Race Communications, based in South San Francisco, purchased the lot, then demolished all buildings and infrastructure in preparation to build housing for internet and fiber-optic communication lines. City of Chico building officials issued four permits authorizing the company to begin work; the permits were dated Aug. 10, 2023.

The half-acre lot at 580 E. 10th Ave., at the northwest corner of East Lindo Avenue, was the home of a Gasamat filling station from the early 1970s until the early 2000s. The gas station’s service window — where customers could also buy cigarettes — was located in a converted house; the station offered discount prices with a very definite “no-frills” atmosphere. Even the pumps were of the older variety, with the analog dials showing the amount of fuel dispensed.

Gasamat, based in Longmont, Colo., approximately midway between Denver and Fort Collins, still has several locations in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. In fact, Gasamat was one of the forerunners in the self-serve gasoline industry, launching the first such operation in Colorado — in Loveland, about 15 miles south of Fort Collins — in 1965.

Self-service fueling began to advance as states relaxed their restrictions on the practice; those restrictions were based on the fear that careless customers would spill gasoline and risk causing fires. However, as the 1973-74 oil crisis caused gasoline prices to skyrocket, many consumers sought retailers offering lower prices. Self-serve stations were one solution and Gasamat offered motorists that advantage.

Following the Chico station’s closure, the roofs shielding the pump islands remained, as did the converted house and an adjacent garage-type structure. A barber shop and small-engine repair shop both operated in the location for a short time in the early 2010s, but after they closed, it appeared that all commercial activity at the address ceased.

Race Communications corporate officials did not return a phone call from a reporter requesting comments about the redevelopment. However, Race’s website claims the company “is the leading fiber internet provider in California.”

“Race Communications is dedicated to providing reliable, high-speed Internet and advanced communications at an affordable price. Working in partnership with the California Public Utilities Commission and many non-profit community advocacy groups, Race focuses on improving connectivity in communities that larger carriers have long ignored,” the website explains.

“We understand that broadband Internet access consists of two vastly different worlds between rural and urban areas, and we are working to bridge that gap every day. To date, Race has leveraged public grants and private investments totaling over $200 million. These funds advance broadband adoption and infrastructure deployment in unserved and underserved areas.”

The East 10th Avenue property is still surrounded by a chain-link construction fence and privacy screen, with an excavator parked near the corner. Two structures, each perhaps 12-by-20 feet, sit on concrete pads; a generator sits on another pad a few yards from each of the structures. The structures presumably house the communications cables.

There is still a considerable amount of ground available at the site for more construction, though it is not clear how much more will take place, or when. City permit documents do not indicate whether there will be an office on site.

As we’ve said, this column’s purpose has not been to embarrass or ridicule city employees. Those folks do a good job maintaining public infrastructure given the tools and funding they have, but there just hasn’t been enough money in the city bank account to do all the things residents want. One of those things has been to adequately pave roadways.

What happens when citizens don’t provide the municipal government with enough funds to keep streets smooth? You can see the examples all over town — potholes, ruts, cracks, fragments, rough texture … the results are unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous, for anyone using the streets, whether in motor vehicles, on bicycles or on foot. This is a critical distinction because the American way of life usually causes people to think of cars and trucks when thinking of streets.

We’ve shown you streets that have potholes so wide and deep they can easily accommodate a human foot. That makes crossing the street treacherous, and bicycling can also be exceptionally dangerous, especially at night. It also shortens the life of car tires and suspension systems.

Fortunately, city residents voted in favor of Measure H, allowing a one-cent sales tax that began in April 2023. It has already brought in enough money for the city to repave East Avenue, a major artery connecting many of the northern Chico areas to Highway 99, The Esplanade, Cohasset Road, Eaton Road and Manzanita Avenue. Smooth and quiet — that’s what motorists now feel when driving on East Avenue.

More projects are on the way, assuming the economy stays intact and revenue predictions are accurate. Chico is a growing city, with many of the same aches and pains other cities are experiencing, and needs the cash to keep up with improvements. Too many of our streets have been neglected for too long, and the results haven’t been pleasant.

So, here’s the countdown on streets we’ve discussed over the life of this column.

10. El Paso Way

This is the street that inspired this column. It’s a 1950s-era roadway that was a part of unincorporated Butte County until about 15 years ago, and it has the unfortunate distinction of being the only convenient route connecting Highway 99 (by way of the East Avenue exits) and the significant number of high-density apartment complexes and mobile home parks along East Lassen Avenue. There are plenty of traditional single-family homes in this area as well.

Lassen Avenue does not have a freeway entrance or exit. El Paso Way is not the only route connecting the freeway to this area, as people could also get off 99 at Eaton Road, though it would be a significantly longer trip. Therefore, the large majority of residents around Lassen Avenue take El Paso. That roadway — especially between Lassen and El Verano Way — was heavily worn as a result.

As you know, however, city crews repaved part of El Paso and reconditioned other parts of it, wrapping up the project in October.

Label this one a success story – proof of your tax dollars at work.

9. Airpark Boulevard

Battered and abused, this street — which has no purpose other than to provide a way for motorists to get from Cohasset Road to the Chico Regional Airport, or to businesses in the airport business park — is hard to fathom.

Why? Because the city is trying to attract passenger airline service, creating a million-dollar fund that any candidate service will use as proof there’s sufficient interest in Chico for hosting air service to Los Angeles. That is admirable, but what will out-of-towners (and not to mention locals) think when they travel over this abominable motorway? By the time they’ve bounced along the road on the way to the airport to depart, they may never want to come here again.

The eastbound side of the divided road, which takes arrivals to Cohasset Road and into town, is slightly better — but “better” than the westbound stretch isn’t saying much. City officials need to couple acquiring commercial service with a better entryway to the airport.

8. ‘Hidden streets’ of southwest Chico

Anyone traveling on Dayton Road in southwest Chico may have only a faint awareness of a small neighborhood that includes Pomona Avenue, Archer Street, Deveney Street, Elmer Street and Poppy Street. Unless a person lives in that area, or makes deliveries — which, excluding moderately traveled Pomona Avenue, makes up a quiet residential district — there isn’t much reason to go there. As low-traffic neighborhoods go, this may be one of Chico’s best-kept secrets.

Its streets are apparently a secret as well, as they haven’t enjoyed any care from the city in a long time. Aside from the installation of sewer lines — evident by the telltale trenching in the middle of each street — these roadways have suffered from years of neglect. There is such poor drainage that storm water pools next to the roadways and sometimes encroaches on them. The streets aren’t typically wide enough to accommodate two passing vehicles — certainly not large ones like trucks or fire engines.

People appear to enjoy living in this area, judging by the pride of ownership you can see in their homes, but they probably don’t like driving on the streets.

7. Floral Avenue

This roadway, between East and Manzanita avenues, brought us a lot of suggestions from area residents for coverage. And boy, when they complained about it, they weren’t kidding.

We compared the “shake, rattle and roll” texture of Floral Avenue to the “Magic Fingers” vibration systems in motels in the 1960s and 1970s — the kind into which a user inserted a quarter and got 15 minutes of gentle shaking in a bed. Driving on Floral Avenue replicated that sensation, but a driver probably didn’t find it very relaxing. In fact, it was likely a frazzling experience when a person considered the long-term damage that roadway would cause a vehicle.

It’s not a “major” roadway, by any means, so whether it gets repairs in the near future is debatable. It will likely be on the list, though, due to its poor condition.

6. Petersen Memorial Way

This is the north roadway in Bidwell Park and was once called North Park Drive. Regardless of the name, however, it’s a mean street. It’s also surprising the city has let it get this bad because the roadway — just like the park in general — is so popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists.

People who use that low-speed limit drive regularly are surely familiar with every crack, crease and crevice in the asphalt, making them aware of the danger that awaits them should they step into the deficiencies. But, why should they need to worry? Bidwell Park is Chico’s jewel, and while it should share city resources with other areas, we believe the city shouldn’t treat this public treasure’s infrastructure with such disdain.

5. Rio Lindo Avenue

This 1940s-era street, we should mention right away, is up for some major remodeling work in the next year or so. It certainly needs it, as it has several areas with broken and uneven pavement, no shoulders, and jagged edges where the asphalt meets the dirt on the edges.

Readers who have sent their suggestions for streets to highlight talked about this one a lot during this column’s early weeks — thus making its selection an easy one.

Fortunately, the city has come up with some ideas for rehabilitating this street. They look good, offering some convenient — and safe — options for bicyclists as the bike path crosses Rio Lindo approximately halfway along its length. This is a street that has been crying for help for many years. Residents, you’re about to get it.

4. North Cedar Street

Connecting West Sacramento Avenue with a densely populated residential district catering mostly to Chico State students, North Cedar Street is an embarrassingly bad roadway that’s bordering on dangerous. Some of the potholes and depressions are so deep, and so close together, that traversing this road on a bicycle or on foot is a serious proposition. Since many college students can travel the short distance to school on their bikes, it’s a fair guess a lot of them wouldn’t want to do it on North Cedar Street at night.

Drive on this street in your car and you’ll likely decide you wouldn’t want to do it at any time of day or night. Property owners can’t be happy about this condition, as it may cause prospective students to consider living elsewhere — thus lowering property values.

3. Broadway, south of downtown

One of Chico’s oldest streets and part of John Bidwell’s original 1860 street grid, Broadway has been inseparable from downtown Chico. On the north end is Children’s Playground, part of the 19th-century agricultural holdings Bidwell maintained even after the rest of his Rancho del Arroyo Chico morphed into a modern city. On the south end, at West 20th Street, is a purely residential district.

However, the area between West Ninth and West 11th streets is where Broadway appears to be sad and forlorn, for it is here that cracks — deep ones — join uneven and cracked pavement to make for a disappointing bit of roadway. This is especially true with cracks at the bridge over Little Chico Creek, and poor pavement close to Chico Country Day School. Hundreds of students travel in various ways over that street every school day, putting young ankles in serious jeopardy.

2. The Esplanade, north of Eaton Road

Houses are popping up at a brisk pace in north Chico, but The Esplanade’s repaving project of 2021 stopped just a few yards north of the intersection with Eaton Road. Head north beyond that point and whatever smile you might have on your face will rapidly disappear.

Chico has a very nice public space — DeGarmo Park — on the north Esplanade but getting there can be tricky, and unpleasant, for people traveling to use it. Getting there by car is just about the only safe way, because bicycle paths and sidewalks are non-existent for quite a distance. They appear north of Innsbrook Way, continuing to Nord Highway, which encompasses a large residential district, but south of there and to Eaton Road, paved areas for bike travel aren’t available. Cyclists ride through that zone at their peril.

The roadway for cars is rough, choppy and of varying widths, thus causing motorists to swerve to miss potholes and cracks, and (if traveling northbound) to shift slightly to the left because the pavement on the right disappears.

The grand champion

This was a tough decision, but we settled on East 20th Street to the east of the Highway 99 overpass. It’s not a street for which the city is responsible — but rather, it’s a problem for Caltrans, the state transportation agency, to solve.

It is difficult for us to believe the state doesn’t think this is a roadway in need of immediate attention. Well, maybe Caltrans officials realize it is, but don’t have the funds and/or the desire to repave it. However, with an enormous retail district right off the freeway, and some growing residential districts (including Meriam Park, just west of Bruce Road) relying heavily on East 20th Street to carry people to and from those places, it clearly deserves attention.

Worst are the potholes and wide cracks at the base of the overpass and moving east, extending almost to the entrance to Chico Marketplace (formerly Chico Mall). If you recall from the column highlighting this pathetic piece of asphalt, we compared the fissures here to cracks the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake caused to that city’s streets.

This may not be — on its own — the meanest street in Chico, but combined with the heavy traffic and economic importance of this portion of East 20th Street, it is a shameful way for Chico visitors, as well as residents, to experience that area.

Disappearing crosswalks?

Mark Stemen, a professor at Chico State and tireless advocate for ecologically responsible living, contacted us recently and mentioned an oddity we hadn’t noticed. Most people who drive on Park Avenue probably haven’t noticed it, either.

“I have appreciated your ‘Mean Streets of Chico’ series, and the repairs that it has spurred,” he wrote. “I don’t know if you have returned to any of those streets because a few of them have become even meaner to pedestrians after they became nicer for cars.

“The intersection I know best is 18th and Park, adjacent to the South Chico Community Assistance Center. I fear for my safety almost every time I try to cross the busy four lanes of Park Avenue when traveling from my house on Salem to the center. It has become much, much worse after the city repaved the street because they did not repaint the crosswalks, creating a visual drag strip from 20th to 16th that is extremely dangerous for pedestrians to walk/run across.

“Why did we spend all the money for handicap curb-cuts on every corner, but only repaint crosswalks at stop lights? Why did the city abandon pedestrians on Park Avenue??!!”

Take a look at the photos of Park Avenue to see for yourself that the crosswalks have vanished. Even magicians Penn and Teller, or David Copperfield, would have struggled to perform such a disappearing act. The intersections of 12th, 14th, 16th and 20th streets have traffic signals where they intersect with Park Avenue; 18th Street does not. Maybe it needs one, so pedestrians can have some peace of mind. We surely hope it doesn’t take someone getting maimed or killed while crossing Park Avenue in order for city officials to take action here.

To add a major scandal, however — involving alleged prohibited sexual relations, and death threats toward colleagues — would require an intrepid individual to take the school’s helm. Yet, that’s exactly what Steve Perez did when he assumed the presidency at Chico State on July 1, with the retirement of predecessor Gayle Hutchinson.

Perez had two major tasks when he took command. The first was to lead the 136-year-old university in reversing a serious decline in enrollment — approximately 4,000 students — as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other was to become an integral part of the campus community, being visible and accessible while participating in as many university functions as his schedule will allow. Obviously, it’s difficult to be an advocate for prospective students to consider attending Chico State if the top officer spends the bulk of his time in his office.

Perez has succeeded in the second endeavor, as a frequent sight around campus. Whether he succeeds in solving the enrollment issue will require time before anyone knows for sure. The university plunged from an all-time high enrollment of 17,789 in the 2017 academic year to just 13,880 in the just-completed fall 2023 semester. However, if his plan and accompanying enthusiasm are any indication, numbers should improve fairly soon on campus.

Unfortunately, Perez also has had to deal with the blowback from an unsavory series of events that began between an instructor and a student in 2020.

David Stachura, a biology professor, remains on the payroll and the school’s website lists him as an active member of his department, despite being on administrative leave. This is true despite a Butte County Superior Court official granting a restraining order to keep Stachura off the university campus for three years. He also may not possess firearms during that time span.

Court commissioner Virginia Gingery found Stachura made “a credible threat of violence” that “could reasonably be construed to be carried out on the CSUC campus.” The ruling came via a hearing that began in April as part of the fallout of revelations made public last year, stating that Stachura had a prohibited sexual affair with a student in 2020 and allegedly threatened to kill the professors who cooperated in a university investigation of the matter.

Making matters worse for Stachura, Butte County Superior Court Judge Stephen Benson threw out a Stachura libel suit July 25. The professor had filed the suit against a colleague who revealed at a public forum in December 2022 that Stachura allegedly threatened gun violence on campus. Stachura has repeatedly claimed in legal papers and in testimony in a related restraining order case that Tamietti is lying and that he made no such threats.

On top of that, San Diego attorney Nancy Aeling released a 20-page report Nov. 27 that concluded the university followed proper procedures in how it handled the sex investigation and its lengthy aftermath — including not informing faculty and students that Stachura allegedly threatened gun violence on campus.

In some good news, construction workers completed work on the hospital’s large expansion plan, constructing a five-story tower on its property near Olive Highway in southeast Oroville. However, a contracting firm overseeing the massive project had worried in November 2022 that there wasn’t enough money in the construction fund to pay the company for its work on the 160,000-square-foot facility.

Construction work indeed finished in October of this year, leaving just inspections and testing of systems remaining. Oroville Hospital chief operating officer Scott Chapple said the inspections by public agencies range from electrical, mechanical and plumbing all the way to climate control, information technology, security and backup power systems.

Chapple estimated the tower — which will increase the number of patient beds from 153 to 211 — will be ready for occupancy around June or July 2024. The building is slated to include ambulatory care services, an intensive care unit, a labor and delivery center and two floors for medical/surgical units when it opens.

However, there was considerable doubt the project would reach completion. General contractors for the expansion expressed concern about the hospital’s ability to pay for the project — and frustration at the hospital’s lack of transparency in responding to their requests for proof of financial capability. The hospital received $200 million in bonds in February 2019 to fund the project, which the hospital said would cost $178 million. The project was originally slated to be completed in April 2022.

Another event that was unpleasant to Oroville-area residents was the hospital’s closure of an outpatient services department.

Golden Valley Home Health employees said they were verbally notified of the business’ closing in a Jan. 27 meeting. Employees said they were told the reason for the closure was because “home health was not profitable.” A Jan. 30 email listed three physical therapists, three occupational therapists and two speech, language and pathology therapists who were being transferred to the “hospital and/or outpatient clinics.”

Employees expressed concern for their patients, especially those who live in outlying areas citing Berry Creek as one of the communities “not served by other home health agencies.”

The biggest change for Chico’s hospital was its name change, rebranding from Enloe Medical Center to Enloe Health.

Aurora Regino, whose daughter attended Sierra View Elementary School, claimed in her lawsuit that a district employee attempted to “facilitate” the daughter’s gender transition. Regino’s suit named CUSD Superintendent Kelly Staley as a defendant, along with school board members Caitlin Dalby, Matt Tennis, Tom Lando, Eileen Robinson and Rebecca Konkin. All six were named as defendants in their official capacities only.

Specifically, the suit contended the CUSD’s “Parental Secrecy Policy” violated Regino’s 14th Amendment due-process rights. This occurred, Regino’s lawsuit said, when a school counselor sought to “socially transition” her 11-year-old daughter who was a fifth-grader during the 2021-22 school year.

When a student expresses a desire to live as a gender different than the child’s biological gender, the lawsuit claimed district officials will facilitate this change while keeping the social transition a secret from the student’s parents, unless the student specifically authorizes the district to inform them.

The lawsuit further claimed that under this policy, “schools in the district are prompting students to question their sexuality and gender, facilitating their social transition to a new gender identity, and integrating this new person into the school ecosystem, all without informing or receiving consent from (the child’s) parents.”

Regino indicated in the lawsuit brief that she is supportive of her child, but was greatly dismayed that “the Parental Secrecy Policy precludes parents from being a part of this significant and formative event” in her child’s life.

The lawsuit did not seek monetary damages, but rather sought to have the court issue a permanent injunction against what the lawsuit calls the CUSD’s “ongoing violations” of the U.S. Constitution.

However, Senior United States District Judge John A. Mendez of the Eastern District of California dismissed the lawsuit July 11. Staley had filed a motion to dismiss Regino’s complaint.

In conjunction with the lawsuit, Regino had asked the court to order an injunction to prevent district employees from socially transitioning students without obtaining informed consent from their parents. The court denied that motion March 9.

In the July 11 order, the court said CUSD demonstrated a legitimate state interest in creating a zone of protection for students that question their gender identity or are transgender from “adverse hostile reactions” like bullying or domestic abuse. The court affirmed the district’s policy aligned with the state interest to combat discrimination and harassment against students; and that the policy is not proactive, but reactive.

Despite being smack in-between two important state highways, among the only noises out here are occasional moos of grazing cows, periodic whispers from gusts of wind, and the gentle gurgling of storm runoff in roadside ditches. Mixed in are chirps and squawks from birds.

In fact, bird sounds such as those were pleasant invitations to the two dozen birders who fanned out in a 15-mile diameter in the Oroville area Saturday as they conducted the Oroville Christmas Bird Count, an annual event started in 1969.

Even though many types of birds are readily visible by humans keeping their range of vision at ground level, many of the winged creatures are “hidden in plain sight” and are available for discovery just by looking upward. Spotting them might require some special equipment — such as binoculars, or “spotting scopes” — but even novices can pick up quick experience and enjoy witnessing movement of these animals.

Ken Sobon of Chico led a three-member group of birders Saturday morning. The rain-or-shine ritual took place under cloudy (and occasionally threatening) skies, but Friday’s storm had mostly moved through the area and what was left had largely expended its energy. Very light sprinkles and mist were about all that was left of the system.

Sobon, president of the Chico-based Altacal Audubon Society, joined Mary Muchowski, the society’s executive director, and Davis resident Jim Thomas as they traveled in a pickup along Nelson Avenue. Their leisurely pace allowed them to be on constant lookout for birds of all types, whether in flight or perched on objects — mostly man-made ones, such as fence posts and power lines, because trees are in short supply in the area.

The trio stopped along the road after noticing a bird resting on a PG&E tower about a quarter-mile south. They got out of the truck and pointed their spotting scopes and binoculars at the tower, eager to determine the type of bird up there.

“It’s a red-tailed hawk,” Sobon announced as the others nodded in agreement. Even the best pair of eyes would have difficulty identifying a bird at such a distance, but the spotting scope — a monocular that looks a bit like a telescope — brings such birds into vivid focus without scaring them away.

“There are a lot of raptors and hawks that migrate here for the winter,” Sobon said.

He added that the group expected to see about 30 bald eagles during the course of their survey, which began at 8 o’clock Saturday morning and would wrap up at 4:30 p.m.

“They’re more common than people think,” Sobon said.

Muchowski said wildlife officials removed the bald eagle from the federal endangered species list about five years ago, though the bird remains on California’s list.

‘Citizen science’

Is this annual exercise just for the pleasure of the participants, or is there some scientific value behind it? Well, a little bit of both, Muchowski said.

She explained that most of the birders — divided into groups of three, “split up to make it more manageable” — recorded their observations and would enter them at some point soon into Ebird, a database that the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology maintains. The database contains millions of entries and not only serves as a record of personal bird spotting, but also as a means for researchers to monitor bird movements in large regions.

“It’s a type of citizen science,” Muchowski said. “The reports people file then go to a massive worldwide database. It’s there for people to keep their ‘life lists,’ but also how many birds they spot in California and in Butte County.

“This humongous database helps researchers keep track of birds,” she said — an important study as climate change alters migration patterns, as an example. Biologists can better understand birds’ habits just by the locations birders submit.

The National Audubon Society instituted the Christmas Bird Count in 1900; birders in Chico began their annual observation in 1956. There is also a “breeding bird survey” in the summertime each year and the combined information from the summer and winter events creates a good bit of ornithological material.

A few minutes after noticing the red-tailed hawk on the tower, Thomas, Muchowski and Sobon noticed another hawk. It turned out to be a ferruginous hawk, so named because of some iron-colored feathers on its wings.

“It’s down here from Canada for the winter,” Sobon said, confirming this information with some images on his mobile phone, along with a map showing regions where the variety lives.

“The ferruginous hawk likes to perch in grasslands,” Sobon added. “This is the first one we’ve seen today. I’m surprised we haven’t seen more raptors.”

Thomas said he attends six sessions per season, with the season running from Dec. 14 until Jan. 5.

“I have a daughter who used to live in Chico, and I got to know Ken and Mary,” Thomas said, adding that his daughter moved away but he still enjoys coming to the area for the counts.

Muchowski said all participants were scheduled to gather at a Chico pizza restaurant after Saturday’s count to discuss their observations from the day.

Construction equipment and fencing are in place and it appears preliminary work, such as the installation of underground utilities, has begun at the site just north of Rio Lindo Avenue.

City of Chico officials have approved construction of a 37-unit housing complex on the 1.29-acre parcel, once the home of the Rio Lindo Motel, which became the Regal Inn in the 1990s. The one-story motel opened in the 1940s to serve travelers along The Esplanade, which at the time was U.S. Highway 99E, Northern California’s main north-south road on the east side of the Sacramento River.

However, with the passage of time and the opening of the 99 freeway in the 1960s, the motel began to decline. By the early 2000s, it had become a mostly residential property. City officials and police became annoyed at the increasing transient activity there, along with vandalism and other assorted lawlessness — including a suspicious fire in June 2014.

City inspectors found numerous code and health violations and condemned the structure that summer; demolition began in November 2014.

According to the Enterprise-Record in December 2014, Stephen Cowee, owner of North State Auto Brokers — a used-car dealership on Humboldt Avenue near Main Street — was interested in buying the property for purposes of business expansion. Associate city planner Greg Redeker said the city endorsed the new use, as it would eliminate a dilapidated eyesore while providing a compatible use in the area.

Car dealership Miller Buick-Oldsmobile, for example, had a sales lot directly across the street at 2303 The Esplanade from 1956 until 2007. Auto repair and car rental businesses were just south of that location.

Nothing came of the plan for North State Auto Brokers, however, despite entering escrow in 2014 to purchase the property from the lot’s owners. The lot has remained vacant ever since.

Now there will be a complex made up entirely of “affordable” rental units — meaning the occupants will be paying no more than 30% of their gross income to live there. The city is partially funding the complex’s construction, which has a designation to serve “special needs” residents.

Pacific West Communities, based in Eagle, Idaho, is the project’s developer, in partnership with Chico PSH Pacific Associates.

That storm is expected to serve as an appetizer for a wetter and colder system that will arrive in the area Friday and remain until Saturday.

Today’s system is forecast to begin dropping some significant rainfall on the north coast by about 4 a.m., mostly on the sparsely populated areas of northern Sonoma County, southern Mendocino County, as well as the northern tip of Mendocino County and the southern portion of Humboldt County.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service said they expect half an inch to an inch in Eureka and between an inch and an inch and a half in Fort Bragg. However, places such as Shelter Cove and Point Arena may be facing between two and three inches.

The storm should reach the Chico and Oroville areas around noon, soaking them with around three quarters of an inch to an inch of rain until the system heads into the Sierra Nevada range by dinnertime. Snow is not much of a concern for most areas, as the snow level will hover around 6,000 to 7,000 feet.

The bigger worry will be wind, with gusts forecast around 25-30 mph in Chico and Oroville between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. today, consistent with most of the valley north of Sacramento. Eureka, Fort Bragg and Point Arena are in line for a real pounding, however, with gusts around 40-45 mph during that time span in addition to the precipitation.

Forecasters expect Chico’s daytime high today to be 57, with an overnight low of 50 leading into Thursday. Oroville’s high will be 60 with an overnight low of 50. Thursday highs will be 59 in Chico and 60 in Oroville.

Friday is expected to bring a stronger punch for Chico and Oroville. That storm is set to drop between an inch and an inch and a half on the lower elevations of Butte County, with snow levels at 5,500 to 6,500 feet — meaning the high-elevation Lassen Volcanic National Park area will almost certainly get a share. There will be a slight chance of rain until 10 a.m. Friday, when approximately an inch will fall during the ensuing 24-hour period.

As with today’s system, this weekend’s storm will be especially wet on the coast, with Shelter Cove, Fort Bragg, Point Arena and Bodega Bay contemplating two to three inches of rain.

Forecasters said they expect Chico’s high Friday to be 59, then 48 overnight; Saturday’s high will be 56 with the overnight low 45.

Oroville can expect a high of 62 Friday, with an overnight low of 50; Saturday will top out at 58 before dropping to 46 overnight into Sunday.

Once that storm system passes, things will be mostly dry, with only a slight chance of showers Sunday.

“Another low pressure area will brush the area late Sunday and Sunday night, but the central part of the low stays off the coast and ends up moving into Southern California,” the NWS forecast summary said. “We may still see some shower activity but it will be mainly over the mountains.”

Fifth-graders from Hooker Oak Elementary School got a little bit of help from volunteer parents Chris Duffey and Matt Stoiber, but mostly did the work themselves as they shot rockets to a height of perhaps 150 feet over the school’s playground Friday morning.

The two-person teams — one pushing the launch button after the other leading the student spectators in a countdown — clearly enjoyed seeing the wrap-up of their science project. Hearing the excited whoops and shrieks from those who came outside to watch was just a fun bonus.

“This is part of the fifth-grade theme of space and Mars, with the culminating trip to the Chabot Space and Science Center the first week we get back from winter vacation,” said Hooker Oak fifth-grader teacher Beth Geise, who said she was pleased with Friday’s outcome.

“It’s good that all the rockets went off and nobody lost any fingers or eyeballs today,” she added with a laugh.

Each student launcher waited until Duffey and Stoiber had finished mounting the corresponding rocket on the launch pad. Then the student waited until the spectators had counted down, pushing the launch button, and sending the rocket up with a cloud of smoke.

Upon reaching its apex, the rocket’s parachute deployed and the unit floated back to Earth. Some students attempted to catch the rockets as they came back down.

All Hooker Oak fifth-grade students — from Geise’s class, as well as Katie Yancy’s — will travel to the Chabot Space and Science Center on Jan. 12. They’ll build Mars rovers in a small-group lab setting during their day, as well as use telescopes in the museum and possibly see some planets during the day, Geise said. The kids will see and interact with other museum exhibits.

Judging by the number of attendees and the reactions those folks had, Rescue Mission officials were able to check all three boxes.

According to Pastor Allen Dikes, director of the Rescue Mission, approximately 400 people loaded their plates with food — at no charge — during the event’s first 90 minutes. Another hundred or so had arrived in the following half-hour; Dikes said he expected a total of 800 to enjoy plates of ham, green beans, potatoes and dessert.

“Our goal is to feed the community, and to distribute gifts to the kids,” he said. Those gifts — all donated — included new jackets for youths, courtesy of Oroville-based RCBS, the Oroville Rotary and the South Feather Power and Water District.

Toys came by way of donations from the Oroville Police Department, Oroville Fire Department and the Oroville Community Development Coalition. Each adult received a “hug-a-mug” coffee cup with small gift items inside.

The Oroville YMCA contributed to the dinner portion of the event. Attendees sat at long tables on the Convention Center floor, partaking in good conversation and clearly enjoying the vittles.

Dikes looked out at the attendees and nodded. “I came here (to the mission) in 2004 and it was already going then,” he said, estimating that the event has been taking place for at least 25 years.

Kurtis Braithwaite said he’s fairly new to the scene, volunteering as a cook at the mission for 2½ years. He was the lead cook for Saturday’s meal and said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“I’m very blessed,” Braithwaite said. “I’m excited about it because I look forward to Christmas and Thanksgiving. We’ve received a lot of compliments about the food, but I do this out of love in my heart.”

From Braithwaite’s kitchen, the food went to the serving area, where members of the Las Plumas High School varsity football team served it. They looked resplendent in their red uniform tops.

Tim Harles, the team’s head coach, said this is the second year his players have served the meal.

“We’re always looking for various things throughout the year” as opportunities to serve, he said. “This one’s a sure thing.”

Sharing ‘happiness’

No holiday meal would be complete without dessert, and the event certainly had that to offer. Kathi Ferrill-Start hosted the dessert table, which offered a wide variety of pies for attendees to select.

“I like the idea of helping people, especially with food and gifts,” said Ferrill-Start, an Oroville resident since 1975 and volunteering at her 12th Oroville Rescue Mission Christmas dinner. “I just love seeing the happiness people have.”

She had just handed off a slice of pie to Rosemary Fielder, a resident of Oroville since 1956. Fielder was celebrating her 76th birthday Saturday and her eighth year attending the dinner.

What did she like best about the event? Plenty of things, Fielder said.

“I really enjoy the camaraderie and the community. It’s exciting to see the children with Santa,” she explained. “I also love that we’re feeding the homeless and families.”

Santa Claus sat in a large chair on the auditorium’s stage, beckoning children with frequent “ho-ho-ho” exclamations. The children were not disappointed as each received a gift of some sort. Diana Camacho, a third-grader at Helen Wilcox Elementary School, smiled as she got a large, wrapped box with a bow on top.

What could be inside?

“It’s a jacket, I’m pretty sure,” Diana said. She was correct; she needed a jacket but there weren’t any more in her size, so volunteer Misty Mata got one for Diana that was a size too big — so it will likely fit next year as well.

That was fantastic, said Diana’s father, Jesus Camacho.

“This is a good Christmas event — with the people, Santa Claus and the present,” he said. “Both my son and daughter have gotten gifts here.”

Mata was busy on the stage sorting gifts into age-appropriate stacks, with help from Kira McBride, a Palermo Middle School seventh-grader.

“I’m organizing gifts such as coats and sweaters, and making sure the kids have what they need,” Mata said. “I love to see everyone smile — it makes my heart melt.”