Highlights, lowlights from the week’s news
HIT >> Would you believe Sean Morgan and Alex Brown hugging it out in the Chico City Council chambers?
It happened Tuesday night, and it should be remembered as one of the more uplifting moments in the recent history of that room.
Tuesday was Brown’s final night as a councilor after four years of fierce (and often solo) representation for the half-orso of Chico’s population that veers to the left. Per tradition, after the opening of the meeting, she was presented with a plaque for her service, and a few words from a colleague.
It was good to see the colleague was Morgan, who has sat next to Brown for the past four years — even though they couldn’t possibly be further apart politically.
Calling Brown “a fierce supporter of things she believes in,” Morgan said “Alex has never been afraid to use her expertise and passion to move people, resources and government.” He praised her efforts during the negotiations for the Pallet Shelter and even noted “despite my best efforts, she proposed and saw through a retail cannabis policy for the city of Chico.”
In conclusion, Morgan noted “Alex and I agree on almost nothing. But that didn’t keep her from being a respectful vice mayor, colleague and seatmate.”
We agree, and we’ll miss Brown, who was always wellprepared regardless of the topic on behalf of those she represented.
Now it falls to Addison Winslow to occupy the seat next to Morgan. We’re sure more disagreements are to come, but it’s good to see this new council get sworn in on a night that reminded us at some level, we’re all just people who love Chico.
MISS >> Look. Nobody likes to see Americans held overseas, for any reason. And when one of our own comes home, that is a cause for celebration.
So, yes, we’re happy Brittney Griner has her freedom and is back on American soil.
But we really have to ask — when her freedom is obtained in exchanged for a man known as “The Merchant of Death,” what is the ultimate price?
Viktor Bout, long accused of supplying arms to Al Qaeda, the Taliban and rebels in Rwanda, is the man who once held the distinction of being the second-most-wanted terrorist in the world when Osama bin Laden was still alive. He was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans and other charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison the following year.
But now he’s free to go back about his business, because a basketball player thought it was OK to take vape cartridges containing cannabis oil into Russia?
We fear for the future impact of this, and not just because Bout is free to start killing people again. Any well-known Americans traveling in Russia had best watch their backs, because more than ever, they may be viewed as bargaining chips.
Meanwhile, Paul Whelan, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran, is still being held in Russia, four years after being taken into custody on what the US says are trumped-up espionage charges.
Don’t think for one minute that Putin isn’t enjoying the reaction, which includes people like Marjorie Taylor Green calling for Biden’s impeachment because of this. The cost of getting Whelan released just doubled or tripled.
HIT >> The Honey Run Covered Bridge Association continues to make fantastic progress on its fundraising drive toward a rebuild.
Last week, the group held its annual holiday sale with the cooperation of True Value Hardware and raised $18,000, which was the most ever in this event.
According to the group’s website (hrcoveredbridge.org), the total cost of the rebuild is estimated at $3.7 million, and $1.5 million has been raised so far. That amount nearly covers engineering plans, permits and Phase 1 construction (foundations, columns, abutments, slope protection), which was completed in November 2020 — just two years after the Camp Fire.
Check out their website on how you can help. Every dollar helps!
MISS >> The story about Chico State professor David Stachura that ran in our newspaper Thursday was shocking to say the least. You really have to wonder how many more stories of professors having inappropriate relationships with students — or worse — it’s going to take before more of these people stop feeling “above it all” and recognize that what they’re doing is not right, and is causing tremendous harm to the schools, their colleagues, their students and especially, their victims.
These people need to be held to a higher standard and it’s a good thing there is additional reporting on Title IX violations to make it happen. EdSource’s Thomas Peele, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is again setting the standard for being a watchdog with these stories — a standard more administrators need to emulate.
If there’s one thing that’s obvious, it’s that the California State University system sure hasn’t done much of a job of maintaining that standard on its own.
We’ll have more to say about this tomorrow.