The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Friday, May 27.
Butte County Sheriff’s Office urges residents to remember evacuation zones
Sheriff’s officials in Butte County are urging people to look up and remember the evacuation zone they live in.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office used its newly implemented evacuation zone map last week, when a grass fire prompted an evacuation warning for Zone 891 in the community of Palermo. The fire ultimately destroyed three outbuildings but no homes.
Lt. Stephen Collins, who oversees emergency management, has been urging all county residents to look up their zones and store them in their phones before disaster strikes. Collins spoke at a recent community meeting in Berry Creek, which was devastated by the North Complex Fire in 2020.
“Please, don’t wait ’til that moment to then call 911 to ask if you’re in the evacuation area,” he said.
Officials say they hope the new zones will save time identifying areas under threat and better facilitate evacuations.
The evacuation zone map can be found on Butte County’s website.
— Andre Byik, NSPR
State Senate approves bill to address homelessness
Gov. Gavin Newsom's CARE Court proposal is advancing in the state Legislature.
The state Senate Wednesday unanimously approved a bill implementing Newsom's plan, which is intended to address homelessness by compelling treatment for people with severe mental illness and drug addiction.
Stockton Senator Susan Eggman, the bill's co-author, said the bill is just a start at addressing the issue.
"This should only impact between 7,000 and 12,000 people,” she said. “Will it solve homelessness? No, it will not. But are the majority of these people that we are talking about suffering from homelessness? Yes, they are."
CARE Court would be a referral-based program. First responders, law enforcement, behavioral health providers, and family members could refer people struggling with addiction and mental illness. A judge would then order a care plan that could include treatment, services, and housing.
Some civil rights advocates, however, say compelling people into care is not effective. The bill moves next to the state Assembly.
— CapRadio Staff
Padilla addresses gun violence in the wake of Uvalde shooting
Outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. Thursday, Democratic lawmakers, activists, victims and survivors of shootings held a news conference to address gun violence. The event took place following the recent mass shootings in a Buffalo supermarket and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Among those who spoke were Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, who represents Newtown, where the Sandy Hook massacre took place and California Senator Alex Padilla.
“I’m here as a U.S. Senator, also here as a father, like Senator Murphy, to young children, school-aged children,” Padilla said. “My two youngest are the same age that could have been in that classroom in Uvalde, Texas. So, yes this is personal.”
Padilla and other senators outlined bipartisan legislation they want to bring up for a vote. Proposals include an assault weapons ban, advanced background checks, eliminating large-capacity magazines, and red flag laws.
— CapRadio Staff
Commission on peace officer standards approves definition of misconduct
California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) has reached a key milestone in its implementation of the new police decertification law, Senate Bill 2. The commission has approved a definition of what constitutes misconduct serious enough to revoke an officer's badge.
The definition will be the cornerstone of what agencies will have to start considering in January, when they'll be required to report all allegations or complaints that meet the criteria.
The commission fleshed out nine characteristics of serious misconduct that are outlined in the law: dishonesty, abuse of power, physical abuse, sexual assault, demonstrating bias, acts that violate the law and are sufficiently egregious, participation in a law enforcement gang, failure to cooperate with an investigation, or failure to intercede if they see another officer use unnecessary force.
POST will start hiring for 127 positions. The definition approved by the commission on Wednesday is now open for public comment.
— Sukey Lewis (KQED), The California Report
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.
In other news
- Environmental advocates, including local tribe, say protecting Bay-Delta water quality is a matter of justice: “The Winnemem Wintu Tribe are part of a larger coalition that’s petitioning California to correct water management plans they say harm the Pacific coast’s largest estuary and its surrounding communities. They connect today’s disastrous conditions in the Delta to California’s legacy of discriminatory and anti-Indigenous water policies.” — Shasta Scout
- UPDATE: Shooting at Redding Grocery Outlet sends 1 to hospital: “A man taken to the hospital after someone shot him with a handgun inside the Grocery Outlet on Churn Creek Road is expected to survive, Redding police said Thursday night.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- COVID cases related to community spread: “Plumas County Public Health announced today, May 26, that there have been 28 new cases of COVID reported over the past seven days; 35 were reported on May 19.” — Plumas News
- CHP reminds the public to buckle up this holiday weekend: “As the nation observes Memorial Day and honors those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, travel to gatherings with family and friends will dramatically increase vehicles on roadways during the holiday weekend.” — Lassen County News
- Chico cemeteries to hold Memorial Day events: “The Chico Cemetery and Glen Oaks Memorial Park will be hosting events for Memorial Day on Monday, May 30. The event at Chico Cemetery, 881 Mangrove Ave., will begin at 10 a.m. and the event at Glen Oaks Memorial Park, 11115 Midway, will begin at 2 p.m.” — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Threat at Berrendos Middle School in Red Bluff deemed not credible: “Law enforcement responded just before 11:30 a.m. Thursday to Berrendos Middle School for a report of a possible threat to public safety but determined the threat was not credible.” — Red Bluff Daily News
- California wants to force insurers to reward homeowners for fireproofing homes: “New rules proposed by California’s Department of Insurance would require insurers to take homeowners’ efforts to reduce wildfire risk into account when setting premiums. But they would still allow non-renewals.” — CapRadio
In case you missed it
- California tribes call for improved watershed management — CapRadio (Headlines, May 26)
- Gov. Newsom vows to speed up rollout of new gun control laws — NSPR (Headlines, May 26)
- Hit-and-run in Salyer under investigation —The Trinity Journal
- Enterprise students speak out after school lockdown — Redding Record Searchlight
- Firefighters to burn vegetation in two Oroville locations — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Tehama County organizations awarded funds following Dixie Fire settlement — Red Bluff Daily News
- 63 animals seized in case involving potential abuse — The Appeal-Democrat
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