Month: November 2025

Kevin McKay’s work continues 7 years after Camp Fire

Changemaker: Former school bus driver portrayed in Hollywood film is still rescuing kids
by Yucheng Tang | Posted November 7, 2025
Former school bus driver Kevin McKay keeps the list of children who were on his bus in the Camp Fire in a drawer at home. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

This story is part of ChicoSol’s Changemaker profile series.

Kevin McKay was driving school bus #963 to his Paradise home when he was radioed — just as the film “The Lost Bus” shows — that an empty bus was needed for stranded students at Ponderosa Elementary.

That was the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, when the flames of the Camp Fire that ultimately would claim 85 lives and destroy 11,000 homes were raging through Feather River Canyon toward Paradise. McKay was about to make a decision that would make him one of the most famous school bus drivers in the country.  

Part of him wanted to rush home, to alert his mother and son, Shaun, to leave for Chico to escape the fire. But another part of him knew the kids at school were waiting — and they needed him, too. read more

Candidate speculation begins in the wake of Prop. 50

The ballot measure's passage divided Californians but passed in a landslide
by Natalie Hanson, Lindajoy Fenley and Leslie Layton | Posted November 6, 2025
District 1 Rep. Doug LaMalfa would face competition in a more liberal congressional district. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Californians handed a big win to Proposition 50, according to preliminary Nov. 4 election results, signaling a major change to congressional maps in historically red districts like District 1.

The majority of voters in the rural Northern Sacramento Valley opposed the proposition, which will significantly reshape its District 1 that is now represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa. The Butte County Clerk-Recorder reports today that almost 46% of the county’s voters favored Prop 50 and more than 54% opposed.

Opposition was even greater in Glenn and Tehama counties, with the “yes” vote further behind at almost 29% and 27% respectively. 

Statewide the picture was quite different. CalMatters’ reports today that nearly 64% of Californians voted for Prop. 50. read more

Council approves revised massage ordinance

Challenges to immigrant therapists remain
by Yucheng Tang | Posted November 5, 2025
Massage therapist Amy Alward is skeptical the ordinance will be effective. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

The Chico City Council unanimously approved Nov. 4 a new massage ordinance aimed at preventing human trafficking and illicit activity in local establishments. The ordinance establishes several operational standards for massage businesses and was developed after multiple rounds of community engagement.

Initially, the proposal required all massage practitioners to be certified by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC).

After community feedback, the ordinance was revised to include several exemptions. Long-time practitioners can now receive a permanent exemption from CAMTC certification by providing proof of prior massage-related education and at least five years of work experience as massage therapists.  read more

State’s voters approve Prop. 50

Prop. 50 will redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats
by Maya C. Miller and Jeanne Kuang/Cal Matters | Posted November 4, 2025
A voter fills out their ballot at a voting center at the Armstrong Transit Center in Clovis on Nov. 4, 2025. Voters statewide are casting their ballots for a special election on Proposition 50. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California voters on Tuesday passed a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Democrats, a major victory for the party in a high-stakes national redistricting fight that could determine who controls the House of Representatives next year.

The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Early returns showed the measure leading with nearly 58% of the vote.

In Butte County, however, unofficial results from the Clerk Recorder’s Office were showing 53.71 percent of voters opposing Proposition 50 and only slightly more than 46% in favor.

The maps voters approved with Proposition 50 make it likely that five of California’s GOP-held congressional seats could be won by Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. They also bolster the re-election chances of three Democrats currently holding office in now-competitive districts.  read more

ChicoSol’s online newspaper experiment comes of age

NewsMatch matches donations dollar-for-dollar
by Lindajoy Fenley and ChicoSol staff | Posted November 3, 2025

Eighteen years ago, we founded ChicoSol as a bold, extraordinary experiment. We wanted to provide a platform for local news that would be online, nonprofit and bilingual, with information available in both English and Spanish.

Throughout the country, print newspapers were being swallowed up by corporations that were cutting their resources and eating their profits. We had very few models for something different.

But our readers proved the experiment could work, joining a subscriber list and later a small-donor base. Now we run stories that are viewed by thousands of readers, and nonprofit digital news sites are thriving in communities across the country.

Today, we’re poised for more growth as we launch our second NewsMatch fundraising campaign. We’re asking you to partner with us during an annual fundraising drive that will match your donations dollar-for-dollar. read more