CAL FIRE announced up to $70 million in new funding is available to help California communities strengthen wildfire resilience and reduce fire risk. The grants support locally led projects that reduce wildfire risk, strengthen preparedness and help protect lives, property and critical infrastructure. Grant applications are now open and must be submitted by 3 p.m. on July 8. FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK BELOW 

https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/grants

The former Dean of the College of Agriculture has filed a federal suit against the CSU Board of Trustees and Chico State President Steve Perez for wrongful termination..... Dr. Patricia Stock was fired in June of 2023 and in her suit she alleges that Perez fired her after local ag interests and members of the Butte County Farm Bureau coordinated a campaign to have her dismissed. Perez denies those claims Stock and her lawyers have subpoenaed the text messages from Butte County Farm Bureau Executive Director Colleen Cecil alleging a coordinated effort to influence Chico State Administration. Stock says in the 173 page complaint obtained by KPAY that local ag interests did not approve of her selection of Ricardo Orellana to lead the University Farm. She includes text messages where local ag interests speak in derogatory tones about the latin heritage of herself and Orellana. The suit claims that Perez told Stock she was being fired because she was "antagonizing community partners." Stock's suit also claims local ag leaders were getting preferential treatment when it came to no-bid contracts and financial payouts under the previous Dean of Agriculture.

A group of Chico citizens is suiting Chico Mayor Kasey Reynolds for not recusing herself from voting on the Downtown Chico Revitalization Plan.... A group of eight Chico citizens including former Chico Mayor Ann Schwab is suing Reynolds claiming she is violating the Political Reform Act. Reynolds voted against a downtown revitalization plan on April 21st. The group says that Reynolds should not have voted on the project because she owns Schubert's Ice Cream and Candy and receives a salary from the business. The Act forbids elected officials from making governmental decisions when they have a personal financial interest in the outcome. Councilman Tom Van Overbeck recused himself during the vote because he owns property in the downtown corridor. As reported in the Chico ER....According to Fair Political Practice Committee forms Reynolds is co-owner and receives a salary from Schubert's Ice Cream and Candy. Local attorney Peter Washington says they tried to resolve the matter without filing the suit but they came up empty.

Enloe Medical Center is walking back statements that may have changed the course of a downtown Chico revitalization plan... Three weeks ago Enloe officials told city leaders that the proposed plan may slow emergency response times. This week Enloe C.E.O. Mike Wiltermood said despite the changes to traffic corridors with the proposal, the hospital doesn't believe those changes would result in slower response times. Three Chico City Council members (Kasey Reynolds, Mike O'Brien and Dale Bennett) all voted against the plan with all three saying Enloe's statements regarding slower response times influenced their decision. Wiltermood went on to apologize to the City of Chico and its residents for what he calls a misunderstanding at the April 21st meeting.

Owning a home is 48 percent more likely after a person leaves California. That's according to a new study from the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley. It says Californians who left the state between 2016 and 2025 moved to areas where the median home price was 396-thousand dollars. That's an average cost decrease of 48 percent compared to their previous neighborhoods. Monthly housing expenses like taxes and insurance also fell from an average of nearly 24-hundred dollars in California to about 17-hundred dollars in other states. Renters who left the state saw their monthly payments drop by about 30 percent.

CREWS ARE STARTING WORK ALONG FOREST AVE THE PAVEMENT PRESERVATION PROJECT THEY ARE RESEALING THE PAVEMENT ALONG FOREST AVE FROM 20TH STREET TO MOUNTAIN CIRCLE DRIVE WITH TRAFFIC CONTROLS DURING PHASES OF THE WORK . OFFICALS SAY TO EXPECT DELAYS DURING TEH WORK WITH 1 LANE CONTROLS IN PLACE..THEY SUGGEST USING ALTERNATE ROUTES

An outside investigation released on Friday, May 1, found sustained allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional conduct by Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis, including demeaning comments to employees that referenced violence, minimizing staff work and making appearance-and gender-related comments. The report said there is evidence of campaign-related activity during work hours, a verified pattern of unprofessional conduct and a dysfunctional workplace environment. It concluded that Curtis' leadership has led to a toxic and polarized work environment. Curtis has denied the allegations.