LGBTQ resource center plans rally to support trans community
By Natalie Hanson | Posted March 28, 2025
Chico’s Stonewall Alliance is pushing back against nationwide anti-trans rhetoric by bringing together allies and LGBTQ people to stand by their trans neighbors, culminating with a rally Sunday.
The nonprofit organization, which provides resources to LGBTQ people and their families, organized special programming throughout the last week of March, such as workshops and training sessions.
Executive Director Justina Sotelo led one of these sessions March 24, one of several workshops designed to train people on being bystanders prepared to handle escalating incidents where an LGBTQ person is targeted with threats or worse.read more
About 70 people, including students from Chico State and Butte College and a few faculty members and Chico residents, gathered in front of Kendall Hall today to call for a ceasefire and to remember journalists and other civilians killed in Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Chico State’s Academic Senate will hold a special meeting May 7 to vote on whether to agendize discussion on a ceasefire resolution, and ChicoSol will post a story after. (Photo by Karen Laslo.)
courtesy of California Department of Public Health
A new study on COVID-19 says that parents under stress or following pandemic misinformation were more cautious about Covid treatments and vaccines for their children -– and may have ignored or directly violated COVID prevention policies, including at schools.
But it is unclear how much those behaviors may have impacted counties with lower vaccination rates and amid significant infection rates, like Butte County.
California data shows that Butte County ranks among those counties most likely to have lower numbers of vaccination against COVID -– including among school age children -– with only 52% of people eligible getting the primary vaccine series compared to the statewide average of 72%. Butte’s COVID dashboard no longer shows how many people under 18 were vaccinated locally, compared to the state’s estimate of 67% of 12-17 year olds and only 37% of 5-11 year olds. Last summer, only 17.7% of children ages 5-11 and 39% ages 12-17 were fully vaccinated, compared to the statewide averages of 36% and 67%.read more
Shooting sergeant member of Ramsey investigative team
By Dave Waddell | Posted November 12, 2020
from Butte County District Attorney website
Chico police Sgt. Nick Bauer, a member of the DA’s OIS investigation team, worked on the report about the killing of Mark Jensen.
The Chico Police Department sergeant who shot Stephen Vest last month is a member of a designated team of officers that investigates officer-involved shootings in Butte County.
Sgt. Nick Bauer has been part of District Attorney Mike Ramsey’s Officer Involved Shooting/Critical Incident Protocol Team, which Ramsey has described as made up of “seasoned” law enforcement officers from agencies throughout the county.
In killing Vest on Oct. 14, Bauer fired his revolver twice, while officer Tyler Johnson shot eight or nine times in two seconds, Ramsey said. Vest was armed with a folding knife with a roughly 4-inch blade. Other than Vest, no one was hurt in the incident.read more
Community members gathered Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the killing of 25-year-old Desmond Phillips, shot multiple times by Chico police officers in his father’s living room. Other parents frustrated with Butte County’s criminal justice system again joined the Phillips family for a march, potluck dinner and a program that included speakers and performances.
Scott Rushing, father of Tyler Rushing who was killed in a shooting that involved Chico police and an armed security guard in July 2017, traveled from Ventura to attend the Sunday gathering.
Rain Scher from the Justice for Desmond Phillips team said in an email, “We believe that the community at large should be reminded of who Desmond is and what happened to him and all the things that we fight for in his name: accountability for the officers who killed him and the chief of police, better mental health care access in Butte County, better training for police officers including anti-bias training.”read more
