Another nail in the coffin of Downtown Chico with the pending closure of longtime business Collier Hardware. Think it has to do anything with the atmosphere the city has allowed to foment Downtown?
Today an overdose death at Chico Plaza – who is actually surprised when they read these reports? When my husband and I drove through Drugtown yesterday, I looked across the Plaza – I wouldn’t have got out of my car on a bet. Tents scattered around what used to be a “public” bathroom. More tents at City Hall. Dirty half dressed creeps staggering around in a state of hangover, waiting for their turn in the “public” toilet. To get high? They look like they live from one fix to the next. Morning looks like my dad after 6 days on the road – the come down. By afternoon everybody is bubbling along, just got their “medicine”. By evening they’re really high, and really nuts.
If you want to find out what night time in Drugtown is like, read Butte County Accidents and Crimes Facebook, I don’t recommend seeing it for yourself.
Maybe we should ask Mayor Kasey Reynolds how long she thinks her business – a candy store within a block of the Plaza – will last. Like Collier and Northern Star Mills and Richardson Furniture and Osers, I remember being in Shuberts as a child. I have a Grange cook book of my grandmothers, from the 1930’s, with an ad showing the same logo they still use today. I have a family album with pictures of old Chico High, CSUC buildings that don’t exist anymore, and a really bitchin’ shot of Hooker Oak before it was nothing but a stump.
Wow, how Chico has changed in my lifetime. I think we’ve all noticed how radically it’s changed in just the last 10 years. To think my family really enjoyed Downtown Chico, many businesses. My husband and sons and I enjoyed events like Friday night concert and Farmers Market – remember the conga line for a piece of fudge at Christmas preview? Remember Nut Cracker ballet in store windows? When I go down to the city center these days, all I have are memories of what it was.
How many more nails will it take to close the coffin on a great little town? Can we stop it?
As for our current drug and mental health crisis, we have to stop voting for people who put the bums before the citizens – we need more “whimsy” on council? How does an idiot like that get elected? Obvious answer – idiot voters, too lazy to study the real issues, and look at what other towns are doing, right or wrong. Voters need to know what they want before they vote, and then keep demanding it.
As for the physical state of our city, we need to demand that the city put a moratorium on new development until we get existing parts of town on schedule for infrastructure improvements. We need to get our sewer system fixed – whole parts of town, including the city center, are sitting on failing sewer and water pipes. Other whole parts of town are not even hooked up to sewer, with old septic tanks leaching into the ground. Think what that means in a heavy rain storm. Our streets are in a state of emergency, parts of town have no drainage or sidewalks.
I honestly believe we need an outside agency to come in and test our drinking water. We also need a good audit of our drinking water supply before we build new subdivisions.
To accomplish this we need a city attorney who is qualified to advise us toward better planning decisions – why did our city attorney allow council to put Valley’s Edge on the ballot if it wasn’t a legal measure? Was it illegal? Do we trust our current city attorney to advise us any further?
Of course Council hires the city attorney – so we need to communicate to our city council reps what we want out of a city attorney. We need a person who is qualified and has a proven record in municipal law. I don’t know where they’ve got the past couple of city attorneys – it would be nice to have more sunshine into this process.
But none of that is going to happen if we don’t demand it.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Well, I’ll be darned. You mean “whack a mole” didn’t work?
Neither did Overbeek and the city manager’s parking debacle.
Let’s add, Newsom’s solid refusal to fund drug rehab and make it mandatory.
And let’s add – ANOTHER request to discuss “managed campgrounds” and low barrier shelters. FUCK YOU BRYCE GOLDSTEIN! My friend DIED at your low barrier shelter – he was allowed to bring in or get drugs at your anything goes shelter, with which he overdosed in your unsupervised porta potty. You bitch – how about offering these people a space in your own home Girl? You can stay up all night with them – better get some NarCan!
“February 25, 2025
Councilmember Bryce Goldstein
Mayor and Council:
During our February 4th, 2025 meeting I requested we discuss methods for addressing
homelessness beyond enforcement. Council heard from many community members during that
meeting and subsequently that our community would benefit from a diversity of approaches
such as managed campgrounds, safe parking sites, micro shelters, partnerships with churches,
and increased behavioral health services.
Several local service providers are actively supporting and sheltering unhoused people and/or
are working to provide or expand services. There are opportunities for the City to leverage the
shelter crisis declaration by working with these organizations to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and
increase access to grant funding and project sites. Members of the public have expressed a
need for the City to work proactively with Safe Space to reduce policy hurdles to offering
low-barrier sheltering, and with North State Shelter Team to develop a managed campground.
Additionally, there is a need to ensure full utilization of the City-run Pallet Shelter.
This discussion provides members of the public an opportunity to share ideas and input on
tactics toward addressing homelessness, where Council may also provide direction to staff.
And let’s add the city’s plans to use BARNACLE – a device that is placed on your windshield so you can’t operate your vehicle, until you “resolve” your parking fines. After they already heard from business owners who say customers are driving away from the new parking meters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle_(parking)
According to their website, this device will pay for itself –
“$300 PER BARNACLE/MONTH
Annual pricing available. You determine the fine amount and keep 100% of what you collect.”
And right on the heels of my recent trip to Oregon – I didn’t even see parking meters there, parking is free everywhere but in city buildings.
This will be another nail, but I think the last nail will be when they tear up the streets to fix the sewer.