State officials across the U.S. say Senate Republicans' proposed slashing of a federally funded boost in unemployment benefits could delay payments for weeks or even months. Democrats are pushing back, arguing that cutting the extra payments to $200 from $600 is bad policy — and that it's hard to implement. It took some states a month earlier this year to program aging computer systems to handle the initial increase. Under the GOP plan, there would be a second and maybe more challenging step of boosting benefits _ so they equal no more than 70% of a person's previous income.

A transient was found sleeping and armed with a machete in the residence halls stairwell at California State University, Chico on Tuesday. According to the University Police Department, their sergeant found 59-year-old Joseph Willman sleeping in the stairwell of one of the campus residence halls. Next to Willman, the sergeant noticed a large machete. Willman was arrested for possession of a fixed blade knife with a blade longer than 2.5 in. on a college campus. Willman was booked into the Butte County Jail.

Cal Fire investigators shared Tuesday afternoon that the Feather Fire in Thermalito was caused by a vehicle. Investigators said the vehicle had left the scene prior to fire crews arriving at the scene. However, with the help of Butte County Sheriff's deputies, the vehicle was located and the driver was contacted. The driver was given a citation for recklessly causing a fire and later released at his residence, according to Cal Fire officials. The Feather Fire burned 30 acres of grassland July 20 off Feather Ave. and 18th Street, and destroyed three structures

From the Calif Nut Festival Board... In light of increasing numbers of cases of COVID-19 and in an effort to keep farmers, vendors, partners, guests and the community safe, the decision has been made to cancel the 2020 California Nut Festival. The event normally takes place in April and was previously rescheduled for this fall; however, the next California Nut Festival will now take place on Saturday, April 17, 2021. All event tickets already purchased will be honored at the festival in 2021. Organizers hope everyone stays safe, healthy and look forward to welcoming the community back to the amazing festival once this challenging period of uncertainty is behind us.

The City of Chico announced it's working on a plan to temporarily expand outdoor dining due to the closure of indoor dining statewide. Mark Orme, City of Chico City Manager. "We hope to give them the tools they need to continue to serve their customers, pay employees, and keep their business operating despite these difficult times." This order will permit restaurants, wineries, bars, pubs, breweries, and tasting rooms to apply for a temporary use for COVID-19 which will allow these establishments to use areas like sidewalks, recreation spaces, and parking lots.

CHICO, Calif. Chicio's School board approved a reopening plan that is in accordance with the state's restrictions and stages. Option three was approved for all schools. They will split the school body into two groups, one that goes in the morning and one that goes but will allow for a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule one week, and a Tuesday, Thursday the next week, to limit the student's time on campus. The School Board did purchase over 1,000 face shields to be passed out to students and staff, as well as thermometers to record temperature before allowing anyone on campus.

Butte County Sheriff's Deputies say an Oroville woman has been arrested after an investigation revealed she was home when three children were molested. Detectives say they found evidence that Summer Carver, 33, of Oroville was home on multiple occasions when David Acuff molested three children and at least one occasion when Joshua Chadwick molested a child. Chadwick and Acuff were arrested after an investigation revealed child pornography and evidence showing they sexually abused children, under 10 years old, for an extended period of time.

On Tuesday, Health & Human Services Agency (SCHHS) Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly discussed the new COVID-19 testing guidelines for California. The states shift will focus on testing hospitalized patients who have symptoms along with those linked to an outbreak. Ghaly said the state is also prepared to take the steps to label COVID-19 testing medically necessary for essential health care workers and people with symptoms. He says California is averaging around 100,000 tests a day, and the state wants to make tests more available.

(AP) — California's two largest school districts announced Monday they won't bring students back to classrooms next month as the nation's most populous state continues to see a rise in coronavirus hospitalizations and infection rates. Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified School districts say they'll start the school year with distance learning and return to classrooms when they feel it's safe.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's governor is once again closing bars and indoor dining as the coronavirus sweeps the state with renewed ferocity. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday issued a broad set of closures as the state recorded more than 329,000 cases of COVID-19. Hospitalizations also have surged. Newsom said the virus isn't going away anytime soon and he pleaded with people to heed social distancing and mask health guidelines. Meanwhile, many of the 30 counties on a state watch list were told to go even further and shut down gyms, malls, hair salons and indoor worship.

CHICO, Calif. - According to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, three Chico women admitted their guilt in court Wednesday morning for attempting to set a Chico State University police car on fire. Ramsey says Maria Magana, 21, Clarissa Pauline Volasgis, 20, and Autum Nichole Cossins, 20 set a Chico State police car on fire with a molotov cocktail. All three students plead no contest in the Butte County Superior Court to one count of felony attempted arson. The incident took place in the early morning on May 31 when the three defendants decided to "send a message" about police brutality by burning a police car. The trio also set a series of bushes on fire outside of the parking structure on the other side of the police station about 2:30 a.m. before fleeing the scene. A police dispatcher viewing surveillance cameras from inside the station saw Volasgis set herself on fire briefly and then throw part of the incendiary device onto the Chico State police car. All three defendants are due in court on Aug. 5, 2020, for sentencing, Ramsey said. All three remain in custody with no bail. They each face a maximum term of 3 years in state prison.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A statue of a Spanish missionary in downtown Sacramento, California has been toppled by demonstrators. The Sacramento Bee reports the statue of Father Junipero Serra in Capitol Park was brought down during a protest focusing on the rights and historical struggle of indigenous people. The 18th century Roman Catholic priest founded nine of California’s 21 Spanish missions and forced Native Americans to stay at those missions after they were converted or face brutal punishment. Statues of Serra have been defaced in California for several years by people who said he destroyed tribes and their culture.

A 42-year-old man was found dead in front of a dental office in Chico but foul play is not suspected in his death, police say. Chico Police says on July 4 around 7:30 a.m., a person who was passing Western Dental Center at 2471 Cohasset Road in Chico noticed that someone was seated against the wall inside a dumpster enclosure.Police say there were no obvious signs of foul play.The cause of death is not known at this time.

A Chico man has been arrested for a burglary that happened at Big 5 Sporting Goods Tuesday morning, according to the police. 35-year-old Israel Gallardo-Contreras was identified as the suspect, officers said. The vehicle that was used to crash into the entrance of the sporting goods store was located in the area of Wisconsin Street around 2:30 a.m., police said. Gallardo-Contreras evaded capture at that time. Around 8:30 a.m. a Chico Police Officer said he located Gallardo-Contreras riding a bicycle in the area of W. 23rd Street and Mulberry Street. Gallardo-Contreras attempted to run away from the officer and showed signs and symptoms consistent with being under the influence of meth, police said. Gallardo-Contreras was arrested on charges of forced commercial burglary, felon in possession of a firearm, and resisting arrest.

The body of a man was found on the side of the road in north Chico on Sunday. Officers say there are no obvious signs of criminal activity At 8:11 a.m. on Sunday, a Chico resident was walking near E. Lindo Ave. and Arbutus Ave. and noticed a person lying nearby on his side and was unresponsive. The residents noticed the person wasn't breathing.Emergency crews arrived and after assessing the scene, they determined the 42-year-old man lying on the ground was dead. Officials with the Chico Police Department say there were no obvious signs of criminality at the scene.

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric is expected to plead guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter for a wildfire that wiped out most of a Northern California town. In a court hearing Tuesday, the nation’s largest utility will be confronted by the death and destruction caused by its history of neglect and greed. The hearing before Butte County Superior Court Judge Michael Deems comes nearly three months after PG&E reached a plea agreement in the November 2018 fire. Investigators found the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise was ignited by PG&E's rickety electrical grid. The company agreed to pay a $3.5 million fine and $500,000 for the criminal investigation.

P.G.& E. says Public Safety Power Shutoffs will continue this year, and that could inconvenience many people still working from home during the coronavirus outbreak. Officials hope the shutoffs will be shorter in duration and affect fewer customers. The utility's 2020 Fire Safety Program includes efforts to better isolate parts of the grid for shutdowns, and redirect power if a high-voltage line has to be de-energized. The program has included major tree trimming around power lines, and the installation of more resilient power poles, weather stations, and high-definition cameras in high fire risk areas.

An Oroville man was arrested on suspicion of arson in the Palermo area, Cal Fire law enforcement announced Thursday. Officials said 26-year-old Jacob Anthony Arsanis was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of arson for allegedly setting multiple fires in Palermo. Arsanis was booked into the Butte County Jail without bail, for recklessly causing fire and resisting or delaying peace officers, according to Cal Fire officials. He left the scene of two small fires in Palermo on June 6, officials said. He was apprehended three days later in the Oroville area.

https://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/news/Deadly-Crash-Closes-HWY-99--571167151.html

WARNING: SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING
Photos courtesy of Channel 12/24 Action News | UPDATE 2:35pm PDT

UPDATE: A major traffic accident on northbound Highway 99 at the Neal Road stop light has killed one person and has resulted in a tragic scene....
The CHP's Frank Valdepina says the accident involves several cars and tractor trailer...

The California Highway patrol says three vehicles were involved in the accident.....including the semitrailer. The semi-trailer is believed to have caught fire sending smoke billowing from the scene.
The freeway has been closed southbound at Estates Drive and northbound at Durham Pentz. The alternate route is the Midway via Durham Pentz.
CHP says there is a fatality, but has not confirmed how many people have died.

CHP reports Semi v Vehicle accident SB 99 at Neal Rd...Semi engulfed..both SB lanes at Estates Drive closed

NB 99 closed at Durham Pence 

No.time given for reopening

Listen to.939 KPAY for more info 

 

 

Chico City Council Members say  that they've received hundreds of emails suggesting that the Chico Police Department (CPD) be entirely defunded in the wake of the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
Some on the Council , including Sean Morgan say that will not happen, but the discussion of reallocating funds within the Department may be discussed as par tof ongoing Budget talks with the Council..Tuesday's council meeting is an important one as the budget is put in place for the upcoming year.

Another important agenda item will be the additional 1-cent sales tax, which if passed, would go to a vote of the people in November.

Mike Zuccolillo turned himself in at the Butte County Jail Tuesday. The vice mayor has been charged with sending sexually explicit texts to a minor. This after a man told sheriff's detectives that he had evidence against Zucillio in a "to catch a predator" style operation. The man said he had been posing as 16-year-old girl and had received explicit texts from Zuccolillo. According to the Butte County Sheriff's Office, the man said that he targeted vice mayor due to animosity he had for the Zuccolillo resulting from a bad business deal. Authorities say detectives were leery of the infomation provided by the man given his motivation for targeting Zuccolillo. However, given the seriousness of the allegations sheriff detectives initiated an investigation and consulted the Butte County DA's Office and the FBI. An undercover officer took over the persona of the teen and reportedly received additional explicit texts from Zuccolillo. With the evidence collected, the DA's Office filed multiple charges against Zuccolillo. He has posted bail and is now awaiting his arraignment on July 10.   

The work will be performed on the entirety of Helltown Road in the Butte Creek Cannon area starting at Centerville Road to the end of the County maintained road. Crews will also treat Mud Creek Road, in Cohasset, starting at Cohasset Road to the intersection at Vilas Road. According to Butte County Publc Works, work on both projects is expect to take place this Wednesday and Thursday from 8 am to 8 pm. The roads will be open, but motorist should expect 30 minute delays.