c-2023-11-02

FREE CHICO’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT SOURCE VOLUME 47, ISSUE 5 NOVEMBER 2–DECEMBER 6, 2023 CHICO.NEWSREVIEW.COM

5

YEARS LATER

PARADISE

RECOVERY RIDGE ON THE

CHAT: 10 YEARS OF SERVICE SHORT FILMS TO WATCH

At the five-year anniversary of the Camp Fire, the rebuilding continues

CALZONE BURGER? HIGH-ENERGY MUSIC MAKERS

2

CN&R N O V E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 3

Bruce Jenkins

INSIDE CN&R

Vol. 47, Issue 5 • Nov. 2–Dec. 6, 2023

Insurance & Financial Services

25

4

CA License #0B86680

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

NEWSLINES

8

Briefed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CHAT celebrates 10 years housing the community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FEATURE

18

12

Five years after the Camp Fire.

ARTS & CULTURE

18

November events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Chow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Reel World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Arts DEVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Brezsny’s Astrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ON THE COVER: THE PRICE FAMILY IN FRONT OF THEIR NEWLY BUILT PARADISE HOME PHOTO BY JASON CASSIDY DESIGN & PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TINA FLYNN

Mailing Address P.O. Box 56, Chico, CA 95927

Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare.

To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live.

Editor Jason Cassidy Editor at large Melissa Daugherty Staff Writer Ken Smith Contributors Ashiah Bird, Ken Pordes, Juan-Carlos Selznick Managing Art Director Tina Flynn Publications & Advertising Designers Cathy Arnold, Katelynn Mitrano, Jocelyn Parker Sales & Business Coordinator Jennifer Osa Advertising Consultant Ray Laager

530-781-3592

We will do the research for you!

www.brucejenkinsinsurance.com HEEL & SOLE SHOES

Giving thanks to all, Happy Thanksgiving!

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Director of Dollars & Sense Miranda Hansen Accounting Staff Gus Trevino System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins Got a News Tip? chiconewstips@newsreview.com Post Calendar Events chico.newsreview.com/calendar Want to Advertise? cnradinfo@newsreview.com Editorial Policies: Opinions expressed in CN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles or other portions of the paper. CN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to cnrletters@newsreview.com. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel.

Advertising Policies: All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes the responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

CN&R is printed at Western Web on recycled newsprint. CN&R is a member of Chico Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Chico Business Association, AAN and AWN.

$10 OFF *Excludes UGGs. Expires 11/30/23

$5

A

Distribution Lead Beatriz Aguirre Distribution Staff Dennis Bruch Jr., Michael Gardner, Jackson Indar, Linda Quinn, Wolfgang Straub, Bill Unger, Richard Utter, Jim Williams

Advertising Mail PO Box 13370 Sacramento, CA 95813 Phone (530) 894-2300 Website chico.newsreview.com

• Medicare Supplement Plans • Medicare Advantage Plans • Social Security Maximization • Retirement Income Planning • Life Insurance

E*

OPINION

0 PURCHA

S

MORE ONLINE Find content available only at

chico.newsreview.com

HEEL & SOLE SHOES | 708 MANGROVE AVENUE | 530.899.0725 NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

3

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.

GUEST COMMENT

EDITOR’S NOTE

Stars of the Camp Fire believe, and hard to believe that it happened. The word I“disaster” comes from the Latin for being out of alignt’s been five years since the disastrous Camp Fire. Hard to

ment with the stars (dis = away from, astro = star), and Paradise, Magalia, Concow, Butte Creek Canyon and the surrounding mountain communities certainly were that day.

But before the stars even came out the night of Nov. 8, hundreds of local stars sprang into action.

Some provided food, some provided a bed, some a tent or RV or space to put it on. I know people who by opened their homes to total strangSusan Dobra ers—and not just for a few nights.

The author is a Camp For months.

Fire survivor and retired Some, like those who became Chico State educator who the Camp Fire Restoration Project, serves on the boards took immediate action to save the of several nonprofits involved in the recovery, creeks from toxic runoff. Some including Regenerating rescued animals. Some provided Paradise, for which she is a compassionate shoulder to cry the current coordinator. on and resources to begin the long

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

process of healing. Camp Fire Collaborative, known as the Camp Fire Long-Term Recovery Group back then, met every Friday at St. John’s Episcopal Hall on in Chico to coordinate recovery efforts at every level, from FEMA on down, and included a whole spectrum of nonprofits, churches and other groups. Some provided disaster case managers who offered help and guidance to individuals and families reeling from their losses. Many of these folks, including the Camp Fire Collaborative, are still meeting regularly to continue this work.

All of them stars.

This amazing community has never shone more brightly than it did in the wake of the Camp Fire disaster.

We really showed what we were made of. And as a survivor who lost her home and nearly everything she owned, I want to say, thank you, and as the Na’vi in Avatar says, I see you.

In the film Starman, the eponymous extraterrestrial says, “Humans are at their best when things are at their worst.” Five years ago, you humans of Chico and beyond showed us your luminous best, and you continue to show up to shine your light. You’re all rock Ω stars.

LETTERS Food sovereignty is the answer Re: Letters to the Editor: “Food Insecurity U” (Oct. 5, 2023) In response to the letter by Wang Thao focusing on student food security, their sad story is only too indicative of the fragility of our current food system.

Food is expensive and could double again in 2024 due to a number of factors: supply-chain disruptions, wars, gas prices, inflation, changing weather patterns, destruction of crops, etc.

There is very little the county can do to supply food. Food programs come from the federal level and are at the whim of who is in DC. We come to rely on them and are devastated when they go away.

While there are many food pantries here (the Hungry Wildcat food pantry

at Chico State, the Roadrunner Hub at Butte College, plus churches and sites throughout the county), many students don’t know they’re availabile.

But is dependence on food pantries the answer?

The Butte County Local Food Network has an exciting project that encourages us to grow “1,000 Acres More” of our own food. During the last century, our country mobilized and grew 42 percent of our produce in back yards and in community, church and school gardens. What would happen if neighborhoods ripped out their lawns and grew food together?

Food forests cut down water usage, feed us, and create cooler microclimates. Neighborhood and community gardens also have the capacity to bridge political and cultural divides. We invite students and the rest of us to become

part of a community that grows food together. Join us at bclocalfood.org .

Pamm Larry Chico

Larry is the director of Butte County Local Food Network.

Winter is coming As winter approaches, those of us dedicated to aiding in the recovery from last winter’s storm damage are facing a formidable challenge and striving to resolve it urgently.

Our waiting list for Disaster Case Management includes several hundred households, with approximately 30 percent of them comprising disabled and/or elderly residents. Given that our Disaster Case Management Program LETTERS C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

4

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Green Forest Lane This old road, it’s a long, long lonely way/This old road is bound to get me some day/ But I know I’m goin’ home, and I know there ain’t no other way/But this old road —“This Old Road,” by Garr1son I will never forget Green Forest Lane. It’s the “old road” that Garrison Blackwell—aka Garr1son (spelled with a “1” in the middle)—is singing about in his sad, slow tune, and it’s where I first witnessed post-disaster devastation in person.

I drove down the road in the months after wildfire wiped out most of Concow in 2008. That blaze would combine with many others to become the Butte Lightning Complex, but initially it was called the Camp Fire, 10 years before another Camp Fire would level Concow again.

Garr1son lost the 3,000-square-foot home he’d built by himself over the course of 30 years to that 2008 fire. In the aftermath, some of us local musicians performed a benefit for him and I convinced the shy, reclusive singer/songwriter to play a few songs as well. The week before the show, I joined him and his buddy, bassist Chuck Holland, to rehearse on the burned-out property at the end of Green Forest Lane where Garr1son was living in a delapidated trailer, and that experience remains both one of my most painful and most cherished memories.

Garr1son wasn’t around for the second Camp Fire. He died Jan. 25, 2018. Below is an excerpt from a column I wrote about meeting and playing music with the man: After squeezing ourselves and our instruments into his tiny hatchback, Garr1son plunged his squeaky rig down Green Forest Lane, the rutted, rugged dirt road leading to his property. The sickening irony of the road’s name sunk in as we bounced our way through the moonscape surrounding us. Garr1son explained how the flames had been on both sides of the skinny road when he fled the fires. The air was so thick with smoke and ash that he couldn’t see out of his windshield. He had to point a flashlight toward the embankment on one side of the road, and let it guide him out. He admitted that the only thing that saved him was his years of experience driving home from bars at 2 in the morning.

Standing around the open hatchback, listening to a recording Garr1son had made on a neighbor’s answering machine of a couple of his tunes, I had to force myself not to look around too much. I couldn’t have played a single note if I would have dwelled on the fact that I was standing in the burned-out heart of the man in front of me. As the red sun set behind the charcoal poles littered around the lot at the very end of Green Forest Lane, the three of us got lost in the groove of Garr1son’s bittersweet blues.

Jason Cassidy is editor of the Chico News & Review

GUEST COMMENT

Gathering forward through trauma and confusion toward one: Life is with people.

I bigIf that stability and a new normal. seems too obvious, it isn’t. The U.S. Before the fire, most of us saw ourselves f the 2018 Camp Fire taught one lesson it is this

Surgeon General tells us half the country now suffers from an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, particularly the young. For this malady he prescribes “the healing effects of social connection and community.”

Disaster is no vaccine, but it does demand we connect and cooperate to by survive.

David Leon Zink That Nov. 8 afternoon The author lives in five years ago, the people Magalia as a musician, of Paradise Community business consultant Guilds—whose vision and community organizer with an ear is to “Be the community for people. you want to live in”— sent out a call to gather at the Chico Guild Hall so we could take a head count, comfort each other, share needs and resources and figure out next steps. We continued to gather there twice a week for the next eight months, inviting our displaced community to join us as we felt our way

as helpers, not people in need of help. Now utterly dependent on others, we learned to make peace with our vulnerability and find new strength in community. We learned that our inner lives mattered to someone. We gathered to learn new ways to care and forged bonds that we’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Communities that came through their own horrors—such as the Tubbs, Valley, and Cedar fires—sent emissaries to gather with us, to listen to our stories, share their experiences and offer advice to younger siblings in catastrophe. Many of us came through our trauma faster as a result.

This is what “Life is with people” means—to be caught and to catch others in the act of living, and in the process make life better.

Now, as the elder siblings, we must share our lessons with those who are just coming through their own disasters—such as the Maui wildfires—while remembering the still lonely and isolated among us.

Life is with people. Be the community you Ω want to live in. Amen.

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

5

Helping buyers and sellers of

Real Estate achieve their goals through kind, quality service.

SERVING CHICO AND BUTTE MEADOWS PATRICK RILEY, REALTOR® | DRE #01417492 CENTURY 21 Select Real Estate | 1101 El Monte, Chico, CA 95928 (530) 588-6593 | Patrick.Riley@C21SelectGroup.com

R ECY C L E

Patrick Riley

T HIS ♥ P APE R *

Open Thanksgiving & Christmas Day

2019-2023

CHINESE RESTAURANT

$5 OFF $40 OR MORE Dine In or Take Out Only

No other discounts, expires 11/30/23

Order online at gingersrestaurantchico.com 2201 Pillsbury Rd, #100 • 530-345-8862 • CLOSED Tuesdays

Honey Walnut Shrimp

6

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

*After you read it!

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

Untold stories When I think about the Camp Fire’s fifth anniversary, I think about the CN&R. For me, the two are inextricably intertwined.

After the blaze, the paper’s small staff wrote week in and week out about the aftereffects. But we wanted to do more. More scrutiny of PG&E, more clarity from the agencies responsible for recovery, and more attention to the plight of victims.

Early on, the CN&R was on a path to make that happen. In late 2019, we were chosen as a Report for America (RFA) host newsroom. For those unfamiliar, RFA is a nonprofit organization that buoys newsrooms by partially funding reporting positions—splitting the cost the first year.

We could afford to pay our share because we’d already fundraised. Two years before the blaze, we established a special nonprofit fund to pay for enterprise and investigative reporting on complex subjects. Our initial plan was to hire freelance writers, but finding people who were interested in Chico— and had the bona fides—proved nearly impossible. We realized we needed someone in-house, which made RFA attractive.

As you might imagine, because most newspapers are struggling financially, we were competing with hundreds of newsrooms. However, our pitch was compelling. Wildfire recovery was still in its early stages, and while the aftermath of the disaster was challenging for everyone, those of little means were taking the brunt of it. In fact, many who’d lived on the margins prior to the fire became homeless.

It made sense then—should the CN&R be chosen—that our RFA reporter would focus on homelessness and poverty, including Camp Fire recovery.

By the time RFA announced in December 2019 that we’d been selected, I was exhausted. I’d been burning the candle at both ends. The prospect of having another reporter in the newsroom—and a stellar one at that—was energizing for me and the rest of the staff. She was scheduled to join us in June. Only, in March 2020, along came a worldwide disaster.

The pandemic gutted the CN&R. Everyone lost their jobs during the initial statewide shutdown, and our RFA reporter was rerouted to another publication.

When we got back up and running, we weren’t able to resume our hallmark in-depth reporting. That type of work requires ample editorial staffing. As you may recall, I handed the reins to now-Editor Jason Cassidy to focus on homeschooling my son. Two years later, he is the only full-time editorial staffer.

I work very part-time writing this column and occasional editorials, and Ken Smith works part-time writing arts stories. The rest of the staff have taken jobs elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the CN&R remains a monthly, with no indication of when or if it will return to weekly publication, or, frankly, whether it’ll exist in a year. Fortunately, the CN&R’s nonprofit reporting fund—along with ad sales and community donations—have helped sustain things thus far. Thank you, readers.

I’d hoped by now that some rich person would buy the paper—we could really use our own MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos)—but I guess owning a newspaper in Chico isn’t alluring, even when the publication is a valuable community watchdog. Case in point: Our investigative series on the Camp Fire’s water contamination won the statewide award for public service.

Speaking of which, we published over 300 articles on the fire between Nov. 8, 2018, and the pandemic shutdown. In only 18 months. That’s an average of roughly four stories on that subject each week.

To this day, I wonder what we would’ve done sans pandemic. Then I get really, really sad. So, I guess what I’m saying is, on the fifth anniversary of the blaze, in addition to remembering all of the victims, I’ll grieve for all of the untold stories that could have helped our community heal.

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

STREETALK

Who’s your hero?

Asked in downtown Chico.

Ryan Hart student

Ooh, that’s hard. I’m going to say Guy Fieri, mostly because he’s a fun dude and he does a lot of charity work.

Shirley McCoy KZFR off ice assistant

I’d say, probably my dad. We’ve always been really tight and he’s always been there for me. He got me started in my love of music.

Rob Davidson English professor

Well, right now it’s Keith Richards because I just listened to the brand new Rolling Stones album [Hackney Diamonds] and it’s amazing. He’s 79 years old and I think he still has something really vital and exciting, and the Rolling Stones sound excellent.

Sara Baranowski student

My hero? I’m not really sure. I mean, I kind of admire myself right now; I’ve been working really hard.

LETTERS C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 only commenced at the end of August 2023, these households are rapidly running out of time to get the necessary repairs to their home before winter. Our case managers are working to assist as many as possible.

Compounding this issue is the fact that some of our clients face significant mobility challenges, while others suffer from lung diseases that make residing in moldy conditions extremely hazardous. Most lack the financial resources to hire contractors independently, and even those who can may require assistance deciphering paperwork or identifying trustworthy companies.

Furthermore, the 52 percent of homeowners who have been fortunate enough to maintain their insurance coverage in recent years are understandably hesitant to file claims out of fear that it will jeopardize ongoing coverage. But if they do not file a claim, they cannot receive FEMA assistance.

The current situation presents an alarming scenario. Numerous households, many of which include elderly and/or disabled persons, are residing in homes with roofs compromised by last winter’s storms, and are not prepared for another winter like the previous one. Yet an even heavier winter is predicted this year. Unfortunately, for the majority of these households, there will not be time to complete the necessary repairs in time.

The community urgently needs funding, reliable and trustworthy contractors, and proactive planning for alternative temporary housing options. While we can anticipate this scenario, a larger disaster may unfold.

If we are to build a resilient community, conversations around these issues are imperative.

Emily Moore Chico

Corrections: In last month’s Editor’s Note (“September ends,” Oct. 5), a picture of Jenise Coon should have been attributed to Caitlyn Young. It’s been corrected online.

Also, in the Best of Chico winners supplement (Oct. 5), the write-up for Nurses and Professional Healthcare—winners of Best Local Healthcare Provider—should have read “leading healthcare staffing agency in the North State” (not “North America”).

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 December 7 print publication is November 20.

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

7

NEWSLINES BRIEFED COMMUNITY RESOURCES/ACTION CHICO PEACE ENDEAVOR VIGIL: Join peace and social-justice advocates a the corner of Third and Main streets every Saturday, 12:30-1:30pm. facebook.com/ChicoPeaceVigil FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION: The SCCAC holds free food distributions every second and fourth Saturday. Sat, 11/11 & 11/25, 2pm.

South Chico Community Assistance Center, 1805 Park Ave. southchicocac.org MAGALIA RESOURCE CENTER: Food, clothes, and household items distributed Thursdays and Saturdays. Donations of non-perishable food and small household items accepted.

Magalia Community Church, 13700 & 13734 Old Skyway. 530-877-7963.

POST-WILDFIRE RECOVERY COMMUNITY SESSION: Live, Work, Play: Creating a Shared Vision for Post-Wildfire Recovery on the Mendocino National Forest. Join us for a public input session. Kids welcome; Smokey the Bear will be there! Wed, 11/8, 5 p.m. Pleasant Valley Recreation Center, 2320 North Ave. 530-934-1137.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BUTTE COUNTY SUPERVISORS: Meetings are normally held the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Visit site for posted agenda as well as current meeting calendar.

Tue, 11/14 & 11/28, 9am. Butte County Board of Supervisors Chamber, 25 County Center Drive, Oroville. buttecounty.net

CHICO PLANNING COMMISSION: The commission normally meets first and third Thursdays.

Agendas are posted to the web the previous Friday. Thu, 11/2 & 11/16. City Council Chambers, 421 Main St. chico.ca.us

CHICO CITY COUNCIL MEETING: The City Council meets on every first and third Tuesday of the month. Agendas, minutes and video archives are available at chico.ca.us/agendasminutes. Tue, 11/7 & 11/21, 6pm. City Council Chambers, 421 Main St. chico.ca.us

OROVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING: Council normally meets first and third Tuesdays. Check site for latest agenda. Tue, 11/7 & 11/21, 4:30pm. Oroville City Council Chambers, 1735 Montgomery St. cityoforoville.org PARADISE TOWN COUNCIL: The town council normally meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Check site for agenda. Tue, 11/14, 6pm. Paradise Town Hall, 5555 Skyway. townofparadise.com 8

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

More than just a roof Chico Housing Action Team celebrates 10 years of finding solutions for the community

Khomehisand—most sobriety, a safe place to call of all, he professes— erry Chancholo is grateful for his job,

people he can trust. While most people might take these things for granted, by they were basic Ken Smith human needs that eluded him for kens @ n ew srev i ew. c o m most of his 64 years.

“I had a childCHAT 10 Year hood that Stephen Anniversary King couldn’t Formal dinner/fundraiser Nov. 4, 5-10 p.m. have thought up,” $100 tickets available at Chancholo shared chicohousingactionteam.com recently, his deep voice touched Lakeside Pavilion 2565 California Park Drive by even deeper

emotion. “Sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect … everything bad you could do to a kid happened to me. My early years were one long adverse childhood experience.”

That early trauma led Chancholo to become a full-blown alcoholic by the age of 13. As an adult he struggled to keep a job and moved from town-to-town, living on the streets. In 2005, he was panhandling (“to get enough money to buy my next drink”) when he was assaulted and almost killed.

After spending 21 days in a coma and months of recovery, he said his first stop after leaving the hospital was the liquor store. Though he eventually kicked alcohol and has been sober for 17 years now, other challenges including bouts

with homelessness, depression and family tragedies continued to plague him.

He eventually landed in Chico, and was introduced to the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT) while staying at the Torres Community Shelter. Though he’d utilized other programs in the attempt to help better his situation before, he said CHAT—which is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary this month—succeeded where others failed. CHAT gave him a place to live and the structure and support necessary to get a job.

“I could never have done this before, and the reason is because of trust,” Chancholo said. “They don’t just give people a safe place to rest, they care about the whole person. They care about my problems. They care about me.”

Kerry Chancholo worked hard to stay off the streets by utilizing the services of the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT).

PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

Diving into action CHAT currently provides 85 homes—including houses, apartments, tiny houses and trailers—for 186 people. The organization owns 31 of these units (and hopes to purchase more), and operates the rest through a system known as “master leasing,” in which they acquire and manage multi-bedroom homes and other residences that would be unavailable to unhoused individuals on their own.

The year 2013 was a flashpoint in the battle over and against homelessness, in Chico and other cities. The local unhoused population was beginning to boom and the community was growing more divided on how to address the increasingly visible issue. Some factions pursued heavy-handed tactics—the Chico City Council passed its

“A lot of the people we serve have had these lives that in some cases break them.”

—Bob Trausch

notorious “sit and lie” ordinance, the first of several local laws criminalizing homelessness, and a coalition of downtown businesses hired armed security guards to keep the unhoused out of the sight of downtown holiday shoppers.

Others sought more compassionate solutions. CHAT was one of the latter, as three founding members of the group—Bob Trausch, Leslie Johnson and Sheldon Praiser—explained in a recent interview. It was started that fall, when a number of concerned citizens and activists—many affiliated with the

Chico Peace and Justice Center (CPJC)—began meeting regularly to discuss possible solutions, with one of the earliest focuses falling on tiny house villages. But within weeks, prompted by dire need, the focus changed from discussion to action.

“One of the persons started saying, ‘Have you folks heard the weather report?’” Praiser said. “‘Starting tonight, temperatures will be below 20 degrees. There’s a cold front coming in and people on the streets are going to die.’”

Prasier said another CHAT founder—the late Dan Everhardt—was serving as chair of the CPJC’s board of directors at the time, and used his clout to open the center’s doors that same day for the very first night of the Safe Space Winter Shelter (SSWS).

“It was an immediate reaction to a problem and that kind (From left) Kerry Chancholo poses with the founding members of CHAT—Sheldon Praiser, Leslie Johnson and Bob Trausch—who are celebrating the community organization’s 10th anniversary this year.

PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

of became our mantra: If we see a problem, let’s find a solution,” Prasier said.

SSWS became an independent entity in 2018, but the CHAT founders said they learned a lot from operating the shelter that continues to influence how and why CHAT operates. For one, Praiser said, they learned that most unhoused people are not penniless, but that many have income from Social Security, pensions, disability or other sources—though not enough resources to live on their own. This realization led to the group’s master leasing model, with the first CHAT house opening in 2015.

Another assumption shattered by operating Safe Space, they said, was that that homelessness mostly affected single men, but they soon saw demographics spanning society—women, elderly people, families, students, children, people with mental health and addiction issues, LGBTQ individuals, and more—also suffered. This has led to the development of more specialized CHAT programs, like the family-focused Hands Up Supportive Housing (HUSH); Redwood Housing, which is dedicated to homeless or at-risk college students; and the Camp Fire Housing Action Program, formed to help benefit victims of that 2018 disaster. CHAT

Clients at Safe Space Winter Shelter line up for dinner.

PHOTO BY KAREN LASLO (COURTESY OF CHAT)

also provides food assistance to residents and a variety of other help through it’s various programs.

For several years CHAT remained completely volunteer-run and donation-funded. Today, it has roughly 30 paid staff and pursues grant funding for select programs, but remains reliant on community support. Their evolution from under-the-radar housing activists to a known, effective community advocacy and action group has been notable. CHAT has even earned the public respect of one city leader not known for his faith in helper organizations, Chico City Councilman Sean Morgan, who once proclaimed from the dais that, “If anyone can do it, CHAT can.”

“We write it down! We put it on a T-Shirt!” Johnson said.

And despite its growth, the group remains focused on compassion in its mission of housing those in need.

“A lot of the people we serve have had these lives that in some cases, through no fault of their own, break them,” Trausch said. “The way that real healing really starts is in that trust, like Kerry said. We let them know we’re here, and we’re Ω not going away.”

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

9

5

YEARS LATER

PARADISE

To stay or to go?

Checking in on two Camp Fire families five years after the blaze

by

Jason Cassidy jason c @ newsrev iew. com

W

hen Shelley Price left for Chico for work at 7:20 a.m. on Nov. 8, she saw the smoke rising from the Feather River Canyon—on the side of Paradise where her parents lived.

“I called them immediately,” she said. “There was already ash in their yard.” By 8 a.m. her folks were evacuating and she was texting her husband Brian, who was at their home across town.

“I was thinking, ‘There’s no way the fire’s coming here. They’ll get it out. It’s a whole town,’ Brian said. “Then I heard an explosion, and went outside and it was like pure black everywhere. All I grabbed was the computer and the dog. … I hit Skyway and there was no turning around. It was five lanes going down a two-lane road.”

The home they’d purchased in 2016 was soon gone. All that survived on their property on the west side of Paradise was a small shed with a few stored items—bikes, some Christmas décor.

Sitting at the dining room table in their lovely newly built house, the shed is visible outside

10

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

the window, as is the fifth-wheel RV the couple lived in with their dog Mango—and eventually their newborn son, August—while they waited for the new home to go up on the adjacent parcel they purchased from their next-door neighbor.

After the initial cleanup, the couple would visit their property on weekends for picnics with their dog, and right away they made the decision to rebuild there. “I think it was pretty early on, in January or February, where we were like, ‘We really like our land’,” Shelley said.

“There wasn’t much of a conversation,” Brian added. “We just both wanted to stay.”

“We really liked Paradise.

Schools were still standing.

Grocery stores were still here. The parks were still here,” Shelley said. “It was sort of the obvious choice that felt right for us.”

After 8 months living in an apartment in Chico, the Prices were on their property for nearly two years (in the RV and then a large loft constructed in a firescarred barn on the former neighbor’s lot) before their new home was finished.

According to the most recent numbers provided by the Town of Paradise, 1,963 homes and 420 units of multi-family housing have

Shelley and Brian Price and their son August in front of their rebuilt Paradise home with Mango the dog.

PHOTO BY JASON CASSIDY

Left: A trailer on their property was the temporary Price home during much of the rebuilding.

been built since the fire. Another 681 permits for houses and 148 for multi-family units have been issued.

For the Prices, life has returned to some semblance of normal, they said, but it is a different life in Paradise now.

“Lots of friends left, but we’re making new friends,” Shelley said.

“Now we have a kid, and so I’m in the Moms of the Ridge club up here.”

They say the fire did change them, but not necessarily for the worse.

“I think early on we made a choice to have a positive outlook.

I remember living in my sister’s house that week thinking, ‘This is happening to us no matter what’,” Shelley said. “Also ... when it [came] down to it, so many people helped us. I helped people. It did renew my faith in people being kind. Now, my perspective on material objects and what’s important in life is a little different. I know what’s a luxury and what’s a necessity. I know it’s [about] our experiences together.

“But I do have to admit, there is some anxiety, and stress and pressure that’s been put on our life because of this. We’ve both been in a lot of therapy the past three years,” she added.

If there was another wildfire, would they choose to remain?

“We’ve talked about this before.

If fire ever did happen again,” she said, “we’d probably do something different.”

Camp Fire 5-year commemorative events: Nov. 4, 8-11 a.m.: Pancake breakfast (Aquatic Park) Nov. 5, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: Community daffodil planting (Paradise Community Park) Nov. 6, 4-8 p.m.: Street Eats and Local Beats (with food trucks, Big Mo & the Full Moon Band and more at Paradise Performing Arts Center) Nov. 7, 6-8 p.m.: Paint Your Paradise (Terry Ashe Recreation Center) Nov. 8, 10:30 a.m.: 85 Seconds of Silence & sealing of community time capsule (Paradise Community Park) RSVP at makeitparadise.org

Winter of despair; spring of hope Big Mo on Shark Tank?

It’s been a tumultuous five years for Maurice Huffman (aka local bluesman Big Mo) and his family. Their Camp Fire recovery has taken a many turns—from the ruins of their Paradise-based military surplus business to temporary warehouses and temporary houses; and from several tours of Europe to reconnect with vendors to a sound stage in Culver City to take part in the ABC reality show.

Yes, Mo and his son Miles both appeared on the Oct. 6 episode of Shark Tank to pitch their StormBag invention—a one-pound canvas bag filled with a moisture-

absorbing material that expands to 35 pounds when water is added, providing a convenient alternative to cumbersome sandbags for dealing with flooding Millionaires Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner offered to invest—$200,000 for 30 percent stake—but when I met father and son at their Chico warehouse a few days later, Maurice admitted that before the show aired, both sides mutually agreed to not do a deal.

“I know, it’s weird. It was great advertising. [We both] realized that we were better off without the deal.” The bag business might be going a little too well in wake of the episode. A note on the StormBag website (stormbag.co) reads: “We are approx. 100 days

behind on fulfillment. Thank you for your support following our appearance on Shark Tank. We are doing our best to catch up and will ship orders in the order they are received.”

The StormBag operation takes up one small corner of the new home of Swiss Link military surplus, in a two-warehouse complex in south Chico. The newly remodeled permanent space is packed with an eclectic array of goods— from wool blankets and steel fuel cans to official Italian Air Force officers’ club porcelain dinnerware—and it appears the business has fully settled into its new home.

After the Camp Fire, all material evidence of the Huffman family’s nearly three decades in Paradise was wiped out. Maurice and his wife Robin (former town council member) lost their home, a music studio, two busiMaurice (left) and Miles Huffman inside the new warehouse headquarters for their Swiss Link military surplus business, now based out of Chico.

PHOTO BY JASON CASSIDY

Below: a still image from the son and father’s recent appearance on the TV show Shark Tank.

nesses—Mo Sound and all of its live-music sound equipment, and Swiss Link and the contents of its 40,000-square-foot warehouse— and three rental properties, one of which housed Miles and his wife Huan.

Maurice says he considered rebuilding the business in Paradise, but he said, “We just couldn’t find a place. Everything was still smoldering, and we had all these employees. We had to do something. There were some [shipping] containers on the water that had showed up. So we had to have a place. I had to do business right now.”

All but one of his employees had also lost their homes, so they set up temporary shop in a shared space, just to get orders fulfilled and some cash flowing. Then, not long after, the pandemic hit, and things really took off—for awhile.

“Business went crazy during COVID,” Maurice said. “We have a lot of emergency supplies—food, gas cans. It went insane. Then the supply chain collapsed, and we went from having too much business to no business.” Prices for

The remains of the Price home (left) and Maurice Huffman’s property post-Camp Fire.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE PRICE AND HUFFMAN FAMILIES

containers of goods spiked as much as ten times higher than normal.

In the last year or so, things have settled down to “normal,” Maurice said, which he credits to the support of his son, who shifted from his graphic design career to partnering with his dad.

“I couldn’t have done it without Miles. When he decided join me, that gave me all the energy I needed. He’s the real hero,” he said. “He now runs the business.

He got us into the new century with all the new toys.”

The two Huffman families also chose to relocate their homes in the valley. Miles and Huan moved to Chico, and Maurice and Robyn found a new home on six acres just outside of Corning.

“When I go back [to Paradise] to visit, I realize what I missed was home, and my community and my family, and my friends and everything. And it’s not there anymore,” Miles said. “I have a new home now, and I got a new community now. I love it here. My wife and I are in a good spot.”

While Maurice says he loves his new property—especially for his dogs—and is happy that his business is back and employees are taken care of, he said he misses going into a restaurant or coffee shop in Paradise and knowing everyone in the place.

“I didn’t know how important that was for daily life, to have that community. … That is worth so much,” he said. “[But] everybody left. They Ω had no choice.”

PARADISE C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 2 NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

11

5

YEARS LATER

The fire next time

PARADISE

We may be through with the fire, but it’s not through with us— a Camp Fire essay by

Kevin Jeys

[Editor’s note: This essay was written by Kevin Jeys, a one-time CN&R editorial staffer and longtime infrequent contributor to the paper. After surviving the Camp Fire, Jeys stayed home. He’s been in Paradise for the five years since, tending to many animals, absorbing the difficult stories of his community and bearing witness to the kindness of friends and strangers.]

W

hen the white people came to North America they regarded it as a “shining city on a hill,” gifted them by the deity, with which they could do as thou wilt. Everything here was promised to them, and everything here they should have. This spirit moving them still when they exhausted the continent and reached California, where it came to pass the Californians believed that among the everything that was promised to them, was power. The state bigger than most nations contained some of the most rugged terrain on earth, yet nowhere in California to the people would power be denied.

What is today known as Pacific Gas & Electric Company began as a clutch of gas people, bringing light to San Francisco; joined then by Yuba miners who’d learned to whip water

12

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

’round to get at the gold; these brainshowered waters could also move great wheels that would spark power that could travel in lines to an Oakland railway in need of electric juice. So that then happened.

Originally, it was all about the Bay Area, PG&E. But then the company ran wild, to fulfill the American promise for all the Californians, erecting towers and stringing lines all over the north state, connecting everybody with everybody— wherever you were, you deserved power!—bulling its towers and

lines through high wilderness where even the wolverines might balk to go. Extending its grid through all and every bumfuck, so that even if you lived in some other bumfuck, many hundreds of miles away, you could still have power.

This was quite the feat.

Of course, once you build something, you then have to maintain it. Because the second law of thermodynamics waits for no one, in moving all physical systems towards Fail. But maintenance can seem stupid and boring, compared

to moving on to the next new big flashy thing, and so it can become like the redheaded stepchild, who everybody ignores.

Until she sets the basement on fire.

And so it was that on the morning

of Nov. 8, 2018, out in the bumfuck near Pulga, PG&E was running power through high-voltage lines on towers well over 100 years old.

Once was the company would send people shinnying up those towers, to inspect that where all connects

For a couple years after the fire this was the view across from the bus stop once known as the Paradise Transit Center: The remains of Frank’s Heating & Air. PHOTO BY KEVIN JEYS

all was right. But why use people— they’re so expensive!; “negative cash flow”—when you can lean more on machines? So instead workers were now assigned to gaze up with binoculars from below, or look down from helicopters or through drones above. Cheaper, you see, that way. Except, that way, you can’t, truly, See.

And that was when the company even bothered. For Chico attorney Ken Roye over the previous several decades had recurrently sued PG&E over various fires it ignited in Butte and neighboring counties. During which proceedings it emerged PG&E wasn’t devoting a lot of attention to tower maintenance, or to clearing vegetation around its lines. In the settlements to these lawsuits would routinely be provisos that in these areas PG&E would henceforth do better. Until there was the next fire, and the next lawsuit, and the next discovery that the company, contrary to promises, really hadn’t done better, much at all.

On that morning, Nov. 8, 2018, on one of those 100-plus-year-old towers, out in the bumfuck near Pulga, was a big hunk of curved steel called a C-hook that the second law of thermodynamics had for years been bringing to Fail. It was, that day, worn through. If some “negative cash flow” had been assigned to shinny up that tower, and there regarded it— Seen, the thing itself—its failure would have been apparent. And then, presumably, it would have been replaced.

But. No. That did not happen.

Instead, what happened, that morning, is that high winds came up out of the Feather River Canyon—“Jarbo Winds,” they’re sometimes called; winds that swirl around the high Sierra, seeking to mate with the California coast, achieving passage through a narrow chasm the white people call Jarbo Gap. Generally, these winds, though high-stepping, are benign. When they have water on them.

But there was no water on them this day.

There had been from the skies hereabouts no water in any measurable amount since May. And, down on the earth, most everyone who was a plant, was tinder—literally—dry. The Jarbo Winds, that morning, blew that C-hook, into complete Fail; it broke, dropping a wire, which also broke; and then the electricity, from out of the wire, it commenced to spark.

In the tinder. Dry. Fire. On the mountain.

The nascent flames found, frolicked through, a vast stretch of logger slob; great yawning acres where the tree-cutters had taken what they wilt, and then, as is their wont, left their lazy-ass sloppy firestarter slash all behind. And the newborn fire, it exulted, in this fuel. Whipped by the winds, sucking its life from the logger detritus, the fire danced into Concow.

The native peoples of Concow knowing of fire from time into mist; in one story, in their oral tradition, wildfire takes all of their people, every one, but one man, and one woman, who, in the after of the ashes, arise the tribe anew.

This time, the fire came for an aged man, who sent his family away, but stayed behind himself, to try to find his cat. He burned. As did his cat. Another Concow man tried to

The lion may not have lain down with the lamb, but the doe hung out with the cat. The cat is Milo. He went missing in the fire. Probably the doe did too.

PHOTO CIRCULATED ON SOCIAL MEDIA POST-CAMP FIRE

flee from the fire in his car. Didn’t work. For the fire burned faster than any car. Later they managed to scrape his remains out of the car.

But not those of his dog, which were melted to the seat. Another man tried to run from the fire. No. The fire took him where he ran.

A Concow grandmother, the fire bearing down upon her, pleading on the phone with the authorities for help, was told to jump in the lake. Literally. Just get in the water, she was told. And stay there. We’ll come for you, when we can. And that happened. Eventually.

But Concow, that was just an appetizer, for this fire. What it was really about, was Paradise. And by the time it entered this town, the fire, it was a wall. And long before sundown the whole town, some 95 percent of it, would simply be gone. Burned. Away.

This being the day, that the shining city on a hill, that was Paradise, became the burned down city on a hill.

Paradise was founded by white people who

came to this hither from yon for the gold. To this day in this town is celebrated Gold Nugget Days, remembering when some white-people miner unearthed up in the hills a hernia-inducing 54-pound ultra-nugget and brought it down to the ur-town athwart a burdened donkey.

The native peoples of the region had cared not for gold—what good was that shit?—but the white people, they were all about it. So they came, they dug, they scrabbled, they sifted, they sieved, they firehosed, they exploded.

And, they built shit. They put up stores, ESSAY C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 4 NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

13

ESSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

homes, hovels; whatever, wherever.

In this, there was no “planning.” And that continued well into the 20th century. When I reached this area, in the mid-1970s, Paradise was still, planning-wise, wild-westing. In a thing called “four-by-fouring,” where, taking advantage of loopholes in the then-existing laws, you’d take your big piece of forested property, divide it into four parcels; these would then be divided, again, into four; those then divided, again, into four; and so on; until, eventually all and every could go hat in hand to the county board of supervisors, and say, “Well, shit; this piece I got, it’s so small, there ain’t a thing I can do with it, ’cept mebbe put a house on it.” And the supes, they would say: “Bless you, my son. Go, and be about it.”

And so what you had, all crazyAfter the fire, PG&E announced its goal was to bring everybody back to light by the first of the year. I wished desperately for it to happen by Christmas. Most of Mendon’s Nursery burned down, but not all of it, and that tree came from there. The people came from wherever they had been burned to. It maybe wasn’t a wonderful life.

But we were alive. And there was Christmas.

PHOTO BY KEVIN JEYS

14

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

quilt, was a town built in a forest.

Which was precisely its charm.

Humans were never really dominant here. There was, o’er all, first, the trees. And then, out of the trees, the animals. Everybody in town always had some animal who they did not rule traipsing across their land. I mean, that’s just what was. And we liked it. We wanted, all of us, to just live in the trees. In the forest.

Like all the other animals. The trees so thick that even if your neighbor was Marvin The Meth Monkey you wouldn’t really have to Know— unless he played the metal real supra-loud, or started wildly firing off rounds for No Reason. Because, between you and him, would be the trees. Because. You lived in a forest.

But, there is, we know now, a Problem, with living in a forest.

And that is. Sometimes. Forests burn.

One of the very first responders to

go out that morning when the town was burning down was a Paradise police sergeant. On a report of a lawn fire, in far east Paradise. And

to this call, he did go. He reached the place: he beheld the fire. He opened the trunk of his patrol vehicle, withdrew his little fire extinguisher, and hosed the fire down. Put it out. Felt, then, satisfaction. Job. Well done.

Then, he gazed up unto the sky.

Saw embers arcing, streaking, dancing, exultant, triumphant, flying, overhead, landing upon, sparking, burning, all, and every.

And, he knew. One little fire extinguisher. In the back of a patrol car. Was not going to be enough. To stop this fire.

This man, one of so many heroes, who will never be known. He radioed back to headquarters the town was becoming all fire. He quickly drove by his house, saw flames coming, knew it was lost, made sure his people would get out, and then he drove into the fire. Into the fire.

Drove into the fire all the way to the far north of town. To the Optimo.

Where the mothers there gathered were considering how best to kill their children.

The fire all around. Evacuant fire trucks trying to get through; but, on all roads, for hours, blocked by fire.

The people, more than a hundred of them, there at the Optimo restaurant, sheltering on a stretch of asphalt. So desperate they drew bottles from a parked Pepsi truck, arrayed them in a perimeter all around, hoping that when the fire came it would first overheat and thereby pop the bottles, and then the Pepsi, fountaining from the burst bottles, would douse the fire.

Hear them. The Optimo women [via online group posts]: —I remember that moment more clearly than any other moment throughout that day. I felt like my knees were buckling from the sheer panic and all I could think was I have to save my child, I will not let him burn, I was prepared to go to any extremes to save my child.

For the most part I kept my mind on how to save my kid and coming up with different exit strategies and plans to protect him but there were moments, and I apologize if this is a bit too dark, I would think what can I do if we absolutely can’t get out to at least spare him any suffering. Those thoughts and emotions will haunt me forever.

—The fire got so close, only feet away on all sides of us, I had to keep E—and my g-ma and

aunt ready for a last ditch effort to escape. When you hear officials saying goodbye messages to their families, you know. They were just as cut off, trapped, and scared as we were. It really is just so insane, it doesn’t feel real. Only that we had this whole life that vanished overnight and it only exists now in the pain of its absence.

—People living on the corner started handing out water bottles and we were able to drench pillowcases to put over our son’s mouth, a total lifesaver! I lost service early on, I was on the phone with my mom and the last thing I told her was about the Pepsi truck, what they were planning, then I lost the call and could not communicate anything to my loved ones. Then a sweet precious woman let me use her cell. It was only then I found out my grandma and aunt were huddled in that parking lot as well.

You’d think I’d have seen them but when your mind is completely focused on how to save your child it’s hard to be observant of familiar faces. So truly thankful for her kind heart!!!

After, fire survivors, sometimes, they would gather in groups. There became a group, I know, specifically for those who had been at the Optimo. But I myself never tried to go there. Because I didn’t belong.

Because I had not been there. That hadn’t been my fire.

Everybody, had a different fire.

Like the woman, coming out of upper Paradise, her husband at the wheel, traffic stalled; up ahead, a burning tree, crashes down, upon a car, and the man inside the car, he begins to burn. Her husband places his hand upon her head, lowers it, so she cannot see. But. Still.

She can hear. As she hears. To this day. Another woman, driving, having made it to lower Paradise—at last! nearly out of it!—and then from out of the trees comes a bear, a bear burning, the bear, it is running, and it is burning, the bear is on fire, and it is running, and it is burning. Or the woman who managed a supermarket up here, who when came the fire chased all her employees out, and then discovered an elderly woman seated in her car out in the parking lot, who said that there she would ride out the fire; and

the manager-woman spent precious minutes coercing this woman out of her car and into her own vehicle, and then, driving through fire, she brought that woman into Chico. The manager-woman insisting thereafter to her husband she was fine. Until, some time after, she shut down, and withdrew into a room. And then.

Remained there.

The fire took all of that Safeway shopping center. It was very nice, wood-fronted. The fire ate it all up. And that car, where the elderly woman would have tried to ride out the fire, it remained parked there, nothing else around it—all burned— for months. For more than two years.

Until they finally cleaned the rubble of that place away. And every time that I’d go by there on the bus, and I’d see that car: the fire, it would all come back.

The bear. It is running. And it is burning. The bear. It is on fire. And it is running. And it is burning.

As everybody had their own fire;

after, everybody went various ways,

A typical scene of rebuilding Paradise: A modest McMansion, a couple regular houses and then a trailer. That’s Paradise. It was like that before the fire, but you never really noticed, because of all the trees.

PHOTO BY KEVIN JEYS

to try to surmount the fire. The Optimo women, I know a lot of them went to the eyeball therapy— Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR they call it in the acronyms, where a healer flashes some light into your eyeballs, as you’re talked through the worst moments of your life. A thing developed for soldiers with PTSD. And then, if it works, you can come out, if not healed, at least calmed; maybe, even, relieved. In the months after the fire bodhisattvas came here and offered EMDR for free to fire people. I’ve never been to EMDR myself, but a lot of the Optimo women say it worked for them. And so, I am for it. I am for anything, that works. Once, coming back up to town on the bus, not long after the town had burned down, and then reopened, I rode with no one but a young woman, silently weeping, who, in the fire, had lost everything; she was going that night to what was basically a camping site, somewhere in ever-colding Magalia; but down in Chico that day some people from

Samaritan’s Purse had given her two bibles. That’s all she had. But, she was clinging, in comfort, to that.

Who am I? To deny her?

Though sometimes there be dragons, in invoking the deity, in re the fire. A woman, a friend, who lived in that neighborhood back of the Save Mart, she lost everything in the fire, the fire burned it all, including her animals, and burned too the homes of nearby nearly everyone else. Only one man, his house, the fire didn’t burn. And he took to saying that was because “God was watching out for me.” And my friend, that hurt her. Deeply.

Because did that also mean that God, he wanted that her home, her animals, be burned?

This woman, shortly after the fire, went into deep anger. She publicly listed, in great detail, everything she had lost. And, like pure grieving Fury, she called down anathema, upon PG&E. A lot of people did that. Do that.

To this day. And who can blame them?

What really most hurt this woman was the thought that her dogs, her chickens, they had perished in flame—burning, on fire.

She couldn’t get that, those images, out of her head. She was in agony.

Until I told her that the best judgment of the fire-studying people was that almost everybody, human and animal alike, entered, there in the fire, death not from bursting into flame, their bodies actively aflame, but from smoke inhalation.

Everybody who’s ever stood around a campfire and had the wind blow the smoke into their mouth knows what is smoke-inhalation. It’s just that, when you die from it, you can’t get away from the smoke. The smoke-inhalation, it doesn’t stop.

Until you pass, into unconsciousness. Then. Death. There is a 911 tape out there, from that day, where you can hear three generations of Paradise women, dying, from smoke inhalation. I’ve heard it. I don’t recommend it. Neither does anyone else I know who’s heard it.

But my friend, the smoke-inhalation knowledge, this comforted her. Her animals passing, whole, into unconsciousness, and then death—that was better than the images, ceaselessly inflaming her brain, of her animals dying, from bursting into flame.

This is what, here in the fire people, we try to do for each

other. Make it less bad. Hard.

Insurmountable.

Of course, it doesn’t really often work. But. Still. We try.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, he knew the lives, of the fire people: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the” … fire.

Animals. Really not too long after

the fire, some non-burned people, they started saying, to we burned: “get over it.” Like: time’s up. Stop it. All that suffering.

But who’s going to explain, such as that, to the animals? As I was then meanwhile reading, day by day, there in the fire tubes, stories, of the animals.

Hear, now, the animals: —I drove into a garage that smelled strongly of smoke. My dog went berserk, barking and lunging on her truck bed containment chain. She did the same thing when I had her with me to go pick up something at my old home. She started barking a quarter mile away and it was not because she was excited to be going home. She was frightened.

—My two dogs drove with me thru the fire for 4 hours, they cried and whined and barked the entire ride. They are now clingy, depressed, needy. The 13-year-old is never gonna be the same and he After the rubble was removed, there were thousands of places like this, all over town. I thought of them as “red dirt girls,” after the Emmylou Harris song. About a woman who never had a chance.

PHOTO POSTED BY KEVIN JEYS

has had several seizures since the fire. They are afraid of everything.

—My cat startles very easily, hates when I do any kind of cooking, and if the fire alarm goes off he freaks out.

—Our big bruiser cat is a nervous wreck. My Gunther got bloody diarrhea and died.

—One cat had back leg amputated and another will have one of his eyes removed.

—My Farrelle was lost up there for a month with burned paws.

Went from 12 lbs to 6 lbs. Now he mostly hides under blankets on the bed.

—Our cat now follows me around like a dog. Doesn’t let me out of her sight.

—Dog has a honking cough that will not go away; taking medication for it. Bird died.

—We have 3 service dogs and they all need their own service dog now, they can’t and won’t be left alone anymore, they do this shaking and whimpering that’s got a pitch that hurts the ears.

—My cat hides about 22 hours a day still. I don’t think she’ll ever be the same.

I know that cat. That cat. I am.

For, I also hide. About 22 hours a day.

As I too. Will never. Be the same.

When I told fire companera Melissa

Daugherty I was putting her into this story she said “just don’t make me some kind of hero.” And I responded that of course she was a hero. As was everyone else who had been in the fire. And, after. That a fire that in less than six hours took a whole town of more than 25,000 people extinguished but the lives of 85 souls, meant that heroism, it was all and everywhere; it was all around. Not a single senior, in all the many senior homes up here, was lost. Neither was any child. As, everyone, that day, helped everyone. The stories, they are without number, of people fleeing in cars, who saw someone running from a burning home; opened the passenger door, and let them in. Not knowing them from Adam. Or even Eve. This was just a thing, that, all over that day, all the time, happened.

We were all, the best of ourselves, ESSAY C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 1 6 NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

15

ESSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

that day. People expending precious fire-coming-at-them minutes to make sure more resourceless friends, neighbors, perfect strangers, could get out. My friend H, trying to bring stabled horses out of the flames, just some random man, he stopped, and he helped her load horses into trailers. And then. He drove off. To help.

Somebody else.

That’s, who we were.

Melissa was the editor of the CN&R at the time and she didn’t have to come up here but after the fire came she came up here every day. And, in that, she burned down.

She came and she witnessed up here the all and every. Saw more of the destruction than did I. The thing itself. She kept coming up, daily; among other things, to succor fire cats. As I became one of them.

Once, I, marooned up here, with no power, no cooked food, she arrived with a modest bag lunch of Del Taco. And that was maybe the nicest meal I’ve ever had. Another time she arrived with a cellphone. A man in Marin, who I did not know, Crispin Barker, had read in the newspaper I had no cellphone, marooned here in the town burned down, and he decided I should have one. So he just bought me one. Complete with the Plan. And then sent it up to me, through Melissa. Bodhisattva. This man. So many of them. In. After.

The fire.

I never got the fire dreams.

Melissa did. The fire was coming, and it was coming for her child, and she could not reach him. This went on for years. When once PG&E admitted it had burned down the town, and there came the lawyers, with the lawsuits, to recover from the company “damages,” I urged her to apply. But she would not.

She said she had not been in the fire itself, and so she was entitled to nothing. “I just lost my mind,” she told me, “and a lot of sleep.”

Fire burns sleep. I know of no one, since the fire, who was in, or after, the fire, who has since really slept. Like the man from Quincy, who told me he had worked fires and after-fires for 40 years, but after this one, he was retiring. Because it was just too much. When he’d go home at night, from the town burned down; in sleep, the dreams, they would come; and, in the bed, he would be kicking, and he would 16

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Meeho’s, a town institution of Mexican food, took fire, and though the building wasn’t wholly destroyed, it took time to repair it. The Meeho’s people meanwhile went to a truck, parked outside the premises.

PHOTO BY KEVIN JEYS

be screaming; until came the time his wife, she could no longer sleep with him. There was the fire captain from Los Angeles, who had worked urban fires for 25 years, who had been brought into the town burned down for his expertise in identifying mere fragments of bodies, who one morning stood out front my house, in silent tears, saying that, here, “after a while, everything just looks like bone.” There was the PG&E worker, assigned to come by to wave those magic wands they have, that can determine where under the earth the gas lines are buried, who told me that three days into the town burned down, waving his wand in deep brush, he came upon a dead burned dog. And he couldn’t get it out of his head. As. all. my tears. like water. flow. There was the utility worker from Louisiana, who after 17 days in the town burned down was flown home to spend time with his family.

But, after less than 24 hours, he was back. “I couldn’t do it,” he told me.

“I’m supposed to be here.” In Chico this man bought a bunch of batterypowered phone-chargers and then drove around the town distributing them to the few of us still here. One of these was an elderly man, lightly

touched with dementia, whose home had not burned, and neither had the trees around him. And so, he was firm, in his conviction, that the town, it had not, in fact, burned down.

There, had not, in truth, been a fire.

The police, and the utility workers, they watched over this man, until his family could get to him.

Often, then, and to this day, I think of this man. For what a grace.

It would be. To live in a world.

Where the town. It never burned down.

Burnt fire companera K, when I

told her I was writing this story, said she was glad, because I had stayed in the fire, and then marooned serviceless months after, and she wanted to know about that. But, to me, mine is just another fire story; no more, no less, than any other. Than, say, her own. When she summoned all that she was, there in the fire, to bring her horses out. Another hero. Who no one will ever know. And then the fire came, and took all she otherwise had. Cue, a couple years, passing.

Insurance. It paid for a new house. A new barn. “Bigger.” “Better.” After years of living in a family-cramped trailer. But these “new, bigger, bet-

ter,” things, they were not right.

She wanted the old house. The old barn. But these will never again, to her, be known. Still, she tried to do her best. Until. She understood. She could not.

They say 14,000 homes burned in the fire, and so, in near every one, those who had once lived there, were, after, after they had lost all that they had, sentenced to the stations of the cross of calling up from memory, and minutely detailing in writing, all that was gone. For insurance.

For the fire lawyers. This the sort of thing nobody wants to do. Because nobody really knows what they have, until it’s gone; and then bringing it back in memory, knowing it’s gone, just hurts. Because none of it’s ever coming back, and none of it can ever really be replaced. And this is true not just of cherished photos and mementos and whatnot, but of everything. Shortly after the town reopened, a fire companera and her aunt and I went to sift through the ash of their trailers. And her aunt said people down in Chico had been very kind, had furnished her with various thises and thats, to replace what she had lost, in the fire. But, it just wasn’t the same. “I got a new

waffle iron,” she told me. “Which was nice. But I don’t want a new waffle iron. I like the one I had. I got a new toaster. But I don’t want a new toaster. I like the toaster I had.” These aren’t people being picky. This is just how it is. For in the regular course of life, a person will shed this, shed that, move onto this, that; but, in a morning, in a day, to have it all, taken away? “I sure didn’t think at my age I would start over,” wrote a burned person, in a fire tube. “It is hard to make old friends in short time. I will never be able to have new old friends. I will never get my things back or get to lean against my favorite redwood tree in my yard. I will never be able to pick up my old favorite guitar that has been with me forever. The old one that has been by my side since I was 15 years old. The guitar is gone and I will never be able to replace it.” That fire companera, of that day, she once described the fire, as like a murder. Because, in the burning, everything was just suddenly cut off. Forever. The night before the fire, she and her co-workers were laughing joking enjoying pizza at a store-wide staff meeting. Then, come the morning, came the fire.

And though none of them in the fire perished, they never saw each other all together again. Because that, had been murdered. This same woman, she had another deep wisdom. When I told her that at a bus stop in Chico I’d overheard three homeless people who before the fire had been homeless in Paradise discussing whether they should file a claim with PG&E. One said, “I don’t know that I have a claim. I didn’t really lose anything.

Except a bag with some clothes. And my dog.” And my fire companera, instantly, she said, “Of course they have a claim. They lost the community. That’s what we all lost.”

Her family having made homes in Paradise for more than 150 years but she knowing that in the fire she was as one with those homeless people.

As the fire rendered her homeless too. In her mid-20s, she should have been enjoying life, the belle of all balls, but instead, burned into a housing market as constricted as

a smoke-choking throat, to live on the same land with her horse and her fire-therapy wolfdog she ultimately had to carve out a place for herself well up in the hills, deep off the grid, living like her pioneer forebears of old.

Breaks. My heart.

All of it. Breaks my heart.

The deadline for this story is coming up very

fast now, and though I really would like to/not like to, tell at length my own fire story, as K would command, basically, to me, it is frivolous, and embarrassing So I’ll just here convey the key to it: that I got to live, in the thing itself, what I had always believed, against all evidence, through many scorns: that people, they are basically good.

For not only did everybody save everybody, there in the fire; but, after, thousands of people, strangers, came to the town burned down, from all over the country, even the world, to bring the town back. And, because I was “so stubborn I stayed in a fire,” as H would recurrently say to me, I got to witness that.

Everybody then was so kind to everybody.

It was like a new world. No money ever exchanged hands. If you had something somebody needed, you gave it to them. And the A PG&E guy up in the hills clearing brush came across this kitten, tangled in wire, dying. He carefully extracted the kitten, and passed him on to the fire cat rescue people. And so the kitten lived. Dubbed Mugsy.

PHOTO BY KEVIN JEYS

A child’s drawing of people trying to get out of the fire.

PHOTO POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY A CAMP FIRE PARENT

way everybody greeted each other was, “Do you have enough water?” I came to believe, in the six weeks of maroonment up here, it would always be like that. H, she was feeling it too. With kindness she was receiving in Chico. And we’d talk, late into the night.

About the kind new world. While my ex, T, she cautioned: “You’re setting yourself up for a fall. Eventually people will go back to the way they’ve always been.” And, of course, she was right.

Even, as she was not. For I remember these two PG&E workers from Atwater, who kind of adopted me, would bring me the sack lunches they got, and about three or four weeks in, one of them said, “You know, I’d never even heard of Paradise until this happened. But now I think maybe I’d like to live here.” The town still a smoking ruin; the bodycatchers still pulling corpses out o the ruins. He said this amid a bunch of other workers here. And none of them said he was crazy. Because, they all felt it, too. They were. These people. Paradise.

So. I don’t care. Because I know. And it has been proven to me. I have seen it. I have been to the mountaintop. And I have looked over. One day, we all be one. It’s just a matter. Of waiting. For the time. To catch up.

Meanwhile, the white people, they came to California, and they built their towns. And now those towns, they are burning down. This is just a thing. That is happening.

As the white people, they came to California, and they killed all the grizzly bears.

And then they put the grizzly bear on their state seal. As: The bear. It is running. And it is burning.

The bear. It is on fire. And it is running. And it is burning. Ω NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

17

Arts &Culture CHRISTMAS PREVIEW

Main, 319 Main St. 530-354-5028.

MUST DIE! & TISOKI: Bass and dub-step night. Thu, 11/2, 8pm. $15. Senator Theatre,

Nov. 19

517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

Downtown Chico

REGGAE THURSDAYS: Weekly reggae night with DJs Ted Shred and O’Snap. Thu, 11/2, 10pm. $5. Winchester Goose, 800 Broadway St.

SIRSY: New York pop/rock/soul duo returns to the brewery. Thu, 11/2, 6pm. $10-$15.

Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

FRI3 Special Events SILENT DISCO: A dance and benefit for Youth for Change. Fri, 11/3, 8pm. The Barn at Meriam Park, 1930 Market Place. meriampark.com

Music CUPCAKKE: The Chicago MC in downtown Chico. Fri, 11/3, 7pm. $27.50. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. elreychico.com

DUFFY’S HAPPY HOUR: The Pub Scouts bring traditional Irish music weekly to Duffy’s. Fri, 11/3, 5pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St. 530-343-7718.

NOVEMBER

PHOTO BY KEN PORDES

THU2 Special Events EMPTY BOWLS: Enjoy a delicious dinner of soup

ONGOING Galleries & Museums 1078 GALLERY: There are Many Possible Truths x Conduit x The Spirit of Truth, 24 nights of performances by Lola centered around the themes of ritual, chance, and repetition.

Every night at 7:06pm. Through 11/19. 1710 Park Ave. 1078gallery.org

B-SO GALLERY: Student Works, rotating exhibits of student works and projects. Through 12/8.

Chico State, Ayres Hall, Room 105.

CHICO ART CENTER: Two shows for November: Small Works, the annual community exhibit of 12x12 inch works; and Community Altar Exhibit, locally made Dia de los Muertos altars. Reception: Nov. 4, 5-7pm. Through 11/26. 450 Orange St. chicoartcenter.com

MUSEUM OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ART: Two exhibits: Artwork By Claudia Steel & After Service, a veterans art sow. Shows through Dec. 17.

900 Esplanade. monca.org

THE TURNER: Proof of Concept, a deep dive into the printmaking process from start to finish.

Talk & reception: Nov. 16, 5:30pm. Shows through 12/16. Arts & Humanities Building, Chico State.

Markets open and selling fresh produce and more.

CN&R

Open Mics OPEN MIC COMEDY AT GNARLY DELI: Every Tuesday, 7pm. Gnarly Deli, 243 W. Second St.

COMEDY OPEN MIC AT STUDIO INN: Open mic comedy night. Wednesdays, 9pm. (Sign-ups 8pm.) Free.

Studio Inn Lounge, 2582 Esplanade. (530) 520-0119.

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

DISCOVERY SHOWCASE & OPEN MIC: Comedy open mic. Thursdays, 7pm. Discovery Bar, 250 Cohasset Road.

WHAT IS ART: Open to all performing arts. Sign-ups at 7pm. Thursdays, 7pm. Idea Fab Labs, 603 Orange St.

OPEN MIC AT THE DOWNLO: Hosted by Jeff Pershing.

Sign up to perform two songs. All ages until 10pm. Fridays, 6:30pm. Free. The DownLo, 319 Main St.

OPEN MIC NIGHT AT MULBERRY STATION: Sundays,

FARMERS MARKETS: Butte County’s markets are

18

Chico: Downtown Chico (Saturdays, 7:30am1pm); Meriam Park/Farmers Brewing (Sundays, 9am-noon); North Valley Plaza (Wednesdays, 8am-1pm); Chico State University Farm (Thursdays, noon-4 p.m.). Magalia: “Farmers Market Mobile,” 1397 South Park Drive (Sundays, noon).

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

6pm. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th Street. 175 E. 20th St.

and bread, and pick a unique bowl handcrafted by a shelter guest experiencing homelessness or by a student in our local public schools. All proceeds go to the Torres Shelter. Thu, 11/2, 5pm. $15-$20. Chico High School, Lincoln Center, 901 Esplanade. truenorthbutte.org

SHOW ME THE HONEY: The Honeybee Discovery Center is hosting “Show Me the Honey” charity casino night. Thu, 11/2, 5:30pm. $85.

Butte Creek Country Club, 175 Estates Drive. honeybeediscoverycenter.org

Theater THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW: Birdcage Theatre presents the rock-n-roll horror musical at the State Theater. Thu, 11/2, 7:30pm. $20$25. Oroville State Theatre, 1489 Myers St., Oroville. birdcagetheatre.org

Music BOHEMIAN QUEEN: A theatrical presentation by Queen tribute act. Thu, 11/2, 7:30pm. $20$30. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. elreychico.com

IN THE PINES: Live local music. Thu, 11/2, 6pm. Free. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste. 100. (530) 809-5616.

KUNG FU VAMPIRE: A Day of the Dead show with Latin-American rapper. Openers include Big X, Sasquatch Josh, Zaden Z, Kroix and Ca$tro. Thu, 11/2, 8pm. $15-$18. Lost on

KATHY ZAVADA: Kathy has an expansive repertoire of original sacred music as well as selective jazz, blues and ragtime tunes. Fri, 11/3, 6pm. $20-$25. Center for Spiritual Living, Chico, 14 Hillary Lane. cslchico.org

RAELYN: Academy of Country Music New Female Vocalist nominee at The Box. Fri, 11/3, 9pm. $40-$45. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave. eventbrite.com

TERRAPIN FLYER: The long-running Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia Band tribute act in town for two shows at Lost in two nights (Nov. 3 & 4). Fri, 11/3, 8pm. $15. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. 530-354-5028.

SAT4 Special Events A NIGHT TO REMEMBER GALA: This black-tie optional event will have live music, fine dining, entertainment, live and silent auctions, and more. A Butte Humane Society benefit. Sat, 11/4, 5pm. $165. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 E. 20th St. (530) 343-7917. buttehumane.org

CHAT 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Chico Housing Action Team celebrates its first decade with a formal dinner fundraiser. Sat, 11/4, 5pm. $100. Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Drive. chicohousingactionteam.net

THE GRATITUDE WALK: Walk through Bidwell Park and embrace the spirit of thankfulness. The event features interactive stations along the route to reinforce gratitude and strengthen our community bonds. A benefit for local nonprofits. Sat, 11/4, 9am. $25-$30. Bidwell Park, One-Mile Recreation Area. 210-621-4411. thegratitudewalk.com

STANDUP WITH JERM LEATHERS: A live comedy recording event featuring Jerm

Leathers. Sat, 11/4, 8pm. $10. Gnarly Deli.

Theater THE BEST OF BROADWAY: The Paradise Symphony Orchestra players team up with vocalists/actors from California Regional Theatre for a night of Broadway classics. Sat, 11/4, 7:30pm. $15-$30. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunneley Road, Paradise. paradiseperformingarts.com

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW: See Nov. 2. Sat, 11/4, 7:30pm. $20-$25. Oroville State Theatre, 1489 Myers St., Oroville. birdcagetheatre.org

Music AROUND THE WORLD AND BACK: Chico State Wind Ensemble presents music from all over the world. Sat, 11/4, 7:30pm. $6-$18. Harlen Adams Theatre, Chico State, PAC 144. 530898-6333. www.csuchico.edu/hfa

JONATHAN SCALES FOURQUESTRA & TERRAPIN FLYER: A night of steel drum grooves and Dead Jams with Jonathan Scales Fourquestra and, one more time, Terrapin Flyer. Sat, 11/4, 8pm. $20. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. 530-354-5028.

PINK HOUSE: Local alt-rockers show up for Autism Awareness and Suicide Prevention. Sat, 11/4, 5:30pm. The Barn at Meriam Park, 1930 Market Place. meriampark.com

THE RUGS & THE SIRENS: Local chill-rock faves, The Rugs reunite at the Goose. Plus, The Sirens, featuring Katrina Rodriguez, Aubrey Debauchery and Lisa Lee. Sat, 11/4, 8pm. $10.

Winchester Goose, 824 Oroville Ave.

WALK ON BLVD: Live music. Sat, 11/4, 8pm. $7.

Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste. 100. 530-809-5616.

SUN5 Special Events AN EVENING WITH DAVID SEDARIS: Last year, writer/humorist released his latest collection of essays, Happy-Go-Lucky, and Chico Performances is bringing him back to the Laxson stage. Sun, 11/5, 7:30pm. $38-$58.

Laxson Auditorium, Chico State. 530-8986333. chicoperformances.com

DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATION: A community altar, plus food, music, folklorico dancers, art and more. Sun, 11/5, 12pm. City Plaza, downtown Chico

DON’T FALL FOR SPRAWL: A fundraiser for opponents of the March 5 Valley’s Edge. referendum in Chico. Featuring: Aubrey Debauchery, Black Fong and Dylan’s Dharma. Sun, 11/5, 6pm. $20. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St. eventbrite.com

Theater THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW: See Nov. 2. Sun, 11/5, 2pm. $20-$25. Oroville State Theatre, 1489 Myers St., Oroville. birdcagetheatre.org

Music ANOTHER MELLOW JUNE: New alt-pop duo live. Sun, 11/5, 3pm. Free. Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

VOCAB SLICK, TRUE JUSTICE & DELA THE FELLA: Hip-hop night, with three Bay Area

IS YOUR EVENT LIVE?

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

artists, plus locals Calvin Black and Hap Hathaway. Sun, 11/5, 8pm. $5-$10. Gnarly Deli.

TUE7 Music A MUSICAL BUFFET: The Chico State Concert Band and Jazz Too ensemble present compositions both in the classical and jazz genres. Tue, 11/7, 7:30pm. Free. Harlen Adams Theatre, Chico State, PAC 144. 530898-5351. www,csuchico.edu/hfa

TRAPT: JMax Productions brings the Bay Area Nu Metal crew to Lost. Tue, 11/7, 8pm. $20. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

WED8 Theater BLITHE SPIRIT: Chico State theater students perform the Noel Coward comedy about a man haunted by the ghost of his late

wife. Wed, 11/8, 7:30pm. $8-$20. Wismer Theatre (PAC 135), Chico State. 530-8986333. www.csuchico.edu/mtad

Music LEVEL, VOYEUR, SEDITION, EXPOSURE THERAPY: Night one of the four-night, all-local-band fundraising fest for Naked Lounge. Wed, 11/8, 7pm. $10. Naked Lounge, 118 W. Second St.

THU9

THE FED UPS, PRETTY PILLS, OTIS BOG PEOPLE, SQUIDGRRL: Night two of the four-night, all-local-band fundraising fest for Naked Lounge. Thu, 11/9, 7pm. $10. Naked Lounge, 118 W. Second St.

TERRAPIN FLYER Nov. 3 & 4 Lost on Main

MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND: The percussionheavy musical circus from Portland hits the Big Room for a two-night stand. Thu, 11/9, 7pm. $25. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 E. 20th St. sierranevada.com

REGGAE THURSDAYS: Weekly reggae night with DJs Ted Shred and O’Snap. Thu, 11/9, 10pm. $5.

Winchester Goose, 800 Broadway St.

Theater BLITHE SPIRIT: See Nov. 8. Thu, 11/9, 7:30pm. $8-$20. Wismer Theatre (PAC 135), Chico State. 530-898-6333. www.csuchico. edu/mtad

FRI10 Special Events BOB’S COMEDY SHOW: Bob hosts with visit-

Music BUILT TO SPILL: Indie guitar legends from Boise on tour in support of their latest album, When the Wind Forgets Your Name. Thu, 11/9, 8pm. $23. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

ing comics Jeremiah Coughlan (Portland) and Tyler Cantu (Penn Valley), plus locals Samantha Luger and Betty Burns. Fri, 11/10, 7pm. $14. Gnarly Deli.

Theater BLITHE SPIRIT: See Nov. 8. Fri, 11/10, 7:30pm. $8-$20. Wismer Theatre (PAC 135), Chico State. 530-898-6333. www.csuchico. edu/mtad

FRESH INK 2023: It’s a local theater tradition,

EDITOR’S PICK

KEEP THE CHANDELIERS ON

the Blue Room’s annual one-act experiment wherein four writers get one week to write plays to a theme and actors and director get another week to rehearse. Contact for times and ticket info. Fri, 11/10. Blue Room Theatre, 1005 W. First St. blueroom@ blueroomtheatre.com

Music DUFFY’S HAPPY HOUR: The Pub Scouts bring

traditional Irish music weekly to Duffy’s. Fri, 11/10, 5pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St. 530-343-7718.

THE FED UPS, PRETTY PILLS, OTIS BOG PEOPLE, SQUIDGRRL: Night three of the four-night, all-local-band fundraising fest for Naked Lounge. Fri, 11/10, 7pm. $10. Naked Lounge, 118 W. Second St.

JACKNIFE: Australian Dub-step producer is joined by Ashton and more. Fri, 11/10, 8pm. $15-$25. El Rey Theater, 230 W. Second St. elreychico.com

JARED HORVIS: Nor-Cal raised, Nashville-based country singer/songwriter at The Box. Fri, 11/10, 9pm. $15. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave. eventbrite.com

LAURIE LEWIS DUO: Chico Concerts brings the

PHOTO BY MICHELLE CAMY

The post-pandemic reality for many downtown spots is that business is not booming, especially during times of the year when students are gone and activity dies down. To offset the hit the club took during a rough summer, the Naked Lounge is hosting a string of fundraisers, four bands a night for four nights, Nov. 8-11. The eclectic, all-ages spot hosts touring bands of all stripes, but it’s the locals that are showing out for the beloved venue: Level, Voyeur, Sedition, Exposure Therapy (Nov. 8); The Fed Ups, Pretty Pills, Otis Bog People, Squidgrrl (Nov. 9); Not the Same, Pris Bros, Phantom Falls, Furlough Fridays (Nov. 10); Cold Blue Mountain (pictured), Lish Bills, Booked By Mistake, Chico Common Collective (Nov. 11).

bluegrass legend to the Women’s Club.

George Guthrie opens. Fri, 11/10, 7pm. $20.

Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St. eventbrite.com

MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND: The percussionheavy musical circus from Portland hits the Big Room for a two-night stand. Fri, 11/10, 7pm. $25. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 E. 20th St. sierranevada.com

THE PARTY FROM THE SOUTH TOUR: Country-rap party with The Lacs, Justin Champagne and Dustin Spears. Fri, 11/10, 8pm. $25. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

THE ROCK HOUNDS: Live classic rock. Fri, 11/10, 4:30pm. The Barn at Meriam Park, 1930 Market Place. meriampark.com

RUBE AND THE RHYTHM ROCKERS: Live local blues. Fri, 11/10, 7pm. $5. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste. 100.

(530) 809-5616.

THE TAYLOR PARTY: The original Taylor Swiftinspired dance party. Sat, 11/11, 8pm. $15. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

SAT11

SUN12

Special Events

Theater

COMEDY ON TAP: Funnyball presents visiting comic Myles Weber. Sat, 11/11, 7pm. $25.

Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120. contact.simpletix.com

FARM TO TABLE GALA: Butte County Local Food Network and Butte Environmental Council hosts a six-course duck dinner, with locally sourced ingrients. Plus, live music. Sat, 11/11, 5pm. $75. Arc Pavilion, 2040 Park Ave. 530228-1308. bclocalfood.org

PROFESSIONAL BOXING: Fisticuffs Production presents live boxing. Sat, 11/11, 7pm. $50.

Gold Country Casino & Hotel, 4020 Olive Highway, Oroville. (800) 334-9400. etix.com

Theater BLITHE SPIRIT: See Nov. 8. Sat, 11/11, 2pm. $8-$20.

Wismer Theatre (PAC 135), Chico State. 530898-6333. www.csuchico.edu/mtad

FRESH INK 2023: See Nov. 10. Sat, 11/11. Blue Room Theatre, 1005 W. First St. blueroom@ blueroomtheatre.com

Music CHICO LATIN ORQUESTA: Live local music. Sat, 11/11, 8pm. $15. Mulberry Station Brewing Company, 175 E. 20th St., Ste. 100. 530-809-5616.

COLD BLUE MOUNTAIN, LISH BILLS, BOOKED BY MISTAKE, CHICO COMMON COLLECTIVE: Night four of the four-night, all-local-band fundraising fest for Naked Lounge. Sat, 11/11, 7pm. $10.

Naked Lounge, 118 W. Second St.

JELLY BREAD AND THA EXCHANGE: Funky Reno crews light up the dance floor. Sat, 11/11, 8pm. $15. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. 530-354-5028.

BLITHE SPIRIT: See Nov. 8. Sun, 11/12, 2pm. $8-$20.

Wismer Theatre (PAC 135), Chico State. 530898-6333. www.csuchico.edu/mtad

Music SUGAR PINE: A live mix of original and classic Americana. Sun, 11/12, 3pm. Free. Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

THU16 Music FRANK RAY: Texas singer/songwriter brings his modern take on Latino country music to The Box. Presented by JMax Productions. Thu, 11/16, 8:30pm. $20. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave. jmaxproductions.net

REGGAE THURSDAYS: Weekly reggae night with DJs Ted Shred and O’Snap. Thu, 11/16, 10pm. $5.

Winchester Goose, 800 Broadway St.

THE WIND-UPS LP RELEASE: The Wind-Ups release their new LP, Happy Like This, at Duffs.

Sunny Acres and Infinite Kamikaze join the party. Thu, 11/16, 8:30pm. $10. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St.

FRI17 Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: The musical version of

EVENTS C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 0 NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

19

Events

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 9

DAVID SEDARIS Nov. 5

Laxson Auditorium

TRIPLE THREAT TOUR: EDM night with DJs/producers Point.Blank, Dr. Ushûu, KILL FEED. Sat, 11/18, 8pm. $20. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

SUN19 Special Events CHRISTMAS PREVIEW: Downtown merchants kick off the holiday season by closing off the streets to traffic and rolling out the decorations, entertainment and their latest wares. Sun, 11/19, 4-8pm. Downtown Chico.

(530) 345-6500. downtownchico.com

COMEDY AT THE STATION: Weekly comedy night hosted by Jacob McClain Sun, 11/19, 8pm. $5.

Mulberry Station Brewing Co, 175 E. 20th St.

Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Sun, 11/19, 2pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

Music BENNY BASSETT: A live fusion of alt-rock and folk. Sun, 11/19, 3pm. Free. Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

the classic holiday story about Ralphie and his quest for a genuine Red Ryder BB gun. Fri, 11/17, 7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

FRESH INK 2023: See Nov. 10. Fri, 11/17. Blue Room Theatre, 1005 W. First St. blueroom@ blueroomtheatre.com

Music DUFFY’S HAPPY HOUR: The Pub Scouts bring

traditional Irish music weekly to Duffy’s. Fri, 11/17, 5pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St. 530-343-7718.

DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY ONES: Chico Concerts brings one of the legendary Blasters brothers and his current band to the Women’s Club. Fri, 11/17, 6:30pm. $40-$45. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St. eventbrite.com

SHREK RAVE: “It’s dumb, just come have fun.” Fri, 11/17, 9pm. $15. Senator Theatre, 517 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

SAT18 A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Sat, 11/18, 7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

FRESH INK 2023: See Nov. 10. Sat, 11/18. Blue Room Theatre, 1005 W. First St. blueroom@ blueroomtheatre.com

Music CHAYCE BECKHAM: The country superstar visits Oroville. Sat, 11/18, 8pm. $29-$59. Gold Country Casino & Hotel, 4020 Olive Highway, Oroville. (800) 334-9400. etix.com

OBJECT HEAVY & BLU EGYPTIAN: Hard-hitting Nor-Cal soul crew Object Heavy joins Chico’s young jammers Blu Egyption for a downtown dance party. Sat, 11/18, 8pm. $15. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. 530-354-5028.

CN&R

Special Events RUN FOR FOOD: Annual Thanksgiving day 5K to raise money for the Jesus Center. Thu, 11/23, 9am. $25-$45. Lower Bidwell Park. runforfood.com

FRI24 Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Fri, 11/24,

GLORIOUS SOUNDS OF THE SEASON Dec. 2 & 3

Harlen Adams Theatre Chico State

Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

MARCHFOURTH MARCHING BAND

Music

Nov. 9 & 10

DUFFY’S HAPPY HOUR: The Pub Scouts bring

traditional Irish music weekly to Duffy’s. Fri, 11/24, 5pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St.

Sierra Nevada Big Room

SUN26 Special Events APPLE CIDER DAY: TurkeyTail Farm, Moon Medicinals ad Lassen Cidery present a harvest celebration pop-up event with 20-plus local vendors, food trucks, kids activities and cider tastings. Live music by Cool Breeze. Sun, 11/26, 11am. Lassen Traditional Cidery, 643 Entler Ave., Ste. 52. 530-591-0198.

Music CANA ROAD BAND: Live music. Sun, 11/26, 3pm.

Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Sat, 11/26, 2pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

TUE28 Music A CELTIC CHRISTMAS: Irish Tenor Emmet Cahill returns to the states to perform hymns and other Irish classics. Tue, 11/28, 7pm. $35-$50.

Bidwell Presbyterian Church, 208 W. First St. emmetcahilltours.ticketleap.com

THU30 Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Thu, 11/30, 7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

A DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS CHRISTMAS: It’s Christmastime in the newest and tiniest town in Texas, and it’s beginning to look a lot like trouble in Doublewide. Thu, 11/30, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. (530) 877-5760. totr.org

Music DIRTWIRE: JMax Productions presents the “swamptronica” duo coming through town on their Four Directions Tour, with Amber Lily. Thu, 11/30, 9pm. $25. Lost on Main, 319 Main St. jmaxproductions.net

REGGAE THURSDAYS: Weekly reggae night with DJs Ted Shred and O’Snap. Thu, 11/30, 10pm. $5. Winchester Goose, 800 Broadway St.

SWEET N’ JUICY: Sweet N’ Juicy is a band of fruit playing party music. Thu, 11/30, 6pm. Free.

Secret Trail Brewing Company, 132 Meyers St., Ste. 120.

FRI1 Special Events

Theater

20

THU23

7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING: City Plaza will be filled with ice skaters as the tree is lit, Santa arrives and the Sounds of the Valley chorus sings the classics. Fri, 12/1, 6pm. Free. City Plaza, downtown Chico. (530) 345-6500. downtownchico.com

Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Fri, 12/1, 7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

A DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS CHRISTMAS: See Nov. 30. Fri, 12/1, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. (530) 877-5760. totr.org

Music DUFFY’S HAPPY HOUR: The Pub Scouts bring

traditional Irish music weekly to Duffy’s. Fri,

12/1, 5pm. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St. INFUZED: Sacramento-based cover band. Fri, 12/1, 8pm. Tackle Box, 379 E. Park Ave.

SAT2 Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Sat, 12/2, 7:30pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

A DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS CHRISTMAS: See Nov. 30. Sat, 12/2, 7:30pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. (530) 8775760. totr.org

Music GLORIOUS SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: Chico State Music and Theatre Department’s annual holiday kaleidoscope, with performances all over the theater space by various ensembles, bands, soloists, readers and the choir. Sat, 12/2, 2pm & 7:30pm. $20. Harlen Adams Theatre, Chico State, PAC 144. 530898-6333. www.csuchico.edu/hfa

SUN3 Theater A CHRISTMAS STORY: See Nov. 17. Sun, 12/2, 2pm. $20-$22. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotheater.com

A DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS CHRISTMAS: See Nov. 30. Sun, 12/3, 2pm. $18. Theatre on the Ridge, 3735 Neal Road, Paradise. (530) 877-5760. totr.org

Music GLORIOUS SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: See Dec. 2. Sun, 12/3, 7:30pm. $20. Harlen Adams Theatre, Chico State, PAC 144. 530-898-6333. www. csuchico.edu/hfa

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

21

CHOW

Burger surprise New spot is cooking, and baking, something fresh for the downtown scene

Tent“multiple discovery,” which describes how differpeoples—though separated by oceans, continents here is an interesting phenomena known as

and thousands of miles—tend to stumble upon the same, groundbreaking advancements independently of one another: things story and like fire, the wheel, and the bow and photos by arrow.

Ken Smith Perhaps the greatest of these kens@ newsrev iew.c om universal human discoveries is that when you stuff a bunch of things that taste good together inside of someBun Burger thing doughy and bake it, the whole 230 W. Third St. is more delicious than the sum of its 530-399-3992 parts. From potstickers to pierogis, buntheburger.com Cornish pasties to pupusas, and pizza pockets to pigs-in-a-blanket, most cultures’ cuisines include some sort of savory, globally popular, pie-like entree.

Now a Kurdish-American family—inspired by an Italian(ish) re-engineering of an American culinary standby—is hoping that Chico diners will find their new application of this age-old concept tasty and novel. They opened Bun Burger—which serves as both the restaurant’s name and an apt description of its signature menu item—at the beginning of October in the Third Street space formerly occupied by Momona.

Bun Burger’s titular entrees are single or double burgers paired with selected toppings (choices include cheese, bacon and jalapenos, eggplant, mushrooms and tomatoes) which are first grilled and then sealed with

the flame-broiled meat into a hollow bun and baked. The breaded portion of the bun becomes a thin, soft crust to the toppings’ tasty mantle and meaty core. Suat Dasdemir, who operates the restaurant with his wife Kim and his brother Nasir, said he was inspired to make them by a YouTube chef who called his creations “calzone burgers.

During a recent visit to the clean, airy and sparklingly reappointed eatery, Suat said he and his family members had been looking to start a new restaurant since their San Jose-based auto detailing business closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and dreamed of opening a restaurant despite having no experience in the food industry.

He shared the calzone burger video with Nasir and asked him, “Are you down to get into this?” Nasir said yes, and he now oversees the kitchen while Suat greets and charms new customers at the front end. Kim is in charge of the restaurant’s marketing, which is so slick one might guess Bun Burger is an existing franchise. Suat says turning it into a family-owned chain is their long-term dream, but the restaurant is one-of-a-kind.

Suat said some people questioned their sanity: “They said, ‘You’re crazy!

You have no experience and there are already a lot of burger restaurants.’ But we didn’t listen and we didn’t let it discourage us. If out of ten people nine say you are going in the wrong direction, then perhaps it is the right way. You have to go against the herd!”

He also said that, though burgerbased and social media-inspired, the restaurant’s creations are something Brothers and partners in their new burger business, (from left) Suat and Nasir Dasdemir.

22

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

The Ultimate Double Bun Burger at Bun Burger (pictured at left with chicken strips, cole slaw and fries).

entirely different and original. The family experimented with several recipes, which were then fine-tuned by a chef with decades of experience, whom they hired to help them run the place.

Thusfar, Suat’s assertion that “Sometimes

it takes crazy people to get good something done!” appears to be paying off. My dining partner and I visited the restaurant on a recent Friday night to find the Dasdemirs doing brisk business. It was before our meeting and before they knew I was there in an officious capacity, but both brothers were exceptionally attentive, welcoming and obviously excited about their new venture.

Wanting to maximize my experience and taste as many of their signature flavors as possible, I ordered an Ultimate Double Bun Burger with a slew of different sauces on the side. It came as a meal with an exceptional side of fries and some cole slaw for $21.50.

My companion had the chicken tender meal—deep fried chicken strips with the same sides ($15).

For dessert, we shared and order of “semolina delight,” a warm, sweet, cookie dough-like treat popular in the Middle East.

The food was excellent. It takes a little longer to prepare because of the baking process, but this was to be expected. And the restaurant’s comfortable décor was a cut above your average burger joint, making it a decent destination for a casual date night.

There were a few rough edges that can be chalked up to the restaurant’s recent opening and the owners’ developing experience: my date’s chicken tenders were slightly overdone and a juice machine stood empty but at-the-ready, leaving soda and water as the only drink options. Though a fork was provided for the coleslaw a knife was not, so Nasir had to cut open my bun for me … not a big deal, but I feel like slicing into a Bun Burger, seeing and feeling the texture as steam pours from the golden bun and its yummy insides are revealed, must be a satisfying and unique experience in itself.

None of this dampened our enjoyment of the meal or the setting, and the Dasdemires’ sense of hospitality is impeccable. Nor did it my dampen desire to return—soon—for another Bun Burger. Ω

We need you Your support will help us continue reporting on important issues

We need your support Help us continue reporting on important issues The Chico News & Review wants to ensure that our team of dedicated journalists can continue working through one of the worst economic and health crises of the past century.

With your recurring or one-time contribution, the CN&R can continue our award-winning coverage on the topics that impact the residents of Butte County, including COVID-19, the arts, homelessness, the fight for equality, and wildfire recovery and prevention.

You can make a donation Online at: chico.newsreview.com/support Or mail a check to: Chico News & Review P.O. Box 56, Chico, CA 95927 (Please include return address and email, and do not send cash.)

With your recurring or one-time contribution, the Chico News & Review can continue our award-winning coverage on the topics that impact the residents of Butte County, including homelessness, the arts, the fight for equality, and the environment.

You can make a donation Online at: chico.newsreview.com/support Or mail a check to: Chico News & Review P.O. Box 56 Chico, CA 95927 (Please include return address, email address, and do not send cash.)

Thank you from your local, alternative newsroom.

Thank you from your local, alternative newsroom.

Independent local journalism, since 1977.

Now more than ever.

Independent local journalism, since 1977.

Now more than ever.

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

23

MUSIC

‘As rocking as possible’ Built to Spill touring with ‘most high-energy version of the band’ ever

W line-up of Built To Spill toward the end of 2019, he certainly couldn’t have hen Doug Martsch put together a new

predicted that it would take them almost two years to play an actual show together. by “The timing David James Young couldn’t have been worse,” the band’s d av idjames founder and leader yo un g.c om says, speaking from his home in Boise.

“We rehearsed for a Preview: JMax Productions couple of weeks, we presents: were weeks away from Built to Spill hitting the road … and Nov. 9, 8 p.m. then everything just Tickets: $23 shut down. (ticketweb.com) “Needless to say, Senator Theatre we couldn’t wait to get 517 Main St. back out there—basijmaxproductions.net cally as soon as we were vaccinated, we started playing like crazy.”

Joining Martsch in the current iteration of Built To Spill are Blood Lemon bassist Melanie Radford and Prism Bitch drummer Teresa Esguerra, who have firmly cemented themselves within the fold after their initial false start. Martsch speaks in high praise of their abilities as musicians and performers, and in turn what they’ve brought out of him when the three are onstage together.

“This is definitely the most high-ener-

24

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

ful that the trio will be able to focus on new gy version of the band that’s ever been,” he says. “They’re such great players, and they’re material together once their current touring regime has subsided, but is currently worksuch sweet people as well. I can’t tell you ing with a nearly empty cupboard. “There how much fun it is to just be around them. is a grand total of one new song that we’ve “People really dig them when they’re worked on,” Martsch says laughing. playing, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a “Even then, it’s lot of good energy only something there.” that we’ve had It’s been a time to put a little year since the bit of effort into. I release of the haven’t even been ninth Built To writing songs Spill album, too much lately When The Wind at all, so the Forgets Your thought of going Name (on Sub in to record again Pop Records). honestly hasn’t Due to multiple even crossed my COVID-related mind. delays, it came out “The touring quite some time has really been after it was origiour main focus nally recorded— for awhile now, which means that so any songs neither Radford nor that we’ve Esguerra played been working on it. on as a trio Martsch is hopeBuilt to Spill – When the Wind Forgets Your Name (2022)

Built to Spill: (from left) Teresa Esguerra, Doug Martsch and Melanie Radford.

PHOTO BY ISABELA GEORGETTI (COURTESY OF SUB POP RECORDS)

have been old ones that we’re learning—or re-learning, in my case.”

Martsch notes that there are approximately 45 songs in the arsenal at any given time when it comes to a Built To Spill live show—and given they’re playing 15 songs a night on average, that means a real mixed bag could come across any particular evening in the band’s company.

“The liberating thing is that we’re a band that don’t really have any hits, per se,” Martsch comments. “Our focus is creating a set of songs that feel the best to play live, and that the kind of people who come to our shows would like to hear. So, that gets factored in alongside the others making suggestions about what songs they’d like to play themselves. It has to be fun for the three of us, first and foremost.

“I also try and keep an eye on the pacing of the show, too. We have plenty of good songs, but some are just a bit too mid-tempo. I want to keep the show as rocking as possible.”

This article was originally published by Scenestr magazine at scenestr.au. Ω

REEL WORLD

Bite-size cinema

Wes Anderson has adapted four Roald Dahl stories—including “The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar (above) and “The Rat Catcher” (below).

but Anderson’s mixture of unconventional style and direct contact with the language of Dahl’s texts again makes for a richly rewarding kind of movie experience.

In “Poison,” for example, Patel serves as onscreen narrator at the same time that he’s playing and speaking the part of the assistant.

Ayoade serves similarly in “The Rat Catcher.” In “The Swan,” the onscreen narrator (Friend) announces that he is the adult that the small boy in the story later became, and he shares screen time with the boy (Asa Jennings), who participates but never speaks. The bullies in that story are vividly described and heard from (via the narrator), but never seen.

Fiennes is superb throughout—he plays Roald Dahl as on-screen narrator and commentator in three of the stories and is especially sharp as the eponymous rat catcher. Cumberbatch is a very evocative presence in “Henry Sugar” and, rather differently, in “Poison.” And Kingsley works small, prickly wonders as the doctor in “Poison” and is perfectly, eerily credible as Imdad Khan, “The Man Who Could See Without His Eyes.” All five of the series’ stars, by the way, have dual Ω roles in “Henry Sugar.”

CN&R film critic streams short films

W films with marathon running times—e.g. Oppenheimer (180 ith all due respect to major

minutes), or Killers of the Flower Moon (206 minutes), quite a lot of recent by Juan-Carlos viewing pleasure Selznick at the Stream & Dream Lounge has come in the form of film shorts, all of them running less than an hour, some running less than 15 minutes.

That includes very contemporary stuff like Wes Anderson’s adaptations of four Roald Dahl stories on Netflix, and the brilliantly restored films in the collection, Early Short Films of the French New Wave, from Icarus Films. There are other classic

Nouvelle Vague shorts on The Criterion Channel, and You Tube browsings have brought me to a new appreciation of the much-maligned Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle as both actor and director. You Tube has also yielded up an early Our Gang comedy, a silent short from 1925, that strikes me as a flat-out masterpiece.

Anderson’s collection of Dahl stories includes “The Swan,” in which a small, very smart young boy is tormented by two brutish bullies, and “Poison,” in which an Englishman (Benedict Cumberbatch) in India finds a poisonous snake sleeping on his stomach, and his assistant (Dev Patel) and the local doctor (Ben Kingsley) work frantically to res-

cue him. In “The Rat Catcher,” a village reporter (Richard Ayoade) and a mechanic (Rupert Friend) listen to an eccentric rat catcher (Ralph Fiennes) explaining the intricacies and mental nuances of his profession. In “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” the 29-minute centerpiece of the series, a super-wealthy Englishman (Cumberbatch) becomes obsessed with learning, and putting into practice, the secrets of a circus performer billed as “The Man Who Sees Without Using His Eyes” (Kingsley).

Anderson brings frisky stylistics and freewheeling intellect to all four stories. Each of them has elements of horror and fantasy,

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

25

ARTS DEVO

by JASON CASSIDY • jasonc@newsreview.com

SHE IS A SHOWGIRL Over the past few

years, Lola Yang has quietly become one of the busier artists in Chico. She’s had two solo exhibits of paintings on the walls of the Naked Lounge, and in lateOctober, a new show—There are Many

Possible Futures x Conduit x The Spirit of Truth—opened at the 1078 Gallery.

The current one is a departure from the previous two as her expressive two-dimensional works aren’t the focus this time. For this installation, Lola is the art. The exhibit opened Oct. 27, and kicked off 24 nights of “performance centered around the themes of ritual, chance, and repetition.” Every night through Nov. 19—starting at 7:06 p.m.—Yang has invited visitors to Lola “come see me as I am.”

The move to performance-based works isn’t really a departure for Yang. It’s actually more of a return to her roots. My first exposure to her work was an impressive acro-yoga/dance act she was part of at the 2016 Keep Chico Weird talent show (produced by the CN&R) at the old El Rey Theatre. And over the years she’s danced in everything from local large-scale ballet productions to the various wild art happenings of the Uncle Dad’s Art Collective.

By the time this paper hits the street, you’ll still have 18 more chances to get out and witness some of her brand new art on any given night. Or go big, experience 18 new works! There’s something fresh being created every day.

THE MAN Speaking of busy local artists in-

volved in a wide range of projects, local booker, bandleader, sideman, merch dude, songwriter, promoter and all-around-rock-’n’-roll badass Jake Sprecher has just dropped something brand new in to the world: Happy Like This, the latest album for his punky power-pop project, The Wind-Ups. As it says so perfectly in the description by his record label, Mt. St. Mtn., Sprecher is “still slamming 1/4-inch tape into the red, you’ll hear The Wind-Ups, Happy Like This many-a blistering hook.” The Man sang, played all the instruments and recorded the album of 11 gloriously fuzzedout, tuneful, throwback-garage-punk tracks in his home studio.

Hear the noise live at the release show for the album (streaming everywhere now and available on orange vinyl at mtstmtn. com and thewind-ups.bandcamp.com) at Duffy’s Tavern Nov. 16, starting at 8:30 p.m. Sunny Acres and Infinite Kamikaze join the party.

THE BEAM WILL KEEP ME WARM Arts DEVO is a long-day/sum-

mer/sunshine kinda guy, so you can imagine how much I’m dreading the clocks turning back Nov. 5, and the sun setting at the ridiculous time of 4:59 p.m., and walking my dog in the park with a flashlight. I really believe that one of the reasons I became a huge fan of basketball at a young age is to keep me from losing it during the dark months.

The Sacramento Kings just kicked off their season and I am stoked and very optimistic that Fox, Sabonis, Murray, Coach Brown and crew will be able to build off last year’s success.

Light the beam, already! It’s dark out here!

26

CN&R

NOVEMBER 2, 2023

Game-day banner.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY FOR thE wEEk OF NOVEMBER 2, 2023 ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Our bodies

sometimes serve as the symbolic ground where order and disorder fight for supremacy,” writes storyteller Caroline Kettlewell.

Here’s good news, Aries: For you, order will triumph over disorder in the coming weeks.

In part through your willpower and in part through life’s grace, you will tame the forces of chaos and enjoy a phase when most everything makes sense. I don’t mean you will have zero problems, but I suspect you will have an enhanced power to solve problems. Your mind and heart will coordinate their efforts with exceptional flair.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I recently

endured a three-hour root canal. Terrible and unfortunate, right? No! Because it brought profound joy. The endodontist gave me nitrous oxide, and the resulting euphoria unleashed a wild epiphany. For the duration of the surgery, I had vivid visions of all the people in my life who love me. I felt their care.

I was overwhelmed with the kindness they felt for me. Never before had I been blessed with such a blissful gift. Now, in accordance with your astrological omens, I invite you to induce a similar experience—no nitrous oxide needed. It’s a perfect time to meditate on how well you are appreciated and needed and cherished.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Unless you are very unusual, you don’t sew your clothes or grow your food. You didn’t build your house, make your furniture, or forge your cooking utensils. Like most of us, you know little about how water and electricity arrive for your use. Do you have any notion of what your grandparents were doing when they were your age? Have you said a prayer of gratitude recently for the people who have given you so much? I don’t mean to put you on the spot with my questions, Gemini. I’m merely hoping to inspire you to get into closer connection with everything that nourishes and sustains you. Honor the sources of your energy. Pay homage to your foundations.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian

singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega has had a modest but sustained career. With nine albums, she has sold over three million records, but is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She has said, “I always thought that if I were popular, I must be doing something wrong.”

I interpret that to mean she has sought to remain faithful to her idiosyncratic creativity and not pay homage to formulaic success. But here’s the good news for you in the coming months, fellow Cancerian: You can be more appreciated than ever before simply by being true to your soul’s inclinations and urges.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Everything in the

world has a hidden meaning,” wrote Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis. Did he really mean everything? Your dream last night, your taste in shoes, your favorite TV show, the way you laugh? As a fun experiment, let’s say that yes, everything has a hidden meaning. Let’s also hypothesize that the current astrological omens suggest you now have a special talent for discerning veiled and camouflaged truths.

We will further propose that you have an extraordinary power to penetrate beyond surface appearances and home in on previously unknown and invisible realities. Do you have the courage and determination to go deeper than you have ever dared? I believe you do.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): How many

glowworms would have to gather in one location to make a light as bright as the sun?

Probably over a trillion. And how many ants would be required to carry away a 15-pound basket of food? I’m guessing over 90,000.

Luckily for you, the cumulative small efforts you need to perform so as to accomplish big breakthroughs won’t be nearly that high a number. For instance, you may be able to take a quantum leap after just six baby steps.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the 17th cen-

tury, John Milton wrote a long narrative poem titled Paradise Lost. I’ve never read it and am

By ROB BREzsNy conflicted about the prospect of doing so. On one hand, I feel I should engage with a work that has had such a potent influence on Western philosophy and literature. On the other hand, I’m barely interested in Milton’s story, which includes boring conversations between God and Satan and the dreary tale of how God cruelly exiled humans from paradise because the first man, Adam, was mildly rebellious.

So what should I do? I’ve decided to read the Cliffs Notes study guide about Paradise Lost, a brief summary of the story. In accordance with astrological omens, I suggest you call on similar shortcuts, Libra. Here’s your motto: if you can’t do the completely right thing, try the partially right thing.

LET US

TELL YOUR STORY Do you need a credible way to get information out there?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Who would

have guessed that elephants can play the drums really well? On a trip to Thailand, Scorpio musician Dave Soldier discovered that if given sticks and drums, some elephants kept a steadier beat than humans. A few were so talented that Soldier recorded their rhythms and played them for a music critic who couldn’t tell they were created by animals. In accordance with astrological omens, I propose that you Scorpios seek out comparable amazements. You now have the potential to make unprecedented discoveries.

Do you have a complex story that needs to be told?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Sagittarian novelist Shirley Jackson wrote, “No live organism can continue for long to exist under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids dream.” Since she wrote that, scientists have gathered evidence that almost all animals dream and that dreaming originated at least 300 million years ago. With that as our inspiration and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you to enjoy an intense period of tapping into your dreams. To do so will help you escape from absolute reality. It will also improve your physical and mental health and give you unexpected clues about how to solve problems.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capri-

corn writer Kahlil Gibran believed an essential human longing is to be revealed. We all want the light in us to be taken out of its hiding place and shown. If his idea is true about you, you will experience major cascades of gratification in the coming months. I believe you will be extra expressive. And you will encounter more people than ever before who are interested in knowing what you have to express.

To prepare for the probable breakthroughs, investigate whether you harbor any fears or inhibitions about being revealed—and dissolve them.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): November

is Build Up Your Confidence Month. In the coming weeks, you are authorized to snag easy victories as you steadily bolster your courage to seek bigger, bolder triumphs. As much as possible, put yourself in the vicinity of people who respect you and like you. If you suspect you have secret admirers, encourage them to be less secretive. Do you have plaques, medals, or trophies? Display them prominently.

Or visit a trophy store and have new awards made for you to commemorate your unique skills—like thinking wild thoughts, pulling off one-of-a-kind adventures, and inspiring your friends to rebel against their habits.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I’m glad we

have an abundance of teachers helping us learn how to be here now—to focus on the present moment with gratitude and grace. I love the fact that books on the art of mindfulness are now almost as common as books about cats and cooking. Yay! But I also want to advocate for the importance of letting our minds wander freely. We need to celebrate the value and power of NOT always being narrowly zeroed in on the here and now. We can’t make intelligent decisions unless we ruminate about what has happened in the past and what might occur in the future. Meandering around in fantasyland is key to discovering new insights. Imaginative ruminating is central to the creative process. Now please give your mind the privilege of wandering far and wide in the coming weeks, Pisces.

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.

We create custom newsprint publications featuring real people in your community.

Our custom publications have helped • Create social change • Elevate awareness • Simplify complex issues • Influence legislators

• Increase enrollments • Raise dollars • Reach remote audiences

P U B L I C AT I O N S

Contact us today for a consultation!

916.498.1234 | ext. 729 | www.nrpubs.com | pubs@newsreview.com NOVEMBER 2, 2023

CN&R

27

The following individuals stepped up to support independent journalism.

We are so grateful for your support.

Laurie Aaron Joseph Acciaioli Maria Aguilar Kim Agur Karen Aikin Kanji Aiso Ron Aker Glenna Akers Robert Alber Lory C Allan Emily Alma Jeanette Alosi Karen Altier Pilar Alvarez Lance Anderson Davy Andrek Jean Andrews Barbara Andrews David & Lori Angel Ronald Angle Karen Ann Nelson Anthoine Amy Antongiovanni William & Cheryl Appleby James & Mary Aram Christina Archuleta Vicki Artzner Janet Ashley Laura Askim Wayland Augur Ted Baca Mat Bacior James Bailey Shereen Baker Karen Balestieri Antoine Baptiste Florin Barnhart Kathleen Barrera John Barrett Kathy Barrett Thomas Barrett Linda Bates Maureen Baumgartner Roger Beadle Claudia Beaty Norman Beecher Christianne Belles Daniel & Charlene Beltan Mary Kay Benson Kathy Berger Gordon Bergthold Bryan Bickley Robert Biehler John Bisignano Earline Blankinship Erica Blaschke Mark Bloom Barbara Boeger Pamela Boeger Jamie Boelter Stephen Bohnemeyer April Boone Daniel Botsford Janice Branch Michael Branton Vicky Breeden Marlene Brenden Janet Brennan Trish Briel Lindsay Briggs Gregory Brislain Diane Brobeck Dennis Broselle Caryl Brown Christopher Brown Danielle Browning Cindy & Martin Buckley Laura Burghardt Terry Burgoyne Anika Burke Barbara Burke CJ Burkett Stacey Burks John Burnham Carol Burr Robert Burton Lynne Bussey Julie Butler Philip Butler Sherry Butler William Bynum Candace Byrne

Deborah Cady Vic Cantu Michael Capelle Caroline Carey Jennifer Carey Mark Carlsten Douglas Carroll Daniel Carter Linda Cartier Jeanine Cartwright Joel Castle Elen Castleberry Delena Cavaness Lisa Ceynowa Michelle Chambers Amanda Chambless Beth Chase Randy Chase Marion Chase Susan Chin Susan & Michael Christensen A. Christodoulides Jeanne Christopherson Judy Clemens Rosemarie Colson Felecia Commesso Gail Compton Christine Connerly Justin Cooper Paralee Cooper Jack Coots Keitha Corbit Danetta Cordova Jackie Cordova Robert Cottrell Helen Coupe David Cowan Michael Coyle Roy Crabtree Susan Cragle Mary Cree Holly Creighton Joe Crispin Scott Cronk Gene & Elizabeth Currey Lisa Currier Marcel Daguerre Olivia Dakof Love Dalal Jessica Daly Nathan Daly Jude Darrin, Ph.D Mike & Marie D’Augelli Debra Daugherty Rob Davidson Jake Davis Deann Dawson Marycarol Deane Michelle Deese Marie Demers Sharon Demeyer Sanjay Dev Elizabeth Devereaux Anthony Devine Ken Devol Lechia Dickinson Jodie & Bruce Dillman Joseph Dimaggio Tim Dobbs Susan Dobra Graham Dobson Kenneth Doglio Carin Dorghalli Sophie Duckett Trudy Duisenberg Doug & Gayle Edgar Kristi Edwards Patricia Egan Phil Elkins Andrew Elliott Henry Elliott Tim Elliott Sharron Ellis Heather Ellison Richard Elsom Robyn Engel Craig & Dorcas Erickson Timothy Ervin Adele Etcheverry Sheets Tyler Evaro Nancy Evens Kathleen Faith

Annette Faurote Kathy Favor Adam Fedeli Mitzi Felix Steve Ferreira Phillip Filbrandt Elizabeth Finch Greg Fischer Clare Fisher Denise Fleming Laura Fletcher Steven Flowers Ramona Flynn Lorraine Forster Kris Foster Cheryl Foti John & Janet Fournier Gary Francis Leslie Freeland Christopher Freemyers Dan Fregin Sandra Fricker Paul Friedlander Diane Friedman Stephen Fritter Lea Gadbois Marian Gage Mark & Cynthia Gailey Francine Gair Nicolette Gamache Celeste Garcia Matthew Garcia Maureen & Michael Garcia Bill Gardner Suzanne Garrett Kenneth Gates Nalani Geary Kim Gentry Cynthia Gerrie Scott Giannini Jesica Giannola Tovey Giezentanner Sharon Gillis David & Kathy Gipson Bradley Glanville Jay Goldberg Bryce Goldstein Diana Good Nancy Good Janet Goodson Sandra Gordon Lucy & Richard Gould Judith Graves Diane Gray Jim Graydon Sean Green Stephen Green Susan Green Amy Greenfield Mikel Guill David Guzzetti Linda Haddock James & Edith Haehn Deborah Halfpenny & Dan Eyde Kim Hamberg Bonnie Hamilton Steven Hammond Matthew Hammons Laurie Handelman Linnea Hanson & Harold Carlson Richard L. Harriman Jennifer Harris Adele Harth Suki Haseman Lynn Haskell Jeannette Hassur Erik Havana Tom & Cheryl Hawk Alma Hayes Laurel Heath Ryan Heimlich Kimberly Heines Jeri Heiser Phillip Hemenway Judy Henderson Tyson Henry Christel Herda Ruben Heredia Rebecca Herring Reiner Keith Herritt Shannon Hester

Scott Hodgkinson Terrence Hoffman Debra-Lou Hoffmann Janice Hofmann Pam Hofstad Andrew Holcombe Cydney Holley Kurt & Debra Holve Lindy Hoppough Michael & Amy Hornick Leslie Howard Scott Howard John Howlett Minjhing Hsieh Dennis Huff Susan Hughes Roger & Nancy Hull Debra Humes Dr. Ralph Huntsinger David Hurst Cathy Inzer Florence Ives Kathryn Jackson Richard & Giovanna Jackson Jake Jacobson John James Jeanette Jassur Kalin Jenkins William Jennings Sarah Jensen Mary Jeppson Jennifer Jewell Tony Jewett Brian Johnson Dan Johnson Janet Johnson Jim & Mary Johnson Keith & Karen Johnson Leslie Johnson Megan Johnson Sharon Johnson George Johnston Thomas Jordan Timothy Jordan Jo Ellen Kaiser Alexandra & Ed Karacostas Mayer Robert Karch Stephen Kasprzyk Jennifer Kasza Henry & Logan Katka Dan Katz Ann Kauffman Annie Kavanagh So Keehn Beth Kelly Steve Kennedy Edith Kenny Mark Kernes Judy Keswick Elizabeth Kieszkowski Wayne Kilburn Zack Kincheloe Laurie Kincheloe Cheryl King Diana King Darlene Kirby Jeanine Kitchel Lana Kitchel Roger Klaves Ladona Knigge Marilyn Knox Bill Knudsen Lauren Kohler Larry & Maureen Krik Carol Krok John Kuhn Wendy Kuo Gary Kupp Michelle Ladcani Nicole Lagrave Judy Lambert Mark & Tomoko Lance Tom Lando Lisa Langley Steve Larned Frank Larose Denver Latimer Scott Laursen Daniel Law Evelyn Lawson Jana Lawton

Jean Lebaron Tim Leefeldt Patricia Lennon Sarah Lerda Fredrick Lester David Lewis Stephen Lewis Kate Leyden Keith Lickey D. & K. Lieberman Kim Lieberman Jeff Lindsay Anna Ling Jeffery Livingston Kenneth Logan Sally Loker Edith Lopez Howard Lucas Ed Luce Chuck Lundgren Kaelin Lundgren Tanha Luvaas Lee Lyon Don Lytle Mercedes Macías Linda MacMichael Malama MacNeil Brandon Maddox Michael Magliari V.S. Maier Vic Makau Jilly Mandeson Lisa Marin Bob Martin John Martin Kristy Martin Marilyn & Daniel Martin Stacie Martin Grace Marvin Keitha Mashaw Susan Mason Alexandra Matteucci Treva Mauch Stuart Mayer Caroline Gregory McCleary Miller Robin Mccollum Judy McCrary Paul McCreary Suzy McCreary Lisa McDaniel Olive McDonough B. Lynn McEnespy Leah McKean Brandon McKie Angela Mclaughlin Oden McMillan Robert Meads Marv Megibow Lauren Meichtry John Merz & Carole Ross Stephen Metzger Teresa Metzger Carol Meurer Richard Meyers Dave Miller Karen Miller Ryan Miller John Miller-George Shirley Mills Katie Milo V. & Silvia Milosevich Paul & Susan Minasian Peggy Mitchell Stephanie Mittman Charles Mohnike Sea Monster Ronald Morgan Abbie Moriarty Cathy Mueller Charles Mueller Katherine Murray Cynthia Muskin Richard Narad Christine Nelson Jaime Nelson Mary Nelson Charles Nelson & Paula Busch Pamela Nett-Kruger Jan Ng Gary Nielsen

Chuck Niepoth Robert Nilsen Claudie Nooner Stephanie Norlie Leah Norling Jane Oberg Jeffrey Obser Michael Oconnell Dexter O’Connell Theresa O’Connor Evan Odabashian Maria Olson Jean & Nancy Oriol Sienna Orlando-Lalaguna Karl Ory Susan Osborne John O’Shea Marie O’Sullivan Janet Owen Cecilia Pace Michael Panunto Jamie Parfrey Nancy Park Warren & Jennifer Patten Elena M. Patton Charles Peckham Betty Penland Jessica Perelman Diane Perrault Nathaniel Perry Sharon Phippen Christopher Phipps Robert Pierce Wendy Pine Pat Plumb Ann Polivka Ann & James Ponzio Anthony Porter Harold Pringer Deborah Pruitt Zoe Race Alan Raetz Daphne Raitt Sal Ramirez Peter Ratner Janet Rechtman Barbara Reed Cleo Reed Jannafer Reed John Reed Susan Reed Tom Reed Marilyn Rees Jeff Reid Rich Reiner Silona Reyman Pam & Rick Reynolds Sandi Rice George Richard Michael Richman Michael Rickard Reta Rickmers Mary Riley Ernesto Rivera Kate Roark Diane Robel Jeff Robel Jess Robel Jose Roberto William Robie Joan Robins Drusilla Robinson Eileen Robinson Sarah Rogner Susan Ronan Larry Root Casey Rose Wendy Rose Jennifer Rossovich William Rowe Suellen Rowlison Dale Rudesill Brian Rush Scott Rushing Anne Russell Stacy Russell Samuel Ruttenburg Yvonne Saavedra Rozemary Sabino-Blodget Susan Sagarese Bradley Sager Sarah Salisbury

Sheryl Sanchez Gabriel Sandoval Robert Sandstedt Christy Santos Steve Santos Grant Sautner Sarah Sautner Thomasin Saxe Stephen E. Sayre Dennis Scammon Jerry & Barbara Schacht Walter Schafer Leeann Schlaf Heather Schlaff Nancy Schleiger John Schlieper Brad Schreiber Frank Schulenburg Adrienne Scott John Scott Sherri Scott Kim Seidler Michael Seko Nancy Selby Bradley Sellers Linda Serrato Linda Sheppard Ron Sherman Diana Shuey Richard & Dana Silva Briggs Judy Simmons Ellen Simon Abbe Simpkins Regina Simpson Nowelle Sinclair Anna Skaggs Gabriella Smith Genevieve Smith Joe Smith Kristin Smith Larry Smith Lawrence Smith & Max Zachai Christina Solomon Elaine Soost Lisa & Marc Sorensen Crista Souza Roy Spaeth Patrick Spielman Heather Springer Pamela St. John Tao Stadler Alissa Stallings Roger Steel Suzanne Steel Jim Steele Bruce & Leslie Steidl Richard Stein Elizabeth Stewart Pamela Stjohn Pam Stoesser Becky & Robert Stofa Larry Strand Robert Streed Fred & Willo Stuart Linda Stukey Doug & Joy Sturm Tara Sullivan-Hames Tom Sundgren Kenneth Sutten Diane Suzuki Brobeck Clyde Switzer Paul Switzer Jason Tannen Erin Tarabini Carole Taylor Jamie Taylor Susan Taylor Stephen Tchudi Susan Tchudi Jeanne Thatcher Waistell Charles Thistlethwaite Lorna Thomas Heidi Thompson Vickie Thompson Brooks Thorlaksson Graham Thurgood Ron Tietz Hugh Tinling Andrew Tomaselli Shelley Townsell Linda Townsend Yparraguirre John Tozzi

Ron Tietz Robin Trenda Hugh Tinling JL Trizzino AndrewTroester Tomaselli Quintin Shelley Uhlig Townsell Kristin Linda Townsend Leanne Ulvang Yparraguirre JohnUnger Tozzi Bill Robin Trenda Urbach A. Christopher JL Trizzino Charles & Carol Urbanowicz Quintin Urrizola-Juarez Troester Sherry Kristin Uhlig Richard Utter Leanne Kim V. Ulvang Bill Unger Natalie Valencia A. Christopher Robert Van FleetUrbach CharlesVanderbom & Carol Urbanowicz Derek SherryVanneman Urrizola-Juarez Emily RichardVermette Utter Debra Kim V. Vlamis Barbara Natalie Valencia Pamela Voekel RobertVogel Van Fleet Albert Derek Vanderbom Camille Von Kaenel Emily Vanneman Brittany W. Debra Vermette Erin Wade Barbara Walker Vlamis Laurens PamelaWallace Voekel Martin Albert Vogel Jeremy Walsh Camille Von Kaenel Jane Wanderer Brittany W. Wade Warrens Erin Wade Blaine Waterman Laurens Elaine & Walker George Watkin Martin&Wallace Carol John Watson JeremyWear Walsh Stacey Jane Wanderer Catherine Webster WadeWebster Warrens Vicki Blaine Waterman Tristan Weems Elaine & George Watkin Kim Weir Carol & John Dorothy WeiseWatson StaceyWelch Wear David Catherine Webster Suzette Welch VickiWerner Webster Eve Tristan Weems Jeffrey White Kim Weir Susan Wiesinger Dorothy Weise Emily Williams David Welch Will Williams SuzetteWills Welch Denise Eve Werner Joseph Wills Jeffrey WhiteWilmarth J.T. & Retta SusanWilner Wiesinger Louis Emily Williams Mark Wilpolt Will Williams Tina Wilson Denise Wills Addison Winslow Joseph Wills Marie Winslow J.T. & Wirtz Retta Wilmarth Nancy Louis Wilner Charles Withuhn Mark Wilpolt Bruce Wohl Tina Wilson Gordon Wolfe Addison Wood Winslow Kjerstin Marie Winslow Susan Wooldridge Nancy Wirtz Charles & Denise Worth CharlesWortham Withuhn James Bruce Wohl Erica Wuestehube Gordon Wolfe Marc Wysong Kjerstin Wood Charlie Yarbrough Susan Wooldridge Christopher YatesWorth Charles & Denise Laurel James Yorks Wortham Monica Zukrow Erica Wuestehube Paul MarcZwart Wysong A.D.M. Charlie Yarbrough Andy Christopher Yates Daniel Laurel Yorks Diane Monica Zukrow Fera Paul Zwart Harold A.D.M. & Jean Karen Andy M.L. Daniel Matthew Diane & Todd Muria Fera Nita Harold & Jean Pam Karen Rosemarie M.L. Silkshop MatthewLLC & Todd Steve Muria Nita Pam Rosemarie Silkshop LLC Steve

This is YOUR paper, and we will continue to serve our community together. Thank you.

CHICO.NEWSREVIEW.COM