Governor highlights gas prices, health care in State of the State address | Changing winds fanned Flanagan Fire | Butte supes consider public safety complex south of Chico

By Sarah Bohannon,

Published March 9, 2022 at 8:44 AM PST

The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Wednesday, March 9.

Newsom highlights gas prices, health care in State of the State address

California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered his annual State of the State address Tuesday. After giving the speech at an empty Dodger Stadium last year, the governor had an in-person, mostly-maskless audience this time.

Newsom spoke for less than 20 minutes, and announced he’ll support a tax rebate to address rising gas prices.

His speech focused mostly on recent policy proposals, like health coverage for all low-income undocumented residents and spending approved last year for things like new school programs.

Republican Assembly member Heath Flora, who represents part of the northern San Joaquin Valley, said he thought a lot of the topics Newsom covered had little substance. Flora said he wanted more details on the fuel rebate, but is excited about Newsom's recent plan to get mentally ill homeless people into treatment. Read a fact-checked transcript of Newsom’s speech.

— CapRadio Staff

Cal Fire says weather conditions were initially safe when burn pile was lit that caused Flanagan Fire

The Flanagan Fire burning near the city of Shasta Lake is still 90% contained at 88 acres as of this morning. Cal Fire says they expect full containment in the coming days.

The fire started Friday and prompted the evacuation of numerous homes after a burn pile lit by Cal Fire spread out of control. Cal Fire Public Information Officer Cheryl Buliavac said the weather conditions were initially safe, then they changed.

“When the project was started that morning it met all of the criteria including being a permissive burn day, as set by Shasta County Air Quality Management District,” Buliavac said. “Later that day, far into firefighting efforts being engaged, Shasta County Air Quality Management District changed the burn day status … to negative burn day to help mitigate the potential of any other wildfire activity because of the change in the weather conditions and the winds.”

In a phone call, Shasta County Air Quality District Manager John Waldrop confirmed the change in weather and burn status, saying it was highly unusual. Read the full story.

— Alec Stutson, NSPR

Butte County supervisors consider public safety complex with federal funds

The Butte County Board of Supervisors is exploring what to do with roughly $16 million in remaining federal relief money that comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

One major proposal is a North County Public Safety Complex. The facility would be built south of Chico and replace both the Sheriff’s Office Chico substation and Butte County Fire Station 44, which is located near the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.

Andy Pickett, the county’s chief administrative officer, said the county fire station’s current south Chico location is not optimal for the residents it serves. He said the Sheriff’s Office substation — which is also located in south Chico — is in a state of disrepair.

The project is estimated to cost about $20 million, and the county says it would need to find other sources to make up the roughly $4 million difference.

The board didn’t formally commit funding to the project but directed staff to bring back a fleshed-out proposal for consideration in the summer.

— Andre Byik, NSPR

More than half of all religion-based crimes are committed against the Jewish community, FBI report shows

A new report from the FBI shows over half of all religion-based crimes are committed against the Jewish community. The report comes after a hostage incident at a temple in Texas in January.

At a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on the rise in hate crimes nationally, California Senator Alex Padilla said the increase is alarming.

“Sadly in California we’ve witnessed a 40% increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the last five years, and when considering that a good amount of hate crime data is not even reported at all, it’s clear that there’s work to be done,” Padilla said.

In Butte County, law enforcement officials announced in January they were investigating the distribution of antisemitic flyers in Chico.

— CapRadio & NSPR Staff

Bill would recruit mental health workers for schools

A new bill in the state Legislature would provide $250 million to help recruit 10,000 mental health clinicians for California schools.

The bill is by state Sen. Mike McGuire — a Democrat who represents the North Coast. He said students are struggling with pandemic-related mental health impacts.

"The Golden State is experiencing a behavioral health crisis among our youth while at the same time a shortage of trained mental health professionals are making matters even worse,” he said. “Approximately 8 million Californians — a majority of them from communities of color — live in areas that have a shortage of behavioral health professionals."

The bill would provide grants of $25,000 to aspiring clinicians who commit to serving two years in communities of high need.

The money would come from California's general fund, which McGuire said the state can afford. California's budget surplus is expected to exceed $50 billion this year.