I don’t subscribe to the Enterprise Record but every now and then I read the letters section online – I find that the most interesting section of the paper, which has gone to mostly ads and propaganda. Most times I am able to read it before the wall comes up, today all I got was the following, with a quick glimpse at the name of the author – Harvey Holland. I didn’t get to read the whole letter, but I liked the opening quote.
“Undergirding the homeless movement is an entitlement mentality, one that avails itself to the benefits of a free society, yet does not obey the laws that safeguard those rights.”
That really nails it for me – I can’t stand people who scream for their rights without accepting any responsibility for their actions. I’ve dealt with friends and family members who’ve adopted that philosophy – I call it, “The Me, Myself and Irene” syndrome. “Irene” representing methamphetamine, heroin, and/or waaaaay too much alcohol.
Yep, that’s the reality of Chico these days, entitled drug addicts and criminals. They know they won’t be held responsible for taking stuff out of your yard, taking your daughter’s bike or your 11 year old’s BMX from the garage. That used to be called “stealing”, but these days it’s just a fact of life – if you don’t lock your stuff up – even that curious looking doodad hanging from your porch eaves – they will take it and nobody’s going to do anything about it.
Even locking stuff up isn’t always the answer. Car thefts are just a fact of life, and if your car is older and worth less than $10,000 they’re not even going to attempt to find it, much less get it back. My friend Dave’s locked car was stolen from the parking lot at his apartment complex. When he finally got it back, there was over 1,000 new miles on it, it had been stripped of valuable parts like the catalytic converter, was full of garbage including chits from casinos and used syringes, and was in the possession of a woman with warrants on her. That’s the only reason he got it back – she had to abandon it when the cops arrested her, and the tow truck got it before the transients got ahold of it again. I don’t believe anyone was ever charged, they acted as though Dave should be lucky to get his car back at all, completely destroyed and nothing but trash.
The cops and Mike Ramsey saw Dave’s car as an old junker, but Dave knew it as a car he had copiously maintained for years and his only source of transportation. This is life in Chico – watch your ass.
Or, demand more from your local police force. The police department gets over half the budget to tell us they can’t do anything about crime – tell your city rep the cops need to pay more of their own pensions, that’s getting down to their bottom line. Demand more from your DA – write a letter to the editor asking who will run against Ramsey and offer your support. And demand more from your city representative – my rep, Kasey Reynolds, tells me they need to offer these crazy $100,000+ salaries to “attract good people”. Let your rep know, that’s now working for us, and tell them you’re ready to fund and vote for anybody wo runs against them. I supported Morgan Kennedy in the last race, and you know what – she made a pretty good showing, and if she ran again she’d probably do better. I know she had Kasey worried – Reynolds’ PAC, “Citizens for Safe Chico” set a new funding record for the city council race.
The real problem is, it’s not just the transients and criminals who have a stake here – our ruling class is really entitled, they don’t care about our experience, they’re looking out for the One Percent. Look at Mark Sorensen’s little stucco compound over on Manzanita – you think he’s really worried about what you’re experiencing? Stand up and say something, or YOU have become the problem.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Dear Juanita,
I am glad you included law enforcement as the expense that sucks the air out of the city’s annual budget. In my opinion, CPD is a group of dysfunctional, dangerous delinquents. The CPD does not stop crime...the officers are glorified investigators, but as you point out that the DA and CPD pick and choose what to investigate…if Reynolds’ car were stolen, the CPD would blast out a Code 3, urgent, lights and sirens needed… and the DA would have his investigators searching like it was a murder.
Check out the attachment about AB481…Chief Billy has been given a blank check by the city council to get what he wants…isn’t this Christmas for overpaid investigators with NO ACCOUNTABILITY?
Aldridge must be expecting a full-blown riot with armed protestors so he can use all the expensive lethal and less-lethal (but still lethal) military-style weapons.
I think I have mentioned to you the last five officer-involved fatal shootings were successfully completed with pistols, K9S, and a Taser. Compare that reality with this plethora of weapons. The machine guns on this list typically fire 10-12 bullets PER SECOND. The California POST training program, which CPD utilizes, has “preservation of life” as its purpose…what a joke!
I predict that sooner than later, a CPD “peace officer” will kill another with “friendly fire” because the cops don’t have the intelligence to use these lethal toys safely.* All at taxpayer expense with NO ACCOUNTABILITY. *
*Scott *
Yes, I agree, cops and fire are the poorest educated and trained but they receive the lion’s share of the budget. What we need is a rational movement to make them pay more of their own employee costs, I really believe that would put them in their place. Right now, the unions, including the SEIU, are so flush with their members’ money they are the big dog in every election. They intimidate our elected officials with their financial power, and yeah, they use city resources to ingratiate themselves with elected officials by providing them more protection and faster service.
We saw that when Reynold’s sweet shop was vandalized – at least 6 cops standing around like Sheriff Odie with their cameras and their tape measures, helping her fix her door and everything. But here’s the funny note on that – they never caught anybody.
So let’s see some letters to the editor, quoting the contracts which are available at the city website. Anonymous Maple Grower wants facts – they are there for the picking. Let’s talk about the money that goes into a tanking pension system and how it affects our local economy and our quality of life.