News
Battle lines
“I’m embarrassed.” Alex Brown uttered those words Tuesday night (April 5) from the dais of a nearly full Chico City Council Chambers, then again the next morning when reflecting on the action that prompted her […]
Chico City Council
Opinions
Editorial: Council telegraphs agenda
What happened to Mark Orme? Technically, Chico’s now-former city manager resigned and was replaced in the interim by Police Chief Matt Madden. But it’s clear from the reporting by CN&R Contributing Editor Evan Tuchinsky (see […]
News
Chicoans speak out on maps
At the last regular Chico City Council meeting (March 15), when the third public hearing on redistricting drew public response even more muted than earlier in the process, council members felt anything but reassured. “Two […]
News
Quit or fired?
Though all appearances point to a unilateral decision by the Chico City Council to replace City Manager Mark Orme, councilmembers who spoke with the CN&R would not provide confirmation for the impetus of last week’s […]
News
Chico city manager out
After deliberating nearly six hours over two special meetings in the span of three days, the Chico City Council figured out what to do with the city manager position Friday afternoon (March 25): part ways […]
News
Halfway out the door?
For nearly four hours Tuesday night (March 22), Chico City Manager Mark Orme awaited his fate as the City Council met in for a special closed session meeting with “public employee performance evaluation” on the […]
News
Dividing lines
If no man—or woman—is an island, as the saying goes, Alex Brown was at least a peninsula at the Chico City Council meeting Tuesday (March 15). The agenda happened to include an item about “islands,” […]
News
Two-way street
Thursday morning (March 10), City Manager Mark Orme joined Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge and a couple department heads to relay the state of the city during a videoconference presented by the Chico Chamber of Commerce. […]
News
Chico redistricting lines up
Focusing on geographic boundaries, the Chico City Council has kept all 10 proposed maps—three from the city’s demographer, seven submitted by the public—in play for the next phase of the city’s redistricting process but directed […]
News
‘Back in person’
If absence makes the heart grow fonder, the Chico City Council might want to stick to Zoom. Moments of discord, ranging from snide asides to outright hostility, punctuated the return to City Council Chambers Tuesday […]
News
Chico strategy session
Last fall, after a postponement from a busy summer meeting, the Chico City Council resumed a strategic planning process that started in 2019. Newly hired Deputy City Manager Jennifer Macarthy picked up the project and […]
News
Chico maps unveiled
From one titled the “Mindful Map” to another called “The Heart of Chico,” seven public proposals for new Chico City Council districts were submitted by the city’s Feb. 14 deadline. Those maps, plus three more […]
News
Grinding along
At each meeting over the past two months, when the Chico City Council has convened over Zoom amid the omicron-fueled surge of COVID-19 cases, many public speakers have criticized the city for this precautionary measure […]
Opinions
A vote for recall
I support the recall of Mayor Andrew Coolidge and Councilman Sean Morgan. Here’s why: On April 23, 2021, Federal Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. in a court hearing said, “You can’t justify the ordinances that […]
News
All steam, no boil
Several specters loomed over Chico City Council members as they convened Tuesday evening (Jan. 18). Meeting over Zoom due to coronavirus precautions, the council repeatedly heard comments in open session about matters that were to […]