I love to read what the readers are thinking about – the search term of the day is “collective bargaining is inherintly political” Typo included.
Inherently – according to Google, means existing in someone or something as a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute
If you want to understand “collective bargaining,” watch “On The Waterfront“.
Right now the city is bargaining with the police department. Their contract includes stuff like, automatic promotions with step pay increases. They get 90 percent of their highest year’s earnings at age 50, paying only 12 percent of the premiums out of their $100,000+ salaries. And the contract is written so that they don’t have to pay taxes on these benefits. Think about that, but don’t hurt yourself.
They even get paid to “don and doff” – shower and dress before and after their shift. Talk about Divas! My goodness, somebody get me a wet towel. SNAP!
Chico PD are a gang of racketeers. They use intimidation to get what they want. They use their imbedded newspaper editor to spread fear – gangs? Really David Little? What would David Little know about gangs? His kids went to “charter school” (where students are picked and chosen) and had a backyard swimming pool (despite all his insincere protests about the closure of Shapiro Pool).
Then yesterday, we see a headline story about an old idiot who leaves his bike unlocked at Walmart and it’s stolen. Because this man makes a weekly fun ride up to Salmon Hole wearing a green t-shirt printed “Park Watch” (that’s funny, I don’t believe he is watching anything but the trail in front of his tire) – we’re supposed to feel sorry for this man? If he were my husband I’d take away his driver’s license and his credit cards, and I damn sure wouldn’t leave him alone with the grandkids.
This merits a big, front page story? And how do you like the way the editor made it sound like a mugging in the park?
All this, while the death of Merle Haggard runs across the bottom of the page like so much Hollywood trivia.
David Little is running a scare campaign for the cops. Good bye journalism.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
I thought it was strange that this bicycle theft was front page, top story news.
Bicycle thefts happen every day!!! How is his much different?
Seriously, I think Merle Haggard should have been the top story. The story about the bike theft just stinks of a scare campaign.
He had a $600 bicycle. Who spends $600 on a bicycle? Or maybe I am out of touch with costs these days. All I know is that our gooberment tells us there is no inflation and that you used to be able to buy a car for that price.(OK, used and would need some work.)
I can’t believe this is considered “news” with all the other stuff going on around here right now.
I can’t believe this is considered “news” with all the other stuff going on around here right now.
Maybe it’s news that anyone in this community can afford to pay $600 for a bicycle, especially an 87 year old. Anyway, more front page news…we interrupt this program to announce that the community thinks the guy is a hero…several people have offered to give him a bicycle and a couple have already followed through. Now back to your regularly scheduled propaganda…
Meanwhile the paper buried this story on a back page – here’s the report from action news:
http://www.actionnewsnow.com/news/two-men-arrested-for-bidwell-park-assault-robbery/
Two men arrested for Bidwell Park assault, robbery
Apr 6, 2016 10:59 AM by News Staff
Chico Police arrested two men they say assaulted and robbed a bicyclist in Bidwell Park Tuesday night.
It happened around 6 p.m. when a man riding his bike into the south end of the One Mile Recreation area was confronted by two men in a car.
They pulled up behind the victim and began honking the car horn. The bicyclist waved for them to pass him but that led to a verbal exchange. The two men got out of the car and, according to police, assaulted the bicyclist and took his cell phone.
Thanks to a witness, officers tracked the car down and the two suspects were identified by the victim and witness.
William forward, 24 of Chico and David Milliron, 25 of Clear Lake, were arrested and booked into the Butte County Jail on charges of assault and robbery.
The victim was taken to the hospital but is expected to be okay.
The people at Chico State and all the state universities are getting a ten and a half percent raise. The ER said over 3 years the Bee said over 2 years.
What is that going to do to the already high tuition and fees? Are people going to spend even more and get into even more debt to get a degree and find they can’t get a job or at least one that lets them pay all their expenses and pay down all that student loan debt?
Higher education is a scam. With technology and other factors the cost should be going down, not up and up more than most everything else.
no kidding – are they trying to dumb down our population? Make cheaper, more desperate worker bees?
I saw a picture of some csu people high-fiving each other over there 10.5% raise. I wonder if any of them ever thought that they are pricing themselves out of a job. Apparently not. I guess they figure it makes no difference what tuition and fees are. The debt slave students, their parents and the taxpayers will always pay no matter what. But that can’t go on forever.
Just wait until oil gets back to $80 a barrel again. Gas will be $5 a gallon in this state. And with a $15 an hour minimum how much do you think a burger and fries will cost? And look at the PG&E, water, sewer, etc. increases. The cost of everything is going up big time in this state. And of course Demoncrats want to raise sales and other taxes. Fewer and fewer people will be able to afford to pay anything for higher ed.
I think the public and quasi-public workers would prefer that those of us who can’t afford to pay their salaries would just move out of the state.
Right now the city is bargaining with the police department.
Do you know if there has EVER been a contract negotiated with Chico PD or ANY city or county employee union where the contract stipulated that they did NOT get a pay raise, even in all the recessions we’ve had over the years? Has ANY contract ever stipulated a pay cut?
I think these public employee unions have unrealistic expectations, especially the cops and fire. They haven’t a clue as to what is like in the private sector: no pensions, far fewer PTO days, far worse medical and dental coverage, etc.
AND workers in the private sector are at will employees. This means they can be done away with at a moment’s notice. If the employer can find someone else or some way else to get the job done as well and at a lower cost the at will employees are shown the door and usually with no severance. So there really is no job security where as in the government sector it can be very hard to fire a public sector employee.
Considering all this is it realistic for the public employees to expect always increasing salaries and benefits and almost total job security while those in the private sector who pay for all of this have none of this?
Please, tell me what I am missing and why it seems so few people understand this?
I think we are rapidly being outnumbered by the public workers and their dependents at the polls. I don’t know how long this upside-down pyramid can last, but I know it has to collapse at some point, ala Greece.
I got two inserts in my pg&e bill saying they want the puc to grant them two more rate increases for the diablo canyon power plant and for something called nuclear decomissioning cost triennial proceeding. Did you get that also? Is this on top of the rate increases they already have in motion? It sounds like it.
How much will we be paying per kwh and natural gas therm when all these rate increases go through? I am already paying about 25% more than what I was paying about three years ago even though I am using no more electricity or gas and despite the fact that the price of natural gas has crashed on the open market.
pg&e is already charging us too much and they are planning to stick it to us even more. Yet you hear nothing from little or dogtree about this in their fish wraps nor about the criminal behavior of pg&e the puc and our state politicians.
Happy New Year Californians – behold the power of monopoly and regulatory capture.
“…the very same PUC that is being probed by a federal grand jury for potential illegal ties between the regulators and the executives of PG&E in this ballooning corruption scandal …
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-02/monopoly-much-americas-largest-utility-hikes-rates-most-9-years-despite-natgas-price
Just wait until the sheeple get their utility bills this summer. I wonder if we will hear a peep out of little or dogtree about this. If you expect to hear anything from these investigative wonders…well, I wouldn’t hold me breath.
According to the local CPUC shill, local media have been notified.