Tag: Chico

Weekend protests oppose ICE tactics

Local nurses close three days of protest with vigil
by Leslie Layton | Posted February 2, 2026
Eric Smith is an ICU nurse at Oroville Hospital. Photo by Karen Laslo.

This story was first posted Jan. 31 and updated Feb. 2

Three days of protest in Chico began with Jan. 30 student walkouts to protest immigration enforcement tactics. And the culmination was a Feb. 1 candlelight vigil organized by local nurses and their national union to honor people who have been killed by federal agents.

The vigil drew at least 200 protesters who lined the Esplanade across from Enloe Medical Center, many wearing red and some carrying signs paying tribute to Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti. read more

Why TV news won’t cover my lawsuit against DA Mike Ramsey

Commentary: Local news stations beholden to the district attorney
by Dave Waddell | Posted January 25, 2026
Writer Dave Waddell says KRCR “invented excuses” to kill a story. Photo courtesy of Waddell.

This is my story of a disheartening experience that sheds light on the sorry state of local television “journalism” in the North State.

I sued Butte County’s forever district attorney,Mike Ramsey, his equally non-transparent protégé, Sheriff Kory Honea, and, of course, the Chico Police Department for a pattern of unlawfully concealing records that belong, not to them, but to the public. These records would allow the public finally to learn about a handful of officer-involved shootings, including multiple killings – the most powerful use of government authority. read more

Town Monument

by Danielle Alexich | Posted December 11, 2025
Photo courtesy of Chico Fire.

On the first anniversary of the fire that destroyed the iconic Bidwell Mansion, we’re posting a poem written and contributed by local poet Danielle Alexich.

Sleep-drunk, we hear sirens from bed
and at dawn check our phones.
I stride the neighborhood avenue
to find Bidwell Mansion,
Victorian landmark,
yesterday pink,
now charred and smoldering,
grieving itself,
collapsed into a Dalian dream.
Light seeps through majestic trees.

Locals line the sidewalk.
Girl Scout alumni who toured
ornate, eerie rooms
with a blind and brilliant docent.
Old-timers holding hands.
Unwitting parents whose kids
cut class to smoke weed on the veranda.
Amid the rubble, steps survive,
once slick from generations
of events, spontaneous picnics,
first kisses, erased footprints
of those who were conquered. read more

Santa Rosa attorney joins race for District 1 seat

Kyle Wilson promises support for small farmers
by Lindajoy Fenley | Posted November 18, 2025
Kyle Wilson from the Santa Rosa area has jumped into the race. Photo by Lindajoy Fenley.

Kyle Wilson celebrated his 33rd birthday Nov. 15 meeting potential constituents at a Santa Rosa coffee shop.

Sporting a “KYLE WILSON for Congress” button pinned to his brown pullover sweater, Wilson – one of several Democrats vying for the seat in the reconfigured U.S. congressional District 1 that includes Chico and Santa Rosa – chatted with Sonoma County residents who joined him for coffee. Many pinned the novice candidate’s large buttons on their shirts and jackets. read more

Butte County residents come to the aid of hungry people

Government shutdown produced more need
by Yucheng Tang | Posted November 16, 2025

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. read more

Butte County responds to immigration crackdown

Sheriff's Office ends alternative custody for some immigrant inmates
by Leslie Layton | Posted October 24, 2025
Walnut grower Tom Bush protests at No Kings 2 in Chico.

When immigration officers helicoptered into Chico in August, a network of volunteers was prepared. When the officers slipped out before dawn the next morning, they left people with both relief and lingering questions, according to NorCal Resist Chico.

NorCal Resist volunteers say they don’t know whether the officers were merely stopping in Chico on their way somewhere, or whether attention from protesters dissuaded them from taking enforcement actions that they might have preferred to be surprise. read more