Highlights and lowlights from the week’s news
HIT » Fresh air. A hint of rain. Fires largely contained, with no further loss of life.
It doesn’t take much to make us happy in these final days of summer, does it?
Maybe it’s been the non-stop series of catastrophic fires in our area the past few years, but many of us have a new-found appreciation for some of life’s most basic pleasures lately.
For starters, the Dixie Fire was 86 percent contained as of Friday morning, after burning 960,000-plus acres. Some mild late-summer weather is helping firefighters and, with a little luck, we could get out of this one without any further loss of life or property.
Today’s expected high in Chico is 77 degrees. Highs look to be in the upper 80s or low 90s for the rest of the month, with overnight lows in the high 50s and low 60s.
Best of all, we’re again able to enjoy that fresh, clean-air smell that (pre-annual-megafires) was once a staple of north valley life in the fall.
So, all of the other troubles of the world aside, we do have some things to be thankful for. Let’s appreciate them and hope these things continue.
MISS » There’s a popular definition of insanity that goes like this >> “Doing the same thing over and over in hopes you get a different result.”
Meanwhile, a small number of foul-mouthed demonstrators continue to delay Butte County Board of Supervisors meetings for no reason whatsoever — other than, well, they’re unhappy.
You know who else is unhappy? The thousands of residents who are tired of seeing the supervisors’ meeting time gobbled up by people who apparently don’t understand (or respect) the law.
The mandates about COVID do not come from Butte County. Nor do they come from the Chico Unified School District, or the Durham Unified School District, or the Chico City Council, or any of the other local jurisdictions that have had meetings interrupted or shut down because of these outbursts, often led by the same people. These are statewide mandates, pure and simple.
You have to wonder about the strategy of these people. It makes as much sense as going to a local water commission meeting and complaining about President Biden’s infrastructure plan — and actually believing you’ve accomplished something beyond wasting other people’s time.
HIT » If you’re looking for something to cheer about, all you have to do is find the nearest athletic field, because there are a lot of great things happening involving competitors who have been forced to wait, wait and then wait some more the past year and a half.
Despite a few COVID cancellations, high school football is off to an exciting start locally. The Chico-Pleasant Valley girls volleyball teams entertained a wild crowd to a five-set classic matchup Tuesday, and Butte College’s football team is off to a 2-0 start.
Butte made some big news off the field too, announcing that Melody Stockwell was the Roadrunners’ new athletic director. She’s the first permanent female AD in the history of the school.
And have we mentioned that the San Francisco Giants have already locked up a playoff berth, and we can’t wait to see the final two weeks of this NL West chase with the Los Angeles Dodgers?
MISS » There’s a sad irony in the city of Chico’s decision to close the airport resting site, and it’s this >> As implausible as it may seem, the place actually ended up being liked by a few dozen people who were staying there.
It may have been a lousy place to pitch a tent in the summer heat, but it wasn’t a bad spot to park an RV lately and through the short period of time it was open, many of the temporary campers told us they liked it because it offered security — and considering some acts of violence we’ve seen at other homeless areas, that’s understandable.
As far as what’s next — who knows? The city’s decision to open the site in the first place was seen as a wasteful, even cruel boondoggle to many and that’s understandable because of the location; but, what we haven’t heard from many opponents is a better, more workable alternative. The city has looked at dozens of sites that didn’t past muster on any number of fronts and, unless the day comes the BMX site is finally a reality, the entire situation feels like it’s at an unfortunate standstill.
Where are the people who were staying at the airport site supposed to go next? What’s the city’s next move toward hopefully satisfying the legal shelter requirements? And, what exactly would be a suitable shelter situation in the eyes of the judge?
Right now, your guess is as good as anybody’s.