Owning a Gun INCREASES the Chance of Having an Accident. Suicides increase too... More Family Lives are LOST than Lives SAVED Defending Yourself from the So-Called "Bad Guys."

Bow and Arrow Hunting is a Great Alternative to Using an Assault Rifle to Kill Bambi. It has the potential to turn Hunting into a SPORT.

Of course, I am a Great Supporter of the Second Amendment as written... MUSKETS SHOULD REMAIN LEGAL. When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution... Rifles, Machine Guns, Bazookas, Rocket Launchers and Hand Grenades had not been invented yet AND ARE NOT PROTECTED BY THE SECOND AMENDMENT...

And anyway, with the invention of Viagra, there is no real need for guns... Limp NRA "Members" can achieve a "Standing" Militia by just eating a Pill! Did you ever read one of those Magazines about Guns? In the back are Endless Advertisements for Erection Help... I guess they know their readers...

Trump signed the
HELP CRAZY PEOPLE BUY GUNS
Law. H.J. Res 40

If you are Getting a Social Security Disability Check FOR INSANITY... That Fact Is No Longer Reported on a Gun Buying Background Check... H.J. Res 40 - Trump Signed That Law in 2017...

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I posted on Facebook:

The Number One Cause of Death by Gunshot is Suicide. That's A Blessing as It Reduces the Number of "Gun Nuts" Alive.

KD Replied: Not a very nice thing to say Greg! You may want to rethink this post or remove it.

BAH Said: Not all gun owners are nuts. Moving to Idaho I discovered most here own them as there is hunting season here. I now own one for the purpose of going to a range to do target shooting. A common sport here and it is fun. We have very little gun crime here. And, I am not a nut.

I Replied: Go right ahead... Risk your life and your families lives... In 2017, 39,773 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S., according to the CDC. Though they tend to get less attention than gun-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. https://www.pewresearch.org/.../what-the-data-says-about.../

MD Said: According to your rationale, might as well stop driving a car too

Approximately 1.35 million people die in road crashes each year; on average 3,700 people lose their lives every day on the roads. An additional 20-50 million suffer non-fatal injuries, often resulting in long-term disabilities.

I Replied: I don't own a car... I Only leave the house about once every three months and I Use Uber or Lyft... However... Cars provide a useful service... Guns Do Not. Absolutely useless... I truly Believe That the desire to Own Guns is a Genetic Trait. If Your Grandfather Owned Guns and your Father Owned Guns... it's Likely that You and Your Children will Own Guns... There is a "Gun Nut" Gene... and the Human Race would be better off when That Gene Goes Extinct... Did You Notice that Automobile Exhaust is a Major Cause of Climate Change? I have Often Ridden the City Bus to and From Work... It's Great... Especially in Eureka... I walked three City blocks to the Stop, Got On and the Bus Driver woke me up when we got to work... Then On the Ride Home I Chatted with a Pretty Girl that Worked at Costco... You Can't Meet Women if You Drive by Yourself in a Car...

JJ Said: Yeah. That doesn’t work on BART.

I Replied: Many Kind Services like the Bus Driver Watching out for me Fail IN THE CITY... That's The Beauty of Living in Small Town USA. I FLED San Jose in the Late 1990s and Moved to CHICO... and Rode My Bike Everywhere... then in 2001 Went to Humboldt State University in Arcata... It's almost Impossible to Believe that the "Real World" Exists when Living behind the Redwood Curtain... I see on TV That Those People Over There are Behaving Crazy and their Lives Suck... but then I Change the Channel...

JJ Said: Ya know. This has been debated. Argued. Yelled. Screamed. Legislated.

All ineffectively.

Two reasons.

1. Criminals do not follow any laws.

2. Congress does not want to piss off donors.

Stop and search laws were considered unlegal after implementing due to the overzealous actions of police.

Since this will always occur with military style police departments, it will prove to be ineffective continually unless other legislation is used to describe when and where to use stop and search techniques. You think since we have an all Democratic Congress right now that this would be possible but in fact most elected officials are so incompetent they can’t see through their own fucking glasses to get things done correctly. Actually writing legislature such that in very high crime cities are high crime parts of cities within certain boundaries, stop and search techniques are allowed, and only for the purpose of capturing weapons. Violators are not arrested their weapons are just taken away and they are put on a list that says who they are and what was taken from them. If they get caught a week later with another weapon then you can deal with them legally. But the law can’t just give police carte blanche to stop and search any car anytime anywhere if it’s not in one of the exceptionally high weapon crime areas.

Additional legislation would also be required to stop people with mental problems, histories, and could be even taking a step further that before you become a gun owner, you have to have a psychological profile done. Of course all these open up more and more lawsuits and so it would have to be vetted properly and conducted properly and taking into account the persons history, social media etc.

it also help if there was a database that showed what people were considered irresponsible, racist, volatile and these people are not allowed to have a gun. They would say it’s a violation of their constitutional rights but in fact, if Congress looked at the constitution correctly, they would understand that the purpose of the second amendment was to provide for a quick militia to be available if necessary. It wasn’t intended to let mentally ill criminals or violent people have a gun so they can use it inappropriately. Making that distinction of intent from the constitution is an important part of providing new laws that serve the times that we’re in. But the problem again is that our Congress is too ignorant to actually decipher these realities and propose and pass adequate legislature that takes into account the intent of the militia, which really no longer applies in 2021, and defers gun ownership to people who it is inappropriate for them to have.

The Faces of The Victims... Dead Because Kyle Rittenhouse brought a Gun across state lines to a Protest march... INSANE!

and Yet, Guns Serve no Useful Purpose... Many People BELIEVE That Owning a Gun Will Protect Their Family BUT That Belief is FALSE. More People Die from Suicide, Accidents and One Family Member Killing Another Than There are Lives Saved Protecting Your Family From Bad Guys...

Instead of Hannity, Try Sanity! Why Watch Talking Heads on TV Screaming DANGER DANGER About Problems You Can't Do Anything About? Is That Entertainment? Don't Be a Sucker, Unplug Tucker!
I Refuse to Watch FOX News. In General, What They Talk About Makes No Difference In My Life At All. And If There WAS Something Important, It's On NBC, CBS or ABC.
The FOX NEWS Marketing Plan is Hate Speech for High Viewer Ratings. CNN & MSNBC Target Different Demographics BUT... I'm Tired of Being a Target! I Read Google News Instead.
Actually, I Prefer to Take a Walk in the Garden and Photograph Roses... Like This Pink and Coral Blend... AHH
Perfect Pink Rose at Home
I Intentionally Search for Beauty
http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2021/03/i-refuse-to-watch-fox-cnn-or-msnbc-news.html
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Texas Being Their Own Country Would Be Great... They are a FAILED STATE and the USA Spends a Lot of Money Keeping them Afloat. FEMA, Welfare, Border Security...
Imagine if They Just Solved Their Own Problems instead of always running to Uncle Sam for a Handout?
House Passes Bill to Make Washington DC a State... We Can Keep the 50 Star Flag if we Simply Threw Texas OUT!
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/09/politics/allen-west-texas-kfile/index.html
New Map of the
50 United States
Texas Gone -
Washington DC Added

http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2021/04/texas-being-their-own-country-would-be.html

Outlaw Guns, Collect Guns, Melt Guns. It's Not Complicated.

Remember: GUNS DO NOT SAVE LIVES... They Make Your Family Less Safe. Suicides, Accidents and Murder by Family Members VASTLY Outnumber The Lives Saved by Defending Your Family from "Bad Guys."
If Your Plan of Owning a Gun to Defend Your Family WORKED IN REALITY I Would Be In Favor of it. But Sadly, It Doesn't.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9715182/
"Conclusions: Guns kept in homes are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal accidental shooting, criminal assault, or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense."
People Who PROFIT From Gun Sales Have Been Publishing FALSE Information To Frighten People Into Buying More Guns. The NRA Sells Memberships... Their Trick is to Scream Danger Danger You Need a Gun... Gullible Members of the Public are FOOLED...

Immigration Solution: One Way Airplane Ride Right Back Where They Came From. That Worked Great for the People from Haiti.

Much Better Than Putting People in Cages... They are STILL In Cages and We Are STILL Paying for Room and Board! Classic tRUMP FAIL...

Immigrants from Haiti at Texas Border.
We Sent 'em Right Back Where They Came From.

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Ask Yourself: How many White People are Walking from the USA to Guatemala? Zero... Everyone wants to ESCAPE from Latino countries. Remember the PEACE CORPS? White People Teaching Non-Whites HOW TO LIVE... 'cause they Can't Figure it Out Themselves...

It's a Worldwide Trend... People Are Escaping FROM Africa sailing to Europe... NO ONE trying to go to LYBIA... People are Fleeing Islamic Countries and Moving TO Europe... and England...

I visited Mexico ONCE... I was shocked by all the STARVING CHILDREN... I never went back... Why would I spend my Vacation Money and Time going to a place that is Horrible... Years ago Americans Retired to Mexico because their Social Security Checks were worth more money... NO LONGER... Too much Crime prevents retirees from moving there...

Yes, people say I'm Biased and before I make a Judgement about another people's Culture I should look at it without my American Value System clouding my vision.

However, No matter how I twist my viewpoint... I can't see STARVING CHILDREN as a Wonderful Way of Life... and now those people want to come here... because we have a VALID SYSTEM... Our Lifestyle Makes Sense...

I say LET THEM IN... We have enough wealth here in the USA to feed their Children...

AND... WE NEED TO HIRE IMMIGRANTS TO DO ALL THE JOBS WHITE AMERICANS REFUSE... Who will take care of the elderly? We need to hire CARE GIVERS Nationwide... We need Gardeners... we need Farm Workers... People that will Cook and Clean for us... Look at Donald Trump, he hires many Illegal Aliens to work as Maids and Groundskeepers at his Golf Clubs...

In the 1960s White People VOLUNTARILY selected to use the Birth Control Pill. Therefore, White people have small families... Especially College Graduates... Not enough children to take care of the Elderly... Hispanic People are often Catholic and believe that Every Sperm is Sacred... They sometimes have as many as Fourteen (14) Children... I'm not kidding... I know a Family like that... In Central America, the quality of life is VERY BAD... Over-breeding has lead to Horrible Conditions... THAT'S WHY EVERYONE WANTS TO ESCAPE FROM LATINO COUNTRIES... MUY MALO!

I recently read two Biographies about Americans that moved to foreign countries... On family became Farmers in Rural Ireland and they were happy. The other family was a Doctor and his wife and Daughter who moved to Iran... They were very unhappy. WHY? Because the Culture of IRAN is horrible... Insane... "Oh Come ye Back to Ireland" by Niall Williams and Christeen Breen... and... "Not Without My Daughter" by Betty Mahmoody and William Hoffer... The real secret to life is to avoid living in Countries inhabited by Crazy People... DUH...

Did you know that More People Live in Brazil than the USA? True... And yet, while the People in the USA are Famous for Going to the Moon, Inventing Airplanes, Cars, Trains, Electricity, Light Bulbs, Telephones, Record Players, Computers, Television and Radio... Brazilians are famous for inventing The Tango and The Samba... Both of them! As a matter of Fact, The people near the Equator are famous for Inventing... Oh, I Can't Think of Anything... Sorry...

The MAIN FLAW with Trump's Plan to Build a Border Wall is that It WILL NOT ACTUALLY WORK. Foreigners are coming into the USA by Airplanes, Cars and Boats... They will just Fly over the Wall... How can we prevent boats from crossing the Gulf of Mexico from the Yucatan to New Orleans? NO, a wall will not work... Foreigners like Melania Trump are let into the Country on "Student Visas" or "Work Visas" and then they OVERSTAY THEIR WELCOME... That's how most Foreigners Get in...

People forget that the Chinese Exclusion Act was SUCCESSFUL... It Really prevented millions of Asians from moving to the West Coast... That's one of the reasons the Supreme Court Upheld Trump's Muslim Travel Ban... Everyone can agree that we do not need any more Towelheads!

People forget that Simply Dropping Two Atomic Bombs on Japan transformed their entire Society from "Let's Invade Countries" to "Let's Build Great Cars, Motorcycles and Electronic Equipment"... Foreigners CAN BE TRAINED!

Keep Voting Legal - Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42

Links to More Blog Posts:

Emotional Freedom Technique Webinar - Sonya Sophia Leads a Online Group Where We Speak Positive Messages while Tapping on Our Body's Acupressure Meridian Points...

"I've Found That This is a Valid Way to Improve My Health." - Gregory Vanderlaan

Sonya Sophia World Tapping Circle Session

Short Sample of a Session:

'From Anxious to Ahhhh'

a Relaxing Nano Tap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcIQWhGoKQY

another Short Session:

LOVE - The Energy That Heals Us:

Mini EFT Tapping Session

https://youtu.be/qhpCyBSp4MA

In 2012, American researchers assessed 238 first-year college students using the Beck Depression Inventory and found 30 students met the criteria for moderate to severe depression. They were randomly assigned to either an EFT treatment or control group. The EFT group received four 90-minute group sessions of tapping, whereas the control group received nothing. Those who received EFT were found to have significantly less depression three weeks later, with an average depression score in the non-depressed range following treatment, compared to the control group who demonstrated no change in depressive symptoms.(...)

The 11 adults then attended an eight-week, 16-hour group treatment program. This was two hours per week. (...) 

The first hypothesis asked whether Clinical EFT resolved major depressive disorder as a diagnosis. The data revealed that while the diagnosis was not completely resolved immediately after eight weeks for everyone, two members no longer met criteria. In addition, all 11 adults no longer met diagnosis for one or more other disorders they had when they started. These were disorders such as social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. So EFT impacted those diagnoses through OUT program too. The second hypothesis asked whether Clinical EFT was effective at reducing the symptoms of major depressive disorder. In several cases individual adults reported clinical differences in symptoms. That is, the difference was enough so that if measured in a clinical setting, it would indicate treatment was successful. Therefore a clinically valid difference was achieved. The third hypothesis asked whether the treatment effects of Clinical EFT were sustained after three months. Improvements were maintained, and many of the group members experienced continual improvement in their symptoms over time. 

– The Science Behind Tapping: A Proven Stress Management Technique for the Mind and Body.

The Video Above is a FULL Tapping Session Plus a Description of What Tapping IS and How It Works... An Introduction for Newcomers...

https://youtu.be/o2r0I8VoxJY

Let's Suppose That You Truly Believe that Tea Exists... and That Tea Cups Exists... Well, You are Much More Likely to Get a Cup of Tea than Someone who Refuses to Believe in the Possibility of Tea. and...Well, EVERYTHING IS LIKE THAT... Believe that it's Possible for You to __ (fill in the Blank) and you have Started on the Path to Achieving _ (fill in the Blank) - Teachings of Sonya Sophia

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How I Met Sonya Sophia

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

At the Rainbow Gathering in Utah, 2014... I walked from the Welcome Home Kitchen (where I was Staying) to the The Big Shady Spot at Main Meadow. At high elevation, sunburn is a major problem so our campsite was the very best!

I saw a group of people congregating at the Smaller Shady Spot at Main Meadow and I wondered... "What are those people doing?" and Then they all came over to our campsite... A Lady asked me if she could teach a healing seminar at our location... I said "SURE, have fun. I was wondering what the crowd of people was for, and was considering walking over there to find out but you came over here..." and she said: "Sometimes Mohammad goes to the Mountain and sometimes the Mountain Comes to Mohammad." Her name is Sonya Sophia and she taught a seminar of Self Help - Acupressure. We put pressure on locations of out body by tapping lightly with our fingers while she told us reassuring statements and we would all repeat what she said... Like: "I Love and Respect Myself." It was a good seminar and I enjoyed it so much that I took her business card and attended once a week internet sessions.

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July 4th OM Chant at California
Rainbow Gathering in Modoc County 2004
Near the Town of Likely...

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How to Become AWARE...

Easy Step by Step Instructions.

Go Outdoors and

Find 5 Things You Can See,

Four Things You Can Hear,

Three Things You Can Smell,

Two Things You Can Touch

and One Thing You Can Taste.

Notice That None of these Things

are on Your Computer Screen,

Phone or TV...

Reality Exists...

GO VISIT!

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Burning Man Wisdom Tale: "The Canteen" - Traditionally,

at Burning Man, You Share Water with People You Meet.

Hand the Canteen to a Person and They Hand it to Another

Person and ALL THE TIME, You are Worrying... "Will there

Be Enough Water FOR ME?" Well, What if YOU DRINK

FIRST and Then Pass the Canteen to Your Friend... That

Way, All that Time You are Enjoying the Pleasure You Gave

Others Without Worrying about Running Out of Water and

Dying of Thirst in the Desert. Remember: Take Some ME

Time First. You deserve it. - Story by Sonya Sophia

Just Bliss Out - MEME

Portrait of an Alien

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You may Read More Blog Posts by Clicking on the Handy LABELS Below!

What Paradise Was Like Before it Burned. My Memories of a California Town. [personal autobiography of everything I ever did in Paradise...Just to keep the Town's Memory Alive... If you are reading this in the Future. Paradise, California Burned to the Ground in 2018 and all buildings were destroyed.]

I was lucky enough to have visited the town of Paradise.

My fondest memory was Dancing at a Pow Wow. I was a member of Mom's AA in Chico and there were Many American Indians in that club. Dorothy invited us to go to Paradise for an Inter-Tribal Event. Duke was the Master of Ceremonies. I did the "Orange" Dance with a Native Woman. I held an orange between my chin and neck and then transferred it to HER chin and neck. I wore a belt with 5 Jingle Bells strapped to my leg... That Belt was used later to Chime Quitting Time at Work... At 5 PM I Rang the Bells and Everyone Cheered and went home... When I retired I gave the bells to Suzie so she could keep the Tradition Going.. Those Bells were filled with Magic because they had been "Danced" at a Pow Wow.

I took a Drumming Class with Adult Education. I was Working at Ja-Kay's Farm in Concow with Mike. She hired us to put unwanted stuff in a giant dumpster. It was a Birthday Present for her Father. When he came home from a trip, all the garbage would have been Miraculously Cleaned Up. When we were done with the day's work she invited us to go to a Learn How to Play the Drums in a Big Group Class. Mike did not go but I accepted the invitation. They held the Class in an abandoned Chinese Restaurant. There were about 12 students and we played Bongos and Congas. The teacher had sheet music for us to read and learn specific beats. After Practicing for a few weeks we performed at the Chico Farmer's Market. We Played "Miserlou." He played Guitar and invited some other musicians to play keyboards and bass. After that performance The Teacher wanted to GO PRO and Go on Tour, Charge admission... that ended the group for most of us because we just wanted to have fun... I do remember that at that performance we played the song incorrectly... We were supposed to play the beat for 20 bars and then STOP PLAYING so he could play the melody on the Guitar... well we failed to all STOP at the same time... He just shrugged and grinned... and Nailed the Solo. Oh Well.

I went to the Feather River Hospital and Had a Colonoscopy and Polyps Removed.

We went to see RADAR perform in a play. (Gary Berghoff)... It was at a The Fancy Playhouse and we met a lot of our friends in the audience... It was a RARE performance by Gary Berghoff who was a Paradise Resident. Makes me Wonder How He's Doing Now... He's Alive...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Burghoff

Mike C. and I went to see a friend perform in the play "Same Time Next Year." I was amazed by my friends ability to memorize lines... The play has only Two Actors and a tremendous quantity of words.

Swimming in Butte Creek. It's a Wild Inner Tube Ride when the water is high in the Spring... OKI Dam is a beautiful wide swimming hole and we went skinny dipping there.

Visiting the Honey Run Covered Bridge.

More pictures of the Covered Bridge:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-honey-run-covered-bridge-over-butte.html

Finding Gold in a Quartz Crystal on Butte Creek. Craig and I went to the Bridge Just Upstream of the Covered Bridge and Took a Video of the Creek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqTJXTmt7o
On the Side of the road was a shady spot and I sat down to smoke a cigarette. When I was done I picked up a rock to snuff out the fire and it was a beautiful white crystal quartz with a vein of gold... I kept that rock... It's in My Back Yard in Eureka Now... Right next to the shiny black rock I picked up at Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.

Swimming (illegally) in the Reservoir. It provided drinking water to the Town so people were not allowed to swim...

We went to an AA Meeting in Paradise. Small Meeting, everyone knew each other and I felt like a Stranger in a Strange Land. But I'm glad I went... I love Visiting Different Towns and Going to their Meetings...

I had a friend who lived in Paradise who was a "Clamper" (a member of E Clamper Vitus - a Fraternal Organization devoted to Helping the Widows and Orphans abandoned by Gold Miners That Died.)

Driving up the Skyway and Stopping at the Overlook to see Butte Creek Canyon.

Butte Creek Canyon photographed on the Skyway to Paradise, California

The town was Named for a "Pair Of Dice"

More Pictures of the Butte Creek Canyon:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/paradise-butte-creek-canyon-california.html

Camp Fire Map 11/19/2018
We are REALLY Lucky that the Firefighters Put it Out
Before CHICO Burned. Thank You.

Click on the link to see... 6 Photographs of The Honey Run Covered Bridge over Butte Creek near Chico and Paradise, California BEFORE it Burned - a great place to go Tubing when the Water is High... a WILD RIDE!
The Bridge was destroyed by Wildfire on 11/9/2018
So Sad... It was a Historical Landmark.
https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-honey-run-covered-bridge-over-butte.html

and Here is what Liz Merry Said about the Rebuilding of Paradise...

Liz Merry

“Someday I’ll meet you all in Paradise…” So sang the great Scott “Ska-T” Pressman of Chico’s Spark ‘N’ Cinder Band. I spent last weekend in Paradise for Gold Nugget Days, which celebrates the discovery of a 54-pound gold nugget found just north of town in 1859. A gold nugget of that size could solve a lot of problems, couldn’t it?

It was my first visit to Paradise since the Camp Fire destroyed the town and left 85 people dead over 4 years ago. Dozens of our friends and family members lost their homes and many survivors relocated to Tehama County. Welcome!

Paradise looks very different now, of course. Where there used to be trees there are now sweeping vistas. That happened here in Manton, too, after the Ponderosa Fire. Driving up Forward Rd., you could suddenly see way down Battle Creek Canyon and over to Hwy 36E. Silver linings. We’ll take ‘em.

There is a buzz of construction as people rebuild their homes and lives. Apparently there was not much rhyme or reason as to how people were reimbursed by their insurance companies and the PG&E payments have been all over the place. There are folks who have been in their lovely new homes for a couple of years and others who have just started to receive funds to rebuild or move on. Neighborhoods are a patchwork quilt of new homes popping up among chain link fenced parcels with nothing but a cement slab to identify them as former residences.

Paradisians were jubilant to see old friends and neighbors. The hugs were long and sincere - like they never wanted to let go. Survivors of such enormous tragedy share a special bond. Gold Nugget Days is something that bridges Before to Now and unites them as a community. A great reminder that all communities are made up of people, not buildings and trees.

I spent Friday and Saturday nights in Chico at the home of my longtime BFFs Kathy and Lynette. We worked together at LaSalles in downtown Chico in the mid-80s, when it was a yuppified fern bar and restaurant. Kathy went on to create and coach the Women’s Golf Program and Team at Chico State and Lynette teaches art at Diablo College a few days a week.

They bought a beautiful home together in the Chico Avenues decades ago, fixing up a mother-in-law unit in back for Kathy while Lynette lives in the main house. I haven’t seen either of them since before Covid, so having this time to catch up was fantastic. They are both brilliant and we pretty much solved the world’s problems in a few hours.

Downtown Chico, on the other hand, is looking downright shabby these days. It was always appealing, bustling and thriving, but now appears to be in a sharp decline - like the “doom loop” we keep reading about in San Francisco. Empty storefronts are rampant - even the four “anchor” spots on 2nd and Main Streets. The 7-Eleven on the corner of 1st and Main is closed with a chain link fence around it - shocking. There is an air of seediness and danger - what happened?

A perfect storm of challenges from many directions hit the town, that’s what. 10,000 people showed up overnight after fleeing the Camp Fire. Traffic became insane. Covid closed the University and many businesses couldn’t survive. The homeless situation is at crisis level. Mental health resources are stretched thin. Without a variety of cute shops and the proliferation of online retail, shoppers just aren’t as likely to spend an afternoon browsing. There is an argument that the downtown landlords, most of whom don’t live in Chico, are charging too much for rent. How much is a storefront worth when it is surrounded by empty ones? Who is going to risk the time and money to open a new place in the middle of a downward spiral?

There are many factors at play, but Lynette pointed out one that hadn’t occurred to me. When the bottom fell out of the traditional cannabis market, those friendly hill folk didn’t have buckets of cash to spread around every fall. I can personally vouch for the increase in spending at Wild Oak every October and November. Time to rethink our county ordinance which is still depriving a path to legitimacy for an entire industry and its many spin-offs in manufacturing, testing, packaging, etc…What do you say, supervisors?