An estimated dozen staff members at Butte County's Childrens Services Department (CSD) in Chico on East Ave. are in quarantine due to a COVID-19 exposure, The quarantine stems from one positive case involving a social worker. CDS worked in coordination with the Butte County Public Health Department, which has notified anyone who may have come in contact with the virus. According to offcials , no children have tested positive for COVID-19.

PG&E Corp. has lured away the top executive at Michigan's largest power provider. Patricia Poppe will leave her job as CEO of CMS Energy Corp. to take the same position at PG&E effective Jan. 4. Her hiring, announced Wednesday, comes nearly five months after the San Francisco company emerged from one of the most complex bankruptcy cases in U.S. history. She will replace interim CEO Bill Smith, who filled the void after Bill Johnson stepped down from the job after just 14 months.

The coronavirus has hit the Chico Fire Department with six firefighters testing positive. City Manager Mark Orme says the city's human resources team is working closely with the fire department and public health to ensure the safety of employees and the community. A contingency plan was already in place and Orme says the fire department is fully operational. Orme says even if matters became worse, the city would call upon the California Mutual Aid System to keep staffing levels where they need to be to provide fire protection. Prior to this outbreak, the City of Chico had seen only four positive cases among all 400 or more employees.

Listen to our Conversation with Mike Lindell Tuesday Morning on the KPAY Morning News https://kpay.com/podcasts/morning-show

FOR A COMPLETE LOOK AT  RESULTS OF THE 2020 GENERAL ELECTION..CLICK THE LINK

 

results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Butte/104930/web.264614/#/summary

A federal grand jury indicted two women from Butte County for FEMA fraud after the Camp Fire. The Department of Justice said Cynthia Seeley 66, of Magalia, and Kristen Canapary, 53, of Butte County, both made false claims that they lived in affected areas for FEMA benefits in connection with the Camp Fire, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Seeley and Canapary each filed a fraudulent claim with FEMA seeking disaster assistance. They falsely claimed a primary residence that was not their true residence at the time of the fire, according to U.S. Attorney Scott. Both women recieved FEMA funding.... If convicted, Seeley and Canapary, each face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Gridley City Administrator and Finance Director, Paul Eckert, officially resigned from his office effective Nov. 30, 2020, after a closed session was held with members of the City Council at a special meeting concerning his performance. According to the report from Action News A statement was posted on the Gridley City website on Thursday that stated the vote to accept Eckert's resignation was unanimous (4-0). Eckert will be on paid administrative leave, working remotely, until the formal separation date of November 30, 2020. Eckert will "continue to focus on administration of critical city service,s while laying the groundwork for a smoother transition to a successor," according to the City's statement.

A Chico teacher charged with sexually abusing a student is headed for trial. Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems ruled Thursday that there is enough evidence for the case involving Jennifer Lynn Smith to proceed. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Smith was a Spanish Teacher at Bidwell Junior High School. She was arrested in August when a former student claimed she was a victim of ongoing sexual abuse while at school. Smith is charged with eight felonies, and will return to court in November.

Rush Limbaugh Welcomes President Trump For Largest Virtual Rally in Radio History Rush Limbaugh will welcome President Donald Trump to the program tomorrow, October 9, to host the largest virtual rally in radio history. Listeners will also have the chance to submit their questions to the President! More details will be shared on www.RushLimbaugh.com and Rush's Facebook page. A five-time Marconi Award winner, Rush Limbaugh is one of the most iconic voices in America. Heard on more than 600 stations by millions of people each week, The Rush Limbaugh Show is the most-listened-to national radio talk program in America.

The Butte County Sheriff's Department has issued an Immediate Evacuation Order due to a flare up of the North Complex Fire Sunday Night The Evacuation Order is for Pulga, Concow, Big Bend and Yankee Hill. an Evacuation Order in Place for Stirling City, Magalia and the Town of Paradise Cal Fire's Rick Carhart says that at last report the fire is burning in Plumas County and is a flare up from the North Complex Fire. He says it is not burning in the West Zone and the Cal Fire Twitter page says that the West Zone fire lines are holding. Again the fire lines in the West Zone of the North Complex Fire are holding BUT, the gusting winds are a concern and that has prompted the evacuation orders and warnings

High fire danger is returning, and so is the possibility of PG&E blackouts. PG&E sent warnings of the possibility to the about 21,000 customers who could be impacted. If you live in the foothills of Butte, Plumas or Yuba counties, you face a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff beginning Saturday night, Sept. 26. That's when high-fire risk weather conditions are expected. The possible outages would last through Monday morning.

(AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, University of California Regent Richard Blum, has been named by the state auditor's office as one of the regents involved in an admissions scandal where UC wrongly admitted dozens of students as favors to well-connected people. In one case, a regent unidentified in the report sent an inappropriate letter on behalf of a student with only a 26% chance of getting in. The applicant was admitted. Auditor's spokeswoman Margarita Fernandez confirmed to The Associated Press that Blum was the regent. Blum tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he has done nothing wrong and that he has used his clout to get friends and family into the elite public system for years.

California Realtors are reporting this week that California's housing market continued to improve in August 2020 as home sales climbed to their highest level in more than a decade and the median home price broke last month's record, hitting another high. California's median home price broke the $700,000 mark for the first time, reaching $706,900 in August, a 6.1 percent jump from July's $666,320 and 14.5 percent from $617,410 in August 2019

(AP) — A steady drop in coronavirus cases across California cleared the way in nine counties for the wider reopening of businesses, including most of the San Francisco Bay Area. The state's top health official said Tuesday nail salons could also reopen with restrictions. But Dr. Mark Ghaly cautioned that California's reopening must remain slow and stringent and residents cannot let their guard down as flu season arrives and cases rise in Europe and other parts of the U.S. Frustrated business owners, including operators of Disneyland, are pushing for a broader and swifter reopening plan. The state has had more than 15,000 deaths and 790,000 confirmed cases, the most cases in the country.

A local assistance center will be opening Tuesday at the Oroville Gymnastics Academy, 1875 Feather River Blvd in Oroville. The center will provide those affected by the North Complex West Zone fires with assistance on how to replace important documents like drivers licenses, social security cards, deeds to homes and tax documents. Sifting kits will be available so when residents are permitted back to their property they can search through the rubble. The center will remain open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for at least three weeks beginning Tuesday. A representative from FEMA as well as other Butte County representatives encouraging fire victims to register for FEMA as the first step to help in recovery. You can register by calling 800-621-3362, visit disaster assistance.gov or download the FEMA app.

(AP) — Officials say California will not accept new unemployment claims for the next two weeks as the state works to prevent fraud and reduce a backlog as more than 2 million people are out of work statewide during the coronavirus pandemic. The state announced the two-week pause on Saturday. Nearly 600,000 Californians are part of a backlog where their unemployment claims have not been processed by the state's Employment Development Department for more than 21 days. The department has been hampered throughout the pandemic by outdated technology at a time when California is seeing an unprecedented wave of unemployment claims.

PG&E Representatives at Paradise's Building Resiliency Center Beginning September 29, 2020, representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will be stationed at the Town of Paradise's Building Resilience Center (BRC) weekly to answer questions and provide information on reestablishing energy services for rebuilt homes and businesses. Two PG&E representatives will be available each Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Town of Paradise BRC is located at 6295 Skyway. A blue PG&E van will be stationed in the parking lot. PG&E representatives can walk customers through the rebuilding process and answer questions about PG&E's Vegetation Management Program and other resources. In accordance with PG&E's guidelines to ensure customer and employee safety, PG&E employees will wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. A plexiglass barrier will be in place for added protection. Visitors are asked to wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines while in line and being served. For more information about PG&E services for those impacted by the Camp Fire, visit www.pge.com/campfire , or email your questions to rebuild@pge.com . PG&E strongly recommends customers apply to PG&E for electric and/or gas service when applying for a building permit from the town or county to avoid delays at www.pge.com/cco

Butte County Sheriff's officials confirmed seven more deaths from the North Complex West Zone, totaling now ten deaths due to the fire. 16 people remain missing, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Chico restaurants are now open for limited indoor dining as a result of the North Complex West Zone or Bear Fire. Chico city officials have told KPAY that restaurants can serve meals at 25 percent of their capacity. The hazardous air quality has made it unhealthy to dine outdoors.

All 23 California State University campuses will continue virtual instruction into the academic term beginning January 2021, the CSU Chancellor, Timothy White announced Thursday. White said the desire to give students and their families, faculty time to plan, the need to public and promote courses in campus academic plans, and requirements for courses delivered virtually were White's primary reasons for making the announcement early on.

Cal Fire crews were able to keep a fire to just over 17 acres that burmned along the skyway around 130 Sunday afternoon ...they were able to gain fullcontainment by late Sunday Afternoon. CAL FIRE investigators want to talk to anyone who was in the area of the Skyway and Rocky bluff Drive at or just before 1:25 p.m. on Sunday. They are hoping someone saw the fires when they were small and just starting. The vehicle is a light-colored Chevy truck traveling northbound on the Skyway (toward Paradise) towing a dump trailer that was carrying a Bobcat-type excavator. If you can help with this investigation please contact CAL FIRE at their Butte Unit Prevention Bureau Office at (530) 538-7888.

An explosion of Coronavirus cases is shutting in-person classes after only one week of instruction at Chico State The school will now hold a virtual fall semester after nearly 30 reported cases have been traced to the campus community. University President Gayle Hutchinson says since almost all of the campus dorms have been impacted with cases they will be requiring the 700 students to move out by next weekend. University officials were concerned when 15 COVID cases hit an off-campus apartment complex last weekend. Over the last two weeks 18-to-24 year olds in Butte County have accounted for nearly 200 new COVID cases

Chico's City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to retract April's emergency directive that allowed homeless camps in its greenways and waterways. Councilman Scott Huber was the lone dissenting vote, but some people in Chico agree with him. Orme says all parks are now off limits to camp in. He says the city is working on short and long term plans to help both causes that will include county and state partnerships. He says the city has and is still working on partnering with shelters and services to get homeless out of encampments. THE COUNCIL ALSO VOTED 5-2 TO PASS AN ORDINANCE TO ALLOW CANNABIS SHOPS TO BE ALLOWED TO OPERATE WITHIN CITY LIMITS ...The city will allow four permits to be issued for retail cannabis businesses, with some parts of the city exempt from these businesses including downtown and buffer zones around schools.

Regional air quality for Butte, Glenn and Tehama Counties is forecast to have reached unhealthy levels, according to the agencies. Smoke impacts are expected to vary over the next several days depending on wind direction and the intensity of the fire activity. The agencies say that people experiencing questionable or severe symptoms should seek professional medical advice and treatment.

 

For current air quailty measurements, visit the California Air Resource Board website, and choose the location from the top menu:

https://mobile.arb.ca.gov/breathewell/

 

 

BCSO is issuing an Evacuation Warning for Glen Drive area due to the Potters Ravine fire. For more information visit  http://www.buttecounty.net/sheriff or call 833-512-5378.

 

To sign up for CodeRed Alerts in your area  https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BFA19C579EA5