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rdifalco

City of Chico, Butte Environmental Council to partner on weed eradication grant - 1 views

  • Butte Environmental Council representative Mark Stemen shows areas of invasive Arundo donax growth along Little Chico Creek near Humboldt Park in October. Stemen, along with other citizens and city officials, are championing a plan for removal because of major fire danger risk and environmental damage.
  • Chico >> The city of Chico is rallying with Butte Environmental Council to eradicate an invasive weed clogging Little Chico Creek.On Tuesday, the Chico City Council will be asked to approve a joint application for a $1 million Urban Streams Restoration grant to eradicate arundo donax in the creek.
  • “We believe that when the city has to take a step back, the community can take a step forward,” said Mark Stemen of Butte Environmental Council, which will help spearhead the eradication effort. “We pointed out the problem. We also wanted to be part of the solution.”A class of his students at Chico State University mapped Little Chico Creek last fall, noting every location of arundo, invasive species and habitat that will need to be preserved.
rdifalco

Chico City Council to consider law that cracks down on underage drinking - Oroville Mer... - 0 views

  • Also Tuesday, the City Council will hold a public hearing on the Draft Housing Element Update and consider authorization to submit it to the state for review and comment. The housing element is one of seven required elements in a general plan, and must be updated every five to eight years.
  • The element has six basic components: a housing needs assessment, a site inventory, a constraints analysis, housing programs, quantified objectives and public participation. The proposed actions are designed to meet various housing needs, including affordability for low-income residents, production of affordable housing for all income groups, and improvement and investment in existing residential neighborhoods.
  • Also Tuesday, the council will consider a resolution approving a one-year license to the Butte Environmental Council to operate a temporary community garden at West Eighth Avenue and Highway 32. The vacant, one-acre city-owned site is eventually planned for development as a fire station, but an interim use of a garden with no permanent structures would not interfere with that plan, according to city staff.
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  • All costs associated with the garden will be sustained by the Butte Environmental Council. The lease would be eligible for renewal.
rdifalco

Chico City Council: Arts Commission, Sustainability Task Force will continue - Chico En... - 0 views

  • CHICO — The Arts Commission and Sustainability Task Force will continue as they are, at least for now, the Chico City Council decided last week. As the city faces budget-induced staffing challenges, the council is looking closer at its committees and commissions to find efficiencies while still meeting the city's and public's needs. Several councilors said the Sustainability Task Force, which was put on hold for restructuring earlier this year, is necessary to complete the Climate Action Plan, as required by the General Plan.
  • Mark Stemen of the Butte Environmental Council said the Sustainability Task Force is the best way to complete a climate action plan that identifies necessary action and engages the community. He noted the council promised to address climate change in 2006, with 25 percent target reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. "To be clear, our efforts so far have not reduced greenhouse production levels in Chico; they have simply slowed the rate of increase," he said. "As a community, we are still producing more and more greenhouse gases each and every year."
rdifalco

Council upholds permit to remove 25 trees in Chico neighborhood - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

  • CHICO >> Twenty-five trees are scheduled for removal, after the Chico City Council upheld a decision by the Bidwell Park & Playground Commission on Tuesday. Councilors voted 5-2 with Tami Ritter and Scott Gruendl dissenting to uphold the granting of a permit to remove 25 Yarwood sycamore trees and replace them with varieties that are better suited for the area. The Butte Environmental Council had appealed the permit approval, which stemmed from a request by the Mission Santa Fe Community of Homeowners and its 47 encompassing households.
  • Butte Environmental Council appealed on the basis that the project has undergone "inadequate environmental review because the cumulative effects on the urban forest have not been discussed." "If we compartmentalize tree discussions without first addressing overall impacts we are doing the community and the urban forest a disservice," Commissioner Mark Herrera told the council Tuesday.
becnews

City of Chico, Butte Environmental Council to partner on weed eradication grant - 0 views

  • Chico >> The city of Chico is rallying with Butte Environmental Council to eradicate an invasive weed clogging Little Chico Creek.
  • On Tuesday, the Chico City Council will be asked to approve a joint application for a $1 million Urban Streams Restoration grant to eradicate arundo donax in the creek.
  • The city will subcontract the restoration work to a local riparian restoration firm, and engage the California Native Plant Society for its expertise and volunteer labor. The Butte Environmental Council will coordinate community outreach and education, and Chico’s Stream Team will provide citizen water quality monitoring.
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  • “We believe that when the city has to take a step back, the community can take a step forward,” said Mark Stemen of Butte Environmental Council, which will help spearhead the eradication effort. “We pointed out the problem. We also wanted to be part of the solution.”
  • While it will certainly be a competitive grant, the involved parties are cautiously optimistic they could receive it, Stemen said. Recipients will be announced in March.
rdifalco

No changes anticipated for Bidwell Ranch - 0 views

  • Acknowledging there are unanswered questions, the council agreed to let the 756 acres adjacent to Bidwell Park continue in its mostly off-limit state, waiting for an anticipated Butte Regional Conservation Plan to be completed next year. At that point, the council will look at whether it wants to sell Bidwell Ranch to the conservation plan creators, the Butte County Association of Governments.
  • Several speakers stressed the biological value of the area, calling it a gem, in part, because of the area’s characteristics and because of Butte County Meadowfoam’s presence. Environmental advocate John Merz said he wasn’t confident that the conservation plan was the answer. “This is not about making money, but about preserving the property,” Merz said.
  • Butte Environmental Council Executive Director Robyn DiFalco noted her organization has provided docent-led tours of the property, which helps with public access and understanding of the property’s value.
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    Chico >> The public may notice no difference, but there was the slightest tremor of movement regarding Bidwell Ranch by the City Council on Tuesday.
rdifalco

Tree removal, prevailing wage lead light council agenda - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

  • One of the first items will be a public hearing for an appeal of the Bidwell Park and Playground's decision to approve the removal and replanting of 25 trees on Mission Ranch Boulevard and Holly Avenue. Butte Environmental Council is appealing the permit approval, which stemmed from a request by the Mission Santa Fe Community of Homeowners and its 47 encompassing households.
  • Butte Environmental Council is appealing on the basis that the project has undergone "inadequate environmental review because the cumulative effects on the urban forest have not been discussed."
dnbaxter

Chico City Council Making Changes - 0 views

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    The council adopted an ordinance to create a Climate Action Commission and also chose to reconsider its usage of pesticides. The commission will be made up of seven council-appointed members, whose main task will be to advise the council on how to best implement the city's Climate Action Plan (CAP). Mark Stemen, the board chair for BEC said, "A lot of people are concerned about climate change and they feel like there's nothing that can be done," he said. "Now, those concerns … have a place and a process to be realized. So we can get to 100 percent renewable energy, we can get to a livable planet."
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Haps on the CAP - Feature Story - Local Stories - April 17, 2014 - 0 views

  • The city hasn’t forgotten about its Climate Action Plan
  • This article was published on 04.17.14.
  • In November 2012, the Chico City Council put its official stamp on sustainability by adopting a municipal Climate Action Plan. The blueprint, honed by the city’s Sustainability Task Force, laid out a two-stage approach for addressing the impacts of climate change and meeting greenhouse-gas standards established by the state.
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  • STF and CAP have become nearly synonymous acronyms at the direction of City Council, which cut the size of the task force in half—to seven members, officially appointed—and focused the panel on implementing the plan, versus exploring sustainability in general.
  • Mark Stemen, chair of the reincarnated STF, says the city is “on the right track now, and we are making progress” but, in a broader sense, sees the process as “a good five years behind. We lost some momentum; we also lost the opportunity when there was more staff to get things done. But that’s water under the bridge—or carbon in the air, unfortunately.”
  • Flash forward six months and … Pause. Budget woes led to restructuring of city staff. At the same time, the council opted to reconfigure the Sustainability Task Force; the STF wouldn’t meet again until December 2013.
  • A tangible display of that impetus is a joint session of the Planning Commission and the STF next month. Uniting the committees means the STF “is getting more integrated into city processes,” Stemen said, and also “is getting the Climate Action Plan in front of the people who implement the [2030] General Plan.” That is particularly significant for Phase II, which has a series of goals related to construction.
  • solar panels on city structures, which produced 2.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in the preceding 12 months and 16 million kwh total. Three years ago, aided by grants, the city installed 1,200 LED streetlights that have translated into annual savings of approximately $67,800 in electrical costs plus $6,000 to $7,000 in maintenance costs, according to city staff.
  • Instead of commissioning another full inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, the city will extrapolate numbers based on readily available information: natural gas usage, electricity usage, waste diversion and vehicle fuel usage.
  • “If we’re not moving in the direction of reducing those emissions, then we’re directly working against our own interests.”
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - State of the ranch - News - Local Stories - May 21, 2015 - 0 views

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    Environmental groups want to see Bidwell Ranch become part of Bidwell Park Seasonal cattle-grazing makes up the bulk of the activity at Bidwell Ranch, an expansive reserve downslope of Upper Bidwell Park. But that could change if the Chico City Council gets behind the request of a coalition of heavy-hitting local environmental groups. As John Merz put it in a recent city meeting, the request is straightforward: that "Bidwell Ranch become a formal part of Bidwell Park." But that plan has hit snags over the past decade, and Merz says local environmental groups-Friends of Bidwell Park, Butte Environmental Council, Altacal Audubon Society, the Sierra Club Yahi Group, the California Native Plant Society's Mount Lassen chapter and the Bidwell Ranch Committee-have come to the conclusion that the best option for the 750-acre property is adding it to the city's largest park.
dkeeley1

Change of guard for Butte Environmental Council: DiFalco departs, Carter takes over - 1 views

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    She's helped to turn the Butte Environmental Council around, Stemen continued. She's extremely organized, which helped the nonprofit group stay focused and concentrate on improving programs. Recently, DiFalco announced that she was ready to do something else. She wasn't sure what, but she gave BEC the luxury of hiring someone to replace her, even offering to stay around to help the new person get settled on the job. As for the future, BEC made the announcement this week that Natalie Carter will take the helm at BEC. Carter's recent experience includes running the Chico Certified Farmers Market. She is scheduled to begin March 1, with a period of transition.
dkeeley1

The Big Scrap - 0 views

  • The activist group Move the Junkyard was formed in January 2015, shortly after the City Council directed planning department staff to develop a process for CSM to stay in south Chico. The group is allied with the Butte Environmental Council, which has long supported the Chapman/Mulberry Neighborhood Plan and CSM’s amortization.
  • During an interview several days prior to the Planning Commission’s meeting, Move the Junkyard member Ory and Mark Stemen, chairman of BEC’s board of directors, were certain the commission would reject CSM’s new development agreement. “I think CSM has done a very effective job playing on heartstrings and emotional issues that affect [city] councils, but I think they’ll come up against the Planning Commission and see that’s not what it’s about,” Stemen said.
  • aying on heartstrings and emotional issues that affect [city] councils, but I think they’ll come up against the Planning Commission and see that’s not what it’s about,” Stemen said
becnews

Butte Environmental Council offers water saving gadgets | Local News - Home - 0 views

  • CHICO, Calif. -
  • The Butte Environmental Council is giving away a couple small items to help easily tweak water conservation inside your home.First, they are offering a shower hourglass timer that you can suction cup to the side of your bathroom wall.
  • This times your shower to five minutes. The council said by shaving just four minutes off your shower, you save more than 3,500 gallons of water per year.They are also giving out a sink aerator. This reduces the flow of water, reducing the number of gallons per minute.
rdifalco

California Community Rising Against Fracking tour starts Sunday in Chico - Chico Enterp... - 0 views

  • CHICO — Music and nationally known speakers will kick off a west coast tour of California Community Rising Against Fracking during a free event Sunday at Arc Pavilion, 2040 Park Ave. Put on by Chico Community Rising Against Fracking and Butte Environmental Council, the event 2-6 p.m., is the start of a state tour that will end up in San Diego on Earth Day, according to Dave Garcia, a member of BEC. Tour locations are communities that are near the largest shale oil regions in the state, including San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, he said.
  • Speakers will include: Doug Shields, former member of Pittsburgh, Penn., city council, featured in the film, "The Sky is Pink"; Shannon Biggs, director of Community Rights with Global Exchange, who will talk about community rights initiatives; Andrew Grinberg, Oil and Gas Program Coordinator of Clean Water Action, who will talk about water issues and new proposed state fracking regulations; Speakers from Chico Community Rising Against Fracking and BEC, on concerns of what local fracking for oil operations may cause to the surrounding agricultural economy. Also, there will be a showing of "The Sky is Pink," a film by Josh Fox as a follow-up to his Oscar-nominated "Gasland," about misinformation from the hydralic fracking industry.
  • Music by local band, Los Cabillitos de la Cancion, will start at 5 p.m. Robyn DiFalco, BEC's executive director, said the
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  • event will emphasize the impact of fracking at the local level and groups and individuals interested in signing a letter in support may do so at BEC's website. For information, contact Butte Environmental Council at 891-6424 or www.becnet.org.
ndcarter

Central Valley Business Times - 0 views

  • The Environmental Water Caucus, a group of more than 20 environmental organizations, has filed a lengthy list of objections to Gov. Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.’s plan to drain fresh water out of the Sacramento River before it could flow into the California Delta.
  • The Environmental Water Caucus includes the following organizations: AquAlliance; Butte Environmental Council; California Coastkeeper Alliance; California Save Our Streams Council; California Sportfishing Protection Alliance; California Striped Bass Association; California Water Impact Network (C-WIN); California Water Research Associates; Center for Biological Diversity; Citizens Water Watch; Clean Water Action; Desal Response Group; Earth Law Center; Environmental Justice Coalition for Water; Environmental Protection Information Center; Environmental Working Group; Food & Water Watch; Foothill Conservancy; Friends of the River; Karuk Tribe; Klamath Riverkeeper; North Coast Stream Flow Coalition; Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers; Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations; Planning and Conservation League; Restore the Delta; Sacramento River Preservation Trust; San Mateo County Democracy for America; Save the American River Association; Save the Bay Association; Sierra Club, California; Sierra Nevada Alliance; Southern California Watershed Alliance; the Bay Institute, and, Winnemem Wintu Tribe.
rdifalco

Plastic bag ban redux: Restrictions on single-use bags gain committee approval - Chico ... - 0 views

  • Committee members voted 2-1 Tuesday to recommend that the Chico City Council develop restrictions on "single-use" plastic bags.
  • Robyn DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council and Sustainability Task Force said she thinks plastic bag bans represent a shift in society moving away from disposables. "We will look back and say I can't believe we used to do it that way because it doesn't make sense to give out that many single-use bags," DiFalco said.
  • Tammy Wichman of the task force said to get more community input on the ban, and she thinks the council should move forward with the proposal.
rdifalco

Editorial: Hits and misses - Chico Enterprise Record - 0 views

  • The city of Chico owns an acre of property near Emma Wilson School, on the corner of West Eighth Avenue and Highway 32.
  • So the City Council did the wise thing when it allowed a group to use the land in the meantime as a "community garden." The Butte Environmental Council has another one near Marsh Junior High School and says it's very popular. That land was purchased for an aquatic center. That, too, is on the back burner.
  • The City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to allow BEC to use the westside land as a second community garden.
rdifalco

The Butte Environmental Council Land Air Water Benefit Concert Series - News - Gridley ... - 0 views

  • Posted Nov. 6, 2013 @ 12:01 am Chico, Ca November 14th – The LAND AIR WATER benefit concert series’ third and final show concludes at the Chico Women’s Club on November 14th featuring Funk and Jam group The Bumptet. The Bumptet’s music runs the musical gamete, moving from deep funk grooves to epic rock crescendos in to high energy, improvised jams with jazz caliber execution. Opening up the night will be local music collective Jiving Board with funky horns, rock guitar, and jazz/hip-hop vocals. Plus special guess Brian Rogers will join in the music with an acoustic set. Be sure to join us November 14th at the Chico Women’s Club for a night of funky music to make you move. The Land Air Water concert series is a benefit to support the Butte Environmental Council’s ongoing advocacy efforts to protect the land, air and water of Butte County and the surrounding region. Tickets Available at Chico Natural Foods, Empire Coffee and online at www.becnet.org. Sponsored By KZFR 90.1, The Chico News and Review, Chico Natural Foods Cooperative, and Strange Seed Music.
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    What: The Butte Environmental Council Land Air Water Benefit Concert Series Who: The Bumptet (www.thebumptet.com), Brian Rogers (www.myspace.com/brianrogersmusic), and Jiving Board (www.facebook.com/JivingBoard) When: Thursday, November 14th- Doors 6:30pm/Show 7:30pm Where: Chico Women's Club-592 e. 3rd st Chico, Ca 95926 Cost: $10-$15 sliding scale.
rdifalco

Water talk tonight, hosted by Butte Environmental Council - 0 views

  • A discussion about water issues, including statewide plans for groundwater sustainability, will be presented by the Butte Environmental Council tonight, 6-7:30 p.m. at the Chico Grange.The grange is located at 2775 Old Nord Ave. To get there, take East Avenue west toward the railroad tracks. Before crossing the tracks, take a right at Old Nord Avenue. Speakers include Debbie Davis, community and rural affairs adviser from Gov. Jerry Brown’s Office of Planning and Research. Marty Dunlap is local attorney and water issues mediator. Paul Gosselin in the executive director of the Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation.
becnews

Chico News & Review - It's baaaaaack - News - Local Stories - October 8, 2015 - 0 views

  • At the end of 2009, after a long-fought battle with concerned citizens and a divided Chico City Council, Walmart’s plans to expand its Forest Avenue store were denied. The ultimate decision, reached by a liberal-majority council, was that the environmental impacts outweighed any potential benefits of the project. The company was told it must wait at least a year before bringing the idea back to the city. Now, six years later, the plan to expand Chico’s Walmart is back on the table. It appears it’s not the only one, either. Plans for a new 197,000-square-foot Supercenter in Oroville that were first submitted in 2006 are finally making headway. That project could break ground by the end of 2015. And there are rumblings of progress on plans for building a Walmart in Paradise—those also had their beginnings in the middle of the 2000s.
  • “As an organization, we feel there are many aspects of a super Walmart that conflict with the goals of protecting the environment and supporting local economies, overall, in a broad sense,” said Robyn DiFalco, executive director of local eco-advocacy group Butte Environmental Council, adding that the group had not yet taken a position on the expansion.
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