Month: April 2025

A bocce ball athlete serves as inspiration for Special Olympics Butte County

Changemaker: Under Sue Barlow's leadership, the nonprofit grows
by Yucheng Tang | Posted April 28, 2025

photo by Yucheng Tang
Butte County Special Olympics Area Director Sue Barlow

This is ChicoSol’s fourth monthly profile in our Changemaker series.

Reneé Anchordoguy was just 10 when her older sister, Sue Barlow, took her to the state-level Special Olympics at University of California, Los Angeles.

During a race, Anchordoguy was running alongside a friend who began to slow and fall behind. Instead of pushing ahead, Anchordoguy also slowed down, reached out, took her friend’s hand — and together, they crossed the finish line.

“That’s my biggest memory of that one thing,” Barlow said, “about all the friendship they have.” Barlow remembered that after attending the Special Olympics, her introverted little sister with Down syndrome became more outgoing and confident. read more

Endangered Species Faire celebration a call to action

At City Plaza, information on everything environmental
by Yucheng Tang | Posted April 26, 2025

The 46th annual Endangered Species Faire was celebrated today with a downtown parade that featured axolotls, giraffes, owls and salmon puppets — and served as a call to action on climate change and species preservation.

“Animals cannot speak up for themselves, so we speak up for them,” a host on the plaza stage told about 250 attendees after the parade. The fair was organized by the Butte Environmental Council (BEC) and began at 10 a.m., with around 20 booths representing a wide range of organizations, including nonprofits, for-profits and government agencies.

A parade participant who identified herself as Amanda — she asked that her last name not be used for personal reasons — joined the event with her daughter. With a few other participants, she carried a puppet that represented the river ecosystem, and her daughter carried a Monarch butterfly puppet they had constructed. Amanda said she was from Santa Cruz, where there used to be many Monarchs, but their numbers have declined significantly. read more

Chico State historian dug deep to tell the Bidwell story

John Bidwell was a complex figure, Shover argues
by Yucheng Tang | Posted April 24, 2025

photo courtesy of Wikipedia
John Bidwell

Historian Michele Shover’s effort to tell a more nuanced story of John Bidwell, considered the founder of Chico, began in 1989 when a footnote in a book caught her by surprise.

“I found it diametrically opposed to what people thought about Bidwell,” Shover said of the passage containing the footnote.

Shover, now 83, is retired from Chico State where she served as chair of the Department of Political Science. Her research on John Bidwell and Northern California Indian-settler conflicts of the 1850s has often been cited; she published articles based on primary research on Butte County history during more than four decades.

Over 20 years, Shover gathered all the historical data that she could find about Native Americans from this area from various sources, “whether it was newspapers, academic studies, correspondence, diaries,” she said. read more

‘Signs of Resistance’ protesters line the Esplanade

by Leslie Layton | Posted April 19, 2025

photo by Leslie Layton
Charles Barnes of Forest Ranch said he showed up today because “it’s an emergency.”

About 850 protesters turned out for the “Signs of Resistance – No Kings!” protest today in Chico, lining the Esplanade with anti-Trump Administration signage almost as far north as Chico Nut Company. The Esplanade sometimes became raucous with passing vehicles honking their support.

Some demonstrators hoisted signs encouraging supportive honking, and in general signs protested the administration’s radical approach to government reform and its movement to concentrate power in the executive branch. Signs were waved in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was shipped to an El Salvador prison because of an administrative error, and in opposition to cuts to Social Security and Medicare. read more

Carlson serving time for Bidwell Mansion arson

Would a functioning alarm system have saved the building?
by Leslie Layton | Posted April 18, 2025

photo courtesy of district attorney
Kevin Alexander Carlson

This is the second story in a three-part series on the fire that destroyed Bidwell Mansion and the role the Mansion played in our community. Read the first story here.

The report issued by Butte County Probation in the Bidwell Mansion arson case begins to answer this troubling question: Why did a 30-year-old man with no criminal record set fire to the iconic Victorian?

But though it begins, it doesn’t entirely answer the big “why”: Why Kevin Alexander Carlson shattered a window with a hammer and doused the interior with a gallon of gasoline in a series of maneuvers that began the day before the early Dec. 11 fire. Or how the building became engulfed in flames before Chico Fire Department had a chance to respond. read more

City Council gives the nod to more military equipment

Council remains divided on purchases by Chico PD
by Yucheng Tang | Posted April 16, 2025

photo by Yucheng Tang
Chico’s Margaret Swick spoke at the April 15 City Council meeting, suggesting that the money allocated for military equipment could go elsewhere.

The City Council voted 4–3 to approve the Chico Police Department’s proposed purchase of more than half a million dollars in additional military equipment.

The acquisitions will include three drones, four remote-controlled cars, a launcher that can fire projectiles, two sniper rifles to replace two old ones, 15 police patrol rifles, and three incident command vehicles that can provide a mobile on-site platform for command, control and communications during major incidents.

The total estimated cost is $562,955, not including maintenance fees, according to Chico PD’s military equipment policy.

“Your continued approval will ensure that the community’s police department stands ready to protect them while also keeping your police officers safe,” Police Chief Billy Aldridge told councilmembers prior to the vote. read more