read more

Fear Paralyzes Tiny Town in California’s Tulare County After Border Patrol raids, town of Poplar comes to a standstill

photo by Manuel Ortiz

Mari Pérez Ruíz of Community Valley Empowerment Alliance discusses the recent raids with a community of indigenous farmworkers in Tulare County.

by Peter Schurmann, EMS
posted Jan. 18

POPLAR, Ca. -– In the early 1970s, this unincorporated town in California’s agricultural heartland was designated by county officials as having “no authentic future.” That designation—entailing dramatic cuts to basic services remained until as recently as 2023.

Now, following a series of raids on immigrants that began on Jan. 7 in neighboring Kern County, residents here say the future does indeed look bleak.

“People are scared. They don’t want to come out. We’re all scared,” says Gregorio, a resident of Poplar for the past seven years and the owner of a local business that caters to the community’s farmworker population. (We are not using Gregorio’s last name to protect his identity.) read more

Teisha Hase, a “child advocate,” assumes trustee seat "There needs to be a focus on mental health"

by Natalie Hanson
posted Jan. 11

Editor’s note: Gayle Olsen and Teisha Hase joined the Chico Unified School District (CUSD) board this month after winning seats in the Nov. 5 General Election. Read our Q-and-A with Olsen here and our Q-and-A with Hase below. Read our sidebar on policy under the Trump Administration here.

Longtime English and reading educator Teisha Hase is taking her dedication to students to the next level as she assumes her seat on the CUSD board representing Trustee Area 3.

Hase told ChicoSol she’s excited to take on this new journey after 27 years working at Chico and Oroville high schools and tutoring students needing alternative support. Hase, who considers herself a student advocate, has also served as president of the Oroville Secondary Teachers Association (OSTA). read more

New Chico Unified board member prepares for challenges Gayle Olsen: "Every student learns differently"

by Natalie Hanson
posted Jan. 11

Editor’s note: Gayle Olsen and Teisha Hase joined the Chico Unified School District’s (CUSD) school board this month after winning seats in the Nov. 5 General Election. This Q-and-A with Olsen is the first story in a two-part series. And read our sidebar on what policy under the Trump Administration could look like here.

Gayle Olsen is no stranger to the challenge of fighting for resources for the most vulnerable students.

Now that she’s won the race for a seat on the board in Trustee Area 2, she said she’s ready to leverage that experience to fight for many more students. read more