homeless Archives - Page 6 of 6

Chico resurrects Sit and Lie Ordinance Sidewalk rules divide the City Council at a tense meeting

photo by Karen Laslo

Audience members begin series of chants.

by Dave Waddell and Leslie Layton

The Chico City Council, after closing the council chamber to the public and ChicoSol, voted 4-3 in a tense and emotional meeting Tuesday to resurrect the expired Sit and Lie Ordinance.

The conservative council majority voted — after an audience disruption prompted the chamber closure — to bring back an ordinance aimed at people who they say are obstructing sidewalks and business entrances. City Attorney Vince Ewing said that under a California statute, the council could close the chamber to a disruptive audience — but not to members of the press. read more

City Council majority backs ordinance in closed meeting Council votes 4-3 on 'sit-and-lie' after barring ChicoSol from chamber

by Dave Waddell and Leslie Layton

After Mayor Sean Morgan cleared the raucous Chico City Council chambers Tuesday night, Chico police officers barred ChicoSol News Director Dave Waddell from re-entering the meeting – the only member of the local news media who was barred.

Officer Jeff Durkin told Waddell he lacked the proper press credentials to regain entrance to the chamber – despite Waddell showing him his driver’s license and his ChicoSol business card. Durkin stood with another officer, Drew Cooper, outside the frosted glass doors to the council chambers. On multiple occasions a television reporter opened the door and communicated amicably with Durkin, before it closed again — with ChicoSol journalists still on the outside. read more

Chicoans pack meeting to discuss homeless City Council will consider moving the Jesus Center

photos by Karen Laslo

The Chico City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to consider moving the Jesus Center and consolidating services to the homeless in southeast Chico. But Chicoans packed the meeting, some in favor of the plan, some opposed and some warning that the homeless shouldn’t be merely shuttled from downtown unless more services will be provided.

Bill Such, former Jesus Center executive director, said he fears the move could “compromise the identity” of the center. Such compared the homeless to Jesus of Nazarene, who he said was “intentionally homeless” and rejected by his family. “In Christian terms, Jesus, with nowhere to rest, is the homeless god,” Such said. read more

Trickle-Down Meanness Shapes Attitudes Toward Homeless Local Election Outcomes Matter

By Dave Waddell

While waiting for coffee recently, I became fixated on a mentally ill homeless man. He lay on his side in the shuttered entrance to what last was a Walgreens at East Avenue and the Esplanade. Every few seconds, the old, bearded, agitated man would flail his arms toward someone or something that was tormenting him but wasn’t really there. His situation – common across our country – struck me as just so sad and seemingly hopeless. read more

Cindy Daley recognized for sustainability work

Chico State professor Cindy Daley this week received a major award for her role at the Chico State University College of Agriculture and CSU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems.

The $100,000 Gayle E. Hutchinson Award for Excellence – the largest in the California State University system – recognizes people who lead innovation in campus technology, academic research and creative activity, according to Cathy Pleasant, chair of the Chico State University Foundation.

Daley has taught at the College of Agriculture since 1996 and served as the campus coordinator for the University’s Agricultural Research Institute and as a member of the Campus Sustainability Committee. For four years, she also was faculty chair for This Way to Sustainability, the nation’s largest student-run sustainability conference.

“Cindy has been on the forefront of whatever she has tackled for decades, and it is our hope that not only will this further her research and her prominence in the field but it will make other people, both scholars and students, want to come to Chico State because of it,” Pleasant said in a statement.

Daley’s work founding the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems is the focus of the award. Since 2019, her work has helped promote sustainable farming practices that reduce greenhouse gasses, restore soil resiliency and address food and water insecurity. — Natalie Hanson

ChicoSol garners five awards for 2023 reporting

ChicoSol was awarded first place in the Community Focus category in the statewide newspaper contest run by California News Publishers Association (CNPA).

ChicoSol competed with major California newspapers for the award, announced by CNPA July 14.

ChicoSol won a third place in the Youth and Education category, fourth in Investigative Reporting, fourth in Health Reporting, and fifth in Housing and Land-Use Reporting.

Read more here, and thank you ChicoSol donors and readers for making possible our independent and in-depth reporting.