Highlights, lowlights from the week’s news
HIT >> Tapping into contingency funds, the board allocated $1.3 million to keep libraries on their current, albeit reduced, schedule and keep open seasonal fire stations in Berry Creek, Concow and Jarbo Gap — each for another year. The decision was unanimous following a lengthy discussion that included 20 members of the public expressing support. The county also received 445 written comments.
This is just a short-term solution. Long-time Supervisor Bill Connelly of Oroville championed dedicated funding for the libraries, thereby freeing up money that could go to the fire stations, but that would require a ballot measure approved by a two-thirds majority. That is a hard road in a rural county when many residents feel pinched. Same with cities like Chico that previously contributed to libraries in particular.
We hope, over the next year, that county officials find a way to keep fire stations and libraries off the chopping block. MISS >> It’s hot. Darn hot. Scorchingly hot. We’ve hit triple digits, and there’s no sign of decline until a balmy 98 degrees in the forecast for Wednesday.
All those chilly, rainy days this spring don’t seem so dispiriting now.
North state residents with air conditioning are using more energy, but that cost pales in comparison to the human toll on people living on the streets, working outdoors or waiting outside for public transportation. Of course, anyone indoors is just a power outage away from feeling the heat.
This isn’t just a local thing. Texas is among the states wracked by a heat wave — there, it’s proven fatal, with over a dozen deaths.
Keep hydrated. Stay in the shade. Keep an eye out for notices of rolling blackouts. And, with grasses drying up fast, be fire-wise.
HIT >> Speaking of weather effects, we’re glad to see Highway 70 reopened full-time this week amid months of cleaning up winter rockslides.
The road was closed in January between Butte and Plumas counties (specifically, Greenville Wye and Jarbo
Gap). Compounding the avalanche damage, rainstorms made it difficult for crews to clear the debris. Drivers had to find alternate routes until Caltrans crews removed enough to schedule guided traffic three times a day. The last of 13 slides was just two weeks ago.
Highway 70 isn’t fully open; traffic will be limited to onelane in stretches for the near future. Expect delays of 90 minutes or more. But one lane is better than none.
MISS >> What is it with teens and guns in Chico? Our town hit the national news with a late-night mass shooting in May, and days later the same suspects were arrested after shooting into a home. This week, a youth in a car driven by another teen fired a BB gun at two people in the parking lot of a business — on the heels of a teen pleading no contest to driving a relative to the scene of a shooting.
These are isolated incidents, but the number and frequency are alarming.
Juvenile crime is a complex issue with roots in homes, schools and communities — along with individual attitudes and responsibility. As the Chico Police Department rebuilds its ranks, we’d like to see more outreach to help nip this in the bud.