Struggling to find hope at Yuba County Jail Chico activist visits a third immigrant detainee, one of a trio of "castaways"

jail photo from Faithful Friends

by Chris Nelson

The man I met during a late October visit to the Yuba County Jail has a kind face, wears glasses and has a neat, graying hairstyle. He was the third inmate I’ve met through a visitation program run by Faithful Friends, a group that arranges visits for immigrant detainees.

As a nurse, I know that anecdotal information does not make a truth. Yet, I’m struck by the similarities among the three men I’ve visited, and I see truth emerging through the presence of these castaway humans. read more

Community members mourn, commemorate On one-year anniversary of #Camp Fire, Butte County residents gather to remember

photo by Karen Laslo

Marge Nelms (left) holds a picture of her best friend of 46 years, Lolene Rios, who died in the Camp Fire one year ago today, as area residents gathered for minutes of silence in Chico’s City Plaza. Today’s ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of the deadly Camp Fire, which killed at least 85 people, was organized by the Chico Area Interfaith Council. read more

Micalizio ‘would never do anything against police’ Reports: Woman shot dead by Butte deputy had tried to help CHP officer

Hali McKelvie with her mother, Myra Micalizio, in 2014. Photo courtesy of family.

by Dave Waddell

Not long after Myra Micalizio was shot five times in the back and killed last year by a Butte County sheriff’s deputy, District Attorney Mike Ramsey declared before television cameras that Micalizio had tried to attack deputies with her vehicle.

Micalizio’s family never bought that scenario, but Ramsey reaffirmed it many months later when issuing a report clearing deputies Charles Lair and Mary Barker of any criminal wrongdoing in the killing. Micalizio’s three children – Lisa Rutledge, Sean McKelvie and Hali McKelvie – recently settled a wrongful death suit against Butte County for $250,000, said County Counsel Bruce Alpert. read more

Almond Bowl T-shirt design at Chico High stirs debate Winning design opens doors for Latinx students

VOCES Latinxs at Chico High produced the winning design for the school’s Almond Bowl T-shirt that includes a sugar skull-like image.

essay by Denise Minor

On the surface, this story appears to be about a disagreement over the T-shirt design chosen to commemorate this year’s Almond Bowl, the cross-town football game that each fall marks athletic rivalry between two local high schools.

But beneath the surface, the story is really about how we, as individuals and a society, choose the symbols and imagery we find acceptable to represent ourselves to the rest of the world. And beyond that, it is about the divisions between whom we view as “us” and “them.” read more

“Biblioburro” opens Third Thursday Film & Discussion series KIXE says it wants to encourage "collective effort"

photo courtesy of KIXE

by Lindajoy Fenley

Colombian schoolteacher Luis Soriano began his literacy campaign with just a few books in the 1990s, delivering them to remote areas from the back of his burro.

His efforts have since become internationally known, bringing thousands of books to rural areas. The film “Biblioburro” that tells his remarkable story will be screened at the Butte County Library at 6 p.m. Oct. 17. read more

County releases Micalizio documents ChicoSol requests officers' records under SB 1421

Myra Micalizio (left) with her daughter, Hali McKelvie.

by Leslie Layton

In July 2018, a Sacramento civil rights attorney noted just how much information had been withheld in the shooting by Butte County sheriff’s deputies three months earlier that had killed a Palermo woman.

Myra Micalizio, 56, died in April of that year during an encounter with a pair of deputies who together fired 13 rounds. Attorney Mark Merin, representing Micalizio’s family, issued a press release noting that Butte County had “refused to produce any interviews, investigation reports… statements of the officers, coroner’s report…” read more