Tag: Butte County

Butte County needs a Public Defender Office

Attorney Ron Reed: A Public Defender Office would save taxpayer money
by Ronald Reed | Posted December 1, 2025
Public Defender Ron Reed. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

Attorney Ron Reed has worked as a public defender in Butte County since 1986. This guest commentary was extracted, with Reed’s permission, from a report he prepared and mailed to about 150 interested parties.

In 1989, a group of 10 local lawyers formed a consortium in Butte County to handle indigent defense. They operated independently, kept private practices, and renewed contracts every three years as caseloads grew. Today, 18 attorneys each receive $14,000 per month to cover a share of indigent defense.

Since then, Butte County has relied on this consortium-based, flat-fee contract system to provide constitutionally-mandated defense services.

But research across California demonstrates that flat-fee systems lead to excessive caseloads, lack of oversight, and worse outcomes for clients and taxpayers alike. By contrast, a Public Defender (PD) Office offers accountable, professional representation with access to resources and grant funding. read more

Butte County residents come to the aid of hungry people

Government shutdown produced more need
by Yucheng Tang | Posted November 16, 2025
Nick Henderson works at a Faith Tabernacle food distribution event. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

In need of food in Chico? Here is a list of food pantries and distribution sites.

Safe Space opens to unhoused people from noon to 4 p.m. every weekday, providing food, clothing and a place to charge phones.

A calendar for upcoming food distributions by North State Food Bank and its partners can be found on its website.

An elderly woman using two prosthetic legs entered a room at Chico’s Faith Tabernacle Church with the help of two walking sticks and a volunteer. She filled out a form, indicating her family size, and then received an allotment of packaged and canned food.

On the morning of Nov. 12 — even though many Californians had already received their allotment of what was formerly known as food stamps — demand for food assistance at Faith Tabernacle still surged by roughly 50% above normal. read more

Candidate speculation begins in the wake of Prop. 50

The ballot measure's passage divided Californians but passed in a landslide
by Natalie Hanson, Lindajoy Fenley and Leslie Layton | Posted November 6, 2025
District 1 Rep. Doug LaMalfa would face competition in a more liberal congressional district. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Californians handed a big win to Proposition 50, according to preliminary Nov. 4 election results, signaling a major change to congressional maps in historically red districts like District 1.

The majority of voters in the rural Northern Sacramento Valley opposed the proposition, which will significantly reshape its District 1 that is now represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa. The Butte County Clerk-Recorder reports today that almost 46% of the county’s voters favored Prop 50 and more than 54% opposed.

Opposition was even greater in Glenn and Tehama counties, with the “yes” vote further behind at almost 29% and 27% respectively. 

Statewide the picture was quite different. CalMatters’ reports today that nearly 64% of Californians voted for Prop. 50. read more

State’s voters approve Prop. 50

Prop. 50 will redraw congressional maps to favor Democrats
by Maya C. Miller and Jeanne Kuang/Cal Matters | Posted November 4, 2025
A voter fills out their ballot at a voting center at the Armstrong Transit Center in Clovis on Nov. 4, 2025. Voters statewide are casting their ballots for a special election on Proposition 50. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

California voters on Tuesday passed a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Democrats, a major victory for the party in a high-stakes national redistricting fight that could determine who controls the House of Representatives next year.

The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Early returns showed the measure leading with nearly 58% of the vote.

In Butte County, however, unofficial results from the Clerk Recorder’s Office were showing 53.71 percent of voters opposing Proposition 50 and only slightly more than 46% in favor.

The maps voters approved with Proposition 50 make it likely that five of California’s GOP-held congressional seats could be won by Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. They also bolster the re-election chances of three Democrats currently holding office in now-competitive districts.  read more

Butte County Mental Health Diversion court brightens futures; challenges remain

Mental health diversion underused, some attorneys say
by Yucheng Tang | Posted October 5, 2025
Mental Health Diversion court takes place at Butte County Superior Court monthly. (ChicoSol was unable to get permission to take photos of the proceedings.) Image by AI.

ChicoSol reporter Yucheng Tang attended sessions of Mental Health Diversion court on Aug. 5 and Sept. 2 to learn more about how the program is working in Butte County. Only first names of defendants — who sometimes have charges dismissed — are used in this story.

Michael, then a defendant in a Butte County Superior Court vandalism case, was standing at what a judge called the “finish line.”

“How do you feel?” Judge Jesus Rodriguez asked him.

“My life’s changed in three years,” Michael said, adding that he has learned more about trauma, self-reflection, psychology and empathy.

“Your case has been dismissed. Congratulations,” the judge said, as applause filled the courtroom on a morning in early August. read more

Happiness is in giving, says local attorney

Changemaker: Ron Reed takes on problems from East Africa to Butte County
by Yucheng Tang | Posted September 23, 2025
Attorney Ron Reed. Photo by Yucheng Tang.

Changemaker is an occasional series that highlights community members contributing interesting work. Submit ideas for the series to chicosolnews@gmail.com.

Chico attorney Ron Reed’s life falls into two distinct chapters: One of getting, and one of giving.

Before turning 47, he was a land developer in Wyoming, trying to earn enough money so he could do nothing after retirement. After 47, he retired, sold out everything in Wyoming, and moved to Chico, but then attended McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, beginning a busy second half of his life.

During the past 40 years, he has served as a public defender for juvenile defendants, made 28 trips to Tanzania to help local communities build water wells, and initiated a 12-unit housing program for the unhoused in Butte County.  read more