Category: Politics

by Leslie Layton

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders brought his ambitious and sweeping plan to combat climate change to Paradise and Chico Thursday, touring fire-ravaged neighborhoods and holding a town hall in a packed auditorium.

Speaking at Chico’s Masonic Lodge to an audience of some 700 people – most of whom had probably been affected directly or indirectly by the Nov. 8 climate-driven Camp Fire — Sanders was passionate in defending a plan that he had put forth just a day earlier. Sanders’ version of the Green New Deal is now viewed as the most ambitious plan to combat climate change that the Democrats have touted. read more

by Leslie Layton

The appearance of Congressman Doug LaMalfa and state lawmakers at today’s Camp Fire recovery Town Hall meeting drew anxious survivors and evacuees, as well as protesters who lined the entrance to the Chico Elks Lodge.

Several hundred people filled the lodge auditorium, as well as officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Office of Emergency Services. After presentations by lawmakers and officials, audience members concerned about the need for tree clearing and road widening to provide safe evacuation routes from fire-prone communities, about water quality and services for survivors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, lined up to ask questions. An Oroville resident asked about the toxicity of the heaps of concrete and metal being trucked out of Paradise and whether it’s being handled in the safest possible way. read more