Melissa Daugherty, Author at Chico News & Review

Second & Flume: Hunger games

One can only assume sweets shop heiress Kasey Reynolds has never been hungry. Same goes for Sean Morgan, the son of a doctor; Andrew Coolidge, whose father was an attorney; and caterer Deepika Tandon. These […]

Second & Flume: Spring healing

During a recent hangout with friends, one told me her goal for 2023 was to forgo buying things. She didn’t call it a resolution, but the intention sounded similar. A full year without spending money […]

Second & Flume: A worthy resolution

I miss a lot of things about working downtown, but this time of year—for the past couple of years, anyway—I get especially nostalgic for the CN&R’s old digs at Second and Flume streets. Each holiday, […]

Second & Flume: Rebel with a cause

Excuse my absence for a month while I become a full-blown journalism cliché. In November, inspired by the annual National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), I’m embarking on a sizable writing project. The goal: write […]

Second & Flume: Machiavelli’s tax

Local conservative politicians and their cronies sure know how to spin things. I’ve watched them do it repeatedly over the years, perhaps most notably amid the fallout from the Great Recession—and perhaps nobody as adeptly […]

Second & Flume: Obstacles

Over the past three weeks, my son has been convalescing at home from surgery on his foot and leg. We’d go stir crazy if we were stuck in the house all day, so we use […]

Second & Flume: Risky business

I let my guard down. Early last month, my family and I took a nice, long coastal vacation. Ten days, two beach towns. One in Northern California and the other about two-thirds of the way […]

Second & Flume: Fat cat

Man, was June 24 a dumpster fire day. I woke up that Friday morning to the news that the Extremist Court—aka Supreme Court—had repealed the 50-year precedent on legalized abortion. Next up, Butte County’s retiring […]

Second & Flume: JC & the real WMDs

God and guns. I’ve yet to figure out how so many people have convinced themselves that they go together. It’s delusional. Indeed, Jesus followers are kidding themselves if they think that their beloved peace-loving proselytizer—the […]

Second & Flume: Seeking intelligent life

When are the aliens going to show themselves? No, seriously. When I think about what’s happening in the world today, I can’t help but think about the fact that the federal government has vaguely acknowledged […]

Second & Flume: Convenient scapegoat

I’d say Mark Orme learned the hard way that there isn’t a back the conservatives on the Chico City Council won’t stab, but I suspect deep down he already knew that. In all my years […]

Second & Flume: Sabbatical

Before I accepted the job of CN&R’s editor-in-chief back in 2013, I sat down with my predecessor, Robert Speer, to get some advice. At the time, I felt reasonably prepared for the job. I’d been […]

Second & Flume: Cheers to Dave

I last saw Dave Mettler a few weeks before Thanksgiving. I was at Safeway to buy sourdough bread, but I popped over to the next aisle to say hello to the store’s venerable “wine guy.” […]

Second & Flume: Best laid plans

One recent evening, I told my son the good news. I explained that scientists had come up with a way to help him get the protection he’d need to be able to return to school […]

Second & Flume: Disaster lesson

I still get anxiety when I visit Paradise. I go up there only occasionally, mostly to visit a friend who, thankfully, lives just off the main drag. I’m all right if I stay on or […]

Chico News & Review

Articles by Melissa Daugherty