C 2015 01 01

2014 DEVO

The biggest local stories (and blunders) of the year

AWARDS

See ARTS DEVO, page 34

LIVING

LONGER See HEALTHLINES, page 10

FILMS OF 4 1 0 2 O T K C A B TURN THE YEAR See FILM FEATURE, page 24

FEELIN’ LUCKY? See CHOW, page 27

Chico’s News & Entertainment Weekly

Volume 38, Issue 19

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

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Vol. 38, Issue 19 • December 31, 2014

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

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

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

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

Streetalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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THE GOODS 15 Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Homegrown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

HEALTHLINES Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Pulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Weekly Dose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

ARTS & CULTURE

14

Film feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fine arts listings . . . . . . . . . . .

Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In The Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nightlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reel World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arts DEVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Brezsny’s Astrology . . . . . . . .

24 24 25 25 27 28 29 30 32 34 35

CLASSIFIEDS

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REAL ESTATE

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ON THE COVER: DESIGN BY TINA FLYNN

Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager Mark Schuttenberg Distribution Staff Ken Gates, Bob Meads, Pat Rogers, Mara Schultz, Larry Smith, Lisa Torres, 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 Associate Editor Meredith J. Graham Arts Editor Jason Cassidy News Editor Tom Gascoyne Asst. News Editor/Healthlines Editor Howard Hardee Staff Writer Ken Smith Calendar Assistant Mallory Russell Contributors Catherine Beeghly, Alastair Bland, Henri Bourride, Rachel Bush, Vic Cantu, Matthew Craggs, Kyle Delmar, Bob Grimm, Miles Jordan, Karen Laslo, Leslie Layton, Mark Lore, Melanie MacTavish, Sean Murphy, Mazi Noble, Brian Palmer, Shannon Rooney, Toni Scott, Claire Hutkins Seda, Juan-Carlos Selznick, Robert Speer, Allan Stellar, Evan Tuchinsky, Carey Wilson Interns Hunter Du Puy, Nate Ward, Brittany Waterstradt

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Recycling Programs 2014

Chico & Durham Boy Scouts Troop 2 Pick up program: January 10th $10-$35 donation requested. Call 514-9885 to request pickup (Message phone) Leave name, address, ph. #. You can also request for a pickup online at: www.troop2chico.com and use PayPal to donate. You can mail your request to 135 Mission Ranch Blvd, Chico, CA 95926.

Have trees on curb by 8am. * Drop-off locations January 10th: – Hooker Oak Park – Oakway Park – Butte Bible Fellowship Church Parking lot

Recology Butte Colusa Counties Curbside: collection for current yard waste customers: Place trees next to yard waste containers on regular yard waste pick up day. Must be cut into 3 ft or smaller sections and bundled. Remove all tinsel and ornaments. No flocked trees.

Waste Management Curbside: Cut trees into 3’ lengths and place in yard waste containers for collection on regular yard waste day. Remove all tinsel & ornaments.

Drop off: December 26th – January 4th at Chico Compost Facility. Hours 8am – 4pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays Earthworm Soil Factory – Neal Road just east of Hwy 99 Drop off trees for no charge. Remove all tinsel & ornaments. No flocked tress.

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 (530) 894-2300, press 4 Printed by Paradise Post The CN&R is printed using recycled newsprint whenever available.

Curbside: curbside collection for current customers. Place trees next to yard waste containers on regular collection days. Must be cut into 3ft or smaller sections and bundled. Remove all tinsel & ornaments. No flocked trees.

Drop-off: Free drop-off at: 2720 South 5th Avenue. M-F 8am-4pm, Sat 8:30am-4pm. Remove all tinsel & ornaments. No flocked trees.

Paradise & Magalia Northern Recycling and Waste Services Call 876-3340 for more info.

Drop-off locations: December 26th-January 31st. Paradise Vegetative Waste Yard • Paradise Vegetative Waste Yard: Clark Rd. & American Way, Open Tues thru Sat. 9-4pm • Mountain View Trees: 1986 Mountain View Drive • Curbside greenwaste pickup on regular yard waste day. Remove all tinsel & ornaments. No flocked tress. Cut into 3 ft. sections. Tree must fit inside greenwaste cart.

Gridley & Biggs Waste Management. Call 846-0810 for more information Curbside: Cut trees into 3’ lengths and place in yardwaste containers for collection on regular yard waste day. Remove all tinsel & ornaments. Biggs residents can drop trees off at the Biggs/BCFD station on B Street from December 26th to January 9th.

Oroville & Thermalito Recology Butte Colusa Counties.

Contact 533-5868 for more info.

CN&R

Managing Art Director Tina Flynn Editorial Designer Sandra Peters

Christmas Tree

City of Chico Compost Facility Drop off: Free drop off at facility December 26th – January 4th. Hours 8am-4pm. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Remove all tinsel & ornaments.

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Chief Operations Officer Deborah Redmond Human Resources Manager Tanja Poley Business Manager Grant Rosenquist Accounting Specialist Tami Sandoval Accounts Receivable Specialist Nicole Jackson Lead Technology Synthesist Jonathan Schultz Senior Support Tech Joe Kakacek Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins

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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December 31, 2014

CN&R

3

OPINION

Send guest comments, 400 words maximum, to gc@ newsreview.com, or to 353 E. 2nd St., Chico, CA 95928. Please include photo & short bio.

Obama’s late-hour gains If congressional Republicans thought President Obama would cower and

Stop participating in cruelty the California Legislature voted to ban the sale of Ipâténfoie2004, gras—the artificially fattened liver of ducks, served as in high-end restaurants. Enough Californians were con-

vinced that the extreme cruelty involved in force-feeding animals could not be justified. The restaurant industry sued. In October 2014, the Ninth District Court of Appeals refused to hear the case, killing the last challenge to the law.

What has remained in my mind is a photograph that accompanied the story: a long battery of cages with ducks sticking their heads out between bars. They were lined up and uniform—all a beautiby ful khaki brown color.

Patrick I have watched hours of “behind-theNewman scenes” video of what I would call our Animal Holocaust; it is haunting and The author, a sickening. The ducks were not an isolatlongtime Chico ed thing; they were yet another image in resident, wrote the a complex web of images, all tied togethJan. 23 CN&R cover er: bile bears, force-fed dogs, circus anistory “Out of sight, out of mind.” mals, zoos, laboratory animals, bull fights, sharks “finned” for soup, SeaWorld orcas living in swimming pools— and the animals enslaved, bred, milked, slaughtered, beaten, shocked, branded, castrated, dehorned, debeaked, confined and abused in the system we call “modern agriculture.”

4

CN&R

December 31, 2014

I imagine that many Californians voted for Proposition 2 in 2008—modifying some of the worst confinement practices in California—and then went shopping: bought milk, eggs and some bacon. I am grateful we stood against cruelty, but there remains every bit as much misery in the production of milk as there is in the process that produces foie gras.

This is evident in the short, brutal lives of dairy cows—repeatedly bred and mourning the loss of their calves. Cows are worn-out in five years and trucked to slaughter, and their male calves live out short lives in veal crates.

Almost all eggs still come from high-density confinement operations and bacon out of a system where pigs spend lives jammed in steel racks. California’s laws are slightly more progressive, but pork is mostly produced in states like Iowa. We have much further to go.

To do so, we have to see how arbitrary our beliefs about animals actually are and how they don’t really encompass the fact that these products are shadowed by misery we would never permit for any living thing— that is, if we had to see it every day. And, though much of the misery in the world is stubbornly difficult to end, this pain we inflict on animals has a simple solution: we stop participating. Ω

retreat following Democrats’ shellacking in the 2014 midterm elections, they have another think coming. The president hasn’t pulled back; rather, he’s gone on the offensive, using his executive powers to accomplish what Congress was unwilling to do.

Perhaps the most consequential action was his decision to provide a mechanism whereby millions of unauthorized immigrants can avoid deportation and families can be protected from being torn apart. And, in a move also certain to resonate among Latinos throughout the Americas, he normalized relations with Cuba, ending a 50-year-long embargo that has failed to topple that country’s socialist government.

These developments have received a great deal of publicity. Less wellknown are Obama’s many substantial environmental actions. Using the Clean Air Act as his foundation, he has issued a series of landmark regulations on air pollution. Most recently, he issued a regulation that will reduce ozone, a key contributor to smog.

According to The New York Times, this is the sixth new rule intended to rein in hazardous air pollutants, including soot, mercury, sulfur and nitrogen oxide. Also targeted are vehicular releases of carbon dioxide, the principal cause of climate change. More rules are on the way.

And let’s not forget that, on Nov. 11, Obama reached a monumental, historic deal with China aimed at the reduction of greenhouse gases.

The president also took a strong stand for Internet neutrality, calling on federal regulators to toughen their proposed net-neutrality laws by subjecting broadband providers to stricter utility-like regulations.

Meanwhile, much to the consternation of conservatives, the Affordable Care Act, the signature achievement of Obama’s first term, is working well after one The president has year. More than 10 million Americans who gone on the offensive, previously lacked health insurance now have it—and a new sense of security. using his executive The president also has enjoyed success in the lame-duck Senate, which in mid-Decempowers to accomplish ber confirmed nearly all of his pending nomiwhat Congress was nees, more than 90 of them, for federal judgeships, as well as his surgeon-general nominee, unwilling to do.

Vivek Murthy.

This president keeps his cool. When the Ebola epidemic broke out in West Africa and isolated cases emerged in this country, some panicky politicians began calling for closure of our borders and even imprisonment of travelers arriving from certain countries.

Instead, the president calmly deferred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did a superb job of keeping the virus from spreading further.

In response to foreign threats, the president’s steady-as-she-goes policy of containment while avoiding actual warfare seems to be working. The socalled Islamic State has been pushed back, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is feeling intense pressure at home as Obama-backed economic sanctions, the drop in oil prices and the devaluation of the ruble have brought his country’s economy to its knees.

The U.S. economy, in contrast, is now the most robust in the world. As the economist Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate, has pointed out, “recent data suggest that the economy is gathering strength—5 percent growth in the last quarter!” Prices in the stock market recently hit a historic high, and “growth and job creation have been substantially faster during the Obama recovery than they were during the Bush recovery last decade,” Krugman writes.

This president isn’t perfect—no president is—but, as his actions since the November elections demonstrate, Barack Obama has been remarkably successful at making government work for the American people, despite the obstructionism of congressional Republicans. The president’s actions are largely popular with voters, so the Republican-controlled Congress should be careful about trying to roll them back. The 2016 elections are coming up soon enough. Ω

SECOND & FLUME

by Melissa Daugherty melissad@newsreview.com

Looking back This week, as we close the books on 2014, I’m going back through the archives. It was another exciting year, especially at City Hall, as you’ll see in this week’s annual year-inreview issue. We published many outstanding stories throughout the paper over the past 52 weeks. I cannot mention all of them here, because I don’t have enough space. But below are some of my favorite cover stories: • “Out of sight, out of mind” (Jan. 23)—an essay by Patrick Newman, one of my favorite contributors of smartly written letters to the editor and the occasional guest commentary (see one opposite this page). The catalyst for Newman’s cover feature—and his civil disobedience over many months—was the so-called “compromise” the city came to with a church group that for several years had been feeding the needy at City Plaza.

• In February, Dave Waddell, a mentor from my college reporting days, delved into city finances—payroll in particular. His eye-opening cover story (see “Strong-arming the budget,” Feb. 27) based on 2012 data from the State Controller’s Office revealed how Chico’s public-safety personnel alone ate up more than 80 percent of the city’s entire operating budget. Among the other revelations: The pay and benefits for city employees made Chico the 25th highest compensating municipality in the state.

• Early last summer, CN&R staff writer Ken Smith penned a poignant tribute to his brother Craig, who died suddenly a few months earlier (see “Life after death,” June 19). In doing so, he poured his heart onto the page, sharing his struggle with grief.

• Mid-summer, frequent contributor Alastair Bland outlined the dangers facing the North State—including the Feather River, and thus Lake Oroville and the state’s water supply—due to the transport of millions of gallons of explosive Bakken crude oil by local railway (see “On track for disaster,” July 10).

• In September, we published Debra Lucero’s chilling account of the life of Lonnie Scott Keith, the Chico physician assistant who kidnapped and drugged local collegeage women and eventually pleaded guilty to one count of rape (see “Collateral damage,” Sept. 18). The details of the case—including zip ties, gloves, syringes and a Taser found in a secret compartment of his car—are something right out of an episode of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU. • Former CN&R Editor Robert Speer gave us an insightful look at Chapmantown and the Mulberry district (see “Welcome to the neighborhood,” Oct. 2) and what would and wouldn’t change for those neighborhoods and their residents should those urban county islands join the city. It included a sidebar dispelling some of the misperceptions about annexation, such as the false notion that citizens would have to give up their chickens.

In conclusion, it’s been a great year for newspapering in Chico—at least it has been for the CN&R. I’m grateful to be able to work with excellent writers and reporters, including the authors of the stellar works I mentioned above and with this paper’s dedicated and talented staff.

And thank you, dear readers, for supporting local, independent journalism.

Melissa Daugherty is editor of the CN&R

Send email to chicoletters @ newsreview.com

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Collector, not thief Re “Decades’ worth of loot” (Local stories, by Meredith J. Graham, Dec. 24): When drought uncovers Indian artifacts at Lake Oroville, collectors face fines for retrieving them. Most recently, a Feather Falls collector had his collection confiscated and is facing felony charges. This upsets me. If this collector didn’t retrieve them, someone else would have.

It would be naive to think otherwise.

I also understand the archaeological argument—by removing these artifacts from where they were found, information is lost about how they were used and what this indicates about the area. Further, sitting in a citizen’s home makes them unavailable for public view, study and enjoyment.

However, if these artifacts really are that valuable, why hasn’t the state or tribe retrieved them in the many times the lake’s been low?

Arguably, their not having done so constitutes negligence and (or) abandonment.

The Feather Falls collector should be thanked for doing the work the state and tribe wasn’t motivated to do. Further, he should have his attorney fees reimbursed and be compensated for the years he expended finding, collecting and protecting the pieces.

NATHAN ESPLANADE Corning

An inside job Re “Input was given” (Letters, by Robert Speer, Dec. 24): In Robert Speer’s letter about the forced annexation attempt on Chapman/Mulberry residents, Speer actually repeated the arguments that former Supervisor Jane Dolan (I’m her husband) raised—private meetings (without notifying the residents) by governments to force annexation is wrong.

“Insiders” made the case that there was a legal notice and did not mail a letter to the residents until Jane raised that issue.

Speer mentioned two council meetings that start at 6:30 p.m. where the public can listen to council members arguing about the consent calendar and the minutes.

There are several neighborhoods that lie within the city or a few hundred yards from the city edge, including Butte Creek Estates—mostly higher-income middle-class voters, on septic tanks with a golf course and clubhouse. If the government staff tried to force annexation there, lawsuits would be filed. Instead, government staff would say that they are important residents in the community; in fact, I golf with some of them, so let’s notify them by mail and hold a public meeting at their clubhouse (and serve good food there).

Insiders treat low-income neighborhoods differently and that’s why Jane is standing up against this forced annexation!

BOB MULHOLLAND Chico

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Nailed it Re “Listen more, talk less” (Letters, by Landon Jensen, Dec. 24): Last week’s letter about the CUSD school board was awesome!

You know how sometimes someone says something that just nails what everyone else has been thinking? That letter did it perfectly.

School board governance is so antiquated and now contributes to the dismal situation in education.

We seem to get some of the least able people governing our schools.

So much time is wasted on ridiculous small talk, drivel, awards and singing. Absurd! Board members who shouldn’t be opening their mouths would be better off remaining silent and thought a fool than talking and removing all doubt.

The two times I showed up at a meeting, there was an hour of pure nothing before the real business began. It’s no wonder our schools are struggling. The people in the audience who should be able to talk are basically muzzled with a ridiculous time limit while the board members talk ad nauseum.

I would suggest the board visit big city meetings. They are packed, and an audience would never tolerate the utter wasting of time that goes on here. Just as students are expected to improve, the adults running meetings could do the same. For 2015 and beyond, let’s see real improvement!

RUSTY MEECHUM Chico

A peaceful protest Re “In the name of justice” (Newslines, by Tom Gascoyne, Dec. 18): Thank you for the excellent coverage of the local march in solidarity with national protests of police killings of unarmed black victims. I was a monitor for the march and I, too, like the organizers, experienced it as very peaceful

and nonviolent.

When the march paused to enter The Esplanade, which turns into Broadway, those marchers who were risking arrest entered the streets where the boisterous march transformed into a reverent, silent marching vigil. The onlookers coming out of the stores and restaurants contributed an air of respect to the march with whispered comments such as “It’s about Ferguson.”

Our local police presence presented an air of protection and support of First Amendment rights. I commend the young organizers for leading our community in freedom of speech and peaceably assembling.

DIANE SUZUKI Chico

Two takes on arts Re “Arts identity diminished” (Newslines, by Howard Hardee, Dec. 18): It is definitely still a tough time to be on the Chico City Council and unfortunately it needs to get worse for Chico to dig out of its debt situation. The “spending and buying votes/friends party” has been over for quite some time now.

At the last council meeting, the Arts Commission supporters were not happy with the council’s decision to essentially keep the commission barely operating due to staff time, money issues and restrictions.

Councilmembers Ann Schwab, Tami Ritter, Randall Stone and the art community should not be upset with the current majority that is trying to do what is best for Chico’s financial future. It reminded me of spoiled children who have no idea how bad things are financially and are still demanding the best Christmas present that they could ask for. If Councilwoman Schwab along with the past two, probably three council majorities, hadn’t pissed away millions upon

NOW OPEN

millions of dollars to put Chico in this huge financial hole, then the current majority wouldn’t have to be the bad guys/financial adults on the council.

What is our current [general fund] debt? What is our current pension debt?

JOHN SALYER Chico

Chico City Council members [who voted to reduce the number of Arts Commission meetings] should be ashamed of themselves for this base act to “re-right-wing” a quarter century of visionary work by a few that has profoundly affected many.

Your hacksaw surgery is cutting off the life and limb of your town’s identity. I don’t think there is currently a triage team strong enough, or smart enough, to fix it either.

LIZ GARDNER Palo Alto

‘We can do it’ I am saddened by our culture of gun violence, police brutality and the prison industrial complex, environmental devastation, economic disasters from student loan debt to the housing market, and the plain truth that the rich are getting richer and the poor and middle class are losing more and more.

I try to contribute to society, but at a certain point all the good works that all of us achieve will not hold back the pain and suffering of many. When I look closely at the root cause of every issue I mentioned, I see one startling truth: We have lost our democracy. Corporations run our government. The people—the real, living people— have lost what millions have given their lives for. True freedom.

We must overturn Citizens United, which essentially gives corporations personhood, with all the rights of personhood but none of the responsibilities. If, for one year, every person in every founda-

tion and every good-works nonprofit would band together as one, with one goal, to overcome Citizens United, we could get it done.

Then we would have half a chance to save our democracy.

If we, with full intention, decide to do this, we can do this. Make it your New Year’s resolution.

DEBRA-LOU HOFFMANN Forest Ranch

Help is here Re “Of things that suck” (The Pulse, Dec. 11): Bureaucracy is never fun— often, it is downright painful. But no one wants to go bankrupt from a medical emergency, and the decision was made that mandatory health insurance was the best option for helping all Americans have affordable health care.

For those people out there who are avoiding the situation of purchasing health insurance, help is available. Open enrollment for Covered California is happening now. There are free services and enrollment events scheduled, and there are even helpful people right here in Butte County who are waiting to help you walk through this whole process in the least painful way possible. Dialing 2-1-1 is free, and there are local call specialists (bilingual: English and Spanish) standing by to help get people connected to insurance coverage and affordable health care.

SARA HASKELL Information & Outreach Specialist, Butte 2-1-1, Chico

Tree troubles I was contacted by constituents to take a stand on the tree removal in Oroville along Feather River Boulevard. After careful consideration, it seems PG&E needs to at least slow down until it is known what costs would be involved in avoiding a taking of the historical trees.

AN ARTS INFUSED EDUCATION

Ice

The trees are well over 100 years old and have stood watch over one of the oldest cemeteries in Butte County. They are beautiful and provide shade over many who sit in their cars and eat lunch. They also provide shade for many of my deceased relatives who haven’t said anything to me yet, but rumor is they are rolling over in their graves.

The City Council of Oroville is in a tough position as the threat of public safety—real or perceived— ties their hands for liability reasons. Who knows, a root may puncture a line and lightning will strike in the next 30 days setting the sidewalk and cemetery on fire taking many headstones out of public view while displacing the local squirrels.

In conclusion, maybe a little positive public relations between PG&E and the general public would offset the cost of moving the lines to where they belong under the street.

BILL CONNELLY Oroville

Editor’s note: Mr. Connelly is a Butte County supervisor whose district includes Oroville.

New app needed Fellow Chicoans, how about we create a Chico app and put decisions to direct representation. We have the technology, why should we suffer and pay for people to tell us what we want? Let’s make our city work how we want it to. No reason to stop there either. A California app should be next, then federal level.

I’m tired of being misrepresented by republicrats. We are Americans—many have died for our rights and freedoms. Direct representation is nonviolent revolution.

RICHARD HOOSTE Chico More letters online:

We have 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

GREENWAYS

World’s eco focus shifts

Recent UN talks highlight need to include human impacts of green projects by

Marianne Lavelle

Tto begreenhouse gas solutions also happen two of the negotiators’ most difficult wo of the UN climate talks’ biggest

human rights problems.

At the sessions in Lima earlier this month, nations were asked to weigh new safeguards for the clean energy projects— particularly hydropower—encouraged under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism. Negotiators considered impacts to indigenous rights under the UN’s primary effort to halt deforestation, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation effort, or “REDD.” Both programs were designed as winwin solutions that would allow developed countries to gain credit for investing in projects to curb greenhouse gases in the developing world. But both have been hit by allegations that outside, moneyed interests tend to gain under the scenarios, while people most affected by the projects are locals, usually indigenous, who are forced off their land or denied the right to participate in decision-making.

John Knox, a professor of law at Wake Forest

University in North Carolina who serves as a UN independent expert on human rights and the environment, says this is one reason he and 27 other UN advisers 8

CN&R

December 31, 2014

on social justice have called for stronger human rights language in the climate treaty. “A human rights framework would help to make clear that governments don’t leave behind their human rights obligations when they walk through the doors of the climate negotiations,” he said.

A sharper human rights focus would help guide decisions, for example, on carbon-free hydro-electric dam projects that displace people from their homes.

It could also influence the climate debate over forest protection, including in Peru, where illegal logging has driven indigenous people from their land. Projects to cut down old forests and replace them with monoculture oil palm plantations have sought the UN’s blessing and credit as reforestation efforts.

“If you put a fence up and evict people from the land they’re using in the name of protecting the forest, that is a real problem,” said Allison Silverman, attorney with the Center for International and Environmental Law, which is working to strengthen human rights safeguards in the REDD forest protection effort.

“Making sure that people are part of the solutions ... will protect the sustainability of these projects for the long haul.”

James Connaughton, who participated in

climate talks as a leading White House environmental adviser during President George W. Bush’s administration, noted that developing countries’ concerns about the cost of energy for citizens also is a

social justice concern.

“More access to energy makes people better off, and allows them to be able to afford to mitigate greenhouse gases,” he said. “To increase the cost of an essential commodity—and to reduce people’s ability to improve their lives—can’t be a result that people want. This is the essential puzzle of addressing greenhouse gases.”

But climate justice advocates argue that advances in clean energy technology, such as reducing the cost of solar and wind energy, have boosted prospects for solving that riddle. “What has been the fact up to now is that for a country to grow economically, it has had to consume more fossil fuel,” said Tara Shine, head of research for the Mary Robinson Foundation—Climate Justice. “It is possible to grow without fossil fuel. This is a new thing we know.

The challenge is to make sure those technologies are available so the clean path to growth is affordable.”

That underscores the importance of the Green Climate Fund, which received $9.6 billion in pledges in the weeks leading up to the treaty talks. The idea of a $100 billion repository, funded jointly by government and private financing to aid developing countries, was first raised by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the otherwise disastrous climate negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009.

Since then, negotiators have agreed that the fund should be split 50-50 to finance clean energy development and adaptation measures in poor countries.

Heather Coleman heads climate policy for Oxfam America. The group has lobbied hard to ensure half the fund would be devoted to helping poor countries cope with sea-level rise and drought. Coleman believes that environmentalists once were resistant to an adaptation focus in treaty talks, fearing that it seemed like admitting defeat on cutting carbon emissions. “That dynamic started to shift slowly as the number of humanitarian disasters and their extremity increased,” Coleman said.

The U.S. pledge of $3 billion, Japan’s promise of $1.5 billion, and the United Kingdom’s $1.1 billion helped bring the UN close to its $10 billion goal for public monies to capitalize the fund and lure a much larger pool of private investment. But some developed countries have yet to step forward, and Australia has been critical of the fund.

The split over the Green Climate Fund shows that old rifts continue to dog the UN climate negotiations process, but most human rights advocates see the climate talks as—for now—the best global platform for addressing these issues.

“It ain’t an easy process, but the value is all countries have a voice,” Coleman said.

This story was originally published in The Daily Climate, an independent news service covering energy, the environment and climate change. Find it online at □ www.dailyclimate.org.

ECO EVENT

Fresh-food Friday Start the new year off right and join the folks from the Edible Pedal bike kitchen and local farmers for the First Friday Festival Friday (Jan. 2) at the Chapman Mulberry Community Center (1010 Cleveland Ave.). The festival, held from 2-5:30 p.m. the first Friday of every month, aims to bring fresh, sustainable foods to local residents in a fun environment.

THE GOODS PHOTO BY RACHEL BUSH

15 MINUTES

HOMEGROWN

It’s in the cards

A bit of inspiration During a brief stint at Solano Junior College, Chico native Julia Condos found herself more focused on sketching in her notebook than listening to the child development lectures in front of her. “I liked school, but I loved art more,” the 23-yearold says. With that realization in mind, Condos redirected her energy to Bits and Pieces, an art endeavor that features bottles and canvases hand-crafted with her colorful paper mosaic designs.

After receiving an opportunity to show roughly 60 of her pieces alongside other artists last summer at a Green Valley art show near Fairfield, Condos continued her craft here in Chico. With many local works on display for sale at Cabana Café inside In Motion Fitness, she also takes custom orders when she’s not working her other job at T. Tea Bar & Fusion Café.

Where did you get the idea for these projects?

As a little girl, I’d stay up late cutting pictures and I’d experiment with paper and shapes ... it was an anxiety healer and turned into something I really enjoyed doing.

And when I came up with the name Bits and Pieces, I called my mom and she said, “Jules! I used to say that to you all the time—bits and pieces, bits and pieces”—because I had projects and things scattered everywhere as a kid. It’s organized chaos, and that’s what my art is.

Can you explain the process?

Part of it is cutting paper into

confetti-sized pieces. I take each piece and put it onto the bottle, one by one. It’s very detail-oriented and takes several hours. I rarely draw designs ahead of time, I just go. The supplies don’t cost me much—the cost is in the time.

Tell me about your first art show experience.

I was working at a winery in Green Valley and a customer—who’s an incredible artist—offered [for me] to share a booth with her at the Glasshoff Ranch art show. I had the opportunity to be amongst real artists, which was pretty neat—scary, but awesome. I sold pretty much everything. My most expensive piece was a $200 canvas.

What inspires your designs?

It depends on my mood. I love trees; there are so many kinds, especially here in Chico. When I was in Italy this last summer, I was inspired by the mosaics that were everywhere. That was an amazing trip. I honestly didn’t have a plan to work on my art when I got home, but after being

there I realized I couldn’t escape it. And it was the money I made from that first art show that got me to Europe in the first place.

How much do you sell your pieces for?

[I charge] $25-$45 for bottles, and my canvases vary.

How do you advertise?

It’s mostly word of mouth right now, but I also work on pieces in public places so people can view my works in progress, like T. Bar and coffee shops.

Any advice for other young potential entrepreneurs?

I always encourage those who have a lot on their mind to do art because you can focus on something you can create yourself. My life has changed because of art; I can zone out, channel my thoughts, and work on something that’s mine. Originally I was just making them for fun, but I realized I was putting a lot of time and effort into something I could potentially sell.

—RACHEL BUSH

by Meredith J. Graham meredithg@newsrev iew.com

The holidays are officially over and that means we get one last party in 2014 before we start a new calendar, try to remember to write “15” instead of “14” and resolve to change ourselves for the better. Right? OK … Most years, my resolutions are pretty vague. Be happier. Do more fun stuff. Travel. In general, I like the refreshment a new year brings, but resolutions are rarely followed and tend to be recipes for letdowns later in the year.

Be that as it may, one resolution I’ve had year after year (and still have yet to nail) is to be a better correspondent. I think there’s something beautiful about receiving a card in the mailbox—but I can’t remember the last time I sent one.

I’m a big believer in preparation being key to success, so this year, in advance of New Year’s, I headed on over to Made in Chico (127 W. Third St.) to check out the card selection. I knew they’d have a good number to choose from, but I was kind of amazed at the variety on display.

Some that stood out were the bright, watercolor-esque flowers of Vintage Funk Designs. I did a little online digging and found Nancy HuntBartek—the woman behind Vintage Funk—is an artist out of Paradise who likes to play with all manner of media. Unfortunately her online presence is a bit outdated—but do not fear! You can find her whimsical creations at Made in Chico!

Another artist who caught my eye was Chicoan Scott Raby, the man behind SCOTTcard. Actually, the art on his cards—cute little animals and the like—is credited to Mat Houghton. Must give credit where it’s due, right? But the cards are cute and fun. Some of the multipacks even include stickers for a little out-of-the-envelope fun. Also not a huge online presence, but if you search SCOTTcard on Facebook, you’ll see Raby’s been busy making T-shirts featuring the same art as on his cards.

Neato!

In the category of art, Olivia Du Mosch’s sparkly cards and StinkyPress Greetings’ intricate designs also caught my eye. There also was a lovely assortment from Wild Ink Press.

Of course, not all the cards on offer are original designs. Others show off some striking work of local photographers. A few of those made an impression. The first was Michele Miller Photography, which can also be found at the Saturday morning Chico Certified Farmers’ Market. The second was Kathy Leslie Hardin, whose brightly colored photos were hard to look away from. (Bonus, when I found her online shop—www.bandme bags.com—I learned she also makes handbags with her photography!)

The third was Kathleen Gauthier (kathleen_gauthier.artistwebsites.com), whose striking architectural photo cards are simply breathtaking.

To get me started on my journey to become a better correspondent, I want to try something. If you email me your name and address—and your New Year’s resolution!—while this column is on newsstands (today through Jan. 8), I’ll send you a card. Happy New Year!

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CN&R

9

THE PULSE

HEALTHLINES

(SOME) GAY MEN CAN GIVE BLOOD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced it has lifted its ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood, though it will keep blocking donations from men who have had sex with another man within the last 12 months.

The FDA originally instituted the ban in 1983, early in the AIDS epidemic when testing for the human immunodeficiency virus was slower and less accurate, according to The New York Times.

Now, tests can detect HIV in the bloodstream as quickly as nine days after infection.

Some rights groups say moving to the 12-month restriction is too incremental, as it prevents sexually active gay or bisexual men from giving blood. The 12-month deferral period also applies to people who have traveled to places where malaria is common and heterosexuals who’ve had sex with prostitutes or people who inject drugs.

Old age expected Local health experts discuss why humans the world over are living longer than ever

E-READERS TIED TO POOR SLEEP

Using light-emitting tech devices, like smart phones, tablets and e-readers in bed before falling asleep can negatively affect quality of rest, suggests a small study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers monitored a dozen people who stayed at a sleep lab at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital for two weeks, according to SFGate.com. Each participant spent five consecutive evenings reading a book for four hours under reflected light, and then spent five nights using an iPad for the same duration. All had mandatory bedtimes of 10 p.m. and had to wake up at 6 a.m.

The study subjects who used the e-readers had a significant shift in their melatonin levels in the evening, took 10 minutes longer to fall asleep, had nearly 12 minutes less rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and reported feeling more groggy the following morning.

BPA BACK ON TOXINS LIST

A court in California recently upheld findings that bisphenol A (BPA) causes reproductive health problems Research has increasingly indicated BPA— a chemical commonly found in hard plastic bottles, food and beverage cans, and dental sealants—is an endocrine disruptor that can hinder reproductive health and has been linked to birth defects. For years, consumer health advocates have pushed the state Environmental Protection Agency to include BPA under Proposition 65, which publishes lists of chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects.

In April 2013, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment added BPA to the state’s list of known reproductive toxins, but removed it just eight days later due to a preliminary injunction issued by the Superior Court of Sacramento County.

However, under a ruling made by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley on Dec. 18, BPA is back on the toxins list.

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

10

CN&R

December 31, 2014

by

Evan Tuchinsky evant@newsreview.com

s a primary-care doctor in Paradise, Aulations with one of the North State’s larger popof retirees, Dr. Larry Miller has

adapted to accommodate the needs of his older patients. “As my practice matured with me,” the 70-year-old said, he completed a fellowship in geriatrics through the American Academy of Family Physicians, and he sees different health conditions in today’s seniors than in decades past.

As such, Miller was not particularly surprised by a study on longevity released in mid-December. Researchers compiled data from 188 countries and found life expectancy worldwide increased by approximately six years between 1990 and 2013, up to an average lifespan of 71.5 years. Women improved more than men, adding 6.6 years versus 5.8.

The gains were primarily attributed to advances in health care. In wealthier countries, researchers found, those advances manifest in fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancers; in poorer countries, the impact is evident in decreased fatalities from sicknesses like diarrhea.

The findings—published in the Lancet, a leading medical journal—resonate with Miller, who sees the generalities about longer life spans applying locally. “I live it,” he said. “My whole day is consumed with managing chronic diseases in the elderly, in the old-old—those over 85.”

From his perspective, reining in contracted illnesses (such as influenza) has

played just as significant a role as the socalled “lifestyle diseases” (heart attack, stroke and diabetes) exacerbated by poor diet, smoking and low activity.

“Those probably are the two biggies,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of technology and a lot of medication that have made a big difference in addition to diet and healthy living.”

Dr. Roy Bishop, a family medicine physician in Chico, framed the past two decades’ results in the bigger picture.

“Life expectancy has been increasing since the mid-19th century due to public health measures like clean public water supplies and sewers, then treatment of infectious diseases and, more recently, making progress against cardiovascular and pulmonary disease with medications,” he said. “It is not surprising that women live longer than men. The extra X chromosome seems to protect women from some degenerative disease, although fewer men

are dying in workplace accidents, violence and wars.”

Dr. David Potter knows first-hand about

longevity advances. He’s a longtime Chico oncologist who is transitioning from treating cancer patients at Enloe Medical Center to working in hospice and palliative care. The change would have come sooner had he not suffered a stroke a few months back; he’s since been on medical leave, which he lightly calls his “longest vacation in 33 years.”

Potter credits his wife’s quick recognition of stroke symptoms and the emergency care now available for his return to full functionality.

“In one part of the [Lancet] article they delineate different diseases where there seems to have been improvement,” Potter said, “and I suppose I’m living proof right HEALTHLINES continued on page 13

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HEALTHLINES now of some of the improvements in the treatment of stroke and the decline in deaths from stroke.

“In a number of diseases we’re seeing the effect of people cutting back smoking—whether that’s heart attacks, strokes and some malignancies [of cancer]—where people aren’t dying at the rate they used to, so that makes sense.”

On the cardiovascular front, Miller credits statin drugs that lower cholesterol levels for having a big effect, as well as stents (blood-vessel supports, sometimes infused with medicine) and procedures less invasive than traditional surgeries. He also cites vaccines for flu and pneumonia among other longevity boosters.

Not only are patients living longer, but doctors have begun to diagnose previously uncommon conditions more frequently. For instance, Miller said he used to come across pancreatic cancer once or twice a year; now it’s eight or 10 times. Hepatitis C, linked to liver cancer, is on the rise (by 125 percent, according to the study).

Miller also looks carefully for chronic kidney disease.

“Even though we’re saving people from some of these vascular diseases, some of these malignancies are occurring more frequently,” Miller said. “It may be that we’re just living long enough to die from malignancy instead of heart disease.”

continued from page 10

The quality of those final years—

extra years, if you believe life has been prolonged—became a national discussion point ahead of the Lancet’s longevity report.

In October, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote an essay in The Atlantic magazine advocating against medical interventions for the aged. The telling title: “Why I Hope to Die at 75.” In raising the concept of “healthy life expectancy,” Emanuel discusses incapacitation and diminished mental function.

So do local physicians.

“Length of life is not all that matters,” Bishop said. “We have the problem that more people are living to be very old, but half of them over 80 have some degree of dementia.

We need to look at quality of life.”

Miller and Potter also singled out dementia, which Potter called “the real bugaboo” of old age.

“One of the real dilemmas of this [longevity boon] is: Are people adding good years?” Potter said.

“That’s a philosophical question for different people to think about as they get older.

“This is kind of the How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas version of responding to these statistics. Overall, they’re very encouraging as a sign of progress in public health and some dimensions of medicine, but as the average goes up, at least some people will look at old age as not quite the triumph that the statistics might suggest.” Ω

WEEKLY DOSE Happy headache!

For those who consume alcohol, New Year’s Eve isn’t always easy on the body. Here are few tips for keeping a hangover at bay: Before drinking: Eat a full meal; drink a glass of water; take a multivitamin.

While drinking: Drink in moderation; drink a glass of water for every drink; and don’t mix alcohols—stick with one type: beer, wine or liquor. And the clearer (white wines, vodka, gin), the better.

After drinking: Before bed, take two aspirin with a glass of water. In the morning, two more aspirin with water, another multivitamin and a big breakfast.

Source: www.how stuffworks.com

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CN&R

13

The year in review

by

CN&R staff

Top 10 sTories of 2014

CN&R’s editors look back at the biggest local stories of 2014

H

ere we are heading into 2015, but before jumping into the new year, let’s take a look back at 2014. It was a big year for change on many fronts, both nationally and internationally, but as you’ll see in our annual year-in-review issue, the local controversies are the ones that really captured our attention.

In our top 10 stories of the year, you’ll see some familiar subjects—including homelessness, Chico’s budget deficit and the complexities of managing the urban forest—but you’ll also see many stories that were new this past year. Chico’s city manager flew the coop after 20 months, for example, and the conservatives swept the City Council elections.

We’ve also compiled a long list of other notable stories—those that were prominent but didn’t quite make the top spots. In addition, you’ll find our popular “What were they thinking?” picks.

Overall, 2014 was an exciting year. We look forward to providing our analysis on what’s shaping up to be a newsworthy 2015. Happy New Year!

14

CN&R

December 31, 2014

New conservative Councilmembers Andrew Coolidge (left) and Reanette Fillmer are sworn in with re-elected Mark Sorensen at the first meeting of December.

CN&R file photo by RobeRt SpeeR

Budget on the brain Conservative takeover The few Chico voters who made their way to the polls spoke loud and clear in November about the city’s leadership. The conservatives swept the midterm election, and earlier this month, newcomers Reanette Fillmer and Andrew Coolidge joined re-elected Councilman Mark Sorensen, now the mayor, on the sevenmember City Council.

And the conservatives didn’t eke out those wins, either. They trounced the other candidates, then-Mayor Scott Gruendl and first-timers Lupe Arim-Law, Forough Molina and Rodney Willis. Fillmer—who came in third, behind Coolidge and Sorensen, first- and second-place finishers, respectively—ended up ahead of fourth-place finisher Arim-Law by more than 1,600 votes.

For local right-wingers, the result was a long time coming, since liberals had held a council majority since 2002. It said a lot that Gruendl, who was first elected in 2002, placed sixth out of the seven candidates, especially considering that he and Sorensen were the only ones who’d held public office.

To their credit, the conservatives worked hard over the past couple of

years to secure the wins. Their supporters blamed the entirety of the city’s fiscal problems on the liberal majority, despite the effects of the Great Recession that were beyond the control of any member— conservative or liberal—and despite the fact that both liberal and conservative members of the panel approved the city’s budgets over those recessionary years.

The conservative candidates and their backers raised much more cash than their liberal opponents. Public action committees dumped a lot of dough into their campaigns. One called Chico Citizens for Accountable Government raised $30,000, mostly from industrial and construction firms—paying for things like mailers. And the candidates themselves raked in the dough. Coolidge’s contributions totaled $41,085; Sorensen took in $25,540; and Fillmer’s coffers wound up at about $42,000, according to campaign disclosures filed shortly before the Nov. 4 election.

The results of the local contest seemed to mirror national races, where Republicans gained seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Election turnout was abysmal: 54 percent countywide, according to the Butte County Clerk/Recorder’s Office. That’s down by more than 10 percent from the 2010 midterms, when nearly 67 percent of the county voted.

Chico’s financial outlook started out bleak at the beginning of the year, but is ending on a high note considering the context of the past couple of years. At the end of 2013, the City Council approved a plan by then-Administrative Services Director Chris Constantin to close the general fund deficit of $15.2 million by repaying $1.52 million each year through 2021-22, with an additional payment of $700,000 the next year.

Instituting the so-called “fund deficit mitigation plan” was the result of many factors, including overly generous employee compensation packages approved by multiple former city managers and councils. But what compounded the situation and brought it to crisis level was the Great Recession, which resulted in state take-backs of redevelopment and vehicle-license funding, and drops in property tax revenues. During that time, the city borrowed from several special funds to pay for operational costs, rather than eliminating jobs and city services. It caught up with the organization.

At the helm in 2014 was City Manager Brian Nakamura, who’d been hired in 2012 to “right-size” the budget. In 2013, Nakamura’s most notable actions to accomplish that included laying off dozens of employees, merging departments and reducing the hours of Bidwell Park.

The cost-cutting continued in early 2014, when the City Council voted to outsource legal services to a firm following the retirement of City Attorney Lori

Homelessness still hot-button issue Barker. By March, an audit of city finances pegged the city’s net losses at $13.1 million. The city’s emergency reserves covered about $5.3 million of the deficit, leaving a remaining $7.7 million hole.

City leadership was shaken up a few months later, when Nakamura announced he was resigning. Assistant City Manager Mark Orme was then bumped to the top spot. He appointed Constantin as assistant city manager.

The good news on the financial front in 2014 is that the $7.7 million figure already has been reduced to $2.8 million. Last month, Administrative Services Director Frank Fields, the former accounting manager who was recently promoted, told the City Council that optimistic estimates have the city dissolving the deficit entirely within one or two years.

Still, administrators have warned that the city’s largest expense—its employee payroll—is still a significant barrier to fiscal solvency. In February, a CN&R cover story on the subject revealed that the average employee earned $99,585 in salary and benefits, based on 2012 data from the state Controller’s Office. That pegs Chico as the 25th highest-paying city in the state.

Moreover, it showed that police and fire personnel consumed more than 80 percent of the city’s entire operating budget.

As of deadline, the largest employee union, the Chico Police Officers’ Association, had not come to an agreement with the city on a new contract.

The community continued to struggle in myriad ways with a homeless population that has grown noticeably over the last few years.

Past surveys indicate there are 600 to 700 homeless people in Chico, but trends reported by service organizations suggest that number may be on the rise.

(For instance, a record number of guests, including an unprecedented number of whole families, checked into the Torres Community Shelter over the last few months.)

Where to house the homeless who, for one reason another, don’t find overnight refuge at the Torres Shelter is an ongoing concern. The Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT) once again enlisted local churches to provide shelter on a rotating basis, but the group needs more donations and volunteers to keep the needy housed and fed through the winter.

Speaking of downtown businesses, 2014 was the first full year since the controversial civil-sidewalks ordinance went into effect last December, making it illegal to sit or lie in pedestrian paths of travel adjacent to commercial properties from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The citywide ordinance was voted into law by the City Council mostly as a means to move homeless people away from storefronts downtown. As of Nov. 30, about a year after going into effect, police had issued 162 warnings and 39 citations related to sit/lie violations.

Homelessness also presented a greater environmental concern than ever before as encampments played a major role in an unprecedented trashing of Chico’s waterways. During the Butte Environmental Council’s annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup in September, about 450

volunteers pulled an estimated 40,000 pounds, or 20 tons, of waste from the creeks—compared with 16,900 pounds last year and 5,164 pounds in 2012. BEC has been recording the trash totals since 1987; the previous record was set in 2002, when 23,000 pounds of garbage was collected.

Drought takes over Headlines in 2014 were dominated by the drought almost from the get-go. On Jan. 17, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in California and asked residents to voluntarily cut their water usage by 20 percent. Local farmers and officials scrambled to come up with backup plans in case allocations were cut—they ultimately weren’t—and many municipalities began self-governing the use of water for nonessential activities (Chico was not one of them).

Locally, the drought was apparent whenever we looked to our waterways. The creeks that run through town were low at best and Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California, dipped

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FICTION 59 See CONTEST RULES,

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Gerald Wieland cleans up a homeless camp along Lindo Channel on Sept. 20, the day Butte Environmental Council’s annual Bidwell Park & Chico Creeks Cleanup pulled an estimated 40,000 pounds of trash from Chico’s waterways.

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to just above the lowest level on record, which came in 1977.

As summer—the dry season in the third-driest year on record—pressed on, some on the outskirts of Chico started to feel the drought in their own backyards.

Wells ran dry, giving pump companies some good business lowering pumps and drilling farther into the groundwater basin.

Residents of Chico, who are served by the California Water Service Co., however, felt little impact. Nonetheless, Chicoans took Brown’s challenge and met it, reaching the goal of 20 percent reduction in use. Unfortunately, the rest of the state wasn’t up to it and, in July, the state Water Resources Control Board threatened fines of up to $500 for wasting water outdoors.

Eyes turned to the south this year as well, as plans to ship water out of the region once again took center stage. First, Brown proposed building massive tunnels to divert water to the Central Valley and farther south, though that plan was shunned by the Environmental Protection Agency and lost backing (i.e., funding) in Washington. Then, in June, local water advocates AquAlliance, along with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation hadn’t adequately assessed the environmental impacts of delivering water from the Sacramento River to farms in the San Joaquin Valley. They succeeded, at least, in requiring the bureau to include “temporary” transfers in its overall environmental review process.

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good things—increased storage capacity, recycling, protection of drinking water and creation of emergency water supplies. But it also calls for “conveyance,” aka the selling of water from north to south. This had many local and statewide environmentalists up in arms, but ultimately the proposition passed.

City manager switch-up Less than two years after taking the job, Chico City Manager Brian Nakamura announced in May that he was heading south to Rancho Cordova to take a similar position with a $14,000 salary increase.

He had arrived in Chico in August 2012 surrounded by a cloud of controversy that never quite dissipated during his 20-month tenure.

Nakamura came to Chico from Hemet, where he served a similarly short amount of time in the same job. In Chico, he was hired at a yearly salary of $217,000, which was $32,000 more than that of his predecessor, Dave Burkland. That naturally raised concerns among city skeptics and watchdogs.

During his time on the job, Nakamura made deep budget cuts of $4.8 million, reducing city staff from 450 to 375, earning him the nickname “hatchet man.” He was subsequently on the receiving end of a substantial amount of public criticism, including a few racial slurs.

In his letter informing the council of his decision to move on, Nakamura wrote, “My tenure here in Chico has been the most challenging, difficult and rewarding in my career to date and I wish to formally thank the City Council for its full support, personally and professionally.”

In July, Nakamura was replaced by Assistant City Manager Mark Orme, who had worked for Nakamura as the assistant city manager in Hemet. Orme moved to Chico in April 2013 for the assistant city manager job. In an interview a few months ago, he told the CN&R he had no idea he’d become the city manager in such a short time.

of Supervisors, a majority of whom at one point voted to consider a moratorium.

Meanwhile, public support was strong as the fractivists gathered more than 10,000 signatures to get a ban on the practice on the November 2014 ballot.

Opposition reared its head in a big way in June, however, when an oil-industryfunded legal challenge over “facial defects” on the fracking ban petition—specifically the accidental exclusion of a six-word phrase and lack of some boldface type— caused County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs to reject the petition.

A judge decided to waive the defects, but county supervisors opted for a 30-day study rather than eleventh-hour approval, delaying the initiative sufficiently to keep it off the 2014 ballot. Frack-Free Butte County has vowed to keep the fight alive, and if the supervisors don’t adopt their own ordinance, the initiative is set to go before voters in June 2016.

Nationally, awareness about fracking— and the fight over it—followed similar trends this year, transforming the issue from a fringe to a front-line environmental and

economic topic in mainstream media, politics and the public discourse. With Big Oil dollars contributing largely to the success of November’s conservative coup and America’s persistent and voracious fossil-fuel habit, the debate is likely to become even more prominent.

From fringe to frontlines

Farmers’ market stays put

Until midway through 2014, the local debate regarding hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—had been relatively one-sided.

Footwork in the form of early action and outreach by activist group Frack-Free Butte County ensured that those opposed to the controversial fossil-fuel extraction method dominated the conversation in Butte County.

That group seemingly had the support of the members of Butte County’s Board

During the spring and summer months, if people weren’t talking about the drought in Chico, they likely were talking about the fate of the Saturday Chico Certified Farmers’ Market. That’s because, with the market’s lease set to expire at the end of 2014 and relations a bit soured with the city, its future was uncertain.

The issue was whether the market should stay where it’s been for 21

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years or move to an alternate location.

Those in favor of the latter said the market—and shoppers taking up all the parking—detracts from their downtown businesses. Those who wanted it to stay put argued the lot was the most appropriate location and many people head downtown and spend money at the brick-and-mortars after doing their market shopping.

A dedicated group of supporters, dubbed the Friends of the Farmers’ Market, created a petition that called for the city Clockwise from top right: Chico anti-fracking activist Dave Garcia.

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Friends of the Farmers’ Market members Karl Ory and Cheryl King present more than 9,000 signatures on May 12 in front of Chico’s City Hall.

CN&R file photo by MeReDith J. GRahaM

More than 100 people marched from the avenues to the Chico City Plaza protesting police brutality and the killing of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., and New York.

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Former City Manager Brian Nakamura (left) and current City Manager Mark Orme.

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investigations are overseen by the county’s top lawman, District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

(On deadline, the CN&R learned that a third Butte County citizen, a Paradise man, was shot and killed by local law enforcement.

Details were scant, however, it has been confirmed that BCSO is the agency tied to the officer-involved death.)

The heavy-handed police response to what were originally peaceful protests in Ferguson, Mo., pushed long-simmering concerns about police militarization into the mainstream, and in August The New York Times released a list, acquired from the Pentagon through public records requests, of military surplus received by counties in recent years through a controversial Department of Defense program.

Among Butte County’s recent acquisitions were 20 assault rifles by the Chico Police Department, as well as 105 assault rifles, 20 handguns and—most spectacularly—a 15-ton M1220 Caiman mine-resistant, ambushprotected (MRAP) vehicle for the BCSO. Much of the ire against police tactics has been fueled by viral Internet videos of questionable interactions between police and the public. Two local civilian-filmed videos garnered millions of views nationwide. On June 10, CPD officer David Bailey was filmed twisting the arm of an elderly man involved in a rollover crash while trying to extricate the man from his vehicle. A video uploaded to YouTube in August had viewers debating—and the BCSO investigating—whether a deputy Annexation: This map outlines the Chapman/Mulberry neighborhoods.

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On Dec. 13, more than a hundred people marched through the streets of downtown Chico, their arms raised above their heads as they chanted, “Hands up, don’t shoot!”

The event, a protest spurred by a rash of high-profile deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers around the country, likely was the largest local demonstration since the Occupy movement’s protests in 2011. Locally and nationwide, public scrutiny of questionable law enforcement policies, tactics, use of military equipment, race relations, compensation and overall conduct rose to an unprecedented pitch in the latter half of 2014.

In Butte County, the families of two men killed by law enforcement officers this year have raised questions about their deaths and subsequent investigations. On April 28, Oroville police shot 53-year-old Bakersfield construction worker Victor Coleman, who they claim was suicidal, in a motel room. On May 18, a Butte County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed 24-year-old Cory Bush in Palermo. All of the officers’ actions in both incidents were declared justified, prompting further questions about why the multi-agency

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SkyWest Airlines ceased operations at the Chico airport in early December, leaving the city with no commercial air service.

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to either extend the market’s franchise agreement for use of the parking lot at Second and Wall streets on Saturdays for six years or put it to the vote in November.

It also would expand the space allowed for vendors, set an earlier opening time (5:30 a.m. vs. 7 a.m.) and implement a $5,000 annual fee to the city—up from just $284 previously.

The whole thing heated up when thenCity Attorney Lori Barker questioned the legality of the petition if put before voters.

She said it violated the state Constitution because it involved the voters approving a city contract with a private entity.

An April Fool’s joke that the market had been canceled really ignited the fervor among supporters, and a few weeks later the City Council moved to create a subcommittee to address the issue.

On May 12, the Friends of the Farmers’ Market turned in their signatures—more than 9,000 of them—and after being stalled by the city attorney they were ultimately verified by the county. The city, apparently still not satisfied with the petition, decided to offer the market options, which included moving days and the location. The farmers’ market folks were having none of it and held the city to the wording of the petition: Accept this agreement or put it to a vote of the people.

In the end, the City Council caved and adopted the initiative as written by the Friends of the Farmers’ Market on June 17.

Adding the matter to the November ballot would have cost the cash-strapped city between $5,000 and $10,000. According to then-Vice Mayor Mark Sorensen, it was “clear that the initiative would be successful on the ballot.”

kicked a man, who was already sitting down, in the face or in the shoulder.

Incidents like these have increased public pressure for all law enforcers to be equipped with dash and lapel cameras, which local agencies say they’d be glad to do if not for prohibitive costs.

On another financial front, Chico police, their union (the Chico Police Officers’ Association) and portions of the public remain concerned about understaffing, while others have decried the fact that the city’s police are paid exorbitant amounts in salary and benefits—an average of $136,000 a year in a city where the median household income is only $43,000.

With all of these issues still gaining steam, it’s likely that law enforcement will continue to dominate headlines, locally and nationally, into 2015. The CPD will kick off what’s likely to be a difficult year sans a permanent leader, as Chief Kirk Trostle recently announced his retirement, effective Dec. 30.

Annexation debates To annex or not to annex—that certainly is the question. The answer, yet again in 2014, was no—at least when it came to Chico’s urban islands of Chapmantown and the Mulberry district.

The debate over annexation certainly did grow legs, though. Starting early in the year, discussion about hooking residents who live in those two unincorporated pockets of Chico up to city sewer lines prompted outcry from the Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees such matters between the county and city.

LAFCo charged that the city had allowed 62 illegal hookups—and Chico officials conceded—and, under threat of a lawsuit, demanded that the city discuss annexing the two neighborhoods.

The city did discuss the issue. In August, after LAFCo approved an annexation agreement, the City Council deliberated over whether to follow suit—calling for annexation in five years’ time—or stick with the status quo. About 10 people spoke at that Aug. 19 meeting, and every one of them was against becoming part of the city.

Most cited lack of city money for improvements, as well as a desire to maintain the region’s more rural identity, even though the Chapman/Mulberry neighborhoods are

surrounded on all sides by Chico. They also expressed a desire for a vote of the people—there are some 1,300 residents among them—to take place before any decision was made.

Then in November, at the last meeting presided over by then-Mayor Scott Gruendl, the City Council came to a decision. The meeting was somewhat bizarre and the question was not an easy one: agree to annex the two areas, or reject the plan and face a potential lawsuit from LAFCo? With the council members evenly split, Gruendl became the deciding vote. He decided against annexation, meaning the issue likely will resurface in 2015.

In other annexation news, after four decades of discussion, Butte County and Oroville came to a historic agreement in October to annex Southside Oroville—the densest neighborhood in the area—into the city. The county made the deal pretty sweet, too, offering to foot up to $20,000 of the LAFCo application fee.

“When we cast our first ballot for city elections in 2016, we will be so thankful,” said Southside pastor Kevin Thompson after the county vote.

SkyWest takes flight On Dec. 2, the last commercial flight scheduled to arrive and depart from the Chico airport was canceled.

The cancellation was due to poor weather rather than poor sales, though both problems had long-plagued the SkyWest’s Chico connection to its hub in San Francisco. SkyWest, which contracted with United Airlines to provide United Express service, made the announcement in August that service would cease in December, citing maintenance and fuel costs, government regulations and the lack of tickets sold in Chico as reasons.

Following the airline’s announcement, then-Mayor Scott Gruendl said city officials had anticipated the move due to SkyWest’s overall financial solvency and the fact they’d cut other routes. He also said a plan was in place to attract new carriers to the city as early as spring 2015.

Greundl’s prediction may be a bit optimistic. The Chico Chamber of Commerce formed an Airport Task Force that is helping city staff gather information and market the city to other airlines, but no announcements for new service options have been made.

Discussing the issue after SkyWest’s announcement, Airport Commissioner (and former Chico Mayor) Karl Ory made a peculiar, enigmatic statement, the implications of which city officials, the business community and residents will be pondering until the clouds of uncertainty about Chico’s air service become clear: “There are two types of cities: those that have commercial air service, and those that Ω don’t.”

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Other nOtable stOries The best of the rest of what made headlines in 2014 by

CN&R staff

Insurance agent Bruce Jenkins is one of many Affordable Care Act advisers in Chico.

CN&R file photo by howaRd haRdee

considered a nanny law. Supporters maintained that most single-use plastic bags aren’t reused or recycled and end up clogging the landfill or, worse, enter the watershed and make their way to the ocean.

In May, the council voted along party lines to adopt the restrictions, joining more than 100 other California jurisdictions. The law will be phased in over time (Jan. 1 at major grocers and pharmacies; a year later for liquor and convenience stores). The state Legislature passed a similar bag ban about four months later. However, industry groups battling the pending law have gathered signatures in an attempt to force a referedum on the issue.

butte College football fiasco Obamacare rolls out It’s no secret that, across the nation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s first open enrollment period for health insurance was marred by technical difficulties. Here at home, the story was much the same.

The county got off to a rocky start when its computer system’s connection with Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, was nonexistent at first and later unreliable. Eligibility workers turned to accepting oldfashioned paper applications.

But things smoothed out, for the most part, and about 6,800 Butte County residents signed up for health care insurance before the open enrollment deadline of March 31, according to data released by Covered California.

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Jenkins, a local certified ACA adviser, during an interview with the CN&R in January. “But it’s a great thing. People finally have health insurance they can afford.”

bye bye, bags The idea of regulating the use of single-use plastic bags at certain Chico retail establishments goes back to a Sustainability Task Force meeting in 2011. Back then, just 19 jurisdictions in California had enacted such restrictions.

The issue eventually came before the Chico City Council and got kicked down to the Internal Affairs Committee.

Conservatives on the panel, first Mark Sorensen and Bob Evans, and later Sorensen again, along with then-newcomer Sean Morgan, argued against what they

In May, Butte College was included on a list of schools under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for their handling of sexual assault cases. At Butte, this was because of a 2012 off-campus incident.

Then came the early-September revelation that the Butte College football team roster included Brandon Banks, one of four Vanderbilt University players accused of a 2013 gang rape. Banks was booted from Vanderbilt and facing aggravated rape and sexual battery charges when he suited up for the Roadrunners, but was cut from the team Sept. 9 as his legal status came to light. Butte College President Kimberly Perry promised an immediate review of the school’s athletic department practices and revision of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.

The Banks fiasco prompted the alleged victim of the 2012 incident to release details of her case through her lawyer, including that the alleged assault was committed by a football player. The attorney criticized Director

of Student Services Al Renville for his handling of his client’s complaint, calling for Renville’s removal as the school’s Title IX officer—to whom students must report sexual assaults.

Banks’ trial is yet-unscheduled, and whatever change is afoot within Butte’s athletics department did not hinder the recruitment of Damariay Drew, a former UC Berkeley football player suspended for the 2014 season after being charged with felony assault.

Pot feuding Regulating the cultivation of medical marijuana has long been a hot topic in Butte County. Discussions of regulation came to a head in 2014, with the growers—those who want looser restrictions—taking on their opponents at the polls. Medical marijuana Brandon Banks, a former Vanderbilt University student involved proponents successfully blocked the passage in a high-profile rape case, was included on the Butte College of amendments to the county ordinance Football roster. regulating growing, arguing they made it too Photo courtesy of facebook strict.

Conservatives backed Measure A on the November ballot, which limits garden sizes significantly (essentially the amended version of the original ordinance). The alternative was Measure B, which called for looser restrictions on garden size as well as a vote of the people to amend those rules. They duked it out with political mailers and signs around town, leading to plenty of confusion over which was which, but ultimately Measure A came out on top.

Chico State’s a mess This fall it became apparent that low morale, workplace dissatisfaction and distrust of administration are pervasive conditions among Chico State’s rank and file. In September, the Academic Senate passed a resolution asking the CSU Chancellor’s Office for outside review and, in November, a campus-wide survey revealed widespread distrust of administration, a perception of pay inequality and complaints of poor communication from officials in Kendall Hall.

As Chico State President Paul Zingg has acknowledged, major issues include the university’s inability to retain intuitional knowledge— it’s lost 164 tenure-track faculty members since 2009, and has hired back only 100—and compensation levels, as faculty and staff wages remained frozen since the worst of the Great Recession, while many administrator have enjoyed steady increases in salary.

Late in the year, the CSU Board of Trustees approved contracts with a handful of unions, including the California Faculty Association, but it remains to be seen whether employees will be mollified by their pay increases.

Jessica Allen accuses the City Council of violating the state’s open meetings law. cN&r file Photo by howard hardee

Council accused of open-meeting violations In August, city government watchdog Jessica Allen sent a 22-page document to the City Council alleging violations of the state’s open-meeting law, also known as the Ralph M. Brown Act. Allen said the council had violated the law six times, mostly in connection to the July appointment of Mark Orme as city manager.

Mayor Scott Gruendl’s response on behalf of the council read: “To avoid unnecessary litigation and without admitting any violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Chico City Council hereby reaffirms its unconditional commitment to continue to abide by the Ralph M. Brown Act.” Allen’s attorney, Paul Boylan, provided this interpretation: “We didn’t do anything wrong, and we’ll continue doing things right.” Allen and Boylan said they weren’t accusing the council of nefarious deeds, but simply wanted the law followed.

In October, Allen filed suit against the city.

Urban forest assault Trees were a hot topic in 2014, mostly due to a number of them being cut down in high-profile regions or in large numbers.

In late summer, four trees near the Rite Aid store along Mangrove Avenue were chopped down without the city’s consent. Tree defenders cried foul, charging that the trees were in the city right of way. That wasn’t the case. Still, city staff said the trees were part of a city-approved commercial development and that the property owner erred in not seeking the city’s permission.

In September, the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission approved the request by a homeowners association to remove 25 Yarwood sycamore trees in the Mission Santa Fe Circle neighborhood. The trees were uplifting the sidewalks and creating a hazard, the homeowners association said. The commission approved the cut-down and the decision survived an appeal to the Chico City Council; the trees were felled a few weeks ago.

Furthermore, the lag in filing the urban forest manager position, which has been vacant for 18 months, and the lack of an Urban Forest Management Plan have the tree supporters up in arms, though the city says progress is being made on both fronts.

Don’t mind that alarm Chico State President Paul Zingg at the Academic Senate meeting in Kendall Hall on Sept. 25. cN&r file Photo by Melissa daugherty

In May, a letter from now-retired Chico Police Chief Kirk Trostle informed home and business owners that police would no longer respond to “unconfirmed automated alarms”—an alarm triggered but not confirmed as a real emergency by a security guard or camera—beginning on June 15.

Police officials said the change would make more efficient use of staff time, as the department responded to more than 3,000 false alarms in 2012 alone. The City STORIES OF 2014 continued on page 20 december 31, 2014

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announced that she’d sought treatment for addiction to prescription drugs. It was a bombshell for the public, but not for the local journalists who’d already been tipped off anonymously.

Slain Chico State student Marc Thompson was a budding social activist.

Photo courtesy of facebook

Deadly I-5 crash Ten people were killed and nearly three dozen injured—most of them Los Angelesarea high school students bound for a tour of Humboldt State University—in a fiery head-on collision on Interstate 5 just outside of Orland in April.

Investigators are still unsure of what caused a southbound FedEx semi truck to veer across a grassy median into northbound traffic, colliding with the chartered bus carrying 46 people; both vehicles were enveloped in flames. The truck and bus drivers were killed instantly, as were seven others aboard the bus, and another died after being airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center. Emergency workers from Glenn and Tehama counties set up on-site triage centers, and 34 people were transported by air or ambulance to hospitals around the North State, including several to Chico’s Enloe Medical Center.

Council discussed the issue at a meeting in October, when Lt. Mike O’Brien told the council the new policy effectively reduced the burden on police, and “criminals have not run wild.” Still, at the behest of businesses and homeowners concerned with security, the council explored different options.

The result was a new law that would hold alarm companies, rather than users, responsible for false alarms that prompt police response. The law, which still requires a second reading and final adoption, would be the first of its kind in California.

Marc Thompson’s murder On the evening of Sept. 3, the charred remains of a man were found in a burning car off of Highway 70, near the rural community of Mountain House. Several days later, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced that the body was that of Marc Thompson, a 25-year-old Chico State student, and that homicide was suspected.

Thompson was a burgeoning political activist who’d distinguished himself as a leader at Butte College and Chico State.

At the latter, he served as commissioner for multicultural affairs, and was in his last semester before graduation.

Police haven’t announced any leads in Thompson’s murder. Nor have investigators shared information suggesting the crime was racially motivated, but the murder of a young black college student in rural 20

CN&R

December 31, 2014

Northern California has led many people to wonder. Friends, family, activist groups and members of the public have since established a memorial website, Justice for Marc Thompson (www.stirfryseminars. com/JusticeForMarc), and the Sheriff’s Office followed suit, launching www.buttecrimesolver.com and urging anyone with information to contact authorities.

Rapist cops a plea Who could forget the case of Lonnie Scott Keith—the seemingly upstanding physician assistant, church-goer, father and husband—who, as it turns out, was

Rapist Lonnie Scott Keith is sentenced to 28 years in state prison.

Photo courtesy of chico Police DePartment

drugging and raping college-age women in Chico? The details of the crimes—such as a secret compartment in his car to conceal syringes, zip ties, latex gloves and leg restraints—were chilling.

Keith was arrested back in January 2013, but it was this year, when we all expected a trial at Butte County Superior Court, that Keith pleaded guilty to one felony count of forceful rape and three felony counts of kidnapping. Keith had maintained his innocence up until the day—Aug. 28—he accepted the plea deal. He was sentenced to 28 years in state prison.

Goloff comes clean Mary Goloff’s many absences from City Council meetings during her second term prompted speculation about her health and whether she’d be able to continue with her commitment as a council member through the end of 2014. Between May 2012 and April 2014, she missed 11 meetings.

In August 2013, Goloff resigned as mayor, citing medical reasons. Then, in the fall, she underwent hip surgery.

In April 2014, returning to the dais after missing three consecutive meetings, Goloff

Arts funding dries up No portion of the city budget took as big of a hit as funding for the arts in 2014.

Funding support for community and arts organizations was slashed to $25,000, down from the $207,243 the previous year, and the City Council recently voted to cut the city-appointed Chico Arts Commission’s meeting schedule down from bi-monthly to

Chico’s Dining & Nightlife Guide Spring/Summer 2015

Our Hands, public art in peril.

Photo illustration by tina flynn

twice per year.

Galleries, theaters and producers are now scrambling to find ways to make up the difference in their budgets. Recently, the nonprofit Chico Arts Foundation stepped in with the goals of fundraising and keeping arts in the spotlight, starting with an interactive public-art tour and raising money to repair and protect existing public-art works.

Sierra Nevada expands east On Aug. 3, 2014, Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. celebrated the opening of its second brewing facility, in Mills River, N.C., with (what else?) a beer festival. The grand opening was the culmination of the seven-city Beer Camp Across America beer-festival tour, to which the pioneering brewery had invited all craft brewers in the country to join in celebrating the growth of craft beer in America.

In its 34-year history, Sierra Nevada had gone from maxing out at 13,000 barrels a year to 1 million barrels a year. Owner Ken Grossman pursued the expansion to alleviate the burden on the maxed-out Chico brewery and cut down on the costs and environmental impact of shipping across the country. In January, the new brewery started shipping beer, and by summer had already reached its current maximum production pace of 350,000 barrels a year. □

Our semi-annual dining guide is once again about to hit the stands! Savor will include a full list of area restaurants by category, which readers love. We look forward to making this publication a vibrant celebration of Chico’s restaurants.

Sierra Nevada’s Brian Grossman at the brewery’s new East Coast facility. cn&r file Photo by Jason cassiDy

Mary Goloff sought treatment last winter for addiction to prescription medication. cn&r file Photo

Issue Date: February 12 Call your Advertising rep for more information at (530) 894-2300

December 31, 2014

CN&R

21

STORIES OF 2014 continued from page 19

announced that she’d sought treatment for addiction to prescription drugs. It was a bombshell for the public, but not for the local journalists who’d already been tipped off anonymously.

Slain Chico State student Marc Thompson was a budding social activist.

Photo courtesy of facebook

Deadly I-5 crash Ten people were killed and nearly three dozen injured—most of them Los Angelesarea high school students bound for a tour of Humboldt State University—in a fiery head-on collision on Interstate 5 just outside of Orland in April.

Investigators are still unsure of what caused a southbound FedEx semi truck to veer across a grassy median into northbound traffic, colliding with the chartered bus carrying 46 people; both vehicles were enveloped in flames. The truck and bus drivers were killed instantly, as were seven others aboard the bus, and another died after being airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center. Emergency workers from Glenn and Tehama counties set up on-site triage centers, and 34 people were transported by air or ambulance to hospitals around the North State, including several to Chico’s Enloe Medical Center.

Council discussed the issue at a meeting in October, when Lt. Mike O’Brien told the council the new policy effectively reduced the burden on police, and “criminals have not run wild.” Still, at the behest of businesses and homeowners concerned with security, the council explored different options.

The result was a new law that would hold alarm companies, rather than users, responsible for false alarms that prompt police response. The law, which still requires a second reading and final adoption, would be the first of its kind in California.

Marc Thompson’s murder On the evening of Sept. 3, the charred remains of a man were found in a burning car off of Highway 70, near the rural community of Mountain House. Several days later, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office announced that the body was that of Marc Thompson, a 25-year-old Chico State student, and that homicide was suspected.

Thompson was a burgeoning political activist who’d distinguished himself as a leader at Butte College and Chico State.

At the latter, he served as commissioner for multicultural affairs, and was in his last semester before graduation.

Police haven’t announced any leads in Thompson’s murder. Nor have investigators shared information suggesting the crime was racially motivated, but the murder of a young black college student in rural 20

CN&R

December 31, 2014

Northern California has led many people to wonder. Friends, family, activist groups and members of the public have since established a memorial website, Justice for Marc Thompson (www.stirfryseminars. com/JusticeForMarc), and the Sheriff’s Office followed suit, launching www.buttecrimesolver.com and urging anyone with information to contact authorities.

Rapist cops a plea Who could forget the case of Lonnie Scott Keith—the seemingly upstanding physician assistant, church-goer, father and husband—who, as it turns out, was

Rapist Lonnie Scott Keith is sentenced to 28 years in state prison.

Photo courtesy of chico Police DePartment

drugging and raping college-age women in Chico? The details of the crimes—such as a secret compartment in his car to conceal syringes, zip ties, latex gloves and leg restraints—were chilling.

Keith was arrested back in January 2013, but it was this year, when we all expected a trial at Butte County Superior Court, that Keith pleaded guilty to one felony count of forceful rape and three felony counts of kidnapping. Keith had maintained his innocence up until the day—Aug. 28—he accepted the plea deal. He was sentenced to 28 years in state prison.

Goloff comes clean Mary Goloff’s many absences from City Council meetings during her second term prompted speculation about her health and whether she’d be able to continue with her commitment as a council member through the end of 2014. Between May 2012 and April 2014, she missed 11 meetings.

In August 2013, Goloff resigned as mayor, citing medical reasons. Then, in the fall, she underwent hip surgery.

In April 2014, returning to the dais after missing three consecutive meetings, Goloff

Arts funding dries up No portion of the city budget took as big of a hit as funding for the arts in 2014.

Funding support for community and arts organizations was slashed to $25,000, down from the $207,243 the previous year, and the City Council recently voted to cut the city-appointed Chico Arts Commission’s meeting schedule down from bi-monthly to

Chico’s Dining & Nightlife Guide Spring/Summer 2015

Our Hands, public art in peril.

Photo illustration by tina flynn

twice per year.

Galleries, theaters and producers are now scrambling to find ways to make up the difference in their budgets. Recently, the nonprofit Chico Arts Foundation stepped in with the goals of fundraising and keeping arts in the spotlight, starting with an interactive public-art tour and raising money to repair and protect existing public-art works.

Sierra Nevada expands east On Aug. 3, 2014, Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. celebrated the opening of its second brewing facility, in Mills River, N.C., with (what else?) a beer festival. The grand opening was the culmination of the seven-city Beer Camp Across America beer-festival tour, to which the pioneering brewery had invited all craft brewers in the country to join in celebrating the growth of craft beer in America.

In its 34-year history, Sierra Nevada had gone from maxing out at 13,000 barrels a year to 1 million barrels a year. Owner Ken Grossman pursued the expansion to alleviate the burden on the maxed-out Chico brewery and cut down on the costs and environmental impact of shipping across the country. In January, the new brewery started shipping beer, and by summer had already reached its current maximum production pace of 350,000 barrels a year. □

Our semi-annual dining guide is once again about to hit the stands! Savor will include a full list of area restaurants by category, which readers love. We look forward to making this publication a vibrant celebration of Chico’s restaurants.

Sierra Nevada’s Brian Grossman at the brewery’s new East Coast facility. cn&r file Photo by Jason cassiDy

Mary Goloff sought treatment last winter for addiction to prescription medication. cn&r file Photo

Issue Date: February 12 Call your Advertising rep for more information at (530) 894-2300

December 31, 2014

CN&R

21

What Were they thinking?

Things that made us go, ‘hmm’

Military banner banter

Dealing on social media

The notion of honoring local members of the military by flying banners from street light posts along Chico thoroughfares died in October when compromise could not be reached by the City Council. A group calling itself Chico Military Heroes proposed flying 500 banners bearing the faces, names and military branch of active members along a number of streets, including East and First avenues, year round. It also wanted the $2,100 city fee to do so waived.

The request first came to the council in August and was immediately kicked to the Internal Affairs Committee, which suggested a compromise: flying the banners for 30 days around Veterans Day or Memorial Day, along a limited stretch of East Avenue and not waiving the fee.

Several supporters and opponents to the proposal spoke. Those in favor said they believed the banners would honor our active servicepeople. Those against it argued the money and effort would be better spent elsewhere, in other ways that would support our local troops.

The matter came back to the council in October and Chris Nicodemus, representing the Military Heroes, said 30 days were not enough. Multiple motions were made— attempts at compromise—but nothing won the council’s full approval. So, out the Military Heroes marched, sans any banners at all.

Back on Halloween weekend, six young men were busted for allegedly selling drugs in the south campus neighborhood—after setting up the deals on a social network and selling to undercover police officers.

All of the deals were initiated through FADE, a social media app for college students in which posted pictures disappear after a certain time limit (often resulting in half-naked selfies and pictures of bongs).

Officers from the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force and the Chico Police Department participated in the sting.

Four of the six suspects—Phillip Wayne Baker (20), Ellis James Lindenthal (18), Wesly Keith Murphy (19) and David James O’Callaghan (22)—were college students living in Chico. Baker, Lindenthal and O’Callaghan were arrested on marijuanarelated charges, while Murphy was booked for criminal conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Tyler O’Brien (19) of Orland was arrested for selling ecstasy, and Kenyatta Eric Traylor (19) of Berkeley was arrested for selling ecstasy and cocaine, among other charges.

hmong monument vandalized Since 2012, the statue of Gen. Vang Pao—a hero among the Hmong community—stood proudly outside the Chico City Council chambers. The statue was placed there after 22

CN&R

December 31, 2014

Internal Affairs Committee mambers (left to right) Sean Morgan, Ann Schwab and Tami Ritter watch along with City Manager Mark Orme as Chris Nicodemus unveils a sample banner in September.

CN&R File photo by tom gasCoyNe

considerable effort from the Butte County Hmong Association, which lobbied long and hard for the memorial’s prominent placement and to raise the $40,000 to cover materials, fabrication and installation.

Sometime during the first weekend of October—the same weekend a large Hmong New Year celebration was held at Bidwell Junior High—the statue was badly vandalized. It has since been placed in storage awaiting repair and re-installation, and the culprits go unpunished.

Incidentally, the same weekend, on Saturday, Oct. 4, what police described as a “rolling gun fight” occurred between two vehicles near Cohasset and Pillsbury roads, which ended in one of the vehicles rolling over and one man being shot in the hand.

Several Hmong men with suspected gang ties—who’d been at the New Year celebration—were arrested.

Cops put candidates on the spot hostile clerks Each of the seven citizens vying for a seat on the Chico City Council in 2014 attended a candidates forum in October hosted by arguably the most powerful union in Chico—the Chico Police Officers’ Association. There, the moderator asked mostly self-serving questions that falsely gave the impression that Chico cops are underpaid. In fact, the average compensation, with benefits included, for a Chico police officer is $136,000 a year, according to city staff. None of the candidates strongly countered the CPOA’s propaganda, a disappointing turn of events.

In March, news came to light that longtime Butte County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs had been under investigation on allegations of being disrespectful to her employees, creating a hostile work environment and having an employee work for her on personal matters.

It turns out the whole ordeal came from complaints by Assistant County Clerk Laurie Cassady. But when a Grass Valley attorney who was brought in to conduct the investigation wrote up his report, he found that, “Ms. Cassady, much more so

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than Ms. Grubbs, treats the staff in the office inappropriately and is creating a stressful and unhealthy work environment.”

During the investigation, Grubbs was dinged for having asked an employee to do a quarter of an hour’s worth of work for Grubbs’ personal gain. To make up for the error, Grubbs was asked to write a check to the county treasurer for $17.34.

Grubbs, who was re-elected in June, said she was caught off-guard by the whole thing and that she and Cassady, who have worked together for 27 years, remain the best of friends.

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CN&R File photo by tom GasCoyNe

CN&R File photo by howaRD haRDee

Gruendl cries fraud Last February, in the thick of the efforts to determine the extent of the city of Chico’s budget deficit, Mayor Scott Gruendl made a pretty hefty accusation: that fraud was involved. Gruendl was speaking at the annual State of the City address, attended mostly by local business people, and the thrust of his speech was that city staff was responsible for the financial turmoil.

The next month, however, when auditors determined there were fund deficits totaling $13.1 million, there was no evidence of such fraud. The grand jury came to the same conclusion.

Farewell to the chief, again When Kirk Trostle took the post as Chico’s top cop back in 2012, he told the CN&R that he’d stay in that job for at least four years. But, just as he approached his 50th birthday (Dec. 21), he pulled a Mike Maloney and announced his retirement. (Former ChiefDESIGNER Maloney, back in ’12, retired on his 50thJEN_PU birthday and now receives a $151,000 annual pension.)

For Trostle’s part, he, too, will be raking in the dough now that his retirement became official Dec. 30. He gave the same old “wanting to spend more time with family” as his reason for leaving—and nobody can really fault him for that, especially when CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) is set up in such a way that it rewards longtime officers with nearly the same pay in retirement as in service to their communities. Either way, Trostle’s short tenure as police chief left more than a little something to be desired. His decision to give just over a month’s notice was an additional disappointment.

WTH, David Little?

Last August, Chico Enterprise-Record Editor David Little wrote a glowing column about Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a member of the Do-Nothing Congress who was running for re-election. The write-up came just a few months after the Chico E-R’s primary election endorsements told readers to vote out all Congressional incumbents. However, the paper did not endorse LaMalfa’s challenger, Heidi Hall. CN&R Editor Melissa Daugherty chided Little for writing the puff piece as well as another column in which he bragged about being skeptical of climate change. As a result, Little “unfriended” her on Facebook. Talk about a trifecta of “what was he thinking?” □

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Butte County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs answers questions at a press conference concerning allegations that her office was in disarray.

Early in 2014, Scott Gruendl charged that someone at City Hall had committed fraud as it relates to the city budget, but he never named anyone and auditors and a grand jury never found such evidence.

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A Chico man apparently attempted to avoid criminal charges and the embarrassment of shooting himself in the hand by lying to police (and capitalizing on institutionalized racism) in a bizarre incident last summer.

On July 11, Chico police responded to a call from Thomas Cadotte, 31, who said a verbal altercation with a black man outside of his North Cedar Street apartment turned violent, and the unknown man shot Cadotte in the hand with a revolver. However, police said the evidence clearly showed otherwise— Cadotte allegedly shot himself inside his own apartment, and made up the whole story. He was charged with falsely reporting a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

jewelry • radios • blankets • antiques December 31, 2014

CN&R

23

& PREV.

Arts & Culture THIS WEEK

2014: Year in film Michael Keaton takes flight and North Korea grounds a blockbuster in unpredictable movie year

I

’m half-inclined to say that the fiasco surrounding The Interview makes that much-publicized but largely unseen picture the emblematic movie of 2014. The whole brouhaha bespeaks an era of powerful people blundering on a global by scale from within their respective Juan-Carlos political, financial and pop-cultural Selznick bubbles.

But whatever the gloomy clouds emerging from all that, there’s a good deal to be said on behalf of the movies that did come our way in 2014. And while I don’t really think that any one movie or group of movies could be truly “emblematic” of an entire year, movie wise or otherwise, I don’t at all mind saying that, for me, 2014 is the year of Birdman, Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

From where I sat, those three pictures were the best to have come our way in the first 50 weeks of 2014 (as usual, I’m writing this on the Monday before Christmas). It may have been yet another year without any truly great masterpieces, but once again there were plenty of exceptionally interesting films coming into view.

Other outstanding 2014 arrivals in local theaters included Under the Skin, Nightcrawler, The Great Beauty, Locke, Her, The Drop, John Wick and Gloria. The last two titles in that group might not have made it into my “local” top 10 if a few other 2014 standouts had actually made it onto local theater screens. Particularly noteworthy instances of the latter include Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Marco Bellocchio’s Dormant Beauty and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida. I’ve encountered those films only via DVD so far, but DVDs and streaming movies, foreign and domestic, played a larger-than-ever role in the pleasures and satisfactions of my movie year. The True Detective miniseries also ranks with the group just mentioned, as does Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman, a year-end release that might still make it into a local movie house.

Apart from the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty (Italy) and the small gem Gloria (Chile), top-flight foreign language films were hard to come by in local movie theaters. But there were plenty of them 24 CN&R December 31, 2014

brought within reach on video.

In addition to the previously mentioned films by Bellochio and Pawlikowski, the video-only foreignlanguage standouts include a superb character study from Romania (Calin Peter Netzer’s Child’s Pose), an offbeat film noir from Italy (Salvo, co-directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza), and five films from France—Martin Provost’s biopic, Violette; François Ozon’s Young & Beautiful; and three sprightly comedies—Michel Gondry’s exuberantly eccentric Mood Indigo, Cédric Klapisch’s Chinese Puzzle, Bertrand Tavernier’s Quai d’Orsay (aka The French Minister).

And there were plenty of remarkable English language films in the video-only category too: David Michôd’s The Rover from Australia, John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary from Ireland, Joon-Ho Bong’s allegorical Snowpiercer (a South Korean/Czech/ American/French co-production), Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant from Great Britain, David Mackenzie’s Starred Up (Ireland/UK). Plus, four pungent indies from the U.S.: Liza Johnson’s Hateship Loveship, Daniel Schechter’s Life of Crime (from an Elmore Leonard novel), Jim Mickle’s Cold in July (from a Joe Lansdale novel), and Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin.

It was a good year for brilliantly despondent crime thrillers—Nightcrawler, The Drop, John Wick, Cold in July, Blue Ruin, The Rover. Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings brought biblical epics back into play, but the really good films with spiritual subject matter turned up elsewhere and in more intimate form—Ida, Calvary, Dormant Beauty, Wild, Birdman, Locke, etc.

Favorite performances of the year: Edward Norris and Emma Stone in Birdman, Tom Hardy in Locke and The Drop, Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer and Only Lovers Left Alive, Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in The Rover, Guy Pearce and Kristin Wiig in Hateship Loveship, Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin and Her, Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou in Mood Indigo, Toni Servillo in The Great Beauty, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson in Cold in July, Luminita Gheorghiu in Child’s Pose, Paulina García in Gloria, Brendan Gleeson and Kelly Reilly in Calvary, Reese Witherspoon in Wild, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in True Detective. Ω

31

WED

New Year’s Eve For New Year’s Eve listings, see NIGHTLIFE on page 30.

1

THURS

Special Events POLAR BEAR SWIM: Take the plunge into the winter runoff at the Sycamore Pool for this New Year’s Day tradison. Th, 1pm. One-Mile Recreation Area, Lower Bidwell Park.

2

FRI

Special Events FIRST FRIDAY FESTIVAL: Every first Friday of the month, enjoy the Edible Pedal bike kitchen, learn how to grow your own food, and enjoy kids activities, entertainment and food. First F of every month, 2-5:30pm. Chapman Mulberry Community Center, 1010 Cleveland Ave.; (530) 624-8844.

Art Receptions CHROMA: Reception for Alex Light and Ty Andre Mendoza’s two-person show born of the resources of Idea Fabrication Labs. F, 1/2, 57pm. Empire Coffee, 434 Orange St.; (530) 899-8267.

WILDLIFE WONDERS: A reception for Yreka-based artist Steele Roberts and his Snow Goose Festival works. Live music from Martin Trang.

F, 1/2, 3-7pm. Free. Orland Center for the Arts & Gallery, 431 Colusa St. Bottom floor of Orland Laurel Masonic Lodge Building in Orland.

4

SUN

Special Events MIXED MEDIA MIXER: Uncle Dad’s Art Collective and Energy Plant Arts bring a monthly celebration of art and culture with local artists displaying their work and local musicians playing their music. Su, 1/4, 2-5pm. Free. 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway; (530) 343-1973; www.1078gallery.org.

STAND-UP STANDISH COMEDY SHOWCASE: North State stand-up comedian Aaron Standish is celebrating his birthday by hosting a showcase of local stand-up comedians and other funny friends, including Mark Joseph Leathers, Steve Swim, Jerm Leather, John Bertoli, Becky Lynn Daniel, Roland Allen, Liz Merry and more. Su, 1/4, 7pm. $5. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St.; (530) 474-3824; www.merrystandish.com.

Theater BIG THE MUSICAL AUDITION: Come prepared with

MIXED-MEDIA MIXER Sunday, Jan. 4 1078 Gallery

SEE SUNDAY, SPECIAL EVENTS

a song that includes at least one verse and one chorus suited for your personality and vocal range. Script readings will be provided.

Su, 1/4, 6:30pm; M, 1/5, 6:30pm. Free. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 8943282, www.chicotheatercompany.com.

BULLETIN BOARD

FINE ARTS Art 1078 GALLERY: Stories Three, the third installment of five local artists (Ellen Akimoto, Haley Hughes, Trevor Lalaguna, Sienna Orlando Lalaguna, and Brad Thiele) sharing biographical stories.

Through 1/3. 820 Broadway, (530) 3431973, www.1078gallery.org.

AVENUE 9 GALLERY: A Fond Fairwell and

Holiday Sale, guild artists showcase their works. Through 1/10. 180 E. Ninth Ave., (530) 879-1821, www.avenue9gallery.com.

CHICO ART CENTER: Salon d’Art, local artists in one location displaying their

work during the holiday season. Through 1/11. 450 Orange St., (530) 895-8726, www.chicoartcenter.com.

EMPIRE COFFEE: Chroma, Alex Light and Ty Andre Mendoza’s two-person show featuring watercolor, pearlescents, geometry born of the resources of Idea Fabrication Labs. 1/2-1/31. 434 Orange St., (530) 899-8267.

CHROMA RECEPTION Friday, Jan. 2 Empire Coffee

SEE FRIDAY, ART RECEPTIONS

IDEA FABRICATION LABS: Transpositions, incubator artist David Cedeño (aka Chocolate David) presents his multi-layered stencil-making capturing the raw force and soul of musical experience.

Through 1/13. Free. 603 Orange St., (530) 592-0609.

ORLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS & GALLERY:

5

MON

Theater BIG THE MUSICAL AUDITION: See Sunday. Chico Theater Company, 166-F Eaton Rd., (530) 8943282, www.chicotheatercompany.com.

6

Wildlife Wonders IV, Yreka based artist Steele Roberts Ross showcases works for the Snow Goose Festival. 1/2-1/31. 431 Colusa St. Bottom floor of Orland Laurel Masonic Lodge Building in Orland.

Call for Artists DIVERSITY ART EXHIBIT: The Office of Diversity and Inclusion is looking for submissions for its annual diversity exhibit.

Email or call for more info. 1/6-2/21. Free.

Kendall Hall, W First St and Normal Ave., (530) 898-4605.

KEEP CHICO WEIRD CALL FOR ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS: Email a description of your three-minute act or visual art (include samples—videos, audio, photos—of your act/piece as well as any pertinent links).

You can also mail/drop-off entries (just info, not art work) to: Chico News & Review (att. Keep Chico Weird), 353 E. Second Street Chico, CA. 95928 by Jan. 8.

Selected entrants will be notified the following week. Through 1/8, 2015. www.facebook.com/keepchicoweird

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.

BINGO: Proceeds donated to non-profit. Su,

Museums CHICO CREEK NATURE CENTER: Banding by

Day and Night, a close look at birds in hand with incredible detail. Ongoing. $2$4. 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 891-4671, www.bidwellpark.org.

CHICO MUSEUM: Mik ‘cupu Dy: This is Our

Home, Here We Remain, the exhibit focuses on the tribe’s heritage and history and presented from the perspective of the Mechoopda people using the four seasons to delineate periods of happiness, success and tragedy. Ongoing. 141 Salem St., (530) 891-4336, www.chicomuseum.org.

GATEWAY SCIENCE MUSEUM: Modern

Farming-Land, Water, People, and Science, explore North State agriculture.

Ongoing: Eat Well, Play Well, and Patterns of The Land, see museum for ticket info.

Ongoing. 625 Esplanade, www.csu chico.edu/gateway.

GOLD NUGGET MUSEUM: Laundry Exhibit, Learn about the laundry devices ranging from the late 1800’s glass washboards to a classic Kenmore winger washer from the 1940s. Ongoing. 502 Pearson Rd. in Paradise, (530) 872-8722, www.gold nuggetmuseum.com.

PARADISE DEPOT MUSEUM: A railroad and

logging museum in Paradise. Ongoing, 79pm. 5570 Black Olive Dr. in Paradise, (530) 877-1919.

Americana-rockers lead the new year’s jam.

Tu, 1/6, 7:30pm. $15. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 East 20th St.; (530) 345-2739; www.sierranevada.com/bigroom.

Chico Friends of the Library weekly book sale. Sa, 9:15-11:30am. Butte County Library, Chico Branch, 1108 Sherman Ave., (530) 8912762, www.buttecounty.net/bclibrary.

DANCE SANCTUARY WAVE: Bring a water bottle, drop your mind, find your feet and free your spirit. Call for more info. Tu, 6:308:30pm. $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.

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) 680-3217, www.cchaos.org.

FARMERS’ MARKET: SATURDAY: Chico’s weekly

FRIDAY NIGHT WRITES: NaNoWriMo The national

novel writers host a weekly write in. F, 5-8pm.

Midtown Local, 365 E Sixth St.

7

HABITAT HOME APPLICATION ORIENTATION.:

WED

Habitat for Humanity of Butte County hosts

an orientation. See website for more info. Tu, 1/6, 6pm. Free. Bidwell Presbyterian Church, 208 W. First St., (530) 343-1484, www.butte habitat.org.

Music MEMORIES OF ELVIS DINNER SHOW: Chris

INTERNATIONAL FOLK DANCING: All levels wel-

MacDonald channels The King. W, 1/7, 6pm. $10-$35. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville; (530) 533-3885; www.featherfallscasino.com/brewing-co.

come. No partner needed. F, 7:30pm. $2. Chico Creek Dance Centre, 1144 W. First St., (530) 345-8134.

PARADISE ON ICE: The outdoor ice rink returns

Shrinking into the New Year 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.

OK polar bears, we know you’re excited about plunging into fresh mountain runoff and into 2015 with several hundred of your hungover friends, but there are some things you need to remember before you partake in the Polar Bear Plunge on Friday, Jan. 1, at Sycamore Pool in Bidwell Park: the pool gets steadily shallower as you move away from EDITOR’S PICK the bridge, so be mindful of where you’re landing; watch out for any kids or others who might be struggling through the waters; have a big dry towel and change of clothes and a cup of something warm waiting for you on the other side. Have fun, be bold, excelsior!

welcome to sing in four-part harmony barbershop style. Call for more info. W, 7pm.

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

CHICO FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE:

medical ailments. Call for more info. Su, 14pm. Free. Shalom Free Clinic, 1190 E. First Ave., (530) 518-8300, www.shalomfree clinic.org.

DEAD WINTER CARPENTERS: Tahoe-based

SOUNDS OF THE VALLEY CHORUS: Women singers

Clark Rd. in Paradise, (530) 877-3977.

FREE HEALTH CLINIC: Free services for minor

Music

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. $10-$15 sliding scale. Dorothy Johnson Center, 775 E. 16th St., (530) 891-6524, www.chicorec.com.

4pm. $15 per pack. Paradise Elks Lodge, 6309

community gathering, with fresh produce, crafts, baked goods and more. Sa, 7:30am1pm. Municipal Parking Lot No. 1, Second & wall Streets.

TUES

SOUL SHAKE DANCE CHURCH: Drop your mind,

for holiday activities and seasonal fun.

Through 1/11. $12. Terry Ashe Center, 6626 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 876-9466.

SAFE SPACE: A winter program to provide emergency shelter for people in need within our community. Ongoing. Chico Peace and Justice Center, 526 Broadway, (530) 893-9078, www.chico-peace.org.

SAMARITAN FREE CLINIC: This clinic offers free basic medical care and mental-health counseling. Call for more information. Su, 2-4pm.

Free. Paradise Lutheran Church, 780 Luther Dr. in Paradise, 872-7085.

PARADISE ON ICE Through Jan. 11 Terry Ashe Center, Paradise SEE COMMUNITY

SQUARE-DANCE CLUB: Square-dancing classes for beginners and advanced-level dancers.

Call for more info. Th, 7-10pm. Opens 1/1.

Veterans Memorial Hall, 6550 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 872-1962.

For Kids CAMP CHICO FROZEN: Hands on natural-science labs, games, art, up close animal visits, Bidwell Park exploration. With Curriculum from: Growing Up Wild. See website for details. Through 1/2. $25-$250. Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. Eighth St., (530) 8914671, www.bidwellpark.org.

CHILDREN STORY TIME SERIES: Reading events sponsored by Lyon Books. Every other Th, 3pm. Free. Butte County Library, Chico Branch, 1108 Sherman Ave., (530) 891-2762, www.lyonbook.com.

TOT TIME: Arts & crafts, music, and other activities for toddlers (age 0-5) and their families. M, 1/5, 11:15am-12:15pm. FREE for all families who have at least one child who is 0-5 years. Paradise Ridge Family Resource Center, 6249 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 8723896, www.familyresourcecenters.net.

Volunteer BIDWELL PARK VOLUNTEERS: Help the park by volunteering for trash pick-up, invasive-plant removal, trail maintenance, site restoration, water-quality testing and more. Check Friends of Bidwell Park website for dates and locations. Ongoing. Bidwell Park, Bidwell Park, www.friendsofbidwellpark.org.

PATRICK RANCH VOLUNTEERS: There are multiple volunteer opportunities available at the museum. Call or email for more info. Ongoing.

Patrick Ranch Museum, 10381 Midway, (530) 514-3903.

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.

December 31, 2014

CN&R 25

Keep ChiCo Weird 2015

TalenT ShoW: Jan. 31, at the El Rey Theatre arT ShoW: Jan. 29-31 (reception Jan. 29), at 1078 Gallery LAST YEAR SOLD OUT - BUY TICKETS NOW! at Diamond W Western Wear, Blaze ’N J’s, and www.ticketweb.com (search: “Keep Chico Weird”). $15 in advance ($20 night of).

Guest performances by ChIKOKO and ThE PAGEANT DADS! hosted by Arts DEVO!

SubmiT your aCT, or your arT, Today!

The Chico News & Review is now accepting entries of weirdness of all stripes for the second annual Keep Chico Weird Talent Show and Art Show! With prizes, celebrity judges (Sea Monster, Mini Merna, Meg Amor and Linda WatkinsBennet), and featured weird performers.

hoW To SubmiT: Must be 18-over.

Email a description of your three-minute act or visual art (and if you have them, include samples—videos, audio, photos— as well as any pertinent Internet links), plus contact info, and the names/ages of all participants to: keepchicoweird@gmail.com.

Or mail/drop-off your info (not your artwork) to: Chico News & Review (attn. Keep Chico Weird), 353 E. Second St., Chico, CA , 95928. Deadline for submissions is Thursday, Jan. 8. Selected entrants will be notified the following week.

Visit us on Facebook at WWW.FACEBOOK.COm/KEEPChICOWEIRD 26 CN&R December 31, 2014

Sponsored by

CHOW Hoppin’ John is a New Year’s dish popular in the American South, variations of which feature a range of traditional good-luck ingredients: beans (symbolizing coins), pork (progress), rice (prosperity) and greens (money).

Buy One Entree 50% Get One of Equal or Lesser Value

(with purchase of two drinks) exp 1/18/15

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Good luck food Throw logic out the window and taste the legends of good fortune money is a chief goal of yours in this one-way Ithenfjourney we know as life, and if you also like to eat, you’re in luck. For, as we approach the New Year,

the superstitious wisdom of ancient cultures lights our way toward success and prosperity with—as luck would have it— by food. Many believe that eating the Alastair Bland right things on or around New Year’s Eve will bring you good fortune—even money—in the year 2015. So what’s for dinner? Here is a selection of items long believed—if not scientifically proven—to generate good fortune, and cash, in the 12 months ahead.

Pig: These clever and personable mammals can make wonderful pets. But if you eat one, good fortune will befall you. That’s because pigs move in a forward direction as they nose through soft soils for edibles— which indicates forward motion and progress. Also, because pigs tend to be plump, those who eat them will be, too. This is better than it sounds, because fatness indicates success, wealth and smart investments in the stock market—the important things in life. Well, at least, being fat symbolized such virtues in centuries past. Unfortunately for the pig, the superstition persists: Eat pork, and your assets will grow.

Leafy greens: Kale may be the world’s trendiest food—after bacon. It also brings good luck. That’s because greens look remarkably like cash, in case you haven’t noticed. Thus, eating greens generates money, even if you live in Europe and your national currency isn’t green. Since leafy veggies are a relatively low-cost food, they represent an excellent investment strategy. Even if your savings account doesn’t begin to grow after your next kale salad, you will at least be gaining high levels of nutrients per calorie ingested—and without the massive water costs of animal husbandry. Greens are good for you and the environment.

Whole fish: Fish scales look like coins. Thus, eating a whole fish will bring good luck and wealth.

While most fish are cooked after the scales are

removed, we will assume this won’t change the intended effects on acquiring new properties or logging capital gains. And there is another luck-related reason to eat fish: They swim in schools (some do, at least—just go with it). While this may actually be a behavioral adaptation indicating a dangerous world fraught with predators, to the ancients, such gathering indicated community—and prosperity.

How best to cook a whole fish? Try a salt crust.

Literally bury the cleaned (and scaled) fish in coarse sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. The salt will hold in the moisture of the fish—and will break apart in large pieces as you serve it. (Throw some of the salt over your left shoulder if you’ve got any household poltergeist problems. That will shoo the specters away.)

Cornbread: One of America’s most heartening comfort foods, cornbread is also associated with prosperity. The color is gold—like the most coveted element in the universe—and when whole corn kernels are scattered through the batter, the intended effect is that of gold nuggets.

Lentils: These high-fiber, high-protein legumes are virtuous in many dietary ways. Since they also look like coins—I know; it seems like a stretch—they are considered especially good to eat. Lentils are disk-shaped and (sometimes) green. Better, you just add water and they grow bigger. If only financial management was so easy; we’d all retire early, and we wouldn’t even need to slaughter the pig. In Brazil, Hungary and Italy, lentils are eaten for good luck. In the South, another legume, the black-eyed pea, serves the same purpose.

Pickled herring: In parts of northern Europe, pickled herring is eaten at the stroke of midnight to secure good fortune in the coming year. Though this might significantly lessen your chances of getting a kiss, the tradition just might get you some cash. The science underlying this theory is that, to hopeful, imaginative folks, herring look like glittering coins.

Just hope these high-protein, high omega-3 morsels indicate silver dollars, not nickels. Ω

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

IN THE NEW YEAR CN&R’s annual Health and Wellness Issue will be on stands January 15.

For more information about advertising in this issue, call your News & Review advertising representative today at (530) 894-2300.

December 31, 2014

CN&R

27

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December 31, 2014

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Houghton Miff lin Harcourt James Carroll is one of America’s finest writers, adept in both fiction and nonfiction. He won a National Book Award in 1996 for An American Requiem, a memoir of his relationship with his major-general father, the Catholic church and the military. His magisterial history of the Pentagon, House of War, won the first PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith award for nonfiction in 2007. A former priest, he has written often about the intersection of religion and war, and this historical thriller is solidly in that vein. Set in Rome in the years just after the end of World War II, it follows three major characters—an American Army major (the Warburg of the title) trying to save Jewish refugees; an Italian woman with a dark past who assists him; and a young American priest also committed to helping refugees. Rome, too, is a character in the book—a maze of fleeing Nazis and other fascists, displaced and hungry Jewish war victims, American and British spies, and bumbling aid workers. When Warburg discovers one of the great scandals of post-war history, the Vatican “ratline” enabling Nazi war criminals to escape to South America, the novel rises to the level of something by Graham Greene or John Le Carré.

BOOK

—Robert Speer

Live at Blues Now! Vizztone

10

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James Carroll

The Chris O’Leary Band

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RECYCLE THIS PAPER.

y p p a h w e n ! r a e y

Warburg in Rome

Back in 1938, when Georgia White sang “The Blues Ain’t Nothin’ But … (a low-down heart disease),” few could have anticipated subsequent equally uptempo yet gloomy themes such as “Trouble” by vocalist/harmonicist Chris O’Leary. Live at Blues Now! was recorded last March at a Switzerland club by O’Leary and his band—Chris Vitarello, guitar; Andy Stahl, tenor sax; Chris DiFrancesco, baritone sax; Matt Raymond, bass; and Jay Devlin, drums, with guitarist Alex Schultz guesting. On “Trouble,” O’Leary sings, “I’ve only got myself to blame for all the trouble I’ve been gettin’ in … I tried to do what’s right and it always comes out wrong.” O’Leary, who wrote all but one of the songs, delivers them with considerable flair and tosses off some terrific harmonica playing, too. The saxes are mainly there to pump up the proceedings and provide some welcome riffing from time to time. DiFrancesco’s solo on the New Orleans-themed “Tchoupitoulas” is just one highlight of that song, which is also enhanced

by O’Leary’s unaccompanied solo and Jay Devlin’s spot-on drumming.

Devlin’s playing is a joy throughout, especially on Billy Boy Arnold’s classic “I Wish You Would,” his plea to an unfaithful lover to return (as a bonus they quote War’s “Low Rider”). This is a hot band and O’Leary sings and plays with authority. Highly recommended!

MUSIC

—Miles Jordan

Book Lover’s Soy Candles Frostbeard Studio In California, particularly the Bay Area, the maker movement is flourishing. More and more, people are becoming skilled in a craft, creating artisan textiles, food, electronics and furniture that most people procure from big-box retailers. Tom and Rox—the Minnesota husband-and-wife duo behind Frostbeard Studio—are a reminder that the movement has expanded far beyond the western U.S. And one the company’s most intriguing products is the “Booklovers” soy-candle series. The offerings in the series follow oftennerdy themes as varied as the handmade candles’ scents. The Tardisblue Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey recalls juniper and black currant tea, while the Hitchhiker’s Guide-friendly Don’t Panic (Fresh Towel) candle is a most massively useful thing, with its scents of fresh laundry and green tea. The sci-fi/fantasy references are fun, if a little niche-oriented (The Princess Bride, Game of Thrones—Cliffs of Insanity or Winterfell scents, anyone?), but who wouldn’t love candles that smelled of Old Books, Oxford Library or a Trashy Romance Novel? The colorful candles come in glass jars and burn for approximately 70 hours, so the question is how many books can you read before the flame extinguishes?

—Matthew Craggs

PRODUCT

MUSIC

c i s u m e v i l f The art o

In a turb u one local lent and fruitful a rts year, act stood out

French Reform’s final performance, Duffy’s Tavern, April 26, 2014.

PHOTO BY NOEL JULIAN-ANKER

Keep ChiCo Weird LAST YeAr SoLd oUT!

BUY TiCKeTS NoW! Jan. 31, at the El Rey Theatre Buy tickets at Diamond W Western Wear, Blaze ’N J’s, and www.ticketweb.com (search: “Keep Chico Weird”). $15 in advance ($20 night of)

Tweighing this paper’s arts editor, I’ve had a lot of things on my mind at one time or another—arts his year has been a particularly busy one, and as

funding, local weirdos, craft beer, the health of family and friends, the consumption of much music and trying to make by Jason a little of my own. But as I reflect, Cassidy I keep coming back to one local phenomenon that got my juices j asonc @ newsrev iew.c om flowing every time I talked about it in 2014, and as I sit down to write, I can’t stop thinking of the band French Reform.

For those who aren’t familiar, French Reform was a five-piece—made up of a range of young and old players from the local scene—that leaned on noisy synthesizers and guitars to make fun, dancey indie-rock. I gushed over them plenty during the first third of 2014 as they were fast becoming not just my favorite local band, but my overall favorite band.

Then, just as they seemed to be approaching critical mass; just as they were starting to drive local crowds ecstatic with energetic live shows; just as they were releasing what would be their final, impeccable EP (Let Them Eat Cake); and just a few weeks after they accepted their Chico Area Music Awards for Best Indie/Experimental Band and Best Local Act, they broke up.

At the time, I was pretty bummed, writing in this paper: “Most of the time, I am in favor of rock bands burning out over fading away, but if a band is actively stoking a roaring fire, I say let the muthafucka burn!” But the dudes had other plans, other projects to embark upon, and only so much time to give.

It takes a lot of time to create a great band, and French Reform had a strict practice ethic. According to the group, all ideas were welcome, as was all criticism, and every aspect—from song dynamics to stage presence—was considered and refined.

After shows, the members would even exchange notes on what worked and what didn’t. It wasn’t an accident that they were so good. As it is with most great bands, the music was dynamically arranged, exhaustively rehearsed and perfected by experienced, talented musicians. Those musicians were then

Guest performances by Chikoko and

ThE PaGEanT DaDs

able to confidently play loose with the songs live, adding full emotional commitment and a feel for the environment to connect with the audience and make mere passive appreciation all but impossible.

But French Reform also had that other thing— that elusive “it” that made the band not just great, but special. It’s hard to pin down, but like all effective art, when the personalities and experience of the artists combine to form a unique vision, and all the sweat is put into the invention and the presentation of their ideas, then something new and exciting is brought into the world. My memory of their live shows are of visceral, transcendent moments that they created and shared with all of us.

The band debuted in 2012, and through the end of 2013 they put out a couple of solid singles and one really good EP that featured an absolutely perfect song (the sleepy, fuzzy, noisy title track, “Plus Minus Plus”), and they played some fun shows. But looking back now, all that pre-2014 activity and focused work was a precursor to the art they would eventually create.

I just saw French Reform twice in 2014, and I think that only enhanced my experience. I listen to a fair amount of local music, but for me, most local shows are just shows. And that’s great, especially in Chico where a sort of band-driven “show lifestyle” (“You going to the show tonight?”) has a long and fun history. But French Reform fit into a category outside of the usual local-show scene, a category that also has a rich, if sporadic, history in Chico. Like only a handful of other local bands that have come before—Vomit Launch, The Mother Hips, Deathstar, MaMuse—French Reform had a unique vision and personality and created live art on stage that captured the imagination.

I know that this could come across as an indictment of the many other local bands, but that’s not what I’m going for. The real point is simply that this was a special band, the type that doesn’t come around every day. Regrettably, French Reform probably wasn’t around long enough at the height of its powers to make the same historical impression as some of those other bands, so I just want to say for the record that in 2014, however briefly, we did experience something special. □ December 31, 2014

CN&R

29

NIGHTLIFE

WEDNESDAY 12/31—WEDNESDAY 1|7 2359 Esplanade, (530) 343-2056, www.farmstarpizza.com.

DEAD WINTER CARPENTERS

Tuesday, Jan. 6 Sierra Nevada Big Room SEE TUESDAY

1THURSDAY 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.

FUNK INTO 2015: Mojo Green (Reno),

31WEDNESDAY BLACKOUT BETTY: High octane rock in

Moksha (Vegas) & Sofa King. W, 12/31, 9pm. Lost on Main, 319 Main St., (530)

party music from the 1940s to today on the Brewing Co. stage. W, 12/31, 9pm. $20. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 5333885, www.featherfallscasino.com/ brewing-co.

IRA WALKER BAND: Local blues/jam/

Americana band in the lounge. W, 12/31, 8:30pm. Feather Falls Casino, 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.featherfallscasino.com.

PIANO NIGHT: Live Piano music. W. Italian Garden, 6929 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 876-9988, www.myspace.com/ theitaliangarden.

KARMA KINGS: Celebrate New Year’s Eve and ring in 2015 with Karma Kings. The party starts with a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Jason Shaffer, plus live music and dancing. W, 12/31, 6pmmidnight. $25 includes gourmet dinner, dancing, champagne and celebration,.

Paradise Eagles Lodge, 9079 Skyway in Paradise.

DRIVER: A New Year’s Eve celebration with live music by the Paradise crew.

W, 12/31, 9pm. $3. Studio Inn Cocktail Lounge, 2582 Esplanade, (530) 3430662.

bash with live music from local jazz quartet Bogg, instrumental rock from Cities and just-plain rock from Wanderers and Wolves. W, 12/31, 9:30pm. $5. Maltese Bar & Tap Room, 1600 Park Ave., (530) 343-4915.

891-1853.

celebration of the New Year. W, 12/31, 9pm. Piggs Club, 3070 Myers St. in Oroville, (530) 533-9843.

DECADES: Ring in the New Year with

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY: A New Years Eve

NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH: A black and silver

Vegas themed party. W, 12/31. LaSalles, 229 Broadway, (530) 893-1891, www.lasallesbar.com.

WEEKLY JAZZ: Cary Robinson and Greg D’Augelli play an eclectic mix of jazz standards. W, 6-8pm. Farm Star Pizza,

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CN&R

December 31, 2014

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THINK FREE.

HOSTED BY: J. PIGG LASALLES GOGO DANCERS ALL NIGHT

Tonight Dec. 31

tion: Friday night happy hour with a traditional Irish music session by the Pub Scouts, this week they’re going “electric”. F, 4pm. $1. Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St., (530) 343-7718.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

From the casino getaways in Oroville to the bullseye of nightlife in the center of Chico’s downtown, Butte County has something for every reveler looking to cut loose and welcome in the new year tonight, Dec. 31, with a toast and loads of dancing. From cover bands to funk jams, there are at least 10 big parties to choose from. Here’s wishing you and yours a safe, healthy and happy new year!

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.

2FRIDAY BASSMINT: A (mostly) weekly electronic dance party with a rotating cast of local and regional DJs. Check with venue for details. F, 9:30pm. Peking Chinese Restaurant, 243 W. Second St., (530) 895-3888.

FRIDAY MORNING JAZZ: A weekly morning jazz appointment with experimental

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welcome. Th, 7-10pm. Has Beans Internet Cafe & Galleria, 501 Main St.; (530) 894-3033; www.hasbeans.com.

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THREE PARTIES UNDER ONE ROOF: A New Year’s Eve party with country from Two Steps Down, party music from Cover Me Badd and live dance music with DJ Dre. W, 12/31, 8:30pm. $35-$60.

Gold Country Casino, 4020 Olive Highway in Oroville, (800) 803-1911, www.goldcountrycasino.com.

local troupe Bogg. This week: Hannah Jane Kile joins the gang. F, 11am. Free.

Café Coda, 265 Humboldt Ave., (530) 566-9476, www.cafecoda.com.

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THIS WEEK: FIND MORE ENTERTAINMENT AND SPECIAL EVENTS ON PAGE 24

6TUESDAY

2359 Esplanade, (530) 343-2056, www.farmstarpizza.com.

AARON’S OPEN MIC: Aaron Jaqua is back and hosting a new group of musical misfits for open mic. Tu, 7-10pm

MEMORIES OF ELVIS

through 12/29. Opens 12/30.

Wednesday, Jan. 7 Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co.

Shenanigan’s, 3212 Esplanade, (530) 809-1088.

BLUES NIGHT: Live weekly blues music

4SUNDAY REGGAE NIGHT: Rise the Vibes with live Dj’s, pool, and shuffle board. This week Jams from Bay-area’s Rocker T. Su, 8pm-2am. Seeva’s Pub, 6093 Lincoln Blv in Oroville.

from local musicians. Tu. Italian Garden, 6929 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 876-9988, www.myspace.com/ theitaliangarden.

DEAD WINTER CARPENTERS: Tahoe-based Americana-rockers lead the new year’s jam. Tu, 1/6, 7:30pm. $15. Sierra Nevada Big Room, 1075 East 20th St., (530) 345-2739, www.sierra nevada.com/bigroom.

STAND-UP STANDISH COMEDY SHOWCASE: STRAIT COUNTRY: A tribute to George Straits’ western swing/bar-room ballads. F, 1/2, 9pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.featherfallscasino.com/brewing-co.

ACOUSTIC MUSIC JAM: A jam hosted by Butte Folk Music Society and led by local musician Steve Johnson. First Sa of every month, 4-6pm. Opens 1/3. Free.

Upper Crust Bakery & Eatery, 130 Main St., (530) 345-4128.

North State stand-up comedian Aaron Standish hosts his funny friends, including Mark Joseph Leathers, Steve Swim, Jerm Leather, John Bertoli, Becky Lynn Daniel, Roland Allen, Liz Merry and more. Su, 1/4, 7pm. $5.

Duffy’s Tavern, 337 Main St.; (530) 4743824; www.merrystandish.com.

MUSIC SHOWCASE: An open mic hosted

3SATURDAY 80S NIGHT: Wear your best 80s attire and dance the night away. Sa, 8pm.

LaSalles, 229 Broadway, (530) 893-1891, www.lasallesbar.com.

by local country musicians Rich and Kendall. Sa, 5-9pm. Free. Scotty’s Landing, 12609 River Rd., (530) 7102020.

UR EMAIL YO TO S G IN T LIS m newsreview.coT r@ da en al oc A chic E IN L N O IT OR SUBM om /chico

SUPER HUEY: A Huey Lewis Tribute. Sa,

1/3, 9pm. $5. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.feather fallscasino.com/brewing-co.

newsreview.c

7WEDNESDAY

STAND-UP STANDISH

For his birthday, longtime local comedian Aaron Standish has invited a bunch of his funny friends to celebrate, and likely tell many jokes at his expense, Sunday, Jan. 4, at Duffy’s Tavern. This is the first of what will be a regular series of Stand-Up Standish showcases at the downtown bar every month or two.

MEMORIES OF ELVIS DINNER SHOW: Chris MacDonald channels The King. W, 1/7, 6pm. $10-$35. Feather Falls Casino Brewing Co., 3 Alverda Dr. in Oroville, (530) 533-3885, www.feather fallscasino.com/brewing-co.

PIANO NIGHT: Live Piano music. W. Italian Garden, 6929 Skyway in Paradise, (530) 876-9988, www.myspace.com/ theitaliangarden.

WEEKLY JAZZ: Cary Robinson and Greg D’Augelli play an eclectic mix of jazz standards. W, 6-8pm. Farm Star Pizza,

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CN&R

31

REEL WORLD FINAL WEEK MICHAEL KEATON

THURSDAY 01/01/15 ANNIE (2014) (Digital) (PG) 10:50AM 1:40PM 4:30PM 7:20PM 10:10PM BIG EYES (Digital) (PG-13) 10:55AM 1:35PM 4:25PM 7:10PM 9:55PM BIG HERO 6 (Digital) (PG) 1:05PM EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (Digital) (PG-13) 1:20PM 8:00PM GAMBLER, THE (Digital) ( R) 11:20AM 2:00PM 4:50PM 7:35PM 10:30PM HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (3D) (PG-13) 10:45AM 2:05PM HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (Digital) (PG-13) 1:15PM 4:35PM 5:25PM 7:55PM HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (XD-3D) (PG-13) 12:25PM 3:45PM 7:05PM 10:20PM HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (Digital) ( R) 8:45PM

HUNGER GAMES: THE MOCKINGJAY, PART 1 (Digital) (PG-13) 10:30AM 1:25PM 4:20PM 7:15PM 10:25PM INTO THE WOODS (Digital) (PG) 10:00AM 1:00PM 4:00PM 7:00PM 10:00PM NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB (Digital) (PG) 12:00PM 2:30PM 5:00PM 7:30PM 10:05PM PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, THE (Digital) (PG) 10:40AM 4:05PM UNBROKEN (Digital) (PG-13)10:15AM 12:20PM 1:30PM 3:40PM 4:45PM 7:00PM 8:00PM 10:20PM WILD (Digital) ( R) 10:10AM 1:10PM 4:10PM 7:05PM 9:50PM WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH (Digital) (PG-13) 7:00PM 9:30PM

For a complete listing, visit our website at www.cinemark.com or call 879-0143 for more details.

BIRDMAN

THURS (NEW YEARS DAY)) 3:30PM & 6:30PM FRI/SAT 6:30PM • SUNDAY 1:30PM MON-THURS (1/8) 8:10PM OPENS FRIDAY-ONE WEEK ONLY SETH ROGEN IN

THE INTERVIEW FRI/SAT 8:40PM • SUNDAY 3:45PM MON-THURSDAY 6PM

Fortune faded

Call 343-0663 or visit www.PageantChico.com

Do you feel lucky?

Go See a Movie at the Pageant Theater!

Happy New Year.

Muddled reboot of 1970s gambling drama doesn’t stack up to original he Gambler Tit, even not, it’s got several kinds of basic entertainment going for as it staggers under the burden of its more ponderous

is, at best, an interesting mess. More often than

ambitions.

It’s a remake of a film from the early 1970s, and at times it has the rough, irreverent feel of some of that decade’s more memorable action Juan-Carlos dramas. Mark Wahlberg has the title role here Selznick (it was James Caan in the original), and he’s an apt choice for the part, but this is not the kind of tale that has him waving big guns around, figuratively or literally.

The new version’s screenplay by William Monahan (The Departed) seems hamstrung by the eccentricities that were crucial to the original (screenplay by maverick writer/director James Toback). The title character in both is The Gambler James Bennett, an English prof who also has Cinemark 14, an elaborate and extremely reckless addiction Feather River to gambling. Toback’s quasi-autobiographical Cinemas and fascination with the existentialist “literature of Paradise extremes” leaves its mark on both films.

Cinema 7.

The new version’s misfortunes reside partly Rated R. in its failures with the gambling sequences, which are briskly staged and almost completely lacking in any real dramatic interest or credibility. The Wahlberg character’s classroom scenes, by contrast, come to life as a nutty sort of semi-fantastic dark comedy, while also throwing some moderately articulate light on his peculiar sense of personal mission.

A fitfully intriguing set of secondary characters add occasional bits of dimension to the characterization of Bennett as well. His hugely wealthy mother (a blazing Jessica Lange) is a particularly formidable figure in all this, and a grotesquely overweight underworld character played by John Goodman looms especially large among Bennett’s various enablers, antagonists and kindred spirits.

Bennett has an amusing but not particularly credible by

The News & Review office will be

CLOSED at noon, Dec 31st We will re-open Friday, Jan. 2 at 9am.

We’re publishing early during the holidays!

Look for the newest issue of the CN&R on Wed., Dec. 31. We’ll return to our regular schedule on Thursday, Jan. 8.

201 5! , O L L E H

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December 31, 2014

2 Fair

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Good

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Very Good

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Excellent

romance with his star student (Brie Larson, morphing from character study to attractively unhinged fantasy). A basketball star (Anthony Kelley), a collegiate tennis champion (Emory Cohen) and two more antagonist/enablers (Michael Kenneth Williams and Alvin Ing) add color and variety, if not insight, to the central muddle. Ω

Big sighs Big Eyes

3

Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13

by Juan-Carlos Selznick

The story of the “Big Eyes” paintings, attrib-

uted to Walter Keane but actually painted by his wife, Margaret, sounds like a good subject for a Tim Burton movie. Strange, then, that the famed director’s new film about the Keanes turns out to be such a bland affair, with so little of the weirdness and charm associated with his previous work (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.).

The production’s visual design makes for an elaborate and very nicely furnished caricature of mid-20th century kitsch and its pastel excesses. Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz are well-cast in the lead roles, but neither character has a chance to develop much beyond what is more or less obvious from the outset.

Waltz’s farcically grotesque antics as Walter make an amusing impression, but that proves somewhat counterproductive in a film trying to center its sympathies with Margaret.

Adams finesses her role with touching skill, but there’s no getting around the character’s sad limitations. Ω

Reviewers: Bob Grimm and Juan-Carlos Selznick.

3

NOTE: Some film listings were not available by deadline. Please check with theater for up-to-date schedules during the holidays.

While it takes a step back overall from the rousing prior chapter, this is still a sturdy installment. After being rescued at the end of Catching Fire, shortly after destroying the Hunger Games for good, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is taken underground to join the rebellion. Rebellion President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) wants to use the reluctant Katniss as a propaganda tool to inspire the masses against the Capitol and its evil leader, President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss is getting a little grouchy at this point, exacerbated by the fact that Snow has imprisoned Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and is using him as a propaganda tool as well. In exchange for their help in rescuing Peeta, Katniss agrees to assist with the resistance and be their “Mocking jay.” Part 1 is obviously the result of taking the final novel in the popular Suzanne Collins series and splitting it in half.

Yes, more movies equal more dollars, but I certainly didn’t feel like the material was being stretched out in a detrimental way like, say, what’s happening with the Hobbit movies. This film has plenty moving it forward, and I like where it ends. Cinemark 14.

Rated PG-13 —B.G.

Opening this week The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

After being evacuated from London during WWII, a group of schoolchildren led by teachers Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox) and Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory) are haunted by an evil spirit in this horror-thriller sequel. Cinemark 14. Rated PG-13.

Now playing

3

Big Eyes

See review this issue. Cinemark 14.

Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

5

Birdman

An actor (Michael Keaton) is both directing and starring in his stage adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story. The first mysterious details—a levitation, the deus ex machina of a falling stage light, hints of telekinetic powers in Keaton’s character—pass without comment or explanation.

But mixtures of realistic grit and occasional tremors of the supernatural are integral to the whole of Birdman, which soon takes spectacular flight in several forms—a bizarre and somewhat convulsive backstage comedy, a high-spirited psychodrama couched in terms of comic-book imagery, a fantasy within a fantasy that is both deadly serious and exuberantly playful. The voice of “Birdman” (a movie superhero he once played) is in Keaton’s head early on and we can hear it too. Eventually, he’s also present as a kind of ogre in a superhero costume. By then it seems fairly evident that he’s maybe the most tenacious and troubling of the several alter egos swirling around the protagonist. All of these elements are seemingly in play as the film reaches its mysterious and multifaceted climax. We’re left to make what sense of what we can, or will. But before you get to that, Birdman is an immensely entertaining film. Pageant Theatre. Rated R —J.C.S.

2

Exodus: Gods and Kings

Ridley Scott’s Exodus functions mostly like a big-budget exercise in grandiose technical display. The script (credited to Scott and four co-writers) does make some scattered attempts at injecting something other than grand spectacle into the proceedings.

That subtitle (Gods and Kings) signals the film’s most emphatic theme—men who think themselves kings, kings who think themselves gods. Spiritual struggles are given brief attention and evocations of the supernatural mostly get overwhelmed in the film’s heavy-handed displays of showmanship. The movie’s Moses (Christian Bale) is no Charlton Heston, which probably ought to be a blessing, but there’s little that Bale is able to do with the script’s token, man-of-faith gestures. There are a couple of sweetly oldfashioned declarations of love between Moses and his beloved Zipporah (María Vlverde) that are so out of keeping with most of the rest of the film that they become more interesting than they would otherwise have any right to be. But that too may not be enough to erase the abiding impression that Scott’s Exodus is mostly about militarism and deal-making. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13 —J.C.S.

3

The Gambler

See review this issue. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated R —J.C.S

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The third and final installment in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s famed fantasy novel. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

The Hunger Games: Mocking jay, Part 1

Into the Woods

Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) helms this film adaptation of the popular Sondheim musical that intertwines several popular European fairytales—Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, etc.

Starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp. Cinemark 14 and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Whatever saving “the magic” means, it includes rounding up all the usual historical suspects from the previous installments in this family-comedy trilogy and embarking on an “epic quest.” Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG.

Unbroken

Angelina Jolie directs this adaptation of Lauren Hillenbrand’s best-selling biography of the incredible life of Louis Zamperini (played

by Jack O’Connell), an Olympic runner and Air Force bombardier who, after being stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 47 days, was captured and tortured in a Japanese POW camp. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated PG-13.

4

Wild

Reese Witherspoon delivers a tough, smart performance in what for her is a somewhat atypical role. Jean-Marc Vallée’s film version of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir of her transformative adventure in the wilderness holds her star power at something like arm’s length and builds a close-up sense of its protagonist through a combination of cinematic elements, including flashes of a kind of stream-of-consciousness editing.

Even in the occasional emotional eruption, Witherspoon maintains a calm intensity, and Vallée’s film matches that with the cool, rough beauty of its cinematography. Here the central characterization is a matter not only of what she says and does and sees, but also of the tentatively implied insights of those memory flashes and other fleeting associations. Much of the film is a straightahead account of the physical challenges of Cheryl’s arduous journey, with her spiritual revitalization portrayed partly through the cumulative effect of small, quietly telling moments and partly through deceptively casual gradations in Witherspoon’s performance. Cinemark 14, Feather River Cinemas and Paradise Cinema 7. Rated R —J.C.S.

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December 31, 2014

CN&R

33

ARTS DEVO

by Jason Cassidy • jasonc@newsreview.com

a season for

giving CN&R is taking donations of toiletries for local charitable organizations throughout the community. Help us help those less fortunate this holiday by dropping off any of these items: Deodorant Toothpaste Toothbrush

Floss Mouthwash Shampoo Conditioner

Soap Body wash Lotion Shaving cream

Disposable Razors Nail clippers Chapstick

2014 DEVO AWARDS: Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time once again for Arts DEVO’s super, somewhat random, local arts-awards ceremony for all the stuff that tickled my personal art spot (as well as a couple of things that turned on others in these pages).

The envelope, please …

BEST LOCAL ART DEVELOPMENT: Art markets. Despite

our short-sighted city officials placing little value on art as a cultural or economic resource (and thus offering almost no financial support to the arts in this historically creative city), there has been a growing network of community-minded arts faires and pop-up markets offering the full range of local artistic expression for affordable prices in fun environments: Open Studios Art Tour, multiday Art at the Matador spring arts celebration, Great Garden Art Weekend at Magnolia Gift & Garden, Chikoko’s spring and fall Bizarre Bazaars, and a multitude of holiday-season art markets (Muse Holiday Market Place, Chico Art Center’s Salon d’Art, etc.).

BEST ARTIST: Mitchell Davidovitz. From the multimedia Donations accepted Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

353 E. Second St.

experiments of his “Window of Normalization” project to the live and video performance art of his Mint Shekels—a cult leader, 800-number peddler, milk bather and performer of harmonic rituals (not concerts!) with the Treif Stars—Davidovitz made the most challenging, fun, thought-provoking art of the year. And his musical instrument of choice is a saw, which is just gravy.

BEST NEW PROJECT FROM THE UNCLE DAD: Uncle Dad’s Art Collective Presents: Led Zeppelin IV (Sept. 13, at BMU Auditorium), featuring a wide range of local musicians—Bogg, Big Mo & the Full Moon Band, The Shimmies, The Lolos, The Pageant Dads, Kyle Williams, Aubrey Debauchery and more— performing a track-by-track reinterpretation of the classic album. Next up: Prince’s Purple Rain (Feb. 21, BMU Auditorium).

filmmaker. And Sesar Sanchez—playing the heavy music (Teeph, Cold Blue Mountain, etc.) and producing the heavy shows.

BEST THEATER: Pageant Play at Lost on Main; Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Blue Room Theatre; Other Desert Cities at Theatre on the Ridge; Everybody in Outer Space: Lost Their Marbles, presented by Uncle Dad’s Art Collective at the Chico Women’s Club.

BEST LIVE MUSIC: French Reform at Maltese (April 11,

during CAMMIES) and at Duffy’s Tavern (April 26, final show), Mark “Porkchop” Holder (Saturday farmers’ market), Lyrics Born and Gift of Gab at Lost on Main (May 2), Sun Club at Maltese (March 28).

BEST NEW ALBUM: Drought by West by Swan and Let Them Eat Cake by French Reform.

BEST LOCAL MUSIC: French Reform, Solar Estates, Sis-

terhoods, Michelin Embers, The She Things, Bunnymilk, Bran Crown, West by Swan, Severance Package, Ave Grave, Mint Sheckels & the Treif Stars.

2014 MILESTONES:

Birthdays: Duffy’s Tavern turns 25; the weekly Synthesis turns 20; Avenue 9 Gallery turns 10.

Out of here: North State Symphony conductor Kyle Wiley Pickett moved to the Midwest; Avenue 9 Gallery is closing its doors; Rogue Theatre dissolved; MANAS Artspace ran its course.

New on the scene: Nor-Cal Jazz Festival; Jefferson Hardcore (punk promoters); Chico Rockstars took over the School of Rock; Chico Tellabration storytelling celebration; Chico-Con comic-book convention; Keep Chico Weird Talent & Art Show; The Barn performance space (currently in a holding pattern); For the Funk of It funk festival in Belden.

BEST ARTS RESOURCE: Idea

Fabrication Labs. High-tech, high-energy maker space leading Chico into the future.

Zombies!!! For Halloween, the ingenious folks behind the Zombie Wrecking Crew equipped an old school bus with 27 paintball guns and drove us through a zombieinfested wasteland on the outskirts of Oroville and let us mow down the undead, and it was amazing!

• Dan Tomassini: Longtime Chico musician (drummer, bassist), actor and fixture of the downtown scene.

• Frank Ficarra: Longtime Chico jazz musician and philosophy professor.

BEST CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL BADASS: Julian Ruck,

34

CN&R

December 31, 2014

• Anita Ingrao: Documentary filmmaker and “Queen of the Chico Community Observatory.”

• Maria Phillips: Arts advocate, professor, painter, and co-founder of Avenue 9 Gallery and the Chico Visual Arts Alliance.

BEST GAME (AS IN, TO HUNT):

singer/songwriter, musician herder and (with tireless camera operator Fox E. Jeff) local-music documentary

REST IN PEACE

• Mike Hamilton: The History Dude.

U R GOOD!

• Neil Wiegman: Author, Spanish instructor and CN&R contributor.

FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 31, 2014 ARIES (March 21-April 19): Most

salamanders reproduce by laying eggs, but the alpine salamander doesn’t.

Females of that species give birth to live young after long pregnancies that may last three years. What does this have to do with you? Well, I expect you to experience a metaphorical pregnancy in the coming months. Even if you’re male, you will be gestating a project or creation or inspiration. And it’s important that you don’t let your the incubation period drag on and on and on, as the alpine salamanders do. I suggest you give birth no later than July.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Maybe

you have had a dream like this: You’re wandering around a house you live in, and at the end of a long hallway you come to a door you’ve never seen before. How could you have missed it in the past? It must have been there the whole time. You turn the knob, open the door, and slip inside.

Amazing! The room is full of interesting things that excite your imagination.

What’s more, on the opposite wall there’s another door that leads to further rooms. In fact, you realize there’s an additional section of the house you have never known about or explored. Whether or not you have had a dream like that, Taurus, I’m betting that in 2015, you will experience a symbolically similar series of events in your waking life.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Greek

god Zeus had seven wives. Themis, Leto, Eurynome and Hera were among them.

Another was his older sister Demeter, and a sixth was his aunt Mnemosyne.

Then there was the sea nymph Metis.

Unfortunately, he ate Metis—literally devoured her—which effectively ended their marriage. In 2015, Gemini, I encourage you to avoid Zeus’s jumbled, complicated approach to love and intimacy. Favor quality over quantity. Deepen your focus rather than expanding your options. Most importantly, make sure your romantic adventures never lead to you feeling fragmented or divided against yourself. This is the year you learn more than ever before about what it’s like for all the different parts of you to be united.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Here are

three of my top wishes for you in 2105: You will have a clear, precise sense of what’s yours and what’s not yours ... of what’s possible to accomplish and what’s impossible ... of what will be a good influence on you and what won’t be. To help ensure that these wishes come true, refer regularly to the following advice from Cancerian author Elizabeth Gilbert: “You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. That’s a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Author Robert

Moss has published 27 books. When he talks about the art of launching and completing big projects, I listen attentively. There’s one piece of advice he offers that would be particularly helpful for you to keep in mind throughout the first half of 2015. “If we wait until we are fully prepared in order to do something, we may never get it done,” he says. “It’s important to do things before we think we are ready.” Can you handle that, Leo? Are you willing to give up your fantasies about being perfectly qualified and perfectly trained and perfectly primed before you dive in?

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

known as the coelacanths were thought to have become extinct 66 million years ago. That was when they disappeared from the fossil record. But in 1938, a fisherman in South Africa caught a live coelacanth. Eventually, whole colonies were discovered in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa and near Indonesia. I foresee a comparable phenomenon happening in your life during the coming months, Virgo. An influence you believed to have disappeared from your life will resurface. Should you welcome and embrace it? Here’s what I think: Only if

BY ROB BREzSNY you’re interested in its potential role in your future, not because of a nostalgic attachment.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Nothing

brings people closer than business,” said composer Arnold Schoenberg. You could be living proof of that hypothesis in 2015, Libra. Your drive to engage in profitable activities will be at a peak, and so will your knack for making good decisions about profitable activities. If you cash in on these potentials, your social life will flourish. Your web of connections will expand and deepen. You will generate high levels of camaraderie by collaborating with allies on productive projects.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Death-

watch beetles have a peculiar approach to the mating game. Their seduction technique consists of smacking their heads against a hard object over and over again. This generates a tapping sound that is apparently sexy to potential partners. I discourage you from similar behaviors as you seek the kind of love you want in 2015. The first rule of romantic engagement is this: Sacrificing or diminishing yourself may seem to work in the short run, but it can’t possibly lead to lasting good. If you want to stir up the best results, treat yourself with tenderness and respect.

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SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707) was a German composer whose organ music is still played today. He was a major influence on a far more famous German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750). When Bach was a young man, he decided it was crucial for him to experience Buxtehude’s music first-hand. He took a leave of absence from his job and walked over 250 miles to the town where Buxtehude lived. There he received the guidance and inspiration he sought. In 2015, Sagittarius, I’d love to see you summon Bach’s determination as you go in quest of the teaching you want and need.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Even in normal times, you are a fount of regeneration. Your ever-growing hair and fingernails are visible signs of your nonstop renewal. A lot of other action happens without your conscious awareness. For example, your taste buds replace themselves every two weeks. You produce 200 billion red blood cells and 10 billion white blood cells every day. Every month the epidermis of your skin is completely replaced, and every 12 months your lungs are composed of a fresh set of cells. In 2015, you will continue to revitalize yourself in all these ways, but will also undergo a comparable regeneration of your mind and soul. Here’s my prediction: This will be a year of renaissance, rejuvenation and reinvention.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

“Sometimes I can feel my bones straining under the weight of all the lives I’m not living,” says a character in Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. If you have ever felt that way, Aquarius, I predict that you will get some relief in 2015. Your bones won’t be straining as much as they have in the past because you will be living at least one of the lives you have wanted to live but haven’t been able to before. How you will handle all the new lightness that will be available?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “Ero-

tomania” is a word for the erroneous fantasies people entertain when they imagine that a celebrity is in love with them. Laughable, right? Just because I have dreams of Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey texting me seductive notes doesn’t mean that she genuinely yearns for my companionship. And yet most of us, including you and me, harbor almost equally outlandish beliefs and misapprehensions about all kinds of things.

They may not be as far-fetched as those that arise from erotomania, but they are still out of sync with reality. The good news, Pisces, is that in 2015 you will have the best chance ever to become aware of and shed your delusions—even the longrunning, deeply-rooted kinds.

Go to www.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.

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If someone you don’t know wants to pay you by check but wants you to wire some of the money back, beware! It is a scam that could cost you thousands of dollars. For more information, go to www.fraud.org/scams.

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT the following person is doing business as BREATHE YOGA STUDIO at 2500 Durham Dayton Hwy Ste 1 Durham, CA 95938.

MIKAELA ANNE HENGST 9984 Fimple Road Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: MIKAELA HENGST Dated: December 5, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001476 Published: December 11,18,24,31 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as CORAL VIEW, SCUBA HUT at 2343 Holly Ave Chico, CA 95926.

DEBRA NOWLING 2343 Holly Ave Chico, CA 95926.

This busines is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: DEBRA NOWLING Dated: November 21, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001431 Published: December 11,18,24,31 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as CHICO COFFEE COMPANY at 107 Parmac Suite 180 Chico, CA 95926.

SHAWN HAMILTON 6 Highland Circle Chico, CA 95926.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: SHAWN HAMILTON Dated: November 24, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001434 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as

this Legal Notice continues

➡

MAGALIA VALERO at 13990 Lakeridge Circle Magalia, CA 95954.

HUNT CONVENIENCE STORES, LLC 5750 South Watt Ave. Sacramento, CA 95829.

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

Signed: JOSHUA M. HUNT, MEMBER Dated: November 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001421 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as FREEWAY 76 at 1330 Feather River Blvd Oroville, CA 95965.

HUNT CONVENIENCE STORES, LLC 5750 South Watt Ave. Sacramento, CA 95829.

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

Signed: JOSHUA M. HUNT, MEMBER Dated: November 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001422 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as PV 76 at 1398 East Avenue Chico, CA 95926.

HUNT CONVENIENCE STORES, LLC 5750 South Watt Ave. Sacramento, CA 95829.

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

Signed: JOSHUA M. HUNT, MEMBER Dated: November 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001423 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as PARK AVENUE 76 at 1105 Park Avenue Chico, CA 95928.

HUNT CONVENIENCE STORES, LLC 5750 South Watt Ave. Sacramento, CA 95829.

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

Signed: JOSHUA M. HUNT, MEMBER Dated: November 20, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001424 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME - STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT The following person has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name CHARLIE’S SEPTIC SERVICE at 15 Irving Way Chico, CA 95926.

DONNIE ABERNATHY 15 Irving Way Chico, CA 95926.

This business was conducted by an Individual.

Signed: DONNIE ABERNATHY Dated: December 12, 2014 FBN Number: 2012-0000426 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as GTS ENGINEERING AND CONSULTING at 130 Amber Grove Drive, Suite 134 Chico, CA 95973.

GAS TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS, INC. 130 Amber Grove Drive, Suite 134 Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: KATHLEEN B. CLAPP, PRESIDENT Dated: December 3, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001463 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as THE SKIN CARE STUDIO at 1324 Mangrove Ave. Suite 215 Chico, CA 95926.

JUDITH SOUZA 10003 Cohasset Rd Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: JUDITH SOUZA Dated: December 17, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001521 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as CO-SHEA at 1566 Hawthorne Ave Chico, CA 95926.

ADRIAN ALEX REKDAHL 1566 Hawthorne Ave Chico, CA 95926.

MARY ELIZABETH STARK 1566 Hawthorne Ave Chico, CA 95926.

This business is conducted by a General Partnership.

Signed: MARY STARK Dated: December 9, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001486 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as THE MIRROR IMAGE SALON AND SPA at 3209 Esplanade Suite 100 Chico CA 95973.

CHRISTINA THOMAS 2903 Morseman Ave. #4 Chico, CA 95973.

ELIZABETH THOMAS 2930 Morseman Ave. #4 Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by A General Partnership.

Signed: E. THOMAS Dated: November 5, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001362 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as MAGIC LENZ ENTERTAINMENT at 184 Tonea Way Chico, CA 95973.

CHRISTOPHER MADRIGAL 184 Tonea Way Chico, CA 95973.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: CHRISTOPHER MADRIGAL Dated: December 15, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001505 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as CHICO SMOOTHIE at 1950 E 20th Street Spc #B205 Chico, CA 95928.

RCJP INC. 816 Whispering Winds Lane Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: ROGER A. CLARK, PRESIDENT Dated: December 15, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001502 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as JALAPENO CITY at 7051 Clark Rd Paradise, CA 95969.

DI BENEDETTO A. GUSTAVO 7051 Clark Rd Paradise, CA 95969.

classifieds

CONTINUED ON 36

CN&R

CN&R

December 31, 2014 December 31, 2014

ATTENTION SN&R Design Dept: Can you please add the horizontal rule at top, full width of page. And, a vertical rule that separates ASTROLOGY from CLASSIFIEDS?

35 35

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME - STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT The following person has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name YAN MASSAGE at 1430 East Ave #4B Chico, CA 95926.

CHONGKUN GUAN 116 W. Shasta Ave #4 Chico, CA 95973.

This business was conducted by an Individual.

Signed: CHONGKUN GUAN Dated: December 22, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0000924 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME - STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT The following person has abandoned the use of the fictitious business name BEST ASIAN MASSAGE at 2991 Esplanade Suite 150 Chico, CA 95973.

CHONGKUN GUAN 116 Shasta St Apt 4 Chico, CA 95973.

This business was conducted by an Individual.

Signed: CHONGKUN GUAN Dated: December 22, 2014 FBN Number: 2013-0000839 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following persons are doing business as JIM’S MOTOR CITY at 1318 Park Ave Chico, CA 95928.

JIM’S MOTOR CITY, INC 1318 Park Ave Chico, CA 95928.

This business is conducted by a Corporation.

Signed: JAMES BONDAN, PRES. Dated: December 15, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001508 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person is doing business as LANCE MILLER AUTHORIZED MATCO TOOLS DISTRIBUTOR at 15851 Central Street Meridian, CA 95957.

LANCE MILLER 15851 Central Street Meridian, CA 95957.

This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: LANCE MILLER Dated: December 1, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001456 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

NOTICES ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner JENNIFER C. BLACKWELL filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: JENNIFER CHRISTINE BLACKWELL Proposed name: JENNIQUE ALLYSON LEE 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

this Legal Notice continues

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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: January 7, 2015 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: November 21, 2014 Case Number: 163424 Published: December 11,18,24,31, 2014

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner AMANDA EILEEN HAVENS filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: AMANDA EILEEN HAVENS Proposed name: ADELIO EILEEN FRAGA 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: January 14, 2015 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: December 9, 2014 Case Number: 163472 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner JESSICA ROSE PROVENCIO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: JESSICA ROSE PROVENCIO Proposed name: JESS ETERNAMENTE FRAGA 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: January 14, 2015 Time: 8:30am Dept: TBA The address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave. Chico, CA 95926 Signed: ROBERT GLUSMAN Dated: December 3, 2014 Case Number: 163471 Published: December 18,24,31, 2014, January 8, 2015

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner XAO THAO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: XAO THAO

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36 CN&R December 31, 2014

➡

Proposed name: ALENA HNUBCI THAO 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 objection 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: February 11, 2015 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: December 18, 2014 Case Number: 163534 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

NEED ATTENTION?

SUMMONS SUMMONS NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: JERAD MARSHALL POTTS; COLE SWENSON; DOES 1-100 YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY NOTICE! You have been sued.

The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 calendar days after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case.

There may be a court form that you can use for you response.

You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible free legal services from a nonprofit legal service program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services website (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case.

The name and address of the court is: Butte County Superior Court 655 Oleander Ave Chico, CA 95926.

The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: LEE M. MENDELSON (SBN 236819) 2008 Ventura Blvd., Suite 54, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 (818) 575-6822 Dated: March 12, 2014 Signed: KIMBERLY FLENER Case Number: 161586 Published: December 24,31, 2014, January 8,15, 2015

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This business is conducted by an Individual.

Signed: DI BENEDETTO GUSTAVO Dated: December 23, 2014 FBN Number: 2014-0001546 Published: December 31, 2014, January 8,15,22, 2015

RECYCLE THIS PAPER.

YOU’RE WELCOME, TREES.

butte county living

LOVE’S REAL ESTATE Happy New Year Predictions for the New Year in real estate are pouring in. Freddie Mac (also known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.) gives us their perspective from on high.

Expect the home-buying market to strengthen along with the economy in 2015, says Freddie Mac’s U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook.

The good news for 2015 is that the U.S. economy appears to be cranking up, and we are to expect about a 3 percent growth rate in 2015.

“That would be only the second year in the past decade with growth at that pace or better,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

“And with that, the economy will produce more and better-paying jobs, providing the financial wherewithal to support household formations and housing activity.”

Freddie Mac economists are throwing out the following predictions for housing in the New Year:

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

1. Mortgage rates: Interest rates will likely be on the rise next year. In recent weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has dipped below 4 percent.

But by next year, Freddie projects mortgage rates to average 4.6 percent and inch up to 5 percent by the end of the year.

2. Home prices: By the time 2014 wraps up, home appreciation will likely have slowed

3. Housing starts: Homebuilding is expected to ramp up in the new year, projected to rise by 20 percent from this year. That will likely help total home sales to climb by about 5 percent, reaching the best sales pace in eight years.

4. Single-family originations: Mortgage originations of single-family homes will likely slip by an additional 8 percent, which can be attributed to a drop in loan refinancing.

5. Multifamily mortgage originations: Mortgage originations for the multifamily sector have surged about 60 percent between 2011 and 2014. Increases are expected to continue in 2015, projected to rise about 14 percent.

Overall, the Freddie Mac report has a positive and encouraging tone, and the real estate predictions are along the lines of “steady as she goes.”

Of course, homeowners would like to see a bigger jump in home values, but if 2015 moves the way Freddie is predicting, you have to admit a 4.5 percent gain in one year ain’t too bad.

Got a question or comment? I’d like to hear from you.

Email escrowgo@aol.com or call 530-680-0817.

DOUG LOVE is Sales Manager at Century 21 Jeffries Lydon.

Free Real Estate Listings Find Us Online At:

to 4.5 percent this year from 9.3 percent last year. Appreciation is expected to drop further to an average 3 percent in 2015. “Historically speaking, that’s moving from ‘very high’ levels of affordability to ‘high’ levels of affordability,” says Freddie.

www.chico.newsreview.com

Open Houses & Listings are online at: www.century21JeffriesLydon.com Big ChiCo Creek

Custom

$389,000

Brandon Siewert

3549 Esplanade #456 3/2, 1523 sqft, built in 2005 Beautiful house!

Large and Private Yard!

PRICED AT ONLY $69,000!

$639,000

reduced!

3 bedroom, 1 bath in Chico

Garrett French

530-228-1305

$177,000

siewertbrandon@gmail.com • 828–4597

Alice Zeissler | 530.518.1872

happy holidays!

Creekside Village

4 bedroom, 3.5 bath on an acre

“Welcome to this modern, meticulously maintained, newly updated home. Open floor plan with many upgrades!”

GarrettFrenchHomes.com Specializing in residential & agriculture properties in chico, Orland, Willows.

Homes Sold Last Week

EmmEtt Jacobi

Cell 530.519.6333 • emmettjacobi.com

Sponsored by Century 21 Jeffries Lydon

ADDRESS

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

ADDRESS

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

1921 Waxwing Way

Chico

$481,000.00

3/ 2.5

2797

678 E 8th St

Chico

$227,000.00

2/ 1

1311

1936 Webb Ave

Chico

$449,000.00

3/ 1

2358

1063 Eaton Rd

Chico

$225,000.00

3/ 2

1478

3 Roxbury Ct

Chico

$420,000.00

4/ 3

2535

817 Kern St

Chico

$223,000.00

3/ 2

1076

472 Entler Ave

Chico

$390,000.00

4/ 2

1560

1103 Greenwich Dr

Chico

$215,000.00

5/ 4

2241

519 Mission Santa Fe Cir

Chico

$315,000.00

3/ 2.5

1892

690 E 8th St

Chico

$209,000.00

2/ 1

1268

522 Mission Santa Fe Cir

Chico

$265,000.00

3/ 2

1917

2443 Guynn Ave

Chico

$205,000.00

3/ 2

1154

420 Mission Santa Fe Cir

Chico

$250,000.00

3/ 2

1365

1328 Bruce St

Chico

$185,000.00

2/ 2

1003

1559 La Linda Ln

Chico

$245,000.00

4/ 2

1705

1829 Hemlock St

Chico

$150,000.00

3/ 1.5

1179

7 Wysong Ct

Chico

$236,000.00

3/ 2

1127

841 W 4th Ave

Chico

$137,000.00

2/ 1

668

December 31, 2014

CN&R 37

open house Century 21 Jeffries Lydon Sun. 11-4

Sat. 2-4

Sat. 2-4 & Sun. 2-4

Sat. 2-4

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

Sat. 2-4

3942 Barbados ( X St: Spyglass) 4 Bd / 3 Ba, 2816 Sq.Ft. $649,000 Becky Williams 636-0936

209 Crater Lake (X St: Calistoga) 4 Bd / 3 Ba, 2172 Sq.Ft. $399,000 Kimberley Tonge 518-5508

4156 Spyglass (X St: Garner) 5 Bd / 3 Ba, 3,112 Sq. Ft. $594,999 Paul Champlin 828-2902

14 Patches (X St: Towser) 4 Bd / 3 Ba, 1661 Sq.Ft. $299,500 Anita Miller 321-1174 Michele Bridgeford 541-221-2341

1020 Regency Dr (X St: Greenwich) 3 Bd / 2 Ba, 1126 Sq.Ft. $229,000 Michele Bridgeford 541-221-2341

132 Commonwealth Ct (X St: Patriot) 4 Bd / 2 Ba, 1707 Sq.Ft. $373,000 Brandi Laffins 321-9562

Sat. 11-1, 2-4

14 Dana Point (X St: Idyllwild) 3 Bd / 3.5 Ba, 2,795 Sq. Ft. $565,000 Patty Davis Rough 864-4329

Huge lot, views, pool, quality 2,528 sq ft, southeast Chico $489,900 PENDING $278,500 Newer 3bd/2ba, 1,712 sq ft with all appliances included. PEN DING View, Butte Creek Canyon, 3,114 sq ft, 4bd/4ba, 1.75 acres $590,000 Newer 3bd/2ba, 1,712 sq ft with all appliances included. $278,500 Butte Creek, 6.23 acs on creek, 2.16 sq ft home $499,900 Gated community, lovely 2,531 sq ft with VIEW! $438,900 18 acres, forest, 1,550 sq ft home, cash only $225,000

Awesome updated kitchen, tile flooring, extras! 3 bd/2 ba, 1,370 sq ft $229,000 PENDING PENDING Mission Ranch, lovely 2bed/2bth, 1,365 sq ft, $264,750 Vintage 2 bd/1 ba, 893 sq ft, large lot $175,000PENDING Building lot, .91 acre, nice area of homes $164,900 Open floor plan, 3 bd/2 ba, 1,126 sq ft $229,000 Senior mobile 2bd 2ba, den, 1,392 sq ft $29,500 Super nice 4bd 2.5ba 1,661 sq ft. $299,500

Teresa Larson • (530)899-5925

Teresa Larson • (530)899-5925

www.ChicoListings.com • chiconativ@aol.com

www.ChicoListings.com • chiconativ@aol.com

1086 Sierra Vista Way T SOLD 3 Beds / 2 Baths JUS 1082 E. 5Th Ave. PENDING 3 Beds / 2 Baths Chico home prices are up over 15% since 2012.

Buyers - Get in before prices & rates continue to go up.

Sellers - Take advantage of demand & low inventory.

Marc Shapiro MARC SHAPIRO 2015 is going to be a great 530.426.2555 market - Call me to get in.

Quality is a Universal Language

shapirohomes.com

3bd/2bth, 1718 sq ft, great location. $317,500 2bd/1.5bth, East Av’s by near Enloe. $279,900 3bd/2bth on cul-de-sac, N Chico. $269,000 5ac in Cohasset, easy access, OWC. $79,000 40ac, North Chico zoned AG/Res. $118,000 6ac Centerville Rd on the creek! $279,000 Single suite office space. $265-$450 monthly

MARK REAMAN 530-228-2229

Mark.Reaman@c21jeffrieslydon.com

The following houses were sold in Butte County by real estate agents or private parties during the week of December 15, 2014 – December 19, 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

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

TOWN

PRICE

BR/BA

SQ. FT.

555 Vallombrosa Ave 30

Chico

$129,000.00

1/ 1

702

58 Gaylor Ave

Oroville

$195,000.00

3/ 2

1705

1250 Yosemite Dr

Chico

$121,500.00

3/ 2

1407

1305 High St

Oroville

$134,000.00

2/ 1

1259

1806 Oro Chico Hwy

Durham

$400,000.00

3/ 1.5

2456

38 Harbor Ct

Oroville

$123,000.00

3/ 2

1440

1241 Bridgeford Ave

Gridley

$113,000.00

3/ 2

1393

15 Saide Ranch Rd

Oroville

$120,000.00

3/ 2

1425

13903 Cascade Dr

Magalia

$167,000.00

3/ 2

1496

119 Valley View Dr

Paradise

$459,000.00

3/ 2.5

2920

6127 Dana Cir

Magalia

$117,500.00

2/ 2.5

1344

5789 Almond St

Paradise

$192,000.00

2/ 2

1360

115 Stringtown Rd

Oroville

$315,000.00

2/ 2

1738

5828 Grape Ln

Paradise

$175,000.00

3/ 2

1680

39 Beverly Dr

Oroville

$302,000.00

4/ 3

3028

6035 Maxwell Dr

Paradise

$150,000.00

3/ 2

1190

11 Shining Star Ct

Oroville

$289,000.00

3/ 2

2020

1879 Drendel Cir

Paradise

$137,000.00

4/ 2

1575

38 CN&R December 31, 2014

SQ. FT.

ADDRESS

Wishing You Many Blessings

In the New Year For all your Real Estate Needs call (530) 872-7653

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CN&R 39

Friday, January 30 • 8pm th

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2015

Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway

Your Official Guide

Wednesday – Sunday, January 21-25, 2015 Chico, CA www.snowgoosefestival.org

Welcome to the 16th Annual Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway

Snow Goose Festival Welcome Center

Chico Creek Nature Center, 1968 E. 8th Street, Chico Wednesday – Friday, Jan. 21 – 23, 11am – 4pm

Snow Goose Festival Headquarters

Chico Masonic Family Center 1110 W. East Ave., Chico Saturday, Jan. 24, 6am – 5pm Sunday, Jan. 25, 7am – 3pm

Millions of waterfowl migrating along the Pacific Flyway call the Northern Sacramento Valley their home during the winter months, creating ample viewing opportunities for bird and nature enthusiasts of all ages. You are invited to join us at the 16th Annual Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway, one of the premier birding events in California, for an action-packed five days celebrating this annual phenomenon.

Photo by Steve McDonald

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Snow Goose Festival

J A N U A R Y, 2015

High Quality Food Program where “Artificial” is Never an Ingredient

Call for a School Tour 450 W. East Ave • Chico (530) 879–7483

K-8 WALDORF-METHODS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

www.BlueOakCharterSchool.org

Thanks to All Our 2015 Sponsors!

Major Sponsors – Snow Goose ($2,500 or more)

Altacal Audubon Society

The Hofmann Family Foundation Rancho Esquon

California Conservation Corps

DIRECTIONS TO FESTIVAL LOCATIONS Avenue 9 Gallery & Art Guild (A9)

180 E. 9th Ave., Chico 530-879-1821 There is ample free parking on the corner of 9th Avenue and Oleander for the Friday January 29 Art Reception.

Bell Memorial Union, CSU, Chico (BMU)

Corner of 2nd & Chestnut St., Chico 530-898-4636 Directions: From U.S. Hwy 99, take the East First Avenue Exit. Proceed west on East First Avenue following signs to the campus. After approximately 1.5 miles, turn left on Esplanade, drive into downtown Chico.

Turn right at 2nd St, then three blocks to corner of 2nd St & Chestnut St. If coming from Hwy 32, turn east at the W. 2nd St stoplight. The BMU is on the left, six blocks on the corner of 2nd & Chestnut St. FREE PARKING on weekends at Chico State’s parking structure and on lots across the street from the BMU. Chico Creek Nature Center (CcNc)

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Chico News & Review California State Parks Northern Buttes District

1968 E. 8th Street, Chico Phone: 530-891-4671 Email: info@bidwellpark.org Directions from Chico: From Hwy 99 take the Hwy 32 Chester Exit #385. Head northeast on CA-32 East toward Chester/E 9th St. Take a left on Fir St. Fir St. turns into E. 8th St. The CCNC will be ¾ of a mile on the left.

Chico Grange Hall

The Nature Conservancy River Partners

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex

2775 (Old) Nord Ave., Chico (530) 895-1976 Directions: Heading west on East Ave, take the first right after the Chico Masonic Family Center on to Nord Ave. Chico Grange is on left.

Chico Masonic Family Center (CMFC)

Supporting Sponsors– Great Blue Heron ($1,000 or more)

1110 W. East Avenue, Chico Directions from Chico: From Hwy 99, take the East Avenue exit. (This is two exits north of the East 1st Avenue exit.) Turn west on East Avenue.

The CMFC is approximately1.5 miles from the Hwy 99 exit, on the right (north) side of East Avenue. If coming from Nord Avenue on Hwy32, turn east at the W. East Avenue stoplight. The CMFC is on the left, approximately 2 miles from the Hwy 32 and East Avenue intersection.

Gridley McDonalds (GMcDo)

Butte County Fish & Game Commission

Central Valley Joint Venture

Chico Creek Nature Center

1513 State Hwy 99, Gridley 530-846-3222 Directions from Chico: Take Hwy 99 South to Gridley. McDonalds is in a shopping center on the west side of Hwy 99 in Gridley. Driving time and distance from Chico: 35 minutes, 29 miles.

Patrick Ranch (PR)

Kelly Meagher

North State Vascular Specialists Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

The Printed Image

Sacramento River Preservation Trust

10381 Midway, Durham 530-342-4359 Directions: Between Chico and Durham Take Park Ave Exit off Hwy 99 Turn Right onto E Park Ave. Turn left onto Midway. Travel about 2.8 miles turn right after white picket fence.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR)

B R E A K FA S T

LU N C H

DINNER

752 County Road 99W, Willows (530) 934-2801 Directions: Located south of Willows off Interstate 5. Please call the Refuge for directions.

Top Birding Tours

REGISTRATION DEADLINES Tundra Swan ($500 or more) Audubon California David and Patria Forster New Urban Builders Out of this World Optics Oxford Suites Western Canal Water District

Snowy Egret ($250 or more) Chico Chamber of Commerce The Lady Bug Ranch

White-faced Ibis ($100 or more) Baker’s Birkenstock Butte Environmental Council Mountain Sports Sacramento River Discovery Center

Online Registration:

Closes at 12:00pm Wednesday, January 21! www.snowgoosefestival.org

Walk-In Registration:

May be available for some events Thursday – Friday at the Snow Goose Festival Welcome Center and Saturday – Sunday at the Chico Masonic Family Center, but cannot be guaranteed.

For further information on registration please call 530-345-1865.

Cancellation Policy: No cancellations or refunds will be available online. To cancel and receive a refund, minus a processing fee, you must call or email the Snow Goose Festival office by Monday, January 12, 2015. Beginning Tuesday, January 13, no cancellations or “no shows” will be refunded. If for any reason the Snow Goose Festival cancels an event, a full refund will be available.

Vegan & Gluten Free Friendly Delicious pizza Outdoor Seating & Take-Out Available Brought to you by the owners of The Handle Bar 365 E. 6th Street | 530.966.0054 facebook.com/midtownlocal Mon-Fri 7am-8pm | Sat 8am-8pm | Sun 8am-6pm J A N U A RY, 2015

SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL

3

16th Annual Snow Goose Festival FIELD TRIPS AND WORKSHOPS

Thursday, January 22 FIELD TRIPS Marathon Big Day Birding in Colusa County NEW Thu 6:00 am - 5:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This is a fast-paced, non-stop, wide-ranging adventure! In Colusa Co. except to see a wide variety of waterfowl, in Bear Valley, we’ll watch for raptors and grassland species. East Park Reservoir will provide looks at numerous waterbirds. Expect to see 60-80 or more species on this fun, fast-paced adventure! Bring lunch, water, and binoculars. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$30 Level 4

Marathon Big Day Birding in Butte County SOLD OUT Thu 7:00 am - 5:30 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Bidwell Park’s Yahi Trail NEW Thu 7:30 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Starting at Horseshoe Lake, hike 4 miles of the Yahi Trail along Big Chico Creek. This stretch of rich riparian habitat provides some of the best winter birding in Bidwell Park. Common sightings include Black Phoebe, Hermit Thrush and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Many other species are possible, and it’s always worth a walk down this trail to find out! Wear comfortable hiking shoes and layers, bring water and snacks. A$25 - Y$10 Level 3

Paskenta’s C & R Ranch (includes lunch) Thu 7:45 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

The C&R ranch captures the beauty of the coast range foothills and North Valley panorama. The Blue Oak/Valley Oak woodlands and grasslands host a variety of birds like Western Bluebird, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Western Meadowlark, Golden and Bald Eagles, and American Kestrel. Lunch will be provided by C&R Ranch. Wear sturdy hiking shoes. A$35 - Y$15 Level 3

Winter Raptors

Thu 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

We will explore some of the grasslands favored in winter by Ferruginous, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, and Bald and Golden Eagles. With binoculars and spotting scopes, we will pay attention to structural

Thu 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

J A N U A R Y, 2015

“Gathering of Wings”

Friday, January 23 FIELD TRIPS Marathon Big Day Birding in Glenn County NEW

Rancho Esquon

Let the birding begin! For all you county listers, here a great chance to break your milestone for Glenn County. We will be birding sunup to sundown and will scour the county floor and foothills for resident birds and rarities. Carpooling is mandatory .Please bring lunch, snacks, water, binoculars, and prepare to eat in the car while traveling to different locations. Come help us break the record for the highest number of species seen (well over 100) on this full day extravaganza. A $30 - Y$10 Level 4

Thu 8:30 am - 12:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Just a short drive outside Durham, along the roadways bordering Rancho Esquon, multitudes of Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Sandhill Cranes can usually be seen right from your vehicle! Bald Eagles are occasionally spotted perched in the snags along the agricultural wetlands. Upon arrival at Rancho Esquon, we will visit the viewing platform which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding wetlands with a high concentration of ducks. This trip is also offered on Sunday.

A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Gray Lodge & Cordi Winery Thu 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is one of the premier winter birding areas in Northern Sacramento Valley. Then we’ll take a short drive to Cordi Winery, for some wine tasting. Bring snacks, lunch, water, a field guide, and binoculars. Dress for the winter weather and wear hiking shoes or boots. A$32 Level 2

Sacramento Refuge Fly-Off Thu 12:30 pm - 6:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Leaving Chico in the early afternoon will give us plenty of time to stop and look for geese, swans, and cranes on our way to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. We will arrive at the refuge in time to witness thousands of birds in their spectacular ‘fly-off’. Dress warmly.

Photographers are welcome and encouraged to bring their equipment.

This trip is also offered on Friday with a different leader.

A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Saturday, January 24, 2015 5:30 - 10:00 pm Bell Memorial Union Auditorium, CSU, Chico, CA

Corner of 2nd and Chestnut Streets, Chico, CA Cost per Person: $38 Adult, $20 Youth (17 years and younger) and students with ID Beer & Wine (No Host)

Don’t miss the biggest event of the Snow Goose Festival, our Gathering of Wings Banquet. This treasured evening is a mix of great food, great company and great entertainment and is anticipated by many as the one chance per year they have to visit and catch up with fellow birders and friends in the community. Join field trip leaders, workshop presenters and all our hard-working committee members and volunteers in celebrating this special evening.

Foothill Birding & LaRocca Vineyards

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Explore California State Park’s Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes. It will be like stepping back in time as you learn about Peace Valley’s natural and cultural history. This is an undeveloped area, so wear comfortable walking shoes or boots. Bring a sack lunch and beverage. No early departures on this trip. A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Sutter Buttes Hike: State Park’s Peace Valley & “House Hill” NEW Fri 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

We will bird while hiking to one of Butte County’s best waterfalls, hoping to see raptors, Horned Lark, oak woodland species, and explore some geologic sites. This is a strenuous hike over uneven terrain, which includes some rock scrambling and small stream crossings. Expect muddy boots.

Bring snacks, water, and binoculars. A$27 - Y$10 Level 4

Enjoy a three-mile walk to visit the 100-year-old Dean Place Cattle Ranch.

This trip will focus primarily on birding with hopes of seeing Golden Eagles, Phainopeplas, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, so bring binoculars along with lunch and water. No early departures on this trip. Be aware that you will be driving another 12-15 miles to the hike’s starting point from the meeting place at the McDonald’s in Gridley. A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Digiscoping Workshop/Field Trip Fri 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

You will spend time in the classroom to help you make some preliminary camera settings. Then we will step outside and get some bird photos.

Bruce will work with participants on topics such as: choosing the best camera mounting options, shooting tips, techniques in the field, and using a Digital SLR behind the scope eyepiece. Participants are encouraged to bring their spotting scopes and digital still cameras. We will spend about 3 hours. A$22 - Y$10 Level 1

Riparian Ecology Tour at Willow Bend NEW

Bat Safari SOLD OUT

Work on your Colusa County bird list while touring a 145 acre private property along the Sacramento River. The tour will focus on floodplain salmon research, water policy issues, riparian restoration and ecology, and of course, bird watching. Chico based River Partners owns the property which has been the site of native grass restoration, and is the future planting site for a mixed riparian forest. We’ll hike the property, enjoy the river, and see some great birds. A$22 - Y$10 Level 3

Meet at Patrick Ranch

Enjoy a bird walk through Bidwell Park with ornithologist and author of Birds of Bidwell Park, Roger Lederer, and his wife, Carol. Learn amazing facts about the birds of the park and how to identify them. Bidwell Park is a wonderful place to see birds because it is both semi-wild and very accessible. It is excellent birding for both the beginner and expert. This trip is also offered on Sunday. Sunday’s trip is led by Roger and Scott Weidensaul. A$12 - Y$5 Level 2

Feather River Birds & Fish Hatchery Tour Fri 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Fri 8:30 am - 2:00 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Fri 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Gridley McDonalds

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Keynote Speaker

Scott Weidensaul, Renowned Naturalist and Author “Living on the Wind: The Miracle of Bird Migration” Since the dawn of human imagination, we have been spellbound by the migration of birds, in which even the smallest species traverse immensities of space the way we cross the street. New research continually expands our understand of where birds travel, and their migratory feats. But while the populations of many migratory birds are in drastic decline, there are many things we can do to save them. Naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul explores the wonder and mechanics of migration, and the simple, effective ways we can preserve them, from what we plant in our gardens to what we pour into our morning mug of coffee.

Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Living on the Wind,” about bird migration, and “Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul.” His newest book, “The First Frontier: The Forgotten History of Struggle, Savagery and Endurance in Early America,” was published in 2012. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine and writes for a variety of other publications; he lives in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, where he studies the migration of hawks, owls and hummingbirds.

Silent Auction Begins at 5:30 p.m.

The vibrant Silent Auction tables will accompany us while we dine at the BMU, and will include a variety of exquisite items including works of artwork, photos, wine, and services so generously donated by businesses, organizations and members of our community. Your financial participation directly affects our ability to ensure that the Snow Goose Festival remains the North State’s premier birding event, so enjoy the evening bidding for an event or item that you love. You won’t be disappointed!

Wildlife, wintering waterfowl, and nature photography are exceptional at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, especially along the three-mile gravel auto tour, one-mile trail, and at their new observation deck. Spectacular flights of Snow Geese and Ross’ Geese along with thousands of Northern Pintail, Greenwinged Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, and Northern Shovelers can be seen in the marshes. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Dye Creek Preserve

Fri 8:45 am - 2:30 pm Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Visit the rugged Dye Creek Preserve in the Lassen Foothill region of eastern Tehama County. Hike the scenic Dye Creek Canyon and visit a stream-side restoration site. See birds common to oak woodlands such as the Lewis’s Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, and Oak Titmouse Ferruginous Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle may also be seen at the Preserve.

Bring lunch and drink. Boots/sturdy footwear is a MUST! A$27 - Y$10 Level 3

Birds & Rice Growers

Fri 9:00 am - 12:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Take this trip over to Richvale where Butte County Rice Growers Association, a farmer-owned cooperative founded in 1914, will provide a tour of the drying operations and the plant. Richvale is not only rich in rice farming history but also rich in wintering waterfowl on the flooded rice fields. Visible from the gravel roads, we’ll see Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, ducks, and maybe even a Bald Eagle. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

SATURDAY/SUNDAY JANUARY 24-25, 2015

Chico Masonic Family Center, 1110 W. East Ave.

Fri 12:30 pm - 6:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 8:30 am - 10:30 am

FREE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Sacramento Refuge Fly-Off

Bidwell Park Bird Walk

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

Sutter Buttes Hike: Dean Ranch

Enjoy the beauty of nature, sample award winning organic wines, and look for the birds of the foothills. Drive along Hwy 32, stopping to look for Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Prairie Falcon, Steller’s Jay, and Pileated Woodpecker. Then on to LaRocca Vineyards for a tour, chocolate, cheese, and wine tasting which includes their Sparkling wine. Bring lunch, water, and sturdy footwear for hiking. A$32 Level 3

Leaving Chico in the early afternoon will give us plenty of time to stop and look for geese, swans, and cranes on our way to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. We will arrive at the refuge in time to witness thousands of birds in their spectacular ‘fly-off’. Dress warmly. Photographers are welcome and encouraged to bring their equipment. This trip is also offered on Thursday with a different leader. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Walk along the banks of the Feather River to view the waterfowl (goldeneye, Bufflehead, merganser) and the winter residents (Phainopepla, woodpeckers, herons, egrets, and more). Then cross the river and receive a personal tour of the Oroville Fish Hatchery led by Jana Frazier of the Department of Water Resources. See and learn about the incredible life cycle of the salmon. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Meet at Patrick Ranch

Fri 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Explore California State Park’s Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes.

It will be like stepping back in time as you learn about Peace Valley’s natural and cultural history. Our journey will include a climb to the top of “House Hill” where fantastic views of the valley and the surrounding buttes can be found. This is an undeveloped area, and this is a strenuous hike over some steep terrain so wear sturdy hiking boots. Bring a sack lunch and beverage. No early departures on this trip.

A$45 - Y$30 Level 4

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 7:30 am - 1:30 pm

Fri 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Thu 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

BANQUET & SILENT AUCTION

Table Mountain/ Coal Canyon Falls Hike NEW

Meet at Patrick Ranch

This is a “behind the gates” opportunity to visit the historic Llano Seco Rancho where thousands of acres are set aside for wildlife habitat and conservation. We may have a chance to see hundreds of wintering ducks, geese, and Sandhill Cranes! Dress warmly, bring a warm beverage, and do bring your binoculars. This tour leaves the ranch after dark.

A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Each year this amazing exhibit features wildlife and habitat along the Pacific Flyway, and includes the work of numerous artists in a variety of media, including sculpture, clay, oils, fiber arts, watercolor, acrylics, mixed media, glass, and photography. Enjoy refreshments, live music, and a no-host bar at the reception. Bring a friend and meet the artists, along with festival participants.

Sutter Buttes Hike: State Park’s Peace Valley

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 6:30 am - 5:30 pm

You’ll visit areas of the Divide Ranch cattle operation. Following your time at the ranch, you will travel to Orland to eat lunch at Farwood Bar & Grill with Divide Ranch’s 100% Grass-Fed Beef on the menu. After lunch take a short walk to Orland Art Center to see the “Wildlife Wonders IV” art show and taste Pedrozo Traditional Farmstead Cheese. An extra pair of waterproof boots is a must due to a creek crossing. A$45 - Y$25 Level 3

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Wheelchair accessible

AVENUE 9 GALLERY & ART GUILD 180 E. 9th Avenue (at the Esplanade), Chico Exhibit: Jan. 16 - Feb. 7, 2015 Free Reception: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Thu 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm

The following rating system for field trips will give you an idea for the rigors involved.

Level 1: Mostly birding by car and/or easy walking Level 2: Walking, could involve distance but largely flat Level 3: More vigorous hiking, some elevation gain/loss Level 4: A true adventure trip, lots of driving and hiking

SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL

Divide Ranch & Beyond (includes lunch) NEW

Historic Llano Seco Rancho – Wildlife & Habitat Conservation

LEGEND:

4

differences between species and discuss why some raptors have special features. By the end of the trip, everybody will know and appreciate more about each species. Bring water and lunch. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Pacific Flyway Wildlife Art Exhibit & Reception

Raptor Run thru Butte County Fri 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

We will explore some of the grasslands favored in winter by Ferruginous, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, and Bald and Golden Eagles. With binoculars and spotting scopes, we will pay attention to structural differences between species and discuss why some raptors have special features. By the end of the trip, everybody will know and appreciate more about each species. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Thermalito Afterbay & Surrounding Grasslands Fri 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This hike along the north side of the Afterbay reservoir offers a great mix of habitat including open water, rice fields, short-grass plains, back-bays, and marsh. We hope to see a variety of waterfowl and raptors. Lots of open sky views. Bring food, good hiking gear, and all-weather clothing. A$25 - Y$10 Level 3

A Chico Birding Hotspot! – Oxidation Ponds NEW Fri 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Take a walk through the old Oxidation Ponds behind the Chico Water Treatment Plant. In the winter months, this area becomes a great place to see most of the waterfowl found in the valley. The habitat in and surrounding this area will bring many other species of birds as well. $22 Level 2

Family Owl Prowl

Fri 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This family-oriented field trip offers a unique glimpse into the amazing nocturnal world of owls. The Prowl, a leisurely hike into Bidwell Park, will start and end at the Chico Creek Nature Center. Dress warmly and bring a flashlight. A$12 - Y$5 Level 1

Friday, January 23 PRESENTATIONS/ WORKSHOPS Bird Carving Seminar for Beginners Fri 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Join master carvers from the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association for a five hour carving seminar. All of the necessary materials, including a study guide and the best knives on the market, will be provided. Short lectures with lots of hands-on carving will enable you to complete a Black Phoebe. Topics include where to get your supplies, how to use reference material, wood FIELD TRIPS continued on page 6

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

●

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave., Chico

habitat at Indian Fishery. Participants will explore the relationship between the meandering river system and the ox-bow lake located at the park unit. Junior Rangers receive a Junior Ranger Log Book, a sticker, and the opportunity to earn many other awards. The hike is geared for children 7 - 12 years old but families are encouraged to attend. Meet ant Indian Fishery parking lot–West Sacramento Road and River Road.

Limit 15 participants. To register, please call Ranger Zack Chambers at the ranger office (530) 342-5185.

Our Magnetic Sun and Solar Viewing Sat 11:00 am - 12:30 am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Birds use the sun’s polarized light as one of their tools to enable them to navigate during migration. Come learn more about out magnetic sun. We’ll begin with a talk and PowerPoint presentation about our sun, sunspots, solar prominence, flares, and coronal mass ejections. Then we’ll explore light using simple diffraction gratings. Finally, skies permitting, we’ll go outside and do some solar viewing using a safe, dedicated solar telescope.

Web of Life Sat. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Youth ages 8-13 are welcome to help us investigate the “Web of Life” that exists in a rice field. We will come face to face with plants, insects, waterfowl, and predators! Hands on investigations include: how an animal’s body gives clues to what it eats and how it survives; and how every plant and animal depend on each other for food and shelter. Participants will have the opportunity to build the rice field “Web of Life” and measure the impact of predators, including “man”.

“Journey” Wolf Play & Storyteller Sat. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Grange Hall Enter a wolf’s world with “Stories from the Wolf Den” by professional storyteller, Tom Wade. People who spend time with wolves, come away impressed by their friendliness and playfulness. He’ll bring this side of wolves to life, sharing tales of their generosity, intelligence and uncanny intuition. Then enjoy “Journey”, the play, which is the true story of a lone wolf’s travels into California is brought to the stage by Ecokinesis Dance Company and Crane Culture Theater. Poetry combines with modern dance and dramatic music to create a thrilling yet haunting depiction of this wolf’s odyssey. He faces a world of wonder, harmony, and threats. Immerse yourself into his life and see a brave new world through his eyes.

Wolves in California: The Long Journey Home Sat. 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Location: Chico Grange Hall California is excited to celebrate the beginning of what could be one of our state’s most inspiring conservation stories: the return of the gray wolf, after being absent for decades following extirpation by humans. As a keystone predator, wolves provide a critical balance to the ecosystem in which they belong. To prepare for the return of wolves in California, the California Wolf Center is working to forge a visionary path for wolf recovery that focuses on solutions, instead of the conflict that often Live Raptor Experience pervades wolf recovery elsewhere. No other animal in Sat. 10:00 am - 3:00 pm history has so captured the imagination of people than Location: Chico Masonic Family Center the wolf! Come learn about the true nature of this dynamic Come see the Center for Reconnecting with Nature’s predator and what the return of this iconic species means display of raptors and falconry. Live birds will be present to our golden state. and the Center will be sharing about their mission, which focuses on reconnecting both children and adults All Those White Geese!

Snow Goose Workshop with nature. The exhibit will be open from 10am to Sat. 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm noon and 1pm to 3pm.

Location: Chico Masonic Family Center California State Parks Presents: Indian Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, and Blue Morphs - it can be Fishery Junior Ranger Program overwhelmingly white in the sky! Come learn how to tell Sat. 10:00 am - 11:00 am the difference between all these white geese. Through Location: Indian Fishery exquisite pictures and lively narration, you can become You can become a Junior Ranger by joining Ranger Zack much more knowledgeable about our Mascot of the Chambers for an exciting adventure on a short interpre- Festival. tive hike through the oak woodlands and riparian The Maze of Maps Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center This year we will feature an eclectic assortment of interesting maps from around the North Valley and beyond. Get the bird’s eye view of our local landscape features. Stroll through maps in the CMFC hallway and let your curiosity take you on a tour.

Exhibits Galore & Vendors Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Displays by State, Federal, and Non-profit organizations. Plus vendors selling everything from binoculars to bird books.

Federal Junior Duck Stamp Display Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center All 100 California winners from nearly 2,000 entries will be on display. Don’t forget to see the Chico winners.

Meet Smokey Bear and the Blue Goose Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Smokey the Bear and the National Wildlife Refuge’s Blue Goose will be visiting at various times courtesy of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Also be sure to visit the US Fish & Wildlife Service fire safety exhibit booth.

Birding by Boat & Boot Sat. 9:00 am - 10:30 am; Sun. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center The Sacramento River is a birder’s paradise! Many public areas are accessible only by boat and are very wild due to the lack of car access. The Sacramento River is a major part of the Pacific Flyway and attracts migrating waterfowl to its waters each year and is also home to many endemic and annual species of birds like the rare Yellow-billed cuckoo. Join Lucas as he takes you on a guided virtual trip along the main stem of the Sacramento River both by boat and by boot.

Junior Naturalist Activities Sat 10:00 am - 3:00 pm; Sun 10:00 am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Along with the Live Raptor Presentation, Meet Smokey Bear and Blue Goose, Junior Duck Stamp Display, children may earn a Junior Naturalist Certificate by participating in a few activities designed just for children. There will be nature crafts, opportunities to build bird feeders, make a bird call and much, much more!

SATURDAY ONLY

SUNDAY ONLY Photographing the Refuge Sun. 7:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Llano Seco Viewing Platform Meet at the parking lot for the Llano Seco Viewing Platform on 7 Mile Lane for a morning of photography.

Depending on the waterfowl distribution at the time, we will photograph at either Llano Seco or travel to either Colusa NWR or Sacramento NWR. We will photograph birds, particularly waterfowl, so come prepared with telephoto lenses but also have a wide angle lens available for scenic photographs. Reservations required through the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. 530-934-2801 or email sacramentovalleyrefuges@fws.gov. Space is limited to 20 participants.

Wolves in California: The Long Journey Home Sun. 9:00am - 10:30am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center See SATURDAY, 2:30pm for description.

All About Bats!

Sun. 9:00 am - 10:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center They are one of the most beneficial, yet most misunderstood animals in the world. Learn more about the habits, habitats, and species of bats that reside within the unique ecosystems of California’s valleys and forests.

Optics Demo Sun 9:30 am - 10:30 am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Learn the basics about Binoculars and Spotting Scopes for bird watching! What do the numbers mean? Isn’t higher power always better? This will be a “show and tell” discussion about the differences in size, quality, and construction of optics so that you can make a good choice for your needs and budget. Sample optics will be available from numerous manufacturers to illustrate. Marilyn Rose from Out of This World Discount Binoculars will be the presenter.

Wetlands’ Wildlife: The Sacramento Valley Sun. 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Filmed in the Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge, The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, The Llano Seco Wildlife Refuge, and the wetlands and rice fields in and around the counties of Butte and Colusa in California, this beautiful video gives viewers a close-up look at many of the migratory birds that come from as far away as Siberia and the Arctic Circle to make their homes in the Sacramento Valley’s wetlands each winter. Included are Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Greater White-Fronted Geese, Canada Geese, Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles, and many other species.

Volcanoes of Lassen Volcanic National Park Sun. 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center This workshop is a great opportunity for educators, adults, and children ages ten and older to learn about some of the world’s most exciting active earth processes. Learn about the unique geologic features of this national park and how to identify the four major types of volcanoes using a variety of fun and creative techniques. Educational props, volcanic rocks, visual display, and other resources will be used to enhance this presentation.

Raptors and Rehab 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Meet “Checkers” a Great Horned Owl as Marilyn shares some fascinating facts, unique habits, and curious myths about these beautiful birds of prey. Learn about wildlife rehabilitation and what you can do to help native wildlife. A surprise visit by other raptors is sure to delight all ages. Presenter: Marilyn Gamette

J A N U A RY, 2015

SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL

5

16th Annual Snow Goose Festival FIELD TRIPS AND WORKSHOPS

Thursday, January 22 FIELD TRIPS Marathon Big Day Birding in Colusa County NEW Thu 6:00 am - 5:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This is a fast-paced, non-stop, wide-ranging adventure! In Colusa Co. except to see a wide variety of waterfowl, in Bear Valley, we’ll watch for raptors and grassland species. East Park Reservoir will provide looks at numerous waterbirds. Expect to see 60-80 or more species on this fun, fast-paced adventure! Bring lunch, water, and binoculars. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$30 Level 4

Marathon Big Day Birding in Butte County SOLD OUT Thu 7:00 am - 5:30 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Bidwell Park’s Yahi Trail NEW Thu 7:30 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Starting at Horseshoe Lake, hike 4 miles of the Yahi Trail along Big Chico Creek. This stretch of rich riparian habitat provides some of the best winter birding in Bidwell Park. Common sightings include Black Phoebe, Hermit Thrush and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Many other species are possible, and it’s always worth a walk down this trail to find out! Wear comfortable hiking shoes and layers, bring water and snacks. A$25 - Y$10 Level 3

Paskenta’s C & R Ranch (includes lunch) Thu 7:45 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

The C&R ranch captures the beauty of the coast range foothills and North Valley panorama. The Blue Oak/Valley Oak woodlands and grasslands host a variety of birds like Western Bluebird, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Western Meadowlark, Golden and Bald Eagles, and American Kestrel. Lunch will be provided by C&R Ranch. Wear sturdy hiking shoes. A$35 - Y$15 Level 3

Winter Raptors

Thu 8:00 am - 3:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

We will explore some of the grasslands favored in winter by Ferruginous, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, and Bald and Golden Eagles. With binoculars and spotting scopes, we will pay attention to structural

Thu 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

J A N U A R Y, 2015

“Gathering of Wings”

Friday, January 23 FIELD TRIPS Marathon Big Day Birding in Glenn County NEW

Rancho Esquon

Let the birding begin! For all you county listers, here a great chance to break your milestone for Glenn County. We will be birding sunup to sundown and will scour the county floor and foothills for resident birds and rarities. Carpooling is mandatory .Please bring lunch, snacks, water, binoculars, and prepare to eat in the car while traveling to different locations. Come help us break the record for the highest number of species seen (well over 100) on this full day extravaganza. A $30 - Y$10 Level 4

Thu 8:30 am - 12:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Just a short drive outside Durham, along the roadways bordering Rancho Esquon, multitudes of Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Sandhill Cranes can usually be seen right from your vehicle! Bald Eagles are occasionally spotted perched in the snags along the agricultural wetlands. Upon arrival at Rancho Esquon, we will visit the viewing platform which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding wetlands with a high concentration of ducks. This trip is also offered on Sunday.

A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Gray Lodge & Cordi Winery Thu 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is one of the premier winter birding areas in Northern Sacramento Valley. Then we’ll take a short drive to Cordi Winery, for some wine tasting. Bring snacks, lunch, water, a field guide, and binoculars. Dress for the winter weather and wear hiking shoes or boots. A$32 Level 2

Sacramento Refuge Fly-Off Thu 12:30 pm - 6:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Leaving Chico in the early afternoon will give us plenty of time to stop and look for geese, swans, and cranes on our way to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. We will arrive at the refuge in time to witness thousands of birds in their spectacular ‘fly-off’. Dress warmly.

Photographers are welcome and encouraged to bring their equipment.

This trip is also offered on Friday with a different leader.

A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Saturday, January 24, 2015 5:30 - 10:00 pm Bell Memorial Union Auditorium, CSU, Chico, CA

Corner of 2nd and Chestnut Streets, Chico, CA Cost per Person: $38 Adult, $20 Youth (17 years and younger) and students with ID Beer & Wine (No Host)

Don’t miss the biggest event of the Snow Goose Festival, our Gathering of Wings Banquet. This treasured evening is a mix of great food, great company and great entertainment and is anticipated by many as the one chance per year they have to visit and catch up with fellow birders and friends in the community. Join field trip leaders, workshop presenters and all our hard-working committee members and volunteers in celebrating this special evening.

Foothill Birding & LaRocca Vineyards

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Explore California State Park’s Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes. It will be like stepping back in time as you learn about Peace Valley’s natural and cultural history. This is an undeveloped area, so wear comfortable walking shoes or boots. Bring a sack lunch and beverage. No early departures on this trip. A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Sutter Buttes Hike: State Park’s Peace Valley & “House Hill” NEW Fri 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

We will bird while hiking to one of Butte County’s best waterfalls, hoping to see raptors, Horned Lark, oak woodland species, and explore some geologic sites. This is a strenuous hike over uneven terrain, which includes some rock scrambling and small stream crossings. Expect muddy boots.

Bring snacks, water, and binoculars. A$27 - Y$10 Level 4

Enjoy a three-mile walk to visit the 100-year-old Dean Place Cattle Ranch.

This trip will focus primarily on birding with hopes of seeing Golden Eagles, Phainopeplas, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows, so bring binoculars along with lunch and water. No early departures on this trip. Be aware that you will be driving another 12-15 miles to the hike’s starting point from the meeting place at the McDonald’s in Gridley. A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Digiscoping Workshop/Field Trip Fri 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

You will spend time in the classroom to help you make some preliminary camera settings. Then we will step outside and get some bird photos.

Bruce will work with participants on topics such as: choosing the best camera mounting options, shooting tips, techniques in the field, and using a Digital SLR behind the scope eyepiece. Participants are encouraged to bring their spotting scopes and digital still cameras. We will spend about 3 hours. A$22 - Y$10 Level 1

Riparian Ecology Tour at Willow Bend NEW

Bat Safari SOLD OUT

Work on your Colusa County bird list while touring a 145 acre private property along the Sacramento River. The tour will focus on floodplain salmon research, water policy issues, riparian restoration and ecology, and of course, bird watching. Chico based River Partners owns the property which has been the site of native grass restoration, and is the future planting site for a mixed riparian forest. We’ll hike the property, enjoy the river, and see some great birds. A$22 - Y$10 Level 3

Meet at Patrick Ranch

Enjoy a bird walk through Bidwell Park with ornithologist and author of Birds of Bidwell Park, Roger Lederer, and his wife, Carol. Learn amazing facts about the birds of the park and how to identify them. Bidwell Park is a wonderful place to see birds because it is both semi-wild and very accessible. It is excellent birding for both the beginner and expert. This trip is also offered on Sunday. Sunday’s trip is led by Roger and Scott Weidensaul. A$12 - Y$5 Level 2

Feather River Birds & Fish Hatchery Tour Fri 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Fri 8:30 am - 2:00 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Fri 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Gridley McDonalds

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Keynote Speaker

Scott Weidensaul, Renowned Naturalist and Author “Living on the Wind: The Miracle of Bird Migration” Since the dawn of human imagination, we have been spellbound by the migration of birds, in which even the smallest species traverse immensities of space the way we cross the street. New research continually expands our understand of where birds travel, and their migratory feats. But while the populations of many migratory birds are in drastic decline, there are many things we can do to save them. Naturalist and author Scott Weidensaul explores the wonder and mechanics of migration, and the simple, effective ways we can preserve them, from what we plant in our gardens to what we pour into our morning mug of coffee.

Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Living on the Wind,” about bird migration, and “Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul.” His newest book, “The First Frontier: The Forgotten History of Struggle, Savagery and Endurance in Early America,” was published in 2012. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine and writes for a variety of other publications; he lives in the mountains of eastern Pennsylvania, where he studies the migration of hawks, owls and hummingbirds.

Silent Auction Begins at 5:30 p.m.

The vibrant Silent Auction tables will accompany us while we dine at the BMU, and will include a variety of exquisite items including works of artwork, photos, wine, and services so generously donated by businesses, organizations and members of our community. Your financial participation directly affects our ability to ensure that the Snow Goose Festival remains the North State’s premier birding event, so enjoy the evening bidding for an event or item that you love. You won’t be disappointed!

Wildlife, wintering waterfowl, and nature photography are exceptional at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, especially along the three-mile gravel auto tour, one-mile trail, and at their new observation deck. Spectacular flights of Snow Geese and Ross’ Geese along with thousands of Northern Pintail, Greenwinged Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, and Northern Shovelers can be seen in the marshes. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Dye Creek Preserve

Fri 8:45 am - 2:30 pm Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Visit the rugged Dye Creek Preserve in the Lassen Foothill region of eastern Tehama County. Hike the scenic Dye Creek Canyon and visit a stream-side restoration site. See birds common to oak woodlands such as the Lewis’s Woodpecker, Acorn Woodpecker, and Oak Titmouse Ferruginous Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Golden Eagle may also be seen at the Preserve.

Bring lunch and drink. Boots/sturdy footwear is a MUST! A$27 - Y$10 Level 3

Birds & Rice Growers

Fri 9:00 am - 12:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Take this trip over to Richvale where Butte County Rice Growers Association, a farmer-owned cooperative founded in 1914, will provide a tour of the drying operations and the plant. Richvale is not only rich in rice farming history but also rich in wintering waterfowl on the flooded rice fields. Visible from the gravel roads, we’ll see Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, ducks, and maybe even a Bald Eagle. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

SATURDAY/SUNDAY JANUARY 24-25, 2015

Chico Masonic Family Center, 1110 W. East Ave.

Fri 12:30 pm - 6:30 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 8:30 am - 10:30 am

FREE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Sacramento Refuge Fly-Off

Bidwell Park Bird Walk

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

Sutter Buttes Hike: Dean Ranch

Enjoy the beauty of nature, sample award winning organic wines, and look for the birds of the foothills. Drive along Hwy 32, stopping to look for Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Prairie Falcon, Steller’s Jay, and Pileated Woodpecker. Then on to LaRocca Vineyards for a tour, chocolate, cheese, and wine tasting which includes their Sparkling wine. Bring lunch, water, and sturdy footwear for hiking. A$32 Level 3

Leaving Chico in the early afternoon will give us plenty of time to stop and look for geese, swans, and cranes on our way to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. We will arrive at the refuge in time to witness thousands of birds in their spectacular ‘fly-off’. Dress warmly. Photographers are welcome and encouraged to bring their equipment. This trip is also offered on Thursday with a different leader. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Walk along the banks of the Feather River to view the waterfowl (goldeneye, Bufflehead, merganser) and the winter residents (Phainopepla, woodpeckers, herons, egrets, and more). Then cross the river and receive a personal tour of the Oroville Fish Hatchery led by Jana Frazier of the Department of Water Resources. See and learn about the incredible life cycle of the salmon. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Meet at Patrick Ranch

Fri 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Explore California State Park’s Peace Valley in the Sutter Buttes.

It will be like stepping back in time as you learn about Peace Valley’s natural and cultural history. Our journey will include a climb to the top of “House Hill” where fantastic views of the valley and the surrounding buttes can be found. This is an undeveloped area, and this is a strenuous hike over some steep terrain so wear sturdy hiking boots. Bring a sack lunch and beverage. No early departures on this trip.

A$45 - Y$30 Level 4

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 7:30 am - 1:30 pm

Fri 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Thu 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm

BANQUET & SILENT AUCTION

Table Mountain/ Coal Canyon Falls Hike NEW

Meet at Patrick Ranch

This is a “behind the gates” opportunity to visit the historic Llano Seco Rancho where thousands of acres are set aside for wildlife habitat and conservation. We may have a chance to see hundreds of wintering ducks, geese, and Sandhill Cranes! Dress warmly, bring a warm beverage, and do bring your binoculars. This tour leaves the ranch after dark.

A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Each year this amazing exhibit features wildlife and habitat along the Pacific Flyway, and includes the work of numerous artists in a variety of media, including sculpture, clay, oils, fiber arts, watercolor, acrylics, mixed media, glass, and photography. Enjoy refreshments, live music, and a no-host bar at the reception. Bring a friend and meet the artists, along with festival participants.

Sutter Buttes Hike: State Park’s Peace Valley

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Fri 6:30 am - 5:30 pm

You’ll visit areas of the Divide Ranch cattle operation. Following your time at the ranch, you will travel to Orland to eat lunch at Farwood Bar & Grill with Divide Ranch’s 100% Grass-Fed Beef on the menu. After lunch take a short walk to Orland Art Center to see the “Wildlife Wonders IV” art show and taste Pedrozo Traditional Farmstead Cheese. An extra pair of waterproof boots is a must due to a creek crossing. A$45 - Y$25 Level 3

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Wheelchair accessible

AVENUE 9 GALLERY & ART GUILD 180 E. 9th Avenue (at the Esplanade), Chico Exhibit: Jan. 16 - Feb. 7, 2015 Free Reception: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Thu 2:00 pm - 6:30 pm

The following rating system for field trips will give you an idea for the rigors involved.

Level 1: Mostly birding by car and/or easy walking Level 2: Walking, could involve distance but largely flat Level 3: More vigorous hiking, some elevation gain/loss Level 4: A true adventure trip, lots of driving and hiking

SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL

Divide Ranch & Beyond (includes lunch) NEW

Historic Llano Seco Rancho – Wildlife & Habitat Conservation

LEGEND:

4

differences between species and discuss why some raptors have special features. By the end of the trip, everybody will know and appreciate more about each species. Bring water and lunch. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

Pacific Flyway Wildlife Art Exhibit & Reception

Raptor Run thru Butte County Fri 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

We will explore some of the grasslands favored in winter by Ferruginous, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, and Bald and Golden Eagles. With binoculars and spotting scopes, we will pay attention to structural differences between species and discuss why some raptors have special features. By the end of the trip, everybody will know and appreciate more about each species. Carpooling is mandatory to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Thermalito Afterbay & Surrounding Grasslands Fri 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This hike along the north side of the Afterbay reservoir offers a great mix of habitat including open water, rice fields, short-grass plains, back-bays, and marsh. We hope to see a variety of waterfowl and raptors. Lots of open sky views. Bring food, good hiking gear, and all-weather clothing. A$25 - Y$10 Level 3

A Chico Birding Hotspot! – Oxidation Ponds NEW Fri 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Take a walk through the old Oxidation Ponds behind the Chico Water Treatment Plant. In the winter months, this area becomes a great place to see most of the waterfowl found in the valley. The habitat in and surrounding this area will bring many other species of birds as well. $22 Level 2

Family Owl Prowl

Fri 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

This family-oriented field trip offers a unique glimpse into the amazing nocturnal world of owls. The Prowl, a leisurely hike into Bidwell Park, will start and end at the Chico Creek Nature Center. Dress warmly and bring a flashlight. A$12 - Y$5 Level 1

Friday, January 23 PRESENTATIONS/ WORKSHOPS Bird Carving Seminar for Beginners Fri 11:00 am - 4:00 pm Meet at Patrick Ranch

Join master carvers from the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association for a five hour carving seminar. All of the necessary materials, including a study guide and the best knives on the market, will be provided. Short lectures with lots of hands-on carving will enable you to complete a Black Phoebe. Topics include where to get your supplies, how to use reference material, wood FIELD TRIPS continued on page 6

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

●

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave., Chico

habitat at Indian Fishery. Participants will explore the relationship between the meandering river system and the ox-bow lake located at the park unit. Junior Rangers receive a Junior Ranger Log Book, a sticker, and the opportunity to earn many other awards. The hike is geared for children 7 - 12 years old but families are encouraged to attend. Meet ant Indian Fishery parking lot–West Sacramento Road and River Road.

Limit 15 participants. To register, please call Ranger Zack Chambers at the ranger office (530) 342-5185.

Our Magnetic Sun and Solar Viewing Sat 11:00 am - 12:30 am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Birds use the sun’s polarized light as one of their tools to enable them to navigate during migration. Come learn more about out magnetic sun. We’ll begin with a talk and PowerPoint presentation about our sun, sunspots, solar prominence, flares, and coronal mass ejections. Then we’ll explore light using simple diffraction gratings. Finally, skies permitting, we’ll go outside and do some solar viewing using a safe, dedicated solar telescope.

Web of Life Sat. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Youth ages 8-13 are welcome to help us investigate the “Web of Life” that exists in a rice field. We will come face to face with plants, insects, waterfowl, and predators! Hands on investigations include: how an animal’s body gives clues to what it eats and how it survives; and how every plant and animal depend on each other for food and shelter. Participants will have the opportunity to build the rice field “Web of Life” and measure the impact of predators, including “man”.

“Journey” Wolf Play & Storyteller Sat. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Grange Hall Enter a wolf’s world with “Stories from the Wolf Den” by professional storyteller, Tom Wade. People who spend time with wolves, come away impressed by their friendliness and playfulness. He’ll bring this side of wolves to life, sharing tales of their generosity, intelligence and uncanny intuition. Then enjoy “Journey”, the play, which is the true story of a lone wolf’s travels into California is brought to the stage by Ecokinesis Dance Company and Crane Culture Theater. Poetry combines with modern dance and dramatic music to create a thrilling yet haunting depiction of this wolf’s odyssey. He faces a world of wonder, harmony, and threats. Immerse yourself into his life and see a brave new world through his eyes.

Wolves in California: The Long Journey Home Sat. 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Location: Chico Grange Hall California is excited to celebrate the beginning of what could be one of our state’s most inspiring conservation stories: the return of the gray wolf, after being absent for decades following extirpation by humans. As a keystone predator, wolves provide a critical balance to the ecosystem in which they belong. To prepare for the return of wolves in California, the California Wolf Center is working to forge a visionary path for wolf recovery that focuses on solutions, instead of the conflict that often Live Raptor Experience pervades wolf recovery elsewhere. No other animal in Sat. 10:00 am - 3:00 pm history has so captured the imagination of people than Location: Chico Masonic Family Center the wolf! Come learn about the true nature of this dynamic Come see the Center for Reconnecting with Nature’s predator and what the return of this iconic species means display of raptors and falconry. Live birds will be present to our golden state. and the Center will be sharing about their mission, which focuses on reconnecting both children and adults All Those White Geese!

Snow Goose Workshop with nature. The exhibit will be open from 10am to Sat. 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm noon and 1pm to 3pm.

Location: Chico Masonic Family Center California State Parks Presents: Indian Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, and Blue Morphs - it can be Fishery Junior Ranger Program overwhelmingly white in the sky! Come learn how to tell Sat. 10:00 am - 11:00 am the difference between all these white geese. Through Location: Indian Fishery exquisite pictures and lively narration, you can become You can become a Junior Ranger by joining Ranger Zack much more knowledgeable about our Mascot of the Chambers for an exciting adventure on a short interpre- Festival. tive hike through the oak woodlands and riparian The Maze of Maps Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center This year we will feature an eclectic assortment of interesting maps from around the North Valley and beyond. Get the bird’s eye view of our local landscape features. Stroll through maps in the CMFC hallway and let your curiosity take you on a tour.

Exhibits Galore & Vendors Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Displays by State, Federal, and Non-profit organizations. Plus vendors selling everything from binoculars to bird books.

Federal Junior Duck Stamp Display Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center All 100 California winners from nearly 2,000 entries will be on display. Don’t forget to see the Chico winners.

Meet Smokey Bear and the Blue Goose Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun 9:00am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Smokey the Bear and the National Wildlife Refuge’s Blue Goose will be visiting at various times courtesy of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Also be sure to visit the US Fish & Wildlife Service fire safety exhibit booth.

Birding by Boat & Boot Sat. 9:00 am - 10:30 am; Sun. 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center The Sacramento River is a birder’s paradise! Many public areas are accessible only by boat and are very wild due to the lack of car access. The Sacramento River is a major part of the Pacific Flyway and attracts migrating waterfowl to its waters each year and is also home to many endemic and annual species of birds like the rare Yellow-billed cuckoo. Join Lucas as he takes you on a guided virtual trip along the main stem of the Sacramento River both by boat and by boot.

Junior Naturalist Activities Sat 10:00 am - 3:00 pm; Sun 10:00 am - 3:00pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Along with the Live Raptor Presentation, Meet Smokey Bear and Blue Goose, Junior Duck Stamp Display, children may earn a Junior Naturalist Certificate by participating in a few activities designed just for children. There will be nature crafts, opportunities to build bird feeders, make a bird call and much, much more!

SATURDAY ONLY

SUNDAY ONLY Photographing the Refuge Sun. 7:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Llano Seco Viewing Platform Meet at the parking lot for the Llano Seco Viewing Platform on 7 Mile Lane for a morning of photography.

Depending on the waterfowl distribution at the time, we will photograph at either Llano Seco or travel to either Colusa NWR or Sacramento NWR. We will photograph birds, particularly waterfowl, so come prepared with telephoto lenses but also have a wide angle lens available for scenic photographs. Reservations required through the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. 530-934-2801 or email sacramentovalleyrefuges@fws.gov. Space is limited to 20 participants.

Wolves in California: The Long Journey Home Sun. 9:00am - 10:30am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center See SATURDAY, 2:30pm for description.

All About Bats!

Sun. 9:00 am - 10:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center They are one of the most beneficial, yet most misunderstood animals in the world. Learn more about the habits, habitats, and species of bats that reside within the unique ecosystems of California’s valleys and forests.

Optics Demo Sun 9:30 am - 10:30 am Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Learn the basics about Binoculars and Spotting Scopes for bird watching! What do the numbers mean? Isn’t higher power always better? This will be a “show and tell” discussion about the differences in size, quality, and construction of optics so that you can make a good choice for your needs and budget. Sample optics will be available from numerous manufacturers to illustrate. Marilyn Rose from Out of This World Discount Binoculars will be the presenter.

Wetlands’ Wildlife: The Sacramento Valley Sun. 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Filmed in the Gray Lodge Wildlife Refuge, The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, The Llano Seco Wildlife Refuge, and the wetlands and rice fields in and around the counties of Butte and Colusa in California, this beautiful video gives viewers a close-up look at many of the migratory birds that come from as far away as Siberia and the Arctic Circle to make their homes in the Sacramento Valley’s wetlands each winter. Included are Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Greater White-Fronted Geese, Canada Geese, Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles, and many other species.

Volcanoes of Lassen Volcanic National Park Sun. 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center This workshop is a great opportunity for educators, adults, and children ages ten and older to learn about some of the world’s most exciting active earth processes. Learn about the unique geologic features of this national park and how to identify the four major types of volcanoes using a variety of fun and creative techniques. Educational props, volcanic rocks, visual display, and other resources will be used to enhance this presentation.

Raptors and Rehab 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Location: Chico Masonic Family Center Meet “Checkers” a Great Horned Owl as Marilyn shares some fascinating facts, unique habits, and curious myths about these beautiful birds of prey. Learn about wildlife rehabilitation and what you can do to help native wildlife. A surprise visit by other raptors is sure to delight all ages. Presenter: Marilyn Gamette

J A N U A RY, 2015

SNOW GOOSE FESTIVAL

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selection, and how to use hand tools and power tools. This workshop’s fee includes a one-year membership in the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association. Must be fifteen years or older. $35

2nd Annual Birds & Books

Valley Wetlands & Wintering Waterbirds: For the serious Birder Sat 6:30 am - 4:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Travel the back roads of Chico to visit the Llano Seco Unit of the North Central Valley Wildlife Management Area, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Thermalito Afterbay, and the Feather River. Also, we’ll return to Chico via Cottonwood Road. Along with Snow Geese, we hope to see a variety of waterfowl, raptors, and many other wetland species. This trip is most appropriate for intermediate and advanced birders. Bring lunch, water, binoculars, spotting scopes, and a field guide. A$30 Level 4

refuge to refuge: snow Geese Galore!

Opening Mixer at Patrick Ranch Patrick Ranch, 10381 Midway, located between Chico & Durham Free admission and parking for all Festival participants and general public Glenwood House Tour $5 Start your winter birding adventure by attending the 2nd Annual Snow Goose Festival Birds & Books Opening Mixer! Meet local and regional authors who have touched upon a wide range of subjects in our natural world. They will share their passion and sell their books. Enjoy light refreshments featuring local products, live music, and no-host bar.

Pull up a chair in Pat’s Barn and enjoy the outstanding avian wonders of our area during the Bird Photo Slideshow. Photos submitted by our trip leaders, participants and photographers will continually show throughout the evening.

Even if you can’t make it on a field trip or attend a workshop presentation, the Birds & Books Mixer is a great place to introduce yourself and your family to the joys of birding and our natural world. AMPLE PARKING IS AVAILABLE.

Sat 7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Visit two premier Sacramento Valley wildlife refuges, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Sacramento NWR, and CA Dept. of Fish and Game Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. See huge flocks of Snow Geese and waterfowl along with cranes, ibis, and a variety of raptors. Dress in layers and bring a sack lunch. A$30 - Y$10 Level 2

the center. We hope to see Western Bluebird, Downy Woodpecker, and raptors to name a few. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

llano seco Viewing platform: dabbling, diving & soaring Sat 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Tehama Bird Trek

Sat 7:30 am - 3:00 pm Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Visits on this exciting bird trek include birdy Cone Grove Park, and the Sacramento River Discovery Center. The SRDC is a Watchable Wildlife Site. Habitats include oak woodland, restored grasslands, and riparian.

Target birds for this trip are the Lewis’s Woodpecker and Golden Eagle.

Bring lunch, water, and binoculars. A$27 - Y$10 Level 3

Tundra swan Viewing: district 10 (includes lunch)

Sat 7:45 am - 1:30 pm Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Drive from Chico to Marysville and stop at District 10 where traditionally hundreds of large Tundra Swans can be seen. Swan viewing will be mainly from the sides of backcountry roads -- the hiking will be very limited. We will stop at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Charlie Mathews who will offer us lunch and a presentation on the benefits of rice farming for wildlife. Bring binoculars and spotting scopes if you have them.

A$32 - Y$12 Level 1

Birds & Trees of the Genetic resource Conservation Center NeW Sat 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Join us for a walk through the Genetic Resource and Conservation Center in South Chico. Enjoy the 209-acre center with exotic trees and shrubs, some over 100 years old. Joseph will discuss identification, including how to identify trees out of leaf. With the large variety of tree species and the creek and its neighboring open space, many species of birds flock to

The Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento River NWR offers sensational views from an elevated viewing platform. This is an ideal spot for viewing a large number of geese and ducks in one location! Other often-seen species include Sandhill Cranes, raptors, herons, and egrets. This is definitely a birding hot spot and a good trip for the beginning birder.

This trip is also offered on Sunday. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

sutter Buttes Hike: dean ranch Sat 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Gridley McDonalds

A three-mile gentle hillside walk will take us around the 100-year-old Dean Place Cattle Ranch. See such gems as the Mountain Bluebird, Varied Thrush, Golden Eagle, and Ferruginous Hawk, along with the usual winter sparrows, and with luck, geese and swans flying high over the Buttes. Be sure to bring binoculars, lunch, water, and sturdy boots/ shoes and hiking sticks, if you have them. No early departures on this trip. Be aware that you will be driving another 12-15 miles to the hike’s starting point from the meeting place at the McDonald’s in Gridley.

A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Vina plains to pine Creek & the river Sat 8:30am - 12:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

raptor run sOld OUT

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Sat 8:30 am - 2:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015, 5:00 – 8:00 PM

Saturday, January 24 Field Trips

Birding & Brunch in paradise!

Visit The Nature Conservancy’s Vina Plains Preserve and observe winter plants and animals of unique vernal pool ecosystems. Learn why vernal pool landscapes are so important to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds.

Next, travel to the Pine Creek Unit of Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge to see a riparian habitat restoration project and learn why it is critical for the survival of Chinook Salmon, migratory songbirds, and endangered species. A$22 - Y$10 Level 3

Here is an opportunity to see the birds of Paradise and enjoy a sumptuous brunch all in one trip First you’ll walk along the Historic Miocene Flume and see towhees, woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, titmice, and raptors flying above. Then we will travel up the ridge to enjoy our brunch at the Wulbern’s beautiful home and watch the activity at their bird feeders. Then end the day at Kunkle Reservoir. Here expect to see sightings of Western Bluebirds, Red-breasted Sapsuckers, resident hawks, and an assortment of other birds and wildlife. A similar trip is also offered on Sunday. A$35 - Y$15 Level 2

Bidwell park – Bird & ecological diversity Sat 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Join Dan Efseaff, Park and Natural Resource Manager for the City of Chico, as we explore the diverse habitats of Bidwell Park. We will learn about the factors that influence the vegetation of Blue Oak, grassland, and riparian areas, and create a list of birds from each area and discuss the reasons for the diversity. We will also get a first-hand view of some of the restoration and management efforts in the Park. Participants should plan for wet weather, and hiking uneven terrain. Plan for a great morning out in the park, rain or shine! A$22 - Y$10 Level 3

Olive City Agriculture and Nature Center (includes lunch) NeW Sat 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Are you looking for an agricultural and birding experience? This 354-acre site near Corning strives to illustrate the combined values of both agriculture and the natural environment. Explore the 275-acre nature preserve where over 100 bird species take advantage of restored wetlands, vernal pools, and uplands, and Burrowing Owls winter in artificial burrows. Relax afterward with a delicious BBQ lunch. Wear hiking boots. A$35 - Y$15 Level 3

Feather river region & Nature Trail Sat 9:15 am - 12:45 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

This trip begins with a car caravan to the Old Bath House Nature Center near the Table Mountain Bridge. Here we will begin with a nice leisurely hike along the banks of the Feather River. We will keep a keen eye out for some of the area’s abundant wildlife, which includes mergansers, goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Osprey, eagles, River Otter and even lingering salmon. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Family Hike at Verbena Fields Sat 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Sat 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Butte College Wildlife refuge & Natural Area sOld OUT Sat 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Saturday, January 24 preseNTATiONs/ WOrksHOps Basic Nature & Wildlife photography Workshop Sat 8:00 am - 10:30 am

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

This workshop is an introduction to nature and wildlife photography, particularly bird photography. Topics will include discussions on exposure, lighting, composition, and the ethics of nature photography.

Some equipment will be on display including film and digital cameras, photography blinds, camera support devices, flash projection setups, and remote control units. This workshop compliments a free Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge photography tour offered on Sunday morning.

To sign up for this tour, contact the Sacramento NWR at (530) 934-2801 or sacramentovalleyrefuges@fws.gov. A$15 - Y$8

soundscapes of California Sat 9:00 am - 10:30 am

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Take a tour of California’s fascinating soundscapes. We will enjoy a selection of surround-sound recordings from California’s parks and wildlife preserves. A quick survey of nature recording equipment and brief ear training exercises will be given. The relatively new concept of “soundscape” describes an immersive appreciation of nature. Participants may wish to take the field trip that compliments this workshop, Beginning Birding by Ear on Sunday at 7:45 am. A$8 - Y$5

Owls: soul of the Night by scott Weidensaul NeW Sat 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

In the heart of Chico, a wildflower meadow overlooks a creek meandering past willows and cottonwoods, while overhead a Red-shouldered Hawk surveys the ground for its next meal. Lesser-known Verbena Fields is a 21-acre open space that is an active restoration site along Lindo Channel where native plants and animals are making a comeback.

A$12 - Y$5 Level 2

Everyone loves owls - the beauty, mystery and charm of these nocturnal birds. But science is still unlocking many of the secrets of owl biology and ecology, and there is a great deal still to be discovered about them.

Scott Weidensaul will take you into the enigmatic world of owls during this workshop, based on his forthcoming book, Owls of North America and the Caribbean, a Peterson Reference Guide, and exploring much of his own field research into Snowy Owls, Northern Saw-whet Owls, and other species. A$10 - Y$5

Wings & Wine Tasting in Vina sOld OUT

photographing Birds & Nature: Where to Go in California

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Sat 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Sat 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

This program is an introduction to some of the locations in California and nearby southern Oregon that provide excellent opportunities to photograph nature, particularly birds and scenic views. Photography

Winter is a WONDERFUL time to bird in the Klamath Basin

A True Chico Tradition!

Winter Wings Festival February 12-15, 2015 Featuring: RICHARD CROSSLEY and JENNIFER WU NEW BIRDING AND PHOTOGRAPHY FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, AND MINI SESSIONS

Many old favorites, too

2005 - 2014 6

Snow GooSe FeStival

J A N U A R Y, 2015

Registration begins in early December at WinterWingsFest.org

...and more Downtown Chico Clark Road Paradise 345-4880 872-0812

opportunities on the refuges of the Sacramento Refuge Complex will be discussed in addition to recommended methods of photographing at the other locations covered in the presentation. A$15 - Y$8

Sutter Buttes Hike – Mid-Mountain

The Ventriloquist Owl NEW

On this 5-mile hike into the Sutter Buttes, we’ll visit secluded locations revealing the Buttes’ geologic formation. Wear sturdy hiking shoes, dress in layers, and bring lunch and water. No early departures on this trip. Be aware that you will be driving another 12-15 miles to the hike’s starting point from the meeting place at the McDonald’s in Gridley. A$45 - Y$30 Level 3

Sat 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

The ventriloquist Flammulated Owl is a secretive, Neotropical migrant that eats only insects and nests in tree cavities. People have always been fascinated by owls, and this species is particularly intriguing. After 15 years studying Flammulated Owls in western North America, David Arsenault remains captivated by their mysterious lives. David currently manages the Plumas Audubon Society’s long-term study of Flammulated Owls at Lake Davis in northern California. During this workshop, David will share what he has learned studying the species in New Mexico, Nevada, and now in California. A$8 - Y$5

Sun 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Gridley McDonalds

Sutter Buttes Hike – Summit Ascent Sun 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Meet at Gridley McDonalds

Photography–Taking it to the Next Level! NEW

This hike traverses essentially the same terrain as the Mid-Mountain Hike but adds an additional half-mile 1000 ft. elevation gain. The last halfmile is quite strenuous. Wear sturdy hiking shoes, dress in layers, and bring lunch and water. No early departures on this trip. Be aware that you will be driving another 12-15 miles to the hike’s starting point from the meeting place at the McDonald’s in Gridley. A$45 - Y$30 Level 4

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Beginning Birding by Ear

Sat 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Finding your way in the field of artistic expression, consider going outside your comfort zone. From Go Pro Hero, iPhone cameras, super easy HD movies, inexpensive 60X telephoto and a photo market gone bonkers, the lid is off on creativity. Let’s (show & tell) talk about it. The surprise is in learning that your best location may well be close to where you live. A$10 - Y$5

Less Lawn, More Wildlife: Gardens as Habitat Sat 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Lawns are wonderful for children to play on, dogs to run on, and the expanse of green is certainly appreciated in the heat of the summer. Lawns, however, use large quantities of water and fertilizer, need mowing, and provide little to no habitat for insects and birds.

Learn the nuts and bolts of converting a lawn into a wildlife friendly garden for pollinators and birds. We will also talk about Altacal’s new Neighborhood Habitat Certification Program. A$8 - Y$5

Secrets of the Sutter Buttes Sat 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Here’s an opportunity for glimpses into the mysterious Sutter Buttes.

Travel through the Buttes without ever leaving your chair as you enjoy this fascinating slide presentation on the many facets and wonders of the remarkable landscape that makes up the Sutter Buttes. A$8 - Y$5

Sunday, January 25 FiELd TriPS

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Join avid ear-birder Mauricio Schrader for a morning of listening to and learning some audio clues for identifying bird songs and calls in the field. Some listening and recording equipment used in Greg Weddig’s Soundscapes workshop will be along on this trip. Participants may wish to take the Soundscapes of California Workshop on Saturday at 9am at the Chico Masonic Family Center that compliments this field trip.

A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Sun 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

We will explore the native trees, shrubs, and birds of Butte Creek. Butte Creek Canyon is stunning with its Tuscan Volcanic Formations. This is a 3-4 mile intermediate hike along the creek (and over some logs) down to the pond. Last year we enjoyed Red-breasted Sapsucker, Wood Ducks, goldeneye, Great Horned Owl, and assorted warblers. Wear sturdy shoes/boots and bring water, and snacks. A$22 - Y$10 Level 3

Nature Journaling & the NorCal Naturalist Journal NEW Sun 8:00 am - 12:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

We will spend about an hour talking about keeping lists, keeping notes, turning those notes into stories, posting, blogging, field sketching, etc.

We will then spend the remainder of our time out in the field doing some actual journaling. A copy of the NorCal Naturalist Journal is included in the price of this event. A$32 - Y$20 Level 2

Visit Rio Vista Unit of Sacramento NWR and Woodson Bridge SRA to search for the winter birds along the Sacramento River. Hike a 2-mile flat trail through Rio Vista Unit in riparian woodland, through towering oaks, sycamores, and cottonwoods at Woodson Bridge SRA. Then drive to Corning to the Lucero Olive Oil tasting room (www.lucerooliveoil. com). Once there you will be given a mill tour and have the opportunity to taste several of their award-winning olive oils and their unique olive oil ice cream sundae. Wear good walking/hiking shoes, and bring lunch, water, and binoculars. A$27 - Y$10 Level 2

SNOW GOOSE WILDLIFE

ART EXHIBIT

Llano Seco Viewing Platform: dabbling, diving & Soaring Sun 8:30 am - 12:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

The Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento River NWR offers sensational views from an elevated viewing platform. This is an ideal spot for viewing a large number of geese and ducks in one location! Other often-seen species include Sandhill Cranes, raptors, herons, and egrets. This is definitely a birding hot spot and a good trip for the beginning birder.

This trip is also offered on Saturday. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Birding & Brunch in Paradise Sun 8:30 am - 2:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Sun 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

CBC4K is a yearly event all over North America. Starting at the Chico Creek Nature Center, we’ll have a binocular boot camp and hike orientation. CBC4K group leaders will guide families in the identification and counting of birds. During your 90-minute hike around Bidwell Park see birds that are common in the Park. After collecting data, kids will share their experiences at lunchtime over pizza. The results will become part of a database that scientists can look at to see how the birds in our area are doing. How many birds can you find? Open to youth ages 9-15.

Youth must be accompanied by at least one parent. There is no charge for parents. Pizza and drinks are included. Some binoculars and bird guidebooks will be available, but feel free to bring your own. Y$5 Level 2

Wing-it to the Sacramento National Wildlife refuge Sun 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm

First; leisurely walk along the Historic Miocene Flume. Here we should see towhees, thrush, woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, titmice, and raptors. Then we will travel up the ridge to enjoy our brunch at the Wulbern’s beautiful home and watch the activity at their bird feeders.

We will end the day in parks around Paradise, where we hope to see Western Bluebirds, Red-breasted Sapsuckers, Steller’s Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatch, resident hawks, and an assortment of other birds and wildlife.

A similar trip is also offered on Saturday. A$35 - Y$15 Level 2

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Falcons & Falconry

Owl Banding Presentation, Survey, & Field Trip with guest Scott Weidensaul Field Trip SOLd OUT

Sun 8:45am - 11:00 am On this field trip; you will have the opportunity to see falconry in action.

Falconry is a traditional method of hunting with trained birds of prey.

The field trip will begin with a short drive to a large open area. Falconry as a field sport will be discussed and equipment of this ancient art form will be displayed, along with live raptors. The trip will culminate with a live flying raptor display. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Oxidation Ponds & indian Fishery Sun 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Explore the Oxidation Ponds Wildlife Sanctuary at the City of Chico Wastewater Treatment Plan where we hope to find many species of migrating waterfowl as well as resident birds and mammals. We will then go over to the Indian Fishery Day Use Area of Bidwell-Sacramento River State Park. There the half-mile trail winds through an oak woodland forest adjacent to an oxbow lake. Woodpeckers abound along with many other woodland and aquatic birds. If we are lucky we may also see River Otter, Beaver, and Pond Turtles. Bring binoculars.

A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

rancho Esquon

Just a short drive outside Durham, along the roadways bordering Rancho Esquon, multitudes of Snow Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Sandhill Cranes can usually be seen right from your vehicle! Bald Eagles are occasionally spotted perched in the snags along the agricultural wetlands. Upon arrival at Rancho Esquon, we will visit the viewing platform which offers a spectacular view of the surrounding wetlands with a high concentration of ducks. This trip is also offered on Thursday with a different leader. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

The “winging-it” part of this trip is where the fun starts! We’ll veer off the beaten path as we bird along our way to the refuge. At the refuge we’ll view the dioramas and pick-up a wildlife checklist. Then we are off to a leisurely adventure around the auto tour loop to possibly see thousands of birds. You can expect to see Snow Geese, Northern Pintail, Cinnamon Teal, Ring-necked Duck, wigeon, raptors, and possibly a Bald Eagle. A$22 - Y$10 Level 2

Sun 3:30 pm - 8:30 pm

However, the Owl Banding Presentation is still open and FREE to attend at Chico Creek Nature Center.

Sunday, January 25 PrESENTATiONS/ WOrKSHOPS Talk is the Stuff with dirt on it NEW Sun 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Drawing on original story and poetry, Lin Jensen will explore the relationship between the natural world and world of human language, touch, and thought. Lin is the author of six books, and from his first, Bowing to Receive the Mountain (1997), to his most recent, Deep Down Things (2010), all of Lin’s work is informed with a deep love and regard for the living earth. A$8 - Y$5

Chico Backyard Birds

Sun 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Join Mac, who will give you tips on identifying some of Northern California’s birds that visit your backyard and explain why many of them seem to seasonally disappear. In addition, he will make suggestions regarding reference material to help you become a better backyard “birder.” A$8 - Y$5

THE TILLEY HAT • Excellent UV Protection • Guaranteed for Life not to wear out • Insured against Loss • Floats • Repels Rain

Mountain Sports

JAN 14-FEB 7 • Free Gala Reception Friday, Jan 23, 5-8pm 180 E. 9th Ave • 879-1821

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Situated on the west side of the upper Sacramento Valley, Black Butte Lake is surrounded by beautiful dark volcanic buttes. Come explore the backwaters and woodlands this lake has to offer and see Grebes, Belted Kingfisher, Gulls, Wild Turkeys and raptors. Bring a lunch and drink.

A$27 - Y$10 Level 3

Meet at Chico Creek Nature Center

Sun 8:30 am - 10:30 am

Sun 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Sun 8:00 am - 2:30 pm

Sun 7:30 am - 3:00 pm

2nd Annual Chico Christmas Bird Count 4 Kids

Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Birds & Trees of Butte Creek Ecological Preserve

rio Vista, Woodson Bridge & Olive Tour

Bird the Shores of Black Butte Lake Meet at Chico Masonic Family Center

Sun 7:45 am - 11:00 am

Bidwell Park Bird Walk with Scott Weidensaul SOLd OUT

serving ChiCo sinCe 1975

176 East Third St Downtown Chico 345-5011

2005-2014

www.chicomountainsports.com Open Daily

J A N U A RY, 2015

Snow GooSe FeStival

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IT’S IN OUR NATURE...

We’re partners from the ground up.

N

orthern California’s wetlands are a precious, yet scarce, resource. And while over 95 percent of our wetlands have been lost, millions of waterfowl still call the Central Valley home. Ducks Unlimited works hand-in-hand with the California rice growers to enhance and preserve habitat, keep rice farming viable and still meet both waterfowl and human needs.

Ducks Unlimited is continually developing waterfowl-friendly land management practices and California’s Ricelands continue to produce millions of tons of rice every year. As people benefit, so do the ducks – by flooding their fields after harvest, California rice growers provide 60 percent of the food needed by wintering waterfowl, while DU’s on-the-ground conservation work provides wetlands habitat ducks need to flourish here in the Valley.

Find out how you can partner with Ducks Unlimited and the California Rice Commission.

Visit www.ducks.org and www.calrice.org.