Highlights, lowlights from weekly news
HIT » There’s nothing we love more than continuing signs of a rebirth along the ridge, and there have been some great ones in Paradise recently.
Paradise Party in the Park was a huge success on Wednesday with hundreds of people in attendance. The community is beginning to thrive again, as well as seeming more diverse. Children to senior citizens danced and made merriment.
The weekly party, hosted by the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Town of Paradise, features produce, craft, commercial and non-profit vendors, live bands, and intermission acts featuring dance, youth groups and demonstrations.
The party, located at Paradise Community Park (5570 Black Olive Drive), continues every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. through July 27.
MISS » Is it any wonder so many people have such a hard time trusting the government?
The latest nightmare came this week, when the California Department of Justice admitted the agency wrongly made public the personal information of perhaps hundreds of thousands of gun owners in up to six state-operated databases.
This meant that names, dates of birth, gender, race, driver’s license numbers, addresses and criminal histories were exposed for people who were granted or denied permits to carry concealed weapons between 2011 and 2021.
“It is infuriating that people who have been complying with the law have been put at risk by this breach,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea, president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. “California’s sheriffs are very concerned about this data breach and the risk it poses to California’s CCW permit holders.”
Every law enforcement agency in California that issues CCW permits is required by law to provide certain information about CCW permit holders to DOJ, which in turn is required to safeguard that information, Honea said. The data breach was in conjunction with DOJ’s launch of its “2022 Firearms Dashboard Portal.”
This didn’t just put the personal information of citizens at risk. It also meant many victims of violent crimes had their personal addresses suddenly viewable by the public.
Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle, who is running for governor against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, correctly noted that many of the women who seek to carry concealed weapons “do so because they fear for their lives and safety. Consequently, those women will now have to worry that the person they least wanted to see again may have just been given their address by this careless act of bureaucratic idiocy.”
Well said.
HIT » It seems like only yesterday that Matt Madden took over as Chico’s chief of police under circumstances that could best be described as “challenging.”
First, he was handed the keys literally just as hundreds of protesters were basically surrounding Chico’s city hall and downtown plaza at the peak of the George Floyd-related protests in late May 2020.
Within a year, Madden and his department were leading enforcement efforts against people who were camping on public property in defiance of local ordinances. Of course, that entire situation got exponentially more difficult after the Warren vs. Chico lawsuit, leaving police in the difficult position of enforcing the law while not being able to cross any lines carved out by the temporary restraining order; you can imagine how well that was received by much of the public.
Through those and many other challenges, though, Madden remained the face of calm professionalism, always cooperative with elected officials, citizens and media alike.
We hate to see him step down, but we’re thrilled he’s able to start enjoying retirement on his terms, beginning in September. Well done, chief.
MISS » It’s always a shame to see so much political rancor in our day-to-day dealings with friends and relatives — many of whom, it seems, are less friendly than ever before.
We have some great ones in our area, from Chico to Oroville and the ridge and all over the county. We encourage everyone who is able to step away from the keyboards for a day to take part in celebrating the birth of our nation.
Remember, many of our Founding Fathers weren’t exactly on the best of terms with each other either. And just look what they were able to accomplish.
Be it stock car racing and fireworks at the Silver Dollar Speedway or any of the numerous opportunities for fun elsewhere, we think it would be a good idea for everyone to seek common ground with your fellow Americans for a day and maybe re-learn that we’re all still part of the same country, and while our differences are great, there is still more that unites us than divides us.
You can get back to your arguing Tuesday.