But the job is only half done.  The Act includes those disabled by reason of mental illness.  The law, strengthened by court decisions including the U.S.Supreme Court, requires states, counties and cities to treat those with psychiatric disabilities as disabled persons.  The existence of several hundred such persons in our community is clear to any observer of our streets and homeless encampments and it is clear that our treatment of this group of disabled persons fails to meet any minimum standard of care.

This failure is manifest in the failure to address, evaluate and treat a gravely disabled person who is unable to care for his or herself.  An extreme, but not entirely unique, case is that of Dana James whom Oroville police found incoherent and unable to care for herself and she was abandoned at the County landfill.  In the past year in Butte County 915 people were identified as gravely disabled under Welfare & Institutions Code section 5150 and only nine were admitted to a crisis facility.  The default is to place an incompetent person in the Butte County jail, and there is no treatment available in the jail.

The cry to treat these disabled persons exists on many levels.  There is the desire for the community to have streets and parks free of incompetent, homeless persons.  There is the cost of jailing or imprisoning a person at more than $100,000 a year without treatment.  There is the suffering of a mother or father who wants help for a son or daughter.  A disabled person may not recognize his or her illness, a condition called anosognosia, but treatment even given involuntary can relieve symptoms and change the disability.

We cannot accept the current process.  The forces of change will come in many ways including changes in the laws and court action.  Proposition one will add housing.  Senate Bill 43 will increase conservatorships and aid parents and others to intervene.  Care Court will expand the role of parents and others to help in treatment. Some changes will require stronger measures.  Several counties have been sued in the United States District Courts for failure to meet minimum legal standards.  The  LLC, Wellpath that provides services to the jails, including Butte County was found by the District Court to be in contempt for failure to comply on forty-three requirements at issue and given six months to comply or face imposition of a fine of $25,000 for each requirement.

In some counties judges and the courts have taken the lead in developing holistic programs such as “Stepping Up” adopted in more than 500 counties nation-wide.  Some District Attorneys have redirected their efforts away from incarceration of the disabled and toward treatment.  Some Public Defenders are using the Constitution and laws to move disabled offenders from jail toward less restrictive placements.  Some County Behavioral Health Agencies are actively moving the disabled homeless toward “board and care facilities. But there is little evidence of such activity in Butte County.  The truancy of these entities is obvious and disappointing.

The problem cries for bold and courageous leadership. There is evidence of such on the state level.  Governor Newson and legislators like Susan Eggman have shown a determination to find solutions.  And the American people that developed the Americans Disability Act still exist with the same determination to aid the disabled.  Change will come and this change will make the world a better place.

Ronald Reed has been a public defender for 35 years. He is the president of Base Camp Village, Inc. a non-profit devoted to helping the homeless.

Police Chief Billy Aldridge announced the launch of the survey last week with a goal to understand perceptions of the police department and areas which improvement can be made.

Among other things, the survey gives citizens a chance to express your views on department priorities, their experiences with previous interactions, and how you currently obtain information about Chico. There’s also a space at the end for general comments and concerns.

Access to the survey can be found on the police department’s website.

And speaking of transparency, on Thursday evening Chico Police will hold a community engagement meeting at the Chico Council Chambers beginning at 6 p.m. regarding the city’s military equipment use policy. The meeting is required by law; what’s notable is Aldridge has called for the meeting to gain community input ahead of the vote.

It’s important to make your voices heard, and it’s good that we have a police department willing to hear them.

MISS — We’ll preface this by saying that under our system of law, people are assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. That being said, the allegations against a Chico man accused of literally stealing money meant for our veterans are appalling.

Michael David Zylstra, 60, was arrested March 14 on suspicion of two counts of embezzlement and four counts of forgery, according to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

According to Ramsey, Zylstra is accused of taking more than $60,000 from the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans.

Zylstra paid bail on the day of his arrest and was released, Ramsey said. He is scheduled to appear for a hearing at the Butte County Courthouse on May 10.

All thefts are bad. Stealing money meant for those who put their lives on the line in defense of our country? Heinous.

HIT — We were glad to see the Chico City Council agree to further evaluate their options regarding the rising costs at mobile home parks.

Mobile home park residents on fixed incomes shouldn’t be expected to cover unrealistic rent increases year after year. We understand the hesitancy of many on the council to go into the “rent control business.” On the other hand, in an era where affordable housing is among the hottest topics around, it’s dead wrong that people get priced out of some of the most affordable housing that still exists.

We’ll also note that the mobile home park in question, Pleasant Valley Mobile Estates, sold in December 2020 for $8.2 million. Huge jump in property tax obligation. Then, a year later, it sold again for a whopping $13.6 million and yet another huge jump.

That’s a pretty nice $5 million profit — and that’s where the occupants’ money is going.

In any case, there are no easy answers. That’s exactly the time elected bodies should spend some extra time trying to find the best one.

MISS — The tents are back in Chico City Plaza, and local officials have announced a plan to relocate the people staying there.

Again.

“Now wait a minute,” you might be asking. “I thought the plaza was already cleared out, and once an area has been cleared out, homeless people aren’t supposed to be able to camp there again.”

Well, so did we. Honestly, that struck us as a pretty clear-cut part of the settlement. But in the never-ending complexities of Warren vs. Chico, there always seem to be new interpretations, and there always seem to be objections, and (ultimately) the city needs to continually go through the same set of notifications as it did in the first place. As a result, the world’s longest running game of Whac-A-Mole just keeps on going — and so does the frustration from much of the public.

When will it end? Two dozen more enforcements? A hundred? Who knows? Or maybe with the Supreme Court finally providing some well-needed guidance on when and how cities are legally allowed to enforce their ordinances?

We do know this: Just as there is no one reason people become homeless, there’s no one “solution” to the problem. The billions of dollars employed up and down our state in recent years should prove that.

In the meantime, we think “all of the above” might be as good of an answer as any. The Genesis Pallet shelter, Torres Shelter, Jesus Center, CHAT, Safe Space and others are each carrying an invaluable load.

We’re wondering if, in the same spirit as the revisit of the mobile home park, the city might also be willing to listen to the North State Shelter Team’s plan to take over management of a campground. If it gets a few more people off the street, and likely saves the city and state resources while doing so, what’s the harm? Especially in just listening?

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.

The Dallas-based telecom giant has applied to the California Public Utilities Commission to be released as the state’s “carrier of last resort,” a designation the company has held since 1996 requiring it to provide landline telephone service.

From a business perspective, the request makes sense. Current demand for landline services is very small — less than 5% of households in AT&T’s California territory have landlines, according to the company. And AT&T says it spends more than $1 billion a year to maintain landlines in the state.

Meanwhile, cell phones, along with broadband and fiber-optic cables, dominate the telecom industry, and demand for these technologies will only grow. The company says the money it spends on landlines could be used to strengthen more-advanced alternatives. And that 20 other states have already relieved the company of its carrier-of-last-resort status.

But here in California, with floods, fires, earthquakes and rolling blackouts, our relationship with landlines is more complex. Those copper wires are emergency lifelines when the power goes out. And given the distressing frequency of various natural and man-made disasters, approval of AT&T’s proposal should hinge on the availability of equally reliable ways to call for help.

Unfortunately, those comparable options don’t exist — yet. Currently, most California households get their voice services not as stand-alone landlines but as part of packages offered by broadband and mobile wireless companies. But, according to the state PUC’s Public Advocate’s Office, none of these technologies offer the same reach and reliability in an emergency as the humble landline.

Until they do, the PUC should not relieve AT&T of its carrier-of-last-resort responsibilities.

It is true that landlines’ popularity has tanked in the past two decades as consumers flocked to broadband and wireless. Between 2000 and 2021, landline demand plummeted 89%, according to AT&T.  But for the elderly, rural populations and those in vulnerable areas, legacy copper-wire telephone service is the only dependable means to call for help when power fails or disaster strikes.

For example, during the horrific Camp Fire in 2018, thousands of critical cellphone messages were missed, delayed or lost, hampering officials’ efforts to warn residents, while messages on landlines were more likely to reach them.

AT&T says the company cannot force current customers to give up their landlines, yet its PUC application only guarantees service for six months. What then? The company says the agency’s approval is only the beginning of a multi-step process to help landline customers move to more advanced options, requiring more government approvals ahead.

But the devil is in the details, and after months of AT&T’s startling letters to its California landline customers about the company’s proposed actions, resident complaints are flowing in, and officials are taking notice. Local governments, including Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, are requesting more information from AT&T. Bay Area members of Congress have launched opposition to AT&T’s plan, and the PUC has set two virtual hearings for March 19 before making a decision, likely this fall.

Meanwhile, uneven access to broadband services throughout the state could hamper the transfer of landline customers to more advanced voice technology. California is still struggling to bring broadband to rural regions and low-income urban neighborhoods, years after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to bridge the digital divide. In its application, AT&T points to a federal program to ensure broadband equity, which it says is in a “decisive phase” as reason for a speedy approval.

But the deployment of billions in both state and federal dollars to expand high-speed internet in California remains controversial, with allegations that the process disproportionately reduces funding for urban areas in favor of wealthier suburbs.

Despite these issues, advanced voice services are available to most Californians. AT&T says fewer than 500 copper-based voice lines are in service in the Bay Area without an alternative. But it’s not clear that the alternatives are comparable. In the event of a power outage and/or natural disaster, will they make people safer?

Here the efforts of carriers such as AT&T are critical, and yet the industry’s track record in emergency-proofing its alternatives to landlines is less than reassuring. The Federal Communications Commission’s past efforts to make wireless carriers install eight hours of backup power at all cell sites and 24 hours of backup power at all central switching facilities failed in court on procedural grounds after the carriers sued.

So again, we’re not there yet.

AT&T is wrong when it refers to “plain old telephone service” as obsolete. When the lights go out and the cell phones go dark, that click and dial tone are often the last resort. Until there’s an equally accessible and reliable alternative to copper wires, the PUC should protect our access to them.

If you’d like to have an editorial in our newspaper, please send up to 700 words on a topic of your choice to mwolcott@chicoer.com. Please send the text in an email; no attachments.

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Somewhere in that haze of time I remember the doctors explaining the surgery needed to save my life. I would die within hours without surgery. I would probably die with the surgery.

The doctors say I died twice during the surgery and was in a coma afterwards. They asked my parents for permission to disconnect me from life support. While they were deciding what to do, I woke up. One doctor simply said he could not explain it, I should be dead. I survived, but was paralyzed and lost most of my memory.

The first six months or so at home were an attempt to return to normal. I tried to keep a positive attitude and keep it light around family and friends. Secretly, all I could focus on was the loss. All I could see was a wheelchair. I would never walk or run again. Never hike back into my favorite fishing holes. l stared at pictures of me fishing in the canyon, marching in the school band, doing cool things in the Army only months earlier.

As hard as I tried not to, more of my thoughts were consumed with the things I would never do again. Every day I would think of something else. Even worse, was thinking about things that you had not yet tried that now you can never do. The list grew longer every day. My spirit was spiraling down. I didn’t want to be a burden to my friends and family. I began to think perhaps they would be better off if I was gone. The list both haunted and taunted me.

I was getting close to making a decision. One day as I thought about the list and the decision, I decided to make a second list of what I still could do. I needed to prove to myself that when I compared the two lists the decision would be justified. Maybe I wouldn’t burn in hell. I started with obvious things on the list of things I still could do, accomplish, or experience. I can still see. I can still hear. I can still drive (with hand controls). Unfortunately, I can still get speeding tickets too. I sure wish that one was on the other list.

Over the next few days and weeks, I would think of something else I could still do. I might have to make some modifications or do something a little differently, but I still could do it if I wanted to. A few years later I became a certified SCUBA diver and even went sky diving in Paradise. My mom didn’t like the last one. I told her it was not like I was going to break a leg or anything. She sarcastically replied, “well you can still break your fool neck.”

One day I had an epiphany. The list of things I could still do had grown so long that I realized I would never be able to accomplish all of them in my lifetime. Almost immediately I had a second epiphany. Everyone has two lists. Everyone has a list of things they will never be able to do, participate in, or accomplish.

Over the years, occasionally someone will say they don’t think they could handle it if something like that happened to them. I often reply, you don’t really know what you can really do until you really have to. Don’t sell yourself short.

Is the glass half empty, or half full? You are correct either way. You can either dwell on the list of all the things you can never do in life and be a miserable person; or you can work on the list of things you still can do and love life.

Ken Rensink is a high school teacher. He enjoys travel and spending time with family and friends.

This week, officials from AeroFlite, a longtime and top-notch firefighting aviation firm, paid a welcome visit and explained why Chico was chosen as its newest location. Among other competitors, Chico beat out McClellan Airport in Sacramento.

Chris Niemann, the general manager of AeroFlite, said Chico simply has more to offer than most other areas.

“It’s the community and the similarity to Spokane (AeroFlite’s home base),” Niemann replied. “There’s a tie-in with the outdoors, with nature, with the things I know my employees already enjoy. It’s the comfort of being here of what the community has to offer.”

With another highly regarded business based at the airport, we figure the one thing that still needs to be offered locally is the return of commercial air service.

“We’re working on it,” Mayor Andrew Coolidge said, “and this helps.”

MISS — Few things epitomize the unique Chico experience better than Scotty’s Landing. We were saddened this week to hear that the longtime restaurant and bar on the Sacramento River has closed.

As reported in our newspaper Thursday, Scotty’s was served with a red-tag notice Tuesday, cited for “no power” and “unsafe electrical.” Owner John Scott said he had been dealing with electrical issues for more than one year between PG&E and Butte County; and that the property has been on the market for more than a year.

“I’m just trying to keep Scotty’s going and find the right person to buy it,” said Scott, 72. “I could have sold it, but I didn’t want to sell it to people that aren’t going to keep it for the people — for Scotty’s.”

It’s no exaggeration to say that Scott, like Scotty’s itself, has long since earned the title “north state icon.” His decades of service rescuing people from the river and working with law enforcement to help keep people safe — alive even — is unmatched, as is Scotty’s longstanding reputation as a great place to enjoy a meal and cool beverage, whether you’ve spent an afternoon on the river or not.

Let’s hope that there’s a positive outcome in store for this somehow. It’s worth fighting for, both from a county administrative and potential investor point of view.

HIT — Every so often, a new young golfer comes along and seems to take the world by storm.

We’re having a hard time remembering the last time it happened when the golfer was 8 years old, especially on a local level.

In any case, 8-year-old Livy Woodward of Chico is on quite a streak. As reported by our own “ace” of a golf correspondent, Ed Anderson, earlier this week, Woodward just won two more US Kids Central Valley Tour tournaments in a single weekend. She shot a 3-under par score of 33 to win at Swenson Park GC in Stockton by 5 strokes, and came back the next day at Dry Creek Ranch GC in Galt on Sunday and shot an even par 36 to win by 2 strokes.

This makes it six in a row for (to quote Anderson) “this young wonder woman.”

Woodward has been invited to the US Kids World Championship Tournament at Pinehurst, N.C. in August to compete in the girls’ 8-and-under division. We suspect you’ll be reading about her in our sports section for a long time to come.

MISS — We’re trying to think of something more despicable than taking advantage of senior citizens and fleecing them of much of their life savings. At this moment, we’re stuck for an answer.

With local scams on the upswing — one Willows woman reportedly lost more than $100,000 — the Butte County Board of Supervisors is considering a ban on Bitcoin machines, which have become one of the latest in a sickeningly never-ending series of tools used by lowlifes to take away money that was earned by other people.

Just in Chico over the past 16 months, there have been 25 Bitcoin fraud reports provided to the Chico Police Department with about $211,000 lost in that time frame, according to a presentation by Detective Kevin Hass.

The scams are shocking enough. Another thing that surprised us was the fact the scammers were often staying on the phone with technologically challenged seniors while explaining to them how to operate the machines while actually in the store.

This strikes us as an obvious red flag, and an often-missed opportunity to help. If a senior citizen is at a Bitcoin machine accepting instructions from somebody on the phone, we can’t help but suspect that a quick offer to help — from a customer or store employee — would probably nip that thievery in the bud.

We all need to look out for each other these days, especially our citizens who are most likely to be targeted by these awful scammers. They deserve no mercy for what they’re doing.

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.

A restaurant is considered “fast-food” when you must order and pay for food first. The fast-food industry comprises about 500,000 employees making minimum wage. On April 1, minimum wage for “fast-food employees only” will rise 25% to $20 per hour under AB 1228. The minimum salary will be twice the minimum wage or $83,200 per year. However, only fast-food employees working for
employers having 60 or more locations nationwide are eligible.

This is nothing more than an illegal financial shakedown of McDonald’s and others extorting them to pay 25% higher minimum wages for having locations outside California jurisdiction, which is unconstitutional. These corporate fast-food employers are not receiving equal protection under the law. Our 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, … nor [shall any State] deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This amendment is also known as the Equal Protection Clause.

Earning minimum wage requires only minimum labor effort having no education or skill. Not unlike Social Security or unemployment benefits, minimum wage was never intended to be a “living wage.” A living wage is NOT a right; it is earned. If an individual chooses not to complete high school or not to attend college to gain an essential education, skill, or trade to greatly increase their employability and earning potential, that is their right. Individuals are not entitled to a “living wage” because of their poor life choices.

The State of California has no business rewarding these individuals who are lacking education and skills. If an individual wants a career within the fast-food industry, that’s between them and their employer. If not for minimum wage jobs, many employed in the fast-food industry would be unemployed. Some can’t even speak English.

AB 1228 is sponsored by Assemblyman Chris Holden, (D) of Pasadena. The single largest racial/ethnic group in Pasadena is Hispanic. And 60% of all fast-food workers in California are Hispanic. Unfortunately, AB 1228 wreaks of racism; favoring one ethnic group or nationality over others. I dare not speculate how many are undocumented from Mexico.

The fast-food employers having 60+ locations nationwide have no intention of absorbing additional labor costs. Based upon the total number of fast-food employees, California consumers could potentially pay nearly $4.16 billion dollars in increased minimum wages covered by fast-food consumer price increases. Because these fast-food purchases are taxed at about 8% on average, the total cost to California consumers could be nearly $4.5 billion dollars annually.

Fast-food “value menus” have become a cruel joke. Most senior citizens and low-income families can no longer afford to dine at McDonald’s. All the fast-food restaurants have been raising their prices in anticipation of April 1. The $5 Cravings Box at Taco Bell Paradise is now $10, a 100% increase.

What about the other 2.5 million employees in California making $16 per hour not employed in the fast- food industry? Employees working within retail sales, hospitality, healthcare, and all other labor sectors are not receiving equal protection under the law. What about the employees working at retail corporations such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and others having 60+ locations nationwide? They are being discriminated for not working in the fast-food industry. And those fast-food employees working for employers having 60+ fast-food locations individually located inside airports and markets are exempt.

Panera Bread, having 60+ locations nationwide, is exempt because they are also a bakery. However, Subway, which bakes its own bread, is not exempt. AB 1228 is chock full of unlawful exemptions and ineligibilities. The AB 1228 Minimum Wage is not based on merit, education, or skill, but ultimately based solely on an individual’s employer having undertones of racial preference.

A Temporary Injunction needs to be filed in Federal Court prior to April 1 to pause implementation of AB 1228 until which time a “Class Action” lawsuit can prove AB 1228 is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. These plaintiffs should include the 2.5 million Californians working in the non-fast-food industry, those ineligible individuals working in the fast-food industry, and all corporate fast-food employers having 60+ locations nationwide outside California jurisdiction. These plaintiffs are not receiving equal protection. All Californians, individuals and corporate entities, deserve and demand equal protection under the law guaranteed by our 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Marty Piatt is an architect and author living in Paradise.

HIT — The 49ers had “The Catch.” The Denver Broncos had “The Drive.”

We think the Pleasant Valley girls basketball team will forever remember “The Shot.”

In a play that looked like something out of a Larry Bird highlight film, the Vikings won their NorCal semifinal playoff game last Saturday on a play that must fit into the “one in a thousand” category.

With a half-second to go and the score tied 62-62, PV’s Ava Dunn threw an inbounds pass three-quarters of the length of the court toward the right corner. The Vikings’ leading scorer, AJ Gambol, outraced her Oakland Tech defender and let the ball bounce, since touching it would have started the clock. Then, just as the ball got high enough to grab, she caught it and, in the same motion, turned and shot from the corner. The ball hit nothing but net at the buzzer, sending the Varley Gym crowd into a frenzy.

In a town that has made “postseason highlight” a rule rather than the exception, this was truly one for the all-time highlight reel.

The Vikings lost the NorCal title game to Colfax on Tuesday but, with every player except one returning next year, we suspect the highlights may be just beginning.

And speaking of postseason highlights, the Butte College women’s basketball team will play host to Cosumnes River at 6 p.m. Saturday in a Sweet 16 playoff game. The top-ranked Roadrunners are 28-1 on the season.

Well done, all!

MISS — Yes. Again.

Do a search for “PG&E rate increases PUC” and you may be surprised by how many stories pop up — but you’ll be even more surprised by how often the word “again” appears in the headline.

Well, we already have our second “again” of 2024. The always-reliable rubber stamp of the Public Utilities Commission has approved yet another PG&E rate hike (again) Thursday, this one scheduled to slap customers across the pocketbook in April.

And get this: This time, the topic wasn’t even open for debate (not that the PUC pays attention anyway). It was on the consent agenda.

How insulting. Just one more reason why this farcical, governor-appointed commission needs to be replaced with one chosen by the voters.

MISS — It was the most hotly contested topic in Chico in many years — and many voters shrugged it off.

Through Friday’s update, the numbers show just 35.13% of Butte County’s 120,112 registered voters cast a ballot in the primary election. For Chico voters, that included Measures O and P — in other words, the future of the Valley’s Edge development.

Two years ago in the June 2022 primary, about 40% of voters turned out. And in the general election that fall, a whopping 83.28% completed their ballots — even though California’s Democrat-heavy voter base makes the presidential race pretty much a foregone conclusion very four years.

It’s never been easier to vote. The United States Postal Service places the ballot right in your hands. All you have to do is fill out and drop it back into the mailbox.

Yet, barring a surprising number of late-arriving mail ballots, it looks like fewer than 20,000 people in Chico bothered to cast a ballot to voice their opinion on Valley’s Edge, and two-thirds of voters in Butte County didn’t bother to vote at all.

That’s just sad.

MISS — We were horrified by the car crash early in the morning of March 1 on The Esplanade that left an 87-year-old woman dead and an entire community with a whole lot of questions.

Barbara Ferris, a well-known and beloved member of the neighborhood, died from injuries suffered in a house fire started by the crash.

The suspect, identified Thursday as Jose Guadalupe Cervantes-Ayala, 24, is still being sought by police. He allegedly ran off after crashing the car into the house, leaving two female passengers trapped in the burning vehicle. They were rescued by passers-by.

The horrific scene unfolded after a University Police officer observed a vehicle driving in an unsafe manner on Warner Street and began pursuit.

The topic of police chases is literally a deadly serious one with a history in Chico. “Kristie’s Law” was proposed (but never adopted) after Kristina “Kristie” Marie Elena Priano, 15, of Chico was killed when her family’s minivan was hit by a vehicle being chased by Chico police in 2002.

It’s important to note the March 1 chase was initiated by University Police, not City of Chico police — and the ultimate responsibility for this tragedy lies in the hands of the driver who crashed the car and then fled the scene. But, we’ll also note that in a press release issued the morning of the crash, Chico State said “per UPD policy, the department will conduct an administrative review of tactics and procedures related to the pursuit.”

We expect the department to be forthcoming with the results of that review. The public deserves to know.

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.

HIT: Election day is a half-week away, though we understand fully if you’re already over it. Campaigning on Valley’s Edge — Chico measures O and P — dates to last year at this time when referendum organizers mounted their signature drive. Candidates up and down the ballot added to the deluge of mailers and ads.

If you’ve already mailed in your ballot, good for you! That will make Tuesday easier for Butte County Elections officials and volunteers by giving them a head start on counting.

If you haven’t voted, we hope you do. Proposition 1 promises to reshape the state’s mental health system by allocating billions toward housing. The race for the White House seems set, but Californians have four leading prospects for U.S. Senate vying for two spots on the November ballot. Plus, two of the county’s five supervisor seats could change hands.

Primary elections often have low turnout. Early returns support this trend. Until Tuesday night, it’s not too late to make your vote count.

MISS: Government bureaucracy never ceases to befuddle. The Board of Supervisors learned this week that the county is probably out millions of dollars after FEMA retroactively added restrictions to compensating local jurisdictions for housing vulnerable people during the height of COVID.

County Administrative Officer Andy Pickett revealed that FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) likely won’t be providing the full reimbursement for the Project Roomkey program for homeless people “generally over 65 with respiratory conditions and immune or chronic diseases.” FEMA “offered to pay for the rooms so that the people could isolate themselves,” he continued, but “what (FEMA is) saying now is that they could only stay for 20 days and some individuals stayed much longer than that based on different needs.”

So, because county officials didn’t kick out people out of their rooms before the 21st day — three weeks in a multiyear pandemic — the county has to foot the entire $3 million bill.

“We implemented the program with the best information that we had at the time,” Pickett said, “so now it looks like FEMA is going back on their word.”

Hard to argue with that position.

HIT: It may seem odd to put a passing in a positive light, but we were touched by the outpouring of tributes to the late Tom Dauterman after he succumbed to cancer Monday at age 81. Dauterman was a pioneer in the field of agricultural machinery and one of the north state’s most generous philanthropists.

Dauterman started the company that would become Thomas Manufacturing out of a small shop in 1970 and a namesake hydraulics business in 1974. He revolutionized nut-tree harvesting with equipment he designed, even though he wasn’t formally trained as a mechanical engineer. In 2006, he co-founded Northern California National Bank and served on the board until the bank’s sale two years ago.

He and his wife, Sue, formed a charitable foundation that has donated millions to organizations including Enloe Health and the Salvation Army; he also gave his time and resources to support agriculture programs in local high schools and was a 35-year member of the service group Rotary.

Among the tributes he received, City Councilor Tom van Overbeek called Dauterman “a local giant.” We join the salute to his lasting impact.

HIT: Much like an obituary, a blizzard warning hardly ever comes across as good news to the people affected by it. This weekend, though, we’re looking to the snowline with a sense of relief.

The series of winter storms provided a lot of rainfall that filled our rivers, lakes, creeks and streams. Less so, the higher elevations with snow — but the latest flurries should put the snowpack over 100% and leave us good to go supply-wise for the year.

Now, bring on spring!

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.

MISS — Shameful. Reprehensible. Despicable.

Honestly, we wish there were a stronger word to describe PG&E’s ripoff of its largely captive customer base, but we’re stuck to come up with one.

Just as customers were reeling from yet another round of massive rate increases approved by the ever-compliant Public Utilities Commission, PG&E released its 2023 profit report this week. Not surprisingly, it was obscene.

The company announced Thursday it earned $2.24 billion in profits last year, an incredibly unjustifiable increase of 24.6% from 2022. Even more alarming, the report also predicted the company’s investors could anticipate even better earnings in 2024; after all, we’re not done with these rate increases. Not by a long shot. As long as there are a few extra pennies in the pocket of any customer, PG&E seems determined to find them.

To the surprise of no one, this comes after the company got its traditional rubber-stamp-approval from the PUC for another rate increase. You know, because the extra money is so necessary for rebuilding its infrastructure and all.

The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group that goes by TURN, blasted the profit figures.

“TURN believes it is unacceptable for PG&E shareholders to pocket billions in profits at the expense of its customers who have seen bills skyrocket by 33% last year alone,” said Mark Toney, the group’s executive director.

Of course, the news is nothing but rosy in the eyes of PG&E. “Our story of progress continued in 2023, including further reducing wildfire ignitions and burying more powerlines than any prior year,” said PG&E Chief Executive Officer Patricia Poppe.

Our story of progress? For who? Certainly not customers who are resigned to freezing in the winter and roasting in the summer because they can’t afford the ever-growing bills. Also, there’s something disconcerting about PG&E bragging about reducing wildfire ignitions when they were the ones solely responsible for starting so many of these fires in the first place.

Meanwhile, five and a half years after the Camp Fire, we continue to hear from victims who aren’t getting their full payout from the Fire Victim Trust — assuming they’ve gotten a payout at all. Fire victims aren’t benefitting from this boon because the trust sold off its shares before this revenue spike that might have led to a greater return.

“Between its rank greed and rampant property destruction from wildfires, it’s difficult to identify another company that has inflicted more harm to the residents of the state than PG&E,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocacy organization.

It’s sickening and it’s out of control. When will our elected officials finally stand up and say “Enough”?

HIT — The PG&E news leaves us in dire need of a feel-good story. Fortunately, we’ve got a great one right down the Midway.

In a story that feels straight out of “Hoosiers,” the Durham High wrestling team has taken the adage “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” to new levels. Going against much-larger schools, the Trojans won the Northern Section championship last Saturday, its first section championship in 64 years.

The team title marks the first time a small school has won in the era of the Masters Tournament.

“It’s just a small school, small town, everybody feels like family and that’s what this team is – it’s an extension of my family,” said Durham High wrestling coach Tony Cardoza.

Most impressively, the Trojans did it with a young team that only figures to get better in the years to come. Fittingly, it was the lone senior — Geovani Rico — who wrapped up the title with a pin in just 15 seconds.

From there, it was on to the CIF State Wrestling Championships held at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield. Who knows? This David vs. Goliath story could be just beginning.

HIT — The week also featured some good news in terms of getting help, and housing, for those who need it.

First, after several delays, Everhart Village was able to open its doors and move in its first six residents. Chico Housing Action Team Director Nicole Drummond said Thursday the nonprofit received the necessary permit to begin operations at its Everhart Village project, a 20-cabin collaboration with Butte County Behavioral Health to house behavioral health clients at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

Also, Prospect View Apartments in Oroville is nearing completion. It’ll include 39 units. According to the Butte County website, the goal of the project is to provide a home and sense of stability to previously unhoused people. Instead of focusing solely on day-to-day survival, residents will be empowered to improve their lives and get back on their feet.

“It’s amazing to see so many people with the same goal in trying to end homelessness, even if it’s just one small area at a time,” said Pahua Thao, Butte County’s health and human services program analyst.

We agree. There’s no one-size-fits-all cure for homelessness; a mix of government efforts and private citizens tackling this issue on multiple fronts works to everyone’s benefit.

Unlike, say, obscene PG&E profits.

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.