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FREE CHICO’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT SOURCE VOLUME 45, ISSUE 11 MAY 12–JUNE 8, 2022 CHICO.NEWSREVIEW.COM

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ALIENS, HELP US! CITY MANAGER TALKS MINI-TERM NEW BURLESQUE GROUP SPARKLES LOCAL BAND NEW RELEASES

SAMPLE BALLOT See page 12

PRIMARY PREVIEW A local guide through the election maze

Bruce Jenkins

CN&R

Vol. 45, Issue 11 • May 12—June 8, 2022 OPINION

Insurance & Financial Services

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Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Editor’s Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Guest Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Second & Flume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Streetalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

NEWSLINES

•Medicare Supplement Plans •Medicare Advantage Plans

•Social Security Maximization

Downstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Q&A with Interim City Manager Paul Hahn. . . . . . . . . . . 8

•Retirement Income Planning FEATURE

2022 Primary Election

ARTS & CULTURE

May Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Reel World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Arts DEVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Brezsny’s Astrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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OPINION

Send guest comments, 300 words maximum, to gc@newsreview.com or to P.O. Box 56, Chico, CA 95927. Please include photo & short bio.

EDITORIAL

EDITOR’S NOTE

CN&R endorsements election, the Chico News & Review is offering few Aendorsements. That’s because this is a primary with lthough there are so many open offices in the June 7

many two-person races as well as those with clear front-runners for nominees that won’t really become contests until the general election, when the top-two vote-getters meet again. (See “Primary primer,” page 14 for more on the field.) Additionally, most candidates for county offices are running unopposed, so unless there’s a surprise push for a write-in, those races are all but decided. We urge voters to do their own homework, beginning with the official Voter Information Guide. The Butte County League of Women Voters has candidate forums archived on its website. Here, we offer our recommendations.

Butte County Supervisor, District No. 2: Debra Lucero

The incumbent is exactly the kind of passionate public servant our county deserves. The energy Lucero puts into showing up for community at wide range of venues and communicating the workings of local government to her constituents is inspiring. The CN&R respects her willingness to fight for democratic ideals like representation (notably during the redistricting process) and for protecting natural resources, especially our groundwater. Her two challengers have neither the experience nor the creative ideas to address complex needs of the county. Butte County Supervisor, District No. 3: Tami Ritter

This is a this two-person race, and we choose the sharp

by Jason Cassidy j a s o n c @ n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

incumbent Ritter—and her priorities of affordable housing, protecting groundwater and responding to climate disasters—over challenger Mary Murphy-Waldorf, who’s leading off with the talking point of public health and safety concerns due to homelessness. Butte County Assessor: Alyssa Douglass To succeed

outgoing Assessor Diane Brown, it’s a close one. Former Chico Mayor Randall Stone has experience on the assessment appeals board, but not in the assessor’s office. Douglass and Michael J. Howard both have had significant time in various capacities—including leadership—in the department; Douglass currently. She gets our nod for her 18 years of experience plus her recent management and streamlining of training new employees in an office that’s had a large amount of turnover.

Butte County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar: No endorsement

Even though Keaton Denlay is running unopposed, the CN&R thinks voters have a decision. Denlay, the county’s elections manager and an attorney, has worked five years under nine-term county clerk Candace Grubbs (see “Candy’s house,” page 18). His sister, former Chico City Councilwoman Kami Denlay, resigned from her seat when evidence of her residing in another county surfaced. Should he have known? Should he have been expected to “turn in” a family member? Those are judgment calls for voters about expectations of the public servant in charge of the integrity of elections. Ω

LETTERS Scrap move less green? Re “Finally scrapped” (chico. newsreview.com, April 11, 2022): Bummer. I’m a longtime customer of Chico Scrap Metal. For all the talk about “green” policies, I think [Karl] Ory and the “progressives” really missed the mark on CSM. Having scrap metal and recycling within town saved tens of thousands of miles of truck travel and carbon emissions for people who recycle scrap metal or use recycled steel in their businesses. It also provided literally millions

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of dollars of income for poor people who didn’t have cars to drive farther to recycle beverage containers. Recycling is dirty, it’s true, but I don’t really see a huge win in making the operator move their business to a new site so that place can get polluted also. If the city had millions to spend on a lawsuit, why couldn’t they do something creative instead like help the owners finance a building that would have solved the noise or dust issues? I’ll think of Ory and his “green legacy” every time I have to

spend an hour of my day and burn $20 worth of diesel to drive out to Durham-Pentz Road to buy recycled steel or drop off scrap for recycling. Zeke Lunder Chico

Overpass option I biked through Lower Bidwell Park and saw a fallen tree leaning on the tarp covering a tent. Limbs and trees are falling all over town. There is only one place in Lower Park protected from rain, LETTERS C O N T I N U E D

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Consequences In contemporary American politics, the division between winners and losers is extreme. Winner takes all. No compromise. Our government representatives are often solely concerned about the needs and ideals of their supporters, at the expense of the rest of their constituency. Sometimes, they even sell constituents short to get their way. In 2016, when President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the selection from even being considered on the grounds that a new president would soon be elected (eight months later) and that person should get to pick. Cut to 2020, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: McConnell and his fellow Republicans confirmed President Trump’s nominee—Amy Coney Barrett—a mere two weeks before the election. McConnell didn’t break any laws, but he was blatantly disingenuous. As a result, Trump got to pick three conservative justices—putting us where we are now, facing the very real prospect that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that, since 1971, has protected a women’s right to choose. For anyone concerned about civil rights in this country, it’s a disturbing prospect, one that goes against the wishes of the majority of Americans—61 percent of whom believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. The decision as drafted would also put into jeopardy contraception, interracial marriage, same-sex marriage and other personal protections. The big issue at play here, aside from representation, is fairness. Sure, we have to live with the results of elections, but shouldn’t gaming the system have consequences as well? In our local political sphere, we see the same kind of slippery partisan maneuvering. At the end of 2021, when the Butte County supervisors oversaw the redrawing of their own districts, there was much contention between the two Democrats and the three Republicans over draft maps that would tip the balance even further in favor of the conservative majority—contrary to California’s FAIR MAPS Act. The map that was ultimately chosen was very similar to one drawn up by Josh Cook, chief of staff for Republican state Sen. (and current gubernatorial candidate) Brian Dahle. The conservative supervisors— Tod Kimmelshue, Doug Teeter and Bill Connelly—denied gerrymandering and made cases for selection based on creating two ag districts and giving rural residents a greater voice. The truth is that the political makeup of District 2, currently represented by Democrat Debra Lucero, was significantly altered. The numbers went from 11,482 Democrats and 8,455 Republicans to a nearly even 9,781 and 9,064. Maybe the huge shift is an honest result of the process, but it’s worth noting that the Republican majorities in Kimmelshue, Teeter and Connelley’s districts remained at virtually the same ratio as before the redistricting. The decision by the board obviously has the potential for serious consequences on the outcome of the current race for District 2. I hope those who serve political interests over the citizenry will face consequences as well and be held accountable when it’s their turn at the polls.

Jason Cassidy is editor of the Chico News & Review

GUEST COMMENT

Latest saga in homeless holocaust of this time to include the barricadAing most of sidewalks, restrooms and the only

fter six months of fencing off Chico City Plaza,

water fountain within a mile, the fence came down on April 22. And so ended another episode in our ongoing homeless holocaust. Whether any city leaders ever admitted it publicly, the fence was there to deprive the homeless of this public space. Even worse, the general public—includby ing our so-called Patrick Newman progressive politicians, The author is Facebook socialists, a longtime homeless Christians, etc.—looked human rights activist and founder the other way, expressing of Chico Friends on no public objection to the Street. the fence. The number of people who stood with Chico Friends on the Street protesting the fence or spoke at council meetings or wrote a letter in opposition was about one in 10,000. The next day, after the fence was

removed, came an environmental festival, the Endangered Earth Event. A large sign was planted in the lawn near the northwest corner of the plaza: LOOK UP! It was in reference to the 2021 film Don’t Look Up, a satire

Whether any city leaders ever admitted it publicly, the fence was there to deprive the homeless of this public space. aimed at politicians and a public failing to respond to a global-burning crisis. Such festivals ring increasingly hollow as the years pass since the first Earth Day in 1970. This latest ritual, including fatuous speeches formulaically devoid of the word “sacrifice,” rang especially hollow, given it was held on the same ground denied to the poorest people, one day before. A denial not registered as morally objectionable, as leftists and environmental thespians continue to Ω LOOK AWAY.

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SECOND & FLUME by Melissa Daugherty m e l i s s a d @ n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

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 their existence. Then I cringe at how evolved lifeforms must view Earth dwellers. It seems most people missed the memo on this news, but I’m not making this stuff up. Navy pilots training off both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts have had—excuse the 1970s film reference—close encounters with UFOs or so-called UAPs, unidentified aerial phenomena, the terminology the feds have adopted. It’s well-documented with leaked—and now declassified—footage of such run-ins. Let me repeat this: Flying vessels well beyond any modern technology—and yes, they’re saucer-like, oblong actually—have been spotted here by distinguished members of the Armed Forces. In a few cases, they have come within a few meters of the United States’ most sophisticated aircraft and then shot off at impossible rates of speed. It’s something out of a movie, except it’s not. Speaking of which, sometimes I feel like we’re living in the Matrix, because despite the revelation that advanced beings are actually, well, out there, ensuring that the universe is home to something greater than ourselves, it’s like nobody knows it or cares. In theory, such knowledge would underscore our connectedness as human beings on this beautiful and relatively small blue dot. Yet, the opposite seems to be true. We form tribes that obsess over trivial matters. Meanwhile, we ignore very real existential threats. Nuclear proliferation. Sectarian violence. Wars over natural resources, like Russia’s assault on Ukraine. That unjust invasion is still happening, though somehow people are focused on Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress to the Met Gala. Here in the States, we’re turning an authoritarian corner, with legal abortions now in jeopardy, one of the many delayed outcomes of the 2016 presidential election. We’ve taken many of our civil rights for granted, and our passivity is having profound consequences. One of the biggest examples of our disconnectedness is how poorly we take care of our home. Indeed, we’re destroying the only place we know can sustain our species. Every nation ought to be working together to power the world through renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.), which studies show can be accomplished within the next two decades. Nevertheless, we continue to tap the planet for an unsustainable resource and in the process spew toxic gases into the atmosphere. Our actions are absurd when you think about it. Logic-defying. It’s like, Why capture the power of the giant yellow sky orb emitting free energy when we can pay to degrade the planet and leave it less habitable for future generations? At a certain point on this trajectory, Earth won’t be able to sustain human life, which is why the futurist Elon Musk is working to colonize Mars. People love worshiping celebrity oligarchs like Musk, but it would be a fatal mistake to count on him or anyone else to save us. Forgive me for being a bit of a bummer, but the state of the world is enough to make a gal want to reach out to intelligent life elsewhere. I mean, beam me up already. I jest, of course. In reality, we can’t give up on our planet and humanity. We can’t simply hope some advanced species will come to our aid. In fact, I can’t see a reason they would offer their help. We certainly haven’t proven our worthiness. Moreover, we don’t even know if they’re benevolent. Then again, if they’re hostile, why would they bother to expend the effort to take us out when we’re already on the path to self-inflicted mass extinction?

Melissa Daugherty is editor-at-large for the Chico News & Review

STREETALK

Thoughts on Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade? Asked at Chico State

Neesa Sonoquie assistant editor

Disappointing, but not surprising. I’m hopeful that it energizes people to become more active in politics, to work together to support women’s rights to protect their own bodies and have a choice over what we do with our bodies.

LETTERS

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4

sun, falling trees and fire risk. That place is under the [Hwy 99] overpass. The law says homeless people cannot be moved unless they have a legal place to go. The city and the park management could declare that, for safety, the overpass is the only designated area in the park where staying overnight is permitted, thus legally moving people currently camped illegally and dangerously close to the waterway. This may save people from crush injuries and the city from liability. If campers were all in one safe area, it would be easier to deliver services like food, water, mobile showers, toilets and trash removal. It would help to keep the creek and swimming areas clean. Families would feel more comfortable bringing children to the park if they were not next to someone’s living space. I know that the city is working on other solutions, but the wheels have moved so slowly on these projects. This declaration could be done immediately as a temporary measure. Sandee Renault Chico

Mike Griffith pedicab owner

A woman’s body is a woman’s body, and she should be allowed to make her own choices.

Isabella Lipelt student

It’s annoying to hear that I don’t have a say over my body anymore. The people on the Supreme Court can decide what I do with my own uterus. This overturn of Roe v. Wade is going to kill a lot more women. It’s just really disheartening to hear about.

Drew student

First and foremost, I think it’s a mistake. Regardless of their decision, their reasoning just doesn’t make any sense. [If we can’t] make enough noise to make sure that the overturning doesn’t happen, we can try to make change on the state level to make sure things functionally stay the same.

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“And I did not speak out ...” A world that witnessed the horrors of Auschwitz and said out loud, “Never again,” seems to be paralyzed in going full-bore to stop Putin’s atrocities in the Ukraine. We are caught up in the “if we hit him too hard, he may hit us back” excuse, a question we always face when dealing with bullies. And, yes, he may, and it may really hurt, but the alternative is his growing stronger every time he succeeds in one of his bullying tactics. If we walk away from the fight, he wins. If we call him bad names and duck and parry, he wins. If we continue to let him bully our weakest neighbors, he wins. If we negotiate and give him half the cookie he seeks, he wins—he’ll go for the other half at a later date. The only way to stop him is to pick up a rock and crush his skull. But we’re too afraid he has a rock, too. Martin Niemöller’s warnings [in the poem “First they came...”] should ring in our ears, but we are too self-serving and engrossed in our Twitter accounts to heed them. Sad. Dean Carrier Eureka

Write a letter Tell us what you think in a letter to the editor. Send submissions of 200 or fewer words to cnrletters@newsreview.com. Deadline for June 9 print publication is May 31. M AY 1 2 , 2 0 2 2

CN&R

NEWSLINES DOWNSTROKE

Interim City Manager Paul Hahn works at the conference table in his office at Chico City Hall midday April 25.

SHELTER PLAN UNFOLDS

With the Pallet homeless shelter having opened at the former BMX racetrack in south Chico on April 25, city officials have rolled out the outreach and enforcement cycles prescribed in the Warren v. City of Chico lawsuit settlement. Interim City Manager Paul Hahn detailed the procedures at the City Council meeting May 4, at which time he reported the 177-unit shelter had 45 steady residents. More will come as the city moves “methodically” through areas where homeless encampments total up to 50 residents, in three-week cycles. First up is downtown—City Hall, City Plaza, Lost Park, Annie’s Glen—due to the proximity of events like Thursday Night Market and Friday Night Concerts. Hahn said the city was being “creative, humane, trying to balance needs of the homeless and the community.” Mayor Andrew Coolidge told the CN&R he was “very happy with the progress that we’re making now. ... It’s pretty miraculous, I think, in terms of the timing of it, and of course I’m very pleased to be getting back to enforcement [of anti-camping ordinances] in our parks and waterways.” Councilwoman Alex Brown disagreed with those assessments: “Head in the sand, as usual. Willful ignorance of the bigger picture of how our community is feeling and what they’re experiencing,” she told the CN&R, “and painting a pretty rosy picture of what’s taking place as it relates to the homelessness issue, which has affected so many.”

CHICO’S BIRTHDAY PARTY

The city of Chico is celebrating its sesquicentennial with a calendar of 150 local activities in 150 days—everything from taking a tour at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to attending the Chikoko Pod installation at 1078 Gallery (opening June 3). It all culminates with a capstone party Sept. 30 at Meriam Park. The extended commemoration started May 1, with a proper kickoff at the Chikoko Thursday Night Market May 4. A digital pass loaded with all the activities is available at choosechico.com/celebrating-150-years.

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Temp talk Chico’s interim city manager shares priorities for his ‘limited time’

THahninterim city manager of Chico, Paul welcomed a guest into his office. He he Monday after taking the reins as

sat at the conference table—a portion doubling as his work area, since he’d eschewed story and photos by the executive desk Evan Tuchinsky with its high-back chair, phone and eva nt @ computer set-up. He’d n ew srev i ew. c o m done so for personal comfort, he explained, and he’s also leaving that space for whoever gets the job ultimately. The City Council hired Hahn at a special meeting April 13 and ratified his contract at the regular meeting the following Tuesday (April 19). The move allowed Police Chief Matt Madden, deputized March 25 to replace former City Manager Mark Orme, to step down from the interim position and return to his regular post. The city has started a nationwide search for the next city manager, with a hire expected this summer. Hahn, retired since 2017 as Butte County chief administrative

officer, said he will not apply. He plans only to serve in the interim, as per his job title—and as he’s done, in three- to-fourmonth stretches, in various capacities for the county and state over the past five years. He described his first week on the job as “a whirlwind,” noting that even though he lives in the community and keeps abreast of developments in Chico government, “it’s different when you’re inside of it and hear all of the details of what’s going on. But it’s been good. It’s like getting back on a bike again after a few years.” Midday April 25, Hahn spoke with the CN&R about his hiring, his role and his priorities for his time as interim city manager. How did you hear about the opening? I heard about it when I got a phone call when I was on vacation in Southern California. I guess folks around here had thrown out some possible names, but I hadn’t even thought about it, quite frankly— and when I was down there, I didn’t even know what was going on with it. I knew Matt had gotten the job as interim [city manager].

But I got a phone call asking, “Would you be interested?” I thought about it overnight, talked with my wife. I am absolutely not interested in coming out of retirement and doing this full time, but for an interim situation, I figured, “Yeah, I could do it.” Basically, I got back from Southern California and that night [April 13] came in for a brief interview with the council, and they called me as soon as I got home, “Let’s make it so.” Since you retired, have you been doing any work? A little bit. I retired in 2017, Halloween. In ’18, we had the Camp Fire, and the county asked me to come back—I was the EOC [emergency operations center] director for a lot of that time—and to help with the aftereffects. The next year, 2019, I also got a call from the county—Cathi Grams, who headed up DESS [Department of Employment and Social Services] when I was there, and I worked [together] with the county and the state to set up the program to get trees out of the right of way. And then NEWSLINES C O N T I N U E D

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for the last couple years, Cathi and I have been under an arrangement with the California Department of Social Services to help with Disaster CalFresh. So I basically have worked three to four months a year, just to kind of keep my hands in it, since I retired. In your first week, the fence comes off City Plaza and the Pallet shelter opens. Is this a coincidence or causality? It’s more coincidence. These things were in the planning process. I cannot take credit for either one of those things. Certainly, the Pallet shelter opening has taken up a great deal of my time in the first week, but the plans were being implemented before I came here. Coincidence on both. What are your priorities? My priorities in the time that I am here are, one, to make sure that the continued opening goes as smooth as possible—to work with the Jesus Center, to work with the community, to make sure that the opening is a success. Two, [following sign-off April 28 from the magistrate judge overseeing the Warren v. City of Chico settlement] to begin implementing enforcement of the anti-camping ordinances and hopefully do that in a systematic, organized, humane-as-possible way to move the camps and get people into better housing—then repair and renew the sites and open them up so citizens can use them. That’s one priority. Budget—we’ve got to get a budget by June 30. Again, that’s

in good shape, it’s been well on its way. But getting it passed, getting it through council, is a critical priority. The council has to decide [how] they want to put a sales tax before the voters. Probably grant some cannabis licenses—that’s coming down the pike and will probably happen during my time here. And then there are some internal things that need to be done [such as] labor negotiations. Because of your distinct position as a short-timer who’s local, with your experience, do you feel a degree of independence to lead, to push back on the council if you have a strong opinion? In a limited time, I’m going to be realistic about what I can accomplish. I can’t change an organization or an organization’s culture in twoand-a-half or three or four months, or whatever it’s going to be. At the same time, I don’t have to worry about this being my career, that if I insult somebody that it’s going to hurt my career. I’m going to say and do what I think is the right thing to do, and I’m going to make recommendations to the council of what I think are the right things to do. I told them that, and I think that’s what they want me

“I’m not just going to be sitting here waiting for my time to end.” —Paul Hahn

Hahn (center) speaks with Chico City Attorney Vince Ewing and Deputy City Manager Jennifer Macarthy as City Clerk Debbie Presson prepares for the April 19 City Council meeting—his first as interim city manager.

to do. I’m not just going to be sitting here waiting for my time to end. Some of these priorities are pretty significant things, with the homeless issue in general and the budget and the sales tax and cannabis, so I will provide whatever leadership is necessary to make these things happen in my time here. But I’m also not going to take up a whole bunch of new initiatives with a new person coming in, in a short time frame. I hesitate to say caretaker, because it’s not my style to come here and do nothing. If I’m here, I’m going to be as involved as I possibly can—at the same time, not upset the apple cart because I’m the city manager and can do that. If I see something that’s absolutely not working, I might address something.

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Your tenure in this role will be a success if … I think if I am able to get through some of these priorities. Certainly, the organization has a lot of anxiety now just because of change. The previous city manager left; there’s an uncertainty as to who the new permanent person is going to be … and election season is coming up soon; that’s always a potential change for everybody. So I just want everybody to try to relax, do their jobs, and if everybody is doing that and we get a new city manager in a timely way, I’ll be quite happy. Ω M AY 1 2 , 2 0 2 2

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SERVICES★

Best Ag/Growing Supplies Best Antiques Store Best Appliance Store Best Attorney Best Auto Paint/Body Shop Best Auto Repair Shop Best Baby/Kids’ Clothier Best Bank/Credit Union Best Barbershop Best Bike Shop Best Cab Company Best Cannabis Dispensary (within driving distance of Chico) Best Car Dealership Best Car Wash Best Consignment/Second-Hand Threads Best Convenience Store Best Day Spa Best Dry Cleaner Best Esthetician/Waxing Studio Best Feed Store/Farm Supply Best Financial Planner (name and location) Best Florist Best General Contractor Best Gift Shop Best Grocer Best Hair Salon Best House Cleaning Service Best House Painter Best Insurance Agent Best Jeweler Best Landscaper Best Liquor Store Best Local Pet Store Best Men’s Clothier

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IT’S TIME TO VOTE:

Come one, come all to the greatest show on earth—Best of Chico 2022! All you need to do is vote for the people, places and things that make Chico such a great place to live and visit.

HOW TO VOTE:

The polls are open now and free voting takes place exclusively online where full contest rules are available. Categories are shown on this page.

VOTING ENDS MONDAY, JULY 18, AT 11:59 P.M. Best Motorcycle Dealer Best New Business (non-food service, open in last year) Best Nursery Best Outdoor Living (patios, pergolas, pools, etc.) Best Pet Groomer Best Piercing Studio Best Place For A Mani/Pedi Best Place For Electronics/ Computer Repair Best Place To Buy Books Best Place To Buy Home Furnishings Best Place To Buy Outdoor Gear Best Plumber Best Professional Photographer Best Property Management Best Real Estate Agent Best Reptile Store Best Roofer Best RV Rentals Best Shoe Store Best Solar Company Best Sporting Goods Best Tattoo Parlor Best Thrift Store Best Tree Service Best Wedding/Event Planner Best Window Treatments Best Women’s Clothier

★FOOD & DRINK★

Best Asian Cuisine Best Bakery Best Barbecue Best Breakfast Best Brunch Best Burger Best Burrito Best Caterer Best Cheap Eats Best Chef Best Craft Beer Selection Best Delivery Driver Best Diner Best Fine Dining Best Food Server (name and location) Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Best International Cuisine Best Italian Cuisine Best Local Brewery — Regional (Butte/ Glenn/Tehama) Best Local Coffee House Best Local Restaurant — Chico Best Local Restaurant — Oroville Best Local Winery — Regional (Butte/Glenn/Tehama) Best Locally Produced Food — Regional (Butte/Glenn/Tehama) Best Lunch Best Mexican Cuisine

Best Munchies Best New Eatery (opened in last year) Best Patio Best Pho Best Pizza Best Sandwich Best Street Food Best Sushi Best Taco Best Takeout/Curbside Best Vegetarian Cuisine

★HEALTH & WELLNESS★

Best Acupuncture Clinic Best Alternative Health Care Provider Best Boutique Gym Best Chiropractor Best Dental Care Best Dermatologist Best Eye Care Specialist Best General Practitioner Best Gym Best Hearing Aid Specialist Best Local CBD Source Best Local Healthcare Provider Best Martial Arts Studio Best Massage Therapist Best Pediatrician

www.chicobestof.com 12

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BEST

Best Personal Trainer Best Physical Therapy Office Best Plastic Surgeon Best Veterinarian Best Yoga Studio

★NIGHTLIFE & THE ARTS★

Best Art Space Best Bar Best Bloody Mary Best Casino — Regional (Butte/Glenn/Tehama) Best Dance Company/Studio Best Happy Hour Best Local Music Act Best Local Visual Artist Best Margarita Best Mixologist (name and location) Best Museum Best Place To Buy Art Best Place To Dance Best Place To Drink A Glass Of Wine Best Sports Bar Best Theater Company Best To-Go Cocktail Or Bar Service Best Venue For Live Music Best Watering Hole For Townies

★COMMUNITY★

Best Charitable Cause Best Community Event Best Farmer’s Market Vendor Best Golf Course — Regional (Butte/Glenn/Tehama) Best Instructor/Professor Best Local Personality Best Place For Family Fun Best Place To Pray/Meditate Best Radio Station Best Teacher (K-12) Best Volunteer Best Youth Organization

Fraud Alert Important message to all area businesses, CN&R advertisers and potential winners in CN&R’s 2022 Best of Chico competition: CN&R will never contact a person or business with intentions to sell a Best of Chico winner’s plaque. Any company attempting to do so is NOT associated with the Chico News & Review or the Best of Chico contest.

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Primary primer Making sense of California’s June 7 election

Brian Dahle, state senator and candidate for governor

Jason Cassidy jason c@ n ew sr ev i ew. com

alifornians have a lot to process in a primary election, especially during a redistricting year. To get Butte County residents ready to make decisions on all the local, state and federal offices on the June 7 ballot, we’ve broken down the primary process and 2022’s various changes and quirks.

‘Voter-nominated’ Every federal and state candidate on the California ballot is running for a “voter-nominated” office. This means that, for the primary, the top two vote-getters in each race—from Board of Equalization to governor to members of Congress—will go on to face each other in the general election this fall, regardless of party affiliation. (The one exception is for state superintendent of public instruction: If one candidate for that office gets more than 50 percent of the vote during the primary, they are declared the winner.) There are a ton of open offices on California’s primary ballot. Every U.S. representative is up, and in Butte County’s district, five-term Republican Doug LaMalfa is once again running for re-election. Two of the four candidates challenging him for the District 1

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David Leon Zink, Assembly candidate

Gov. Gavin Newsom

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

seat have raised less than $20,000 between them, leaving the campaign of Democrat Max Steiner—a Chicobased Army combat veteran who served in Iraq—as the only formidable challenge to LaMalfa. One of California’s two U.S. Senate seats is on the ballot … twice! According to the 17th Amendment, when a Senate vacancy comes up before the end of its term—such as when former Senator Kamala Harris became Vice President—the governor can “make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election.” Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla to Harris’ seat in 2021, but with a general election coming this November, voters get to weigh in

on who serves out the balance of the term—all two months of it, through January—and also who will hold the office for the following six years. For both Senate slots, Padilla, a Democrat, seems the clear favorite. As CalMatters points out, his challengers include “Republican Mark Meuser, who ran unsuccessfully for Secretary of State in 2018; Christopher Theodore, the Democratic founder of a Southern California quarterly magazine that has been accused of plagiarism; and Republican Cordie Williams, a Carlsbard chiropractor who attended the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally on Jan. 6, 2021.” On the state level, the races— governor, lieutenant governor, assembly, attorney general, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instrucCongressman Doug LaMalfa

tion—are pretty quiet, at least for now. Things should heat up as the general election season comes into focus. For California’s top spot, Newsom’s nomination is probably automatic. As for who his challenger will be from a collection

Max Steiner, congressional candidate

Newly redrawn Butte County supervisorial districts 2 and 3

2 3 Assemblyman James Gallagher

of lesser-known candidates? Possibly having as good a chance as anyone is Republican Brian Dahle, the state senator from District 1, the rural Nor-Cal district that will soon include Butte County thanks to recent redistricting. There is only one Legislature race for Butte County, Assembly District 3. Barring a surprise showing from a write-in, both candidates on the ballot— four-term incumbent James Gallagher, the Assembly’s Republican minority leader, and Magalia-based community organizer and musician David Leon Zink—will continue on to the general election.

★

Voting resources: Ballotpedia ballotpedia.org Butte Votes—Butte County Clerk-Recorder/ Registrar of Voters site buttevotes.net California Secretary of State sos.ca.gov/elections CalMatters 2022 Voters Guide calmatters.org/ california-voter-guide-2022 League of Women Voters, Butte County my.lwv.org/california/ butte-county/elections Voter’s Edge votersedge.org/ca

What the district?!? The 2020 census triggered redistricting across the country, and as happens every decade after that often contentious process, there are many changes in how we the people are represented. Locally, the most impactful of these changes are found in county and state representation. The two Butte County Supervisor districts on the ballot have been dramatically redrawn. District 2 had much of its central Chico portions—from the Avenues through downtown and deep into the Chapman/Mulberry neighborhood—ceded to District 3, which has shrunk in area to become a population-dense, mostly urban district of Chico. Many Chicoans currently represented by District 2 Supervisor Debra Lucero will be voting in District 3, choosing between incumbent Tami Ritter and challenger Mary Murphy-Waldorf. For her reelection bid, Lucero is facing two challengers, Carl Jeffries and Chico police officer Peter Durfee. (For more on the supervisor candidates, see page 16.) The broadest change due to redistricting is the realignment of the state 3 Senate districts. Instead of 2 being in District 4, currently 5 represented by longstanding California lawmaker Jim Nielsen (who is retiring after 1 this year), Butte County moves into an expanded District 1, 4 home of gubernatorial candidate Dahle, whose term as senator runs through 2024. Previous Butte County Supervisor district map

How do I vote? Butte County elections are vote-by-mail, but voters still have a few other options for casting a ballot. The office of Butte County Clerk-Recorder/ Registrar of Voters Candace Grubbs mailed ballots starting Monday (May 9). If you do not receive one, call the Elections Office at (530) 552-3400 for a replacement. To check the status of your ballot (when it was mailed, received and counted), visit california.ballottrax.net/ voter. As a refresher, here are the different ways local voters can turn in their ballots:

Mail it back

● No postage necessary. ● Ballot must be postmarked by Election Day, June 7.

Deposit in a secure drop box

● Drop boxes are open May 6-June 7. ● Ballot must be turned in before 8 p.m. on June 7. ● Refer to the Voter Information Guide (available online at buttevotes.net) for a list of drop box locations and hours.

Hand deliver to a voting assistance center (VAC)

● VACs are open May 28-June 7 (extra centers open starting June 4). ● Ballot must be turned in before 8 p.m. on June 7. ● Refer to the Voter Information Guide for a list of VAC locations and hours of operation.

Wait, am I registered to vote?

● Check registration status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. ● Deadline to register by mail or online (at registertovote.ca.gov) is May 23. ● Miss the deadline? There’s still a way: Conditional Voter Registration is available. Fill out a provisional ballot at the Butte County Elections Office (155 Nelson Ave., Oroville) or a VAC through June 7. ELECTION C O N T I N U E D

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DISTRICT 2 CANDIDATES Debra Lucero

Reppin’ the county A Q&A with Board of Supervisors candidates The questions 1. What’s biggest issue facing Butte County? 2. How can you as a supervisor address that issue? 3. How should the county address homelessness and affordable housing? 4. What’s your assessment of water management across the county? 5. In what ways should the county address public safety issues? 6. What distinguishes you from the others on the ballot and the board? More questions and answers online chico.newsreview.com/2022/05/12/reppin-the-county

7. Redistricting has resulted in a dramatic shift

in the makeup of districts 2 and 3. How do the changes affect priorities for you and district residents? 8. Should the Greenline remain firm? 9. What should the Board of Supervisors do locally to address climate change? 10. From the Spillway Crisis to wildfires to the pandemic, how do you assess the county’s response to disasters?

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Incumbent

1. I believe climate change, encompassing the water crisis and increase of wildfires in our area, will prove to be our largest challenge in the next few years. Since 2018, wildfires have consumed 17,500 homes in Butte County, exasperating an already dire housing supply. We built zero affordable housing in the past eight years in Chico but 219 percent of medium- to high-income housing. Disaster funding and tax credits are giving the city of Chico the opportunity to build nearly 1,000 affordable units by 2023. We need to build resilience in our citizens, our food and water supply systems, and keep affordable housing as a priority. 2. We need to acknowledge the fact the western U.S. is drier and hotter. We are getting less rainfall, causing the drought and ultimately causing the premature drying out of fuels, which lead to catastrophic wildfires. As a supervisor, I sit on several committees that deal directly with climate change, i.e., the National Association of Counties’ Resilient Counties Advisory Board, which I chair. Supervisors throughout the country come together to discuss best practices, studies, ordinances and land-use policies. The water crisis can be addressed with local land-use policies and supporting good scientific research and best practices. 3. We need to keep building—both transitional and permanent housing. (See answer No. 1.) The Pallet shelter is a start. We need an official homeless camp and/or parking facility (RV park situation). 4. I’ve been vocal about the fact the county abdicated its role as the groundwater manager in the “white areas” [i.e., unincorporated] in 2017 through a resolution that was never vetted publicly but passed on a consent agenda. That’s what led to the birth of the Tuscan Water District—another layer of unfunded government that will fall to the people of that district to fund recharge or pipelines or projects that move water from one place to another. Butte’s Department of Water Conservation and Resources was established by referendum by the people in the mid-1990s during another extreme drought. Transferring surface water for sale and then pumping groundwater is expressly prohibited under Chapter 33 unless fields are fallowed and a permit is requested. However, with SGMA [California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act], those protections are less clear. 5. Make sure our redundant emergency-response systems are functioning and that every citizen who lives in harm’s way is trained on how to get out, has a to-go bag, and their home is outfitted with emergency-response FM devices. In terms of safety within the city jurisdictions, the county needs to continue to innovate on homelessness and behavioral health issues. The newly established REST program is a good example of innovation. It will take the most problematic behavioral health clients and focus outreach on these folks—from housing to meds to rehabilitation. 6. The most distinguishing factor is that I am a woman. I am one of only nine women in 150 years to serve as a county supervisor in Butte County. I am the first Latina to serve on this board. Women make up 51 percent of the population, yet we still only hold 25-35 percent of state offices or any elected office for that matter. Until we hold 51 percent of all offices, we are not equal. I believe in climate change. My heart is for the people. I believe corporations are not people. I believe in equity. And finally, I believe in true democracy—one person, one vote.

Carl Jeffries

Environmental health and safety manager

1. We need a multi-pronged, compassionate approach to homelessness that includes enough tiny homes for every homeless person, more affordable housing and more treatment for addiction and mental health issues, while making sure our families and property are safe. Chico residents all share the parks and public spaces, but the homeless take away our open spaces by turning them into their campsites and garbage dumps. I believe our public assistance for individuals experiencing homelessness does not become a license to harm others or damage property. It will take changes on multiple levels of government, as well as changes to the social views on mental health and drug addiction treatment. 2. The Board of Supervisors can coordinate with the sheriff’s department and social services concerning nonviolent calls for service related to homeless, mentally disabled and addicted citizens. Social services and the sheriff’s department need to work to divert these folks into housing and mental-health services before they end up incarcerated. Society is poorly served by incarcerating the mentally disabled and people with substance abuse disorders. It costs more than treatment, and the outcomes are far worse. The long-term solution would be to develop a mentally disabled and substance abuse service center between Chico and Oroville that can assess, counsel and provide long-term housing assistance to impacted or difficultto-house citizens. Another possible outreach by social services might be to create a mobile van to bring mental health services to the unhoused folks. 3. House the homeless first, then sort out each person’s needs. Caring for our more unfortunate residents should mean solving the underlying problem. If the person is outdoors due to economics, house them. If the person is there due to drug abuse or other mental health issues, take care of them. Once housed, those new “addressed” citizens can benefit through more social programs and services. Pallet homes are a good start, but we need to look at options that other communities have taken such as turning commercial properties into condos, allowing mother-in-law style dwellings to be built behind traditional homes and the expansion of Community Housing Improvement Programs (CHIP). 4. We continue to treat our water resource as unlimited; it’s not. Long-term planning and investment in our groundwater recharge is required. Developing rapid infiltration basins, permeable asphalt, direct pumping of surface water to recharge groundwater needs to be the target of our water management strategy. We have some of the best locally studied hydrology, including work that has been completed by scientists at Chico State. We should make long-term water management decisions based on the best science we currently have and not on short-term economic concerns. You can also count on me to protect our water from interests outside of our county. 5. Mentally disabled folks should be taken care of through either drug treatment centers or mental health facilities. The unfortunate drug addicted or mentally disabled person left on the street will eventually succumb to their disease without our intervention. These unfortunate people should be responded to by our social services department and only by law enforcement when there might be probable violence. Once the police have been freed from this duty, they will be able to respond and patrol more effectively. 6. For 25 years, I have provided environmental, health and safety support and training across the country to communities, industry, farmers, federal, state and tribal organizations. This extensive knowledge and varied experience set me apart. While I do not see the other candidates as out of touch, I do believe that new ideas and a fresh perspectives can change Butte County for the better.

DISTRICT 3 CANDIDATES Tami Ritter Incumbent

Peter Durfee

Chico Police Sergeant

Editor’s note: Durfee did not respond to the CN&R’s questions by deadline.

1. Butte County is facing a number of critical issues as we recover from climate disasters, which taxed our already depleted and insufficient housing stock. As we move further into this drought, we will see enhanced evaporation, reduced surface water, drier soil and vegetation, and increased wildfire risk. The county will face the ongoing challenge of meeting the most basic needs of its residents with safe and affordable housing, food security and infrastructure demands. The county must work to increase services to residents while preparing our responses to impending climate disasters. 2. As with all services of the county, we are preparing and planning for the future—looking at our vulnerabilities in emergency response, such as having redundancy of our 911 system; ensuring our evacuation planning is up to date, that our notification systems have been tested; and installing Alert FM radio systems into residences without adequate connectivity. We are identifying vulnerable populations such as those with disabilities, the elderly, those with housing or transportation challenges. The creation of the Drought Task Force and dry-well mitigation programs are just a few ways we are addressing the issues. 3. The county should continue facilitating the Continuum of Care, which funds the vast majority of services offered to address homelessness. Additionally, the county should continue assisting residents in receiving the benefits for which they are eligible (SNAP “food stamps,” public assistance, Section 8, CalWORKS, etc.), and continue and expand their partnerships in the support and creation of affordable housing (CHAT, Habitat for Humanity, CHIP) as the private sector will never build what is needed. 4. Butte County faces many challenges related to water management, not the least of which is the state’s overreach. The county has long had the goal of utilizing our Table A allocation in-county. That has not happened. As the county develops its Sustainable Groundwater Management Act plans (which requires sustainability by the year 2040), more realistic groundwater threshold alerts and responses must be set. Currently, we may identify an issue with our basin levels, but no action is required to remedy an issue. 5. County government should be addressing public safety through policing, fire prevention and suppression, rescue, code enforcement and emergency services. Other facets of public safety that are critically important include our road crews (particularly in storms, evacuations, etc.), public health staff (in times of a global pandemic) and public safety adjacent services such as Behavioral Health mobile crisis co-response with law enforcement. It is necessary that the county provide all of those services so that professionals/experts are able to address the issues that they are trained to handle. 6. What distinguishes me from others on the ballot is that I have actual experience with county legislation (crafting and passing ordinances) with executive powers (overseeing the county administrator/department heads) and quasijudicial responsibilities (appeals, liens). I have comprehensive understanding of the complex budgeting process and of the services offered at the county. My extensive history in social services, directing nonprofit housing and homeless organizations, and court departments lends a perspective not held by any of my colleagues.

Mary MurphyWaldorf

University science lab manager

1. The biggest issue facing Butte County is that the citizens of Butte County feel unheard by their representatives, particularly on issues of health and safety related to homelessness, drug addiction and untreated mental health challenges. Reducing homelessness with dignity is incredibly important for any county supervisor, but we must listen to all the voices of the community and bring together a wide range of people in order to bring sustainable solutions. 2. I will collaborate with the city of Chico in order to develop solutions to homelessness in our district. We must reject a one-size-fits-all approach, bringing together social workers, mental health professionals, law enforcement, non-profits and housing advocates to look at programs in other communities with proven success. We can then tailor these programs to the unique needs of our region. We also need town hall meetings for the people to come together, describe their concerns and share possible solutions. 3. The county has been working through various departments and programs to assist the unhoused and connect people to affordable housing. However, I would like to see them engage further to facilitate collaboration of services to meet the varied and complex needs of the unhoused. I have already reached out to our county’s first-time homebuyers program to ask what the applicants’ income eligibility annual cap is currently and what percentage of possible assistance toward a down payment the county currently provides. My hope is that the board might advocate for changes to the current policy. 4. The farmers and people connected to the water districts are doing well with water management. In Butte County, there has not been one application for the selling of groundwater. Those in charge of the various water districts are protective of county water. The county is the monitoring body analyzing data from the various districts. The farming community has taken great strides in water conservation over the years and continues to develop improved waterconservation practices. 5. We should provide additional training and personnel for our sheriffs and peace officers, and form teams with social workers, mental health clinicians and health workers, so we can work smarter and not harder. The county can consider how to support our mental health and behavioral health staff working non-traditional hours to better meet people where they are in life. We can implement better communication with the public to practice responding in various scenarios that threaten public safety. People can push for reform at the state level related to laws around public safety that could help our community to be safer. 6. I am not driven by special interests and would be accountable to the people. What sets me apart is that I would collaborate with the city of Chico, the community and the rest of the board in order to bring successful solutions to challenges at district and county levels. I concentrate on data when examining policy. Three principles guide me when considering a challenge and proposals that are brought forth: 1) Does this make sense in solving the problem? 2) Can we afford this in a sustainable way? 3) Does this protect or restrict the freedom of all our citizens? Ω

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Candy’s house An exit interview with nine-term Clerk-Recorder/ Registar Candace Grubbs by

Evan Tuchinsky evant@ n ew sr ev i ew. com

andace Grubbs is proud of where she works. The Butte County Hall of Records, just down Nelson Avenue from the entrance to the county’s administrative center in Oroville, represents the culmination of extensive efforts to modernize her clerk-recorder/registrar of voters’ office. Six years since its opening, updates continue with integration of a new electronic records system. Grubbs smiles widely as she shows off features of the building, from the archives to the vote-count rooms to the warehouse. Her days conducting tours are winding down, though, as she decided not to seek a 10th term. County Elections Manager Keaton Denlay is running unopposed to succeed her. She took office in January 1987, making her the longest-serving elected official in Butte

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County (Grubbs has a few months on District Attorney Mike Ramsey). She’s been clerk-recorder/registrar for the entire life of Denlay, 34, and many others in her department. “She’s not using the ‘retirement’ word,” Denlay said, “she’s moving on to new things.” Denlay is the brother of Kami Denlay, the Chico city councilwoman who resigned eight months after the 2020 election following reports she lived in Red Bluff (see “Out of bounds?” News, June 30, 2021). As an elections official who’s an attorney, he received public scrutiny, but Grubbs has fully endorsed him. “She’s seen the work I’ve done for the department,” Denlay said, “and we conduct elections here with the utmost security and integrity. We’re going to continue to bring that to our voters. “Kami’s her own person,” he added. After guiding the CN&R around the building, Grubbs spoke about her decision, her successor and what’s to come. The job is never done, so why now? Why now because being elected nine times, nine times—my staff, many of them weren’t even born when I first took

office—and you start looking at that and you’re thinking, “You know, I think it’s time for the younger generation to take over.” Even though I love it. And I have found after all these years that I’m single-focused. By that I mean, I’m focused on work; therefore, I don’t take the vacations I should. So I think I want to get out there and see what’s over the hill, you know? [chuckle] I have a feeling I need to do something, I don’t know what, but I know that as long as I have this job, I will be here all the time. Some people say elected officials don’t have to show up—phooey! In this job, you have to show up, and if you’re going to make changes, you have to be there…. There’s a lot of things I’d like to do; I’d like to have more time for people outside of just work, and family. This just seemed like a good time for me to make a transition. When did you make the decision? It came on slowly. I wasn’t really, really sure until this last year—and then until the last day [the filing deadline, March 11], I thought, “Am I going to change my mind?” But no. I like the job, but I did not like running

Candace Grubbs, in the archives room at the Butte County Hall of Records, has begun transitioning out of office after 35 years as Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters. PHOTO BY EVAN TUCHINSKY

for office. That’s what it is. Even though most likely I would be reelected, the thing is, I like working with the people here, they’re like my family, but spending time away from the job to go campaign is not what I ever enjoyed. I enjoyed talking to a group about our office and what we do—I want more people to understand the recorder side of the business and how important that is to the county—but campaigning wasn’t my thing. And I didn’t enjoy people saying, “You’re just a politician.” No I’m not! I’m just a farm girl who fell into a great job. Did you feel the job, apart from campaigning, was getting more political because of the environment surrounding elections? Yes, but we were fortunate here; a lot of it didn’t affect us as much as other areas—and I have to thank the public out there. Butte County seems to find its way. … We do have some areas of the county that get more excited than others, do more recalls than others, or try.

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Insurance & Risk Management Services for: Farms • Business • Life • Health • Home • Auto If I could do anything, I would convince people to do more reading, more investigation, on the people they elect before they elect them. Elections is a nonpolitical office. Thank goodness, in California our [local] offices are supposed to be nonpolitical— we’re nonpartisan offices. Other parts of the country are not, and that’s what the furor back east is. Many people know your successor from notoriety surrounding his sister. What can you convey about him? Keaton is a very bright young man. He’s an attorney; he passed the bar. He is very astute on election law; if he doesn’t know [something], he looks it up. And he will run this office adhering to election law—I have no doubt about it. He interprets it very well. He’s going to be running the election for the Tuscan Water District that’s being formed. For this [primary] election, he’s hands off of any vote count. I’m hoping in the future, he’ll go out to vote centers and make himself known to people. He’s very interested in the recorder’s side, and his rapport with the other management staff is very good. He has gone through the national election center certification [as a certified elections registration administrator] and he enjoys elections. That’s what it takes: It takes a person who enjoys elections, doesn’t look at it as just a job. It’s a passion. The issue with his sister has raised questions. I have full faith in him, that he will

The Hall of Records, opened in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTTE COUNTY CLERK-RECORDER/ REGISTRAR OF VOTERS

carry on elections with utmost integrity. I really do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t support him.

Chico

Oroville

Willows

1368 Longfellow Ave

2080 Myers St

530.342.6421

530.533.3424

305 N. Culver Ave. (Lambert Insurance Agency)

530.934.3361

Legacy seems a cliched word; what are you most proud about when you look back? I think two things. When I came into office, I didn’t know any better, so I went out and automated my offices—and we got computers in the courtroom. My work with the court those first nine years, I’m really proud of that. And then it took me a long time, though several CAOs [county administrative officers] to finally get to a CAO, [Paul Hahn], who could fathom my vision [for the Hall of Records]. Of course, I think I owe a lot to Mike Ramsey: He wanted me out of the [old] building so he could take over my space! But I had this vision for a long time. I want this to be a building that people use—that they come to look up history, as many people do who are writing books, researching property rights, water rights—and [where] people will come to see how elections are handled. Some registrars are extremely beat up by people. I hope that never happens here. But I think it’s how you approach people, how you handle people. If you notice when you come into this office, though we haven’t taken down the [COVID-safety] plexiglass yet, we don’t have barriers. This is the people’s building. Ω

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Arts &Culture 5/14, 9pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St. facebook.com/duffschico VAN HAGAR: Local cover band. Sat, 5/14, 8pm. $5. Jen’s Place, 7126 Skyway, Paradise.

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: See May 12. Sat, 5/14, 7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: See May 12. Sat, 5/14, 7:30pm. $22-$25. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

SUN15 Events SIERRA NEVADA BEER CAMP: It’s back! A beer

GWAR May 27

Senator Theatre

MAY ALL MONTH Art & Museums 1078 GALLERY: Matter/Regeneration, an exhibition featuring work by artists Carla Resnick and Nanxi Jiang. Through 5/15. Also, opening 6/3, Pod, an exhibit by Chico fashion/art collective, Chikoko. Reception Fri, 6/24. 1710 Park Ave. 1078gallery.org

CHICO ART CENTER: Sculpture and Print Work by Andrea Bacigalupo, an exhibition of cast concrete sculpture and print work by the Bay Area artist previously exhibited in the California Contemporary Sculpture exhibit. Through 6/26. 450 Orange St. chicoartcenter.com

JANET TURNER PRINT MUSEUM: Juried Student Print Exhibition and Ink & Clay, the annual juried exhibit showcases outstanding student work in printmaking, complemented by corresponding works of excellence in ceramics. Shows through May 21. Chico State, Arts & Humanities Building. www.csuchico.edu/turner

MUSEUM OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ART: Sisko Lives! A Collectors Show, a huge selection of paintings, sculptures, posters, furniture, billboards, banners and mirrors spanning the career of the late David Sisk, aka Sisko. Through 6/12. 900 Esplanade. monca.org

Open mics & karaoke CASINO COMEDY NIGHT: Live comedy every other Thursday at the Spirits Lounge in the casino. Thursdays, 8pm. Gold Country Casino & Hotel, 4020 Olive Highway, Oroville.

COMEDY THURSDAY: Weekly comedy show and open mic hosted by Dillon Collins. Thursdays, 8pm. Free. Bella’s Sports Pub, 231 Main St. 530-520-0119.

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7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: The classic musical based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the last week of Jesus Christ’s life. Told entirely through song. Thu, 5/12, 7:30pm. $22-$25. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

GNARAOKE: We’ve all got a little American Idol in us. Hosted by Donna & Mike. Thursdays, 7pm. Free. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St. OPEN MIC AT THE DOWNLO: Hosted by Jeff Pershing. Sign up to perform 2 songs. All ages until 10pm. Fridays, 6:30pm. Free. The DownLo, 319 Main St.

OPEN MIC COMEDY: Open mic comedy night hosted by Dillon Collins. Sign ups 8pm, showtime 9pm. Wednesdays, 9pm. Free. The Studio Inn Lounge, 2582 Esplanade. 530-520-0119.

SECRET TRAIL OPEN MIC: Weekly open mic at the brewery. Wednesdays, 6pm. Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

FRI13 Events THE ART OF CINEMA: Learn about the history of cinema, view student work, witness the exclusive premiere of Video Club films for the 2021-2022 season, and vote in real time on awards. Fri, 5/13, 6pm. $12. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. inspirechico.org

FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT: Live local music in the downtown plaza. Performers TBA. Fri, 5/13, 7pm. Chico Downtown Plaza, 418 Main St. downtownchico.com

Music

THU12

BRITTANY & THE BLISSTONES ALBUM RELEASE: The

Music

KYLE WILLIAMS: Local singer/songwriter serenades the happy hour crowd. Fri, 5/13, 4pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St.

PUDDLE OF MUDD: The popular early 2000s post-grunge/alt-metal band from Kansas City is on tour. Amahjra opens. Thu, 5/12, 6pm. $27.50. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

THE RETROTONES: Live music on the patio. Thu, 5/12, 6pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Old-school jams from the ’80s, ’90s, and early ’00s with DJ Cootdog and guests. This week: DJ Zic. Thu, 5/12, 9pm. The Commons Social Empourium, 2412 Park Ave.

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: An original play with music. Written by Wade Gess and directed by Gess and Krasel Morales. Thu, 5/12,

debut of the local uke-led island pop band’s first album, La La Love. Suggested donation of $10. Fri, 5/13, 8:30pm. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St. eventbrite.com

lasalleschico.com

NATE SMITH: Paradise singer/songwriter turned social media sensation. He recently made waves with the release of his new song “I Don’t Wanna Go To Heaven,” which collected over 2 million streams in its first week. Fri, 5/13, 6pm. $25. The Commons Social Empourium, 2412 Park Ave.

PATRICE: Country rock singer/songwriter from Nevada. Fri, 5/13, 9pm. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave. tackleboxchico.com

RIFF NIGHT: A night of heaviosity with five bands: Foes (Bend, Ore.), The Fahrenheit Drill (Santa Cruz), Heated (Stockton), plus locals Aberrance and Voyeur playing the part of the bread for this meaty sandwich of a show Fri,

5/13, 8:30pm. $7. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St.

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: See May 12. Fri, 5/13, 7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: See May 12. Fri, 5/13, 7:30pm. $22-$25. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

SAT14 Events FAMILY NATURE DAY: Spend the morning outdoors with family and friends. Admission includes a nature trail book, binoculars, access to the bird learning center, and owl pellet dissection, nature crafts, and a scavenger hunt. Sat, 5/14, 9am. $25. Patrick Ranch Museum, 10381 Midway, Durham. patrickranchmuseum.org

SECRET TRAIL SPRING FEST PARKING LOT PARTY: Beer, Food Trucks, and live music from Channel 66, Cana Road Band and Alan Rigg Band. Sat, 5/14, 12pm. Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

Music BUCK & HUNTER: Live music on the patio. Sat, 5/14, 1pm. The Allies Pub, 426 Broadway Ste. 130.

CHICO JAZZ COLLECTIVE: Local jazz ensemble. Sat, 5/14, 8:30pm. $5. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E 20th St., Ste. 100.

CORAZÓN DE MANÁ: Mana tribute band from SoCal. Sat, 5/14, 10:30pm. Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville. featherfallscasino.com

FATHER BAKER: The South Lake Tahoe hip-hop artist performs along with locals Elemeno and Dub Heezy. Sat, 5/14, 9pm. $10. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St.

KEZIRAH BRADFORD: Soulful music with brunch. Sat, 5/14, 11am. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

LEZA: Rock music from Sau Paulo, Brazil. Plus, locals The Fed-Ups and Counterspell. Sat,

fest with adult-sized games in the brewery’s hop field. Saturday’s camp is all sold out, but at press time there were still tickets for Sunday. Sun., 5/15, 1-6pm. $35 ($60 for 11am entry). Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Music JIM BROBECK, ASHIAH, HENRY CROOK BIRD: Triplebill acoustic show featuring a variety of styles, from folk to pop to country. Sun, 5/15, 8pm. $7. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St.

KELLY TWINS: Dueling piano performance by the local twins. Sun, 5/15, 8pm. $15. Argus Bar + Patio, 212 W. Second St.

MASTERWORKS 4: UNSTOPPABLE BEETHOVEN: North State Symphony concludes its Masterworks series with the composer’s Ninth Symphony. Sun, 5/15, 2pm. $10-$40. Laxson Auditorium, Chico State. northstate symphony.org

Theater JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: See May 12. Sun, 5/15, 2pm. $22-$25. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

TUE17 Events FORK IN THE ROAD: Local food truck rally. Tue, 5/17, 5:30pm. Meriam Park, 1930 Market Place.

THU19 Music GABE JOHNSON: NorCal singer/songwriter. Thu, 5/19, 6pm. Free. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E 20th St., Ste. 100. (530) 809-5616.

INSPIRE’S SPRING VOCAL MUSIC CONCERT: A showcase of vocal classes/clubs: Vocal Techniques, The Inspire Choir, One Voice, The Gents and Soloists. Thu, 5/19, 7pm. $8-$12. CUSD Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave. inspirechico.org

MUMBLEFINGER: Jam band on the patio. Thu, 5/19, 6pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. THROWBACK THURSDAY: See May 12. Thu, 5/19,

IS YOUR EVENT LIVE?

Submit events for the online calendar as well as the monthly print edition at chico.newsreview.com/calendar

9pm. The Commons Social Empourium, 2412 Park Ave.

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: See May 12. Thu, 5/19, 7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

FRI20 Events DRACULA: Northern California Ballet presents the immortal Bram Stoker tale performed as a ballet— shows Friday & Saturday. Fri, 5/20, 7pm. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunneley Road, Paradise. paradiseperformingarts.com

FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT: Live local music in the downtown plaza. Performers TBA. Fri, 5/20, 7pm. Chico Downtown Plaza, 418 Main St. downtownchico.com

SAT21 Events INSPIRE DANCE SHOWCASE: THE SPACE BETWEEN: Featuring Inspire Dance Company, Performance Class, Hip-Hop Dance Team, Inspire Tap Ensemble, and the Ulu Polynesian Team. All funds raised will directly support the regrowth of the Inspire Dance Program. Sat, 5/21, 7pm. $8 - $10. CUSD Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave. (530) 891-3090. inspirechico.org

DRACULA: See May 20. Sat, 5/21, 2pm and 7pm. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunneley Road, Paradise. paradiseperform ingarts.com

Music

LEANNE COOLEY: Live music with brunch. Sat, 5/21, 11am. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.

ROCK HOUNDS: Local classic-rock band. Fri, 5/20, 8pm. Jen’s Place, 7126 Skyway, Paradise.

THE MINSTRELS IN THE GALLERY: A celebration of the

SNOW THA PRODUCT: Independent singer/rapper on tour. Fri, 5/20, 7pm. $30 - $35. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. elreychico.com

SUMMER KICK-OFF PARTY: Reunion music by old-school local bands The Night Knights, The Funnels and The River Rd band Fri, 5/20, 6pm. $10. The End of Normal, 2500 Estes Road.

TYLER DEVOLL: Local singer/songwriter entertains the happy hour crowd. Fri, 5/20, 5pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

VEGAS MCGRAW: Tim McGraw tribute. Fri, 5/20, 9pm. $15-$20. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave. tackle boxchico.com

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: See May 12. Fri, 5/20, 7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

May 15

Laxson Auditorium

May 14

Duffy’s Tavern

com music of Jethro Tull. This concert will feature songs presented in chronological order, from the band’s iconic catalog. Sat, 5/21, 8pm. $20-$25. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. 530-913-7070. elreychico.com

SOUNDS GOOD?: Local groovy seven-piece band. Sat, 5/21, 8:30pm. $5. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste. 100. (530) 809-5616.

SOUTH 65: Country rock from Bakersfield. Sat, 5/21, 9pm. Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville. featherfallscasino.com

Theater THE DEATH CLOCK PARADOX: See May 12. Sat, 5/21, 7:30pm. $15 donation. Search Facebook for venue info. Call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

SUN22 Events

UNSTOPPABLE BEETHOVEN

LEZA

DYRK & LAUREL: Live music on the patio. Sat, 5/21, 1pm. The Allie Pub, 426 Broadway Ste. 130.

INSPIRE DANCE SHOWCASE: THE SPACE BETWEEN: See May 21. Sun, 5/22, 2pm. $8-$10. CUSD Center for the Arts, 1475 East Ave. (530) 891-3090. inspirechico.org

PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET: Vintage clothing, antiques, vinyl, art, instruments, comics, jewelry, zines, crafts, workshops and more. If you don’t have cash, browse the free/trade table. Sun, 5/22, 12pm. Corner of Eighth and Flume streets. punkrockfleamarketchico.xyz

THU26 Events SILVER DOLLAR FAIR: Cute animals, carnies and corn dogs! What more do you need!? The fair returns Memorial Weekend. Thu, 5/26, 4-11pm. Kids 5-under: free; kids 6-12 $5 (Fri-Sun), free (Thu & Mon); adults: $15 (Fri-Sun), $10 (Thu), $5 (Mon.); seniors: $12 (Fri-Sun), $8 (Thu), $5 (Mon). silverdollarfair.org

Music ANNA MAY: Local singer/songwriter. Thu, 5/26, 6pm. Free. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste 100. (530) 809-5616.

LOW FLYING BIRDS: Bluegrass tunes on the patio. Thu, 5/26, 6pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

ROCK JAM SESSION: Bring your instruments, sticks and vocal microphone. Comedy performances in between jam sets along with live art and an art showcase. P.A., drum set, guitar and bass amps provided. Hosted by Mora Sounds. Thu, 5/26, 5pm. Union, 2053 Montgomery St., Oroville.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: See May 12. Thu, 5/26, 9pm. The Commons Social Empourium, 2412 Park Ave.

FRI27 Events FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT: Live local music in the downtown plaza. Performers TBA. Fri, 5/27, 7pm. Chico Downtown Plaza, 418 Main St. downtownchico.com

SILVER DOLLAR FAIR: See May 26. Fri, 5/27, 4-11pm. silverdollarfair.org

Music GWAR: The Virginia horror-show heavy metal band is on tour along with Crowbar, Nekrogoblikon & The Native Howl. Fri, 5/27, 6:30pm. $29.50. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

KAMERON MARLOWE: Country singer/songwriter from North Carolina. Fri, 5/27, 7:30pm. $15. Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, 2357 Fair St. kameronmarlowe.com

MAX MINARDI: Local singer/songwriter entertains the happy hour crowd. Fri, 5/27, 4pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St.

SAT28 Events SILVER DOLLAR FAIR: See May 26. Sat, 5/28, noon-11pm. silverdollarfair.org

Music AFTER THIS JAZZ FEATURING KEZIRAH: Live music on the patio. Sat, 5/28, 1pm. The Allies Pub, 426 Broadway Ste. 130.

ATHENA: Live music with brunch. Sat, 5/28, 11am. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. BIG MO & FRIENDS: Local bluesman along with special guests. Sat, 5/28, 8:30pm. $5. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste 100. (530) 809-5616.

KYLE LEDSON & BROKEN COMPASS BLUEGRASS: Bluegrass trio from Grass Valley. Sat, 5/28, 7pm. Free. The Commons, 2412 Park Ave.

LOSE YOUR ILLUSION: Guns N’ Roses tribute band. Sat, 5/28, 10:30pm. Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville. featherfallscasino.com

THE MOTHER HIPS: Local legends play a hometown show while on tour in support of their new album, Glowing Lantern. Sat, 5/28, 7pm. $15. Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, 2357 Fair St. motherhips.com

SUN29 Events DRAG BRUNCH: Kings and Queens take over every last Sunday of the month. Brunch is served all day and you don’t need to buy a ticket to eat. Sun, 5/29, 1pm & 4pm. $20. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St.

SILVER DOLLAR FAIR: See May 26. Sun, 5/29, noon-11pm. silverdollarfair.org

Music NATHAN OWENS: A soulful song-and-dance revue. Sun, 5/29, 9:30pm. Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville. featherfallscasino.com

MON30 Events SILVER DOLLAR FAIR: See May 26. Mon, 5/30, noon-7pm. silverdollarfair.org

JUNE WED1 Theater A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Legacy Stage presents Shakespeare in the park. Join Shakespeare’s lovers in an organic steampunk-fantasy world, set in the natural beauty of Bidwell Park. Bring a blanket or a chair, a picnic, and experience the joy of theater under the stars!. Wed, 6/1, 8pm. $15-$20. Cedar Grove, Bidwell Park. legacystage.org

THU2 Music ANDRE THIERRY: Grammy-winning zydeco music on the patio. Thu, 6/2, 6pm. La Salles, 229 Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

SUNSHINE RAIN: Live acoustic music at the brewery. Thu, 6/2, 6pm. Free. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste 100. (530) 809-5616.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: See May 12. Thu, 6/2, 9pm. The Commons Social Empourium, 2412 Park Ave.

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7:30pm. $31.50-$35. First Street Theatre, 139 W. First

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: See June 1. Th, 6/2, 8pm. $15$20. Cedar Grove, Bidwell Park. legacystage.org

TOO MANY COOKS: It’s 1932 in Niagara Falls, Canada, where Irving Bubbalowe and his daughter, Honey, have risked everything to open a new gourmet restaurant. When their star, the renowned singing chef François LaPlouffe, fails to appear, the grand opening is suddenly in jeopardy. Directed by Jerry Miller. Thu, 6/2, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. totr.org

FRI3

St. crtshows.com

FLAMING IDIOTS: Two unsuccessful restaurant owners will stop at nothing to increase their popularity. Fri, 6/3, 7:30pm. $18-$20. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: See June 1. Fri, 6/3, 8pm. $15-$20. Cedar Grove, Bidwell Park. legacystage. org

TOO MANY COOKS: See June 2. Fri, 6/3, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. totr. org

SAT4

Events FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERT: Live local music in the downtown plaza. Performers TBA. Fri, 6/3, 7pm. Chico Downtown Plaza, 418 Main St. downtownchico.com

Events

Music

CARS AND COFFEE: Check out cool cars and converse with collectors and enthusiasts over a cup of joe. Sat, 6/4, 8am. Free. Starbucks Coffee, 2009 Forest Ave.

TYLER DEVOLL: Local singer/songwriter entertains the happy hour crowd. Fri, 6/3, 5pm. La Salles, 229

WOOFSTOCK CHICO: Enjoy pet- and family-friendly activi-

Broadway St. lasalleschico.com

Theater A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER: California Regional Theatre presents the 2014 musical. Fri, 6/3,

ties, doggy demos, food, local beer courtesy of Sierra Nevada and great music. Sat, 6/4, 11am. Butte Humane Society, 13391 Garner Lane. buttehumane.org

Music AIDAN MOORE: Singer/songwriter playing covers. Sat, 6/4, 9pm. Feather Falls Casino & Lodge, 3 Alverda Drive, Oroville.

EDITOR’S PICK

JOHN MCCUTCHEON: KZFR presents the Grammy-

Silver Dollar Fair

nominated folk singer and master storyteller. Sat, 6/4, 6:30pm. $20-$25. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. elreychico.com

RADIO RELAPSE: Local ‘90s-rock cover band. Sat, 6/4, 9pm. Gnarly Deli, 243 W 2nd St. REECE THOMPSON: Live music on the patio. Sat, 6/4, 1pm. The Allies Pub, 426 Broadway, Ste. 130. SETH KAMINSKY: Live music with brunch. Sat, 6/4, 11am. La Salles, 229 Broadway St.

Theater A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER: See June 3. Sat, 6/4, 7:30pm. $31.50-$35. First Street Theatre, 139 W. First St. crtshows.com

FLAMING IDIOTS: See June 3. Sat, 6/4, 7:30pm. $18-$20. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chico theater.com

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: See June 1. Sat, 6/4, 8pm. $15-$20. Cedar Grove, Bidwell Park. legacystage.org

COMMUNITY IN BLOOM Spring is in the air and the sunshine is just right for community events outdoors, and there are a bunch this month: The weekly Thursday Night Market and Friday Night Concerts have returned to downtown Chico; Family Nature Day is happening at Patrick Ranch May 14; the Silver Dollar Fair kicks off May 26; Shaksepeare is back in Bidwell Park with Inspire Theatre’s Midsummer Night’s Dream opening June 1; Butte Humane Society is hosting pets and bands at the Woofstock festival on June 4; and up at the Colman Museum & Centerville Schoolhouse it’s the 49er Faire on June 5. 22

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TOO MANY COOKS: See June 2. Sat, 6/4, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. totr.org

SUN5 Events 49ER FAIRE: Arts, crafts, music, food and drinks, gold panning, plant sale, and more. Sun, 6/5, 9am. Colman Museum, 13548 Centerville Rd. centervillemuseum.com

Theater A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER: See June 3. Sun, 6/5, 2pm. $31.50-$35. First Street Theatre, 139 W. First St. crtshows.com

FLAMING IDIOTS: See June 3. Sun, 6/5, 2pm. $18-$20. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

TOO MANY COOKS: See June 2. Sun, 6/5, 2pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. totr.org

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P U B L I C AT I O N S

SCENE

Covered in stardust New revue brings sultry, uplifting burlesque and drag shows to Chico

HLulutheFatale racks at the Thrifty Bargain. was kind of an acciurricane Fran was born between

dent. Ryan Rulet came alive in a spirited living room dance. And by if you ask Starlett Ashiah Scharaga Eve’s parents, she was practias h i ahs@ cally born singnewsrev iew.c om ing and dancing. No matter Live burlesque: The Stardust Revue their origins, returns with a show the co-founders/ in June, details to be co-producers announced. Visit of The Stardust facebook.com/ thestardustrevue and Revue—a new follow @thestardust burlesque and revue on Instagram drag group in for updates. Chico—all came together for one goal: to share erotic and other creative performance art with the community, baring it all on stage in an act of radical self love. The Stardust Revue producers met while performing with The Malteazers, the house troupe for The Maltese Bar & Venue. When that bar announced its February closing, the four decided to create their own performance company to put on drag and burlesque shows, Starlett Eve told the CN&R. The Malteazers continue to perform, and the two groups have a supportive partnership. The Stardust Revue debuted at Duffy’s Tavern in February and the plan is to do shows there every other month. The producers are focusing on creating diverse lineups featuring well-known local performers as well as out-of-town acts from throughout California. For its most recent show (April 30, at Duffy’s), The Stardust Revue put on an electric show that was sexy, campy, engaging and inspir24

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ing all at once. Emcee Charity set the tone as equal parts bawdy host and the ultimate hype-queen. Hurricane Fran, clad in a leopardprint number, performed a rousing routine to Cardi B’s “WAP” as the audience spontaneously sang along. Between the show’s acts, two audience members whipped off their shirts and participated in a tassel twirling contest that became so Above: The cast of producers and performers during the The Stardust Revue’s April 30 show at Duffy’s Tavern. PHOTO BY JASON HASTAIN, ESTEEM PRODUCTIONS

Ryan Rulet, one of the coproducers of The Stardust Revue, said burlesque forces him out of his comfort zone and gives him “a bit of glamour.” PHOTO BY RYAN RULET

spirited, a tassel flew through the air and onto the stage. Lulu Fatale performed a classic number with giant red-feathered fans, complete with “assles” on her bum. Ryan Rulet was the embodiment of glitz and glamour, with roses in his hair, stunning corsets and matching rhinestone tassels and thongs in his numbers. Val Shapero, Sacramento’s “Superqueero,” arrived on stage decked out in a cape and belt with a lightning bolt “V” emblem and did backbends and splits of heroic proportions. The show was also punctu-

ated by touching moments, in which the performers drew upon personal experiences to create routines that were empowering. Starlett Eve danced to a mashup combining Elvis Presley’s “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” and Lesley Gore’s “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows,” transforming from someone lucky in love to pissed off and over it. After the show, Starlett Eve told the CN&R it was a inspired by two difficult moments in her life: Her grandfather passed away earlier this year (the pair loved to listen to Elvis together), at the same time she was dealing with some relationship issues. “Through the years, I’ve learned

that I can actually work through some of my emotions with my numbers,” she said. “I’ve come up with some really great numbers for burlesque because of what I’ve been going through in my life. It’s the one place where I feel myself and very secure. … For that one song, the world just kind of calms down.” Katrina Paddlemore, who also performs with Glitter Coven Cabaret in Modesto, did a topical number that began with her covered up, visibly pained by cat calls and criticisms from men about her looks. As the number progressed, she became stronger and more confident, until finally standing proudly in her red undies and purple and blue pasties as a voiceover played: “You are a divine being. Live out loud, and fuck the patriarchy.” Most of The Stardust Revue co-

founders/producers/performers/pals are long-time burlesque artists. All of them were drawn to burlesque, cabaret and performing in some fashion when they were growing up—Hurricane Fran had a costume chest when she was a kid, and she’d walk around in those iconic pink heels with the feathers. Starlett Eve started out in local theater at places like the Blue Room Theatre and Chico Theater Company, then took the leap into burlesque after a friend encouraged her.

Ryan Rulet said that burlesque has offered him “a way to be seen. “For a long time I felt like I was quite the ugly duckling,” he continued. “It was kind of a way of combating that interpersonal struggle with something that forces you out of your comfort zone and gives you a bit of glamour.” Lulu Fatale, who became a performer after spontaneously joining a friend for a burlesque troupe interview, shared a similar sentiment: “I have never felt as confident as I do when I’m on that stage.” And that confidence is infectious. “When I’m on that stage, I don’t feel naked at all, I just feel sexy and powerful,” Hurricane Fran said. “And it’s always the women that come up to you afterwards and they’re like, ‘You’re beautiful. Wow, you’re awe inspiring.’ I don’t do it for the men. I do it for the girls, the gays and the theys!” Starlett Eve added that it’s nice getting attention from a cute audience member, but at the end of the night, after the gloves, skirts and corsets have come off, “it’s really cool to get that support from the people around you that you know are like, ‘I see you and … I get it and this is also something that I go through.’” Ω

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CN&R

REEL WORLD

Gymnastics Exhibition

JUNE 18

Dance Performance

GYMNASTICS CINDERELLA

3:30PM 5:30PM

Center for the Arts at Pleasant Valley High School Tickets at KineticsAcademyofDance.com

What’s that sound? Memoria —an ‘adventure in watching and listening’

BEST O

2022

F C ICO H

Is coming to town! Look for the 2022 Best of Chico Sample Ballot in the CN&R each month until voting ends.

BEST See page 12 26

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Atimemovies—in a theater. First in more than two years, and few days ago, I went to the

The story is both simple and bizarre: Swinton’s character, an embassy official who lives alone, To be occasion a part ofinthis event, it was also a special is suddenly awakened one night please contact us at by a very loud sound that is almost that it involved by seeing Memoria, chicobestof@newsreview.com explosive, yet mysteriously resoJuan-Carlos a new film by a nant as well. We hear it, too, but no Selznick major director that one else in the movie seems to have is currently only noticed, and so the Scottish woman available for viewing in one-week begins a serious and very personal runs in select theaters. (I saw it in Portland; it’s scheduled to arrive at the Pageant Theatre in Chico the ADVERTISERS: first week in June). Memoria is the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (aka “Joe”), the masterful Thai director whose previous achievements include Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) and the marvelous Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010). The new film has the mystical, meditative style of his previous films, but this time the setting is modern-day Colombia, and the central character is a Scottish woman played by Tilda Swinton.

inquiry into what’s happening to her, and why, as the sound randomly recurs. Her search takes her into the company of two different men—a young technician who works at a sound board in a recording studio and, later on, a rural artisan and musician who is casually philosophical and who claims to have never left his native countryside. It’s one of the film’s deadpan puzzles that both men have the same name— and that both take unexpected, and offbeat, romantic interest in the Swinton character. The movie begins with a request for 10 minutes of silence while the director’s notes and sketches are projected on the screen. Brief opening credits follow immediately, and the first instance of that big, mysterious noise comes soon after. The unpredictable recurrence of that sound brings an element of auditory suspense to the gently rendered silences that prevail in Memoria. The peculiarities of the film’s opening minutes encourage a meditational kind of attentiveness to what we’re hearing as well as seeing in Memoria. It’s the story of one woman’s rather mystical adventure, but it’s also an adventure in watching and listening, with the possibility of recognitions beckoning in each moment. Ω

MUSIC

Dropping for spring

bedroom-pop album that gets its juice from Madde’s rippin’ vocals. Even better this time around are the world-weary lyrics of a songwriter who’s lived a few more years. Favorite line so far: “I am a toothbrush that fell on the dirtcovered floor / Spit on me, dust me off, and use me some more” (from “In Between”). maddemusic.bandcamp.com

A rundown of six new releases by local musicians by

Jason Cassidy jasonc @ n ew sr ev i ew. com

Lyfecoach – Lyfe Threatening Band Politics Word on the street is that you can buy Lyfecoach’s EP Lyfe Threatening Band Politics only at its upcoming release party, and that there will be just 45 copies of the limited release 7-inch available. Of course, you can still get a digital download (for $6.66) and blow out your earpods with an impressively unrelenting blast of metal/punk/ sludge/post-rock angst. What exactly is there to worry and scream so much about? The Lyfecoach says: “There’s nothing to save, nowhere to go!” and “Our lives are fiction!” and “Give up, sell out! Give up, sell out! Give up, sell out! Give up, sell out!” Fair enough. lyfecoach.bandcamp.com Seven-inch release party May 19, 7:30 p.m., Naked Lounge (118 W. Second St.) Brittany & The Blisstones – La La Love Brittany & The Blisstones bill themselves as an “island indie-pop band from Northern California,” and the “island” part of their sound is provided by the breezy ukulele of singer Brittany Bliss and the mid28

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tempo reggae-ish groove of rest of the group. The indiepop part is more subtle, with the three songs that have been released to tease the group’s very-soonto-be-released debut EP, La La Love, actually conveying more of a folk-meets-slow-groove style that suits the Cali-good-vibes aesthetic. brittanyandtheblisstones.com Album-release party May 13, 8:30 p.m., Chico Women’s Club (592 E. Third St.)

and “I Love Love” are both sweet and sad). My current jam is album opener “Clear,” with its looping keys, lively beat and chest-rattling bass pulses that sneak into the mix. scoutthewise.bandcamp.com

the hottest takes being “Out in the Snow” and album opener “Girl,” which shows off both the vocal and guitar chops of frontman/namesake Zac Yurkovic. yurkovic.bandcamp.com

Scout – Dying for Love How do I keep missing these releases?! Scout is possibly Chico’s most creative songwriter, and the new Dying for Love album makes release No. 4 from the artist in less than two years. This one came out back in February, and it’s another underthe-radar burst of head-slapping electro-indie-pop goodness. Actually, this one ditches the electronics half the time. There are dirty sounding rockers (the fun “I Wanna Kiss You”) and a handful of chill lo-fi guitar tunes (“Home Soon”

Yurkovic – Sweetness With advances in home-recording technology making cutting a record cheaper and more accessible than ever, is it even worth it for a band to spring for an engineer and a proper studio session anymore? If a band plays the kind of rootsy rock ’n’ roll that Yurkovic does, the answer is: probably. For its just-released Sweetness, the Chico trio took its tunes to Prairie Sun Studio in Sonoma County and came back with a rich, warmly recorded album. The basic approach throughout is slow-groove blues-rock, with

Madde – The Salt to Walk On Since the last time I wrote about her music, Madde Gruber has added an “e” to stage name. Her previous full-length, the eclectic One More Hour, was released in 2018 under the Madd moniker. Her follow-up—The Salt to Walk On, by Madde—came out last month, and in overall approach and presentation the two records are a lot a like. Which is a great thing! Recorded here and there over the past four years, the new one is just as much of a punky garage-rock/

Blu Egyptian – Dame Un Segundo Since the release of their debut EP, Lotus, more than a year ago, the busy young jammers of Blu Egyptian have played more shows than any local band playing original music (I’d put money on it). Maybe all that stage time has stirred up the creative juices as well. They released a second album (Breathe) last year and are about to drop another full-length, Dame Un Segundo, later in May. If the two teaser tracks are any indication, the dudes are upping their songwriting game. “Liquify” is a jammy epic that adds a touch of Mothers of Invention-style weirdness to super-uptempo funkiness. “Sleepin’ on the Floor” is more in my wheelhouse, and it’s astounding that such a playful, tuneful, bluegrassy number with great lyrics (“I licked that dusty bottle clean and now my problem’s here to stay”) came from a songwriter as young as guitarist/ vocalist Don Jules. bluegyptianband.com Album-release party May 20. Visit site for details. Ω

ARTS DEVO by JASON CASSIDY • jasonc@newsreview.com

THE VIEW FROM THE BALCONY The starting point for this column is art, and for 16 years now,

I’ve tried to find it wherever I could—most often somewhere in our little corner of Nor Cal—and then share it with readers so we can all join the fun. When I leave Chico, I’m often looking for art as well, and sometimes it’s too good to not include in this space, despite not being related to the local scene. It’s all art though, right? That said, let me paint you a picture of my visit to a bubble on a mountain in France: Le Balcon de Belledonne is one of the many “bubble houses” built in the 1960s and ’70s that were designed by two Swiss-born architects, husband and wife Pascal Hausermann and Claude Costy. The couple’s focus was organic architecture that took the form of big white bubbles (or eggs? UFOs?) placed in rural environs, mostly in the AuvergneRhône-Alpes region of France. The building technique is straightforward—a skeleton of rebar bent into the desired shape is covered in chicken wire and then frosted with concrete that’s just kind of mashed into place by hand. It’s a practical, egalitarian way to build, born of the utopian mindset of the times (hippies!), with fewer materials required for the sphere/ spheroid’s economical form and right-angle free construction that opens up the creative possibilities in a way that’s fairly accessible. Le Balcon de Belledonne was built Le Balcon de Belledonne in 1966. It looks kind of like a justlanded white spaceship, situated in the Chartreuse mountains as a “balcony,” with floor-to-ceiling windows on one side looking out at a breathtaking view of the Belledonne mountain range (part of the French Alps) across the valley. Last year, a lifelong friend of mine, Scott Lawrimore, bought Le Balcon with his wife, Alice Christophe, with the aim of restoring the place to its original glory. This is why I found myself in the Alps last month with my neighbor John. He’s a contractor and I’m a … I don’t know. Beast of burden? I can push a mean wheelbarrow! Scott and Alice are both art historians, and in one year’s time, they have already transformed the place into something approaching its original form (you can follow the progress on Instagram, @balcon.de.belledonne), putting in as much work researching (historical drawings, building materials, etc.) as they have demo-ing, cleaning, rebuilding and painting. John and I were there to work for one week, to help with whatever was needed. John welded, plumbed and did other contractor-y stuff. I cleared overgrown vegetation, pressure-washed and primered. Scott put cheap red wine, and jars of soups and duck confit lovingly prepared by Alice’s uncle (Merci, Roland. Impeccable!), in our faces. I also did some repair work to damaged sections of concrete on the exterior. Scott put a trowel in my hand and basically said, “Go fix it.” So I did, molding patches into place, using my hands to texture the concrete to match whatever was going on around it. I organic-architectured like a boss! With the spring sun on my face and the Alps at my back, my hands were literally part of Costy and Hausermann’s visionary creation. Not a bad picture. I felt like I was connected to all the art!

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THEATER REDEMPTION Of all the canceled-by-COVID casualties of the past couple years, one of

the most tragic was the thwarted debut of the musical Stuff-N-Things, the first original production by local playwright/director Wade Gess. It was supposed to open at the Blue Room Theatre in March 2020, the same week the country first shut down. Cut to now: Gess is finally getting his opening, this time with a new original work. The Death Clock Paradox, “an original play with music” that’s “inspired by true events,” is showing May 12-21 at a private residence. Look up it up on Facebook for more details, or call (530) 370-1006 to reserve a seat.

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FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 12, 2022 ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Choose the

least important day in your life,” wrote Aries author Thornton Wilder. “It will be important enough.” I recommend that you make those your words to live by in the next two weeks. Why? Because I suspect there will be no tremendously exciting experiences coming your way. The daily rhythm is likely to be routine and modest. You may even be tempted to feel a bit bored. And yet, if you dare to move your attention just below the surface of life, you will tune into subtle glories that are percolating. You will become aware of quietly wondrous developments unfolding just out of sight and behind the scenes. Be alert for them. They will provide fertile clues about the sweet victories that will be available in the months ahead.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Every

successful person I know starts before they feel ready,” declared life coach Marie Forleo. Author Ivan Turgenev wrote, “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.” Here’s what educator Supriya Mehra says: “There’s never a perfect moment to start, and the more we see the beauty in ‘starting small,’ the more we empower ourselves to get started at all.” I hope that in providing you with these observations, Taurus, I have convinced you to dive in now. Here’s one more quote, from businesswoman Betsy Rowbottom: “There’s never a perfect moment to take a big risk.”

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Poet Ranata

Suzuki writes, “There comes a point where you no longer care if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You’re just sick of the tunnel.” That’s good advice for you right now, Gemini. The trick that’s most likely to get you out of the tunnel is to acknowledge that you are sick of the damn tunnel. Announce to the universe that you have gleaned the essential teachings the ride through the tunnel has provided you. You no longer need its character-building benefits because you have harvested them all. Please say this a thousand times sometime soon: “I am ready for the wide-open spaces.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the coming

weeks, your imagination will receive visions of the next chapter of your life story. These images and stories might confuse you if you think they are illuminating the present moment. So please keep in mind that they are prophecies of what’s ahead. They are premonitions and preparations for the interesting work you will be given during the second half of 2022. If you regard them as guiding clues from your eternal soul, they will nourish the inner transformations necessary for you to welcome your destiny when it arrives. Now study this inspirational quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke: “The future glides into us, so as to remake itself within us, long before it occurs.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Remember that you

will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set,” wrote author Ellen G. White. That’s true! And that’s why it’s so crucial that you formulate the highest standards you can imagine—maybe even higher than you can imagine. Now is a favorable phase for you to reach higher and think bigger. I invite you to visualize the best version of the dream you are working on—the most excellent, beautiful, and inspiring form it could take. And then push on further to envision even more spectacular results. Dare to be greedy and outrageous.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Before

Virgo-born Leslie Jones achieved fame as a comedian and actor, she worked day jobs at United Parcel Service and Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles. Her shot at major appreciation didn’t arrive until the TV show Saturday Night Life hired her to be a regular cast member in 2014, when she was 47 years

BY ROB BREZSNY old. Here’s how she describes the years before that: “Everybody was telling me to get a real job. Everybody was asking me, What are you doing? You’re ruining your life. You’re embarrassing your family.” Luckily, Jones didn’t heed the bad advice. “You can’t listen to that,” she says now. “You have to listen to yourself.” Now I’m suggesting that you embrace the Leslie Jones approach, Virgo.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “A person

must dream a long time in order to act with grandeur, and dreaming is nursed in darkness.” Author Jean Genet wrote that, and now I’m offering you his words as the seed of your horoscope. If you’ve been attuned to cosmic rhythms, you have been doing what Genet described and will continue to do it for at least another ten days. If you have not yet begun such work, please do so now. Your success during the rest of 2022 will thrive to the degree that you spend time dreaming big in the darkness now.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Cursed

are those who feel floods but who can only express a few drops.” So says an internet proverb. Luckily, this principle won’t apply to you in the coming weeks. I expect you will be inundated with cascades of deep feelings, but you will also be able to articulate those feelings. So you won’t be cursed at all. In fact, I suspect you will be blessed. The cascades may indeed become rowdy at times. But I expect you will flourish amidst the lush tumult.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “It

takes a great deal of experience to become natural,” wrote Sagittarian author Willa Cather. I’m happy to report that in recent months, you Sagittarians have been becoming more and more natural. You have sought experiences that enhance your authenticity and spontaneity. Keep up the good work! The coming weeks should bring influences and adventures that will dramatically deepen your capacity to be untamed, soulful, and intensely yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I

intend to live forever,” proclaims 66-year-old comedian Steven Wright, who then adds, “So far, so good.” I offer you his cheerful outlook in the hope that it might inspire you to dream and scheme about your own longevity. Now is a great time to fantasize about what you would love to accomplish if you are provided with 90 or more years of life to create yourself. In other words, I’m asking you to expand your imagination about your long-term goals. Have fun envisioning skills you’d like to develop and qualities you hope to ripen if you are given all the time you would like to have. (PS: Thinking like this could magically enhance your life expectancy.)

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Stop in-

sisting on clearing your head,” advised author Charles Bukowski. “Clear your f---ing heart instead.” That will be a superb meditation for you to experiment with in the coming weeks. Please understand that I hope you will also clear your head. That’s a worthy goal. But your prime aim should be to clear your heart. What would that mean? Purge all apologies and shame from your longings. Cleanse your tenderness of energy that’s inclined to withhold or resist. Free your receptivity to be innocent and curious.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “The winner

will be the one who knows how to pick the right fights,” wrote author Jane Ciabattari. Heed her advice, please, Pisces. You will soon be offered chances to deal with several interesting struggles that are worthy of your beautiful intelligence. At least one will technically be a “conflict,” but even that will also be a fruitful opportunity. If you hope to derive the greatest potential benefit, you must be selective about which ones you choose to engage. I recommend you give your focus to no more than two.

www.RealAstrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES and DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES. The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888.

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