News
A smoky state
Due to millions of acres of wildfires burning in California, Oregon and Washington, the West Coast states had the worst air quality in the world this past weekend. Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 12-13) Chico’s air […]
Butte County
News
Lightning fire updates
Update: At 4:40 p.m. today (Aug. 18), Cal Fire updated the the Butte Lightning Complex situation, raising the number of all active fires in the county to 35, and the acreage burned to 1,500 (including […]
News
Disaster County
In early March, as coronavirus started to spread through the Sacramento Valley, Katy Thoma remained optimistic. She understood the gravity of the situation—Butte County officials had recently declared both a local emergency and a local […]
News
Closures and online classes loom for Butte County as fifth COVID death announced
With coronavirus cases multiplying, including the fifth death attributed to the virus, Butte County Public Health announced today (July 20) that the county likely will face added restrictions from the state. In a news release, […]
COVID-19
Huge COVID-19 spike for Butte County
The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Butte County rose by 62 today (July 6), by far the biggest increase since the beginning of the pandemic. The number, which brought the county’s total to 268, […]
News
Voting amid the pandemic
At this time of year in a typical campaign season, Ann Schwab would be organizing events and gearing up to meet with Chicoans face-to-face. Instead, Chico’s mayor has had to adapt to the times, throwing […]
News
Crisis schooling
Like many parents, Dan La Bar felt the impact of the coronavirus emergency profoundly in March when stay-at-home orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom changed how schools teach and students learn. La Bar works as an […]
News
Guilty pleas from PG&E
On Tuesday morning (June 16) at Butte County Superior Court, more than 19 months after the Camp Fire, PG&E pleaded guilty to causing the mega blaze as well as 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter linked […]
Arts & Culture
Good to-go
Are they open? That’s been the twenty-dollar question for Butte County residents as they stare into the refrigerator wondering whether or not their favorite grill or taqueria can save them from another night of leftovers. […]
News
First COVID-19 death in Butte County
On Monday (June 1), in addition to reporting that seven new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Butte County, Public Health announced the first local death attributed to the disease. “I’m very sad to announce that […]
News
Premature opening?
When Butte County became one of the first two California counties permitted to advance further in reopening businesses, Tami Ritter had a muted reaction. Ritter, a county supervisor representing Chico, served on a committee of […]
Second & Flume
Body counts and rodeo clowns
Memorize these figures: 62,000 and 83,019. The first is the high-end estimate of U.S. deaths attributed to influenza during an entire annual flu season. The second is the number of Americans who have died of […]
COVID-19
Tubes and tune-ups
Bike shops have been exceptionally busy this past month as people turn to the outdoors for recreation. But is life on two wheels safe during the pandemic? […]
COVID-19
Public health officer, Enloe CEO cut to the chase on coronavirus preparedness
Dr. Andy Miller, Butte County’s public health officer, is the expert consulted by local leaders about the coronavirus pandemic. As such, he’s transitioned to the medical equivalent of a meteorologist: a forecaster whose predictions carry […]