NEWSLINES DOWNSTROKE SIX ARRESTED FOR ID THEFT, DRUGS
Butte County Sheriff’s deputies arrested six people last Wednesday (Nov. 13) on charges of mass identity theft and drug sales. While serving a search warrant on Grover Lane in Oroville, deputies discovered heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, forged checks, computers used to forge the checks and personal information identifying at least 50 victims, according to a press release. A subsequent investigation indicated one of the suspects, Rodney Mills, allegedly had stolen large quantities of mail from Chico, as he was found to be in the possession of multiple community mailbox keys and stolen mailbox locks. U.S. Postal law enforcement is assisting with the investigation. Mills was arrested along with Andrew Roberts, Claire Davis, Shelby Thomas, Jamin Baxmeyer and Laura Barkowski. They are being charged with a range of crimes, from possession of drugs for sale to felony forgery.
Housing and cannabis
CHICO HIKES PARKING FEES
Parking will be more expensive in certain parts of downtown Chico starting midDecember. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting (Nov. 19), the panel approved a final reading of an ordinance changing the fees. Drivers will pay $1 per hour for spaces between First and Fourth streets and Normal Avenue and Wall Street. Enforcement hours will be reduced to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday (as opposed to starting at 7:30 a.m.). The city also will install signage to help motorists find spaces and deploy a mobile license plate recognition unit for enforcement. To complete this work, outlined in the Downtown Access Action Plan, the city hired consultant Dixon Resources Unlimited for $80,000.
MAN CHANGES PLEA IN KILLING
A 42-year-old Oroville man accused of brutally murdering an elderly woman during a burglary changed his plea as a jury was being selected for his trial earlier this week. Brian Scott Madding pleaded no contest to first-degree murder, with a burglary enhancement. He is facing a life sentence without parole for the killing of Greta Jayne Putnam, 86, on Nov. 7, 2018, District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a press release. Madding is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 19. Madding (pictured) broke into Putnam’s home inside a senior mobile home park in Oroville to steal money and other items to trade for illegal drugs, Ramsey said. Her caretaker discovered her body the next morning. She’d been stabbed at least five times, and attempted to fight off her attacker. Ultimately, a deep stab wound to her neck killed her. 8
CN&R
NOVEMBER 21, 2019
Council approves extension of price-gouging ordinance, kicks can on cannabis legalization
Cthatrenters, especially given the housing was lost in the Camp Fire.
hico leaders must prioritize protecting
That was one of the main messages of the dozen-plus speakers who advocated story and for the city to extend photo by its anti-price-gouging Ashiah Scharaga ordinance at the ash i a h s @ Tuesday City Council n ew srev i ew. c o m meeting (Nov. 19). The law initially was adopted shortly after the disaster, and several residents, like Addison Winslow, argued that it should stay on the books longer than the Dec. 31, 2020, sunset proposed by city staff. “For a lot of us, it means the difference between remaining in our homes in Chico and either relocating completely from the area, commuting over an hour away or living on the street,” he said. Adopted as an emergency ordinance on Nov. 16, 2018, the law prohibits rent and hotel/motel rates from increasing more than 10 percent. City Manager Mark Orme explained Tuesday that it is a cumulative cap on price increases from the original adoption date. The fallout from this disaster is far
from over, community members argued. Several council members voiced their agreement, and the extension of the ordinance passed unanimously. Mayor Randall Stone called the decision a “nobrainer.” This is the second time the council extended the law. But Winslow, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America: Chico, still chided the council for its lack of further actions to protect renters and address the “extreme insecurity people have been facing since the fire.” Other speakers said extending the ordinance is the least the council can do. Vice Mayor Alex Brown agreed, adding that the city will continue to work toward finding affordable housing solutions in its Internal Affairs Committee (IAC) and ad hoc housing committee. Councilwoman Ann Schwab said she was struck by the outpouring of testimony on the reverberations of the Camp Fire, referencing several speakers who mentioned friends in Chico who were displaced as their rentals were sold. Schwab said she’d been alerted that some tenants already had received a notice of a rent increase starting Jan. 1, when the ordinance was set to expire.
Also that night, the panel spent a long time
debating commercial cannabis legalization only to wind up voting unanimously to defer the item to its next meeting. The proposal before the council, which was unanimously recommended by the IAC— composed of Brown, the chairwoman, and Councilmen Scott Huber and Karl Ory— would allow cannabis delivery businesses and storefronts, testing laboratories, and distribution and manufacturing services. No more than four stores would be allowed within the city, based on population. This topic was the most contentious. Jessica MacKenzie, head of the Inland Cannabis Farmers Association, served on the Cannabis Advisory Committee and reminded the panel that “this should not be an emotional issue, and yet it is.” “Cannabis is here in our community. It has been forever. We just need to decide. Instead of continuing to have this conversation about whether we like it or don’t …. It’s here. How are we going to manage it as a community?” Conversely, Teri DuBose, a local businesswoman who also served on the committee, said she was part of the minority and felt that the outcome had been “set in stone” from the get-go, that the committee was