Elected leaders in Butte County will consider dipping into fiscal reserves today as Camp Fire related expenses keep piling up.

At their meeting this morning, the Board of Supervisors will be asked to transfer about a quarter of reserve funds — $1 million — to cover expenses related to the Camp Fire.

Chico’s Municipal Airport is expecting a good size federal check this week, part of an effort to re-start passenger service.

In the world of aviation, half a million dollars doesn’t go far. Nevertheless, Chico officials are hopeful this federal seed money will restore regular air travel. Potentially, with a couple of daily flights to Los Angeles.

Dave talks to his metaphorical sister -- Jennifer Jewell, the host of Cultivating Place, which is also produced from North State Public Radio. Dave and Jennifer both began their broadcasting and podcasting careers on public radio at the same time and place and are longtime friends and supporters of one another. Jennifer Jewell has been compared to Krista Tippett, the host of On Being, but her purview is the world of gardening and the love of all things botanical. 

We’ve been wandering the western Sierra Nevada, visiting unique California state parks and revisiting the legacy of the California Gold Rush, cultural and ecological.

But how do you revisit the world obliterated by the gold rush? That’s the dilemma when it comes to Native American culture and community. The gold rush rushed in so violently that entire communities disappeared overnight—those that had somehow survived earlier encounters, and introduced diseases. The first Californians had no immunity.

This week the Cultivating Place series on Healing Gardens dives into one of our most ancient healing plant allies – the Elder – it’s genus, its history, its flowers, and berries, with John Moody, father, homesteader, and author of The Elderberry Book.

Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you so much for listening over the years and we hope you'll support Cultivating Place. 

A Brief History of the Richardson Family, Richardson Springs, Butte County

Published by the Association for Northern California Historical Research (ANCHR)

Guests Ron Womack and Josie Smith are two of the editors of this book about the owners of Richardson Springs. A third guest, Mike Boggs, is a descendant of the Richardson family. 

In this classic episode Dave visits with Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of OceanGate in Everett, Washington. The company is working on an ambitious plan to make the deep ocean accessible to paying customers as well as scientists starting with a set of expeditions next year to visit the most famous of all shipwrecks -- RMS Titanic.

Rush seems like a character right out of an adventure novel, getting a commercial jet pilot's license at 19 years old and working as a flight test engineer at Edwards Air Force Base before turning his attention to engineer submarines and submersibles to explore the biggest volume of our planet -- the sea beneath the waves. 

On this week’s call: A feared lull in burn scar building permit applications hasn’t appeared, suggesting recovery and re-population will continue at a pace faster than expected. 

Also, the next phase of tree removal is starting to take shape and we learn more about the needs still out there from Kevin Lindstrom, Pastor at Magalia Community Church and Doreen Fogle, who helps operate the Camp Fire Resource Center, where needed items are still being distributed and sympathetic ears are available.  

Even as a girl growing up in Puerto Rico, Perla Sofía Curbelo recognized that the simple act of picking flowers for her mother to put out in their homemade everything more pleasant. This week, we continue our exploration of the healing and therapeutic effects of gardens, plants, and nature.

We’re joined in this third conversation by Perla who recently received her Horticultural Therapy Certificate from the Chicago Botanic Garden and puts it to ever greater use in her homeland of Puerto Rico. Join us!

Some unfamiliar taps have sprouted in valley watering holes in recent months. Available at a handful of locations, Farmers Brewing Co. LLC, is using local wheat, rice, and almonds to brew beer, is gearing up to go big time.

There’s not much action here, about a mile off the Sacramento River, just a few migratory birds framed by the jagged silhouette of the Sutter Buttes. Here, far from craft brewing clusters that seem to cross-pollinate in San Diego, the Bay, and Chico Bill Weller is making a big bet.