The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Wednesday, July 6.
Chico City Council appoints new city manager
The Chico City Council Tuesday confirmed the appointment of former Mayor Mark Sorensen as Chico's new city manager.
Sorensen was selected following a recruitment process, and his salary was set at $207,000.
City officials said the city received 21 applications for the position. Councilman Sean Morgan praised Sorensen’s ability to work across the aisle during his time on the council. Morgan added Sorensen also has shown he can separate politics from city management, as Sorensen most recently served as the city administrator for Biggs in Butte County.
Sorensen was confirmed in a 6-0 vote, with Councilmember Alex Brown absent. He takes over the role from interim City Manager Paul Hahn.
— Andre Byik, NSPR
Report: Some North State counties fall behind state for college-qualifying requirements
A report released by the education network North State Together shows that some counties in the region fall behind the rest of the state in A to G requirements, which are the courses high school students need to take to qualify for state and private colleges as a freshman.
The report tracks the number of high school students that meet A to G requirements before graduation. The data comes from the California Department of Education and includes metrics for 10 North State counties.
In Tehama County, the percentage of students graduating who met A to G requirements last year was one of the lowest in the report. Only 28% of students met the requirements in the 2020-2021 school year.
The 2020-2021 statewide A to G rate was 51%.
Listen to the full story in today’s Headlines.
— Alec Stutson, NSPR
‘Plan now’: Yuba County says residents should get ready for wildfire
Yuba County officials are urging residents to be prepared for wildfire. The county has already issued evacuations for three separate fires in the past week.
Russ Brown, the county’s media and community relations coordinator, said it’s important to make a plan sooner than later.
“Plan now by packing your go bag, finding your zone that you're in so you'll know it and making sure you're signed up to get emergency alerts,” Brown said.
Yuba County uses the company Zonehaven to identify zones under evacuation during wildfire emergencies. In terms of a go bag, the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services recommends packing important documents, house and car keys, medications, and cash among other essential supplies.
— Jamie Jiang, NSPR
State COVID-19 positivity rate increases as concern grows over subvariants
Two Omicron subvariants — BA.4 and BA.5 — are causing growing concerns in California.
The subvariants are believed to be responsible for the majority of new COVID-19 infections in the U.S., and Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said studies show they’re also more capable of infecting lung cells than previous Omicron subvariants.
According to the latest numbers from the California Department of Public Health, the state’s coronavirus test positivity rate is up more than 2% from the previous 7-day period. About two-thirds of the state's counties are now in the high COVID-19 community level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
— Madi Bolaños (KQED), The California Report
Editor’s note: According to the CDC, all counties in the North State are in the “high” tier, except for Butte, Colusa and Glenn counties, which are in the “medium” tier, and Tehama County, which is in the “low” tier.
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.
In other news
- Win-River to Redding: Void illegal land sale: “Win-River Resort and Casino owner Redding Rancheria told Shasta County Superior Court the city of Redding should restore land illegally sold to a private group back to public ownership, according to recent court filings.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- ‘This is how I’m choosing to celebrate’: More than 100 Shasta County locals protest for freedom on America’s Independence Day': “The protest in support of human rights was organized by a local seventeen-year-old, Kamryn Mabee, and popularized by the newly formed Shasta Abortion Coalition.” — Shasta Scout
- Power outage affects thousands in Red Bluff; gas line leak on Gilmore Road: “Fire and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews worked Tuesday afternoon to put out a telephone pole fire and resolve a gas leak on Gilmore Road as thousands in the city were without power.” — Red Bluff Daily News
- Fireworks wreak havoc on YC: 3 home fires, 13 displaced due to ‘safe and sane’ fireworks: “Despite repeated warnings prior to celebrations surrounding the Fourth of July holiday, several fires around Yuba City on Monday night were thought to be caused by the public’s use of fireworks amid an ongoing drought and dry conditions in the area.” — The Appeal-Democrat
In case you missed it
- Fire destroys several homes in Olivehurst — NSPR (Headlines, July 5)
- Firefighters make good progress on Rices, Sandra, Jan-Dar fires — NSPR (Headlines, July 5)
- Shasta County exodus under anti-mandate board continues — Redding Record Searchlight
- Chico City Council to discuss new city manager approval — Chico Enterprise-Record
- California allocates more than $3 billion for transportation infrastructure — Plumas on the list — Plumas News
- Red Bluff COVID testing site moves to new location — Red Bluff Daily News
- California cuts cannabis taxes to heal ailing industry — CalMatters
Headlines is published every weekday morning at 8:30 a.m. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and NPR One. Theme song Borough is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions.
