Charles Barnes of Forest Ranch said he showed up today because “it’s an emergency.”
About 850 protesters turned out for the “Signs of Resistance – No Kings!” protest today in Chico, lining the Esplanade with anti-Trump Administration signage almost as far north as Chico Nut Company. The Esplanade sometimes became raucous with passing vehicles honking their support.
Some demonstrators hoisted signs encouraging supportive honking, and in general signs protested the administration’s radical approach to government reform and its movement to concentrate power in the executive branch. Signs were waved in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was shipped to an El Salvador prison because of an administrative error, and in opposition to cuts to Social Security and Medicare.read more
Organizers want to maintain momentum in opposing Trump Administration
By Leslie Layton | Posted April 7, 2025
Chico’s April 5 “Hands Off!” event – perhaps the largest demonstration in the city’s history – drew a surprisingly large crowd of people who rallied and marched to protest the Trump Administration in concert with protests across the country.
Some signs addressed the administration’s aggressive movement to strengthen the executive branch at the cost of the courts and Congress, with statements like, “Say no to fascists.” Many signs demanded that Social Security, Medicare and public education be left intact; one said “Democracies thrive with allies,” and another, “Even the Republicans are here.”read more
Federal workers brace for downsizing; infrastructure cutbacks will affect District 1
By ChicoSol staff | Posted March 25, 2025
photo by Karen Laslo
Lyndall Ellingson
More than 200 people attended a weekly protest near 1st District Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s Chico office on March 21, demanding in-person town halls that haven’t taken place since 2017 and urging the Republican congressman to defend federal programs threatened with huge funding cutbacks.
The turnout was more than twice that of the protest a week earlier. Some passing cars honked in response to show support. There were few young people participating in what has been dubbed in some social media posts as the #FindLaMalfa protest, and has been organized by a coalition of activists from several groups.
(LaMalfa has since announced a “telephone town hall” to be held at 6 p.m. March 26. His office has told reporters that a phone conversation with the congressman will be open to registered voters with valid phone numbers in Butte, Glenn, Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties, but there will be no call-in.)read more
Margo Lemner was one of 18 people who asked City Council for action.
The City Council unanimously passed Mayor Kasey Reynolds’ motion to create an ad hoc committee to address homelessness at the March 4 meeting.
Reynolds noted that “the scope of the committee would be on the three items originally agendized,” including ordinances, code changes and programs distinct from anti-camping ordinance enforcement.
“The committee would have a time-sensitive due date of coming back in one of our June meetings,” Reynolds said, in making the motion for the ad hoc group. “We would bring a report back to Council with recommendations for the full Council to consider at that time.”read more
Former Chico State professor John Nishio has ample reason to organize a pilgrimage honoring Japanese American prisoners of war.
His father and grandparents were among those held captive during World War II, and as a biologist, he believes he’s found a link between his field of science and his family history.
Epigenetic markers are the environmental factors that impact gene expressions, he said. Some of these markers, or chemicals, he explained, can attach to the DNA and be transferred to successive generations.
Some of them, he said, “are related to stress, so the stress that my father experienced during the war could have been passed on to me.”read more
When Colleen Evans stopped by the Feb. 17 “Not my Presidents Day” protest at City Plaza, she hoped to voice her opposition to the Trump Administration and find camaraderie with like-minded people.
Instead, the Chico woman, who was wearing a knee brace to protect a broken kneecap, ended up at the Enloe Medical Center emergency room with new injuries. She arrived at Enloe bloodied, sore and dazed after a disastrous fall off the sidewalk on the east side of the plaza.
Almost two weeks later, a Chico Police Department investigation has left many questions unresolved, and Evans, 70, is recovering but frustrated that her story hasn’t been told.read more
