The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Friday, April 22.
Chico City Council confirms new interim city manager
The Chico City Council confirmed a new interim city manager this week, following the resignation of the previous city manager, Mark Orme, earlier this month.
The council Tuesday unanimously confirmed former Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Paul Hahn as the city’s interim city manager. He's replacing Chico Police Chief Matt Madden, who temporarily filled the position but has returned to his role at the Police Department.
Orme, the previous city manager, announced his resignation in late March, following a performance evaluation by the council. His last day was April 1.
One of Hahn's tasks as interim city manager will be overseeing the completion of the city-run Pallet shelter site for unhoused residents, following delays in its opening.
— Alec Stutson, NSPR
COVID cases are starting to increase, but remain mild
Cases of COVID-19 are much lower than they’ve been in a long time, but there are signs the numbers are ticking up. At the same time, mask mandates and other restrictions are disappearing.
Dr. Robert Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco, said while this increase was predicted, he didn’t expect how infectious the subvariants of omicron would be.
“They are leading to a modest surge, and it’s hard to tell how much of it is the variant and how much of it is people leaving their guard down. And it’s probably a little bit of both,” he said. “The thing that is comforting is this doesn’t seem to be leading to an increase in hospitalization.”
It’s important to keep an eye on the numbers of hospitalizations, Wachter said, adding that the current surge in cases seems to be mild.
— CapRadio Staff
Almond industry waits to get paid while port delays stall exports
Almonds are harvested every year in August, but this year many growers and processors are still holding onto last year’s product due to continued congestion at California’s ports.
According to Aubrey Bettencourt, president of the Almond Alliance of California, the current supply of almonds is more than twice what's normal for this time of year.
“We need to move 1.3 billion pounds of almonds between now and July 31 if we’re going to be on pace to handle the harvest of 2022,” she said.
Long delays at the state’s ports have stalled exports. It takes so long to refill shipping containers that it’s been cheaper to just ship the containers empty overseas despite a high demand for California products like almonds.
“These are almonds that are sold,” Bettencourt said. “And unfortunately until they’re delivered, our farmers, our handlers, our truckers, no one gets paid.”
For some almond varieties, the price per pound dropped almost 40% between August and January.
— Kerry Klein (KVPR), The California Report
Water restrictions may be on the horizon; tips for saving landscaping during drought
As a third-year of drought continues in California and we come into summer, some locations in the North State may see water restrictions. This means gardeners may be confronted with some tough decisions.
Cynthia Weiner, with the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County program, said it will be important for gardeners to prioritize plants, putting those like fruit and landscape trees at the top.
“They’re the ones that were most costly to purchase and you probably have a lot more time invested in them to reach maturity,” she said.
Most trees can go several weeks between waterings, Weiner said, if they’re watered deeply.
Weiner said other tips include: mulching with bark or gravel to keep moisture in the ground, making sure water delivery systems are well maintained so they don’t lose water, and watering in the early morning hours to reduce evaporation.
— Ken Devol, NSPR
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.In other news
- Warren v. Chico plaintiffs file dispute against city: “The city of Chico and plaintiffs in the Warren v. Chico settlement filed briefs Wednesday evening in preparation for a dispute resolution that, once settled, could finally lead to the opening of the Pallet non-congregate housing shelter.” — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Survey designed to build support for sales tax measure produces good response: “A mailer from the City of Chico with a survey to be returned by April 22 is a piece in a three-phase campaign to win support for a city-wide 1 percent sales tax.” — ChicoSol
- Group pulls offer to redevelop land around Redding Civic: “The group looking to transform riverfront land around the Redding Civic Auditorium has withdrawn its offer to redevelop the area. — Redding Record Searchlight
- PG&E planned power outage update: “Power will be out from about 12:01 a.m. until about 6:30 a.m. Saturday for 1,500 PG&E customers in Greenville, Crescent Mills and Taylorsville.” — Plumas News
- County announces COVID-19 testing, vaccination changes: “Lassen County’s Public Health Department wrote a letter to local medical providers regarding changes to the county’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination procedures.” — Lassen County Times
- Corning man killed in motorcycle collision after fleeing from police: “As he was fleeing from law enforcement on April 15, a Corning man was killed in Redding when his motorcycle collided with an SUV.” — Red Bluff Daily News
- Yreka extending ban on fireworks this summer: “The City Council reaffirmed an existing prohibition on fireworks at Tuesday’s meeting. The council will seek advice from its legal counsel around banning the sale and use of fireworks through the end of the year. However, an existing pause put in place last summer will continue.” — The Siskiyou Daily News
- YC council OKs Recology contract amendment: “The Yuba City City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the current Recology service contract during its council meeting on Tuesday night.” — The Appeal-Democrat
- Can a conservative break through for California attorney general?: “The last time California voters elected a Republican to statewide office, Gavin Newsom was the youthful mayor of San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg had just opened up Facebook to non-college students and Donald Trump was a Democratic celebrity tycoon wrapping up the sixth season of ‘The Apprentice.’” — CalMatters
In case you missed it
- California to close main COVID-19 testing facility — CapRadio (Headlines, April 21)
- Winter storm warning to last into Friday — NSPR (Headlines, April 21)
- Public riverfront land will remain in public hands . . . for now — Shasta Scout
- After wildfires, scorched trees could disrupt water supplies — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Teen leads project to preserve historic cemetery — The Appeal-Democrat
- New postmaster for Quincy — Plumas News
- Red Bluff puts pieces in place for South Main Street rehabilitation — Red Bluff Daily News
- Regional Child Support Agency moves Yuba City office — The Appeal-Democrat
- Debt-free college: California’s on the verge of spending over a half-billion dollars to help 360,000 students — CalMatters
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