Category: Community

The American lottery: affordable housing

Demand intense for low-income housing in Butte
by Leslie Layton | Posted September 18, 2023

photo by Leslie Layton
Housing Authority Executive Director Ed Mayer looks out at the community room at the North Creek Crossings Apartments that opened in June and were built in partnership with the agency he leads.

When the Butte County Housing Authority opened its Section 8 waitlist for low-income housing early this year, it was flooded with 8,368 applications from this county and beyond.

A portion of those applicants entered a lottery for a Section 8 housing voucher. Each year, only 1,500 win the lottery. And even more alarming is the fact that only about half of the lottery “winners” -– the 750 who had been selected by lottery for a voucher -– find and rent an affordable unit in Butte County in the time frame they’re given.

For thousands of Butte County residents -– and in fact, for millions of Americans -– winning the lottery means, literally, landing in a housing unit they can afford, or even just landing a chance at said housing unit. read more

State will help California cities prepare for heat

Cities like Chico are under pressure to protect the unhoused
by Natalie Hanson | Posted September 12, 2023

photo courtesy of City of Chico
Chico’s tree canopy provides relief on hot days.

Cities like Chico are under growing pressure to protect people from harm and death as waves of extreme heat become more commonplace — and after California faced its hottest month on record.

The state, meanwhile, says it is launching a new program to help vulnerable communities — particularly the unhoused and aging populations — face increasingly hot seasons. Several experts on a recent Ethnic Media Services panel said cities must look for ways to manage extreme heat waves that will last longer and pose more risk than ever before.

In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the state is launching a grant-based community resilience program to help counties and nonprofits across the state face this new reality, said program manager Braden Kay. read more

From Chico to the Bay Area, Americans discuss their country

"El Viajero" had a few straightforward questions
by ChicoSol staff | Posted September 11, 2023

As Chico’s Juan Flores speaks with random Americans in Northern California, he learns that from fast food to national parks and diversity, people love the country and worry about it. Video produced by Juan Flores.

After canal failure, Butte Creek Canyon residents ask for accountability

Canyon residents want long-term plan for salmon survival
by Leslie Layton | Posted August 30, 2023

photo by Karen Laslo
Mechoopda Indian Tribe Environmental Director He-Lo Ramirez said a “primary goal” is the restoration of wild salmon on Butte Creek.

How to hold Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. accountable was a top concern at an Aug. 24 community meeting in Butte Creek Canyon following the canal failure that created a landslide earlier this month.

Butte Creek Canyon residents, still worried about the welfare of this year’s relatively small spring run of wild Chinook salmon, also want to know how future accidents can be prevented and whether steps to conserve the fragile ecosystem will be taken. The canal failure washed out a hillside, for a short time damming the creek and for a couple of days turning it sludgy orange.

“This is a sacred, sacred part of California and deserves more loving care because we have the last salmon run,” said Phaedra LaRocca Morrill, one of the organizers of a meeting attended by some 100 people that crowded into the historic Centerville School House on a warm summer evening. read more

New groundwater fee approved for Chico property owners

State today approves groundwater sustainability plans for region
by Leslie Layton | Posted July 28, 2023

photo by Leslie Layton
Billie Roney

A groundwater management board charged with managing a large portion of Butte County’s water supply met a tide of resistance July 26 to a new fee that will be levied on Chico property owners.

The fee was approved by the Vina Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Board in a 5-0 vote and set at $1.54 per acre for the 2023-24 property tax year. It will thus be almost unnoticeable for small-parcel owners, but ranchers who spoke at the public hearing, held in the Chico City Council chamber, objected that it was inherently unfair to large landowners who aren’t extracting water.

Ranch owner Billie Roney said she and her husband were “shocked” to learn the new fee was in the pipeline. “We’re not irrigating,” she told the Vina GSA board. “The fee structure is not fair. We just keep getting pummeled.” read more

Is Tyler Rushing case finally headed to trial?

Judge denies Chico’s latest moves to thwart police-violence lawsuit
by Dave Waddell | Posted July 26, 2023

photo courtesy of Rushing family

Tyler Rushing

Editor’s note: An emailed statement from Police Chief Billy Aldridge was added to this story the morning of July 28. Because of an email glitch, his statement was unfortunately missed at the time of the story’s posting.

The City of Chico’s efforts to avoid a civil trial over the tasering of an incapacitated Tyler Rushing -– legal moves Rushing’s father calls “bullying” -– seem now at an end with a recent ruling by a federal judge.

“It looks like we’re going to get our day in court now -– or week, or whatever it takes,” said Scott Rushing, speaking by phone while visiting Sunday, with his wife Paula, the Ventura cemetery where their only son’s ashes are interred. July 23 was the sixth anniversary of Tyler’s slaying by a private security guard and Chico police. Tyler, who operated a window-washing business, would be 40 years old had he not been killed. read more