Art lovers turn out for Amick’s last show Chico artist's work on display all month

Scores of friends, family, acquaintances and art aficionados gathered at Beatnik’s Coffee House in Chico Sunday afternoon for Molly Amick’s Paper Collage Art Opening, consisting of 23 pieces of art ranging from originals to prints down to postcard size. A steady stream of people visited with Amick, who is in the late stages of inoperable breast cancer, exchanging their love for the person and her art in smooches and kind words.

Amick’s art will be on display for purchase the entire month of March at Beatnik’s Coffee House and Breakfast Joint, 1387 E. Eighth St., Chico — video feature by Guillermo Mash. read more

Intern wins Freedom of Information award In-depth stories for The Orion and ChicoSol recognized

photo by Jason Halley, CSUC photographer

Gabriel Sandoval

by Dave Waddell

ChicoSol intern Gabriel Sandoval is being honored by the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California for his investigative reporting.

The SPJ chapter will present Sandoval with its 2018 James Madison Freedom of Information Award, Student Journalist category, at a banquet March 27 in San Francisco. The award is intended to honor freedom-of-information and First Amendment champions, according to SPJ NorCal.

The accolade recognizes Sandoval for two investigative stories about a deal that kept a former top administrator, Lori Hoffman, on Chico State’s payroll for 16 months and paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars after she left the university. First for a story for The Orion, Chico State’s student newspaper, and later in a second in-depth piece for ChicoSol, Sandoval used documents he obtained through public records requests to delve into Hoffman’s contractual and work arrangements. read more

Sergeant in assault case logged massive overtime District attorney: Chokehold incident caught on body camera

ChicoSol/Tehama Group Communications graphic

by Dave Waddell

Scott Ruppel, a former police sergeant involved in two fatal shootings and facing an assault charge for an alleged on-duty choking incident, worked many thousands of hours of overtime during his nearly 20 years at Chico PD.

One year, Ruppel logged more than 700 overtime hours, becoming not only the highest-compensated employee in the city’s largest department but among the top five employees in total compensation in all of Chico municipal government.

Ruppel retired Sept. 15 prior to a scheduled internal affairs interview about police body camera footage allegedly showing the sergeant putting a handcuffed, seat-belted suspect into a stranglehold for eight seconds, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. Ruppel, whose annual CalPERS pension is in the six figures, has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of assault under “color of authority.” His next Superior Court date is set for Feb. 28. read more

Saturday Peace Vigil targets gun violence After Parkland school shooting, vigil participants protest NRA

photo by Karen Laslo

Members of the Feb. 17 Chico Peace Vigil held every Saturday downtown hold protest signs in the wake of the latest mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. Former student Nikolas Cruz used a semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 people on Feb. 14.

Rushing’s parents file claim in cop shooting Desmond Phillips’ family sues city in federal court

photo courtesy of Rushing family

Tyler Rushing

by Dave Waddell

The parents of Tyler Rushing, who died after being shot by a private security guard and a Chico police sergeant last summer, have filed a claim against the city for damages in excess of $25,000.

The claim, received by the city Jan. 17, was obtained by ChicoSol through a state Public Records Act request. As of last week, the city had not responded to the claim, said Dani Rogers, deputy city clerk.

Six days after the Rushing filing, on Jan. 23, relatives of Desmond Phillips brought suit against the city in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento for unspecified damages. The lawsuit was filed by the office of prominent civil rights attorney John L. Burris of Oakland. Phillips, a 25-year-old black man in mental crisis, was shot 11 times by two officers on March 17, 2017, in his own living room after his father called for medical aid. read more