Category: Hump Day

Cops usher homeless off triangular island Intervention aimed at getting them to a Chico winter shelter

photo by Dave Waddell
Cindy Hurt

by Dave Waddell

While some who had been living outside for months on a triangular island of city land seemed quite worried about their uprooting, 42-year-old Cindy Hurt said Monday’s intervention led by Chico police provided the prospects of a “solution.”

With the arrival of very cold and rainy weather, Chico PD’s so-called Target Team, along with Butte County Behavioral Health and Torres Shelter personnel, tried to usher an estimated 20 residents off the land, which is bordered by Little Chico Creek and Pine, Cypress and East 12th streets. Some residents were still packing up this morning. read more

Welcome home: CHIP’s sweat-equity program provides housing

Leanna Pebley

by Nicte Hernandez

Leanna Pebley, a 2018 Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) client, became a homeowner in March by helping in the construction of her new five-bedroom Orland house. “It is such an amazing feeling to have been a part of the construction of my home,” Pebley said.

“Whenever people are all, ‘Oh Leanna, you own a home now?’, it’s nice to say, ‘Oh, yea, we built it,’” Pebley said.

CHIP started as a partnership between Chico State and the city of Chico to help improve a small neighborhood south of campus through a housing rehab program. Since then, the nonprofit has expanded to serve seven counties including Butte, Glenn and Tehama. CHIP now assists low-income families, helping people who might otherwise lack the financial resources become homeowners through what it calls its “sweat equity” program and by providing rental and farm worker housing. read more

From Africa to Inglewood to Chico State Senior from Nigeria overcomes challenges

Krystle Tonga with Samuel Akinwande

by Nicte Hernandez

Although he’s dealt with typical challenges that come with being the first person in his family to attend a university, Samuel Akinwande’s route to Chico State was far from typical.

Akinwande was born and raised in Nigeria, moving at age 11 to Inglewood, where education took a backseat to everyday worry about simply making it home alive after a day’s schooling.

“We had no help in high school when pursuing higher education,” Akinwande said. “Our counselors literally gave us our transcripts and said figure it out. That’s it.” read more

Inday’s serves up Filipino dishes for Chico Restaurant’s origins from neighborhood cookouts

photo by Leslie Layton
Inday Geiger

by Jae Siqueiros

The origin of Inday’s Restaurant started with a friendly neighborhood cookout 20 years ago after Ethel “Inday” Geiger emigrated from the Philippines to Chico.

Her deep craving for traditional Filipino meals was so persistent that she started preparing them at home with her husband, John Geiger.

Traditionally, Filipino homes have multiple generations living in a household. Adults often care for their aging parents while raising their own children. As a result, preparing large meals has been a regular occurrence for Inday Geiger. read more

Japanese student likes U.S. culture’s openness Youth activism lauded; election turmoil worried her

Kanako Otani

by Alisa Thorsen

When Kanako Otani first left Hiroshima, Japan, to study at Chico State, she was afraid she would face discrimination on a daily basis. To Otani’s surprise, she found that the culture in the United States was very open, expressive and diverse.

“Here, I can pursue whatever I want and be whoever I want to be,” said Otani, who came to the United States four years ago. “In Japan we practice collectivism, so everyone tries to be the same. If you do something different you might be considered weird and a lot of people don’t like that.” read more

Tiny House Club helps shelter homeless Chico's first tiny house underway

by Karen Laslo

On this past Sunday morning, Charles Withuhn of the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT), along with a retired contractor and nine Chico State students from the Tiny House Club, showed up behind the university’s Langdon Hall to get to work on the first tiny house in Chico. (Click on arrows to see slideshow below.)

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Their goal for the day: To put up the framed walls they’d previously hammered together at another work session.

Withuhn said they were building the tiny house because of the many “unsheltered” people in our community. The goal is to house for the least amount of money as many people as possible and as soon as possible. read more