It was a year of firestorms and fiery rhetoric, triumphs and tragedies, unspeakable losses and a foreboding sense of “what’s going to happen next?” — a sense that all-too-often became reality.
The year 2024 was a big one for news — much of it bad — in Butte County as well as across our nation. And while many of the stories could have happened any year, there was one overriding theme: Human carelessness — and in a few cases, unrepentant evil — can cause an awful lot of damage.
For example, it was a bad year for fires, and an especially bad year for fires on property that used to belong to John Bidwell (and still bears his name). The Park Fire started in upper Bidwell Park on July 24 and ended up burning almost a half-million acres. On Dec. 11, the Bidwell Mansion itself was destroyed in an early morning fire.
Those two blazes, along with the Thompson Fire that threatened Oroville and led to the evacuation of thousands of people, each impacted the psyche of the community along with causing incalculable loss on all levels. But here’s the difference between those fires and most of our most destructive blazes in recent years: Neither PG&E nor lightning strikes had anything to do with them. All three were allegedly started by people doing stupid or evil (or a combination of both) things — to be specific, arson, reckless driving and, believe it or not, throwing fireworks out the window of a car.
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But no act was more evil than what took place in Palermo on Dec. 4. A man opened fire at the Seventh-day Adventist School, hitting two boys who were in kindergarten.
The one positive about each of the above stories? Nobody died, except for the shooter who took his own life. Both the school shooting and the massive fires could have been far more deadly and even more destructive, and for that, we should all be thankful.
A lot of good things happened in 2024 too (including local, state and national elections, but the degree of “good” depends upon your side of the aisle). Homelessness continued to dominate the news for much of the year, although city and county officials continued to laud signs of progress (and favorable court rulings).
So, bottom line, perhaps 2024 can be remembered as “The Year That Was Often Bad, But Could Have Been Worse.”
Let’s take a trip back through the year for a few dozen of our top stories of the year.
January
In a sign that a changing of the calendar doesn’t always equal a change in the news, Safe Space Winter Shelter’s appeal for a zoning clearance was denied by Chico City Manager Mark Sorensen on Jan. 3. That meant the group could not continue operating its intake center in the former 7-Eleven building on Main Street.
A week later, the city and Safe Space reached consensus for an intake location at Trinity United Methodist Church. But 10 months later, the two parties were going through the same thing all over again.
On Jan. 7, the final print edition of the Chico News & Review hit the streets. The weekly newspaper, a Chico fixture since 1977, continues to have an online presence.
In a rare bit of “look how wisely our government spends our money” news, the city of Chico received a “clean audit” for the first time in four years when an outside firm gave the Finance Committee an unqualified endorsement of Chico’s municipal accounting practices.
On Jan. 25, the California Public Utility Commission approved a $45 million fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for the Dixie Fire, the second-largest fire in the state’s history that burned more than a million acres and destroyed more than 1,300 homes. Any giddiness from consumers quickly vanished as the PUC more than made up for the fine with a series of rate-increase approvals over the rest of the year.
February
In a closed session at the Feb. 6 meeting, the Chico City Council voted to authorize the city attorney’s office to file an amicus brief in support of Grants Pass, Oregon’s efforts to overturn Martin v. Boise — the underpinning of the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement. The vote was 6-1, with Addison Winslow opposing.
In a classic matchup that went into overtime thanks to a missed extra point and some other San Francisco miscues, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. One of those teams (and one only) looks like a decent bet for a return trip.
The Butte County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the Butte County Recharge Action Plan during its Feb. 13 meeting in an effort to bolster groundwater reserves throughout the region. A series of rain-heavy storms throughout the winter and spring helped a lot, too.
More than 14 months after EdSource and this newspaper first reported that he had threatened colleagues who cooperated against him in a Title IX investigation, biology professor David Stachura’s employment at Chico State came to an end. The university made the announcement in a two-sentence release Feb. 15 that offered no other details.
The Chico City Council approved the Orchard Creek Estates subdivision proposed in the Bell-Muir area, effectively removing it from the list of special planning areas.
Several items were stolen from the visitors’ center located behind the Stansbury Home. The president of the home’s preservation association, Dino Corbin, called the items “irreplaceable.”
Chico High’s girls soccer team reclaimed the Northern Section Division I championship with a 1-0 victory over Pleasant Valley.
March
A horrific crash in the early morning hours of March 1 left an 87-year-old Chico woman dead. A 1987 Ford Mustang driven at a high rate of speed in the Chico State area crossed The Esplanade and crashed into a house, starting a fire that killed Barbara Ferris inside her home. The driver of the vehicle still hasn’t been located.
The Pleasant Valley girls basketball team provided another highlight clip for the ages on March 2 when junior A.J. Gambol hit a buzzer-beating shot from the corner to give the Vikings a 64-62 victory over Oakland Tech in the CIF Division II NorCal regional semifinals.
The long-planned and highly debated Valley’s Edge development, which had been approved by the Chico City Council in early 2023, was soundly rejected by voters in a referendum. Election Night on March 5 showed Measure P trailing 8,128 votes to 5,136 — a margin that caught almost everybody by surprise. The count didn’t get any closer from there.
Incumbent Butte County Supervisors Tod Kimmelshue and Doug Teeter easily won their re-election bids along with Bill Connelly, who ran unopposed. The victorious trio maintained the conservative side’s 4-1 advantage.
Longtime Sacramento River staple Scotty’s Landing was forced to close mid-month after being served with a red tag violation for unsafe electrical systems.
April
In welcome news that followed several years of below-normal precipitation, the California Department of Water Resources announced that its vital April 1 measurement of the water content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack was at 110% of normal. Reservoirs were filling and long-dry creeks were at levels not seen in many years, a trend that would return in the fall and winter.
On April 2, California reached a milestone worth celebrating: For the first time since March 18, 2020, not a single person in the state died from COVID.
Chico’s historic El Rey Theater was listed for sale. Asking price: $1.95 million. A nonprofit, called Save the El Rey, formed with a plan to revitalize the venue.
In a report that surprised almost nobody, state auditors said California had spent $24 billion to address homelessness over the previous five years, but didn’t consistently track whether the huge outlay of public money had actually done anything to help the problem.
The Bruce Road Reconstruction Project, which the city of Chico called the largest infrastructure project in its history, broke ground April 18. The $29 million project includes a new two-lane bridge, replacing the old one over Little Chico Creek; changing the two-lane road into a four-lane thoroughfare; expanding sidewalks, and adding new bike lanes.
The North Valley Rail Project plan was updated, proposing four new daily train routes from Chico to the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley along with two routes to high-speed rail. Its target date for completion is 2031.
May
Bidwell Mansion closed May 1 for the beginning of a $2 million restoration project.
Paradise was recognized as the fastest-growing city in California and Orland was third, according to estimates released by the state. Paradise, continuing its strong recovery from the November 2018 Camp Fire, showed a 16.1% growth rate — putting its population at 10,691. Orland’s growth rate was just under 5%.
The state reported its first increase of groundwater supply in four years. The state saw 4.1 million acre-feet of managed groundwater recharge in the water year ending in September, and an 8.7 million acre-foot increase in groundwater storage, the DWR said.
The saga of California Park and the new hotel planned for the area reached a rare area of compromise as both parties reached a settlement agreement on road and lot usage.
At the 49th Annual Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet presented by the Enterprise-Record, four people were added to the hall of fame: Gary Burton, Alisha Valavanis, Alexa-Benson Valavanis and Tom Aldridge. Oroville native Jay Johnson, who coached Louisiana State University to the College World Series championship, was named Sportsperson of the Year.
Arya Pocock, a 17-year-old high school junior, was named Pacific Region Youth of the Year for Boys and Girls Clubs. She was the first club member from the north state even to win the California Youth of the Year title — and, in September, competed for National Youth of the Year in Atlanta.
On May 31, Aasahdi Coleman, 23, was sentenced to life in prison for shooting multiple people and killing one on a Greyhound bus in Oroville in 2022.
June
Larry Allen, a former Butte College lineman who went on to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, died June 3 at age 52 while on vacation in Mexico.
The Chico City Council approved a $176 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25. The council also voted to close lower Bidwell Park roads to motorized traffic on weekends and holidays.
The Chico Housing Action Team announced plans for a 66-unit housing complex dedicated to serving homeless people with disabilities including mental illness. The nonprofit accepted a $16.5 million grant from the state’s Community Care Expansion Program.
The historic Hotel Marysville was engulfed by fire June 15, leading to a months-long battle between the city and property owner over its cleanup.
On June 18, the Chico City Council decided it wouldn’t go any further on the topic of a rent stabilization ordinance, ending several contentious months of packed chambers and impassioned pleas from many mobile home park dwellers.
In a blow for baseball fans in the north state and all over the world, Willie Mays, “The Say Hey Kid,” died at age 93 on June 19.
The California Supreme Court provided a huge sigh of relief for Chico officials June 20, ruling a sweeping anti-tax measure could not go on the ballot in November. That preserved Measure H, the 1% sales tax passed in Chico a year earlier.
Wolf Rosenberg, who served as publisher of the Enterprise-Record for 13 years, died at his Sacramento home on June 22. He was 76.
And in a highly anticipated ruling, the Supreme Court decided that cities can enforce bans on people sleeping outside in public spaces, effectively overturning Martin v. Boise.
July
The fire season turned red hot in the warmest month of the year, and it did so in a hurry.
First, the Thompson Fire started on the morning of July 2, allegedly when a man tested fireworks by throwing one out of the window of a car. Within six hours, the fire grew to more than 2,100 acres and was soon threatening the city of Oroville and leading to the evacuation of 29,000 people. Ultimately the fire burned 3,789 acres, destroying 26 structures and injuring four people.
In Chico, the city council convened on July 9 to consider its options in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on the Grants Pass case. On July 17, the city announced it would seek to exit the Warren v. Chico settlement, calling it “unworkable.”
Sally Childs Walker Glaude, the first Black sworn law enforcement officer in Butte County as well as the first sworn Black female officer north of Sacramento to the Oregon border, died at age 86 at Oroville Hospital, surrounded by her loved ones. District Attorney Mike Ramsey was among the scores of people paying tribute to her, saying: “She taught a generation of judges and attorneys, including me, how to seek compassionate, fair, and equal justice — with a smile.”
With severe weather heating up as the month progressed, fire officials warned the conditions were ripe for problems. They were proven all-too-correct with a historic blaze that started in Chico’s Bidwell Park.
On the windy afternoon of Wednesday, July 24, a fire started in upper Bidwell Park near Alligator Hole. Less than 24 hours later, it had burned more than 70,000 acres. The Park Fire continued its nearly unprecedented march to the north, getting the best of a massive firefighting effort in largely remote and difficult-to-reach terrain.
It took more than two full months for the fire to be fully contained. It burned 429,603 acres — a majority of it in Tehama County as the fire reached the Ishi Wilderness and the Lassen National Forest. Thousands of people were evacuated but, amazingly, there were no fatalities and only three injuries.
The day after the fire started, Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico was arrested. He allegedly started the fire when a vehicle he was driving became stuck and he revved the engine, igniting vegetation beneath the vehicle — which he then allegedly pushed into a ravine while it was burning.
On the national front, Donald Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Eight days later, President Joe Biden — who had stumbled badly in a debate with Trump a month earlier — withdrew from the race, paving the way for vice president Kamala Harris’ move to the top of the ticket.
August
As the battle to gain control of the Park Fire dominated news for much of the month, there were other battles heating up around Chico — mainly on the homeless front.
On the morning of August 5, the city began a massive cleanup of the homeless camp at Eaton and Cohasset. “It’s obviously gotten to the point where it’s a pretty significant public safety hazard,” said City Public Works Director Erik Gustafson, words that were pretty obvious to anyone who had seen the camp. Sixty people were living there; according to the city, only 15 had been approved.
The next day, the City Council held another closed session to determine what steps could be taken to get out of the Warren v. Chico settlement. The council decided it would seek to exit the agreement, an effort that is still awaiting a ruling.
Meanwhile, in ongoing recovery efforts from the Camp Fire, major construction efforts continued in the rebuilding of the Honey Run Covered Bridge. And in Paradise, the animal shelter expansion project broke ground.
In another positive development, the Butte County Sobering Center opened at 560 Cohasset Road, offering a 24-hour walk-in option for people struggling with addiction as an alternative to hospitalization or jail.
And in Oroville, the City Council opted not to renew the contract of police chief Bill LaGrone. It expires Jan. 5, 2025.
September
A Butte County Grand Jury report criticizing the City of Chico’s handling of homelessness did not sit well with most councilors. Sean Morgan, approaching the end of his 12th year on the council, said: “I find this offensive, and think the city should tell the grand jury to go pound sand.” Which, in less-inflammatory terms, is pretty much what it did.
The city also announced an unprecedented commitment to infrastructure improvement following the passage of Measure H. More than $150 million is expected to be spent on capital projects through 2026.
On Sept. 13, we reported that Kelly Staley, Chico Unified School District’s superintendent for 18 years, would retire at the end of the current school year. Looking back on her time as the district’s first female superintendent, she said that “it’s been a stretch” and added, “I always looked at it as a job that needed to get done and the best person needed to get it done.”
In another key milestone in its recovery from the Camp Fire, the town of Paradise announced it had reached 90% compliance in defensible space.
Meanwhile, more than two months after the Park Fire started, a state-led debris removal program reached Phase II, allowing insured and uninsured property owners to begin submitting applications to help restore their properties at no cost.
The Park Fire was finally said to be fully contained on Sept. 26.
October
Ballots were mailed to all Butte County voters on Oct. 7, one month ahead of Election Day.
In one of the more unusual high school football stories we’ve had in several years, Pleasant Valley’s scheduled homecoming game on Oct. 11 was forfeited. Red Bluff, which had a 5-0 record and was thought to have a chance to beat the Vikings for the first time in ages, called the game off after finding out several of its players had violated a team policy. That left the Vikings without a homecoming opponent, but they adjusted by having the junior varsity teams serve as the star attraction.
That also meant the Vikings were going almost three full weeks between games heading into the Almond Bowl, but they rallied anyway to beat crosstown rival Chico High 21-7 on Oct. 18.
Local leaders and housing organizations gathered to mark the groundbreaking of the Howard Slater Navigation Center on the grounds of the Torres Shelter. The center, meant as a “one-stop-shop” navigation center for Butte County’s homeless population, plans to open in 2025.
The county lost another longtime leader in October. Danette York, who had headed up the Butte County Public Health Department for five years, announced her retirement. York’s tenure was anything but routine, leading the county’s health department through multiple fires as well as the COVID pandemic.
On Oct. 31, we reported that Butte County Republicans held an early lead over their Democrat counterparts in mail-in voting. It proved to be a harbinger of what was to come.
November
Locally and nationally, the most talked-about story of the year was the return of Donald Trump to the White House. He handily defeated Kamala Harris 312-226 in Electoral College votes and even came out ahead in the popular vote.
Republicans also won both the House (with our District 1 representative, Doug LaMalfa, continuing his unbeaten streak) and Senate.
Locally, it wasn’t quite as cut-and-dried. Liberals won two of the four open seats on the Chico City Council, with Bryce Goldstein unseating incumbent Deepika Tandon in District 7 and Katie Hawley defeating Melissa Lopez-Mora in District 5. Mike O’Brien’s victory in District 1 left the balance-of-power split down the middle; it wasn’t until the election was certified a month later that incumbent Dale Bennett was declared the winner over Monica McDaniel, keeping the conservatives in charge with a 4-3 majority.
Scott Thomson, Janet Goodson and former mayor Chuck Reynolds won the three council races in Oroville.
Voters also said yes — by big margins — to local ballot measures. Yet another Measure H gave a 1% sales tax to Butte County, while the CUSD’s Measure C also passed.
Chico State hired Eric Coleman as its new athletic director, replacing the retired Anita Barker.
By late November, we were getting more rain — in amounts big enough to warrant evacuation warnings and warnings about the possibility of flooding and damage in the burn scars.
December
Any hopes that a volatile year would have a quiet, peaceful final month vanished in a hurry.
On Dec. 4, a man walked onto campus at the Seventh-day Adventist School in Palermo under the guise of a visit to consider a possible enrollment for a child. Upon leaving, he opened fire and struck two boys who were in kindergarten, leaving both in critical condition. The man then turned the firearm on himself and died on the scene.
The shooter was later identified as Glenn Litton, 56, who held a belief that the Adventists were involved in the oppression of Palestinians.
On a positive note, both of the victims — 6-year-old Roman Mendez and 5-year-old Elias Wolford — are recovering and were able to spend Christmas with their families.
A week later — in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 11 — a fire started in Bidwell Mansion. It quickly engulfed the historic building, and by the time firefighters arrived, there was no chance of saving it. With that, the iconic image of Chico since the 1860s was lost.
Investigators determined that an arsonist was responsible. No arrests have been made, and officials have been tight-lipped about the investigation.
Two big stories also rocked the Oroville community.
The council hired independent legal counsel to decide whether city code or state law could prevent Reynolds from being sworn in. As reported in a series of articles in this newspaper and elsewhere, court documents mentioned Reynolds in a lawsuit between K&M Butte Developers and the Sewerage Commission – Oroville Region, of which he was a representative of the city. K&M claimed they had been promised a 33% discount for new hookups but ended up having to pay the full rate.
Also, Oroville Hospital agreed to pay $10.25 million to the federal government and state of California to resolve allegations of kickbacks and false billing.
On Dec. 20, Rickey Henderson, baseball’s all-time leader in stolen bases and runs scored, died at age 65 after a bout with pneumonia.
And on Dec. 29, former president Jimmy Carter passed away at the age of 100. He was hailed as a great humanitarian and a peacemaker, bringing an end to a year in which we could have all used a good helping of both.
Mike Wolcott is the editor of the Enterprise-Record. His column will return to its normal Sunday home on Jan. 12.