Good morning, Chico.

The Chico Housing Action Team opened Builders' Village, a new community with 61 units to help people facing homelessness + disability; intake forms will go live next week while officials await a PG&E connection set up by Caltrans.

Chico State’s new ROOTS program will pay aspiring elementary teachers $42,000 a year during a three-year residency in rural schools to ease shortages across 11 counties; the program requires 600+ training hours and a path to a master’s degree, with the first cohort set to begin in June.

The City of Chico brings back grazing goats to Lower Bidwell Park today at the Petersen Drive entrance to reduce fire fuels on a former walnut orchard, and 200 to 500 goats will graze about one acre per day — safety measures include a herdsman and guard dogs on site.

CAL FIRE cancelled the Rambling Prescribed Fire project in upper Magalia, which was set to treat 13 acres near Paradise Lake, due to worsening fire weather conditions.

The agency is working with the Butte County Fire Safe Council and will reschedule when conditions improve.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, Butte County crisis negotiators responded near Lookout Point after a report of a person in distress, spending three and a half hours helping the individual reach waiting emergency crews.

The person was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation—demonstrating effective multi-agency support.

Butte County Public Works in partnership with the California Product Stewardship Council will offer a free pilot program to recycle unwanted solar panels on Oct.

15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 30 at the Neal Road Recycling and Waste Facility in Paradise; each household must schedule one appointment.

PG&E warned that more than 3,000 Butte County customers may lose power starting Wednesday night due to fire danger & windy weather.

The utility said it will keep transmission lines feeding Paradise intact while protecting other parts of the grid.

Chico installed a new stone sign at the One Mile Recreation Area entrance on Vallombrosa Avenue near Sycamore Pool — it reads 'Bidwell Park North One Mile Recreation Area.' Last month, a similar sign marked the main park entrance, and the old wood sign will move to Peterson Drive.

Enloe Health in Chico was awarded a $9 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to build a regional hub (in partnership with UC Davis and Healthy Rural California) that will offer cell and gene therapies to reduce travel burdens for patients.

The project will begin in February.

On Friday, the Chico State men’s cross country team finished third at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at Pine Ridge Golf Club, scoring 81 points behind Oregon and Weber State, with senior Mario Giannini finishing third in the 8,000-meter race (23:46.6) as the team prepares for postseason meets in December.