News
‘Beacon of hope’
When Jennifer Wolfe drove to her new neighborhood in lower Paradise, she didn’t focus on the charred trees or the canyon left bare in the wake of the Camp Fire. As the sun set, she […]
Articles by Ashiah Scharaga
Arts & Culture
Painting hope
Iris Natividad had never painted before, but she knew that she had to try for her late partner, Andrew Downer. She picked up a paint brush on June 5, dipped it in yellow paint, and […]
News
New way of doing business
This feature is part of the CN&R’s June 2021 Business Issue. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Build with Ferguson (build.com) transitioned all of its employees to a work-from-home model. It was an intensive process, General […]
News
Out of time
Dianna Franklyn gets wistful when she talks about her old home in Concow. “I was a collector of many fine things,” she said. Franklyn, who’s 73, went on to describe the coin collection she inherited […]
News
New direction
Andrea Mox vividly remembers her first experience with Chico’s Stonewall Alliance Center. Just talking about it brings back the butterflies in her stomach from that day over 20 years ago, when she walked through the […]
News
Artwork raises awareness
Three local muralists have spotlighted the national crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls with a prominent work sponsored by the Hope Through Art Foundation. At 945 West Second St. in Chico, Ali […]
News
Now or never?
On a recent afternoon, Marc Mattox and Katie Simmons had a clear view of downtown Paradise from where they stood on Almond Street near an empty lot razed in the 2018 Camp Fire. The road, […]
News
Misinformation in our midst
In mid-December, Rebecca Lacque turned to Enloe Medical Center seeking a COVID-19 test. Her husband had just been diagnosed with the coronavirus, and she and her daughter had been experiencing symptoms, such as sore throat, […]
News
Vaccines roll out
Butte County Public Health has begun releasing COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk groups in phases and tiers based on federal and state government guidelines. Groups that had been offered vaccinations as of press time include front-line […]
News
Treading water
The day before Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide lockdown in March, Josh Mills told the employees at his downtown shop The Bookstore to apply for unemployment. He’d decided to close temporarily, anticipating that the […]
News
Planning, adapting, closing
Closing the Old Barn Kitchen wasn’t a decision Anton Axelsson entered into lightly. Being a restaurateur is Axelsson’s passion and a family trade passed down from his father, a master chef. In his 27 years […]
News
Vision for Paradise
Charles and Jenn Brooks moved to the Ridge in the spring of 2004, drawn by the charming, affordable mountain town in the hills just above their college city. Paradise is where their two sons were […]
News
County grants business relief
Butte County has begun distributing $4.7 million to 310 small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The grants from the Butte Business Stabilization Program—funded through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (part of the CARES Act) […]
Election 2020
Voting blocks
As Richard Roth walked down a street in the Chapman neighborhood of Chico, he paused and marveled at a hen crossing the road with her chicks. “Look! See, that’s what I love,” he said. It […]
News
A sweet surprise
When Emily Zimmerman lost her Paradise home to the Camp Fire, her cupcake shop, Lovely Layers Cakery, became her refuge. She leaned into her second home, continuing to work and bake sweet treats while she […]