The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Friday, June 3.
2 dead after small plane crashes in Oroville
A small plane crashed Thursday at the Oroville Municipal Airport, leaving two people dead.
Cal Fire-Butte County Battalion Chief John Gaddie said fire officials were dispatched to the crash at around 12:20 p.m.
"It did crash off the runway in dry grass,” Gaddie said. “Luckily, there was no fire involved with it. We did send the appropriate amount of resources due to the plane crash and the potential of fires."
Gaddie added that the two deceased were the only ones on board. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
— Alec Stutson, NSPR
Roughly 10% of ballots returned for California’s primary election
California’s primary election is just days away. Those registered to vote should’ve received a ballot in the mail, as more than 21 million were sent out last month.
According to political strategist Paul Mitchell, vice president of the company Political Data, roughly 10% have been returned, which is lower than in previous elections.
Mitchell said, until recently, many more Republicans were likely to vote by mail, but now it’s Democrats.
“What’s interesting, in the underlying demographics, it’s still much whiter — 70% of the early ballots came from voters who are white,” Mitchell said. “Only 15% from Latinos, who are, you know, 40% of the state’s population and 27% of the registered voters.”
Mitchell added seniors represent less than one-quarter of the ballots that were mailed out but more than half of those returned. Early voters in this election, he said, are generally older, more suburban and white and not reflective of the state’s population.
— CapRadio Staff
How unhoused Californians can vote
To vote in Tuesday’s primary election, Californians must be at least 18 and a U.S. citizen. They don’t, however, need to have a permanent address.
Janna Haynes, a spokesperson for Sacramento County, said people who are homeless can register at any local vote center, and they don’t have to submit a numerical address.
“It can be an intersection, a street corner, a park or some other identifiable landmark that they are used to — that they reside by — and we can issue them a ballot in their name in that specific precinct so that they can cast a ballot for the election,” Haynes said.
Californians, no matter their address, can register to vote up to and including on Election Day.
— CapRadio Staff
State officials sound alarm on crisis pregnancy centers
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a consumer alert about crisis pregnancy centers, saying many advertise themselves as full-service reproductive health clinics when that's not the case.
One recent study found that none of the 179 crisis pregnancy centers in California actually offer abortion care, and only one offers contraceptive care, Bonta said.
That same study from The Alliance, an advocacy group for women's rights and gender equality, found that more than 60% of these clinics make false or biased medical claims, especially about abortion and pregnancy.
Bonta said if anyone feels they've been the victim of deceptive or misleading conduct, they should immediately file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office.
— Keith Mizuguchi (KQED), The California Report
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.
In other news
- Inmate shuffle: How California bounces around its mentally ill prisoners: “Three decades after California’s prisons first came under court monitoring for rampant abuse and neglect of prisoners with mental illness, the system is still failing to protect its sickest inmates.” — Cal Matters
- Redding man arrested on suspicion of starting six fires: “A Redding man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of setting four fires in a greenbelt area near Redding Airpark in west Redding.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- Plumas Covid cases and positivity rate tick up: “Plumas County Public Health announced today, June 2, that there have been 36 new cases of COVID reported over the past seven days; 28 were reported on May 26.” — Plumas News
- CalFire awards nearly $118 million in local Wildfire Prevention Grants: “As part of California’s strategy to prepare properties and communities against the devastating impacts of wildfires, CAL FIRE announced it will direct nearly $118 million in funding for 144 local wildfire prevention projects across the state." — Lassen County Times
- Jobless rate continues to fall in Tehama County: “According to the preliminary numbers released by the California Employment Development Department, Tehama County continues to rank 34 among the 58 counties in the state for unemployment rate.” — Red Bluff Daily News
In case you missed it
- Jury to consider mental fitness of Oroville bus shooting suspect — NSPR (Headlines, June 2)
- Legislation aims to improve federal wildfire response — CapRadio (Headlines, June 2)
- North State counties get millions for fire prevention — Redding Record Searchlight
- Chico students build tiny homes for North Complex fire survivor — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Highway 99 between Chico, Red Bluff to close for seven weeks — Chico Enterprise-Record
- CDFW reports two recent wolf kills in Lassen County — Plumas News
- Pair of stabbings leaves 1 dead, 1 hospitalized — Red Bluff Daily News
- Eighty years later, Manzanar and what it stands for still resonates deeply: — CapRadio
- California child abuse database lacks half of county reports, ‘puts children at risk’ — The Associated Press
- Journal wins nine awards in annual state competition — The Trinity Journal
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