Category: Community

Professor Denise Minor remembered as a mother, wife, teacher, writer Teary former students hold impromptu memorial

photo courtesy of family
Denise Minor

by Leslie Layton

Spanish linguistics Professor Denise Minor will be remembered for many things – for her creative approach to teaching, devotion to her family, fierce loyalty to those she loved.

She has already been remembered for her joyful laugh, her love of language and her appreciation for its evolution, all of which shaped the students she taught and the Chico State Spanish Program that hired her in 2007.

A memorial fund in her memory has been opened here to aid first and second-generation Latinx students. read more

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Democrats issue call for special Council election

David Welch, speaking for the Butte County Democratic Party, today called for a special election to replace two former Chico City councilors: Scott Huber and Kami Denlay.

The Democrats say the council election should be combined with the “attempted recall of the governor.” See our story “Chico in turmoil” for more information on the town’s political drama and homelessness crisis — photo and reporting by Karen Laslo.

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Chico in turmoil with shrinking City Council Councilor Kami Denlay resigns

photo by Karen Laslo
Councilor Kami Denlay resigned June 27.

by Leslie Layton

This is what a political crisis looks like: Two City Council resignations in seven days. A barely-used emergency shelter for homeless residents that was erected by the city on a remote lot. Social media threads where commenters use terms like “trench warfare” to describe local politics.

The second City Council resignation came June 27 when first-term Councilor Kami Denlay announced she was stepping down — only seven days after her colleague, Scott Huber, had resigned. That leaves two vacancies on the seven-member panel – an unprecedented event, at least in recent decades. read more

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Councilor Scott Huber resigns; fears for family Conservative PAC responds to social media attack on Huber

by Leslie Layton

Councilor Scott Huber has stepped down from the Chico City Council after being subjected to attacks on social media and giving up a temporary summer job out of state.

“…given the tone and content of online discussions I genuinely fear for my family’s well-being. For all of these reasons I resign my Council seat, effective immediately,” Huber says in the June 21 letter.

“It is with regrets and sadness that I submit my resignation from the Chico City Council. Regrets that the community I love and only hoped to serve has become toxic for me, sadness that as hard as I tried modeling civil discourse and respectful treatment of people from the dais, I have clearly failed at changing anyone.” read more

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City adopts plan for one-time federal “rescue” funds Brown: "Homelessness was a footnote"

photo by Karen Laslo
Councilor Sean Morgan defended the effort to provide a general framework.

by Leslie Layton

The Chico City Council, in a special Tuesday meeting, after several failed motions adopted a preliminary plan for spending more than $22 million in American Rescue Plan funds in a 5-2 vote.

A Council majority agreed to remove a jobs training program designed to get unhoused people into the local workforce when they adopted the plan brought to them by City Manager Mark Orme, who called it a preliminary “framework,” or a “road map.”

Roughly, the plan allocates about 50 percent of the funds to improvements in infrastructure, 30 percent to government services and 20 percent to local businesses. read more

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ChicoSol stories honored by EMS and CNPA Ethnic Media Services spotlights media diversity

photo by Leslie Layton
The first Mexican-American candidates to win City Council seats in Gridley, Calif., by election, were Ángel Calderón and Catalina Sanchez in the November election.

by ChicoSol staff

ChicoSol Editor Leslie Layton was honored June 3 for her November story, “An election ends Gridley’s political slumber” by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), a network that supports news outlets serving diverse communities.

In order to recognize the work of ethnic news outlets in 2020, EMS and California Black Media ran a statewide contest that attracted more than 235 entries in eight languages.

Stories by Layton and contributor Dave Waddell were also recognized in the 2020 California Journalism Awards contest run by the California News Publishers Association (CNPA). Layton’s Gridley council story placed fifth in statewide election coverage among digital publications, and Waddell’s story, “Conflict of interest in Stephen Vest killing probe?” placed fifth in investigative reporting. read more

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