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FREE CHICO’S NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT SOURCE VOLUME 44, ISSUE 6 THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 2020 CHICO.NEWSREVIEW.COM

Heroes Local

Celebrating the people whose perserverance is making a positive impact on our community PAGE

BUSINESS SURVIVAL HOMELESS STUDENTS SELFIES AT MONCA FILM: COW POWER

CN&R

December 10, 2020

INSIDE

CN&R

Vol. 44, Issue 6 • December 10, 2020

OPINION

Second & Flume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Streetalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

NEWSLINES

Downstroke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Business pandemic plight . . . . . . . 8 Chico State’s homeless help . . . 12

12 FEATURE

A salute to COVID heroes . . . . . . . 16 Readers’ local hero picks . . . . . . 22

ARTS & CULTURE

December Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Arts DEVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Brezsny’s Astrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

ON THE COVER: PHOTO AND DESIGN BY TINA FLYNN

353 E. Second St., Chico, CA 95928 Phone (530) 894-2300 Website chico.newsreview.com 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 at large Melissa Daugherty Interim Editor Jason Cassidy Contributing Editor Evan Tuchinsky Staff Writers Ashiah Scharaga, Ken Smith Calendar Editor Trevor Whitney

Managing Art Director Tina Flynn Marketing Design Manager Serene Lusano Publications & Advertising Designers Cathy Arnold, Nikki Exerjian, Katelynn Mitrano Senior Advertising Consultant Rosemarie Messina Sales & Business Coordinator Jennifer Osa

Distribution Manager Matt Daugherty Distribution Staff Michael Gardner, Drew Garske, Jackson Indar, Larry Smith, Bill Unger, Richard Utter, David Wyles

President/CEO Jeff vonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Director of Dollars & Sense Debbie Mantoan Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Hansen Developer John Bisignano System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins Got a News Tip? chiconewstips@newsreview.com Calendar Events cnrcalendar@newsreview.com Want to Advertise? cnradinfo@newsreview.com Job Opportunities jobs@newsreview.com Editorial Policies: Opinions expressed in CN&R are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permission to reprint articles or other portions of the paper. CN&R is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to cnrletters@newsreview.com. All letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel. Advertising Policies: All advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of Acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes the responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message. CN&R is printed at PressWorks Ink on recycled newsprint. Circulation of CN&R is verified by the Circulation Verification Council. CN&R is a member of Chico Chamber of Commerce, Oroville Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Chico Business Association, CNPA, AAN and AWN.

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DECEMBER 10, 2020

CN&R

OPINION

Send guest comments, 340 words maximum, to gc@newsreview.com or to 353 E. Second St., Chico, CA 95928. Please include photo & short bio.

EDItORIAL

SECOND & FLUME

Survival mode

by Melissa Daugherty m e l i s s a d @ n e w s r e v i e w. c o m

Egoesa plea to readers to shop locally. The refrain something like this: Money spent at inde-

very year around this time, the CN&R makes

for take-out or delivery. In terms of retail establishments, we suggest shopping only at places that strictly enforce the use of masks, pendent businesses owned by fellow residents or buying their wares online and picking them gets reinvested into the community, including up curbside. in the form of jobs. In practice, helping the local economy Of course, this isn’t any ordinary holiday means largely steering clear of Amazon and season. This is 2020, year of the COVID-19 other giant online retailers. In Chico, one pandemic, and December happens to fall resource for those who want to both shop on during a surge of the virus. Therefore, we real- the web and help sustain local outlets is the ize it may be more difficult than usual to keep Downtown Chico Business Association’s new your dollars here. The rub is that your support Online Marketplace (shop.downtownchico. is perhaps more critical than ever. As Ashiah com), a portal of products and website links Scharaga reports this week in Newslines (page through which many member businesses are 8), some businesses are barely keeping their conducting e-commerce for the first time. heads above water, while others have already We’re talking about the mom-and-pop succumbed to the economic downtown. As enterprises that create the area’s eclectic she notes, restaurants appear to be particularly commercial sector. You know, the places that vulnerable. protect Chico and the rest of the county from We certainly don’t want anyone to put being swallowed by corporate chain sprawl their health at risk, so we’re not encouraging and turning into a suburban hellscape. readers to frequent places that aren’t compliPoint is, your go-to spots—say, your favorant with the state’s public health restrictions. ite antiques store, jeweler and clothier—need Whomever you choose to patronize, we urge decent receipts to keep the doors open and you to do so safely. In the case of restaurants, employees on the rolls. In short, readers, our this includes dining outdoors while safely pitch to you is simple: Support the businesses distanced from others or instead opting you want to see survive the pandemic. Ω

4 4

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Muckraker remembered “Hey, kid. How ya doin’?” I can hear Tim Crews’ gravelly voice say those exact words, his typical greeting. Though busy as editor and publisher of the twice-weekly Sacramento Valley Mirror, the publication he founded roughly 30 years ago, Tim always made time to call me. We first crossed paths nearly two decades ago when I was a cub reporter at the Chico Enterprise-Record. My first beats in those days were covering the Paradise Ridge and his territory, Glenn County, a place with scandals as fertile as the fields and orchards that produce the region’s primary commodities. I lived on my late grandparents’ small farm in Hamilton City during college and early in my career, so Tim didn’t look at me as he did other reporters from Butte County, people he largely considered interlopers who’d occasionally roll in from Chico for a big story. But it wasn’t until I was named the CN&R’s editor-in-chief about eight years ago that Tim and I bonded over our shared love of newspapering. That’s not to say we didn’t gripe about the downside of our jobs, including working ridiculously long hours and being on the receiving end of death threats. I suspect that Tim, dogged reporter to his core, prioritized work over his health. Which brings me to the point in this belated tribute where I acknowledge—more to myself, so that I can believe it—that Tim died on Nov. 12. He was 77 years old. I’d heard through the grapevine in October that Tim was ill, but I expected he’d be back at his keyboard any day. It wasn’t until later that I learned he’d been hospitalized since September for several medical issues, including pneumonia. I just couldn’t imagine that anything could keep Glenn County’s tough-as-nails newsman down. Tim’s efforts to hold powerful people to account are the stuff of legend in the California journalism industry. He earned his reputation through records requests and subsequent legal battles in the pursuit of public documents. The CN&R has written about numerous such cases, like the time a county judge ruled one of his lawsuits frivolous and ordered him to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of the opposing party’s legal fees, an amount that would’ve bankrupted his tiny publication. The case had implications for media outlets throughout the state, so a who’s who of newspaper industry professionals and First Amendment advocates came to his aid. The local ruling was successfully appealed and Tim prevailed on countless other cases, making him a hero to the scores of interns he worked with over the decades and a burr in the saddle of government officials. I’ll never forget visiting the Mirror’s downtown Willows office, a former jewelry store with display cases filled with journalism awards. Among Tim’s many honors was being named the California Press Association’s Newspaper Executive of the Year and receiving the California News Publishers Association’s Freedom of Information Award. I recently spoke to his life partner and business cohort, Donna Settle, and am happy to report that the Mirror lives on. In fact, the paper hasn’t missed an issue since Tim’s passing. Still, considering the spread of COVID-19 and the subsequent critical need for unflinching accountability journalism, the sad truth is that Tim’s death leaves a craterlike hole in the west part of the valley’s media landscape. From a personal perspective, I’m pretty darn sad. Tim was among the first people to congratulate me when I was named editor of the CN&R. During his regular phone calls, he’d give me kudos on a particular editorial or story. In Tim-like fashion, when he disagreed with something in the paper, he also felt free to share his criticism. I’ll miss all of that. I know Tim was pulling for the CN&R to return to publishing weekly, and I’m sorry he won’t get to see that happen. Speaking of the future, I have some news that I hate to report. Like other businesses treading water, this publication can’t afford to sit on real estate it barely uses. Therefore, our building at Second and Flume streets is now on the market. Longtime readers will remember when the paper operated elsewhere downtown, so this doesn’t signal the end of Chico’s lone alternative newspaper. It’s just a transition, albeit a heartbreaking one.

Community Housing improvement program

2020 Outstanding Partner & Service Awards OutStAnding PArtner: Community Action Agency For their responsiveness to the needs of the residents at our various rental communities, we recognize Community Action Agency as the 2020 Outstanding Partner. In the wake of COVID-19, residents were able to take advantage of a variety assistance programs, from economic support to addressing food insecurity, making these tough times a little less difficult for families. Ensuring safe and secure housing in these uncertain times is of vital importance to the health of our community. Thank you, Community Action Agency, for helping stabilize housing communities during this pandemic.

Pictured (left to right): Crystal Smith, Tom Tenorio, Tim Hawkins

OutStAnding ServiCe: Chris Cumberland of Cumberland Plumbing For his commitment and promptness to responding to service needs, we recognized Chris Cumberland of Cumberland Plumbing as the 2020 Outstanding Service winner. Chris is dependable and quick to respond when his services are needed. Chris has been a highly reliable subcontractor for many years, so it’s no surprise that he’s been nominated multiple times for this award. Thank you, Chris, for many years of outstanding service.

Pictured (left to right): Javier Cruz, Chris Cumberland, Kenny Metcalf

CHIP is a Chico-based nonprofit that provides healthy, sustainable, affordable housing and related services to qualified residents in Butte, Tehama, Shasta, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter, and Yuba counties.

To support CHIP or learn more, please visit chiphousing.org December 10, 2020

CN&R

LETTERS

Send email to cnrletters@newsreview.com

He’s fired America needed a big miracle, like the parting of the Red Sea. Like the Egyptians chased the Israelis into the Red Sea of crazy, Trump and his cult of MAGA maniacs chased America right to the brink of destruction. As America ran to the polls, the ugly, contagious tower of red death threatened to wipe America out. As we walked on firm ground with Joe Biden, the red wave crashed on the people supporting it. Still, Trump and his cowardly, brainwashed Republican enablers are trying to lay waste to our country and the Constitution! There is nothing good about a red wave; it portends death and destruction, exactly what Trump and his troupe of MAGAs have done to America. The depth of their brainwashed commitment to the Devil Trump is shown by the murderous fools in the Senate, who refuse to wear masks. Pat Johnston Red Bluff

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CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Robert Woods Forest Ranch

Swat tobacco I am the president of the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) youth coalition at Willows High School. During my two years as a member and president of this club, we have done an immense amount of tobacco-related work, especially at our local parks. SWAT has conducted many park cleanups, and we have picked up hundreds of cigarette butts and other tobacco product waste. Many of the children in our community use the local parks and could be exposed to the toxicity of littered cigarettes or other tobacco product waste. This could lead to experimentation with these products and lifelong health issues. In order to provide a healthier environment and community for our family and friends, we must acknowledge the city guidelines and do a better job of keeping our parks smoke-free. Please join us in supporting the smoke-free parks policy in Willows and our efforts to keep our parks clean and safe. Our families deserve to enjoy these recreational locations without having their health put at risk. Sinai Lopez Alvarado Willows

Jake Pickering Arcata

Pride before the fall

Celebrating 37 Years of Quality Legal Education

are out in force, but what are they proud of? Obviously they’re not serving in hospital wards, fighting the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Nor are they in the military, helping to defend our dear nation. Neither are they on the front lines fighting our forest fires. Like their idol, Donald Trump, who never performed a day of service for his fellow humans, the Proud Boys fight for a perpetuation of Trump’s corrupt regime. Remember, boys, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

I see on TV news the Proud Boys fistfighting with counter-demonstrators in Sacramento’s streets. The Proud Boys

Write a letter Tell us what you think in a letter to the editor. Send submissions of 200 or fewer words to cnrletters@newsreview.com. Deadline for January print publication is Jan. 6.

STREETALK

What do you think about Trump’s election fraud allegations? Asked in downtown Chico

Paul Lampright business owner

I think there’s plenty of evidence of election fraud and voter fraud. The authorities should take a look at that.

Lee Morseey cook

I’ve heard about that. I don’t care. You can put “IDK.”

Jake Sprecher event booking

What’s left to think? I mean, you’re trying to rationalize the mindset of a literal insane person.

Joshua Chambers computer programmer

Since the 1990s, these black box voting machines have been very susceptible to cheating, and I think cheating is the modus operandi on both sides. Even though the mainstream media doesn’t want to admit it, there do appear to be some legitimate claims of voter fraud, but both sides cheat every single opportunity they get.

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We need your support

Our commitment to coverage and how you can help The Chico News & Review’s goal is to raise $32,000 by Oct. 30, 2020. When added to funds received through the Paycheck Protection Plan Loan, this will ensure that our team of dedicated journalists can continue working through one of the worst economic and health crises of the

past century. With your recurring or one-time contribution, the CN&R can continue our awardwinning coverage on the topics that impact the residents of Butte County, including COVID-19, the arts, homelessness, the fight for equality, and wildfire recovery and prevention.

You can make a donation Online at: chico.newsreview.com/support Or mail a check to: Chico News & Review 353 E. Second St., Chico, CA 95928 (Please include return address, and do not send cash.)

Thank you from your local, alternative newsroom.

Independent local journalism, since 1977. Now more than ever.

DECEMBER 10, 2020

CN&R

NEWSLINES DOWNSTROKE HOMELESS ADVOCATE MOURNED

Casey Doran, a dedicated volunteer and advocate for the local homeless community, died Dec. 4 after a long battle with cancer, Safe Space Winter Shelter announced via social media. Doran, 67, was a shelter operations manager at Safe Space and a member of the organization’s board of directors. She also volunteered with the Torres Community Shelter for many years and worked with foster children, according to fellow Safe Space board member Siana Sonoquie. Doran (pictured) was known by shelter guests and those she volunteered and worked alongside for her tireless work, passion for helping and often outrageous sense of humor. “Casey was a force of love that shook you in your boots, unwavering and unfiltered—always,” said Marin Hambley, also with Safe Space. “Some people are funny, foul-mouthed and beautiful,” social worker Autumn Brock said in a Facebook tribute. “They make everyone automatically feel comfortable and safe in their presence. Casey had the best laugh in the world.” “Casey was a genuinely open-hearted person,” said fellow Safe Space board member Susan Wilson. “Her love and energy resounded throughout the community to the end. Such an unspeakable loss to humanity … and what a gift to have known her.” No memorial had been announced as of press time.

CITY SETTLES HERRERA SUIT

The city of Chico agreed to a $50,000 settlement with Mark Herrera, a former park commissioner and City Council candidate, who sued in 2018 after then-Mayor Sean Morgan ordered police officers to remove him from City Council Chambers during Herrera’s public comments to the council. With the settlement, reached in October and finalized last week, the city does not admit to “any liability” but avoids litigation. The funds come from city coffers, not an insurer. Herrera’s lawsuit stems from a council meeting (see “Heat from the dais,” Newslines, May 18, 2018) in which he criticized the city’s priorities and called the founder of a local political group a “human paraquat.” Chico police subsequently arrested him, but he was released with no charges after a night in jail. 8

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Treading water Businesses await further financial aid, struggle to adapt and survive amid prolonged pandemic

TMarch, announced a statewide lockdown in Josh Mills told the employees at his he day before Gov. Gavin Newsom

downtown shop The Bookstore to apply for unemployment. He’d decided to close temporarily, anticipating that by the COVID-19 pandemic Ashiah was going to get much Scharaga worse before it got better. as h i a h s @ Mills was right. n ew sr ev i ew. c o m He didn’t know, however, that nine months later he’d still be struggling to make it through to the other side with his business intact. Indeed, the financial and emotional strain of the Holiday shopping: prolonged public health A physically distant crisis has cast a shadow of option for shopping uncertainty on the future of downtown this season many local establishments. is available via the The city of Chico and Downtown Chico Online Marketplace: stakeholder groups such shop.downtownchico.com as the Downtown Chico

Business Association (DCBA), 3CORE and the Chico Chamber of Commerce are working to help establishments weather the storm, but their efforts in most cases cannot offset the losses. Many businesses have survived thus far due to government assistance in the form of grants and loans, such as those provided through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act. The rub is that the PPP ended in August; businesses largely have exhausted the funds and Congress has yet to come to a consensus on a second round of aid. Katy Thoma, president and CEO of the Chico Chamber of Commerce, said the unknowns are exacerbating the stress. “Nobody has a crystal ball,” she said. “I am very concerned there are businesses that aren’t going to make it. Because I don’t know—how long do they have to go before there’s a light at that end of the tunnel?” Nationwide, more than 160,000 busiDenine’s Cupcakes closed its downtown shop and moved to a home-based business. PHOTO BY JASON CASSIDY

(Left) Josh Mills, who owns The Bookstore in downtown Chico with his wife, Muir Hughes, has implemented as many safety measures as possible and enforces a strict mask-wearing policy. PHOTO BY ASHIAH SCHARAGA

nesses closed from March 1 to August 31 this year, according to Yelp’s Local Economic Impact Report for September 2020. Of those businesses, Yelp reports that 60 percent (97,966) are permanently closed.

Helping hands In the era of COVID-19, Thoma said the chamber has become a one-stop shop for information on how to remain sustainable, including financial resources, customer retention tips, understanding ordinances and laws, and navigating payroll requirements. The chamber recognized that many small businesses don’t have the luxury of dedicated human resources, legal and marketing departments, and that’s where the organization could step in, Thoma said. “We wanted to be the go-to place for information for small-business owners,” she said. Meanwhile, Melanie Bassett, executive director of the DCBA, said the pandemic prompted her organization to launch a longconsidered venture. With a specialized loan from 3CORE, a nonprofit economic-development corporation that serves businesses, the DCBA created the Downtown Chico Online Marketplace in time for the holiday season (see info box). It’s an online portal that curates a variety of downtown business and restaurant offerings all in one place, designed to make it easier and more efficient for people to shop locally. Chico Chamber of Commerce President Katy Thoma (pictured in March) says she’s concerned that more businesses won’t make it through the pandemic due to financial and emotional strain exacerbated by uncertainty. CN&R FILE PHOTO BY EVAN TUCHINSKY

Only 34 percent of downtown businesses had an online presence before the DCBA launched the initiative, Bassett noted. Now, about two-thirds are online. The DCBA recognized that shopping locally this holiday season is more significant than ever, Bassett said. Sales during this time can make up nearly a quarter of a business’ yearly revenue. “It’s important for our community and it’s important for those businesses to stay open and be successful,” she said. “It’s been a rough year for them.” The DCBA also has worked closely with the city of Chico to roll out changes that help its members adapt to social distancing. The City Council approved expanded outdoor dining via parklets, which have allowed restaurants to use portions of the streets for seating. Retailers and restaurants also can reserve parking spaces for curbside pickup and takeout options. Until recently, the city waived parking fees throughout downtown. Several major parking lots still offer free parking. Interestingly, the city’s coffers—funded primarily through sales tax revenues—are in better shape than anticipated, Administrative Services Director Scott Dowell told the CN&R. “We know that, unfortunately, the restaurants have been hurt, and I think everyone understands that. But car sales and some of the retail businesses that generate sales tax, those have continued to do OK and better than what was projected,” he said. Several restaurants in Chico have closed their doors since the pandemic and appear to be the first to feel the impacts. This mirrors a national trend (see sidebar page 10). Thousands of eateries in the country have shuttered, and absent additional financial assistance, those in the industry anticipate NEWSLINES C O N T I N U E D

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DECEMBER 10, 2020

CN&R

NEWSLINES

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 9

Planning, adapting, closing

another wave of closures.

Restaurants some of hardest hit by pandemic—can they survive?

Trying to adapt Thoma described businesses as having “whiplash” from constantly shifting their operations to follow the latest health and safety regulations due to fluctuating local infection rates. Last month, Butte County jumped two tiers on the state’s ranking system, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The shift was dramatic, requiring reduced indoor capacity for the retail sector and a halt of all indoor dining services. When do you cut your losses? That’s a question many Chico business owners have unfortunately had to ask themselves this year, Thoma said. In fact, she recalled a recent conversation with a businessman considering doing that very thing and going to work for another company. Despite her concerns, Thoma remains optimistic. She has seen many businesses adapt by modifying their services or offering more products—such as masks and other personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers. “Chico’s DNA, in my opinion, has an entrepreneurial spirit,” she said. Bassett said some businesses have simply been in a holding pattern. For others, “pivot” seems to be the operative word in 2020. That includes the DCBA, whose employees are working from home while the office is temporarily closed. “I think it’s hard for our businesses to try to maneuver—the back and forth and trying to plan and survive—but also not just survive but be successful,” she said. “You also just wonder how long that stimulus money can help sustain our businesses. Nobody imagined that it was going to last this long.” Mills at The Bookstore received federal assistance via a PPP loan, but that covered just over eight weeks of operations. The shop also was awarded a small grant through the county’s Butte Business Stabilization Program, funded through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (also part of the CARES Act) and administered locally by 3CORE. However, that mainly will help optimize safety measures—such as adding additional air filters—pay off some debt and perhaps rehire a few employees. Mills is all too familiar with taking drastic measures to stay afloat. The Bookstore has closed and reopened multiple times due to government-mandated restrictions. To survive, Mills launched curbside service and expanded online ordering. Still, he estimates that the store’s income has been halved since the pandemic, which forced him to cash out a chunk of his retirement. “I can’t believe we’re still here,” Mills said. “We’ve kind of just scraped by. “If we can just make it through to the other side of this, I think it’ll be great again. For now, we’re just trying to keep the lights on.” Ω NEWSLINES C O N T I N U E D 10

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DECEMBER 10, 2020

losing the Old Barn Kitchen wasn’t a decision Anton Axelsson entered into lightly. Being a restaurateur is Axelsson’s passion and a family trade passed down from his father, a master chef. In his 27 years in the business, he’s overcome many challenges. In fact, just seven weeks after Old Barn Kitchen opened on the Ridge in 2018, the Camp Fire destroyed it. But Axelsson persevered and, with the help of an insurance payout, relocated the restaurant to downtown Chico just three months after the megablaze. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, dealt the final blow. On Dec. 6, his bright and sunny eatery on the corner of Third and Main streets joined the raft of businesses to go under this year. For Axelsson, one of the hardest parts was saying goodbye to a great team of employees. “These people mean the world to me and this restaurant means the world to me, but I can’t hold on anymore,” he said. “It’s probably the hardest thing I’m ever going to have to do.” Restaurants are among the first businesses to feel the impacts of the pandemic. In September, the National Restaurant Association announced that it expects more than 100,000—roughly 1 in 6 establishments nationwide—to close by the end of this year. Chefs and independent restaurateurs across the U.S. have formed the Independent Restaurant Coalition to lobby Congress for a $120 billion fund “to ensure 500,000 independent restaurants and bars and their 11 million workers are not wiped out by the pandemic.”

Locally, Old Barn Kitchen isn’t the first food establishment in town to succumb to the pandemic. Other closures include Hulas Chinese BarB-Q—a popular, multi-location establishment— and Denine’s Cupcakes (which has moved operations to owner Denine Owen’s garage). Casa de Paradiso, another restaurant from the Ridge that relocated to Chico after the Camp Fire, was a casualty as well. Even franchises are vulnerable: the local Outback Steakhouse and IHOP locations quietly shut down. While some restaurateurs have decided to permanently close, others have scrambled to adjust to mandates and are making ends meet. One business that’s actually done well during the pandemic is The Foodie Cafe, according to Café Coda’s back parking lot is being converted to accomodate a patio and food trucks.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CAFÉ CODA

owner and executive chef Boyd Atkin, who runs the business with his wife, Vicki. In October, the eatery opened its doors at a new location on Cohasset Road after spending six years at the Chico Municipal Airport Industrial Park. The larger space includes a covered patio that helps accommodate continued business during state restrictions on indoor dining. Atkin said a PPP loan and current revenues have allowed the restaurant to double staffing levels. “It’s kind of a scary thing to try to grow in this situation and spend any extra money on it, but we felt like it was the best way to keep it going,” he said, referring to the relocation. Atkin’s efforts to survive the pandemic began early in the crisis. One of the first things he did was modify his menu to make it more take-out friendly. He also made sure to be prepared to get supplies, such as additional take-out boxes, before they’re needed or hard to come by. He noted that he’s been working for years to entice customers—offering “over-the-top” food and focusing on growing a large social media following, for example—because the restaurant was on the edge of town. Atkin thinks that experience has helped him adapt quickly to all of the changes this year. “That’s all you can do, just keep right on top and be able to go with what’s going on and adapt quickly,” he said. Rather than having to scramble to adhere to evolving state mandates, some businesses are trying to ride out the pandemic with temporary closures. Among those restaurateurs is Eric Danielli, owner of Cafe Coda, who shuttered his popular breakfast and lunch spot at the start of the pandemic. Since then, the downtime has spurred an effort to try something entirely new. In recent months, he’s begun working on turning a longtime dream into a reality, creating a patio dining

Anton Axelsson, owner and head chef of Old Barn Kitchen, about a week before closing his restaurant doors for good. PHOTO BY ASHIAH SCHARAGA

venue in the back parking lot of the property just south of downtown. His first plan is to get Cafe Coda back up and running, he said, and then bring in food truck vendors. He sees the venture having a broader impact by being an incubator for the small mobile businesses. Even with all the excitement surrounding his project, Danielli knows he’s taking a risk since he’s bankrolled by a loan. “Everybody’s taking a different approach, and I hope everybody’s works out. We’ll see,” he said. “But I am excited for it. I’ve been looking at this land back here for 14 years and realizing its potential and not being able to do anything about it. “It took extraordinary circumstances for us to get here, but here we are.” After reopening Old Barn Kitchen over the summer following mandated closures, Axelsson was able to stay afloat only due to the support of his landlord, who allowed him to defer rent, he told the CN&R. The restaurant went from making $14,000 a week prior to the pandemic to less than $5,000. Axelsson didn’t qualify for federal assistance and likely will have to file for bankruptcy before all is said and done, he added. Axelsson anticipates many other small businesses will end up shuttering as well. As for what comes next for his family, they’ll soon move to New York and focus on his wife Chrystal’s online business, Old Barn Living. It was a tough call to say goodbye to Chico, but they need a fresh start. “I feel sorry for all my restaurateur friends,” he said. “It’s hard on us because this is our livelihood, this is something we dream of and put in a lot of years to master … [and] there’s nothing we can do. It’s mortifying.” —ASHIAH SCHARAGA ash ia h s@ newsr ev iew.c o m

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COVID 19 has been stressful for many of us in Butte County as well as for many others around the world. Stress over a prolonged period of time can cause or make worse pre-existing conditions people might have as well. As a result, people can experience a significant increase in mental health challenges (anger, depression, anxiety, and fear) as well as increased substance use (drugs and or alcohol). If you or someone that you know is struggling with any of these issues there is help available. Reaching out for help is not a sign of personal failure or weakness. It is the right thing to do. Every day, millions of people face challenges related to mental health and substance use. You are not alone, and we are here to help. Butte County Behavioral Health has a mission to "Partner with individuals, families and the community for recovery from serious mental health and substance use issues and to promote wellness, resiliency and hope."

Now, more than ever, it is critical to pay attention to your mental wellness. If you or a loved one would like more information on local treatment and services, dial 2-1-1 to speak with someone for assistance.

Need help? If you have Medi-Cal and are interested in accessing services with Behavioral Health for mental health or substance use treatment or if you are in crisis: Please call our Access line (available 7 days a week 24 hours a day). 800.334.6622 or 530.891.2810 Services are provided in Chico, Paradise, Oroville, Gridley. Support can be provided by phone, video, or in-person Additional resources are also available at buttecounty.net/ behavioralhealth

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December 10, 2020

CN&R

NEWSLINES

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 0

Graduating from poverty

Formerly homeless student Brian Ferncase talks with Emma Jewett of the Chico State Basic Needs Project outside the van he lived in. PHOTO BY JASON HALLEY, CHICO STATE

Chico State program to help unhoused students expands

Toutside received in trade for landscaping work of San Diego did little to protect him he 1993 Geo Metro that Brian Ferncase

from the elements—a lesson he learned the hard way over the course of a few snowy nights in by Grass Valley last winter, Ken Smith en route to starting his kens@ junior year as a transfer newsrev iew.c om student at Chico State. Ferncase knew the car wouldn’t provide adequate Basic Needs Project: shelter during his college Applications for career, but he had a plan. assistance can be Upon arriving in Chico, found at csuchico. he bought a van to replace edu/basic-needs. The Hungry Wildcat pantry the car and outfitted it for is located in Student living rough, spending Services Center, Room most of his nights parked 196 (accessible by in Upper Bidwell Park as the alley off of Hazel Street). Call for more he attended classes during info: 898-4098. the day.

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

For Ferncase, homelessness and the pursuit of higher education had long been linked; he first became homeless as a student at Humboldt County’s College of the Redwoods in 2013. He continued his education in the San Diego area, where he’d grown up—for some time living in a broken-down, unregistered van and bathing daily in the ocean. “I was just struggling, always mentally fatigued from work, strenuous academics … it was just too much,” said Ferncase, whose mother died during his early teens and father struggled with addiction, leading to a life marked by poverty and foster care. “I really don’t know how you can live like a person— buy clothes, food; go to school, work—when you’re doing it on your own.” At Chico State, Ferncase found food assistance at the Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry, operated by the school’s Basic Needs Project. During visits there, he met Emma Jewett, a case manager with the program who

offered him help finding housing. Ferncase said he “didn’t feel ready yet” to make another attempt at apartment life, but found himself in dire need of a place to stay when his van died. “It was the middle of the coronovirus, summer and 110 degrees, and I was broke

Jewett explained that the definition of homelessness as it applies to students doesn’t just mean those sleeping outdoors, but also accounts for those in precarious shared housing or couch-surfing.

down,” Ferncase said. He called Jewett. “Everything worked out and I was literally in a house the next day.” Ferncase now lives in a studio apartment; with further help from Basic Needs, he obtained a job at the University Farm. He is one of more than 125 students the project has helped find homes since it first began assisting with emergency housing needs in 2016. These efforts were bolstered late last year when Chico State was awarded an $870,000 state grant focused on rapid-rehousing of homeless college students. The funds are part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s billion-dollar plan to combat homelessness, and also included funding for similar programs at several other schools in the CSU, UC and community college systems. The funds are earmarked for client assessment, housing identification, direct rental NEWSLINES C O N T I N U E D

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assistance, case management and employment services. At Chico State, that allowed Basic Needs to hire Jewett in July. To best deliver services to students, Basic Needs has also partnered with local homeless assistance agencies True North Housing Alliance and Chico Housing Action Team. “These agencies are at the forefront of the fight against homelessness in our area, and it’s invaluable for us to partner with them and share their knowledge and resources,” Chico State Basic Needs Administrator Joe Picard said. “Working with them better enables us to identify and meet students’ needs so that they can achieve academic success.”

Living on the edge According to information provided by Basic Needs, the exact number of students experiencing homelessness is hard to quantify and often under-reported due to stigma houseless students face, but studies estimate up to 10 percent of students nationwide live in unstable housing conditions. A recent study by three members of Chico State’s faculty indicates those numbers are worse locally, with 14.7 percent of students having experienced homelessness in the wake of the Camp Fire. Basic Needs research indicates more than 500 Chico State students (3.3 percent) experience homelessness during an average academic year. Jewett explained that the definition of homelessness as it applies to students doesn’t just mean those sleeping outdoors, but also accounts for those in precarious shared housing or couch-surfing. “Our area has had a vacancy rate of Case Manager Emma Jewett and Administrator Joe Picard outside the Basic Needs Project office at Chico State.

between 1 [percent] and 3 percent for years, and the Camp Fire only made it worse,” Jewett said. “It’s really difficult for students to secure housing in that situation, when they might not have built up much credit yet, or if they don’t have parents who are able to cosign with them to rent a place. There’s a lot of barriers.” Jewett noted that in addition to local housing issues complicated by the area’s recent disasters, the COVID-19 crisis has led to increased housing and financial insecurity. The amount of students seeking help at Basic Needs has increased 200 percent since March, according to Picard, with 26 students being successfully housed since that month and more in need. “A lot of our students were just getting by working 15 to 20 hours a week in the service industry, but so many places have had to shut down because of the virus, and the students are left with no job and no income,” Jewett said. “More than ever, they’re struggling.” In addition to rapid-rehousing services and food services via the pantry, the Basic Needs Project offers emergency loans and grants. (See info box, page 12, for details on applications for services.) Ferncase, for one, is glad that he found the pantry and thankful for the services to which it led him. He hopes to graduate with a degree in psychology in about a year and is considering a career in counseling. “This program has helped tremendously,” he said. “[Before], it was always the same story. I could just never get a break, and I never felt like things would be OK, and that I could do this. It felt like an uphill battle. “But it’s getting a lot better,” he added. “Right now, I feel like my life is the best it’s ever been.” Ω

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CN&R

Local

Heroes 2020

PEOPLE of the YEAR

CN&R’s 2020 version of Local Heroes salutes those who’ve persevered through the pandemic to serve us all

ormally, the Chico News & Review publishes a special Local Heroes issue to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday, when we give thanks to those who volunteer their time for our community. This is not a normal year. During a pandemic, the frame of reference for what makes a hero shifts. Suddenly, it becomes obvious that the person bagging your groceries or filling your prescription does essential work—and that their continuing to clock in, despite the risks, is critical and heroic. We decided to save recognition of community heroes—most of whom represent a larger group doing the same work—for the final issue this year, to end 2020 on a positive note. In another break from tradition during these unique times, we’ve removed the volunteer requirement to open up the honor to anyone who’s helped, sacrificed or otherwise stepped up this year.

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

In harm’s way When someone refers to Dr. Steven Zlotowski and his colleagues in emergency medicine as heroes for what they’ve faced during the pandemic, he takes the compliment with a dose of self-awareness. “I sometimes say, ‘We might be trying to do something that’s heroic, but I don’t know that we’re heroes,’ because I don’t believe that we are,” he said. “That comes from the fact that we’ve been showing up and doing our job just like this, under challenging circumstances, whatever anybody throws at you, whatever holes in the safety net there are in society—we’ve been doing this our whole career. We know what we signed up for; we understood about pandemics and infectious diseases when we got into this business. “So this is another flavor of ‘business as usual’ for us.” Still, COVID-19 has shaken even the most unflappable physicians at times. The pandemic’s onset overwhelmed hospitals in several large cities, most notably New York. From Chico, where

he works at Enloe Medical Center, Zlotowski made a video plea—which went viral—for people to take precautions seriously. While bracing for a winter surge, Zlotowski said medical professionals find themselves in different circumstances now than six months ago. In March, providers lacked experience diagnosing this new coronavirus, testing wasn’t widely available and facilities faced shortages of personal protective equipment—“so you were basically flying blind at very high speeds without a parachute.” Testing capacity has expanded, though “still not to the capability or the turnaround time we would like it,” and he said the hospital “has done a phenomenal job at getting us PPE, so we’re comfortable we have the protection that we need.” Back in March, Zlotowski assumed he would contract COVID-19 at some point. Though relatively young (he just turned 58) and in good health, he—like other frontline health workers—gets exposed to the virus far more than the average person. “But I don’t fear for my life, even though I acknowledge I could be at risk,” Zlotowski said, drawing on an Irish saying his “second mother”

(Left) Enloe Medical Center emergency room staff in full PPE. PHOTO COURTESY OF ENLOE MEDICAL CENTER

(Right) Josh Girard, official greeter at Chico Natural Foods Cooperative. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

used to tell him. “You just swallow the heartache … instead of having something that’s painful poke and prod you every day for some period of time, you just swallow it one time. I think I probably took from her wisdom in March. “That said,” he added, “I’m taking all the precautions because it matters more than just to my own personal health whether I get it.” —EVAN TUCHINSKY evant @ n ew sr ev i ew. com

Store sentries In summertime, as wearing facial coverings in public places shifted from recommended to required in California, social media feeds choked with videos of bad behavior sparked by the enforcement of so-called mask mandates. Chico had its own dubious Internet star in a woman dubbed “Panera Patty” by some (and “Farty Farrah” by others). In July, she was caught on film at the local Panera Bread

refusing requests from employees and other customers to don a mask provided by the restaurant—then blowing on other customers and offering questionable proof about the inefficacy of masks based on the ability to detect flatulence. As most retail and grocery workers can attest, every viral video likely represented thousands of unfilmed confrontations. All the workers put their own health at risk to keep essential businesses running, but especially those “store sentries” who’ve stood steadfast in the proverbial trenches in a battle of proven data and public health information versus pseudoscience and perceived threats to personal liberty. Usually, these are front-end workers who never signed on to engage in conflict, let alone enforce controversial public health rules. At Chico Natural Foods Cooperative (CNFC), employees began wearing masks just weeks into the pandemic—at first suggesting customers do so as well, then requiring them to once the state mandated face coverings in public buildings on June 18. The CNFC sentry position first fell on management, who took shifts at the front of the store during what was correctly anticipated to be a difficult transitional period. Brand Manager Joey Haney confirmed that confrontations ensued; in the worst episode, police had to be called after a maskdenier shouted racial slurs, threw a brick of cheese against the wall and blocked the store’s doorway. In July, the store hired Josh Girard to work specifically as a greeter. “I assumed

there’d be some combativeness, but I didn’t expect it to happen as frequently or for people to be so difficult,” he said. Haney and Girard said the tantrums have largely subsided, but still happen. —KEN SMITH kens @new srev i ew.c o m

Standing up for the stigmatized Though impacts of the coronavirus may have affected people most acutely in 2020, longstanding issues continue to weigh on communities locally and nationwide. Discrimination—notably, violence by police against people of color—and homelessness attracted mass attention, with people taking to the streets to protest George Floyd’s killing as those living on the streets faced intensifying scrutiny. Concerned citizens put themselves at the nexus of these problems; locally, few moreso than Marin Hambley, who in just three years in Chico has become a tireless champion for underserved, underrepresented and stigmatized individuals. Hambley works as advocacy and education coordinator for Stonewall Alliance Marin Hambley, advocacy and education coordinator for Stonewall Alliance Center and operations leader for the Safe Space Winter Shelter. PHOTO BY EVAN TUCHINSKY

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Sawyere Lamontagne, Chico State social work student and homeless advocate.

stay home, idling his equipment. Meanwhile, medical facilities and public agencies scrambled to provide frontline workers with face coverings and other protective gear as the School District to be delivered by dozens of pandemic caused global shortages. volunteers daily for the first two months of A phone call from Banwell to Butte the crisis. The bulk of that and other regular County Supervisor Debra Lucero connected outreach work was carried out by unpaid volthe dots. Funded by a grant from the North unteers, including some affiliated with Safe Valley Community Foundation, IFL made Space Winter Shelter, True North Housing 3,500 fabric masks for In-Home Supportive Alliance and other local service providers. Services’ caregivers. Thus started a venture Other outreach efforts included weekly trash that, at its peak, employed 27 and filled removal and cold water dispensed during the orders as large as 40,000 for masks and summer months. faceshields. Organized outreach efforts have dwindled “This was really a complete pivot, into as time passed and funding to help pay for producing PPE,” Banwell said. “We had all food and water was exhausted, but the DSA the appropriate tools; it was really about fillrecently began a Cold Weather Mutual Aid ing the need—and also keeping our doors program (DSAChico.com) and Safe Space is open, because our main business model fell collecting monetary donations (safespace completely flat. … We completely retooled chico.com), with both efforts aimed at delivfor this need.” ering necessities to the unhoused. Initially, for the fabric masks, IFL pieced And, at least one volunteer who’s been out the sewing to people in their homes. involved since the early days of encampManaging the work of 100 freelancers proved ment outreach has never stopped. Sawyere challenging—Banwell has run a mostly oneLamontagne, a Chico State social work man shop on Orange Street, with partner student who participated in the DSA’s first Jordan Layman heading their Santa Cruz efforts, continues to visit the camps every spinoff—so he now contracts with Diest Co. Sunday of his own accord, delivering donatManufacturing for sewing at that facility by ed food to those living outside. Chico Municipal Airport. —KEN SMITH Perhaps the most stressful moment came courtesy of the faces shields. IFL started making those from clear polycarbonate material at the request from Enloe Medical Center. Banwell had delivered the initial batch from an order of 1,200 when he got a late-night When Idea Fab Labs (IFL) opened in 2012, call saying the head nurse for infectious Erin Banwell envisioned artists and crafters using the Chico maker space to create unique diseases had determined the shields were 2 inches too narrow and, without more, the works. He didn’t see it as a factory. hospital would run out of this protective gear Then came 2020, year of the pivot. State the next day. public health orders forced the makers to “That was a crazy moment for me,” Banwell recalled. He rushed to work, changed the design, and his crew made the new ones fast enough that “we got them a batch of several hundred that next day.” IFL, with another NVCF grant, also made 10,000 face shields for distribution by the health departments of five North State counties, including Butte. Demand for locally made PPE has slowed now that large-scale manufacturers have caught up; factories in China can produce units more inexpensively. Same for the basic fabric mask, but IFL has carved a spot in the niche market for custom and fashion masks. At a special site (iflmasks.com), people can order designs from artists, who get commissions for use of their work, and businesses or organizations can get masks Erin Banwell, co-founder of Idea Fab Labs. with their logos on them. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

Center, hub of Chico’s LGBTQ community, which this summer established a grant fund for queer and trans people of color. They’re also operations leader for the Safe Space Winter Shelter organization through which they, with Siana Sonoquie, manage Project Roomkey—the state-funded program that provides motel rooms for at-risk homeless people and low-income COVID-positive patients who need to quarantine. In addition, Hambley volunteers as outreach lead for the North Valley Harm Reduction Coalition, which despite suspending syringe distribution still provides free public health services. “There’s a lot of areas of discrimination and stigma,” Hambley said. “There’s a merging of all three of my jobs in a lot of ways.” Hambley didn’t start out in social service. When they came to Chico, a 2016 graduate of UC Davis, Hambley was a groundskeeper. Working the landscape at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. on the morning of the Camp Fire changed their perspective, and Hambley left that position to start helping the thousands displaced by the disaster. “There were different forms of connections made with people organizing and fleeing, and the overlap of those two categories,” Hambley said. “I really got entrenched in a lot of community work…. I am nothing without the people around me, and I started building on those relationships and those connections of care and vulnerability as more disasters kept happening.” Including our current one. “Current multiple ones,” Hambley corrected. —EVAN TUCHINSKY

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

Angels of the encampments Dedicating time and energy towards helping the most vulnerable members of our community—the unhoused—is always a noble effort. Doing so during a pandemic is downright heroic. The outbreak of COVID resulted in Chico City Council relaxing rules against public camping in early April, causing numerous encampments to spring up in parks and near waterways. This effort to comply with the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Protection’s guidelines has been a political hot potato since the camps appeared, adding fuel to already raging debate over how to deal with homeless issues and standing as a major concern in this year’s City Council elections. As soon as the encampments arose, helpers in the community stepped up to lend a hand. The earliest outreach efforts were organized by the Democratic Socialists of America’s local chapter and focused on education. “The DSA’s Mutual Aid outreach basically started with me and [local homeless advocate] Bill Mash going out to the encampments with snacks and hand sanitizer,” said Addison Winslow, who helped coordinate volunteer efforts. “We kind of used the hand sanitizer as part of our schtick to start talking to people about COVID. We told them about flattening the curve and helped people who asked us, ‘Is this real?’ understand that it is. Those outreach efforts expanded rapidly, with funding from the state’s Project Roomkey initiative allowing for meals prepared by Chico Unified

Mask makers

PHOTO COURTESY OF IDEA FAB LABS

—EVAN TUCHINSKY

109 years in business

Butte Humane Society

Heather Marie Ellison and Kirt Lind of Astronaut Ice Cream. PHOTO BY JEFF SHANER

The show’s still on Public entertainment venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. That, of course, is bad news for businesses who make their livings producing live shows as well as for the artists who perform them. In addition to the financial impact COVID closures have had on Butte County’s entertainment industry, there’s also the spiritual impact on isolated residents deprived of experiencing art and public performances in person. Beyond distanced musical accompaniments to dinner and drinks at local restaurants, or drive-in style theater events, the only option for “live” events has been virtual. Of the handful of local artists who’ve been able to harness the resources and the technology to present themselves online, none has delivered the much-needed connection to the performing arts so completely as electro-pop duo Astronaut Ice Cream. “We had this big tour booked for April,” guitarist Kirt Lind said about the band’s pre-coronavirus plans. “And when that got canceled, immediately I was like, ‘I still

want to do this show.’” So they did. With the help of band videographer Joey Moshiri, on the evening of April 2, the duo staged a livestreamed concert from under a gazebo on a ranch in Capay. They followed up the show with a video for the song “Better Days,” a tune from the band’s then tobe-released album Blue, for which they’d end up making and releasing a video for every track—nine total. “The whole rest of the summer, we’d finish one video and start the

Two years ago Rocky ended up at Butte Humane Society with a wounded spirit and a severely broken leg. The staff and volunteers worked very hard to avoid amputation, which took months of treatment and patience. Oh, and a lot of love. That healed his heart. Just when he was up on all 4 legs again, his eye was removed because of glaucoma. Rocky started to think his luck was running out. But his friends at BHS didn’t give up, they believed that a forever home was out there waiting for him. And they were right. Thanks to them, Cassidy came into Rocky’s life. She took one look at him and fell in love. Now they are family and have never been happier. This season, please help BHS finish building their forever home by supporting The Journey Home capital campaign so that all homeless animals like Rocky can find their very own Cassidy. Visit bhsjourneyhome.com to learn more and donate.

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next,” Lind said. “Even if COVID wasn’t over, we knew it was going to be awhile before we got to perform, so the videos became performances for us,” vocalist Heather Marie Ellison added. Besides sharing videos online, the band organized additional interactive livestream events, including an albumrelease listening party for Blue and a Halloween Eve variety show/chat featuring Astronaut Ice Cream live with prerecorded performances other local performers—including spooky rockers WRVNG, and cocktails and comedy with local thespians Betty Burns and Delisa Freistadt. “Halloween was really special this year, and I don’t think a lot of people can say that,” Ellison said about the interactive experience. “At first it seemed like this was the replacement,” Lind said about the band’s forced shift online, adding, “I’m pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had doing it this way.” —JASON CASSIDY j aso nc @new srev i ew. c o m

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December 10, 2020

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Cameron Harry (left) and Nick Johnson, owners of Silkshop Screen Printing.

T-shirts off their backs When the statewide stay-at-home order was announced in March, Silkshop Screen Printing co-founders Cameron Harry and Nick Johnson saw many of their favorite restaurants, bars, coffee shops and movie theaters close immediately and indefinitely. Their local print shop was temporarily closed, too. “We saw the seriousness of the situation that we and all of these places that we love to go to were in,” Johnson said, “but the one thing that didn’t seem to get hurt was online stores. We thought if we could approach all these businesses, starting with the ones we’d worked with before, we could print shirts to raise money for them and keep our lights on at the same time.” Print shops across the country had the same idea, and the fundraiser became a movement of sorts, on which each shop put its unique imprint. Silkshop’s version, Print Aid, generated $20,000 for the 60 local businesses that participated (including the CN&R) and sold more than 1,600 shirts in three months. Johnson and Harry gave businesses $12 of each $20 shirt sale and put the rest into supplies and utilities.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SILKSHOP SCREEN PRINTING

The duo said they also enjoyed getting the chance to collaborate with the various designers and would be open to more fundraisers going forward. “We’d definitely consider doing something similar. If there are certain places that can’t pay their own bills right now, we’re for sure down to help them out and set up a store,” Johnson said. “We also have to thank everyone who bought shirts, because they’re the ones actually donating the money.” —TREVOR WHITNEY t revo r w @new srev i ew. c o m

Melys Bonaficio-Jerez, social justice advocate. PHOTO BY KEN SMITH

Advocate for action One of the few positive things to be said about 2020 is that it has been marked by an increased awareness of and involvement in social justice issues. Months of Black Lives Matter demonstrations— sparked by the May killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police—have brought conversations about police violence and systemic racism to the forefront of national dialogue. One of the many progressive-minded locals inspired to embrace direct action and hit the streets is Melys BonifacioJerez. The Chico State sociology major said the desire to help people has always been close to their heart, but they were spurred to focus harder on those efforts this year. Bonifacio-Jerez hails from New York City’s South Bronx but moved to this area in 2008 and started up at Chico State in spring 2019. “[That semester] I took an ethnic studies class called Chicanx Literature,” said Bonifacio-Jerez, who is of mixed Dominican, black and Italian heritage and identifies as Afro-Latinx. “It was the first time I saw myself in a higher institution of learning, reading literature in Spanish, which was my first language. It made me feel really sane, and safe.” Last fall, Bonifacio-Jerez became an intern with Students for Quality Education at Chico State, a group that aims to ensure accessible, affordable and equitable college education for all. This led to an introduction to and involvement with groups like the local Sunrise Movement and the Chico chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Bonifacio-Jerez volunteered for the DSA’s mutual aid effort, shopping for groceries and delivering them to elderly and immunocompromised people in the

early days of the coronavirus epidemic. They attended most of the local BLM protests and helped organize the Chico Peoples’ Assembly, which held community meetings in Chico City Plaza to protest the city’s police budget and discuss how resources could be redirected toward positive community development. The Peoples’ Assembly maintains an Instagram page (@defundchicopd); Bonifacio-Jerez said they’d like to focus more on that effort in the next year. Beyond that, they’re considering a future in politics. “I have low-key aspirations to run for office someday,” Bonifacio-Jerez said. “It might be here, or maybe I’ll head to Sacramento to work on housing. I’ll be in some political realm, but am just trying to figure out where I fit in right now.” —KEN SMITH

For the greater good In terms of collective impact on public health, the biggest heroes of the coronavirus pandemic might be those who have decided to follow the advice of health officials. Businesses that have followed safety measures—or even closed their doors— and everyday people who stay home, keep physical distance and wear masks are doing critical work to slow the spread of the disease. Without individuals choosing to make social—and oftentimes huge financial— sacrifices, COVID-19 would take many more lives. And though there has been, and will continue to be, huge economic fallout as a result (see “Treading Water,” page 8), the alternative would be greater human tolls and ultimate business closures. The best way to show thanks is to stay vigilant ourselves and, when it’s all over, support the comebacks of businesses, organizations and anyone who took one for the team. —JASON CASSIDY

HEROES O N

DECEMBER 10, 2020

PA G E 2 2

CN&R

2020

YOUR

Heroes CN&R readers nominated community leaders, dedicated workers and frontline hospital staff

Barbara Vlamis in 2018.

FILE PHOTO BY EVAN TUCH INSKY

Mindy Larkin, Meals on Wheels For the last 15 years, Mindy Larkin has dedicated her life to the Meals on Wheels program. She is the backbone of the program. She works tirelessly …. and her work load has tripled since the pandemic began. Her day usually starts at 4 a.m. when the calls from the Enloe kitchen come in. Just a couple of years ago, we were delivering 80 meals per day. Now we are topping 200. She takes care of hundreds of clients and makes sure the drivers reach their intended targets. She deserves a little recognition for her tireless efforts. —MARTINE STILLWELL Me a l s o n Wh e e l s d ri ve r

Gina Catallo, Chico Animal Shelter

Bill Kurnizki with

his wife, Kim.

I would like to submit a nomination for the most deserving person I know, Gina Catallo, who works at the Chico Animal Shelter (CAS) as an animal services technician. They take the best care of the saddest animals in Chico, and Gina is a big reason why. She has worked at CAS since they started operations in February 2012. As a volunteer there since the same time, I have seen how much care Gina puts into every animal that comes into the shelter. She not only employed there (essential worker, for sure!), but she has also taken many animals home to foster. She is currently fostering a little old dog named Alien Grandpa, and he is just one example of how much she loves the animals in her care. She has dealt with the absolutely saddest, most heartbreaking animals in Chico, and she never gives up. She has stories that will turn your hair gray and stories that will make you cry with happiness.

MA SH PH OTO BY BIL L

Bill Kurnizki, CHAT Bill Kurnizki is a tireless “triumph of joy” in his volunteer role as board president of Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT). His lifelong skills as a retired contractor are put to use most days—be it fixing a porch [or] a roof, moving furniture, or making repairs indoors. I rode along with Bill on a Saturday morning in September and witnessed the rapport he has with volunteers and house residents as he non-stop engages and problemsolves with his wit and keen sense of getting things done. He gets excited helping people, like the time he showed me an RV donation with his Cheshire Cat smile tempered with the quiet tone he used to describe how life-changing this will be for the lucky recipient. Bill forms a dynamic duo with fellow CHAT board member Robert Trausch, who gives Bill a run for his money as the most energetic senior volunteer in Chico. Trausch has told me several times that he loves Bill like a brother. It’s easy to see why. —BILL “GUILLERMO” MASH KZFR radio host, “Without a Roof ”

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

—SHELLY ROGERS Chico Animal Shelter volunteer

Hospital COVID frontliners I’d like to nominate the staff at Enloe and other local hospitals who have volunteered—on top of their scheduled turns—to care for COVID patients. When we had our surge back in August/September (and now ramping up again in December), the staff were often were pulled from their home units every shift to care for people who were very, very ill with a very infectious virus. They did so despite their own fears, despite [personal protective equipment] shortages, to care for people who were scared, sick, and sometimes dying. They are my heroes for putting sick patients first. —AMY GREENFIELD assistant nurse manager, Surg ical Care Unit, Enloe Hospital

Barbara Vlamis, AquAlliance The Northern Sacramento Valley is the home of the Tuscan Aquifer, which provides the groundwater to sustain the trees, creeks and groundwater dependent farms of Butte County. Barbara Vlamis, executive director of AquAlliance, has worked tirelessly for the last 10 years to protect this invaluable resource. Most of us are not watching the undercurrent of forces that are after North State water. With her extensive knowledge of federal and state environmental laws and regulations she has kept our aquifer safer. She has used the courts to keep the water barons of Westlands Water District on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley—with their federal and state bureaucratic enablers—from draining the aquifer. Without her undefeatable energy and her dedication to the North Valley, our area would be without the running creeks and the trees they support. Our lives would be the poorer if not for Barbara’s skillful work. —KATHY FAITH

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Arts &Culture A VERY CHICO NUTCRACKER Dec. 13

Chico Community Ballet at Meriam Park Drive-In

SAT12 A CHRISTMAS CHAOS: See Friday, Dec. 11. Sat, 12/12, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm. $10. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotix.com

CELEBRATION MARKET: A locally crafted jewelry, healing and wellness products, food, art and plenty of holiday goods. Masks and social-distancing required. Sat, 12/12, 10am. Chico Elks Lodge, 1705 Manzanita Ave.

on Sunday, Jan. 10. Visit site for info. Through 1/24. 900 Esplanade. monca.org

NAKED LOUNGE: Call for art. The newly remodeled coffee shop is taking art submissions for 2021. Fill out the submission form on the website. 118 W. Second St. nakedloungechico. com

PARADISE ART CENTER: The Hope of Daffodils, a virtual community art show in remembrance of the Camp Fire and in recognition of rebuilding efforts. Through 1/1. Paradise Art Center, Paradise. paradise-art-center.com

Events BLUE ROOM DARK SEASON: Visit the theater’s Patreon site, patreon.com/BlueRoomChico, and sign up to to watch already filmed productions of Treasure Island and Blue Stories, plus an ever-growing list of vintage performances from 1990s on. Blue Room Theatre, blueroomtheatre.com

FARMERS’ MARKETS: Butte County’s markets are open and selling fresh produce and more. Chico: Downtown (Saturdays, 7:30am-1pm & Thursdays, 6-9pm); North Valley Plaza (Wednesdays, 8am-1pm); Chico State University Farm (Fridays, noon-4 p.m.). Paradise: Alliance Church (Tuesdays, 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.).

SANTA AT THE MALL: The Chico Marketplace has two options for kids to share Christmas lists with the toy boss. First, a contact-free photo op with Father Christmas inside the mall ($25.95 for two prints) Mon.-Sat., 11am-7pm; Sun., 11am-6pm. (Pets welcome Dec. 8 & 15, 5-7 p.m.). Also, for those who don’t want venture out, there are Virtual Santa visits via Zoom for $25. Chico Marketplace, 1950 E. 20th St. shopchicomarketplace.com

THE YULE LOGS LIVE ONLINE: The hardest working band in snow

DECEMBER ALL MONTH Galleries & Museums 1078 GALLERY: Stories Nine, eight artists with strong ties to Chico tell their stories through art and photography. Featuring: John Baca, Sharon DeMeyer, Josh Olivera, Lauren Ruth, Jason Clower, Sheri Simons, Judith Leinen and Marilyn Walsh. To accompany the exhibit, the gallery published a booklet that documents the artists as they were and how they are now. The 1078 currently closed due to COVID-19. Show online at gallery website. Through 1/31. 1710 Park Ave. 1078gallery.org

CHICO ART CENTER: The Art of Remembrance, an art and altar exhibition that includes art and historical and contemporary portraiture honoring the tradition of El Dia de los Muertos. Through 12/13. Also, call for art for Member Showcase—to enter, register or renew

CN&R

DECEMBER 10, 2020

membership and deliver one piece between Jan 2-3. Plus: Open Studios Art Tour has moved online. Visit site for info. 450 Orange St., 895-8726. chicoartcenter.com

GATEWAY SCIENCE MUSEUM: The museum is physically closed, but it’s still offering its Gateway at Home series of virtual activities like folding paper airplanes, learning in the garden, wildlife art and reading and lectures from previous seasons that cover a variety of environmental topics. csuchico.edu/gateway

MUSEUM OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ART: Selfie 2020, an exhibition about the self after the first 11 months of 2020. Northern California artists were asked to submit work that reflected their answer to a set of questions about their life and work during the pandemic: Have you changed physically? Mentally? Is your mind going in another direction? Has your art taken on a new life? The museum is closed, but a virtual tour of the exhibition is in the works. Panel conversation with the artists

biz is putting on three different (audience-free) shows. First, as part of Chico Performances’ Chico Voices Virtual series, the band was filmed on the Laxson Auditorium stage. The show is available to stream through Dec. 31 (visit chicoperformances.com). Plus, two special performances at the Chico Women’s Club streamed Dec. 11, 8 p.m. and Dec. 18, 8 p.m., via the band’s YouTube page: youtube.com/ theyulelogs.

FRI11 A CHRISTMAS CHAOS: A chaotic take on the Dickens classic performed in just 10 minutes. The show will be outside in the rear parking lot, drive-in style. Reservations required due to limited space. Fri, 12/11, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm. $10. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotix.com

HOLIDAY CURBSIDE MARKET: MONCA is closed, but the outdoor market is open under the museum arches and on 900 Broadway. Items for sale by local artists include watercolor paintings, artistic succulent plants, beautiful greeting cards, small wood bowls, sterling earrings and pins and more. Fri, 12/11, 11am. Museum of Northern California Art, 900 Esplanade. monca.org

DRIVE-IN MOVIE: THE POLAR EXPRESS: The animated film based on the Chris Van Allsburg children’s book. Purchase tickets ahead of time on website. Fri, 12/11, 6:30pm. $25 - $35. Meriam Park Drive-In, 1930 Market Place. meriampark. com/drivein

DRIVE-IN MOVIE: ELF: The Will Farrell classic on the big screen. Purchase tickets ahead of time on website. Sat, 12/12, 6:30pm. $25 - $35. Meriam Park Drive-In, 1930 Market Place. meriampark.com/drivein

HOLIDAY CURBSIDE MARKET: See Friday, Dec. 11. Sat, 12/12, 11am. Museum of Northern California Art, 900 Esplanade. monca.org

WITTMEIER TOY DRIVE: Chico Firefighters Association and Mix 95.1 are collecting donations of canned food, boxed food, new toys, board games, sport balls, dry food, coats and school supplies. All donated items must be brand new and unwrapped and all donated food items must be new and unopened. All proceeds help support Adopt-A-Family Christmas Program. Sat, 12/12, 12pm. Walmart, 2044 Forest Ave. kmxi.com

SUN13 A VERY CHICO NUTCRACKER: Fundraiser and dinner in support of Chico Community Ballet, with a video of the 2019 peformance on the big screen. Dinner option includes tri-tip, beans, salad, and a roll from Bootleg BBQ & Catering. Info on website. Sun, 12/13, 5:30pm. $40 - $53. Meriam Park Drive-In, 1930 Market Place. meriampark.com/drivein

CELEBRATION MARKET: See Sat, 12/12. Sun, 12/13, 10am. Manzanita Place, 1705 Manzanita Ave.

QUEER WINTER BAKE-ALONG: Bake a dozen almond butter spice cookies and hot brewed chai tea with Chef Anika Canton of Garden Cuisine Meals from the comfort of your kitchen. To participate, buy the bake-along kit from Chico Natural Foods and register and tune in via the Stonewall website on the event date. Chef Canton will be on live chat to answer questions, too. Sun, 12/13, 4pm. $6. Online Event, Stonewall Alliance Chico. stonewallchico.com

STORIES NINE

Shows through Jan. 31 1078 Gallery (online)

IS YOUR EVENT ONLINE?

So is the CN&R calendar! Submit virtual and real-world events for the online calendar as well as the monthly print edition, at chico.newsreview.com/calendar

CELEBRATION MARKET Dec. 12-13

SAT19

Manzanita Place

A CELTIC FAMILY CHRISTMAS AT HOME: Canadian fiddle couple, Natalie MacMaster & Donnell Leahy put on a Chistmas special from home, and Chico Performances is streaming it! Sat, 12/19, 6pm. $15. chicoperformances.com.

A CHRISTMAS CHAOS: See Friday, Dec. 11. Sat, 12/19, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm. $10. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotix.com

FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION: The Hispanic Resource Council— along with Promotores Outreach, AAFCC, Anthem Blue Cross and Semillas—will be giving out food, PPE and information. While supplies last. Sat, 12/19, 3pm. RUSH Personal Services, Inc., 15 Independence Circle.

SUN20

Living Nativity Christmas EvE from 3-6 pm

Experience the Wonder of Christmas!

e! e Fr

Candle Lights Galore! • Live Animals! Angels Singing from Literal Rooftops! Outdoors and Social Distanced!

You are invited to bring a canned good to lay at the foot of the manger for a food drive faith Lutheran Church Courtyard 667 E. 1st avenue chicofaithlutheran.org/events/nativity

MANUAL CINEMA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL: See Friday, Dec. 18. Sun, 12/20, 1pm. $15. chicoperformances.com.

TUE22 PRE-CONCERT TALK: BEETHOVEN 250: North State Symphony director Scott Seaton goes through the Beethoven 250 program two days before the concert. Watch on the symphony YouTube channel. Tue, 12/22, 7pm. North State Symphony. northstatesymphony.org

MON14 COMMUNITY FOOD BOX DISTRIBUTION: The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians will be handing out food boxes (whole chickens, canned food, dry goods and more). Open to all, no ID required. Drive-through. Mon, 12/14, 2-7pm. Rolling Hills golf course, 2655 Everett Freeman Way, Corning.

FRI18 A CHRISTMAS CHAOS: See Friday, Dec. 11. Fri, 12/18, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm. $10. Chico Theater Company, 166 Eaton Road, Ste. F. chicotix.com

MANUAL CINEMA’S CHRISTMAS CAROL: Chico Performances presents a streamed version of the holiday classic produced by a Chicago theater that uses innovative sound, film and shadow-puppet techniques. Friday and Sunday showings. Fri, 12/18, 7pm. $15. chicoperformances.com.

THU24 BEETHOVEN 250: Highlights from Beethoven’s most famous string quartets, brought to you on Christmas Eve by North State Symphony principal section leaders, including Terrie Baune (violin), Leah Carl (viola), Carol Jacobson (cello). The virtual performance will also air on cable access (Comcast 11). Thu, 12/24, 7pm. Free. Online event, North State Symphony. northstatesymphony.org

THU31 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!: Don’t be a super-spreader! Say goodbye to the Dumpster fire of 2020 by staying home and away from large gatherings. Raise a glass to new, better, healthier days with your bubble people. Love, the Chico News & Review.

EDITOR’S PICK

GOOD RIDDANCE, 2020! The words “Happy New Year!” will taste so sweet at the end of this [insert calamitous metaphor] of a year! We still have a few more kilometers to go until we reach the finish line in the COVID marathon, so avoid the temptation to hug all the people. Stay home and eat, shout, drink, dance and cry in your bubble, and make a toast of hope for better days ahead.

DECEMBER 10, 2020

CN&R

REEL WORLD

Land of milk A slow-paced and rewarding ‘offbeat western’

First Cow, Kslipped offbeat western that’s probably under most people’s radar, elly Reichardt’s

strikes me as one of the most odd and rewarding by American movies Juan-Carlos of the year. Selznick A whole range of peculiarities are First Cow at the heart of its Now streaming on sly appeal. It’s set Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube, in Oregon circa Google Play and 1843, and its two more. protagonists are Rated PG-13 on foot rather than horseback. The eponymous animal is a milk cow rather than the starting point of a great herd of cattle. The men with guns are mostly irascible fur trappers who harass the more peaceable characters, and the key secondary characters include a British aristocrat, a military officer, a Native American potentate and a polyglot assortment of ramshackle adventurers. The protagonists are “Cookie” Rabinowitz (John Magaro), an itinerant baker, and King-Lu

(Orion Lee), an adventurous immigrant and would-be entrepreneur. They first meet when King-Lu. who is fleeing a violent confrontation with “some Russians,” finds temporary shelter with Cookie, who is himself trying to dodge the hostilities of the trappers who employ him as their cook. Later, they will start a business selling Cookie’s biscuits at a nearby trading post. That makeshift bakery business looms as their chief exploit in First Cow, but the central story (adapted by Reichardt and Jon Raymond from the latter’s fiction) also gives shape to a free-form commentary on “the winning of the West,” the evolution of economics and class distinctions in American society, the sources and varieties of male friendship, and the relations of human beings and the natural world. A key part of this film’s gentle allure comes from its evocation of dank, green landscapes. And its casual, offhanded bits of human drama are variously immersed

in the natural world—grubbing for edibles, improvising shelter, stealing milk from the aristocrat’s prize cow, traversing forested underbrush waterways, etc. In one of the film’s hallmark moments, the filmmakers treat Cookie’s nocturnal visit with the eponymous milk cow as a conversation among equals, even though Cookie does all the talking. Violent social hierarchies come into view by way of the British aristocrat (Toby Jones) and his companions in and around the trading post. The placid omnipres-

ence of indigenous people serves as a quiet, abiding counterforce to all that—the tribal potentate (Gary Farmer), women and children in the flow of traditional domesticity, a young gallant with whom KingLu must bargain for a canoe ride to safety, and an elder of indeterminate lineage who performs a dance-like ritual outside the protagonists’ cabin. First Cow is in some senses a companion piece to another offbeat western of exceptional merit by Reichardt and Raymond— Meek’s Cutoff (2010). That pun-

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gently evocative Oregon Trail story foregrounds the roles of women in a wagon train stumbling through the territory’s harsh, brilliant landscape. Part way through, a lone Native American on horseback assumes a paradoxical place in the journey. Reichardt is a native of Florida, but almost all of her feature films have Oregon or American Northwest settings. Two of the best—Wendy and Lucy (Oregon) and Certain Women (Montana)—might also be viewed as “offbeat westerns,” albeit Ω in modern settings.

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Happy Holidays from Chico news & review

SCENE “A glimmer,” by Julia LaChica

Where are you? MONCA asks artists to reflect on life in 2020

A “Have how would you answer these questions? you changed physically? Mentally? Is s we get close the end of this trying year,

your mind going in another direction?” For its current juried exhibition, Selfie 2020, by the Museum of Northern Carey Wilson California Art (MONCA) put it to artists to answer those and more (“Has your Preview: Selfie 2020 shows art taken on a new life?”), through Jan. 24 reflecting on what’s now (online only). been more than 11 months Online panel of 2020. And in the more conversation with the than 40 pieces by 22 artists artists Sunday, Jan. 10, 3 p.m. that were chosen, the exhibit provides a setting for what Museum of Northern turned out to be a rich variCalifornia Art ety of techniques, materials 900 Esplanade monca.org and expressions of self. A planned Nov. 19 opening had to be canceled since the museum is at present not open to the public due to state coronavirus restrictions. The exhibit is moving online and will debut mid-December with a virtual guided tour with commentary by MONCA board member Kimberly Ranalla. (Visit monca.org for updates and more informa-

“Boys with Masks,” by Arran Harvey

“Just Asking,” by Nelson Wheeler

tion.) The variety and excellence of pieces chosen for the show makes it challenging to pick a sampler for print description. But after viewing the works both on the walls and on my tablet screen, I return to Oakland artist Julia LaChica’s acrylic on wood painting, “A glimmer,” which depicts the detailed figure of a pink-sweatered little girl holding a stuffed toy bunny and wearing a black fullface gas mask over her head while standing in a patch of evocatively sketched flower shapes, above which a couple of realistic Monarch butterflies hover. The background

and Repeat Defeat,” a young woman sits in a disconsolate slump against a kitchen cabinet door, the counter above her head festooned with assorted pots, pans and utensils while next to her an open dishwasher gapes, displaying even more dishes. In “Feeling Sour,” the same photographer has placed herself behind a large glass vase filled with longstemmed desiccated flowers resting on a bed of lemons. She sits with her elbows resting on the table top, framing the vase, with her face obscured by the foliage rising out of the vessel. As the artist says in her printed statement, “I am informed by my own struggle for control over my body, and the related anxieties I feel about my corporeal existence.” More lighthearted (perhaps), but equally expressive of the artist’s self-conception is Janice Hoffman’s “Potential,” a ceramic sculptured “totem,” its whimsical white elephant representing Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom, success and good luck, perched on top of a tree with its Dumboesque ears spread in preflight. Beneath it, a series of birds perch with folded wings as well as a female figure at the base draped in soft blue and cradling an egg in her right hand. The artist “Self-Portrait with Nabob Crown,” by Judith Johnson describes her assembly technique for making totems is an almost abstract expressionist plane of as being “like beads strung vertically, the blended ochre, green, brown and black in intrinsic meaning of the piece alterable by vertical orientation, the lack of horizon line the order in which the pieces are strung.” By making the central figure and her butterflies not including a personal interpretation of the stand out as three-dimensional beings superpiece, the artist allows her viewers to attach imposed on an abstract world. their own meanings to the order in which this Equally striking is Arran Harvey’s acrylic piece is composed. on paper painting of “Boys with Masks,” All in all, this exhibition is a collection of showing two young boys outfitted in autumn excellently conceived and craftily executed jackets and beanies, masks in place as they artwork conveying the challenges faced and gaze at each other, perhaps discussing where to play with the soccer ball that one is holding. met by artists doing their best to self-assess and express during this period of simultaneIn Chico photographer Angelea R.W.’s ous social upheaval and isolation. Ω black-and-white self-portrait photo, “Rinse

DECEMBER 10, 2020

CN&R

ARTS DEVO by JASON CASSIDY • jasonc@newsreview.com

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canceled/postponed tours, albums, films, etc., the entertainment machine should just skip 2020 like the 13th floor and move up to the next year. Arts DEVO is. I just don’t have the heart to sift through the COVID wreckage and do my usual DEVO Awards. Since March, it’s been mostly music that’s been able to make a mark under the circumstances, and as I’ve been writing repeatedly, it’s music that’s held me together during coronatimes. So, for this final print column of the year, I’ve decided to share a bunch of the lockdown music released by locals that’s hit my computer monitors—and give out two awards along the way: Artist of the Year: It is no secret to regular readers of this column that I’ve been a huge fan of Scout over the past five years. In 2020, the multi-instrumentalist/beat-maker/singer-songwriter recorded and released two full albums. The most recent, Don’t Forget the End, is a nimble, playful, self-recorded collection of soulful electro indie-pop that came out in September (my jams are “Bosie” and the sweet pop anthem to loving one’s self, “Like I Love Me”). Transitioning came before—in April—and in the online description, Scout explains its significance: “This album was recorded throughout the beginning of my Transgender Hormone Replacement Therapy. Here you can hear my voice shifting all the way from my first shot of testosterone (track 1) to the end of my first year (track 10). I hope you find a bop!” It’s as engaging as always, with the transitioning voice playing across tightly constructed indie-rock/ hip-hop/chillwave-informed songs. My personal “bop” is “Not My Job,” with its sneaky infectious groove; insistent bassy synth riffs; multiple guitar flourishes coming and going; and lyrics addressing the often futile act of trying to open a closed mind, with repeated refrains of “What’s the point of talking to you” and “I’m not wasting my words anymore.” scoutthewise.bandcamp.com Album of the year: Fera – Aurelia: The varied and often surprising sonic experiments—the exhilarating climax of distorted guitar on the otherwise acoustic “Come Down”; the found sounds on the title track; the muted spoken word on “The Black Water” (“You are never alone and are never out of reach”); the jarring bursts of noise on the delicate/pretty “The First Leaf”—sound like a singer/songwriter/engineer coming fully into his own. fera.bandcamp.com/ album/aurelia

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JUST PLAY ME ANOTHER SONG Should there be any awards shows for this year? With so many

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Surrogate – “COVID: A Love Song”: With amazing counter-melodies between singer/songwriter Chris Keane and guest vocalist Lorna Such, a bossa nova beat and an ear-worm keyboard riff, this is one impossible-to-resist pop song. youtube.com/watch?v=pmUUqxVuQWM Astronaut Ice Cream – Blue: Electro-disco-pop Prozac for quarantine. astronauticecream band.com/music Seven Mills – Evergreen: Lush vocals over piano and sound-effects on this beautiful debut by a high school senior recording at home during COVID times. Streaming at Spotify, etc. Hooker Oaks – EP: Ken Lovgren’s bedroom recording with sweet-and-sad lyrics, inventive melodies and ridiculously great reverb-soaked guitar tone. hookeroaks.bandcamp.com/releases The Bidwells – Anywhere You Take Me: Harmony-driven duo’s impressive wide-ranging debut— from the Cole Porter-esque “Able” to the rollicking “Harriet.” thesingingbidwells.com The Tightys – four Bandcamp singles: Dad rock by dads who don’t listen to any of that wimpy dad rock. Hot cut: “Hank,” with a glorious and gritty guitar riff that smells of weed and cheap beer. thetightys1.bandcamp.com RotoLords – RotoLords: Fuzzed-out weirdo garage recordings from music-dudes-around-town Nate Daly and Greg Hopkins, and guests. (Warning: contains rototoms!) rotolords.bandcamp.com The Golden Travelers: Saviors of New York – Death of a Whale: A gorgeous blend of pop-rock and folk-rock and harmonizing vocals of Jeff Reid and Mark Pullyblank. Streaming at Spotify, etc. Cat Depot – Peak Millennial Nostalgia: Guitar savant Mathew Houghton is joined by The Americas drummer Casey Deitz on a set of gorgeous and complex instrumental soundscapes. kitkatsrecords.bandcamp.com E.E. – Future Fantasy: Epic 20-minute bit-crushing noise jam. kitkatsrecords.bandcamp.com Abberance – “Fish Hooking a Penis” and “Eradicate Irradiate”: Two brutal, unrelenting, two-anda-half-minute singles of metal that is death. aberranceband.bandcamp.com Furlough Fridays – TGIFF: The high-energy power-pop crew is back with heavy set of five tunes—each named for a classic TV show—that drops Friday (Dec. 11). My fist-in-the-air jam is “X-Files.” ffyeah.com

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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FOR THE WEEK OF DEC. 10, 2020 ARIES (March 21-April 19): According

to Taoist scholar Chad Hansen, “Western philosophers have endlessly analyzed and dissected a cluster of terms thought to be central to our thinking,” such as truth, beauty, reason, knowledge, belief, mind and goodness. But he reports that they’ve never turned their attention to a central concept of Chinese philosophy: the Tao, which might be defined as the natural, unpredictable flow of life’s ever-changing rhythms. I think that you, more than any other sign of the zodiac, have the greatest potential to cultivate an intuitive sense of how to align yourselves vigorously with the Tao. And you’re in prime time to do just that.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): What’s

the cause of the rumbling at the core of your soul? How do we explain the smoke and steam that are rising from the lower depths? From what I can discern, the fire down below and the water down below are interacting to produce an almost supernatural state of volatile yet numinous grace. This is a good thing! You may soon begin having visions of eerie loveliness and earth-shaking peace. The clarity that will eventually emerge may at first seem dark, but if you maintain your poise it will bloom like a thousand moons.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Author and

student Raquel Isabelle de Alderete writes wittily about her paradoxical desires and contradictory qualities. In accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you to ruminate about your own. For inspiration, read her testimony: “I want to be untouchably beautiful but I also don’t want to care about how I look. I want to be at the top of my class but I also just want to do as best as I can without driving myself to the edge. I want to be a mystery that’s open to everybody. A romantic that never falls in love. Both the bird and the cat.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): What would

it take for you to muster just a bit more courage so as to change what needs to be changed? How could you summon the extra excitement and willpower necessary to finally make progress on a dilemma that has stumped you? I’m happy to inform you that cosmic rhythms will soon be shifting in such a way as to make these breakthroughs more possible. For best results, shed any tendencies you might have to feel sorry for yourself or to believe you’re powerless.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Novelist Tom Robbins

says you have the power to change how you perceive the world. You can change reality—and how reality responds to you—by the way you look at it and interpret it. This counsel is especially useful for you right now. You have an unparalleled opportunity to reconfigure the way you apprehend things, and thereby transform the world you live in. So I suggest you set your intention. Vow that for the next two weeks, every experience will bring you a fresh invitation to find out something you didn’t know before.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): India’s Prime

Minister Narendra Modi was re-elected in 2019. During his campaign, the Virgo-born politician arranged to be photographed while wearing the saffron robes of a Hindu priest and meditating in an austere Himalayan cave. Why did he do it? To appeal to religious voters. But later it was revealed that the “cave” was in a cozy retreat center that provides regular meals, electricity, phone service and attentive attendants. It will be crucial for you to shun this type of fakery in 2021. Your success will depend on you being as authentic, genuine and honest as you can possibly be. Now is an excellent time to set your intention and start getting yourself in that pure frame of mind.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): When author Ernest Hemingway was working on the manuscript for his novel A Farewell to Arms, he asked his colleague F. Scott Fitzgerald to offer critique. Fitzgerald

BY ROB BREZSNY obliged with a ten-page analysis that advised a different ending, among other suggestions. Hemingway wasn’t pleased. “Kiss my ass,” he wrote back to Fitzgerald. I suggest a different approach for you. In my view, now is a good time to solicit feedback and mirroring from trusted allies. What do they think and how do they feel about the current state of your life and work? If they do respond, take at least some of it to heart.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Mistletoe is

a parasite that grows on trees, weakening them. On the other hand, it has been a sacred plant in European tradition. People once thought it conferred magical protection. It was called “all-heal” and regarded as a medicine that could cure numerous illnesses. Even today, it’s used in Europe as a remedy for colon cancer. And of course mistletoe is also an icon meant to encourage kissing. After studying your astrological potentials, I’m proposing that mistletoe serve as one of your symbolic power objects in the coming months. Why? Because I suspect that you will regularly deal with potencies and energies that could potentially be either problematic or regenerative. You’ll have to be alert to ensure that they express primarily as healing agents.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec.

21): I’m envisioning a scene in which you’re sitting on a chair at a kitchen table. At the center of the table is a white vase holding 18 long-stemmed red roses. The rest of the table’s surface is filled with piles of money, which you have just unloaded from five mysterious suitcases you found at your front door. All of that cash is yours, having been given to you no-strings-attached by an anonymous donor. You’re in joyful shock as you contemplate the implications of this miraculous gift. Your imagination floods with fantasies about how different your life can become. Now, I invite you to dream up at least three further wonderfully positive fantasies involving good financial luck. That’s the medicine you need right now.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

Boisterous Capricorn novelist Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995) once made the following New Year’s Eve toast: “To all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle—may they never give me peace.” Right now I suspect you may be tempted to make a similar toast. As crazy-making as your current challenges are, they are entertaining and growth-inducing. You may even have become a bit addicted to them. But in the interests of your long-term sanity, I will ask you to cut back on your “enjoyment” of all this uproar. Please consider a retreat into an intense self-nurturing phase.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In the

French city of Strasbourg, there’s a wine cellar built in the year 1395. Among its treasures is a barrel filled with 450 liters of wine that was originally produced in 1472. According to legend, this ancient beverage has been tasted on just three occasions. The last time was to celebrate the French army’s liberation of Strasbourg from German occupation in 1944. If I had the power, I would propose serving it to you in honor of your tribe’s heroic efforts to survive—and even thrive—during the ordeals of 2020. I’m predicting that life in 2021 will have more grace and progress because of how you have dealt with this year’s challenges.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There are

too many authorities, experts, know-it-alls and arrogant ideologues trying to tell us all what to do and how to do it. Fortunately, the cosmic rhythms are now aligned in such a way as to help you free yourself from those despots and bullies. Here’s more good news: Cosmic rhythms are also aligned to free you from the nagging voice in your own head that harass you with fearful fantasies and threaten you with punishment if you aren’t perfect.

www.RealAstrology.com for 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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