ChicoSol

Investigators Hunt Cell Phone Missing from Police Evidence CSUC Students Claim Retaliation for Filming, Excessive Force

by Dave Waddell and Bianca Quilantan

What happened to Madeline Hemphill’s cell phone and the video she says would prove excessive force by Chico police?

It’s a question central to law enforcement investigations of the Aug. 27 arrests of Hemphill and her roommate and fellow Chico State student Nicole Braham.
A second cell phone video from the arrest scene — shot by Telvina Patino, a third roommate and Chico State student – has been viewed tens of thousands of times on YouTube and can be seen here.

Chico community activist Emily Alma has labeled the arrests an “excessive force event.” Also critical of police handling of the incident has been Michael Coyle, an associate professor of political science at Chico State. Coyle, who teaches criminal justice courses, said that if good policing means de-escalating situations, what’s shown in the video are poor police practices. “The video looks more like a basic training on how to escalate a situation, physically put someone in pain, and make them afraid of police,” said Coyle, who chairs the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) board in Chico. “Whatever happened to community policing?” read more

UC Expands Enrollment Opportunities for Underserved Californians

by Peter Schurmann / New America Media

OAKLAND, Calif. – November 1 marks the start of the month-long application season for the University of California. And the administration is determined to build on its momentum in expanding enrollment for California’s diverse communities.

That was the message from UC President Janet Napolitano, who spoke at a recent briefing for Bay Area ethnic media.

Napolitano began the briefing by reminding reporters that applicants to the 9-campus system would for the first time be allowed to use previous year tax filings to submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA form. read more

North State Residents Rally on Day of International Protest Tribal Members Lead with Traditional Prayers in Support of Dakota Movement

photo by Karen Laslo

Ben Gray Eagle from Yuba City plays the Bear Flute at the Chico rally. Gray Eagle pointed out that the Obama Administration’s intervention hasn’t stopped work on the Dakota Pipeline or the destruction of sacred sites.

by Leslie Layton

When Chico’s Jake Davis announced a City Plaza rally to show support for the indigenous groups trying to stop construction of a North Dakota pipeline, he feared only half a dozen people would show up.
Davis, co-founder of Chico350 – the international organization 350.org fights for clean energy and other measures to slow climate change – knows how hard it is to organize climate-justice protests outside of large cities. But what happened Sept. 13 at City Plaza was surprising and moving.

Almost 200 people showed up for the late afternoon rally, including members of tribes who live in Chico, Oroville, Corning, near the California coast and the state border with Nevada. Internationally, it was a day of protest in support of the #NoDAPL movement trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that cuts across indigenous burial grounds, tribal sacred sites and underneath the Missouri River. “This ended up becoming a chance for indigenous people to have a voice,” Davis said Tuesday. “We thought it was just about stopping a pipeline, but it’s a lot bigger than that now. It’s bigger than Native or non-Native.” read more

State Commission Investigates 2014 City Council Campaign Committee ChicoSol story prompts probe into PAC that worked to oust Chico mayor

By Dave Waddell

The state Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation into a political action committee that targeted former Chico mayor Scott Gruendl in the 2014 City Council race.

The PAC, called Butte County Awareness and Accountability, and its treasurer, Thomas Kozik, are under investigation as a result of an in-depth story about their activities published two months ago by ChicoSol, said Dylan Levine of the FPPC’s Enforcement Division. The FPPC said it would not comment on any specifics of its investigation while the probe is under way.

ChicoSol’s story detailed apparent violations by the PAC of laws governing political activities in California. read more

Black Lives Matter Rally Speakers call for Dialogue, Tolerance

photo by Karen Laslo

Pastor Vince Haynie paused for a photo with Anjoli Frazier, 13, and Jaded Frazier, 11, at City Plaza July 10 at the close of a Black Lives Matter rally at City Plaza in Chico. The rally drew about 100 people as protests were underway in many American cities over police shootings in African-American communities and in particular the fatal shootings of Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. Some of those attending the Chico rally wore white t-shirts that had red stains. Anjoli said she and her sister wore the shirts to represent “all the blood that has been shed by people of color.” read more

How Soaring Campaign Spending Shaped
‘14 City Council Race PAC Led by Former Tea Party Leader May Have Broken State Law

by Dave Waddell

Before he created a political action committee that appears to have broken state law while attacking former Chico mayor Scott Gruendl, Tom Kozik for years orchestrated and recorded Chico Tea Party meetings.

And at those meetings, as attendance appeared to steadily dwindle, Kozik occasionally made some bizarre claims. Most notably, at a gathering of Tea Party Patriots in 2014, Kozik quoted a Soviet dictator in criticizing President Barack Obama’s health care law.

“It looks like ‘Obamacare’ is set to collapse into a single-payer healthcare system, and this is what they call the ‘crown jewel of socialism,’ and that’s a quote from …,” said Kozik, pausing momentarily for effect, “ … Lenin.” read more