Border-crossing journalism from the Sacramento Valley
by Dave Waddell
Court testimony last week by former Chico police Sgt. Scott Ruppel uncovered a secret that city officials have tried their darnedest to keep the public from knowing: Ruppel took no time off from work after shooting Tyler Rushing twice at point-blank range in July 2017.
Rushing’s father, Scott Rushing of Ventura, called the revelation “monstrous, sickening, disturbing.”
by Lin Jensen
When the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rises, we are supposed to be pleased because a higher GDP means that production and consumption have increased. That’s good, isn’t it? Both major political parties and virtually all economists, corporate CEOs, business owners, workers and random consumers agree that up is good and down is bad.
by Dave Waddell
Chico’s police union and a longtime businessman have supplied big bucks to bolster a political action committee (PAC) trying to keep conservatives in control of Chico city government.
A $5,000 donation from the Chico Police Officers’ Association, as well as Tom Dauterman’s unusually large $10,000 contribution, were booked in recent days by the PAC, called Chico Citizens for Accountable Government (CCAG).
Sal Ventura
by Dave Waddell
During a period in which five people were killed by law enforcement in Butte County, overall attendance at the county’s annual week-long training program in crisis intervention has been in steep decline.
However, the Chico Police Department – roundly criticized for past absences at crisis intervention trainings – has stepped up participation since the killing of Desmond Phillips, a young black man in mental crisis.
by Jessica Lewis
A crowd of people hold hands in a circle around the City Plaza on Oct. 13, bowing their heads as the song “1-800-273-8255” by Logic rings over speakers through downtown, referencing the suicide prevention hotline and marking the end to the ninth annual Chico Out of the Darkness walk.
Audience members turn their backs on the Council in protest.
by Leslie Layton
About 20 opponents of a law that bans sidewalk lounging near businesses turned their backs on Chico City Council Tuesday night as it voted 4-3 to reinstate the so-called Sit and Lie Ordinance.
The protest was quiet and emphatic and different in character from the orchestrated disruptions at the Sept. 4 City Council meeting when Mayor Sean Morgan ordered the chamber cleared and the panel proceeded to advance the ordinance in an almost empty auditorium. (ChicoSol journalists were barred from that meeting.)
