Highlights, lowlights from the week’s news

HIT » It’s no surprise to see Chico State students with some extra spring in their steps these days. They’ve got an awful lot to be thankful for.

First — how about those Chico State Wildcats? They reached the Elite Eight for the third time in the past nine years in the national Division II playoffs, and came tantalizingly close to moving on to the Final Four before finally falling to Augusta University in overtime Tuesday night.

Whether people watched the Wildcats’ run in person, listened to Mike Baca’s playby-play on KPAY or tuned in to a live feed, they were greatly entertained by some great basketball from a selfless, hardworking team that never seemed to know when to quit.

Meanwhile, back on campus, spring is on full display, with blossoming trees, warm weather and beautifully fresh air (with apologies to all allergy sufferers, of course).

And get this — for the first time since many of these students were in high school, they’ve been able to ditch their masks and light up campus with their smiles. There have certainly been no shortage of those.

MISS » Three weeks ago, one member of our editorial board was driving at night from Klamath Falls to Weed on Highway 97, and encountered snow. There were 2-3 inches on the road going over the hills along the way, and the snow continued almost all of the way to Dunsmuir.

One week later, there was a fire along that same highway that had portions of Highway 97 closed for a few hours.

Yes, it really can change that quickly. And the early signs we’re seeing about this upcoming fire season have us very concerned.

After the rains of November and December got us off to a great start, 2022 has been a flat-out precipitation bust. The lakes are barely half where they should be this time of year, the snowpack is vanishing even from the higher elevations and much of the grass is already turning from green to brown. And it’s only March.

“A lot of our (fire) fuels are dry,” said Cal Fire-Butte County Capt. Jacob Gilliam. “Usually, this time of year, the fields are absorbing moisture. Right now, moisture just isn’t as high for this time of year. This means we could have an earlier fire season. We could have more fires in April or May.”

Now is the time to make sure the defensible space around your home is finished, and follow all fire safety protocol.

HIT/MISS » There’s a lot to like about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to send $400 debit cards to registered vehicle owners in California to help with the surging gas prices.

And, there’s a lot that also doesn’t make much sense. We’re hoping this is a case where logic prevails and — dare we say it — Republicans and Democrats listen to each other (and their constituents) and come up with a great compromise.

First, the thought that the state should be sending money back into the hands of the taxpayers is long overdue. When Newsom unveiled his 20222023 budget proposal in January, his administration forecast a $45.7 billion surplus. Since then, they’ve said it could be even more than that.

That’s $45.7 billion in funds above and beyond what is needed to run a state that isn’t always known for its judicious use of taxpayer funds in the first place.

And while there are lots of areas that could use additional funding — fire prevention, anybody? Mental health? — it’s good to see the state doing something, anything, to put some of those excess funds back into that hands of the people who are actually working to produce that money.

The cost of gasoline (and diesel) seems to make this an easy call. Newsom said there would be a two-vehicle cap per person. And, let’s face it, even at 5 or 6 bucks a gallon, $400 or $800 will still buy a lot of fuel.

On the other hand, who stands to benefit the most from this? People who own more than one vehicle. How many people out there struggling to make ends meet can afford to own more than one vehicle? This will put a lot of money into the pockets of people who, frankly, may not need it. (In fairness, Newsom’s plan also called for three months of free public transportation, which would help those without vehicles.)

There was a lot we liked about Assembly Republicans’ plan to bring gas prices down by 51 cents immediately by suspending the state’s gasoline tax. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) also questioned the timing of Newsom’s plan: “July? Seriously? Californians are struggling and Capitol Democrats are dragging their feet. How could it possibly take that long?”

Democrats, in turn, say they don’t want to suspend the gas tax because it’ll take money away from highway maintenance programs.

Bottom line, we suppose this is a nice problem to have. When the state is taking more from the citizens than it needs, it needs to send some money back to the citizens.