Ken Smith, Author at Chico News & Review • Page 7 of 8

Scrumptious side hustle

As a freshman at Chico State in 2014, Wal Riek found himself suffering from a serious condition that afflicts many young people when they first strike out away from home: He missed his mother’s cooking. […]

DWR report: dam safe

The Oroville Dam Complex is operating safely with no urgent repairs needed, according to a comprehensive assessment report by dam safety experts released by the California Department of Water Resources on Tuesday (Nov. 9). The […]

Election Day snapshot

Though dropping a ballot on Election Day is the norm during most years, 2020 is—by most measures—a strange beast. On top of record turnout via mail-in ballots—in Butte County and around the country—local voters flocked […]

‘Sweet,’ ‘kind,’ ‘sad’

Kaitlyn Mason will always remember Stephen Vest as “the first boy I ever loved.” She first met him when she was 5, and the pair grew up together and dated for two years while attending […]

Fatal police encounter

Chico Police officers shot and killed a man inside a local pet store last night (Oct. 15). The deceased is described as a white male in his 30s, according to a press release from Chico […]

Volunteer valor

Katherine Molohon has called Berry Creek home for the entirety of her 34 years. As a child, she played in the mountain town’s creeks and walked its winding, wooded roads. She attended Berry Creek Elementary […]

Animal Corps

The only wildlife spotted by CN&R reporters during a Sept. 10 trek into areas ravaged by the North Complex Fire were a pair of ravens ominously perched on a guardrail near the Bidwell Bar Bridge; […]

Not just needles

Following a legal settlement that stopped the Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition (NVHRC) from distributing sterile syringes in mid-August, volunteers from the organization continue to show up at Humboldt Park each Sunday to provide what […]

Small piece of haven

In May 2014, local social-justice champion Dan Everhart wrote an impassioned guest comment for the Chico News & Review decrying efforts to criminalize homelessness. In it, he criticized city policymakers for adopting an ordinance prohibiting […]

Commercial cannabis coming to Chico

Local opponents of commercial cannabis added a new argument to their repertoire as the Chico City Council discussed allowing such businesses on Tuesday (Aug. 25). In addition to claims that pot shops allegedly contribute to […]

Policing committee meets today

The second meeting of the city of Chico’s recently formed Policing Ad Hoc Committee will be held today (Aug. 13) from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The public can view and participate via phone call-in or […]

Curtain call

A black plywood casket sat in the space once occupied by the Blue Room Theatre’s main stage, surrounded by the room’s figurative viscera: detached lighting rigs, speakers and piles of coiled-up cables. The unintentional stage […]

‘Eyes are open now’

Tyler Rushing was a “smiling, gentle human being” who rubbed shoulders with celebrity clients of his commercial and residential window washing business, and was a stage-lighting wizard and an adventurous soul driven to help the […]

Buffet to-go

During a recently bygone time, I could take the healthiest vegetables from below a sneeze guard, combine them in ungodly ways and bury them under enough blue cheese to make a so-called “salad” capable of […]

Roughing it during the pandemic

With the exception of mandatory face coverings, arguably the most visible impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Chico is the presence of dozens of long-term encampments in the city’s parks and along its waterways. The […]

Chico News & Review

Articles by Ken Smith