C 2014 03 20

CASTRO’S

NEW BLUES See MUSIC FEATURE, page 24

POST OFFICE PROTECTION See NEWSLINES, page 8

MIYAZAKI

TAKES A BOW See REEL WORLD, page 33

MARCH MADNESS

CN&R’s MOOC report:

See STREETALK, page 7

Are the online courses just hype, or will they transform the future of education?

BY MELINDA WELSH

Chico’s News & Entertainment Weekly

PAGE 18

Volume 37, Issue 30

Thursday, March 20, 2014

See page 20

Stephen Vannucci, MD Is pleased to welcome his new Physician Assistant

Barbara Kinkle, PA-C Barbara Kinkle is a Chico Native and is excited to return to her home town to provide medical care in this community. She received her Physician Assistant certification from Riverside County regional medical center/ Moreno Valley College and became board certified upon graduation. She is providing general dermatology care including full body scans for skin cancer. Barbara also offers cosmetic procedures including Botox, filler products and sclerotherapy for spider veins.

Barbara is currently accepting same day patients.

NORTH VALLEY DERMATOLOGY CENTER

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2 CN&R March 20, 2014

CN&R

INSIDE

Studio oNE SALoN Monica Crowl Color Specialist

Vol. 37, Issue 30 • March 20, 2014

OPINION Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Guest Comment. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Second & Flume . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Mark schuttenberg Distribution Staff Ken Gates, Bob Meads, lisa Ramirez, Pat Rogers, Mara schultz, larry smith, Placido Torres, Jeff Traficante, Bill unger, lisa Van Der Maelen 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 Melissa Daugherty Arts Editor Jason Cassidy News Editor Tom Gascoyne Asst. News Editor/Healthlines Editor Howard Hardee Staff Writer Ken smith Calendar Assistant Mallory Russell Contributors Craig Blamer, alastair Bland, Henri Bourride, Rachel Bush, Vic Cantu, Matthew Craggs, Kyle Delmar, Emiliano Garcia-sarnoff, Meredith J. Graham, Miles Jordan, Karen laslo, leslie layton, Mark lore, Melanie MacTavish, Jesse Mills, Mazi Noble, Jerry Olenyn, anthony Peyton Porter, shannon Rooney, Claire Hutkins seda, Juan-Carlos selznick, Matt siracusa, Robert speer, allan stellar, Daniel Taylor, Evan Tuchinsky Interns Katherine Green, Karl Travis Managing Art Director Tina Flynn Editorial Designer sandra Peters Creative Director Priscilla Garcia Design Mary Key, Vivian liu, serene lusano, Marianne Mancina, skyler smith Advertising Manager Jamie DeGarmo Advertising Services Coordinator Ruth alderson Advertising Consultants alex Beehner, Brian Corbit, Krystal Godfrey, laura Golino, Matthew Keller Senior Classified Advertising Consultant Olla ubay

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialists Renee Briscoe, Tami sandoval Accounts Receivable Specialist Nicole Jackson Receptionist Kendra Gray Systems Manager Jonathan schultz Systems Support Specialist Joe Kakacek Web Developer/Support Specialist John Bisignano 353 E. second street, Chico, Ca 95928 Phone (530) 894-2300 Fax (530) 894-0143 Website www.newsreview.com Got a News Tip? (530) 894-2300, ext. 2245 or chiconewstips@newsreview.com Calendar Events www.newsreview.com/calendar Calendar Questions (530) 894-2300, ext. 2240 Classifieds/Talking Personals (530) 894-2300, press 4 Printed by Paradise Post The CN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Editorial Policies Opinions expressed in the Chico News & Review are those of the author and not Chico Community Publishing, inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint portions of the paper. The Chico News & Review is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to chicoletters@newsreview.com. all letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to edit letters for length (200 words or less), clarity and libel or not to publish them.

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CN&R

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Diplomacy, not war Forgive us for the expression “here we go again,” but the crisis

‘Cancer treatment’s dirty little secret’ BMonth, I cherish the opportunity to educate readers on lymphedema and its relation to an important bill pending ecause March is Lymphedema Awareness

in Congress.

by

Jan Hasak The author is a patient-advocate in Chico and author of two books on breast cancer and lymphedema.

Lymphedema is a chronic condition caused by the accumulation of lymph fluid that causes tissue swelling, most commonly in the arms and legs. It is estimated to afflict about 3 million to 6 million Americans. It is progressive if left untreated and can put patients at greater risk for serious infection and disability.

The condition is often called “cancer treatment’s dirty little secret.” While individuals can be born with a primary form of lymphedema, the majority of cases are secondary in nature, most often caused by cancer treatments that damage the body’s lymph system or immune functions. For cancer patients, it is one of the most significant survivorship issues. Breast cancer treatment, in particular, is one of the most common causes of lymphedema, with an estimated incidence rate of about 20 percent.

Fortunately, there is hope for lymphedema patients in that the risks and complications of this disease can be mitigated by complete decongestive therapy (CDT), the gold standard for treating it.

In addition to manual lymph drainage and decongestive exercises, an essential

4 CN&R March 20, 2014

component of CDT is compression therapy.

Unfortunately, Medicare beneficiaries currently lack coverage of the compression supplies needed for CDT to be completely effective.

As a breast cancer patient, I deal with the daily challenges of managing lymphedema in my arm. In my case, the swelling was caused by removal of lymph nodes to stage my cancer and by radiation. My condition was treated by CDT, but soon I will become a Medicare beneficiary, losing my current coverage of compression sleeves.

To help patients like me successfully treat lymphedema and manage symptoms, it is important that Congress pass H.R. 3877, the Lymphedema Treatment Act. This legislation will provide Medicare coverage of doctorprescribed compression supplies, help reduce total Medicare spending, and decrease the incidence of costly complications and disabilities associated with the disease. Many Medicare patients cannot afford compression garments, and the resultant swelling brings on an unnecessary loss of functions in the activities of daily living.

To learn more about the Lymphedema Treatment Act and how you can get involved, please visit Lymphedematreatmentact.org.

Passage of this act would be the compassionate and right thing for Congress to do. Ω

in Ukraine is one of those moments.

From the right, there’s criticism of the Obama administration for not “doing something” about Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea and its use of troops against Ukraine.

What the right doesn’t say is what, exactly, President Barack Obama should be doing. Do we really want a war with U.S. troops—even as part of a coalition—deployed in Ukraine? Or perhaps we should go all out and “nuke ’em back to the Stone Age,” which would, of course, take all of us to destruction?

On the left, we’re hearing complaints that the United States has lost the moral high ground, since what Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing in Ukraine is so very, very similar to what we did in Iraq.

We are at the place where reality meets realpolitik, and this is not the time for extreme action.

Instead, this is a time for deliberative and thoughtful use of nonmilitary pressure to discourage further aggression. The Russian economy is in trouble, and its stock market has taken a bashing because of this invasion. The use of diplomatic pressure and sanctions doesn’t make for good sound bites—and it certainly doesn’t sate the “do something!” crowd—but it is the sanest approach to military aggression on the part of a major nation, especially one with an extensive nuclear arsenal.

Here’s the lesson that we needed to learn from the Cold War: When everybody’s got nukes, nobody wins a hot war. So we applaud the measured approach being taken by Obama and other international leaders, and call for continued use of tactics and approaches that keep the door open to diplomacy and closed to war. Ω

Embrace change Our cover story this week (“The new learning curve,” page 18)

explores the world of massive open online courses, aka MOOCs, which feature “celebrity professors” teaching a variety of subjects. One of the keys is that these courses are free, or very inexpensive.

In the few years they’ve been around, MOOCs have attracted quite a bit of criticism, particularly for their high dropout rates. When a bill was introduced to the California Senate last year proposing statewide online courses be offered for credit at state universities, many educators were up in arms.

Chico State is among the universities that came out against MOOCs. In August 2013, the campus newspaper, The Orion, posted a video on YouTube in which President Paul Zingg refers to the “bogus notion that information is education, that watching a lecture on your telly, no matter who’s giving it, is the same as learning with a professor and fellow students in a class.” (A strange thing to say, considering Chico State offers online courses.)

The main argument in favor of offering MOOCs, or similar online courses, for university credit is that too many classes students need to complete their majors are impacted. We all know this is a problem. On the flip side, schools seem threatened by the price tag and availability of MOOCs. But they shouldn’t be. By fighting the changing landscape of education rather than embracing it, they’re the ones that will be left behind.

Education is a beautiful thing, and MOOCs are offering a new way of learning, bringing some of the best professors out of their Ivy towers and into our homes. The MOOC model is far from perfect, however—we know this because of the high dropout rates—but it’s also too new to be called a failure. Ω

Send email to chicoletters @ newsreview.com

SECOND & FLUME

by Melissa Daugherty melissad@newsreview.com

Damage control I got a call the other day from a TV reporter. She was from Action News Now and wanted a comment on an editorial we’d run a few weeks earlier on the salaries Chico’s city employees are pulling in, especially those in public safety. The reporter said the Chico Police Officers’ Association was disputing some of the numbers. When I asked her which ones, she couldn’t say. “I didn’t get into the numbers,” she said. She also hadn’t read the story on which the editorial was based. She asked if I stood by the article, and I said I did.

What triggered her call to me was a full-page ad the CPOA had taken out that day in the local daily. In it, the union whined about how the Police Department is understaffed and its officers overworked. It bagged on City Manager Brian Nakamura, whom the ad says “reduced [Hemet’s] Police Department to the point where [that city] was not safe. Similar to what he has done in Chico.” In other words, more fear-mongering from the CPOA. Of course, all of this stems from the public’s outrage after reading Dave Waddell’s recent CN&R cover piece (See “Strong-arming the budget,” Feb. 27). In my seven years with this paper, I cannot recall seeing more letters to the editor than on this story. It has triggered unifying scorn by people across the political spectrum.

The CPOA, hearing rumblings about contracting out for police services, is trying to do damage control.

One of the ways to do this was to once again cherrypick numbers. The ad asks this question: “If the Police Officers are responsible for ‘Bringing the city to the brink of insolvency’ why is it they make less money than most of the cities on the list posted in the Chico News & Review?”

To answer that question: It’s because, based on data from 2012 out of state Controller John Chiang’s office, city workers (not just police officers) were getting paid nearly double the state average for benefits. Sure, CPD officers making $34.24 per hour (or $71,200 per year, not including overtime) make less in wages than what’s paid in some other cities. But that’s not taking into account those Cadillac benefits packages—nearly double the state average.

But back to our editorial, which I wrote. Turns out there was an error it in. But not with the numbers. I was correct when I wrote that the average compensation in 2012 for a city of Chico worker was $99,585 and that the average in San Francisco was $99,337. But I’d mistakenly written that the total came from average salary and wages. What I meant to write was average wages and benefits. Action News Now’s report on the situation had the depth of a petri dish, but it did trigger me re-reading the editorial and finding the error. I fixed that online.

It may seem unbelievable that the average pay in Chico could be greater than in the City by the Bay. But it’s true. Don’t take my word for it. See for yourself at www.publicpay.ca.gov.

Melissa Daugherty is editor of the CN&R

A slanted survey Re “Survey sparks suspicion” (Newslines, by Ken Smith, March 13): The person who created the survey props it up by stating her intern status at the city, only to hide behind her intern status when questioned. It’s like, “Oops, didn’t know better.” The Downtown Chico Business Association flings, “Oh, we sent it along as a favor.”

Wonderful editorial review process, DCBA. The coup de grâce is wording on the survey header: “There is a discussion among the Chico community about the relocation of the market.” It’s a slanted statement that provides one side of the debate front and center: relocating the market. The community discussion deserves credible, unbiased and well-crafted surveys, not a city intern with favorable ties to one side of the debate.

BILL MASH Chico

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No-Postal, get it?

Re “Paper threat” (Newslines, by Tom Gascoyne, March 13): Why can we still yell “asbestos” in a crowded theater? It seems that the fire marshal has gone No-Postal.

BEAU GROSSCUP Chico

It’s a punishment Re “Repeal ‘new Jim Crow’” (Editorial, March 13): Jim Crow? Not voting, not owning guns, not going near schools are a few types of punishment that come with committing crimes. If votes were so important to blacks or Latinos, you’d think they would not do the crimes.

I really question if that many hard-core felons want to vote. But if your heart is bleeding, why not use guns as an issue?

Felons can’t own guns—that means that whites have more guns in an area with large amounts of felons who are black or Latino. Is that right? I think taking punishment away from felons who are black or Latino misses the point. But why just those, because you want more liberal voters?

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Editor’s note: The editorial called for an end to the state law barring any ex-convicts from voting while on parole or under mandatory supervision. As was stated, minorities are more likely to be charged and convicted than whites in similar circumstances, so the law affects that population disproportionately.

Opposition harms the poor Re “Game-over scenario” (Editorial, March 6): Building the Keystone XL pipeline would facilitate the export of liquefied natural gas to LETTERS continued on page 6

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CN&R 5

continued from page 5

Europe, enabling the Europeans to get out from under dependence on a hostile Russia for gas—just as it would also help the U.S. get out from dependence on hatemongering regimes in the Middle East, Venezuela and Nigeria for oil.

Your opposition to the Keystone helps to put both America and our allies needlessly at the mercy of hostile states. More than this, building the Keystone will bring about a major reduction in world oil prices, as the hate regimes abruptly lose their biggest market for their oil.

Your opposition to the Keystone ensures that poor people will continue to suffer the effect of ever higher gasoline and electricity prices.

Higher energy costs, resulting from unreasonable restrictions on production and transportation of energy, kill jobs. Poor people suffer first and worst from high energy costs.

Your opposition to the pipeline does nothing for climate, while helping billionaires get richer and stiffing poor people.

CHAD WOZNIAK Chico

More on that story Re “Strong-arming the budget” (Cover feature, by Dave Waddell, Feb. 27): It’s been almost three weeks since the CN&R ran a story in with the subheadline of “Chico’s public safety devours the vast majority of dollars in a city whose employees are among the highest paid in the state.” On the next page was a chart of all city employees to include the city manager who makes more than $200,000 a year in base salary.

Comparing him to me is like comparing apples to oranges.

The members of the Chico Police Officers’Association are some of the finest hardest-working men and women I have ever been associated with and to blame the state of the city’s finances on them is preposterous. This association has taken more than 18 percent in salary and benefit reductions since 2008.

All too frequently, Chico police officers are forced into action to defend citizens’ lives, their partners’ lives, and their own lives, yet some say $34.24 per hour is too much compensation. Remember, we go through that door, place ourselves in danger, and live with the nightmares for the rest of our lives, so you, the citizens of this community, don’t have to.

PETER DURFEE president, Chico Police Officers’ Association

6 CN&R March 20, 2014

Editor’s note: The chart in question did not include all city employees. It showed the city’s top-20 highest-paid employees. It was clearly labeled as such and broke down the compensation by fringe, regular pay, overtime pay, etc. Mr. Durfee was not included in that list.

I just had an opportunity to read the Dave Waddell article, having read the many comments in previous weeks’ issues based on the article.

Golly, how did it happen that our public employees (not just public safety) make so much more than our average citizen? Just took that money out of our taxpayer pockets without anyone’s knowledge! How could that happen, you ask?

Easy, I say. Don’t read the memorandums of understanding that previous liberal councils have approved. Continue to vote for council members whose sole focus is on trees, bike paths, plastic bags, diversity, concrete plazas, and nuclear-free zones. Or, going forward, read the MOUs. Pay attention to the 30 percent in guaranteed salary increases that most employees enjoy during the first six years of employment (5 percent step increase each year not including CPI adjustments if any). That needs to change, as does the amount the city/taxpayers pay of the employee medical benefits.

As our assistant city manager pointed out, employees have made significant concessions starting in 2014. But issues remain. Taxpayers must voice their opinions and they can start by weighing in before negotiations start in August with the CPOA. STEPHANIE L. TABER Chico

Speaking of compensation Many people think that Chico firefighters are paid too much. In 2012, average total compensation for Chico’s full-time International Association of Firefighters Local 2734 members was $188,000.

There is an easy solution that should be considered by the City Council. Many cities and counties contract with Cal Fire for firefighter services. All those Butte County fire stations are run by Cal Fire.

Cal Fire firefighters are members of IAFF Local 2881 and are paid about 40 percent less than Chico firefighters. We can contract with Cal Fire and save millions.

However, Chico’s current contract (Section 5.7 www.chico.ca.us/ human_resources_and_risk_man-

“All too frequently, Chico police officers are forced into action to defend citizens’ lives, their partners’ lives, and their own lives, yet some say $34.24 per hour is too much compensation.”

—Peter Durfee president, Chico Police Officers’ Association

agement/documents/IAFF_ MOU.pdf) requires notifying the union three years in advance to even consider contracting out with Cal Fire. The City Council needs to promptly notify the union. Otherwise, they are not being serious about reducing excessive publicemployee compensation.

MICHAEL JONES Chico

‘Restore the research’ Re “Ecological restrictions” (Newslines, by Tom Gascoyne, Feb. 20): I was deeply concerned to read about the recent cutbacks at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. It has taken years to build relationships with donors and raise support funds for the reserve, for students to accumulate important research data and to create and provide programs for schoolchildren. The safety investigation for a collapsed deck seems to have little to do with these important community, financial and program benefits.

It will take a long time to rebuild these aspects of the reserve that have now been demolished in one moment’s decision. The university’s education mission has been lost in an overemphasis on an investigation that is not even completed.

Big Chico Creek Canyon and Bidwell Park are community cornerstones where we recreate, learn and come together. The reserve is an important part of this watershed that provides accessibility to a more pristine world, and I consider the reserve an invaluable connection to that watershed.

I believe our reach for a more sustainable future will be better served through experiences at the reserve than through another LEED building designation on campus. Please support the reserve management, bring the community into this discussion and restore the

research and school programs sooner than later.

DAVID NOPEL Chico

Camp will attract homeless Re “Tent city” (Newslines, by Tom Gascoyne, Feb. 27): I recently read that a local group is proposing a homeless encampment in Chico. I support agencies such as the Salvation Army that make a concerted effort to help the truly needy who are not on the streets by choice. I willingly pay taxes for government social-service programs. What I do not support is a misguided attempt to create a “tent city” that may help a few individuals but would further exacerbate an influx of “travelers” with a sense of entitlement and no concept of responsibility.

I would refer any proponents of such a campground to Placerville’s “social experiment,” which they closed after 16 months because, while the campground itself was self-regulating, it attracted even more homeless.

According to a Sacramento Bee article (“Placerville homeless ‘Haven’ closes in response to neighbor complaints” Nov. 15, 2013), “the campground also drew an influx of transients, still more illegal campgrounds and increased litter and property crime.” Additionally, police contact with transients elsewhere went up 100 percent, burglaries increased by 25 percent, and theft by 60 percent.

Placerville did build it and they did come. We know where this road paved with good intentions leads.

MICHAEL GENGA Chico

Anyone have this problem?

In the last two months, my brother has received two letters in the mail offering him coverage for California citizens only. Problem is, he died nine and half years ago!

The first letter is “New 2014

Benefit Update.” This is a stateregulated (California) life insurance program to pay for final expenses for just pennies a day. It would pay up to $15,000 tax free.

He died already, people. A little late don’t you think?

The second letter is from Anthem Blue Cross saying he may qualify for financial help for health coverage. What the heck? In the years since he passed, he did not collect any wages, state or federal funds/benefits, or Social Security.

Is this another waste of money?

If so, who pays to send these notices out to people who have died? Is it the people who pay taxes or from insurance premiums?

If the wrong person got this mail and submitted the application, this would be fraud, which could result in identity theft. Who would be accountable for the prevention of these fraudulent applications?

What I would like to know is how these companies get names to send this mail to those that have passed?

Has anyone else had this problem?

PATRICIA BRASIER Chico

Support the market Right now, the members of the Saturday Chico Certified Farmers’ Market are fighting for their right to remain in a location that has well served them and the local community for more than 21 years.

How ironic that this iconic, beloved Chico institution, named one of the top-five farmers’ markets in the world by Essential Travel.co.uk, is at risk of being displaced.

How sad that the farmers and artisans who provide us with the nourishing, delicious food that sustains us should fear for their ability to provide sustenance for their families, because of a few downtown business owners who blame these hardworking people for their financial failings.

The least we can do for the people who provide us with the food we put on our tables is to honor them by supporting them in their desire to remain in the best location. By signing the initiative [to put the market’s location to a public vote] that will enable the community to have their say on this important issue, we demonstrate our commitment to preserving that which is irreplaceable.

DEBRA ABBOTT Chico More letters online:

We’ve got too many letters for this space.

Please go to www.newsreview.com/chico for additional readers’ comments on past CN&R articles.

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CN&R 7

WILDCATS IN THE ELITE EIGHT

For the first time in its history, the Chico State men’s basketball team is heading to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament.

After beating Cal State Stanislaus 81-80 on Monday (March 17), in thrilling fashion, the Wildcats, winners of the West Region, will head to Evansville, Ind., for the championship tournament and a match up with Southeast Region winner South Carolina Aiken on March 26.

Chico State’s victory over Stanislaus came in the last minutes of the game. Down 74-61, the Wildcats went on an improbable run, outscoring the Warriors 20-6 in the final 2:34. Senior forward Amir Carraway—who sank the two game-winning free throws— was named MVP of the West Regional.

Return to lender

Chico’s downtown post office was built in 1916.

PHOTO BY MELISSA DAUGHERTY

Can rebranding the U.S. Post Office as a financial vehicle save the American institution?

FREE SPEECH PREVAILS

Butte College President Kimberly Perry issued a statement on the community college’s website Tuesday (March 18) in response to instructor Jodi Rives Meier’s controversial comments about military veteran students on Facebook the previous week.

In the statement, Perry, who didn’t mention Rives Meier by name, said she was disappointed by the instructor’s statements.

“Those sentiments do not reflect the position of the college toward veterans,” reads part of the 450-word statement, which goes on to say that “personal views, however offensive, expressed on personal social media sites are free speech.”

Among other things, Rives Meier had said that most of her military students struggle with being prepared for academic work. In an interview with Jerry Olenyn of KRCR TV, she defended those comments along with others about the high incidence of rape in the military.

SIGNATURES SUBMITTED

Medical-marijuana advocates submitted a referendum petition last week to bring Butte County’s medi-pot ordinance to a public vote.

The Butte County Board of Supervisors adopted amendments to the ordinance in February that medi-pot users decried as prohibitively restrictive. Medi-pot advocate and supervisor candidate Andrew Merkel (pictured) told the supervisors to “go ahead and do it” during a recent meeting, promising to bring the issue to a public vote. Merkel and company followed through, submitting 12,262 signatures, well over the required 7,605.

The amendments were set to go into effect on March 14, but will remain suspended as Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs determines whether enough of the petition’s signatures are valid. If not, the ordinance will go into effect immediately. If enough are valid, the supervisors can either repeal the ordinance entirely or bring the issue to Butte County voters. In that case, the ordinance will remain suspended until the election—either the general election in November or a special election.

8 CN&R March 20, 2014

Y have an honorable history, but it’s facing tough times, including a fiscal crisis and, more our friendly local post office may

generally, a struggle to keep pace with growing digital communication technologies. Conservatives have increasby ingly dismissed the United States Michele Postal Service as a clunky relic Chen of old-fashioned America, with right-wing lawmakers seeking to phase it out through service cuts and privatization. Now, some progressives are trying to save the USPS by rebranding it as a financial vehicle: a place for you to pick up your mail and deposit a paycheck in one stop.

Some officials have pitched the idea of the postal service expanding into “nonbank” financial services, carefully designed to complement rather than directly compete with Wall Street. In a recent report, the USPS Inspector General’s Office suggested that local post offices could offer products such as international money transfers, small shortterm loans, and prepaid debit cards for bills or everyday purchases. To fulfill needs unmet by big banks, these financial services would ideally be targeted toward “low-income areas like rural communities and inner cities.”

Ultimately, though, many advocates want to see the postal service be bolder and actually delve into full-scale banking services. Labor and consumer advocacy groups like AppleSeed, a nonprofit organization focusing on social-justice issues, say the USPS is excellently positioned as a government-supported, publicly accountable institution to fill a longstanding gap in the financial system by offering interest-bearing accounts and other basic banking services. In addition, branching into the affordable finance business would offer the USPS a steady revenue stream.

For free-marketers who fear the USPS would steal big banks’ customers, advocates point out that low-income groups that stand to gain the most from postal banking have already been marginalized as a bad business prospect. Some 68 million Americans are considered “underbanked”: In other words, they lack access to mainstream banks and essential services like savings accounts. “Banking desert” neighborhoods are typically full of people of color, immigrants and unemployed workers—and there may be no full-service bank in sight for them, because massive firms like Merrill Lynch do not see those areas as “profitable.”

In turn, the service gap makes these communities easy prey for shady, profiteering nonbank financial-service companies, such as payday loan shops—which are often indirectly funded by Wall Street. Under the current banking infrastructure, according to the IG report, the average underserved household spends $2,412 each year just on interest and fees for alternative financial services.

But residents of underbanked neighborhoods do tend to have access to their local branch of a nationwide network of 35,000 postal outlets, which serve every ZIP code, rich or poor. And as the IG points out, the post office already provides money orders in addition to mail service.

Under a postal banking system, then, consumers could cash their paychecks with Uncle Sam instead of with a corner check-cashing joint, or get a quick loan without incurring more debt through a payday lender’s usurious fees and inter-

est rates. A public option with a trusted name like the Postal Service would provide these struggling families a stable financial infrastructure without the risks posed by high-cost storefront financiers.

With a long historical and global

track record, postal finance is actually a pretty old-fashioned notion. New Zealand and Japan have established robust, popular postal banking systems that offer similar services to the proposed plan, as political reporter Dave Dayen points out in a recent piece for Pacific Standard magazine. And from 1911 to 1967, the USPS ran its own Postal Savings System, a basic financial infrastructure for small deposits that earned 2 percent interest. The system peaked in the late 1940s, with more than 4 million depositors holding more than $3 billion, before it was eclipsed by commercial banks that had begun offering consumers more competitive interest rates.

But now that big banks have devastated the global economy and driven millions of Americans into financial ruin, it’s a good time to resurrect postal banking as a more socially responsible alternative. The idea has already gained some attention in Washington with an official endorsement from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The transition could also help the USPS bolster its sagging finances. “If even 10 percent of what the underserved currently spend on interest and fees instead went to more affordable offerings from the Postal Service,” the IG report

states, “it could lead to some $8.9 billion in new revenue per year.”

For their part, unions support postal banking, too, as an alternative to the branch closures, diminished delivery days and job losses that conservatives have repeatedly pushed on the USPS amid its current—albeit mostly manufactured— fiscal crisis.

“The Postal Service will better serve the needs of potential customers—and the nation—because it won’t victimize customers,” says Sally Davidow, American Postal Workers Union (APWU) communications director. “Traditional banks have ignored the unbanked, and payday loan operations are essentially legalized loan-sharking.” An expansion into this sector by the USPS would also serve the needs of its workforce, she tells In These Times, because the employees are “highly trained and accountable to the public,” and overall, “post offices should have longer hours and be better staffed.”

This anti-privatization sentiment has also driven the APWU to oppose probusiness reform proposals, including a controversial new pilot program to partner with Staples and effectively outsource some services to corporate store employees. Instead of potentially displacing uniformed civil servants through privatization, the union points out, the government now has the opportunity to offer an alternative to the greed-soaked banking sector.

Postal-banking advocates should remain wary, however, that a venture into the banking sector could backfire by fostering more corporatization: A publicoption financial vehicle could be watered down into yet another Staples-like “public-private partnership” by partnering with an existing commercial bank. Rather than leading to a socialization of mainstream finance, such a move would undermine the institution’s civic role. Any progressive postal banking plan, therefore, would need to offer services that challenge big banks, allowing it to be economically competitive enough to ward off private-sector co-optation.

A successful foray into financial services might also inspire initiatives for other forms of public service provision that fit a progressive modernization agenda. The USPS could, for example, offer online portals to facilitate citizens’ communications with various governmental agencies, such as benefits offices. A natural extension from there might be for the Postal Service to spearhead an offer of cheap broadband to residential households, especially in low-income areas.

Contrary to the right-wing myth, privatization is not the only way the USPS can survive in the Information Age. Instead, the Postal Service can become a more viable business and a more vital community institution by enhancing its public role. It can challenge Wall Street by bringing economic equity to Main Street. Ω

Canadian journalist and human-rights activist Eva Bartlett pictured just prior to her lecture at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Chico on Monday, March 17.

Trauma in Gaza

PHOTO BY HOWARD HARDEE

Touring journalist shares stories of activism y her own admission, Eva Bartlett is fortuBjournalist nate to be alive. Since 2008, the Canadian and human-rights activist has

spent a total of three years in the Gaza Strip, one of the most volatile and war-ravaged places in the world.

Not only that, Bartlett and fellow volunteer activists with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) purposely put themselves in harm’s way, striving to be as visible as possible when they escort Palestinian civilians targeted by the Israeli military. For instance, when a group of Palestinian farmers came under heavy gunfire near the Israeli military’s “buffer zone”—a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Israel—Bartlett was frontand-center, wearing a fluorescent vest and armed only with a megaphone.

“The reason we wore [the vests] was to counter the Israeli narrative that they were shooting at a ‘suspicious person approaching the border fence,’ which is what the Israeli spokespeople invariably say,” Bartlett said.

“When you see someone like me wearing a fluorescent vest, it makes it quite clear that the Israeli military is targeting unarmed civilians and they know very well that they’re doing it.”

Bartlett is currently on tour, lecturing throughout Canada and the United States on the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and the West Bank. On Monday, March 17, she stopped at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship for a lecture hosted by the Chico Palestine Action Group. Drawing on first-hand experiences, Bartlett argued that Israel has systematically oppressed Palestine with a series of “genocidal policies” and heinous war crimes, which she personally documented through a series of graphic videos and images.

“There are some photos—I notice some children in the crowd—that I do not censor,”

About the activist:

Check out Bartlett’s blog, In Gaza, at www.ingaza.wordpress.com. Go to www.chicopeace.org/palestineaction for more information on the efforts of the Chico Palestine Action Group.

she warned the audience. “The reason I don’t is that I think it’s imperative that we understand what’s happening to Palestinians.

“With that,” she said, “let me take you on a disturbing ride.”

The Gaza Strip comprises a relatively

small area—a stretch of 25 miles on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that’s only seven miles across at its widest point—but is home to some 1.7 million people, including more than 1 million United Nations-registered refugees.

Dating back to Israel’s creation following World War II, Gaza has been the focal point of the greater Arab-Israeli conflict. In recent years, some human-rights advocacy groups

SIFT|ER March Madness by the numbers • About 50 million Americans annually participate in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket pools.

• Odds of someone with no basketball knowledge guessing all 63 games in bracket correct: 9.2 quintillion to 1.

• There will be between $80 million and $90 million in legal wagering at sports books during NCAA tournament.

• There will be approximately $2.5 billion in illegal NCAA tournament wagers.

• If all American workers participating in NCAA tournament pools spend an average of one hour working on brackets and checking scores while on the clock, the lack of productivity cost to companies will total approximately $1.2 billion.

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have criticized Israel’s military occupation of Gaza and an Israelienforced blockade that has limited the import of basic goods.

Bartlett’s presentation included a slideshow with images of a Palestinian baby girl’s corpse, blackened by chemical burns; a grieving husband gathering his wife’s remains following an aerial strike; a young man lying unconscious on a hospital bed, his brain matter exposed by a gruesome head injury; and another young man, killed from a gunshot wound to the head.

In each instance, Bartlett made a point of explaining the context of the images and sharing the names of each victim—part of her effort to humanize the Palestinian people.

“I really felt it was important to be able to show people who have fallen prey to propaganda dehumanizing Palestinians and Arabs in general,” she said. “I make a point of showing that because I want people to really feel how [Palestinians] are made to suffer.”

The broader economic and social oppression of Gaza’s people illustrated by Bartlett’s presentation was equally powerful. She explained how police stations, schools, hospitals, UN warehouses, mosques and government buildings were targeted by Israeli air strikes during the Gaza War in 2008, and how Israel’s border blockade of Gaza has since prevented the Palestinians from rebuilding.

Further, Bartlett said Israel’s effort to target certain civilian groups—namely, farmers, anglers and medical personnel—has contributed to widespread food insecurity and increasingly poor public health. In response, ISM volunteers often accompany these working Palestinians, hoping that their presence would prevent the citizens from being shot.

Bartlett shared a video from 2008 in which parsley farmers, merely attempting to harvest their crop, were forced to the ground by a hail of gunfire. Bartlett’s desperate voice can be heard over her megaphone: “No! Stop!

Stop! Stop! Please stop shooting. We are unarmed civilians. We are with farmers working their land. There is no need to shoot.”

After more gunfire, Bartlett screams, “Why are you shooting? We have no weapons!”

Bartlett concluded her presentation on a decidedly more upbeat note, sorting through several photographs of Palestinians in everyday situations.

“In closing, I always show nicer images,” she said. “Despite all of these oppressive and genocidal policies, they are still the most loving and generous people I’ve ever met.

“They don’t want handouts and they don’t want to be saved,” she continued. “They want normal lives and open borders.”

—HOWARD HARDEE howardh@newsreview.com

NEWSLINES continued on page 10 March 20, 2014

CN&R 9

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a letter requesting he introduce a bill that would require those running for elected office to prove they have lived in the district they seek to represent for “one full year.”

This was hardly anything new on Bird’s part—he began a mission four years ago to go after state Sen. Private & Community Jim Nielsen, whom Bird accuses of Walk-ins Welcome living outside the district that Nielsen represents. The Republican Jennifer Conlin L.Ac. senator says he and his family live IT IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE Bill Nichols L.Ac. in a double-wide mobile home in Most insurance accepted the Tehama County town of GerMassage available ber. Bird says Nielsen lives in a gated community in Woodland, which is about 15 miles northwest Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties of Sacramento.

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Now Bird’s efforts to expose Nielsen have been revitalized with the conviction in January of state Sen. Roderick Wright in Los Angeles County on eight counts of perjury and voter fraud. The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said Wright claimed on his candidacy filings that he lived in an apartment in Inglewood, when in fact he lived in a large house in Baldwin Hills, outside the district.

Wright’s on a leave of absence while awaiting sentencing, which could include jail time.

For his part, Bird, who is 79 and lives in the town of Rancho Tehama, said Logue initially 968 East Ave (next to Quackers) showed interest in pursuing the bill Tickets $5 that he suggested, but in the end Wine supplied by Grocery Outlet – Chico failed to introduce it. “I had every2012 Indigo Eyes Chardonnay, CA. thing there they wanted, but it turns out Logue didn’t want this to go 2011 Ironstone Pinot Grigio, CA. before any committee,” Bird said.

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the governor. All I wanted him to do was attempt to put this on the legislative treadmill and get it moving.”

Logue legislative aide Vance

Jarrard confirmed that Bird had approached Logue about a bill.

“We looked into it and gave it a lot of consideration,” Jarrard said, “but at the end of the day we just decided that we had other priorities we were working on, and we just weren’t going to have the time or ability to move this forward.”

Jarrard said Logue, who is termed out of office at the end of this year, has been more focused on matters of jobs and water. He said he’s not sure about the assemblyman’s concerns over an officeholder’s residency.

“I can’t say for certain he and I have ever spoken directly about that, but like I said, he did give the bill some consideration,” Jarrard said. “He did not move it forward because it was a bad subject matter or anything like that. It just wasn’t fitting into the priorities we were focusing on.”

Bird said he was at the state Capitol when Sen. Wright’s conviction made the news. In fact, he was featured in a Sacramento Bee story that mentioned his crusade against Nielsen.

“Bird has taken his complaints to the state Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State’s Office and a Tehama County grand

Don Bird, dressed here as a Founding Father, has kept on eye on state Sen. Jim Nielsen for the past four years, despite a temporary restraining order.

FILE PHOTO BY TOM GASCOYNE

jury, none of which has found any wrongdoing on Nielsen’s part,” the story said.

Nielsen, who could not be reached for comment by press time, told The Bee that he lives in Woodland while working in the Capitol, but “spends plenty of nights in Gerber, he said, taking care of his cats, tending his property or participating in events in the north end of the state.”

Bird said he talked with the FBI about Nielsen while he was in Sacramento. At the time, the FBI was looking into a case involving state Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) in which he is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes.

“Even though I filed a complaint back in 2009, they are going to look seriously into the case now,” he said.

“Mr. Nielsen is going to have a few people looking over his shoulders, I guarantee you that.

“Maybe someday I’ll get a phone call from the FBI and hear they’re going after Mr. Nielsen like they did Mr. Calderon. That is my hope. I’ve got a case of Southern Comfort sitting here in my cupboard just waiting for that day.”

—TOM GASCOYNE tomg@newsreview.com

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he results of a fish survey conTState’s ducted last August in Chico Big Chico Creek Ecologi-

cal Reserve have been made public and are kind of a mixed bag. But as fisheries biologists Michael Hellmair and Dana Lee point out, this was the first survey of the creek in more than 10 years, and as such, it serves as a baseline for future counts, the next of which is scheduled for August.

Hellmair and Lee work for research firm FISHBIO, which is based in Oakdale and opened an office in downtown Chico two years ago. The survey was done without monetary compensation.

Last August, FISHBIO founder Doug Demko described the survey as a way to give back to the community and as part of an ongoing project to monitor the health of the creek by noting fluctuations in the fish populations.

The report says that five species of fish were observed during the survey—rainbow trout, brown trout, Sacramento sucker, riffle sculpin and California roach. Rainbow trout were the most abundant with an estimated 2,525 within the reserve. Brown trout count estimations put the population at 188 and only one adult steelhead was spotted. Estimates were not made for the other three species, the report says, though 36 suckers and sculpin were observed.

Demko had previously explained that rainbow trout and steelhead are

basically the same species of fish.

The difference is in their respective lifestyles. Rainbow trout never leave freshwater habitats, while steelhead, which tend to be larger (18 inches in length or longer), live in the ocean, but return to their native freshwater creeks to spawn. Rainbow trout and steelhead are considered native to the creek. Brown trout were introduced a number of years ago.

Hellmair said while it’s too

early in the survey process to make definitive conclusions, he said for the size of the creek the number of trout counted is a good sign.

“Because the rainbow and steelhead populations are so intermeshed,” he said, “the resident rainbow trout population sort of provides a gene bank during years when juveniles that decide to be steelhead can’t make it to the ocean or the adult steelhead can’t make it back.”

He said it’s not feasible to count every fish in such a survey and that the numbers are based on sample habitat areas where the surveyors snorkeled and counted the fish.

“We make projections and extrapolate that to the rest of the reserve,” he said. “For the size of Big Chico Creek, given that in most places you can probably wade across it without getting your knees wet, it’s definitely a sizable and seemingly healthy trout population, especially within the boundaries of the ecological reserve. In part, it’s

Surveyors count fish in Big Chico Creek last August.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FISHBIO

probably because further environmental degradation in Big Chico Creek has come to a halt mostly due to the protection that is afforded by the designation as an ecological preserve.”

In the past, that degradation was caused by upstream logging, mining impacts and agricultural runoff, he said.

It is too early to tell if and how the ongoing drought has impacted the fish, he said.

“There’s been less runoff this year than last year and who knows what’s to come in future years? But it will certainly make for tougher conditions,” Hellmair said.

Fellow fisheries biologist Lee said discovering the similarities between steelhead and rainbow trout is both interesting and confusing.

“I would think of them as two different populations with no interbreeding,” he said. “They’re just kind of finding out they could depend on whatever benefits the habitat offers. Each fish is going to do what it can to survive. That means either migrating to the ocean and coming back or staying in the river where there is plenty of food when the stream is in good condition. Then there is no reason to make that trip.”

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THE PULSE STEM CELL BREAKTHROUGH QUESTIONED

Research conducted by stem cell scientists in Japan, touted just last month as a possible breakthrough in regenerative medicine, has fallen under intense scrutiny.

Following the study’s inclusion in the journal Nature, media outlets around the world— including this paper—reported that shocking skin cells with acid could turn them into stem cells, according to BBC News. The findings suggested that stem cells would no longer need to be taken from embryos or created through costly and complicated genetic modification.

But separate research groups have since failed to produce the same results, and questions about images presented in the scientific report have arisen; namely, they were similar to images used in a previous stem cell study conducted by one of the team’s researchers that did not use the acid-bath technique.

One of the study’s authors, Teruhiko Wakayama, said, “It is no longer clear what is right.”

OPT SETS UP DOWNTOWN

A key program from Chico State’s Center for Nutrition & Activity (CNAP) moved into a new location in downtown Chico, but services will mostly remain the same and, in some cases, expand.

OPT for Healthy Living, which focuses on physical activity and nutrition education efforts throughout the community, moved from their longtime location on Mangrove Avenue to just upstairs from CNAP’s office at 25 Main St., according to a CNAP press release. OPT’s ongoing Eat Right When Money’s Tight food-budgeting classes and the hands-on cooking class Get Cookin’ will continue, but will be hosted by rotating community groups around town rather than at the OPT office.

Additionally, OPT is now offering a new service—lactation counseling with certified lactation specialists. For more information call 345-0678.

GOING AFTER CARCINOGENS

Pursuant to the Safer Consumer Products regulations passed into law last year, state regulators are targeting three widely used products containing known carcinogens.

According to a Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) press release, the three products of concern are foam sleeping pads for children containing chlorinated Tris (TDCPP), a flame retardant and probable carcinogen; spray polyurethane foam systems containing unreacted diisocyanates, which can cause asthma and cancer and can cause respiratory and skin irritation; and paint stripper containing methylene chloride, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin.

Once the DTSC finalizes a rule-making process—which could take up to a year—manufacturers selling the products in California will be required to analyze whether safer ingredients are available and the feasibility of substituting them for the carcinogenic substances.

Send your health-related news tips to Howard Hardee at howardh@newsreview.com.

12 CN&R March 20, 2014

HEALTHLINES Highly visible ads for tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food products near schools are of concern for state and county public health officials.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Junk around the corner Survey finds unhealthy products readily available and in high demand in Butte County by

Evan Tuchinsky

Wa problem, it’s usually best to start at the source. That’s why public health officials hen trying to get to the root of

across the state joined the American Lung Association and other health-advocacy groups to examine the connection between marketing at community stores and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and junk food.

Each of California’s 58 counties participated in the project, titled Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community. Survey results came out this month; they show Butte County ranking among the most unhealthful retail environments, with cheap, plentiful tobacco; alcohol ads placed at kid level; sugary drinks at checkout counters in stores near schools; and a far greater promotion of unhealthy foods than healthy foods.

The study also found a marked increase in electronic cigarettes and a proliferation of “alcopops,” alcoholic beverages with bright colors and/or fruity flavors. The number of ecigarette sellers has nearly quadrupled in two years; alcopops, meanwhile, are so ubiquitous that they’re carried by most every market, pharmacy and convenience store.

Health officials aren’t stunned by the findings, but are nonetheless concerned.

“Anecdotally we knew what we would find,” said Shelly Brantley, the Chico-based advocacy director for the American Lung Association. “It was somewhat disheartening to then quantify that [the preconception] was true.

“The fact that there’s so much more

unhealthy product available—alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy snacks, sugary beverages, [and] such a disparity between healthy and unhealthy in what’s available—it really is troubling.”

The connection between stores and health seems intuitive. “If it’s not available,” Brantley said, “then obviously folks can’t purchase it, can’t consume it,” and vice versa. But such a comprehensive study, involving alcohol and nutrition along with tobacco, had not been conducted before. Now public health officials have hard numbers to present to policymakers and community leaders in the hope of inspiring holistic change.

“Stores play an important role in the community,” Brantley said. “They shape economics, quality of life, maybe even safety of our neighborhoods. … They’re absolutely assets to the community, and we need to make sure, then, that they’re healthy assets. This project is one way to do that.”

Officials and volunteers in Butte

County surveyed 145 local retailers—markets, pharmacies, convenience stores, liquor stores, tobacco-only stores—selected randomly. From July to October 2013, they looked at inventory, advertising, product placement and promotional displays.

Researchers then incorporated the local data into the regional and statewide analyses. The information is available at www.healthystoreshealthycommunity.com.

“The survey results as a whole serve as an opportunity to begin a discussion about what can be done to improve the retail environment that makes it easier to be healthy,” said Raul Raygoza, a public health education specialist for the Butte County Department of Public Health, who focuses on tobacco.

In that regard, in addition to the widespread proliferation of e-cigarettes, the surHEALTHLINES continued on page 14

APPOINTMENTS THE SCIENTISTS OF TOMORROW More than 500 science projects created by local K-12 students will be on display at the 30th annual Chico Science Fair, held at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds (2357 Fair St.). The exhibition will be open to the public on Wednesday, March 26, and Thursday, March 27, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Go to www.chicosciencefair.org for more information.

Butte County’s Only Hospital Based Midwifery Service “Midwifery is growing because women want to be heard and be in control of the medical support they receive. They want to have time spent with them and be seen as individuals. With Feather River Midwifery Service, the midwife attending the birth will already have spent a lot of time with the mother,” Lisa Catterall RN, CNM told us. Lisa is a provider with Feather River Midwifery Service, which has two clinics in Butte County: One in Paradise and one in Chico, conveniently located at 1617 Esplanade.

“Midwife is an Old English term and literally means, ‘with woman.’ It’s her birth, her body, her baby, and she should have her baby her way. Midwives get to know the woman on all levels – physically, emotionally, spiritually, and what her social support network is like. It doesn’t matter if she wants an epidural or an all natural birthing experience. Midwives are there through the whole process to support the woman.” Lisa said.

Lisa has been a registered nurse and midwife for almost thirty years and has delivered well over 3000 babies in that time. She explained what it means for midwives to have hospital privilege and what that means for expecting women. “Feather River Hospital is the only hospital in Butte County with midwives. We can care for the woman at our clinics and then admit them to Feather River Hospital when it’s time to deliver.” Feather River Midwifery Service is overseen by Dr. Deborah Anderson, an obstetrician, who is very supportive of midwifery. When a laboring woman is admitted to Feather River Hospital’s Birth Day Place, she can expect to be cared for by a cohesive team of professionals. Feather River Hospital’s approach to caring for the whole person keeps Nurse Midwives, Obstetricians, nurses, social services, nutrition services, and Pediatricians in constant communication with each other and the woman and her family to deliver the highest level of care to the new mother and baby.

Lisa elaborated on the culture of Feather River Midwifery Service, and Feather River Hospital, “We view a person from the perspective of health, rather than from the perspective of disease.” Births attended

by Feather River Hospital midwives boast a very low 7%-8% c-section rate. Feather River Hospital’s Birth Day Place has spacious, private, LDRP (labordelivery-recovery-postpartum) rooms with warm and comfortable features. They offer a number of services that can’t be found at other Butte County hospitals, including the option to have a water birth, and hydrotherapy for natural pain relief during labor.

There are five Certified Nurse Midwives including Cheryl Struve, Ann Wright, Tomi Warren, and Tanya Nolan, and they also provide Well Woman Care and gynecological exams throughout a woman’s lifespan. They are currently accepting new patients.

Celebrating 30 years of midwifery service in Butt e County

5 9 7 4 P e n t z R o a d Pa R a d i s e , C a 9 5 9 6 9 / ( 5 3 0 ) 8 7 7 - 9 3 6 1 / w w w. f R h o s P. o R g

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CN&R 13

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HEALTHLINES

continued from page 12

vey found that Butte Survey says County has some of the lowest cigarette Notable results from the Healthy Stores for a Healthy Comprices in the state. “In munity survey, with Butte County compared to the Shasta a nutshell, that’s a Cascade region as well as the the rest of California (numbers recipe for nicotine represent the percentage of stores surveyed). addiction that leads to preventable illness Butte Co. Region State and suffering,” RayUnhealthy outside ads 70.3 66.9 71 goza said.

Healthy outside ads 10.3 8.7 12.2 Also of concern Alcohol ads in kids’ sight line* 32.1 35.6 36.7 to both Raygoza and Sugary drinks near school** 80.7 64.6 55.6 colleague Ellen Flavored tobacco near school*** 83.9 86.4 75.3 Michels, who speSelling e-cigarettes 46.9 43 45.7 cializes in nutrition, Selling “alcopops” 96.9 93.3 82.4 are products attractive to young people *Advertising near toys/candy, or below three feet such as candy and **Displayed by checkout, at stores within 1,000 feet of school bubble gum in the ***Candy/mint/liquor-flavored non-cigarette tobacco, at stores form of cigarettes and chewing tobacco within 1,000 feet of school flavored like candy.

Sweet alcohol falls into the same “It just seems to be accepted category. Many parents don’t even that our convenience stores are just know what alcopops are, “but the going to sell unhealthy snacks,” kids know,” said Michel, “and I Michels said, “and if you want think that’s shameful.

“It’s just a logical progression for healthy stuff, you have to go to a grocery store—and a lot of neighthe kids who are used to drinking borhoods don’t have that option.” sugary beverages to move on to Michels is careful about pointsugary beverages with alcohol, and when you line up these products, it’s ing fingers, though. Commerce hard to even tell which have alcohol involves supply, but also demand.

“The retailer isn’t the problem in them; they all look alike.” here; the retailer is really just the Sugary drinks contribute to obesity, which affects nearly two-thirds middleman,” she said. “The companies that produce the unhealthy of adults and a third of children in products and market them, that’s Butte County. The survey found where it originates, and then all of these beverages frequently disus who purchase all the unhealthy played near cash registers, along stuff are adding to the problem, too. with candy, snacks and other I think there needs to be change all impulse items. Fresh milk, fruits around.” Ω and vegetables were harder to find.

WEEKLY DOSE Pedal for longevity Simply switching from driving to biking to work could add months to your life, according to a 2010 study of commuters in the Netherlands titled Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? The researchers estimated: • Life expectancy lost due to increased exposure to air pollution ranged from 0.8 to 40 days.

• Life expectancy lost due to traffic accidents ranged from five to nine days.

• Life expectancy gained from the increase in physical activity ranged from three to 14 months.

The researchers concluded that, on average, the benefits of cycling were about nine times greater than the risks.

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EARTH WATCH

GREENWAYS Chickweed (Stellaria media) and miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) growing in Lower Bidwell Park.

SALMON TRUCKED TO OCEAN?

If drought conditions in California persist, millions of young hatchery-raised salmon could be transported to the ocean via tanker trucks rather than swimming down the Sacramento River.

According to The Sacramento Bee, state and federal wildlife officials recently announced a plan to haul the salmon on a nearly three-hour drive from Red Bluff to San Pablo Bay, near Vallejo, if the Sacramento River and its tributaries become too shallow and warm to sustain salmon. The salmon would be held in floating net pens as they acclimate to new salinity and temperature conditions before being released into the Pacific.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is adopting similar plans for its hatcheries along the Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers.

Eating wild A Ashort shortprimer primer on onthe theedible edible wild wildplants plants available availablein inthe the Chico Chicoarea area

COASTAL AREA DESIGNATED AS PRESERVE

President Obama designated a 1,665-acre area along the coast of Mendocino as a nature preserve on Tuesday, March 11.

The Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands will be added to the existing Coastal California National Monument—1,100 miles of coast that President Bill Clinton protected in 2000, according to The Washington Post. The new reserve features jagged bluffs, sand dunes and tidal pools and is home to several types of migratory waterfowl and the threatened Point Arena mountain beaver. The Bureau of Land Management will develop a management plan for the area over the next three years.

“California tourism is obviously important, and the California coastline I think is as big of an attraction as there is,” Obama said upon signing the proclamation.

PANGOLIN MARKET BOOMING

The illegal trade of pangolins—often described as “scaly anteaters”—has taken off in recent years due to rapid economic growth in China, where the mammals’ scales are used in traditional medicine, a report finds.

Chinese enforcement officials worked with researchers from the UK to analyze records of pangolins seized by smugglers, according to BBC News. The research team discovered that 2.59 tons of scales—representing about 4,870 pangolins—along with 259 intact pangolins either alive or dead have been seized since 2010. The study’s authors also noted that pangolin scales are currently worth approximately $272 per pound, twice the amount they traded for in 2008.

“The numbers of pangolins traded are shocking, and all the more so considering the pharmaceutical pointlessness of the trade,” said David Whyte Macdonald, director of the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit and co-author of the report.

Of the eight species of pangolins, two are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and four are listed as near threatened.

16 CN&R March 20, 2014

A colorful wild salad made with yellow dock, violet, dandelion, miner’s lettuce, wild radish, field mustard, plantain and shepherd’s purse.

story and photos by

Jesse Mills

“W It is a singularly human question, a vexing ideological debate that has hat to eat?”

raged on for centuries, with all the entrenched dogmas and fanatical zealotry of a holy war. Every week, someone’s waving a new book around, shouting themselves hoarse, trying to cash in on the hysteria. Vegetarians versus Paleo. Atkins versus blood type. Vegans versus everybody.

Recently, one quiet voice in the debate has been gaining traction. “See that little green weed growing through the cracks in the pavement?” it says. “The one nearly crushed beneath the weight of your soapbox? That’s what you should eat.”

The wild food movement, reinvigorated in the 1960s by the writings of Euell Gibbons, is taking it back to the old school (as in, pre-agricultural revolution—12,000 years, give or take).

Most of the food on the market today is a result of thousands of years of selective breeding by primitive gardeners. Take lettuce, for example: There are hundreds of named varieties of lettuce, and every last one can be traced back to a single wild ancestor—what we call “wild lettuce” or

“prickly lettuce,” (botanical name: Lactuca serriola), first brought under cultivation by the ancient Egyptians. These wild ancestors have been with us all along in their original forms, growing at the edge of the garden, populating lonely alleys and vacant lots, offering their strange and bitter nutrition.

If you are looking, there is food nearly everywhere.

Here in the North State, something good is on the menu every day of the year.

There’s cream of stinging nettle soup available in the winter, while spring offers elderflower fritters and cattail pollen bread. Summer drops the bomb with purslane omelets and milk thistle quiche. Fall brings acorn pancakes made divine by elderberry syrup.

And while combing the upper reaches of the Deer Creek watershed for morels has an undeniable appeal, a better introduction to the foraging arts can be had by taking a bike ride and gathering a simple wild salad along the way. Many wild edible plants thrive in disturbed soils; as our tenure on the Earth can be charitably described as a lengthy and ongoing disturbance, this means good foraging is often as close as your own front yard.

Connect with local foragers:

Find “Chico Foragers Action Squad” on Facebook.

All of the ingredients for a wild salad

for tonight’s dinner table can be found in a few hours’ time on a bike, without leaving the city limits. Once you begin to make connections and foster relationships with wild plants, you’ll whittle down your trip time, but don’t be in too big of a hurry—a foraging trip is an occasion to wander, to dream on your feet a little. Quiet early mornings are best, while the plants are still bathing in dew, before the belching of tailpipes and industry bruises the day.

A good field guide is indispensable.

Don’t go nibbling plants without first making a positive ID. Poison hemlock, for example, bears a superficial resemblance to wild carrot and is highly poisonous.

Pokeweed, another local plant, is only edible when very young, increasing in toxicity as it matures. If you’re on Facebook, the Chico Foragers Action Squad page can help with questions of plant identification.

Your first time out, you could do a lot worse than Lower Bidwell Park. You’ll find miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) and chickweed (Stellaria media) growing thickly on the roadsides, and tangy yellow dock (Rumex crispus) practically everywhere. The small, tender leaves of dock are best for fresh eating, but even the larger, fibrous leaves are delicious when lightly boiled or steamed and dressed with butter. Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), mal-

FEATHERED FRIENDS Take your preschooler to the Chico Creek Nature Center (1968 E. Eighth St.) this afternoon, Thursday, March 20, from 3 to 4 p.m., for the Friends with Feathers Preschool Program for kids ages 3 to 5. Learn lots about birds, make a heron mask and meet a real (friendly) bird up close. Cost is $12 per child; call 891-4671 to register.

UNCOMMON SENSE Green cleaning your car Contrary to what many people believe, automatic car washes are much more eco-friendly than do-ityourself home jobs. The International Car Wash Association estimates home washes use an average of 80 to 150 gallons of water, whereas commercial washes typically use about 45 gallons for an averagesized vehicle. For those who still prefer to wash their car at home, Earth 911 (Earth911.com) suggests parking on grass or gravel so the water soaks back into the ground rather than into gutters, which may empty into nearby streams. Use a nozzle with automatic shutoff, or turn the spigot off between rinses, to save water. Also, use eco-friendly, toxin-free cleaners.

YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

low (Malva neglecta) and common self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) are also abundant in Lower Park.

But leave the park and circle back through the streets or the avenues, wherever there are alleys and medians and vacant lots ripe for harvest. Here you can find wild lettuce and the ribbed vertical leaves of ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), great food and better medicine (for coughs, insect bites, etc.). The pleasantly bitter leaves of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and the versatile violet (Viola odorata) crowd the lawns here, their flowers every bit as tasty and useful as their foliage. The branches of the western redbud (Cercis occidentalis), a common yard tree, are loaded with sweet, pink, edible flowers now (in summer/fall the young pods can be

eaten like snow peas). Don’t be afraid to knock on a few doors if your search demands it; most people are warily curious, but supportive. Some are downright tickled.

Keep riding. Toward the edges of town there’s pungent field mustard (Brassica rapa) and spicy wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) in the fertile, mulchy understory of valley oaks, exploding with bright edible flowers, usually growing in a half circle at the southern drip line. Along the way, look for shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), a roadside weed here, but valued for its peppery greens in Chinese cooking.

Some of these greens will keep longer than others, but in general don’t plan on keeping them overnight. Wild greens have not been bred to stay fresh during shipping; if they start to go limp before you get home, a quick soak in cool water will freshen them up. Once your palate becomes attuned to these complex new flavors, the orderly rows of watery cellulose on the supermarket shelves will never look the same.

Thoreau said it best: “I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.”

Building a regular foraging practice not only saves money and promotes robust health, it also entrains our senses to the subtle magnetisms of this place, ultimately leading to a deeper and more meaningful residency here. And while it doesn’t comprise an answer in itself, it can go a long way in helping resolve that ancient philosophical conundrum: “What to eat?” Ω

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CN&R 17

A new CURVE G N I N R A LE Are MOOCs high-tech hype, or will the online courses transform education as we know it?

BY MELINDA WELSH melindaw@newsreview.com

T

he room is dark and silent. Inside, a young computer scientist with a shaved head and intense blue eyes sits alone at a desk facing a pane of sound-absorbent foam. Above him a video camera points straight down at a high-tech tablet; his right hand is poised to scribble out code on its screen. Taped to the camera’s microphone is a yellow Post-it with one word scrawled on it—“ENERGY”—a curious message to the professor in his own handwriting.

Next, UC Davis’ John Owens takes a sip of Dr Pepper and begins teaching a class— Introduction to Parallel Computing—to a vast audience of learners via the Internet.

Instead of giving a PowerPoint presentation before his usual classroom of hoodiewearing coeds with laptops and iPhones, however, this educator’s lessons will spiral out to an audience of 42,000 students across the globe. Though he must take the irregular step of using a Post-it to summon the energy usually inspired in him by living-andbreathing students, with this one class, Owens will teach many, many more pupils than he will otherwise have the opportunity to instruct throughout his entire tenured career at UC Davis.

18 CN&R March 20, 2014

Welcome to the world of massive online open courses—better known as MOOCs— where future-minded academics like Owens are early principals in a grand experiment about the future of education.

MOOCs (rhymes with “nukes”) came on the scene about three years ago. The courses combine high-end video production on lectures from world-class professors with assignments and assessments that students can get into at their own pace, on their own time, with the encouraged use of forums, discussion boards and social-media platforms like Facebook. They are typically free. From its inception, the fledgling MOOC industry drew hyperbole. Ivy League universities (Harvard, Stanford, MIT), renowned think

tanks (Institute for Public Policy Research) and key media players (The New York Times’ Thomas L. Friedman, The New Yorker’s Nathan Heller) heralded the MOOC on high with its potential to cure all that ails higher education.

Imagine the potential of MOOCs! they claimed—universally obtainable college classes taught to millions of learners by cream-of-the-crop professors for no fee or a nominal one. The democratization of elite education! Some even predicted that MOOCs—now boasting more than 10 million students and thousands of classes— would do nothing less than revolutionize higher education, making residential colleges obsolete in the process.

But all that rises soon must fall.

Negative critiques began mounting— from longtime educators, faculty unions and watch guards of traditional pedagogy. Many said the MOOC phenomenon was, at its core, a threat to brick-and-mortar colleges and an affront to the traditional purveyors of higher education. After early data showed that some 90 percent of MOOC students drop out before completing courses, critics declared proof of failure.

Just a few months ago, critics almost cheered when a study by the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education found that MOOC student engagement falls off an even steeper cliff shortly after each class begins, with course-completion rates averaging more like 4 percent. Meanwhile, it was also becoming clear that most of those who completed MOOCs were already highly educated, decidedly motivated. Slate published a blistering critique, NPR aired a negative take, and other headlines across the country took up a new pessimistic chant with: “Are MOOCs already over?”

(The Washington Post), “Are MOOCS Really A Failure?” (Forbes), “All Hail MOOCs! Just Don’t Ask if They Actually Work” (Time).

So, are MOOCs done?

It’s not likely. Or why do the industry’s major providers continue to grow and

About the author:

Melinda Welsh is editor-at-large at the Sacramento News & Review, where she spent decades as the paper’s editor-in-chief.

Al Filreis

Michael J. Sandel

Sebastian Thrun

announce new classes, endeavors and partnerships? Why does the number of students keep mounting by the millions? Why does venture capital keep pouring in?

According to the gurus of innovation, the MOOC phenomenon is simply being misunderstood. As Mark Zuckerberg’s character said in The Social Network: “We don’t even know what it is yet.”

‘On my own terms’ There are thousands of MOOC professors—ones who built careers teaching in ivy towers to vastly smaller numbers in classrooms and lecture halls—who now offer up their wisdom to millions through one of the three MOOC industry giants: Udacity, Coursera, edX. Nuclear physicist Walter Lewin is one of them. In his edX Electricity and Magnetism MOOC, Lewin demonstrates the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy with a perilous display. The MIT professor stands in front of a lecture hall full of students, picks up a white sphere (about half the diameter of a basketball and weighing a

hefty 15 kilograms) that is tied to a cord and attached to the ceiling. He’s about to prove to those gathered—a few hundred in the auditorium and the tens of thousands online all across the globe— that he has faith in “the conservation of mechanical energy.” Lewin drops the sphere and it swings, pendulum-style, like a wrecking ball, across the front of the hall, then back with velocity toward his own face. Students squeal with apprehension, then delight, as the returning orb misses Lewin’s chin by mere inches.

“Physics works, and I’m still alive!” he proclaims.

Not all MOOC lectures go to such extreme lengths to make a point. But Lewin reminds that the passion of a great educator Walter Lewin is undeniable; the influence of outstanding professors irrefutable.

For example: Thanks to his much-lauded Socratic-style MOOC Justice on edX, Harvard’s political philosopher Michael J. Sandel is now celebrated as a “celebrity educator” all over the world. Another famed MOOC prof is University of Pennsylvania’s Al Filreis, who teaches the madly popular class ModPo—Modern & Contemporary America Poetry—for Coursera. And no fewer than 160,000 students signed up to gain skills at the hand of Stanford’s Sebastian Thrun, who co-taught the MOOC Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in the fall of 2011. (The experience led Thrun—famous for his development of Google’s driverless car—to found Udacity.)

Unlike online education classes that have been available for decades with mostly lowbudget videos of lectures and assignments taken for credit, MOOCs produced by the “three giants” are expensive to make with top “talent,” high-end production value, professional editing and, sometimes, cool visual effects. Often, the lecturer breaks lessons up in segments of 15 minutes or fewer, followed by a quick quiz and/or an opportunity to ask questions in social-media format.

In the case of UC Davis’ Owens, the burning passion was to teach parallel computing—where large problems are divided into smaller ones so that many calculations can be carried out simultaneously “in parallel,” by many computers. (The form of computation solves the problem of how to keep processors running faster regardless of heat generated.) Owens’ MOOC was designed to teach students how to code a series of imageprocessing algorithms (like those used in Photoshop or Instagram), and program and

then run those assignments on high-end graphics-processing units.

“The big thing is—how do you think in parallel?” said the associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “How do you take a complicated problem,” as examples, he mentioned global warming and protein folding, “and divide it into its littlest pieces so that you can collaborate, communicate, get something done?”

Though Owens’ typical UC Davis class comes together with plenty of time for questions and “winging it” by the teacher, the MOOC he launched with Udacity in the winter of 2013 did not exactly involve ad lib.

Introduction to Parallel Computing, a class he’d never taught specifically before, consisted of seven hour-long lectures broken into segments. Aside from a few videos featuring Owens and his co-instructor, the course is focused on Owens’ right hand, literally. As his voice guides students along, the video they see onscreen in the MOOC follows him drawing, scribbling code and scratching out algorithms on a Wacom Cintiq drawing pad. The segments are short, sometimes funny, and taught in a “dense” style that includes no summaries, wrap-ups or review. It’s like a TV show for advanced geeks with a Sesame Street-type approach

that includes quick lessons graphically taught with some animation. The six student projects are auto-graded. The course offers a certificate for those who completed the class; around 10 percent of the original class finished.

“It’s a huge team that put this together,” said Owens of his MOOC. He estimated that the effort cost Udacity something like $250,000 if you add up all the time and people power, including “back-end” experts, video editors, forum staffers and publicity folks. “For my one hour of lecture, it takes them 30 hours of edit,” he said.

“During the time the course was active, I was spending 10 to 15 hours per week answering questions [on the forum] besides whatever else I was doing,” he said.

With his striking appearance and shaved head, Owens makes a good target for approach at conferences by students who took his MOOC. They think him a rock star.

“People are walking up to me and taking pictures and tweeting about it,” he said. “And they’re just beaming. They want me to review their projects.”

The only UC Davis academic so far to “MOOCS” continued on page 22

UC Davis professor John Owens created a MOOC for Udacity in 2013 while on sabbatical.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN OWENS

March 20, 2014

CN&R 19

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3 p.m. and …

Hard Rock/Metal Showcase,

Folk/Americana/Country Showcase, 9 p.m., $5 Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave.

Indie/Experimental Showcase, 9 p.m., $5 The Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave.

Electronic Showcase, 9:30 p.m., $2 before 10 p.m.; $3 after 10 p.m.

Funk/Jam Showcase, 9 p.m., $5 Lost on Main, 319 Main St.

Rap Showcase, 10 p.m., $5 LaSalles, 229 Broadway

7 p.m., $5 Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave.

Co-presented by BassMint Chico

Peeking Restaurant, 243 W. Second St.

Singer-Songwriter Showcase,

Jazz Showcase, 6 p.m. $5 (two shows, one price) The Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave. Punk Showcase, 4 p.m., $5 donation

Finale & Awards Show Sunday, April 13, 2-7 p.m.

Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St. A FREE day-long concert featuring two stages filled with a couple dozen local acts, plus the announcement of the 2014 CAMMIES winners.

Food and drinks (including beer) available for purchase.

Co-presented by Chico Area Pyrate Punx Monstros Pizza, 628 W. Sac. Ave.

Rock Showcase, 8 p.m., $5 Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave.

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have made and launched a full-throttle MOOC, Owens describes the UC Davis campus as “incredibly supportive,” though he created the class while on sabbatical and was not rewarded for it by UC Davis in any direct sense. “This didn’t reduce my teaching load or anything,” he said.

“I’d rather explore this on my own terms,” shrugged Owens, “instead of being phased into doing it 10 or 15 years down the road.” When asked if he’d ever teach another MOOC, Owens nodded without skipping a beat.

“Absolutely,” he beamed.

‘Excessive optimism’ Up in his third floor office on the Sacramento State University campus, looking like a younger, more studious version of William H. Macy, a government professor sat ready to discuss the future of higher education.

Hint: Mark B. Brown is not too big on the MOOC thing.

“I think there’s been a kind of excessive optimism,” said Brown, who has pondered plenty about MOOCs on his Whose University? blog. “People often seize on a technological solution to social and political problems,” he said. “They come up with a nice hammer, and everything looks like a nail.”

What problems are we talking about? Try budget cutbacks, escalating tuition and soaring levels of student debt (estimated total at around $1 trillion) for starters. Add an alarming increase in waiting lists and inability for students to get into the classes they need to graduate. Then add a strikingly increased reliance on part-time faculty.

“There’s an assumption that a huge decline in public funding is somehow natural,” when it is instead the result of political decisions, said Brown. He noted California’s 2012 passage of Proposition 30 (a measure that increased taxes so as to prevent $6 billion in cuts to education) as an example of how politics and government can best ease some of higher education’s troubles.

“It’s much easier to argue about the pros and cons of [MOOCs] rather than fundamental questions of funding and priorities,” he said.

According to Brown, MOOCs are a pedagogical throwback, e.g., with their “sage on the stage” emphasis.

“The parts of MOOCs that are new are not what they seem. And the parts that work well are not very new,” he said. “Proponents of MOOCs often say the advantage of online lectures is that ‘you can pause and go back and review it again later.’ Which is what used to be called the virtues of a book. And they say, ‘MOOCs make the best knowledge in the world available to people on a public basis’?

“Well, that is what used to be called the virtues of a public library.”

He prefers the idea that MOOCs become just “one more resource for faculty to draw on” to instruct at their own discretion, as when they assign a book or a film.

Brown also believes the proposed solution of MOOCs “comes along with a diagno22 CN&R March 20, 2014

sis that faculty are usually lazy and slow to innovate, that they’re not interested in making use of new technologies,” he said. But it’s simply not true, he protested. For example, like many other professors, he makes use of new technologies all the time in his teaching. “My students run a course blog. I have a website for each of my classes. We have online discussion boards. I have my own blog.

“You get these outsiders who don’t have teaching experience who are credited with coming up with magical proposals for making everything better,” he said.

When MOOCs are criticized by lifelong educators and professors like Brown, one gets the sense that many in that community were fundamentally affronted by the sudden, explosive media attention MOOCs drew to the otherwise fairly dry subject of higher education.

Rolin Moe, a Pepperdine University education doctorate student, revealed some of the preliminary results of a recent Delphi study (a research model that uses expert “stakeholders” to investigate a topic) that he conducted on MOOCs for his dissertation and found opinions quite polarized about what he calls “not a learning model but a cultural phenomena.”

According to Moe, the “negative backlash” against MOOCS from many faculty members did not occur “because there’s an institutional fear of change,” he said. “It’s more because it was frustrating to have rock stars like [Sebastian] Thrun come through and take center stage for their ‘eureka moment’ about higher education, when really people have been doing the pedagogical work since way before.”

‘Some fear...some upset’ When Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg launched his online-education bill in March 2013, he did it with a nod to the future.

“[MOOCs] are an impersonal medium—when we need face-to-face.”

Instead of holding a traditional press conference with rows of scrappy journalists scribbling into notepads and running tape, Steinberg delivered news of what was to be a groundbreaking bill via live video stream at a Google Hangout conference. Reporters joined in via video chat or live over Web stream as the senator—with Udacity’s Thrun in supportive attendance and Coursera waiting in the wings to offer classes—told those gathered about Senate Bill 520, his bill to improve access to higher education in California.

The ambitious legislation would have a panel of faculty from the state’s three segments of higher education—California Community College, California State University and the University of California—choose online options to offer for 50 lower-division courses that had outrageously lengthy waiting lists. According to Steinberg, hundreds of thousands of students each year are shut out of courses they must take to continue with their major or fulfill other requirements.

SB 520 was positioned to relieve such pressures by offering the country’s first statewide online college courses for credit.

Steinberg knew the bill might create “some fear … some upset” among the state’s educators and their unions, yes.

But he was floored by the extent of the opposition.

Education-advocacy groups and faculty unions hated the bill as written. Despite Steinberg’s pledge that it did not represent a shift in funding priorities, the California Teachers Association, California Faculty Association, and California Federation of Teachers protested that SB 520 would “lower academic standards, exacerbate the educational divide along socio-economic lines and diminish accountability within our institutions.”

The opposition roiled, even though SB 520 was not directly linked to the globally available MOOCs, but more about making lower-division “hybrid” and so-called “flipped” classes (where professors utilize online lectures and other resources in other-

Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s online-education bill was not popular with education-advocacy groups, including the California Faculty Association.

—Lillian Taiz president, California Faculty Association

wise traditional classes) available to California students for credit. The presence of Thrun at the press launch for SB 520 probably didn’t help people understand the distinction.

“It was invasion of the MOOCsters,” said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association representing the teaching staff at the 23-campus CSU system. “There’s no magic wand that can solve issues of access,” she said. “The role of state government in [the] future of higher education is to invest in the things that are going to get us an educated workforce.” “[MOOCs] are an impersonal medium— when we need face-to-face.”

According to Steinberg’s press secretary, Rhys Williams, “the pro tem sat down with [the faculty unions] and talked about their concerns. We amended the bill … then there were more concerns. We went through this rigmarole two or three times and ultimately, it was fairly apparent there was going to be no consensus.

“There was a misperception that the bill was trying to switch the model,” he said.

“There was faculty wariness and skepticism about a different way of teaching.”

Critics also jumped on the results of a MOOC experiment that Gov. Jerry Brown launched with flourish in January 2013—a partnership that paired San Jose State with Udacity to offer several for-credit courses online to high-risk students. Pass rates in the pilot class of 100 students turned out to be much lower than the typical in-class pass rates.

Post-skirmish, SB 520 was put on hold in the Assembly where it still remains. According to Williams, Steinberg “can choose to move it or not,” depending on how the three higher-ed systems progress—fueled by funds from Prop. 30—on developing various agreed-upon online courses this year.

“Going forward, Sen. Steinberg is delighted that SB 520 ignited the debate about access to online education in California,” said Williams.

But Mark Brown of Sac State thinks of it differently.

“It was technological euphoria,” he said.

“Steinberg was doing what [The New York Times’] Thomas Friedman had been doing— plunging in with wild ideas without doing his

homework and without talking to faculty who have been involved in improving higher education for decades.”

Mark Brown, a Sac State professor, has been outspoken on his reservations about MOOCs.

‘The jury’s still out’

to be realizing that, for a small fee, “human mentors” can amount to higher completion rates for some classes.

All the while, massive data compilation on MOOCs continues apace. In fact, education has never seen such metrics, with exhaustively collected statistics about student behavior, retention, acquisition, satisfaction.

All is being tracked and measured by MOOC purveyors with failures acknowledged and successes built on.

“Nobody knows what MOOCs are going to look like,” shrugged UC Davis’ Owens when asked to look into the crystal ball. “The jury’s still out.”

But in a recent blog post in response to mounting bad press for MOOCs, Udacity’s Thrun put it this way: “To all those people who declared our experiment a failure, you have to understand how innovation works.

Few ideas work on the first try. Iteration is key to innovation.”

Will MOOCs ultimately settle into an industry that develops education products for niche markets? Or will they ultimately make a world-class education available to all?

Either is possible. Or perhaps, to return to the position evoked in The Social Network, we don’t even know what they are yet. Ω

Futurist and Harvard professor Clay Shirky reflected on MOOCs on his blog by invoking stories from others in the communication industry that have been disrupted by the speedy advance of technology. Examples: music (the peer-to-peer MP3 revolution), books (the rise of digital readers), network TV (the emergence of cable and other means to access video) and newspapers (social and digital media shifting how people get their news).

“First, the people running the old system don’t notice the change,” he wrote toward the end of 2012. “When they do, they assume it’s minor. Then that it’s a niche. …

[B]y the time they realize the world has actually changed, they’ve squandered most of the time they had to adapt.”

Could this hold true for the “industry” of higher education?

Only three years into the grand MOOC experiment, nobody knows. But at least one thing seems clear: MOOCs don’t seem to be panning out the way anybody expected.

Among other unanticipated outcomes, based on data from multiple studies, the vast majority of students enrolled in MOOCs have

PHOTO BY STEVEN CHEA

already earned one or more degrees. So it’s the highly educated and motivated people who seem to get the most from MOOCs. But if the high dropout rate seems to indicate failure, perhaps it’s due to a false presumption, i.e., that everybody who takes a course has the intention to complete. Perhaps MOOCs are more suited to other applications—some even suggest MOOCs will create a vast new “leisure learning” market.

Meanwhile, the “three giants” all seem busy

testing new areas of focus, such as vocational education, partnerships, career groundwork, workplace training and pre-college preparation. In mid-January, Udacity launched a partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology that offers an online master’s degree in computer science, with Udacity tutoring and financial support from AT&T. And edX just announced a partnership to host advanced-placement-course modules for high-schoolers. MOOC providers seem also

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CN&R 23

Arts & Culture New blues

Tommy Castro (right) steps out with his new backup band, The Painkillers.

PHOTO BY STEVE SHERMAN

THIS WEEK p hings u t s e h c wit um astro s and and alb C y m Tom ew b ckin’ n o r h t i w

“I going out like John Lee Hooker,” said Tommy Castro in a recent phone interview. The Bay have every intention of

Area bluesman went on to say that Hooker kept playing all the way to the end, even by recording with Castro a few days L. Kent before his death at the age of 83.

Wolgamott “He was always moving forward.

He didn’t resist something new coming along.”

For him to keep moving forward, however, Castro realized Preview: that he needed to change up the Tommy Castro and brand of stinging, horn-driven The Pain Killers perform Thursday, blues he’d been delivering for March 27, decades. So, a couple years ago, 7:30 p.m., at the he decided to mix things up.

Big Room.

“If I intend to do this for another Tickets: $20. 20 years, I’ve got to keep it fresh,” Sierra Nevada Castro said. “I didn’t want to get Big Room stuck in a rut. I did start to feel I 1075 E. 20th St. was in danger of that and getting 896-2198 stale a little. So I thought, ‘Things www.sierra are going to change.’ nevada.com “I had a vision, an idea. I want to stay fresh and current,” he said. “I made these tough decisions. … Not everybody was thrilled with the idea. But what I had in my mind is a record like this and a sound like this.”

The tough decisions began in 2012 when Castro stripped down his band, eliminating the horn section and putting together a taut three-piece backing band called The Painkillers, anchored by Tommy Castro Band original Randy McDonald on bass. Drummer David Tucker and keyboardist James Pace round out the lineup.

When it came time to write the songs that turned into The Devil You Know, the band’s recently released Alligator Records disc, Castro challenged himself to compose with new rhythms and sounds, using the rhythm of the drums to drive the songwriting and set the tone for the recordings.

Many of those songs wound up with a raw, driving rock edge. Even slow, rock-rooted grinders like 24 CN&R March 20, 2014

20THURS Music THE DAVID BROMBERG BAND: Bluegrass, jazz and

“She Wanted To Give It to Me” are something of a departure for Castro.

“I remember listening to Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, blues with rock ’n’ roll edge—Jimi Hendrix, that kind of stuff,” he said. “I was always leaning a little more to traditional blues. But when I was a teenager I listened to that a lot and I played it on guitar with my record player and with garage bands, just a bunch of kids in a garage making noise.

“Some of this stuff reminds me of that, that kind of feeling,” Castro said of the new recording. “The track with Bonamassa on it is like that. I wish that was me playing on it, but it’s him.”

Bonamassa is guitarist Joe Bonamassa, who joined Castro and the band on “I’m Tired.” He’s just one of the guests on the album, part of a lineup that includes Marcia Ball, The Holmes Brothers, Tab Benoit and J. Geils Band harmonica player Magic Dick.

Ball, for example, stopped by the Bay Area studio when she was playing a nearby show and added her piano and vocals to the Louisiana boogie of “Mojo Hannah,” while Magic Dick and The Holmes Brothers came in and gave the propulsive “Two Steps Forward” its gospel feel.

“All the people I wanted came through for me and made this record something special,” Castro said.

Now Castro and his new band are on the road, bringing the new sounds of The Devil You Know to clubs across the country.

“We’re leaving no place untarnished,” Castro said of the extensive touring schedule. “I do love it. We have a funky old bus we get around in. It gives us a little sense of home away from home. It’s still a lot of fun, sure; especially when you’re starting the tour on the Blues Cruise. You can’t complain about that.”

At 58, Castro has a way to go before he catches Hooker. With his new band and album, he hopes he’s on the right path.

“I’m very happy with the way it turned out and how the band has turned out,” Castro said. “It took a long time. But this is the direction I wanted to go.” Ω

country western from the multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter David Bromberg. Th, 3/20, 7:30pm. $25-$35. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunneley Rd. in Paradise; (530) 872-8454, www.paradiseperformingarts.com.

Theater ALL IN THE TIMING: Uncle Dad’s Art Collective presents David Ives’ unconventional collection of one-acts. 3/20-3/22, 8pm. $12-$15. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

GIGI: Follow Gigi, a free-spirited young lady living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century.

Directed by Raquelana Mani Pina. Th-Sa,

DIAVOLO

Tuesday, March 25 Laxson Auditorium SEE TUESDAY, SPECIAL EVENTS

7:30pm; Su, 2pm through 3/23. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.birdcagetheatre.net.

Poetry/Literature POETRY READING: Poetry from a variety of local

wordsmiths. Th, 3/20, 6:30pm. The Bookstore, 118 Main St.

21FRI Special Events THE FRIENDS OF THE BOB AND TOM SHOW: The riends of the Bob & Tom Show’s rotating ensemble of comedians and special guests.

Hosted by Chick McGee, and featuring Tim Wilson, David Dyer and Mike Armstrong. F, 3/21, 7:30pm. $26. El Rey Theatre, 230 West Second St., (530) 892-1838.

FINE ARTS Art 1078 GALLERY: The Saying and the Said, a Chico State MFA Culminating Exhibition featuring the photographs and poems by John Lynn McCallum. Through 3/29. 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

3RD FLOOR ART GALLERY: The Cans, new pho-

tographic works by Ryan Voigtman. Ongoing.

BMU, Third Floor, Chico State, (530) 8985489.

ANGELO’S CUCINA TRINACRIA: New Works, mixed-media abstract paintings by Valerie Payne. Through 3/31. 407 Walnut St., (530) 899-9996.

AVENUE 9 GALLERY: Melding Culture and

ALL IN THE TIMING GALA FUNDRAISER: The North State Symphony presents a gala fundraiser event with dining, live entertainment and auction. F, 3/21, 6pm.

The Palms, 2947 Old Nord Ave., (530) 894-8000.

Music EBONY AND IVORY CONCERT SERIES: Piano in Accompaniment, features three singers: soprano Tamara Allspaugh, tenor Vince Chambers and baritone Kelly Houston, plus multi-instrumentalist Greg D’Augelli. F, 3/21, 6:30pm. $12. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 894-1978.

Theater ALL IN THE TIMING: See Thursday. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

GIGI: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.bird cagetheatre.net.

22SAT Theater ALL IN THE TIMING: See Thursday. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

GIGI: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.bird cagetheatre.net.

23SUN Special Events CHICO KITE DAY: An afternoon of kite flying with music provided by Oldies 102.1 FM. Prizes for best handmade kite and souvenirs for all flyers. Su, 3/23, 12-4pm. Free. Community Park, E. 20th St., (530) 966-0239.

STEVE HARRISON MEMORIAL CRITERIUM: The Chico Stage Race is for pro and amateur cyclists and will include a downtown one-mile run, as well as a bicycle race for kids 10-years of age and younger. Visit website for more info. Su, 3/23, 7:30am-5pm. Chico City Plaza, Downtown Chico, www.chicostagerace.com.

Theater GIGI: See Thursday. Birdcage Theatre, 1740 Bird St. in Oroville, (530) 533-2473, www.bird cagetheatre.net.

24MON Special Events PALE BOCK RELEASE PARTY: Celebrate the reintroduction of Sierra Nevada’s Pale Bock with live music from Decades. M, 3/24, 6-9pm. $5.

Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 E. 20th St., (530) 345-2739, www.sierranevada.com/bigroom.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN AND ISLAM: A lecture and discussion about women in the Islamic religion, and women’s rights and roles in the Islamic culture. Guest speaker Najah Bazzy. M, 3/24, 7pm. Free.

Bell Memorial Union (BMU), Chico State, (530) 898-4696, www.aschico.com.

Thursday-Saturday, March 20-22 One Mile Group Picnic Area SEE THURSDAY-SATURDAY, THEATER

Showing through March 29 1078 Gallery SEE FINE ARTS

B-SO SPACE: Flux, a BFA culminating exhibition featuring sculptural works by Ingrid Oleson.

3/24-3/28. Ayres 107, Chico State, (530) 8985331.

CHICO ART CENTER: Discovery Series 1, new

25TUES Special Events DIAVOLO: The gymnasts and dancers manipulate, tumble, climb, and catapult from over-sized sets and props, combining skill and imagery with effortless movement for this Chico Performances presentation. Tu, 3/25, 7:30pm. $18-$33. Laxson Auditorium, Chico State, (530) 898-6333, www.chicoperformances.com.

26WED Special Events AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS SURVEY: A discussion regarding the effort to collect data that will document the arts’ economic impact on our community. A brief social hour, with refreshments to follow. W, 3/26, 6-8pm. Free. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.1078gallery.org.

CHICO SCIENCE FAIR: The 30th annual Chico Science Fair showcases over 500 science projects created and displayed by local K-12 students. W, 3/26, 10am-8pm, Th, 3/27, 10am8pm. Free. Silver Dollar Fairgrounds, 2357 Fair St., (530) 895-4666, www.chicosciencefair.org.

Art Reception FLUX: A BFA culminating exhibition featuring

sculptural works by Ingrid Oleson W, 3/26, 57pm. B-So Space, Ayres 107, Chico State, (530) 898-5331.

for more Music, see NIGHTLIFE on page 30

THE SAYING AND THE SAID

Nature, new paintings of Richvale rice fields and of San Francisco by Dolores Mitchell, plus thrown carved porcelain vessels created by Chris Yates. Through 4/19. 180 E. Ninth Ave., (530) 879-1821, www.avenue9gallery.com.

FREE LISTINGS! Post your event for free online at www.newsreview.com/calendar.

Once posted, your CN&R calendar listing will also be considered for print. Print listings are also free, but subject to space limitations.

Deadline for print listings is one week prior to the issue in which you wish the listing to appear.

sculpture, photography and paintings from four up-and-coming artists 3/21-4/18. 450 Orange St., (530) 895-8726, www.chicoartcenter.com.

CHICO PAPER CO.: New Works, drawings and paintings by the recent Chico State graduate, Mariam Pakbaz. California Rivers, Jake Early’s latest series. Through 3/31. 345 Broadway, (530) 891-0900, www.chicopapercompany.com.

HEALING ART GALLERY: New Works, mixedmedia work by Northern California artist Machelle Conn. Gallery highlights works of those touched by cancer. Through 4/17. 265 Cohasset Rd. inside Enloe Cancer Center, (530) 332-3856.

JAMES SNIDLE FINE ARTS & APPRAISALS:

Latest Works, Mabrie Ormes’ figurative paintings of colorful leaf patterns. Through 4/30. 254 E. Fourth St., (530) 343-2930, www.jamessnidlefinearts.com.

JANET TURNER PRINT MUSEUM: Angles and

Planes: Janet Turner & the Built Environment, commemorating the centennial of Janet Turner’s birth, this selection of seldom-seen paintings and prints rounds out the curatorial survey of her work as an artist. Through 4/12. Chico State, (530) 8984476, www.theturner.org.

Browne. 3/24-4/18. 400 W. First St. CSU Chico, Laxson Audtorium.

SALLY DIMAS ART GALLERY: Northern

Beauties, an eclectic group show by local artists Carol Preble Miles, Jerril Dean Kopp, Ann Pierce, Amber Palmer and more.

Through 4/5. 493 East Ave., (530) 345-3063.

UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY: A Swirling Cloud of

Dust and Gas like This, Luke Matjas’ largescale digital/analog prints create a world of man-made objects and consumer excesses with diorama-like views of the natural world. Through 3/28. Trinity Hall, Chico State, (530) 898-5864.

Call for Artists ART AT THE MATADOR: ChiVAA invites artists to apply for booths at the 4th annual Art at the Matador: A Living Gallery event taking place May 9-10. For more information visit website. Ongoing. Call for details, www.ChiVAA.org.

CALLING ALL MUTANT VEHICLES: Participate in Art at the Matador and make a mutant vehicle for the Rally on Saturday, May 10.

For more Information visit website.

Matador Motel, 1934 Esplanade 9 Ave and Esplanade, (530) 893-2510, www.chivaa.org/art-at-the-matador.

Museums CHICO CREEK NATURE CENTER: Banding by Day and Night, a close look at birds in hand with incredible detail. Ongoing. 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

CHICO MUSEUM: Reverie: Interpretations of

Nature, new abstract paintings by Dennis Leon. Through 3/31. 141 Salem St., (530) 8914336, www.chicomuseum.org.

GATEWAY SCIENCE MUSEUM: Explore Evolution, investigate evolutionary principles in organisms ranging from smallest to the largest, with interactive exhibits giving the viewer an opportunity to experience how scientists conduct research on evolution.

Ongoing. 625 Esplanade, www.csuchico.edu/gateway.

VALENE L. SMITH MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY: Into The Blue: Maritime Navigation and the Archeology of Shipwrecks, featuring artifacts recovered from the Frolic shipwreck and the story behind the ship’s history. TuSa through 7/24. Meriam Library Complex Chico State.

LAXSON FINE ART GALLERY: Heart Like an Attic, new photographic works from Chico State undergraduate Brittaney

Aircrafty With a weekend forecast of breezes and sunshine, the open green fields of Community EDITOR’S PICK Park are guaranteed to be packed with families taking advantage of the ideal flying conditions for Chico’s de facto opening day of the spring season, Chico Kite Day, on Sunday, March 23, from noon to 4 p.m. Airspace will surely be limited, but community fun will be in abundance as the young and old test fly their new, colorful kites and soak up some sun.

March 20, 2014

CN&R 25

BULLETIN BOARD Community AFRICAN DANCE CLASS: A workout set to the sounds and rhythms of West Africa. Call for info. M, 6pm. $10. Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Old Nord Ave., (530) 321-5607.

AFRO-CARIBBEAN DANCE: Dances of Cuba, Haiti,

Brazil and West Africa with live drumming. Tu, 5:30pm. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 345-6324.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Regularly scheduled

FEEL YOUR BEST! LOOK AND FEEL GREAT WITH GIFT CERTIFICATES AND MERCHANDISE UP TO 50% OFF Chico Kuk Sul Academy: $75 for $22.50 Keep Chico Weird 2014 T-Shirts: $10 Red Mountain Green Cycle: $250 for $125 Attention Tracing – Don Tharp: $50 for $25 Black Tie Salon & Boutique: $40 for $20 Built for Bodywork: $60 for $30 Elevate: $100 for $50 Lunatic Fringe Belly Dance Essentials: $25 for $12.50 Studio One Salon: $25 for $12.50 The Electric Lounge Tanning: $25 for $12.50

meeting. Every other Tu, 9am through 12/9.

Board of Supervisors Chambers, 25 County Center Dr. in Oroville, (530) 538-7631, www.buttecounty.net.

CHICO DIAMOND DANCERS: Learn to square dance with the Chico Diamond Dancers. No experience or partner needed. M, 3/24, 6:308pm. $5. Little Chico Creek Elementary School, 2090 Amanda Way.

DANCE SANCTUARY WAVE: Bring a water bottle, drop your mind, find your feet and free your spirit. Call for more info. Tu, 6:30-8:30pm. $10.

Call for details, (530) 891-6524.

DANCING FREEDOM: A weekly open dance with

the elements. F, 6-8pm. $6-$12 sliding scale.

Subud Hall, 574 E. 12th St., (530) 532-1989.

DEER CREEK HIKE: Experience spring on the Deer Creek trail in a 5-6 mile round-trip hike. Bring lunch, water. Sa, 3/22, 9am. Carpool money.

Chico Park & Ride, Hwy 99 & E. Eighth St.

EDIBLE MUSHROOMS & INOCULATION PARTY FUNDRAISER: Permafunk (a permaculture education non-profit) hosts a mushroom-

growing workshop. Register in advance. Su, 3/23, 12-5pm. $40. Butte College, 3536 Butte Campus Dr. in, (530) 895-2511.

EVENING DANCE JAM: A weekly meditative dance

session. F, 7:15pm. $10. Yoga Center of Chico, 250 Vallombrosa Ave., Suite 150, (530) 342-0100.

FANCY FEET DANCE: Beginning to experienced dancers welcome to work on the foxtrot, waltz, swing and more to a live band. Tu, 7:30pm. $5-$7. Chico Area Recreation District (CARD), 545 Vallombrosa Ave., (530) 895-4015, www.chicorec.com.

FARMERS’ MARKET: CHAPMAN: A year-round Certified Farmers’ Market serving as a community forum for healthful-lifestyle promotion and education. F, 2-5:30pm. Chapman Mulberry Community Center, 1010 Cleveland Ave., (530) 624-8844, www.cchaos.org.

FARMERS’ MARKET: SATURDAY: Chico’s weekly community gathering, with fresh produce, crafts, baked goods and more. Sa, 7:30am1pm. Municipal Parking Lot No. 1, Second & Wall Streets.

FREE HEALTH CLINIC: Free services for minor

medical ailments. Call for more info. Su, 1-4pm.

Free. Shalom Free Clinic, 1190 E. First Ave., (530) 518-8300, www.shalomfreeclinic.org.

HAPPY HEALING: Experience a variety of healing

modalities. F, 7pm. 100th Monkey Café & Books, 642 W. Fifth St.

INFINITE RHYTHMS ECSTATIC DANCE: A shoe-free, food-free, drug-free, smoke-free dance for you and yours with DJ Clay. Th, 7:30-9:30pm through 5/8. $10. Yoga Center of Chico, 250 Vallombrosa Ave., Suite 150, (530) 342-0100.

INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING: All levels wel-

come. No partner needed. F, 8pm through 3/28. $2. Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

SLOW THEATRE ACTING CLASSES: Four-week course with instructor Amanda Detmer combining foundational principles of actor training with techniques to expand creative potential. See website for all course dates. Tu, 3/25, 7-9pm. $80. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway, (530) 343-1973, www.slowtheatre.com.

SAMARITAN FREE CLINIC: This clinic offers free

W W W. N E W S R E V I E W. C O M 26 CN&R March 20, 2014

basic medical care and mental-health counseling. Call for more information. Su, 2-4pm.

Free. Paradise Lutheran Church, 780 Luther Dr. in Paradise, 8727085.

TUDOR MEMORIES Wednesday, March 26 Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall SEE COMMUNITY

SEED SAVING SERIES: The third of six workshops.

This week: warm season seeding workshop with redwood seeds. Sa, 3/22, 2-4pm. GRUB Cooperative, 1525 Dayton Rd., (530) 828-6390.

SOUL SHAKE DANCE CHURCH: Drop your mind, find your feet and free your spirit at this DJ dance wave to a range of musical styles. No previous dance experience necessary. Su, 10am-noon. $8-$15 sliding scale. Dorothy Johnson Center, 775 E. 16th St., (530) 891-6524, www.chicorec.com.

SOUNDS OF THE VALLEY CHORUS: Women singers welcome to sing in four-part harmony barbershop style. Call for more info. W, 7pm.

Marigold Elementary School, 2446 Marigold Ave., (530) 343-5183.

SQUARE-DANCE CLUB: Square-dancing classes for beginners and advanced-level dancers. Call for more info. Th, 7-10pm. Veterans Memorial Hall, 6550 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 872-1962.

TRADITIONAL WEST-AFRICAN DANCE: All levels of

drummers and dancers welcome. W, 5:307pm. $10. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (808) 757-0076.

TUDOR MEMORIES: 500 YEARS OF COMMEMORATION AT HAMPTON COURT PALACE: Join Jason Nice, and explore the representations of the Tudors, especially Henry VIII, as they have evolved over the centuries at the famous palace of kings, queens, and courtesans. W, 3/26, 7:30pm. Free. Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall, Chico State.

WORLD DANCE: Classes offered through CARD offering line, circle and partner dances from around the world. No partner needed. Th, 7pm. $7 per class. Pleasant Valley Recreation Center, 2320 North St., (530) 566-6711, www.chicorec.com.

For Kids FRIENDS WITH FEATHERS: Take a walk through Bidwell, make a heron beak mask and meet one of the Nature Center’s friendly animals.

Th, 3/20, 3-4pm. $12. Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

MAMMALS IN THE DARK NIGHT HIKE: The park at night is full of furry and ferocious critters, so join us in search for tracks, scat and other animal activity. Sa, 3/22, 6-8pm. $5-$10. Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

SPRING CAMP CHICO CREEK: An environmental education-based day camp providing outdoor activities and fosters nature awareness.

Themes will cover park habitats and their natural and cultural histories. M-F, 7:45am-5:30pm through 3/21. Opens 3/17. $35/day or $175/ week.

Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

MORE ONLINE Additional listings for local meetings, support groups, classes, yoga, meditation and more can be found online at www.newsreview.com/chico/local/calendar.

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F so close to the sun while doing their job as Randle Johnson.

ew winemakers ever get

The Napa County resident works with The Hess by Collection, a wine Alastair company that Bland owns vineyards in California and in Argentina. Johnson makes wine from grapes grown high in the mountains, in the province of Salta—and at just under two miles of elevation, Hess’s Andean vineyards are the loftiest in the world.

“We’ve taken some risks by planting that high up,” says Johnson, who spends about six weeks of each year in Argentina. He says the region is subject to high danger of frost, which can destroy a vineyard’s fruit.

But the risk may be worth the results. Johnson says some of the best malbec and torrontés, a white grape, grown for the Hess Collection’s Colomé label, come from vineyards between 8,500 and 9,300 feet, in the north end of Argentina’s Calchaquí Valley. At such an altitude, Johnson explains, the intense radiation from the sun thickens the fruit’s skins. This is a physiological attempt by the plant to protect the developing seed. For the winemaker, this means densely packed tannins, more color in the wine, and richer flavors.

Indeed, many winemakers recognize the value of elevation. Some are looking upward for new places to grow grapes as climate-change forecasts show low-lying valleys becoming too hot in the next few decades to make top-notch wine. Others—

like Johnson—simply believe that higher elevations, with blistering sun and chilly nights, can produce better wine than lower vineyards.

But the climate of northern Argentina’s mountains is very unique, allowing for cultivation of Mediterranean plant species at elevations that would kill them elsewhere. If grapes were planted in California at altitudes equivalent to the Calchaquí Valley, a grower would be looking at regions like the Desolation Wilderness or the slopes of Mount Lassen—and the vines probably would fail to grow entirely.

In fact, Phil LaRocca’s Forest Ranch vineyards, though at just 2,600 feet, are higher than most others in the state. Such an elevation, LaRocca says, is enough height to cause frost damage in many seasons when growers lower in the Central Valley experience none.

“This is really almost as high up as you can go in Northern California,” he says.

But with the risk of crop loss each spring comes the benefits of intensified flavors, LaRocca says.

During the summer, when daytime temperatures can spike to 90 degrees around LaRocca Vineyards, nights may plunge to 40.

This helps the development of acids that balance the taste of a wine’s sugar, tannins and alcohol.

“The Bordeaux varieties, like cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon really do better with that elevation,” he says. “A lot of cabs grown down in the Central Valley don’t have the classic cab intensity.”

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Gilian Handelman, director of education for Jackson Family Wines, says it takes only 1,000 feet, or a little more, of elevation to make a discernible difference in a wine’s quality.

She recently helped arrange a small San Francisco tasting of high-altitude wines. The four selections were grown at anywhere from 1,000 feet to 1,800 feet, on steep slopes. At that elevation, lack of water and the presence of bedrock and coniferous trees produce well-structured, edgy wines, she says.

“They aren’t better than lower elevation vineyards, just very different,” she says.

In parts of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Oregon and other regions, winemakers are investing in properties 3,000 feet and more above sea level as a means of mitigation against climate change.

At the north end of the Calchaquí Valley, however, the Hess Collection’s high vineyards may be immune to the immediate effects of any warming patterns.

But it isn’t even clear, yet, that the highest of their vines will produce good fruit. Johnson says they are still experimental and have not yielded a crop yet. What is certain, Johnson says, is that these vines of pinot noir and chardonnay are the highest vineyards in the world, at 10,240 feet above sea level.

“But we don’t really care about that,” Johnson says. “We’re interested in knowing we can make and bottle good wine from that region.

Once we do that, then we’ll put [elevation] on the bottle.” Ω

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TRY OUR GIBRALTAR

SCENE

Shakespeare & Co.

ESPRESSO, MILK, SILKEN MICROFOAM STEAMED TO A LOWER TEMPERATURE FOR EASY DELCIOUS DRINKING.

The imprisoned Caliban (Wayne T. Carr) guards against the tyrannical sorcerer Prospero (Denis Arndt) in OSF’s production of The Tempest.

PHOTO BY JENNY GRAHAM

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13

Hammer, the proprietor of the Cocoanut Hotel, he does so as Groucho Marx, and the audience is in on the joke.

Add in music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by George S. Kaufman, three different sets, rapid-fire direction from David Ivers, and you have a can’t miss production.

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window Ashland festival (through July 3): This is offers diverse fare in new season the last play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the author of that iconic study his year the Oregon core relationships are compelled to of urban African-American life, A Shakespeare Festival is celechange.

Raisin in the Sun. She died from brating the 450th anniversary of The most striking aspect of this pancreatic cancer just weeks after it William Shakespeare’s birth by production is the set. Designed by opened on Broadway on Oct. 15, mounting four of Daniel Ostling, it’s a marvel of 1964. She was 34. his plays. Two of abstraction that uses ramps and liftSet in the Greenwich Village them, The Temed floors to suggest, without actuapartment of Sidney Brustein and by pest and The Com- ally depicting, the play’s many set- his wife, Iris, the play is about a Robert edy of Errors, will tings. Combined with Alexander V. diverse group of intellectuals, Speer run for the entire Nichols’ stunning lighting design, activists and artists who are strugseason. They will it encourages the audience to join gling to find direction in life. A core in imaginatively creating Prosplot element—the “reform” politiOregon be joined this Shakespeare summer by propero’s island. cal campaign of an associate— Festival ductions of Against this backdrop, the play’s forces them to make important Richard III and two most vivid characters, the decisions. www.osfashland.org The Two Gentlesprite Ariel and the aboriginal CalHansberry tackles big issues (800) 219-8161 men of Verona iban, stand out. Ariel, here conhere—homosexuality, racial preju(the latter featuring ceived as female, is played brildice, political dishonesty—and her an all-female cast) in the outdoor liantly by Kate Hurster, and Wayne characters are sharply drawn. It’s a Allen Elizabethan Theater.

T. Carr brings a powerful physicali- fascinating study marred only by a The OSF is also presenting ty to the role of Caliban. mechanical ending. seven other plays, ranging from a The Cocoanuts ( through The Comedy of Errors hilarious version of the Marx Nov. 2): OSF’s 2012 production of (through Nov. 2): In presenting Brothers’ The Cocoanuts to the Animal Crackers was such a hit many plays by and about black world premiere of the second play that it’s brought back the team for Americans, OSF has greatly diverin Robert Schenkkan’s prize-winanother round. Heading up the cast sified its acting roster. That’s ning historical trilogy about the is the amazing Mark Bedard, who enabled it to mount productions administration of President Lyndon not only channels Groucho here, such as this one, which is set during B. Johnson, The Great Society. but also cobbled together the script. the Harlem Renaissance of the Here are brief reviews of the Set in a seaside Florida hotel 1920s and features a nearly allfour plays I saw on opening weekduring the land rush of the 1920s, it black cast. end in late February. has a plot of sorts involving a Director Kent Gash, himself The Tempest (showing thwarted romance, brazen huckster- African-American, has merged through Nov. 2): Shakespeare’s ism, a theft attempt—you name it.

Shakespeare’s comic tale of mistaklast play has long been one of his As with all Marx Brothers comeen identities and family reunificamost popular, and for good reason. dies, the story is just a peg to hang tion with the Great Migration of the It’s a revenge tale in which nobody the brothers’ antics on.

1920s and ’30s. It’s a spirited and dies, a delightful love story, and a What we have here are actors colorful in-the-round production phantasmagorical drama of coloplaying actors playing characters. that puts the audience in the middle Ω nialism and redemption in which When Bedard plays Groucho’s Mr. of some lively action.

T

28 CN&R March 20, 2014

March 20, 2014

CN&R 29

NIGHTLIFE

THURSDAY 3/20—WEDNESDAY 3|26 THE LOLOS: Local groovy rock from The

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THE FRIENDS OF THE BOB AND TOM SHOW Friday, March 21 El Rey Theatre SEE FRIDAY

LoLos, plus The English Language, Tom and Jerry and Karoline May. F, 3/21, 7:30pm. $5. Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave., (530) 566-9476, www.cafecoda.com.

DR. LUNA TOUR KICK-OFF: Dr. Luna

releases a new CD, The Riot of Comprehension, and kicks off his Pacific Northwest tour with locals Furlough Fridays and Jeremy Crossley.

F, 3/21, 9pm. $5. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave., (530) 343-4915.

MONKEY MUSIC SHOWCASE: Spotlighting local acoustic singer/songwriters and musicians. F, 7:30pm. 100th Monkey

AARON RICH & FRIENDS: Country music round-robin. Third and First Th of every month, 9pm. Free. Crazy Horse Saloon, 303 Main St., (530) 894-5408.

CHICO JAZZ COLLECTIVE: Thursday jazz.

Th, 8-11pm. Free. The DownLo, 319 Main St., (530) 892-2473.

DAVID BROMBERG BAND: Th, 3/20, 7:30pm. $25-$35. Paradise Performing Arts Center, 777 Nunnelly Rd. in Paradise, (530) 872-8454, www.paradiseperformingarts.com.

JOHN SEID AND LARRY PETERSON: Join the duo as they play and eclectic mix of The Beatles, blues and standards.

Th, 3/20, 6-9pm. Grana, 198 E. Second St., (530) 809-2304.

OPEN MIC: Singers, poets and musicians welcome. Th, 7-10pm. Has Beans Internet Cafe & Galleria, 501 Main St., (530) 894-3033, www.hasbeans.com.

OPEN MIKEFULL: Open mic night to share your music, poetry, comedy, or other talents in a 10-minute slot. First and Third Th of every month, 7pm. $1.

Paradise Grange Hall, 5704 Chapel Dr. in Paradise, (530) 873-1370.

21FRIDAY AIR SUPPLY: The power-balladeers from the 1980s are back. F, 3/21, 7pm. Gold Country Casino, 4020 Olive Hwy in Oroville, (530) 534-9892, www.gold countrycasino.com.

BASSMINT: A (mostly) weekly electronic dance party with a rotating cast of local and regional DJs. Check with venue for details. F, 9:30pm. Peeking Chinese Restaurant, 243 W. Second St., (530) 895-3888.

BRUCE IN THE USA: A tribute to Bruce

in Accompaniment, features three singers: soprano Tamara Allspaugh, tenor Vince Chambers and baritone Kelly Houston, plus multi-instrumentalist Greg D’Augelli. F, 3/21, 6:30pm. $12. Chico Women’s Club, 592 E. Third St., (530) 894-1978.

come. F, 6-9pm. LaSalles, 229 Broadway, (530) 893-1891, www.lasallesbar.com.

PERPETUAL DRIFTERS AND THE AMBLERS: Both Perpetual Drifters and The Amblers will reunite for an evening of

SIDEMAN STEPS FORWARD

Even if you aren’t familiar with the name David Bromberg, chances are you’ve heard him play. Since ingratiating himself in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, the super sideman and studio musician has recorded with some of the music game’s biggest names, a short list of whom includes Bob Dylan, Link Wray, The Eagles, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, and Carly Simon. Also a well-respected bandleader himself, Bromberg will appear at the Paradise Performing Arts Center tonight (Thursday), March 20.

jazz appointment with experimental local troupe Bogg. F, 11am. Free. Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave., (530) 5669476, www.cafecoda.com.

FRIENDS OF THE THE BOB AND TOM SHOW: Friends of the Bob & Tom Show in a rotating ensemble of comedians and special guests. Hosted by Chick McGee, and featuring Tim Wilson, David Dyer and Mike Armstrong. F, 3/21, 7:30pm. $26. El Rey Theatre, 230 West Second St., (530) 892-1838.

IRISH-MUSIC HAPPY HOUR: A Chico tradition: Friday-night happy hour with a traditional Irish music session by the Pub Scouts. F, 4pm. $1. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St., (530) 343-7718.

Springsteen. F, 3/21, 9:30pm. $5.

Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885,

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OPEN MIC: All singer/songwriters wel-

EBONY AND IVORY CONCERT SERIES: Piano

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THIS WEEK: FIND MORE ENTERTAINMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS ON PAGE 24 Sa, 3/22, 8pm. $5. Monstros Pizza & Subs, 628 W. Sacramento Ave., (530) 345-7672.

THE APOLOGETIKS: The Apologetiks and Swingtown Trio play a benefit for The Paradise Grange Hall. Sa, 3/22, 7pm. $10. Paradise Grange Hall, 5704 Chapel Dr. in Paradise, (530) 873-1370.

HEATHER MICHELLE, BLACK FONG, SONS OF JEFFERSON: Local music from singer/songwriter Heather Michelle, plus local butt-funk from Black Fong and lonely mountain songs from Sons of Jefferson. Sa, 3/22, 9pm. $5. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave., (530) 343-4915.

THE HUMAN JUKEBOX BAND AND QUASIMOFOS: Dance to your favorites with the Human Jukebox Band and QuasiMofos. Sa, 3/22, 9pm. $5. Lost On Main, 319 Main St., (530) 891-1853.

KALIMBA: A tribute to Earth, Wind and

Fire. Sa, 3/22, 9:30pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.featherfallscasino.com/brewing-co.

ANCIENT ALTAR/ DEVOID OF REALITY/ HEARSES Saturday, March 22 Monstro’s Pizza & Subs SEE SATURDAY

chilltastic country-rock and just rock.

F, 3/21, 9pm. $5. Lost On Main, 319 Main St., (530) 891-1853.

22SATURDAY ANCIENT ALTAR/ DEVOID OF REALITY/ HEARSES: Sac/Chico thrash jams from

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Ancient Altar and Devoid of Reality, plus metal for funerals from Hearses.

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“Singing Chef” An

rch 23

A Taste of Italy • Sunday, Ma $35 with dinner • 6pm

MUSIC SHOWCASE: An open mic hosted by local country musicians Rich and Kendall. Sa, 5-9pm. Free. Scotty’s Landing, 12609 River Rd., (530) 710-2020.

Second St.

BELLISIMO: A cooking musical and Italian dinner show with “the singing chef” Andy LoRusso. Su, 3/23, 5:30pm. $35.

Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.featherfallscasino.com/ brewing-co.

BOB KIRKLAND AND CHRIS WENGER:

Mandolin Jazz. Su, 3/23, 6-9pm. 5th Street Steakhouse, 345 W. Fifth St., (530) 891-6328, www.5thstreetsteak house.com.

24MONDAY PALE BOCK RELEASE PARTY: M, 3/24, 6-

9pm. $5. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 East 20th St., (530) 345-2739, www.sierranevada.com/bigroom.

25TUESDAY SHIGEMI & FRIENDS: Live jazz with keyboardist Shigemi Minetaka and rotating accompaniment. Tu, 6:308:30pm. Free. Farm Star Pizza, 2359 Esplanade, (530) 343-2056, www.farmstarpizza.com.

Bruce in the USA Bruce Springsteen Tribute Kalimba Earth, Wind & Fire Tribute *Platinum Rockstars Pure Classic Rock *BOSTYX All the hits of BOSTON & STYX *Featuring DAVID VICTOR of BOSTON! 4/4 Life in the Fast Lane Eagles Tribute 4/5 Spazmatics NerdV That Rock 4/12 House of Floyd Pink Floyd Tribute 4/13 Karaoke Rockstarz Sing with a Live Band!

Must be 21 or older. $5 cover charge. Shows start at 9:30pm, Blues Jam and Karaoke start at 8pm. Brewery VIP suites $100 - Luxury seating for up to 10 guests. Includes private server, pizza and beer.

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country, Tin Pan Alley, jazz and more.

W, 7-9pm. Free. VIP Ultra Lounge, 191 E.

23SUNDAY

3/21 3/22 3/28 3/29

26WEDNESDAY LAURIE DANA: Soul, light rock, blues,

OPEN MIC: An all-ages open mic for musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers and dancers. W, 7pm. Free. 100th Monkey Café & Books, 642 W. Fifth St.

BACK IN BOCK

According to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.’s website, turnouts for beer-release parties have grown such as to necessitate a move from the Restaurant and Taproom to the brewery’s Big Room. They’ll undoubtedly be happy for the extra space on Monday, March 24, when one of the brewery’s best-loved beers—Pale Bock— returns after a fiveyear absence. In addition to plenty of drink, the event features food, plus live music by Decades.

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March 20, 2014

CN&R 31

IN THE MIX ENDS SUNDAY ACADEMY AWARD BEST FILM

12 YEARS A SLAVE

300: Rise Of An empiRe (Digital) (R) 12:25PM 3:00PM 5:30PM 8:00PM♥ 10:30PM♥ DiveRgent (Digital) (PG-13) 11:05AM 12:30PM 2:15PM 3:45PM 5:25PM 7:00PM 8:45PM 10:15PM gOD’s nOt DeAD (Digital) (PG) 11:30AM 2:10PM 4:50PM 7:30PM 10:10PM LegO (Digital) (PG) 11:20AM 2:00PM 4:30PM 7:00PM 9:30PM mOnuments men (Digital) (PG-13) 11:00AM 1:45PM 4:30PM 7:15PM 10:05PM mR. peAbODy AnD sheRmAn (Digital) (PG) 12:20PM 2:45PM 5:10PM 7:35PM 10:00PM

muppets mOst WAnteD (Digital) (PG) 11:10AM 12:35PM 1:55PM 3:15PM 4:35PM 5:55PM 7:15PM 8:35PM 9:55PM neeD fOR speeD (3D) (PG-13) 1:20PM 7:20PM neeD fOR speeD (Digital) (PG-13) 4:20PM 10:20PM nOn-stOp (Digital) (PG-13) 12:05PM 2:40PM 5:15PM 7:50PM 10:25PM sOn Of gOD (Digital) (PG-13) 12:55PM 4:00PM♦ 7:05PM♦ 10:15PM♦ tyLeR peRRy’s the singLe mOms CLub (Digital) (PG-13) 11:25AM 2:05PM 4:45PM 7:25PM 10:05PM (speCiAL shOWing) - eLtOn JOhn: the miLLiOn DOLLAR piAnO COnCeRt – enCORe Wed. 3/26 @ 7:00PM

Showtimes listed w/ ♥ NOT shown Fri.- Sun 3/21-3/23 Showtimes listed w/ ♠ shown Fri. - Sun. 3/21-3/23 ONLY Showtimes listed w/ ♦ NOT shown Wed. 3/26

DIAVOLO

Thrilling Gymnastics & Dance (3/25)

SAN FRANCISCO SCOTTISH FIDDLERS

High Energy Fiddle Ensemble (4/10)

ARLO GUTHRIE

Folk Music Icon (4/12)

ALADDIN JR.

Playhouse Youth Theatre (5/7)

All shows at Laxson Auditorium California State University, Chico (530) 898-6333

WWW.CHICOPERFORMANCES.COM

MUSICAL CHAIRS

ART AUCTION & PARTY a fundraiser for the North State Symphony Many thanks to the sponsors, artists, and attendees of the first ever Musical Chairs event, held February 22 at Habitat Lab in Chico. Thanks to your support, we raised over $4,000 for the North State Symphony! chair sponsors: Michael Cummings SOL Mexican Grill (Geoffery Akers) Grant and Susie Lundberg Keith Herritt Bette Lawler Nicholas Spangler Cooper’s Landscaping & Maintenance Eagle Security Connie Eccles

Some of the proceeds from Musical Chairs will be used to sponsor the “musical chairs” of North State Symphony musicians.

For more information on the Musician Chair Sponsor program, please call 898-5984 For photos of Musical Chairs 2014, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/NSSmusicalchairs

THURS 6:30; FRI/SAT 7:40PM; SUN4PM OPENS FRIDAY

TIM’S VERMEER FRI/SAT 6PM; SUN 2:15PM MON-THURS 7PM

Call 343-0663 or visit www.PageantChico.com

Dashiell Hammett Mysterious Press In this collection of close to 20, mostly unpublished, works by Dashiell Hammett, we see the famed crime writer as a more rounded artist. Hammett dabbles with his hard-boiled detectives but also gives us stories about wavering magicians, the addiction of fame, the golden age of Hollywood, and doomed romance. The commentary from Hammett biographer Richard Layman and Hammett’s granddaughter, Julie M. Rivett, that begins each section contextually places the stories within Hammett’s personal and professional life and thematically draws connections to the author’s more famous published works. For instance, “An Inch and a Half of Glory” and “Faith” share a common theme—masculinity and a man’s role in the world—with later popular works, but in these two stories, Hammett twists the characters’ motivations and internal conflicts giving readers a look at how he viewed the world outside a detective agency.

While the tales may not live up to the exploits of Sam Spade or Nick and Nora Charles—though an unfinished Sam Spade story is included—it’s intriguing to see the author outside of his element and to still recognize the emerging style that made him famous.

BOOK

—Matthew Craggs

Guilty of Everything Nothing Relapse Records A band named Nothing—featuring a frontman who just did a two-year clip in prison for stabbing somebody—on extreme-metal label Relapse? Must be some brutally heavy shit, right? Somewhat surprisingly, Guilty of Everything, the first full-length for this Philadelphia four-piece, is a full-on shoegaze pop record and a damn good one at that. Unlike Deafheaven, Jesu or the other metal bands (with which Nothing is bound to get lumped in) that are incorporating shoegazin’ elements into their otherwise black- or post-metal sound, Nothing play it straight. Songs like the album-opening “Hymn to the Pillory” and the standout “Somersault” would sound right at home on your My Bloody Valentine Pandora station or coming from a dimly lit London stage 20 years ago. But rather than sound dated, Nothing sounds sincere in their uncompromising adherence to the classic shoegaze conventions: reverb-drenched vocals, unabashed melodicism, and walls of guitar. The band occasionally picks up the pace, like on the driving “Bent Nail” or the garage punk-ish “Get Well”, but frontman Domenic Palermo’s uniformly wispy vocals keep things nice and laid back. Guilty of Everything is rainy day music at its best.

MUSIC

YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

300: Rise Of An empiRe (3D) (R) 11:15AM 1:45PM 4:15PM 6:45PM♥ 7:00PM♠ 9:15PM♥

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friday 3/21 – wednesday 3/26

The Hunter and Other Stories

—Daniel Taylor

Morning Phase Beck Capitol Records If you’re a musician, Beck is one of those rare talents that you listen to and just go, “Why do I even try?” He is the real thing: truly creative and on a completely different level than most of us. It was 20 years ago when I first heard Beck. I was a senior in high school and he was a brand new thing, making music like I’d never heard before. And he continued to be a brand new thing, reinventing his sound from album to album. His latest, Morning Phase, is full of slow emotional ballads that evoke a sense of loss and sorrow, while simultaneously hinting at the beginning of a brand new day. One of the biggest themes of the album is loneliness and isolation. In “Blue Moon,” he sings: “I’m so tired of being alone/ These penitent walls are all I’ve known/ The songbird calling/ Across the water/ Outside my silent asylum.” While listening to a slow instrumental track of orchestrated strings titled “Phase,” my 6-year-old daughter said, “This sounds like the kind of music they’d play in a movie after someone dies.” I couldn’t argue with that—the album, though beautiful, is pretty sad.

MUSIC

—Karl Travis 32 CN&R March 20, 2014

“We must try to live!”

Reviewers: Craig Blamer, Bob Grimm and Juan-Carlos Selznick.

Opening this week

Winged inspiration

Divergent

In a Chicago of the distant future, people are divided into five factions based on the strongest virtue they possess. Those who don’t test strong in any one category are divergents, and as one young divergent soon learns, their days may be numbered.

Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

God’s Not Dead

Visionary tribute to aviation history and modern art

by Japanese master

H the final feature film from Japan’s master of cinematic animation, may be a bit of an unexpected triumph—a biopic,

ayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises, reportedly

however sprightly, that ranges over the early history of aviation and selected chunks of Japanese history in the first half of the 20th century. by The biopic aspect highlights the life and Juan-Carlos career of Jiro Horikoshi, the young genius of Selznick aircraft design in pre-World War II Japan. In Miyazaki’s portrayal, Horikoshi is a boy wonder, a visionary dreamer, an aeronautical engineer with the poetic soul of an artist. He is both a pragmatist and a romantic, utterly The Wind Rises devoted to his design work but still capable of Ends tonight, heroic rescue feats in the catastrophic earthMarch 20. quake of 1923 and not at all impervious to the Voiced by Joseph great romance that gradually arises in the Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, aftermath.

The film’s Horikoshi is much given to lavStanley Tucci and John Krasinksi. ish dreams of an at least partly prophetic Directed by nature, and Miyazaki’s film moves between Hayao Miyazaki. dream and reality with such sly frequency that Cinemark 14.

Rated PG-13. the entire enterprise begins to look like a dream vision. Horikoshi’s encounters—real, remembered and imagined—with the Italian aviation pioneer Giovanni Caproni come across as mutually inspiring encounters between artistically inclined designer/technicians. And Miyazaki’s allusions to Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain, and to its Poor protagonist, Hans Castorp, further heighten the sense of kinship with the work of modernist artists and thinkers in the early 20th cenFair tury.

The film’s title and its epigraph are from lines written by the modernist/symbolist poet and thinker Paul Valéry, and they too add to Good the impression that The Wind Rises is above all a portrait of the artist as visionary, a fantasia of exalted creativity that has room for Very Good Mann, Horikoshi, Valéry, Caproni, and perhaps Miyazaki as well.

As always, Miyazaki’s imagery is thoroughly delightful, and all the more so in this Excellent

4

1

2

3

4

5

case, what with its nonstop indications that the old master’s moviemaking is itself a dream of flight. And the late, too-brief recognition—that the role of their inventions in World War II put a curse on the dreams of Caproni and Horikoshi—brings a troubling poignancy to Miyazaki’s dream. Ω

Chasing cars

3

Need for Speed

Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated. PG-13.

by Juan-Carlos Selznick Fast cars, the flashier and louder the

better, have been a prime ingredient in movie excitement for more than a century now. Need for Speed, based on the Electronic Arts video game series, has little else to offer, but the visceral rush of its car chases and road-racer sequences is more than enough to keep it crackling with energy through most of its 130-minute running time.

George Gatins’ jejune script sets up a mightbe-deadly rivalry between star racers played by Aaron Paul and Dominic Cooper and adds a front-seat, road-trip romance between Paul’s character and a comely British car buyer (Imogen Poots). None of it is credible enough to merit close attention, which is no doubt one more reason why director Scott Waugh keeps the automotive action hurtling along at a pellmell pace. Plus, the production designers have managed to keep the effects of CGI artifice at a minimum, which results in a real-time intensity that would have made this film a joy to see in a vintage drive-in theater like the one referenced at the outset here. Ω

After refusing to sign his philosophy professor’s mandatory pledge declaring that “God is dead,” a Christian college freshman must successfully defend his faith in a series of debates against the professor in order to pass the class. Cinemark 14. Rated PG.

Muppets Most Wanted

Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell star in this sequel to 2011’s The Muppets. This time around, the world-touring gang of performers gets tangled up in a jewelry-heist caper masterminded by a Kermit the Frog look-alike. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

Tim’s Vermeer

Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) directs the documentary on inventor Tim Jenison’s efforts to figure out the painting techniques Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer might have used to create his nearly photorealistic paintings during the mid-17th century.

Pageant Theatre. Rated PG-13.

Now playing

5

12 Years a Slave

Director Steve McQueen’s film recounts the agonizing ordeal of a prosperous and well-educated African-American, a freed man named Solomon Northup, who was shanghaied back into slavery for more than a decade in pre-Civil War U.S. As such, 12 Years a Slave is a sometimes grueling history lesson that pays graphic attention to the physical cruelties as well as the legal and moral injustices of the slavery system.

A certain weakness for punishing realism might have been fatal, were it not for the brilliancies of characterization that bring the whole thing back to life just as a grim despondency threatens to take over. Ultimately, the prime example of that brilliance comes via Solomon Northup himself (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The movie, which portrays Solomon as refusing to be defined by his own victimhood, finds its most powerful and incisive dramatics in the tragic ironies of the man’s struggle not just to survive but to preserve a sense of dignity and self in the midst of soul-crushing cruelties.

Pageant Theatre. Rated R —J.C.S.

2

300: Rise of an Empire

A good, nasty central villain performance and some decent visuals keep 300: Rise of an Empire from being truly awful. In the end, it’s just marginally bad. Director Noam Murro’s take on the exposed-belly, ancient-warrior thing lacks any real dramatic tension. His film is a bunch of boat fights mixed with people in togas emoting slowly on soundstages. It’s a little bit of a prequel to 300, in that we see the origins of Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the golden god Persian warrior who gave Gerard Butler (who appears in reused footage from 300) such a hard time in the last film. As far as storytelling goes, the Xerxes prologue is

easily the most compelling part of the movie. Too bad it accounts for only a few minutes. Rise of an Empire is slightly better than, say, your average direct-to-video sequel or prequel, but without Butler starring or Zach Snyder directing, it’s ultimately inferior to the first movie. And that first movie wasn’t all that great to begin with.

Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated R —B.G.

The LEGO Movie

A computer-animated adaptation of the iconic kids’ toy pits a team of LEGOs led by an ordinary construction-worker minifigure (voiced by Chris Pratt) against an evil tyrant (Will Farrell) who wants to glue everything in the universe together. Cinemark 14. Rated PG.

3

The Monuments Men

The good news: The Monuments Men is based on a fascinating episode in the history of World War II; it’s agreeably entertaining; and it has a big, attractive cast. The bad news: The film’s version of history feels too much like movie-friendly fiction, and the cast members mostly play versions of themselves, with only the bare minimum of links to the historical figures on whom they are based. Based on the actual exploits of U.S. Army specialists charged with recovering stolen treasures of European art in the late stages of World War II, the film follows a handful of characters through a mildly suspenseful adventure that is part secret mission, part cultural commando raid, and part rambunctious caper. There are nods to serious, painful history here, but the script (by George Clooney, who also stars and directs, and Grant Heslov) often seems little more than a spinoff of the Ocean’s Eleven cycle, with Clooney’s version of the Rat Pack (Bill Murray, John Goodman, Matt Damon, etc.) working variations on capermovie riffs made suitable to the particular circumstances of this tale. Cinemark 14.

Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Ty Burrell (Modern Family) provides the voice of the “smartest being in the world” and talking dog, Mr. Peabody, who stars alongside his adopted son Sherman in this update of the old cartoons that appeared during the early-1960s The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show animated TV series. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

3

Need for Speed

See review this issue. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

Non-Stop

Liam Neeson is in action-flick mode, starring as a U.S. air marshal trying to flush out a terrorist on a transatlantic flight who is promising to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million in ransom is coughed up. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

The Single Moms Club

The latest from writer/director Tyler Perry is a dramedy about a group of women from different walks of life who bond over an incident at their children’s school. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.

Son of God

A biopic on the life of Jesus featuring scenes (as well as previously unreleased footage) from the History channel miniseries The Bible edited together to create a stand-alone film. Cinemark 14 and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

4

The Wind Rises

Ends tonight, March 20. See review this issue. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

March 20, 2014

CN&R 33

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34 CN&R March 20, 2014

ARTS DEVO

by Jason Cassidy • jasonc@newsreview.com

April is the cruellest month, breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/ Memory and desire, stirring/ Dull roots with spring rain —T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”

THE CRUELEST SEASON Hope and fate. Spring can be rough. This year, in my circle of Chico, the transition into the season has been marked by extremes: Two of my close friends just welcomed their second healthy child into the world; while another close friend has watched, helplessly, as his brother slipped into a coma.

Transitions are often unpredictable and difficult to navigate, but it feels like things are especially turbulent in Chico this time around the sun.

RIP, TOMASSINI You would be hard-pressed to find a person as universally loved in this community as Dan Tomassini. The longtime Chico musician and actor died last week (March 11), and his passing has left a serious mark on our little scene.

Tomassini wasn’t a hog-the-spotlight kind of guy, but he was a near constant presence on the local sidelines—keeping time in the rhythm section on drums or bass for many local bands over the last couple of decades (from Job’s DeSoto and The Incredible Diamonds to The Cheatin’ Hearts and The Shout Bamalamas), or cheering on every other musician in town from the front row.

Dan Tomassini As I’ve talked to his friends and read online remembrances over the past week, the universal sentiment has been that whenever, wherever you ran into him—and you often ran into him—Tomassini was always ready to offer comfort with arms and heart wide open. That rings true for me as well. My strongest memories of him are from the mid-1990s when his power-pop band Charm Fueled—featuring an amazing combination of personalities with vocalist Trish Howard (née Rowland, of Vomit Launch), white-hot guitarist Sean Gowan (The Vertels) and bassist/Tomassini’s best friend Jim Hollinger— and my power-pop band (Pep Rally) played a bunch of shows together.

From his enthusiastic support of our band in those days, to every warm, heartfelt greeting when my wife and I would come into the Sierra Nevada pub for dinner when he was working the floor, Dan’s sweet, sly smile has represented the best part of this intimate community.

No cause of death has been announced yet, but whatever the manner, it was too soon for the 47-year-old soul. The season feels colder and a bit crueler without Tomassini’s gentle warmth.

BLUE NIGHT I didn’t notice (until it was too late) the online announcements of the celebration of life for Tomassini on Saturday in Bidwell Park, but I was glad to have experienced a brief, very tender tribute later that night during the Blue Room’s Hoedown Variety Talent Show, Hootenanny Southern Review!

The typically loose Chico-style variety show was hosted by wisecrackin’ Lerlene (Chico theater vet and funny lady Betty Burns) an’ her more-than-slightly “touched” sidekick Pearl (Delovely Delisa). The show provided a great laugh-out-loud release—especially the grinning, spirited, patriotic “dance” routine by Lil’ Sugar Poo Poo (Samantha Perry); the porno-stash song by Mad Bob Howard; and Burns’ signature cowboy crooner Dicky LaRoca’s smarmy take on AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”—but the most poignant moment came at the end of actor/comedian Steve Swim’s standup skit. Picking out the song on an out-oftune acoustic guitar, Swim coughed out a short version of Pink Floyd’s gentle love note to Syd Barrett. As he went into the Mad Bob Howard last chorus, the crowd very quietly joined in, sending a delicate chorus for Tomassini into the night: “How I wish, how I wish you were here.”

Find Us Online At:

www.chico.newsreview.com

BUTTE COUNTY LIVING

Love’s ReaL estate The Streak

Open House Guide | Home Sales Listings | Featured Home of the Week

I

f you want to see into the future, you just have to know where to look. After years of researching magazines, newspapers, and websites for the most reliable real estate prognosticators, I have discovered the best one right here in the North Valley.

The prognosticator of whom I speak, JR, has a spotty track record for predicting the future of the real estate market. He’s on a seven-year streak of bad calls. But that’s the key. JR is so reliably wrong, all you have to do is listen to his predictions, and then go with the opposite.

Free Real Estate Listings Find Us Online At:

www.chico.newsreview.com

I called JR and asked if he would venture a prediction for the real estate market in 2014, despite his poor record. He seemed surprised.

RECYCLE

“You’re saying people perceive my recent projections as inaccurate?” he asked.

THIS PAPER.

“Yes.” “In what way do they express such a perception?”

“They say that you are wrong,” I said.

“Preposterous,” he said. “My predictions are many-factored and should not be dismissed in one broad stroke.”

I reminded him of his prediction for the market in 2006, the year of the worst downturn in real estate since the Great

Depression. His prediction at the time was: “Prices are rising and they won’t stop now.

The three most important words in real estate for 2006 are buy, buy, buy.”

JR admitted to a “slight inaccuracy” in that prediction.

“My words were taken greatly out of context, which caused a knee-jerk reaction among the less enlightened,” he said.

I asked if by “knee-jerk reaction” he was referring to the flaming arrows stuck in his door.

“Quite unfortunate and very unenlightened,” he said.

I reminded him of his 100 percent wrongprediction record from that time until now.

“My words have been taken out of context, and greatly misconstrued,” he said.

So, what was his prediction for 2014?

“The overall economy cannot sustain the slight rise in the real estate market we saw last year. Activity will decrease and we will experience devaluation. I regret being the bearer of bad news.”

Coming from JR, the odds are that’s actually good news.

Doug Love is Sales Manager at Century 21 Jeffries Lydon email escrowgo@aol.com or call 530.680.0817

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INsqGft $299,000 • Beauty w/extra’s!PE 3 bd/ ND 2 ba, 1,571 • Organic, solar, 1.66 acs, 3,930 sq ft $668,000 • Secluded, 18 acs, Forest, 1,550 sq ft, cash only $225,000 • Creek, View, Gated, Awesome! 2,642 sq ft $549,950 • View, Canyon Oaks, Open 3,381 sq ft $649,000 • Nice 3bd / 2ba, 1,544 sq ft $268,000 • Heritage Oaks, Stunning 3 bd/ 2.5 ba, 2,165 sq $329,750 • Custom Forest Ranch, 4 bd/ 2.5 ba, 4.89 acs. $329,000 • Durham, .96 ac with 3 bd/ 2 ba, 1,521 sq ft $272,500 Teresa Larson (530) 899-5925

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ADDRESS

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

ADDRESS

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

68 Eagle Nest Dr 1712 Lawler St 14 Fairway Dr 795 Palmetto Ave 3111 Silverbell Rd 2545 Pillsbury Rd 861 Lorinda Ln 310 Legacy Ln 4 Roxanne Ct 2364 England St 2948 San Verbena Way

Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico

$537,000.00 $430,000.00 $400,000.00 $351,000.00 $291,000.00 $280,000.00 $269,000.00 $256,500.00 $245,000.00 $245,000.00 $239,000.00

3/ 3.5 3/ 2.5 3/ 2.5 3/ 1.5 4/ 2.5 4/ 2.5 3/ 1 4/ 2 3/ 2 2/ 2 5/ 2

3582 2577 2400 2004 1957 2147 1387 1741 1509 1344 1697

630 Oak Lawn Ave 2123 Mansfield Ct 1 Camberwell Ct 907 Oak Lawn Ave 1344 Laburnum Ave 2 Valley Lake Commons 262 Vail Dr 1708 Magnolia Ave 1402 Davis St 1904 Palm Ave 2055 Amanda Way 50

Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico Chico

$239,000.00 $230,000.00 $220,000.00 $215,000.00 $214,000.00 $203,000.00 $202,500.00 $189,000.00 $175,000.00 $139,000.00 $130,000.00

3/ 2 3/ 2 3/ 2 3/ 2 3/ 2 2/ 2 3/ 2 3/ 1 2/ 2.5 3/ 1 3/ 2

1311 1207 1126 1188 1510 1296 1213 1932 1605 1197 1008

March 20, 2014

CN&R 35

open

house Century 21 Jeffries Lydon

Sun, 11-1

Sat. 11-1

Sat.-11-1

18 Titleist (Delaney) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 1653 Sq.Ft. $329,900 Frankie Dean 717-3884

2380 Cassandra (X St: Durham Pentz) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 2,606 Sq Ft. $659,000 Heather Deluca 228-1480

1721 Jetta Ct. (X St: 8th Ave) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 2,024 Sq. Ft. $309,000 Paul Champlin 828-2902

Sat. 11-1, 2-4

Sat. 11-1, 1-4 & Sun. 11-1

1847 Wisteria Lane (X St: Glenwood) 5 Bd / 3.5 Ba, 3,107 Sq. Ft. $575,000 Micheal Prezioso 514-1638

158 Remington Dr. (X St: Bruce) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 1,455 Sq. Ft. $268,000 Jerry Bode 518-8466 Frankie Dean 717-3884

Sat. 11-1 & Sun. 2-4

158 REMINGTON • CHICO LA PARC Subdivision location on this beautifully maintained home. This 3 bedroom, bath, 1,455 sq ft home has granite counters in the open designed kitchen that features an island, pantry, and tile flooring. Kitchen is open to the family room that has a fireplace. The home has a living/dining room, nice master area with large soaking tub, double sinks, separate shower and plantation shutters. Newer roof, fresh exterior paint, updated flooring, and light fixtures all on an easy care lot, mature trees, and RV gate on the side.

1833 Bree Ct (X St: Lott Rd) 5 Bd / 4 Ba, 3,162 Sq. Ft. $535,000 John Spain 519-5726 Katherine Ossokine 591-3837

Sat 2-4 & Sun. 11-1

Sat. 2-4 & Sun. 2-4

Sat. 11-1

1284 Dale Way (X St: Mariposa) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 1,400Sq Ft. $239,000 Alice Zeissler 518-1872

368 Bay Tree Dr. (X St: Tuscan) 4 Bd / 3 Ba, 2,805Sq Ft. $522,000 Steve Kasprzyk 518-4850

1193 Olive St (X St: E. 12th St) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 1,512 Sq. Ft. $235,000 Frankie Dean 717-3884

Sat. 11-1, 2-4 & Sun. 11-1, 2-4

LIsTEd aT: $268,000

Sun. 2-4

773 Colorado Street (X St: Boucher & Davis) 2 Bd / 1 Ba, 795 Sq Ft. $125,000 Anita Miller 321-1174

801 Moss (X St: Hawthorne) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 2,004 Sq. Ft. $359,000 Frank Condon 864-7726

Teresa Larson | Realtor® | Century 21 Jeffries Lydon (530) 899-5925 | www.ChicoListings.com | chiconativ@aol.com

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The following houses were sold in Butte County by real estate agents or private parties during the week of March 3, 2014 – March 7, 2014.

The housing prices are based on the stated documentary transfer tax of the parcel and may not necessarily reflect the actual sale price of the home.

ADDRESS 2500 Shooting Star Way 9454 Perkins Rd 1909 Cummings Ln 5498 Platt Mountain Rd 14662 Colter Way 14569 Asheville Dr 14004 Stetson Ct 6126 Dana Cir 1241 Linden Ave 527 Condor Rd 12 Quick Silver Ct 36 CN&R March 20, 2014

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

ADDRESS

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

Chico Dayton Durham Forest Ranch Magalia Magalia Magalia Magalia Oroville Oroville Oroville

$120,000.00 $220,000.00 $240,000.00 $228,000.00 $238,000.00 $179,000.00 $135,000.00 $121,000.00 $210,000.00 $209,000.00 $195,000.00

2/ 1.5 3/ 1.5 3/ 1.5 3/ 2 5/ 3 2/ 2.5 3/ 2 2/ 2 4/ 2 3/ 2 3/ 2

1103 1291 1263 1196 2991 1738 1944 1248 2736 1660 1501

560 Fire Camp Rd

Oroville

$170,000.00

3/ 2

1351

6 Linda Dr

Oroville

$162,000.00

3/ 2

1256

1835 10th St

Oroville

$153,000.00

3/ 2

1352

1649 Veatch St

Oroville

$139,000.00

3/ 1

1122

1844 Williams Ave

Palermo

$155,000.00

3/ 1.5

1301

300 Sunnybrook Ln

Palermo

$105,000.00

3/ 2

1664

5048 Lago Vista Way

Paradise

$350,000.00

3/ 2.5

2351

6000 N Libby Rd

Paradise

$236,000.00

3/ 2

1464

1888 Lillian Ave

Paradise

$200,000.00

3/ 2

1320

5767 Bonnie Ln

Paradise

$163,000.00

2/ 1.5

1196

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Call 888-608-3016 Springboard Biodiesel is now selling fuel from their facility at 2323 Park Ave. in Chico. Farmers, companies and individuals interested in buying clean-burning, premium-grade fuel for use in ANY diesel engine are encouraged to contact Springboard directly at 530-894-1793 or sign up online at springboardbiodiesel.com/ buyers-club. Volumes for sale are 10, 55 or 275 gallons.

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Notice of caution to our Readers!

Whenever doing business by telephone or email proceed with caution when cash or credit is required in advance of services.

NURTURE YOUR SPIRIT, HELP HEAL OUR WORLD Imagine a religion that embraces many different beliefs including yours. Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Chico, 1289 Filbert Ave, 530-343-1693 www.chicouu.org PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN) KILL ROACHES! Buy Harris Ranch Tablets. Eliminate Roaches-Guaranteed. No Mess, Odorless, Long Lasting, Available at Ace Hardware, The Home Depot, homedepot.com (AAN CAN)

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as AMERICAN RV at 249 Meyers Chico, CA 95928.

DARRYL PARKE MERRIN 6251 Posey Lane Paradise, CA 95969.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: DARRYL MERRIN Dated: February 21, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000294 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as BLISS NAIL AND SPA at 2033 Forest Ave Suite 100 Chico, CA 95928.

MANG LEPHAM 472 Entler Ave Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: MANG LEPHAM Dated: January 24, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000156 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME - STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name: INSPIRE ME CREATIONS at 561 E. Lindo Ave. Suite 1 Chico, CA 95926 KYMBERLY COCO 561 E. Lindo Ave #7 Chico, CA 95926.

TAMARA PATTERSON 8564 Silver Bridge Rd Palo Cedro, CA 96073.

This business was conducted by a General Partnership.

Signed: KYMBERLY COCO Dated: February 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2013-0000762 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as INSPIRE ME CREATIONS at 561 E Lindo Ave. Suite 7 Chico, CA 95926 SOLUTION-ORIENTED THERAPY 561 E Lindo Ave. Suite 7 Chico, CA 95926.

This business is conducted by

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as OPEN PASTURE EVENTS, SOUL HEALING HORSES at 913 Long Bar Road Oroville, CA 95966.

SHANNON PAIGE 913 Long Bar Road Oroville, CA 95966.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: SHANNON PAIGE Dated: February 11, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000254 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as ADOPTION CHOICES OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA at 1469 Humboldt Rd Ste 200 Chico, CA 95928.

CHICO FEMINIST WOMENS HEALTH CENTER 1442 Ethan Way Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95825.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: Marikathryn Hendrix, Director Dated: January 24, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000160 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as OMPT, ONE MEDIA PLAYER PER TEACHER, ONE MOBILE PROJECTOR PER TRAINER, POLDER INC at 1350 East 9th Street Chico, CA 95928.

POLDER INC P.O. Box 3320 Chico, CA 95927.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: PATRICE YORK, SECRETARY Dated: February 18, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000277 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

CA 95926.

ERIK GLEDHILL 4 Wysong Court Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Inidvidual.

Signed: ERIK GLEDHILL Dated: February 27, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000331 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as CHICO LIFESTYLE REAL ESTATE at 430 Marmore Road Chico, CA 95928.

KP REAL ESTATE CONSULTING, INC 430 Marmore Road Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: KRISTIN PANKHURST, PRESIDENT Dated: February 28, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000332 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as 530 PROCESS SERVERS at 3432 Esplanade #208 Chico, CA 95973.

MICHAEL REID 3432 Esplanade #208 Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: MICHAEL REID Dated: February 10, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000237 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as SERVANT LEADERSHIP NETWORK at 3015 Cohasset Rd Chico, CA 95973.

CITY LIGHT OF CHICO PO Box 9199 Chico, CA 95927.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: BRAD HOLMBERG, TREASURER Dated: January 29, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000178 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

DANIEL GROVER 1140 Normal Ave Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: DANIEL GROVER Dated: February 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000286 Published: March 13,20,27, April 3, 2014

CA 95928.

BIDWELL NATIVE, LLC PO Box 2273 Chico, CA 95927.

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

Signed: ALEC BINYON, MEMBER Dated: March 11, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000396 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as CHICO CHAI at 1919 Park Ave Chico, CA 95928.

SARAH ELIZABETH ADAMS 918 Salem Street Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: SARAH E ADAMS Dated: February 7, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000234 Published: March 13,20,27, April 3, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as MINX SKATEBOARD COMPANY at 2711 Rafael St Chico, CA 95973 JOHNATHAN JOSEPH MIRABELLI 2711 Rafael St Chico, CA 95973 This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: JOHNATHAN MIRA-­ BELLI Dated: March 12, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000400 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as NATURAL ELEMENTS at 2700 Hegan Lane Suite 162 Chico, CA 95928.

PAUL REDMOND 1166 East 7th St Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: PAUL REDMOND Dated: March 3, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000340 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as COSMOS PUBLISHING at 545 Lower Forbstown Road Oroville, CA 95966.

RANDALL L DODSON 545 Lower Forbstown Road Oroville, CA 95966.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: RANDALL L. DODSON Dated: March 14, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000416 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as J AND M CONSTRUCTION at 10 Trieste Way Chico, CA 95926.

MICHAEL MOSSMAN 10 Trieste Way Chico, CA 95926.

JASON THOMASON 2728 Pentz Rd Oroville, CA 95965.

This business is conducted by a General Partnership.

Signed: MICHAEL MOSSMAN Dated: March 6, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000370 Published: March 20, 27, April 3,10, 2014

NOTICES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as ELECTROLYSIS BY NORA at 15 C Williamsburg Lane Chico, CA 95926.

NORA PAIVA 1876 Lodge Pine Lane Chico, CA 95926.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: NORA PAIVA Dated: February 10, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000245 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as CALIFORNIA SAFE COMPANY, CHOICE PRINTING, LOCAL’S CHOICE PRINTING at 2704 Hegan Ln #120 Chico, CA 95928.

MICHAEL DAVID HARPER 2126 Bar Triangle St Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: MIKE HARPER Dated: March 11, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000398 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as FASTCABINETDOORS.COM at 11128 Midway, Suite A Chico, CA 95928 OAK RIDGE CABINETS INCORPORATED 11128 Midway Chico, Suite A Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: SCOTT BECHHOLD, PRESIDENT Dated: February 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000293 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as BAT FABRICATION at 3326 Esplanade Unit C Chico, CA 95973.

JEFFREY EUGENE HOUGHTON 522 Digger Pine Lane Paradise, CA 95969.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: JEFFREY EUGENE HOUGHTON Dated: March 6, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000365 Published: March 13,20,27, April 3, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as J ATLAS BUMBLBEE FURNITURE TRANSPORT at 314 Legacy Lane Chico, CA 95973.

JULIE ATLAS 314 Legacy Lane Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: JULIE ATLAS Dated: February 24, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000306 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as TRAILBLAZER PET SUPPLY at 752 Mangrove Avenue Chico,

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as SEE THE SHOW at 1140 Normal Ave Chico, CA 95928.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as GREAT STATE COFFEE COMPANY at 3881 Benatar, Suite C Chico,

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as DEVISE VENTURES at 63 Pauletah Pl Chico, CA 95973.

JOSEPH BILL 63 Pauletah Pl Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: JOE BILL Dated: February 14, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000267 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

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NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE VIRGINIA JORDAN AKA VIRGINIA BELLE JORDAN AKA VIRGINIA B. JORDAN To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of: VIRGINIA JORDAN, AKA VIRGINIA BELLE JORDAN, AKA VIRGINIA B. JORDAN A Petition for Probate has been filed by: MARIAN HOLOCHWOST in the Superior Court of California, County of Butte.

THE Petition for Probate requests that: MARIAN HOLOCHWOST be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

The PETITION requests the decedent’s wills and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate.

The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

A Hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: April 17, 2014 Time: 9:00a.m.

Dept: PROBATE Address of the court: Superior Court of California County of Butte 655 Oleander Ave Chico, CA 95926.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal repre-­ sentative appointed by the court within the later of either

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CONTINUED ON 38

March 20, 2014

CN&R 37

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner DEEPIKA TANDON filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: JEVESH TANDON Proposed name: SHUBHANSH VOHRA TANDON THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objec-­ tion that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 9, 2014 Time: 8:30am Dept: TBA The address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave. Chico, CA 95926 Signed: ROBERT A. GLUSMAN Dated: February 11, 2014 Case Number: 161369 Published: February 27, March 6,13,20, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner KATHLEEN V STARR

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38 CN&R March 20, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner JODIE NEAL filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: JODIE MARIE NEAL THOMAS Proposed name: JODIE MARIE ROSE THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objec-­ tion that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 29, 2014 Time: 8:30am Dept: TBA The address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave. Chico, CA 95926 Signed: SANDRA L. MCLEAN Dated: March 5, 2014 Case Number: 161498 Published: March 13,20,27, April 3, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner NICHOLAS EDWARD GEETER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: NICHOLAS EDWARD GEETER Proposed name: NICHOLAS EDWARD WEST THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objec-­ tion that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and

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must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 9, 2014 Time: 8:30am Dept: TBA The address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave. Chico, CA 95926 Signed: SANDRA L. MCLEAN Dated: March 6, 2014 Case Number: 161396 Published: March 13,20,27, April 3, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner JEANIE MARR’IE IFTIGER filed a petition with this court for a decree changing petitioner’s name as follows: Present name: JEANIE MARR’IE IFTIGER Proposed name: JAECOB JEAN IFTIGER THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition should not be granted NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 9, 2014 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept.: TBA The address of the court is: 655 Oleander Ave Chico, CA 95926.

Signed: ROBERT GLUSMAN Dated: March 4, 2014 Case Number: 161360 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner KERA EILEEN KATHRYN HARR filed a petition with this court for a decree changing petitioner’s name as follows: Present name: KERA EILEEN KATHRYN HARR Proposed name: ADEN ADAM EMERY HARR THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition should not be granted NOTICE OF HEARING Date: May 21, 2014 Time: 8:30 A.M. Dept.: TBA The address of the court is: 655 Oleander Ave Chico, CA 95926.

Signed: SANDRA L. MCLEAN Dated: March 13, 2014 Case Number: 161335 Published: March 20,27, April 3,10, 2014

NEED ATTENTION? LET’S NOT GO TO EXTREMES.

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YOU’RE WELCOME, NATURE.

NOTICE OF LIEN SALE Pursuant to CA Business Code 21700, in lieu of rents due.

The following units contain misc items, boxes, etc: Unit 116CC: Timothy Fox (5x5) Unit 191SS: Elizabeth Dracul (12x12) Unit 195SS: Elizabeth Dracul (12x12) Unit 205SS: Ed F Burns (6x12) Unit 226SS: Melissa Duggins (6x10) Unit 229SS: David & Le Don Brantley Sr. (5x12) Unit 256SS: Brad Avooske (7x10) Unit 262SS: Arthur Degmetich (5x6) Unit 015CC1: Elizabeth Dracul (5x6) Contents to be sold to the highest bidder on: March 29, 2014 Beginning at 12:00pm Sale to be held at: 65 Heritage Lane Chico, CA 95926.

Published: March 20,27, 2014

filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: AAREN INLOW STARR THOMAS Proposed name: AAREN INLOW THOMAS STARR THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objec-­ tion that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: April 9, 2014 Time: 8:30am Dept: TBA The address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave. Chico, CA 95926 Signed: SANDRA L. MCLEAN Dated: February 26, 2014 Case Number: 161100 Published: March 6,13,20,27, 2014

RECYCLE THIS PAPER.

(1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or per-­ sonal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code.

Other California statutes and le-­ gal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250.

A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Case Number: PR40974 Attorney for Petitioner: DIRK POTTER 20 Independence Circle Chico, CA 95973.

Published: March 20,27, April 3, 2014

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more adult online

www.newsreview.com

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

“When you plant seeds in the garden, you don’t dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet,” says Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron. “You simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time.” That’s sound advice for you, Aries. You are almost ready to plant the metaphorical seeds that you will be cultivating in the coming months. Having faith should be a key element in your plans for them.

You’ve got to find a way to shut down any tendencies you might have to be an impatient control freak. Your job is simply to give your seeds a good start and provide them with the persistent follow-up care they will need.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “Thank you,

disillusionment,” says Alanis Morissette in her song “Thank U.” “Thank you, frailty,” she continues. “Thank you, nothingness. Thank you, silence.” I’d love to hear you express that kind of gratitude in the coming days, Taurus. Please understand that I don’t think you will be experiencing a lot of disillusionment, frailty, nothingness and silence. Not at all. What I do suspect is that you will be able to see, more clearly than ever before, how you have been helped and blessed by those states in the past. You will understand how creatively they motivated you to build strength, resourcefulness, willpower and inner beauty.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I bet your

support system will soon be abuzz with fizzy mojo and good mischief. Your web of contacts is about to get deeper and feistier and prettier. Pounce, Gemini, pounce! Summon extra clarity and zest as you communicate your vision of what you want. Drum up alluring tricks to attract new allies and inspire your existing allies to assist you better. If all goes as I expect it to, business and pleasure will synergize better than they have in a long time. You will boost your ambitions by socializing, and you will sweeten your social life by plying your ambitions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): During her 98

years on the planet, Barbara Cartland wrote 723 romance novels that together sold a billion copies. What was the secret of her success? Born under the sign of Cancer the crab, she knew how productive she could be if she was comfortable. Many of her work sessions took place while she reclined on her favorite couch covered with a white fur rug, her feet warmed with a hot-water bottle. As her two dogs kept her company, she dictated her stories to her secretary. I hope her formula for success inspires you to expand and refine your own personal formula—and then apply it with zeal during the next eight weeks. What is the exact nature of the comforts that will best nourish your creativity?

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The Google Ngram

Viewer is a tool that scans millions of books to map how frequently a particular word is used over the course of time. For instance, it reveals that “impossible” appears only half as often in books published in the 21st century as it did in books from the year 1900. What does this mean? That fantastic and hard-toachieve prospects are less impossible than they used to be? I don’t know, but I can say this with confidence: If you begin fantastic and hard-to-achieve prospects sometime soon, they will be far less impossible than they used to be.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Tibetan

mastiff is a large canine species with long golden hair. If you had never seen a lion and were told that this dog was a lion, you might be fooled. And that’s exactly what a zoo in Luohe, China, did. It tried to pass off a hearty specimen of a Tibetan mastiff as an African lion. Alas, a few clever zoogoers saw through the charade when the beast started barking. Now I’ll ask you, Virgo: Is there anything comparable going on in your environment? Are you being asked to believe that a big dog is actually a lion, or the metaphorical equivalent?

The dog sitter

by Rob Brezsny LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In T.S. Eliot’s

poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the narrator seems tormented about the power of his longing. “Do I dare to eat a peach?” he asks. I wonder what he’s thinking. Is the peach too sweet, too juicy, too pleasurable for him to handle? Is he in danger of losing his self-control and dignity if he succumbs to the temptation? What’s behind his hesitation? In any case, Libra, don’t be like Prufrock in the coming weeks. Get your finicky doubts out of the way as you indulge your lust for life with extra vigor and vivacity. Hear what I’m saying? Refrain from agonizing about whether or not you should eat the peach. Just go ahead and eat it.

story and photo by

Vic Cantu

Gary Swietanski grew up around a lot of animals— dogs, cats, horses, birds and more—and has described himself as a “magnet for animals.”

Friends and family knew this and would often ask him to care for theirs, and now, strangers are as well. In 2012, the 48-year-old husband and father of two turned his love for animals into his occupation, and opened Chico Paws and Claws, a pet-sitting and dog-walking service. Swietanski (who is licensed, bonded and insured) can care for your pets at your home or his. For more information visit www.ChicoPawsAndClaws.com or call 448-9561.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Born under

the sign of Scorpio, Neil Young has been making music professionally for more than 45 years. He has recorded more than 30 albums and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In early 1969, three of his most famous songs popped out of his fertile imagination on the same day. He was sick with the flu and running a 103-degree fever when he wrote “Cowgirl in the Sand,” “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down by the River.” I suspect you may soon experience a milder version of this mythic event, Scorpio. At a time when you’re not feeling your best, you could create a thing of beauty that will last a long time, or initiate a breakthrough that will send ripples far into the future.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

There should be nothing generic or normal or routine about this week, Sagittarius. If you drink beer, for example, you shouldn’t stick to your usual brew. You should track down and drink the hell out of exotic beers with brand names like Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Ninja Vs. Unicorn and Doctor Morton’s Clown Poison. And if you’re a lipstick user, you shouldn’t be content to use your old standard, but should instead opt for kinky types like Sapphire Glitter Bomb, Alien Moon Goddess and Cackling Black Witch. As for love, it wouldn’t make sense to seek out romantic adventures you’ve had a thousand times before. You need and deserve something like wild, sacred, eternal ecstasy; or screaming, sweaty, flagrant bliss; or blasphemously reverent waggling rapture.

15 MINUTES

BREZSNY’S

For the week of March 20, 2014

How did your love of animals develop?

I always loved having dogs and cats as a kid. I also went to a boarding school for high school—where we were allowed to have pets— and cared for a horse on 3,000 acres of land. It was a fantastic experience!

What’s your favorite part of the job?

Seeing and being able to be a part of the animals’ excitement when they see me. They want that love and attention, and I feed off of their endless, unconditional love. I’m a lucky dog.

What’s included in your service?

I’m a pet sitter who takes care of dogs 90 percent of the time, but I also care for cats, birds and even reptiles. I feed them, love them and take them out to play when needed. If the client is gone awhile, I can also take out their trash cans and collect their mail and newspapers. I even clean up pet waste in their yards.

Any clients stand out?

One lady had to go to the hospital unexpectedly for a week. She had no family and was low on funds so I took care of her sweet Chihuahua/ dachshund—Chiweenie— Henry for no charge.

She was a sweet lady and it was my way of giving back to her.

Are there any breeds that scare you?

Before I started I used to have a really hard time being around pit bulls, so I volunteered at the Butte Humane Society to get used to them. It was very eerie at first, but I gained a lot of love and affection for them. I learned that it’s not the animal’s fault if they’re aggressive, it’s the owner’s. Pit bulls are the same as Chihuahuas or labs—they just want love and attention.

What’s next?

Right now I live in the city, so my boarding capacity is small. But in April we’ll move to a bigger place in the county, near Dayton Road.

It will have three-quarters [of an acre] so I can board a lot more pets there.

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

Gary Oldman was born and raised in London.

In the course of his long career he has portrayed a wide range of characters who speak English with American, German and Russian accents. He has also lived in Los Angeles for years. When he signed on to play a British intelligent agent in the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he realized that over the years, he had lost some of his native British accent. He had to take voice lessons to restore his original pronunciations. I suspect you have a metaphorically comparable project ahead of you, Capricorn. It may be time to get back to where you once belonged.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Every now

and then, you’re blessed with a small miracle that inspires you to see everyday things with new vision. Common objects and prosaic experiences get stripped of their habitual expectations, allowing them to become almost as enchanting to you as they were before numb familiarity set in. The beloved people you take for granted suddenly remind you of why you came to love them in the first place. Boring acquaintances may reveal sides of themselves that are quite entertaining. So are you ready and eager for just such an outbreak of curiosity and a surge of fun surprises? If you are, they will come. If you’re not, they won’t.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Before she

died, Piscean actress Elizabeth Taylor enjoyed more than 79 years of life on this gorgeous, maddening planet. But one aptitude she never acquired in all that time was the ability to cook a hard-boiled egg. Is there a pocket of ignorance in your own repertoire that rivals this lapse, Pisces? Are there any fundamental life skills that you probably should have learned by now? If so, now would be a good time to get to work on mastering them.

Go to RealAstrology.com to check out 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 or 1-900-950-7700.

FROM THE EDGE

by Anthony Peyton Porter anthonypeytonporter@comcast.net

About books Editor’s note: Anthony will return next week. Until then, here’s a column from April 2013.

For some months I’ve been what museums call deacquisitioning generally, and particularly books. Then last week while my car was being smog-tested I wandered into ARC during a book sale, and my resolve dissolved. I at least thought up good reasons for each book it turned out I had to have.

The first was Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing by John Gierach. Although I’m interested in sex and death, it was fly-fishing that caught my eye because a friend of mine in Minnesota is a fly fisherman and I thought I’d send it to him. Gifts don’t count against de-acquisitioning.

Then I saw West Coast Seafood: The Complete Cookbook by Jay Harlow. I got this one because I’ve been allergic to fish all my life, except I’m apparently not allergic anymore. A few months ago friends took me to eat sushi, and since at the time I thought a lifethreatening meal a sensible thing to have, I went. It was delicious and not a bit fatal. I look forward to eating lots of fish, and a seafood cookbook seemed a prudent investment. That’s what I told myself.

I often see several young men around the estate in the course of a day, and I picked up two titles that I

planned to leave in plain view. Although I haven’t read either book, I’ve read others by those authors and feel confident that a young man can find something of value or use in both The Choice by Og Mandino and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie.

While subject matter is usually what attracts me, there are a handful of writers whose work I read no matter what they’re writing about. Some actors are always worth watching, and some writers are always worth reading. Although Family by Ian Frazier is about his family, in whom I have no interest whatsoever, I’ve read enough of his work, including the terrific Great Plains, that I fully expect it to at least entertain, probably interest, and perhaps engross me. This is a clear violation of the de-acquisitioning mandate, so I’ll give away another book to take up the slack.

Pilgrims by Garrison Keillor is entirely irresistible because I haven’t read it, and I read whatever Garrison Keillor writes. That’s the way it is.

A few years ago I professed to have no guilty pleasures, and I didn’t. Now I have the novels of John Sandford, who writes crime fiction, including Night Prey, which made me buy it. Overall, I don’t think that crime fiction is likely to help me achieve enlightenment or peace on Earth, and so I suppose I should avoid it, but I’ve read a lot of crime fiction, and Sandford is a master. As usual, peace will have to wait.

March 20, 2014

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