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Long COVID: An emerging field of study

by Natalie Hanson
posted Feb. 17

Kathryn Robinson, a Chico woman who says she has long Covid, wishes she could have hard evidence to battle misinformation and the isolation she has suffered.

“You almost feel like you’re crazy,” she said. “I’ve had people actually walk away when I’ve told them.”

The Centers for Disease Control is one of the few institutions releasing guidance about long COVID symptoms, as recognized researchers conduct more studies of the fairly new condition.

Joanna Hellmuth of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, said research shows that in some patients, their immune system was stimulated by the virus and functioning “in an unintended pathological way.” read more

Updated fundraising totals

Following are the fundraising totals as of Oct. 31 for all candidates running for seats on the Chico Unified School District Board of Trustees. Two candidates have raised more than $20,000.

District 1:
Rebecca Konkin — $10,600
Scott Thompson — $2,097 (no new October filing.)

District 4 :
Tom Lando — Under $2,000 (no filings as minimum not reached.)
Matt Tennis — $21,845

District 5:
Eileen Robinson — $6,336 (no new October filing.)
Logan Wilson — $23,540

–Natalie Hanson

Valley’s Edge opponents worry about environmental impacts

photo courtesy of Steve Evans

From left, Steve Evans, Michael McGinnis and Kelly Meagher announced the No way San Jose campaign in 1988 to stop development next to Upper Bidwell Park.

Part II in a two-part series

Thirty-five years ago, a small, progressive coalition stopped development in the lower foothills adjacent to Upper Bidwell Park with the rallying cry, “No way San Jose.”

That area has been protected under the name of Bidwell Ranch since the 1988 referendum that stopped the project. Voters in favor of stopping the Rancho Arroyo project wanted to protect northwest Chico -– not so much from inevitable population growth -– but from the kind of suburban sprawl that had come to be associated with California cities like San Jose and Fresno.

Rancho Arroyo was first planned for 5,000 houses northwest of Bidwell Park, later trimmed down to 3,000 houses to placate opponents, and then resurrected as Bidwell Ranch before it was stopped altogether. read more

Public schools take center stage in battles over civil rights

Civil rights advocates say that battles over student rights have become polarized by far-right “special interests,” and they foresee a fight ahead to protect childrens’ rights.

Those fights may involve issues ranging from protection against discrimination to materials students are allowed to access and read. And at a Jan. 18 Board of Trustees meeting for Chico Unified School District (CUSD), officials responded to concerns raised by a lawsuit filed by an organization that supports many of the political right’s causes with court fights.

At a Jan. 18 news briefing sponsored by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), experts said the battle over students’ rights starts in K-12 schools, including whether children can be protected from discriminatory bullying. read more

Health care providers struggle to reach essential workers

The COVID pandemic continues to impact California’s farmworkers and their access to health care -– particularly in more isolated rural zones like the Northern Sacramento Valley, doctors say.

The “tripledemic” — as flu and RSV add to the surging respiratory illnesses sweeping the nation -– may worsen existing barriers to health care access that marginalized communities face. In Butte County, health providers say it is hard to know which communities have been hit hardest by the virus, but they believe it is harder to reach essential worker communities like California’s farmworkers.

Nonprofit organizations have been working with local public health agencies to reach these communities, including “Promotores,” a program under Northern Valley Catholic Social Service. But there are ongoing struggles. read more

Bill Mash always had a project going

photo by Karen Laslo

Mash at KZFR radio station where he produced programs.

Eric Mash remembers how his father, Bill “Guillermo” Mash, always had projects underway. So when his father told the family that he had decided to move to Chico and write about homelessness, no one was surprised.

“He fell in love with Chico,” Eric said. “He just had this passion and fire within him to help others, and to always love and care about everybody. He did everything on a bicycle … helping the homeless, helping all the causes.”

Chico writer, radio personality and tireless advocate Bill Mash is being remembered by the Chico community as many friends and loved ones mourn his sudden death last week after a heart attack on Nov. 19. read more