ChicoSol

Tuscan Water District gets LAFCO nod Commission unanimously approves TWD

photo by Leslie Layton

Wilson Landing Road orchard.

by Leslie Layton
posted Feb. 3

The Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) today gave its unanimous approval to the Tuscan Water District (TWD), a proposed district that will now give northwestern Butte County landowners the chance to vote on formation, with one vote allocated for each acre owned.

The seven-member commission voted after more passionate debate, with members of the public often arguing that the landowner-based voting structure isn’t fair to small farmers and homeowners. But TWD and LAFCO said the district has agreed to divide into nine voting blocks to minimize influence by the largest landowners. read more

Proposed Tuscan Water District before LAFCO TWD is a "scramble" for the "new gold," critics say

photo by Karen Laslo

Deseret Farms, part of a corporate family run by the Mormon church, is the largest landholder in the proposed water district.

by Leslie Layton
posted Jan. 31

Many on the petitioners’ list of 70 parties working to form the proposed Tuscan Water District (TWD) describe themselves as local families who want to ensure the future of their farms.

But whether it’s the landowner-based voting structure, the many out-of-town mailing addresses, or the fact that that they’re trying to secure supplies of what many are now calling the “new gold,” TWD has rankled many Butte County residents. read more

Settlement ends lawsuit against City of Chico Vice mayor makes 11th-hour bid to postpone settlement

photo by Karen Laslo

Evicted campers leave their site after a sweep.

by Leslie Layton / commentary
posted Jan. 15

A settlement agreement in the lawsuit related to the city’s treatment of unhoused people, signed Friday by a federal judge, could end the spectacle of chaotic mass evictions that stranded campers who had nowhere to go.

Early last year, a newly-installed City Council began a series of sweeps in parks, near waterways and on patches of grass on public land. read more

Referendum petition fails to meet deadline

posted Jan. 13
At a press conference today, David Welch, spokesperson for “No On Butte County Gerrymandering,” announced that the group fell short by just a few hundred signatures in its effort to petition for a referendum on the newly-adopted Butte County district map.

Group members, arguing that the redistricting map adopted by the conservative majority on the Board of Supervisors was heavily gerrymandered, said their work was hampered by the holidays, the Omicron variant and rainy weather. “The gerrymander of our county, against the backdrop of Republican gerrymandering across America, has aroused a level of passion I’ve rarely seen for a local issue,” said Welch, vowing that other options would be explored. — Karen Laslo read more

KIXE film highlights immigration system breakdown At deadly border crossing, a humanitarian crisis

posted Jan. 10

A film on the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, produced by immigration crackdowns over the past couple of decades, will be shown in a free KIXE PBS film screening at 6 p.m. Jan. 20.

Readers can register here to gain access, watch “Missing in Brooks County” at home, and also participate in an online community conversation afterward that will feature several local panelists, including ChicoSol Editor Leslie Layton, who has covered immigration from the Mexican side of the border. read more

Referendum effort launches over redistricting Group claims gerrymandering to dilute Latino and urban vote

photo by Karen Laslo

District 3 Supervisor Tami Ritter at today’s press conference.

posted Dec. 17

A “No on Butte County Gerrymandering” campaign launched today to circulate a petition for a referendum on the redistricting map adopted in a Dec. 14 split vote by the Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Speakers at today’s press conference said the map that was adopted was gerrymandered to disenfranchise urban voters in Chico by splitting the city into four districts. The map, which establishes two western agricultural districts, was approved by supervisors Bill Connelly, Tod Kimmelshue and Doug Teeter. read more

Deceased individual found in Bidwell Park

Chico Police Department said a deceased person was found early today (April 28) at the One Mile Recreation Area.

Chico PD says a passerby noticed a subject seated near the restrooms that appeared to be deceased around 5:30 a.m., and the death was confirmed by medics.

The person’s identity has been withheld pending notification of family members, the press statement says.

Today’s press statement was the fifth “Death in Public” press release this year.

City attorney: “Public take over” was an emergency

In a Jan. 17 email to ChicoSol, City Attorney John Lam said the City was not in violation of the Brown Act when it held a Jan. 6 emergency meeting.

Lam said the use of City property near The Hands sculpture in back of the Municipal Center by the nonprofit Safe Space the previous day had amounted to a “public take over.”

Safe Space, which operates an emergency winter sheltering program, ran intake in the space from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 5, an operation that it says proceeded smoothly. The group’s leadership said it believed that it was using public property as defined in the City code, and wasn’t required to get special permission.