Community Archives - Page 46 of 50

‘Mobilize Chico’ opposes racism, supports community members Trump presidency propels activism

by Dave Waddell

Chris Nichols, a retired school teacher and counselor, had never gone in much for activism. That all changed with the election of President Donald Trump.

“All of a sudden, I’m upset,” she said.

On Jan. 25, Nichols was standing with seven others from the group Mobilize Chico at the intersection of Warner and West Sacramento avenues holding a pink sign with the message: “Stay Loud 4 Equality.”

The group’s demonstration was called “Signs for Solidarity.” Its purpose was to show support for community members who have been victimized by racist actions in Chico.

Members from Mobilize Chico met recently at Chico State’s Cross-Cultural Leadership Center and heard from students who experienced hateful acts.

“It was pretty compelling,” Nichols said. read more

Women’s March in Chico Participants Speak up for Diversity, Women, Immigrants

Chico Women’s March organizers said about 2,000 people showed up to participate in the Jan. 21 event. The march and City Plaza rally were held in solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., and marches were underway in major U.S. cities and around the world. Many of the participants said it was the largest march they had seen in Chico.

Slideshow photos by Karen Laslo and Leslie Layton

Oil Trains Pose Threat to Lake Oroville and State’s Water Supply, SOOT Says Butte County supervisors mum on SLO rail expansion

Dave Garcia at Chico Certified Farmers Market

by Leslie Layton

Chico, with its state university, valley oaks, coffee shops and bike paths, feels more collegial than industrial, a place that’s far from the contamination and accidents that plague oil country. But the people in bright orange “Stop Toxic Oil Trains” T-shirts – they sometimes appear at Saturday Farmers Market and other events – say that when oil country rolls through Butte County, it brings accident potential here.

No one seems to be sure how many oil trains pass through the Feather River Canyon on Union Pacific’s (UP) Oroville route that snakes above the north fork of the Feather River, but the activists in orange T-shirts want to stop crude-by-rail shipments on that route. That’s because derailment and a spill of oil or another hazardous substance could contaminate Lake Oroville and poison the water supply that serves millions of Californians. read more

Political action committees spend big to oust Chico liberals PAC under state investigation avoids pre-election disclosure requirement

By Dave Waddell

A political action committee, under state investigation for its 2014 activities, again produced a slew of negative advertising this election year, flooding the mails with attacks on liberal candidates for Chico City Council.

The PAC, called Butte County Awareness and Accountability, is the subject of an ongoing probe by the Fair Political Practices Commission that resulted from a ChicoSol story that can be read here. Tom Kozik, a member of the Chico Municipal Airport Commission, is the PAC’s founder and treasurer. For years, Kozik was a leader of the Tea Party in Chico.

In 2016, two conservative PACs – Kozik’s committee, as well as a separate PAC headed up by ex-police chief Mike Maloney — distributed a total of four negative mailers, including two that solely attacked Councilman Randall Stone. read more

An Election That Will Change Lives Trying to breathe again

by Natalie Charlesworth

Nov. 8, 2016: I sat in math class, frantically checking the presidential election polls every chance that I got. The numbers were so close. Hillary, Trump, Hillary again, and then back to Trump. Jumbled thoughts like ping-pong balls bounced back and forth in my mind. My palms, sweaty. My anxiety increasingly getting worse. I began to wonder, why I had even decided to attend class that day? I then put my phone down and got back to what I should have been doing –focusing on math.

As I walked into the house later that evening, I saw my mom sitting on the couch. I could tell just by looking at her that she was nervous. Her freckled face pale, and her eyes watery. We sat in silence for awhile, not knowing what to say. The first words spoken came from my mouth: “Donald Trump isn’t even the scariest part of this election; it’s that his blatant racism, homophobia and misogyny wasn’t a deal breaker for his supporters. Instead of putting them off, they have interpreted his words as validation to say or do whatever they want.’’ read more

Dakota Access Pipeline protest in Chico news photo of the week

photo by Karen Laslo

On the Nov. 15 #NoDAPL National Day of Action, Chico-area residents demonstrated in front of U.S. Bank, one of a number of American financial institutions said to be funding the Dakota Access Pipeline. According to the environmental advocacy organization Food & Water Watch, U.S. Bank has some $275 million invested. The pipeline would carry fracked oil from North Dakota to Illinois, and the Standing Rock Sioux are leading what is now an international movement to halt construction in order to protect the Missouri River and sacred grounds.