This page reposts our newsletters as soon as they are published. This includes announcements, coming events, position papers, and more. You can also get this material as it is sent by subscribing at [email protected]
Film Showing and Community Sing
Dark and Tender
Friday, November 14, 5:30-8 pm
Chico Women's Club
Aaron Johnson, the founder of Holistic Resistance, has launched The Chronically Undertouched Project (CUT), a deeply meaningful creative journey that uncovers to address the obstacles to healthy human touch. So many people have been unable to cultivate platonic touch, which is vital to our health, vitality and well-being. In this film that will be shared on Nov 14, Aaron is focused on Black Men and the journey to becoming tender and openhearted with each other. It is a seed of awareness around human potential that all of us can benefit from unpacking and exploring. He will bring community song following the short film, and opportunities to explore this topic more.
Help Relieve Food Insecurity
in Butte County
in Butte County
Hunger and Food Insecurity is a reality for 40,000 more people in Butte County.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP—formerly called food stamps) was put in place decades ago as part of the War on Poverty to assist low-income and no-income Americans deal with hunger while simultaneously securing sales of food to support American working farmers. Benefits under the program were “paused” effective November 1st by President Trump. Immediately, the health and well-being of approximately 136,000 residents receiving SNAP in Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s Congressional district 1 were put at risk.
On October.31, federal courts ruled that the federal government’s decision to withhold already-allocated SNAP payments was unlawful, and the federal government through the USDA would have to take action to restore them. The president recently announced that payments would be “partially” restored, but delayed.
For the estimated forty thousand people in Butte County (including children) who received SNAP benefits, the termination of access to SNAP has resulted in local food banks, human needs providers, and concerned neighbors being forced to scramble to ensure that low- and no-income people would have enough to eat, to survive even.
The Chico Peace Alliance believes that people’s survival and basic humanitarian needs being met is a fundamental component of achieving and sustaining peace and social justice, globally and locally.
We urge our readers to do what you can to support the food security of our fellow residents of Butte County by volunteering at and donating money and non-perishable food items such as pastas, dried beans, rice, and tuna and other canned products to appropriate agencies. Donations of money are especially valued because bulk buying can provide food banks with the capacity to acquire much more food for distribution.
Below is a list of groups in Butte County providing food distribution, with their addresses, days, hours, and contact info.
In addition, we recommend donating food and money and volunteering time at the South Chico Community Assistance Center, at 1805 Park Avenue in Chico, which has been distributing food and other necessary items twice a month for four plus years. You can get more info on how to donate through their website at southchicocac.org Volunteers are needed this Friday, November 7, from 1 pm to 3 pm to prepare for distribution of food and hygiene products this Saturday, November 8.
And North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) at www.nvcf.org is requesting monetary donations to their special food insecurity relief fund which is providing huge assistance to food banks in the Northstate. Donations can be made on the website.
We can work together to take care of each other in our communities and get each other through this cruelly-manufactured and very dangerous humanitarian crisis.
Food Assistance in Butte County
Monday-Friday
Chico Community Food Locker, 1386 Longfellow Avenue, Chico
9 am - noon 530-895-8331
Monday
Food Bank at Hope Commons Church, 1184 East Avenue, Chico
4:30 pm 530-342-1806
Tuesday
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
Chico Salvation Army, 567 East 16th Street, Chico
2-4 pm 530-776-1009
Wednesday
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
North State Food Bank, 2620 5th Avenue, Oroville
8:30 - 10:30 am 530-712-2600
North State Food Bank, 10th and Grand, Thermalito
8 - 10 am 530-712-2600
Thursday
Magalia Community Church, 13700 Old Skyway, Magalia
11 am - 1:30 pm 530-877-7963
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
Friday
First Baptist Church, 6500 Clark Road, Paradise
Noon-4 pm 530-877-9923
Saturday
First Christian Church, 5738 Pentz Road, Paradise
11 am - 1 pm 530-877-9923
Sunday
Shalom Free Clinic, 1010 Mangrove Avenue, Chico
1-4 pm 530-342-2445
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP—formerly called food stamps) was put in place decades ago as part of the War on Poverty to assist low-income and no-income Americans deal with hunger while simultaneously securing sales of food to support American working farmers. Benefits under the program were “paused” effective November 1st by President Trump. Immediately, the health and well-being of approximately 136,000 residents receiving SNAP in Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s Congressional district 1 were put at risk.
On October.31, federal courts ruled that the federal government’s decision to withhold already-allocated SNAP payments was unlawful, and the federal government through the USDA would have to take action to restore them. The president recently announced that payments would be “partially” restored, but delayed.
For the estimated forty thousand people in Butte County (including children) who received SNAP benefits, the termination of access to SNAP has resulted in local food banks, human needs providers, and concerned neighbors being forced to scramble to ensure that low- and no-income people would have enough to eat, to survive even.
The Chico Peace Alliance believes that people’s survival and basic humanitarian needs being met is a fundamental component of achieving and sustaining peace and social justice, globally and locally.
We urge our readers to do what you can to support the food security of our fellow residents of Butte County by volunteering at and donating money and non-perishable food items such as pastas, dried beans, rice, and tuna and other canned products to appropriate agencies. Donations of money are especially valued because bulk buying can provide food banks with the capacity to acquire much more food for distribution.
Below is a list of groups in Butte County providing food distribution, with their addresses, days, hours, and contact info.
In addition, we recommend donating food and money and volunteering time at the South Chico Community Assistance Center, at 1805 Park Avenue in Chico, which has been distributing food and other necessary items twice a month for four plus years. You can get more info on how to donate through their website at southchicocac.org Volunteers are needed this Friday, November 7, from 1 pm to 3 pm to prepare for distribution of food and hygiene products this Saturday, November 8.
And North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) at www.nvcf.org is requesting monetary donations to their special food insecurity relief fund which is providing huge assistance to food banks in the Northstate. Donations can be made on the website.
We can work together to take care of each other in our communities and get each other through this cruelly-manufactured and very dangerous humanitarian crisis.
Food Assistance in Butte County
Monday-Friday
Chico Community Food Locker, 1386 Longfellow Avenue, Chico
9 am - noon 530-895-8331
Monday
Food Bank at Hope Commons Church, 1184 East Avenue, Chico
4:30 pm 530-342-1806
Tuesday
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
Chico Salvation Army, 567 East 16th Street, Chico
2-4 pm 530-776-1009
Wednesday
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
North State Food Bank, 2620 5th Avenue, Oroville
8:30 - 10:30 am 530-712-2600
North State Food Bank, 10th and Grand, Thermalito
8 - 10 am 530-712-2600
Thursday
Magalia Community Church, 13700 Old Skyway, Magalia
11 am - 1:30 pm 530-877-7963
Sacred Heart Parish, 1561 Hazel Street, Gridley
9:30-11:30 am 530-846-2140
Friday
First Baptist Church, 6500 Clark Road, Paradise
Noon-4 pm 530-877-9923
Saturday
First Christian Church, 5738 Pentz Road, Paradise
11 am - 1 pm 530-877-9923
Sunday
Shalom Free Clinic, 1010 Mangrove Avenue, Chico
1-4 pm 530-342-2445
Peaceful Actions
The Newsletter of the Chico Peace Alliance
October 28, 2025
How Are Protests Helpful?
Commentary by Sheldon Praiser
The Newsletter of the Chico Peace Alliance
October 28, 2025
How Are Protests Helpful?
Commentary by Sheldon Praiser
After last week’s very successful No Kings march in Chico, many of you may be asking what is next and how are these protests helpful. Ezra Levin, a cofounder of Indivisible and one of the organizers of the No Kings protests, has been a consistent voice of resistance to Trump’s authoritarian regime. He talked this past week of the need for the resistance movement to evolve and grow, and to be able to respond rapidly to Trump’s increasingly authoritarian overreach. He announced the formation of the No Kings Alliance. He calls this the rapid response arm of the movement with the intent to ensure that we do not quietly capitulate. Each week nokings.org will announce a new “culture of defiance” action. A major goal is to continue to show that the opposition is visible and strong.
We hear constantly about the extreme actions taken to try to mesmerize us--from demolishing the East Wing of the White House, to demanding $230 million from the department of Justice, to boat strikes in Venezuelan waters. We don’t hear as much about the resistance, but here’s a sampling. of recently events that shows there’s continued pushback.
- Some of the administration’s key staffers have recently left.
- A growing list of universities are saying No to Trump.
- The Pentagon press unanimously walked out in protest of a new restrictive policy from Defense Secretary Hegseth that required journalists to agree not to report information not approved for release by the Defense Department.
- Jack Smith, former Special Counsel for the Department of Justice and who is on Trump‘s “retribution” list, instead of showing caution on the threat of being investigated, asked defiantly to testify ONLY in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
- Two outspoken Governors have continued to be vocal. Governor Newsom, on what he calls Trump’s $230 million shakedown, called this a weakness masquerading as strength. Governor Pritzker of Illinois signed an order to document “unlawful attacks” by federal immigration agents.
- Trump backed off deploying National Guard troops to San Francisco after a call from that city’s Mayor.
- There have been a number of Republican voices willing to question Trump’s request for $230 million of taxpayer money and some of his other actions. These include Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Senator Kevin Kramer, and Senator Lisa Murkowski.
We are definitely in scary times. It seems that the more Trump meets with pushback, he pulls out more of the extreme measures from Project 25 in an effort to consolidate his authoritarian power. Political scientist, Erica Chenoweth, has long-held that when 3.5% of the population protest nonviolently against an authoritarian government, that government is likely to fall.
Stay tuned for ways you can actively engage locally and be part of that 3.5%
A Call for Writers
The Chico Peace Alliance encourages dialogue in its work for peace and justice and is pleased to publish opinion pieces in our newsletter. We're especially interested in your ideas on how peacemakers can make a difference--locally to globally--in these difficult times. While certain guidelines of both form and content are employed, a wide variety of views may appear. None of these opinion pieces is meant to represent the views of the CPA, but hopefully may serve to further dialogue as we build a community of informed peacemakers.
Contact us: [email protected]
We hear constantly about the extreme actions taken to try to mesmerize us--from demolishing the East Wing of the White House, to demanding $230 million from the department of Justice, to boat strikes in Venezuelan waters. We don’t hear as much about the resistance, but here’s a sampling. of recently events that shows there’s continued pushback.
- Some of the administration’s key staffers have recently left.
- A growing list of universities are saying No to Trump.
- The Pentagon press unanimously walked out in protest of a new restrictive policy from Defense Secretary Hegseth that required journalists to agree not to report information not approved for release by the Defense Department.
- Jack Smith, former Special Counsel for the Department of Justice and who is on Trump‘s “retribution” list, instead of showing caution on the threat of being investigated, asked defiantly to testify ONLY in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
- Two outspoken Governors have continued to be vocal. Governor Newsom, on what he calls Trump’s $230 million shakedown, called this a weakness masquerading as strength. Governor Pritzker of Illinois signed an order to document “unlawful attacks” by federal immigration agents.
- Trump backed off deploying National Guard troops to San Francisco after a call from that city’s Mayor.
- There have been a number of Republican voices willing to question Trump’s request for $230 million of taxpayer money and some of his other actions. These include Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Senator Kevin Kramer, and Senator Lisa Murkowski.
We are definitely in scary times. It seems that the more Trump meets with pushback, he pulls out more of the extreme measures from Project 25 in an effort to consolidate his authoritarian power. Political scientist, Erica Chenoweth, has long-held that when 3.5% of the population protest nonviolently against an authoritarian government, that government is likely to fall.
Stay tuned for ways you can actively engage locally and be part of that 3.5%
A Call for Writers
The Chico Peace Alliance encourages dialogue in its work for peace and justice and is pleased to publish opinion pieces in our newsletter. We're especially interested in your ideas on how peacemakers can make a difference--locally to globally--in these difficult times. While certain guidelines of both form and content are employed, a wide variety of views may appear. None of these opinion pieces is meant to represent the views of the CPA, but hopefully may serve to further dialogue as we build a community of informed peacemakers.
Contact us: [email protected]
In Memory:
Lucy Gould
Lucy Gould
We at the Chico Peace Alliance are deeply saddened by the death of Lucy Gould, longtime peace activist, who died Thursday, September 25, at the age of 88. Born and raised in Chicago, she attended Stanford University, graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1958. Lucy later returned to school to earn her M.D. in 1974 from the University of Louisville Medical School as one of its first ever female students. She also received certifications in psychiatry and child psychiatry and practiced as a psychiatrist in Louisville, Rochester, and Ithaca before retiring and moving to Chico in 2000.
In 2005 she married and she is survived by longtime Chico resident Dick” Gould. Lucy became very active in the Chico community through Trinity Methodist Church and Chico Friends Meeting (Quakers), and through her work with and support for many Chico community organizations focusing on peace and social justice, including the Chico Peace and Justice Center, the Chico Peace Alliance, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Chico Interfaith Council, the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT), and Chico’s Martin Luther King Day observation.
Following are comments by several people of the many who have known Lucy and who celebrate her life, achievements, and her graceful and energetic participation in the peace movement.
Reflections on Lucy
She was a quiet presence who gave time and effort to many sides of the work for peace. Often stepping in when others seemed not to have enough time, she was a faithful activist with a deep commitment to showing up when needed. Even as her capacities declined, she continued to contribute, most recently as treasurer of the Chico Peace Alliance, and made light of her limits without embarrassment. After her stroke and during the period of hospice, she retained a gentle kind of cheer and enjoyment of visitors that shone through her loss of clear speech and her limited communication. She was a deep thinker whose words were always worth reflecting upon. I'll remember her for her kindness, her resilience, and her model of working for peace in any way she could.
Jim Anderson
I will miss Lucy. She was a great listener as well as an independent and outside-the-box thinker. She had so much experience and knowledge to share that was filtered by her always unique point of view. She had many friends in Chico of all ages and ethnicities and, yes, points of view. I was often surprised by all of the people who would come up to our table when we dined out together and who would express their genuine fondness and regards to her. She trusted people…always welcoming and friendly to people she had just meant.
She was generous with her ideas on how to help resolve dilemmas that came up. She was my mentor and role model on handling the pitfalls of aging and on dying with courage, grace and equanimity. And even humor. She laughed and smiled easily. I will miss Lucy.
Laurel Yorks
Bob and I had the pleasure of knowing Lucy through my attendance at Trinity United Methodist Church. Over the past 25 years or so, she (and Dick) would invariably show up for whatever peace or social justice event we might be promoting, even if it was outside in the cold, or later at night than they would normally want to be out. They were some of our most faithful supporters, always encouraging and appreciating our efforts. Lucy would alway have a donation in hand, and she would always apologize and say, "I'm sorry it isn't more". When our son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and we were feeling extremely lost and confused, Lucy was very comforting. She was just a wonderfully kind and gentle spirited person, and I wish I could be more like her.
Leslie Johnson
Lucy requested that any donations in her memory be made to the
Chico Housing Action Team
In 2005 she married and she is survived by longtime Chico resident Dick” Gould. Lucy became very active in the Chico community through Trinity Methodist Church and Chico Friends Meeting (Quakers), and through her work with and support for many Chico community organizations focusing on peace and social justice, including the Chico Peace and Justice Center, the Chico Peace Alliance, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Chico Interfaith Council, the Chico Housing Action Team (CHAT), and Chico’s Martin Luther King Day observation.
Following are comments by several people of the many who have known Lucy and who celebrate her life, achievements, and her graceful and energetic participation in the peace movement.
Reflections on Lucy
She was a quiet presence who gave time and effort to many sides of the work for peace. Often stepping in when others seemed not to have enough time, she was a faithful activist with a deep commitment to showing up when needed. Even as her capacities declined, she continued to contribute, most recently as treasurer of the Chico Peace Alliance, and made light of her limits without embarrassment. After her stroke and during the period of hospice, she retained a gentle kind of cheer and enjoyment of visitors that shone through her loss of clear speech and her limited communication. She was a deep thinker whose words were always worth reflecting upon. I'll remember her for her kindness, her resilience, and her model of working for peace in any way she could.
Jim Anderson
I will miss Lucy. She was a great listener as well as an independent and outside-the-box thinker. She had so much experience and knowledge to share that was filtered by her always unique point of view. She had many friends in Chico of all ages and ethnicities and, yes, points of view. I was often surprised by all of the people who would come up to our table when we dined out together and who would express their genuine fondness and regards to her. She trusted people…always welcoming and friendly to people she had just meant.
She was generous with her ideas on how to help resolve dilemmas that came up. She was my mentor and role model on handling the pitfalls of aging and on dying with courage, grace and equanimity. And even humor. She laughed and smiled easily. I will miss Lucy.
Laurel Yorks
Bob and I had the pleasure of knowing Lucy through my attendance at Trinity United Methodist Church. Over the past 25 years or so, she (and Dick) would invariably show up for whatever peace or social justice event we might be promoting, even if it was outside in the cold, or later at night than they would normally want to be out. They were some of our most faithful supporters, always encouraging and appreciating our efforts. Lucy would alway have a donation in hand, and she would always apologize and say, "I'm sorry it isn't more". When our son was diagnosed with schizophrenia and we were feeling extremely lost and confused, Lucy was very comforting. She was just a wonderfully kind and gentle spirited person, and I wish I could be more like her.
Leslie Johnson
Lucy requested that any donations in her memory be made to the
Chico Housing Action Team
Saturday Events and Actions
October 18
Lots going on in Our Town this coming Saturday. Pick and choose from among the following, or attend all four!
No Kings March
10 am at The Hands
Support our constitutional rights starting at the Hands at the Chico Municipal Building with informational booths and live music following the march. Bring your signs and your voices.
The Peace Vigil
12:30 at 3rd and Main
Saturdays since 1962
No Kings Festival
12 noon at Veteran's Memorial Park
100 Wildwood Avenue
Fun-filled festival that includes music, face, painting, a scavenger hunt, information booths and more. It will also include a protest beginning at 2:30 PM and a flash mob at 3:30.
Chico Natural Foods Co-Op
50th Year Anniversary Celebration
Cedar Grove Picnic Area
3 - 5:30 PM
A half a century ago a group of folks decided to resist the corporate control of our food by creating a cooperative alternative to the negative impacts of capitalism.
We are celebrating at our Annual Member Meeting with a grand picnic provided by the wonderful co-op kitchen folks.
Games and Activities and good company.
All members new and old are welcome. Please bring your families.
Food first, meeting next, and anniversary dessert after the meeting.
Come relax after your No Kings demonstrations and the faithful Peace Vigil downtown. It’s all connected. We are all connected.
October 18
Lots going on in Our Town this coming Saturday. Pick and choose from among the following, or attend all four!
No Kings March
10 am at The Hands
Support our constitutional rights starting at the Hands at the Chico Municipal Building with informational booths and live music following the march. Bring your signs and your voices.
The Peace Vigil
12:30 at 3rd and Main
Saturdays since 1962
No Kings Festival
12 noon at Veteran's Memorial Park
100 Wildwood Avenue
Fun-filled festival that includes music, face, painting, a scavenger hunt, information booths and more. It will also include a protest beginning at 2:30 PM and a flash mob at 3:30.
Chico Natural Foods Co-Op
50th Year Anniversary Celebration
Cedar Grove Picnic Area
3 - 5:30 PM
A half a century ago a group of folks decided to resist the corporate control of our food by creating a cooperative alternative to the negative impacts of capitalism.
We are celebrating at our Annual Member Meeting with a grand picnic provided by the wonderful co-op kitchen folks.
Games and Activities and good company.
All members new and old are welcome. Please bring your families.
Food first, meeting next, and anniversary dessert after the meeting.
Come relax after your No Kings demonstrations and the faithful Peace Vigil downtown. It’s all connected. We are all connected.
Reflections
September 11, 2025
On Charlie Kirk and Violence
Charlie Kirk is dead. I knew almost nothing about him but news coverage is full of the terrible news of his murder, the hunt for the killer, and the larger questions of what this act means, why it happened and how such killings can be prevented.
Actually, the last of the questions is the least attended to. As to the meaning and cause, there are political explanations offered which serve partisan ends but unfortunately register the widespread use of demonization that has become acceptable speech. This demonizing speech itself certainly may move marginal and angry people to acts that seem justified by it.
The issue of guns is there as well. Yes, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and many responsible gun owners fear the radical left may bit by bit move toward strict outlawing of gun ownership. But most countries establish reasonable levels of gun restrictions that reduce levels of gun violence. The ready accessibility of guns, particularly weapons that have nothing do with the sport of hunting, also makes it more possible and more likely that marginal and angry people will commit acts like the murder of Charlie Kirk.
In the end, the last question comes to mind: how can such killings be prevented? Yes, recovering civility and respect in public discourse will help. Yes, creating reasonable restrictions on gun use and ownership will help. But it may well be that the deepest causes are of a different sort. A wealthy country that doesn’t provide adequate health care for its population, a society that shifts immense wealth to the top economic classes while many live without jobs, shelter, or mental support: these create harmful and dangerous conditions. These make it more probable that alienated, angry, disaffected persons, abandoned by their society, become vulnerable to exploitative media, simple answers, and a desire to achieve a sense of power through acts of violence. There is no simple answer to such terrible acts, but too often simple answers are given that avoid those less palatable but more useful.
–Jim Anderson
On Peace Vigils
The Chico Enterprise Record recently reported on the demolition of a longstanding peace vigil in front of the White House. The action adds to the extraordinary demolition of civil and constitutional rights by the Trump administration and its loyalists. The vigil was begun by William Thomas in 1981 to “promote nuclear disarmament” and is “believed to be the longest continuous anti-war protest in U.S. history.” Donald Trump apparently hadn’t noticed the blue tent that was tended by Philipos Melaku-Bello, “who has manned the vigil for years.” Once advised of the vigil, Trump reportedly said, “Take it down. Take it down, right now,” apparently believing false claims that the tent “had rats” and “could be a national security risk.” Melaku-Bello will sue, quite rightly.
Chico has a claim to be the what is believed to be the oldest continuing anti-nuclear vigil in the U.S. As the Chico Peace Alliance has noted (www.chicopeacealliance.net), “In the early ’60s, the military began construction of Titan missile silos on Keefer Road. Chico resident Wilhelmina Taggart made weekly visits to the base to pray, joined by Florence McLane and Helen Kinnee. After the missiles were removed, the vigil was moved to the corner of 3rd and Main, where it takes place every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30.”
Promoting peace and defending our constitutional rights is a longstanding Chico tradition. Perhaps at no time has the Peace Vigil been more important, and all Chicoans are invited to participate.
--Stephen Tchudi
September 11, 2025
On Charlie Kirk and Violence
Charlie Kirk is dead. I knew almost nothing about him but news coverage is full of the terrible news of his murder, the hunt for the killer, and the larger questions of what this act means, why it happened and how such killings can be prevented.
Actually, the last of the questions is the least attended to. As to the meaning and cause, there are political explanations offered which serve partisan ends but unfortunately register the widespread use of demonization that has become acceptable speech. This demonizing speech itself certainly may move marginal and angry people to acts that seem justified by it.
The issue of guns is there as well. Yes, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, and many responsible gun owners fear the radical left may bit by bit move toward strict outlawing of gun ownership. But most countries establish reasonable levels of gun restrictions that reduce levels of gun violence. The ready accessibility of guns, particularly weapons that have nothing do with the sport of hunting, also makes it more possible and more likely that marginal and angry people will commit acts like the murder of Charlie Kirk.
In the end, the last question comes to mind: how can such killings be prevented? Yes, recovering civility and respect in public discourse will help. Yes, creating reasonable restrictions on gun use and ownership will help. But it may well be that the deepest causes are of a different sort. A wealthy country that doesn’t provide adequate health care for its population, a society that shifts immense wealth to the top economic classes while many live without jobs, shelter, or mental support: these create harmful and dangerous conditions. These make it more probable that alienated, angry, disaffected persons, abandoned by their society, become vulnerable to exploitative media, simple answers, and a desire to achieve a sense of power through acts of violence. There is no simple answer to such terrible acts, but too often simple answers are given that avoid those less palatable but more useful.
–Jim Anderson
On Peace Vigils
The Chico Enterprise Record recently reported on the demolition of a longstanding peace vigil in front of the White House. The action adds to the extraordinary demolition of civil and constitutional rights by the Trump administration and its loyalists. The vigil was begun by William Thomas in 1981 to “promote nuclear disarmament” and is “believed to be the longest continuous anti-war protest in U.S. history.” Donald Trump apparently hadn’t noticed the blue tent that was tended by Philipos Melaku-Bello, “who has manned the vigil for years.” Once advised of the vigil, Trump reportedly said, “Take it down. Take it down, right now,” apparently believing false claims that the tent “had rats” and “could be a national security risk.” Melaku-Bello will sue, quite rightly.
Chico has a claim to be the what is believed to be the oldest continuing anti-nuclear vigil in the U.S. As the Chico Peace Alliance has noted (www.chicopeacealliance.net), “In the early ’60s, the military began construction of Titan missile silos on Keefer Road. Chico resident Wilhelmina Taggart made weekly visits to the base to pray, joined by Florence McLane and Helen Kinnee. After the missiles were removed, the vigil was moved to the corner of 3rd and Main, where it takes place every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:30.”
Promoting peace and defending our constitutional rights is a longstanding Chico tradition. Perhaps at no time has the Peace Vigil been more important, and all Chicoans are invited to participate.
--Stephen Tchudi
Peaceful Actions
The Newsletter of the Chico Peace Alliance
September 3, 2025
In this Issue:
On the Bridge
KZFR Peace and Justice
Occupy Beal
Jewish Voice for Peace
Labor Day Weekend Protests
We are the Cohasset Bridge Brigade, doing our Labor Day demonstration on the Cohasset Bridge in Chico. Three days of protests on that scary bridge with a 44 inch railing and no guard screens. Loud traffic, relentless sun and heat. And it was a very long way down to the freeway! But we did it! Homemade banners, creative signs, designed to get the message out to folks on the freeway and on the city thoroughfare at the same time. Lots of supportive horn beeps from the drivers below. We raised public awareness and deepened our commitment to calling out authoritarianism, greed, corruption and cruelty of the current presidential administration and calling for an end to fascist principles being applied to our precious democracy. We made friends, bonded and watched out for each other up there. That’s the community spirit we want in this country. Just a small part of a big movement. Thanks to all who helped make this happen up and down the freeways on the West Coast this weekend, including four freeway overpasses here in Chico.
Peace and Justice Program,
Noon every Friday on www.kzfr.org (streaming) or 90.1FM and also for two weeks after in archives at KZFR.org.
9/5- Natalie Hanson will be talking about the last month of news, of which there is plenty. She'll be focusing particularly on the following articles’ topics and why they matter for public discourse and pushback to regressive policies in Chico -
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/30/chico-demonstrators-join-nationwide-labor-day-protests/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/11/lamalfa-faces-a-rowdy-irritable-crowd/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/02/a-somber-vigil-for-the-disappeared/
https://chicosol.org/2025/07/31/pressure-on-media-grows/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/01/public-media-funding-cutback-will-hurt-the-north-state/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/08/as-medicaid-turns-60-rollbacks-threaten-millions/
9/12 and 9/19 Angela McLaughlin and Eran Zelnik TBD guests
9/26 Host Chris Nelson interviews David Vine, author of The United States of War, A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State and Brenda Perez, Executive Director of Centro de Pueblo in Humboldt County.
Occupy Beale
(Air Force Base)
9/30 demonstration against militarism and the US role in the Genocide in Gaza. Contact Chris [email protected] for information or car-pooling.
Jewish Voice for Peace
On 8/27 hundreds of activists and their supporters were part of a statewide coordinated action in the offices of Senators Padilla and Schiff as well as at a Politico Conference where Padilla, Governor Newsom, and other democrats were speaking in Sacramento. Five activists from Chico were part of that action. There were no arrests as they stayed chanting loudly on behalf of Palestinian Rights in a sit-in blocking the lobby of the hotel for two hours. 138 JVP activists were arrested in Senator Padilla's office in S.F.
Solidarity with the people of Gaza is increasing during this brutal starvation and bombing campaign by Israel. Readers are urged to follow the Global Sumud Flotilla. www.globalsumudflotilla.org and TAG, Taxpayers against Genocide (www.taxpayersagainstgenocide.org) for more on what you can do to join the global movement to Stop the Genocide.
The Newsletter of the Chico Peace Alliance
September 3, 2025
In this Issue:
On the Bridge
KZFR Peace and Justice
Occupy Beal
Jewish Voice for Peace
Labor Day Weekend Protests
We are the Cohasset Bridge Brigade, doing our Labor Day demonstration on the Cohasset Bridge in Chico. Three days of protests on that scary bridge with a 44 inch railing and no guard screens. Loud traffic, relentless sun and heat. And it was a very long way down to the freeway! But we did it! Homemade banners, creative signs, designed to get the message out to folks on the freeway and on the city thoroughfare at the same time. Lots of supportive horn beeps from the drivers below. We raised public awareness and deepened our commitment to calling out authoritarianism, greed, corruption and cruelty of the current presidential administration and calling for an end to fascist principles being applied to our precious democracy. We made friends, bonded and watched out for each other up there. That’s the community spirit we want in this country. Just a small part of a big movement. Thanks to all who helped make this happen up and down the freeways on the West Coast this weekend, including four freeway overpasses here in Chico.
Peace and Justice Program,
Noon every Friday on www.kzfr.org (streaming) or 90.1FM and also for two weeks after in archives at KZFR.org.
9/5- Natalie Hanson will be talking about the last month of news, of which there is plenty. She'll be focusing particularly on the following articles’ topics and why they matter for public discourse and pushback to regressive policies in Chico -
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/30/chico-demonstrators-join-nationwide-labor-day-protests/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/11/lamalfa-faces-a-rowdy-irritable-crowd/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/02/a-somber-vigil-for-the-disappeared/
https://chicosol.org/2025/07/31/pressure-on-media-grows/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/01/public-media-funding-cutback-will-hurt-the-north-state/
https://chicosol.org/2025/08/08/as-medicaid-turns-60-rollbacks-threaten-millions/
9/12 and 9/19 Angela McLaughlin and Eran Zelnik TBD guests
9/26 Host Chris Nelson interviews David Vine, author of The United States of War, A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State and Brenda Perez, Executive Director of Centro de Pueblo in Humboldt County.
Occupy Beale
(Air Force Base)
9/30 demonstration against militarism and the US role in the Genocide in Gaza. Contact Chris [email protected] for information or car-pooling.
Jewish Voice for Peace
On 8/27 hundreds of activists and their supporters were part of a statewide coordinated action in the offices of Senators Padilla and Schiff as well as at a Politico Conference where Padilla, Governor Newsom, and other democrats were speaking in Sacramento. Five activists from Chico were part of that action. There were no arrests as they stayed chanting loudly on behalf of Palestinian Rights in a sit-in blocking the lobby of the hotel for two hours. 138 JVP activists were arrested in Senator Padilla's office in S.F.
Solidarity with the people of Gaza is increasing during this brutal starvation and bombing campaign by Israel. Readers are urged to follow the Global Sumud Flotilla. www.globalsumudflotilla.org and TAG, Taxpayers against Genocide (www.taxpayersagainstgenocide.org) for more on what you can do to join the global movement to Stop the Genocide.
Peaceful Actions
August 28, 2025
The Chico Peace Alliance is an affiliate of Peace Action, which recently provided the following resources and ideas for taking action on the war in Gaza and the devastation of the lives of Palestinian people. You can learn more about Peace Action at https://www.peaceaction.org/
Gaza Grassroots Organizing Toolkit
from Peace Action
In September and beyond Block the Bombs National Days of Action including:
-demonstrations or advocacy visits at congressional offices, which can include bird-dogging your representatives, and here is a recording of our recent training on this tactic, with passcode: 6$eb@rs8
-online webinars or in-person teach-ins on the need to Block the Bombs to Israel (as embodied in HR 3565) perhaps on college campuses in conjunction with student groups;
-demonstrations at weapons contractors, companies, and banks profiting from war and genocide;
-support for other priority legislation, such as Joint Resolutions of Disapproval;
-coalition letters to Members of Congress asking for cosponsors of HR 3565;
-challenges to incumbents and candidates for Congress in the midterms to pledge to Block the Bombs to Israel (for organizations that can legally engage in such activity);
-incorporate already existing weekly or monthly local protests;
Section One - Legislative/Policy/Electoral Tools
A top legislative priority is H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs bill in the House of Representatives, and here is the Block the Bombs to Israel Action page initiated by the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) and sponsored by eleven organizations.
Peace Action’s Policy Briefing papers on Gaza and Iran, designed for use in advocacy meetings with Members of Congress
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Stop the Gaza Genocide toolkit, and a highlight, among many resources, is their Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions page.
American Friends Service Committee’s Action Hour Resource Page, which includes a Bird-Dogging Guide you can download
A New Policy’s congressional legislative tracker
MPower Change Digital Action page
Jewish Voice for Peace Digital Action page
Track AIPAC - find out if your representatives or senators are supported by AIPAC and other PACs
Reject AIPAC coalition of organizations encouraging candidates to reject AIPAC contributions, and supporting progressive candidates for Congress
Section Two - Media/Messaging Guidance/Social Media
Rethink Media's updated messaging guide on Gaza and the weaponization of humanitarian aid.
Letters to the editor guidance from New Hampshire Peace Action
Rethink Media's messaging guidance on Iran
National Iranian American Council (NIAC) No War on Iran social media toolkit which includes signs you can download and print for public protests, such as the Good Trouble Day of Action July 17 mentioned above.
Stop Starving Gaza media/social media/advocacy resources from US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
Peaceful Actions 18 August 2025
Labor Day Weekend Protests
Our next big local protests will take place on Labor Day weekend. The groups that belong to the Defenders of Democracy Coalition are participating in a "Labor Day West Coast Banner Challenge." We are joining other protest groups on the West Coast to use overpasses to get our Resistance messages out.
We will create large letters, put them on signs, and have volunteers hold them up. We will use the four main overpasses in Chico: the Skyway, 20th St., Cohasset Rd., and Eaton Rd. These activities will take place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday on Labor Day weekend. The times will be from 8 to 10 am.
For this big activity, we will probably need close to 100 volunteers. So, this is step one in the process.
Each overpass will have a group or several groups responsible for signage and volunteers. If you are only available for one day or for one hour, that would still be very helpful. The group leaders will make decisions and assignments based on the number of volunteers that they can expect.
The groups participating are: Re-Sisters, Chico Peace Alliance, DACC, Veteran Action Group, Oroville Area Resistance, Indivisible Chico, MLK Unity, Medicare For All, CC4J, and AAPI.
Also, we are going to have a sign making party next Thursday, August 21st from 4 to 6 pm at the meeting hall at Riparia. It is located at 2300 Estes Road in Chico. That is at the end of Normal Avenue. You go left where it dead ends, and the meeting hall is about a quarter of a mile down the road.
If you are interested in volunteering for Chico Peace Alliance please contact us [email protected] or call Laurel at 530.519.0389 for any questions.
Community Forum Regarding
the proposed Biomass Project in Oroville
This meeting is designed to provide clear, accurate information about the project’s design, operations, and potential benefits to our city. It’s also a chance for you to hear directly from City leadership and a wide range of experts who will be present to answer questions and address concerns.
Workshop Details:
Date: Tuesday, August 26 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Oroville Southside Community Center /2959 Lower Wyandotte Rd.
Who Will Be Present:
News from
Taxpayers Against Genocide
We want to alert you to an important and powerful step TAG is taking. We are in the process of amending the historic legal complaint against the US government for complicity in genocide, which TAG filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in May 2025. We are adding more plaintiffs, as well as adding mounting evidence of the US role in the escalating genocide over this summer, including in the forced starvation of Gazans and sham of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). We are honored to be working with an exceptional team of National Lawyers Guild attorneys. Among these is Huwaida Arraf, who is the lead attorney on the complaint and one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.The complaint continues to gather endorsements from a wide range of organizations, including American Muslims for Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement NY, Within Our Lifetime, and Jewish Voice for Peace; and by individuals, including Mahmoud Khalil, Columbian President Gustavo Petro (a founding member of the Hague Group), Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate and Cornell West.
We are writing now to ask that you encourage your friends - through email, text, phone calls and social media posts - to support the IAHRC petition by joining Taxpayers Against Genocide here: https://www.taxpayersagainstgenocide.org/join . We aim to gain upwards of 15,000 members across the country by September 1, 2025. Please mention that TAG is not an organization; it is a national grassroots movement of US taxpayers committed to holding our government officials accountable for making us complicit in genocide, against our wishes and in violation of US and International law. The names and contact information of individual TAG members will not be made public, but our membership numbers will be! Each taxpayer who signs on in support of TAG adds muscle to our cause. Please include an ask of your friends to share the url link / QR code with their circles, encouraging more people in every state to join TAG.
We also are writing to encourage you to spread the word about the Taxpayers Against Genocide and National Lawyers Guild International Committee RALLY and PRESS CONFERENCE at noon on September 4, 2025 at Foley Square in Manhattan right after we file the amended complaint.
From September 2-8, TAG teams will also be lobbying officials of other countries in New York to support our report to the United Nations Human Rights Commission 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as well as the IACHR amended petition. This will be in the spotlight of the UN General Assembly’s 80th anniversary on September 8th, where TAG will join countless organizers and Free Palestine protesters in front of the UN! If you or your friends would like to join in these efforts please email [email protected] with “NY lobbying” in the subject line.
Labor Day Weekend Protests
Our next big local protests will take place on Labor Day weekend. The groups that belong to the Defenders of Democracy Coalition are participating in a "Labor Day West Coast Banner Challenge." We are joining other protest groups on the West Coast to use overpasses to get our Resistance messages out.
We will create large letters, put them on signs, and have volunteers hold them up. We will use the four main overpasses in Chico: the Skyway, 20th St., Cohasset Rd., and Eaton Rd. These activities will take place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday on Labor Day weekend. The times will be from 8 to 10 am.
For this big activity, we will probably need close to 100 volunteers. So, this is step one in the process.
Each overpass will have a group or several groups responsible for signage and volunteers. If you are only available for one day or for one hour, that would still be very helpful. The group leaders will make decisions and assignments based on the number of volunteers that they can expect.
The groups participating are: Re-Sisters, Chico Peace Alliance, DACC, Veteran Action Group, Oroville Area Resistance, Indivisible Chico, MLK Unity, Medicare For All, CC4J, and AAPI.
Also, we are going to have a sign making party next Thursday, August 21st from 4 to 6 pm at the meeting hall at Riparia. It is located at 2300 Estes Road in Chico. That is at the end of Normal Avenue. You go left where it dead ends, and the meeting hall is about a quarter of a mile down the road.
If you are interested in volunteering for Chico Peace Alliance please contact us [email protected] or call Laurel at 530.519.0389 for any questions.
Community Forum Regarding
the proposed Biomass Project in Oroville
This meeting is designed to provide clear, accurate information about the project’s design, operations, and potential benefits to our city. It’s also a chance for you to hear directly from City leadership and a wide range of experts who will be present to answer questions and address concerns.
Workshop Details:
Date: Tuesday, August 26 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Oroville Southside Community Center /2959 Lower Wyandotte Rd.
Who Will Be Present:
- City of Oroville staff
- CalFire
- Air Quality Management District
- Environmental Health
- Butte Environmental Council
- Sierra Club
- BREI Project Team
- Filtration System Manufacturer
- Butte County staff
News from
Taxpayers Against Genocide
We want to alert you to an important and powerful step TAG is taking. We are in the process of amending the historic legal complaint against the US government for complicity in genocide, which TAG filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in May 2025. We are adding more plaintiffs, as well as adding mounting evidence of the US role in the escalating genocide over this summer, including in the forced starvation of Gazans and sham of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). We are honored to be working with an exceptional team of National Lawyers Guild attorneys. Among these is Huwaida Arraf, who is the lead attorney on the complaint and one of the founders of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.The complaint continues to gather endorsements from a wide range of organizations, including American Muslims for Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement NY, Within Our Lifetime, and Jewish Voice for Peace; and by individuals, including Mahmoud Khalil, Columbian President Gustavo Petro (a founding member of the Hague Group), Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate and Cornell West.
We are writing now to ask that you encourage your friends - through email, text, phone calls and social media posts - to support the IAHRC petition by joining Taxpayers Against Genocide here: https://www.taxpayersagainstgenocide.org/join . We aim to gain upwards of 15,000 members across the country by September 1, 2025. Please mention that TAG is not an organization; it is a national grassroots movement of US taxpayers committed to holding our government officials accountable for making us complicit in genocide, against our wishes and in violation of US and International law. The names and contact information of individual TAG members will not be made public, but our membership numbers will be! Each taxpayer who signs on in support of TAG adds muscle to our cause. Please include an ask of your friends to share the url link / QR code with their circles, encouraging more people in every state to join TAG.
We also are writing to encourage you to spread the word about the Taxpayers Against Genocide and National Lawyers Guild International Committee RALLY and PRESS CONFERENCE at noon on September 4, 2025 at Foley Square in Manhattan right after we file the amended complaint.
From September 2-8, TAG teams will also be lobbying officials of other countries in New York to support our report to the United Nations Human Rights Commission 2025 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as well as the IACHR amended petition. This will be in the spotlight of the UN General Assembly’s 80th anniversary on September 8th, where TAG will join countless organizers and Free Palestine protesters in front of the UN! If you or your friends would like to join in these efforts please email [email protected] with “NY lobbying” in the subject line.
Coming Events and Actions
July 27, 2025
Re-Sisters Vigil
and Reading of Names
Saturday, August 2, 9 am - 10:30
Mangrove and Valombrosa
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acknowledges that as of June 29, it has detained 57,861 people. Agents break into homes, cars, and carry-out restaurants wearing black clothing and masks, brandishing guns, and refusing to show identification. Re-Sisters, both nationally and locally, will read the names. In Chico, names of the disappeared will be written on a 180-foot scroll held by 30 people and be read aloud. The event will attempt to do justice to myriad people who have been removed from their daily lives and from friends and family.
Plan to attend this important event. Volunteers are needed to hold the scroll; you can volunteer at [email protected].
Ecotopia on KZFR
The Palestinian West Bank
Janet Leslie, Jim Anderson, Carin Anderson
Tuesday, July 29, 5-6 pm
90.1 FM, Streaming Live at KZFR/org
Hosts Susan and Stephen Tchudi will talk with Janet, Jim, and Carin about their recent visit to the West Bank, Palestine. Topics will include the history of Israeli occupation of that territory, the advancing settlements and settler violence against Palestinians, and the efforts of Palestinians of all ages to survive under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The program will also be archived at ecotopiakzfr.com.
Also see Jim Anderson's Letter to the Editor, following.
Letter to the Editor
of the Enterprise Record
Jim Anderson
27 July 2029
The ER reports that 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers while seeking food to stave off starvation. How can this happen without outrage? All wars have their own momentum, sustaining their mix of bravery and brutality, but this one is full of widely witnessed bombing and starvation of civilian families.
My daughter and I stood on the street corner Saturday with signs calling for a ceasefire and provision of food to Gazans. Why? Perhaps a call for the humanity in each of us to awaken.
I wondered if there might be some future "truth and reconciliation committee" as in South Africa:
A Hamas fighter, long motivated by religious fervor and a sense Europeans had invaded and now occupy his land, would ask an Israeli for forgiveness for the brutality of October 7. An Israeli politician, long moved by racism in the cloak of patriotic righteousness but grown conscious of how this violated his values as a Jew, might express sorrow to a Gazan family. A settler, guilty of West Bank village violence growing from a belief in the land as his, might see such love of land in the eyes of a Palestinian and ask for forgiveness. An American politician who supports arms sales and UN vetoes, would ask forgiveness from the lone survivor of the Gazan family he had the courage to meet.
And many of us would express sorrow for not looking squarely at what was happening, acknowledging our role in it, and doing what was needed to stop it.
Recurring Actions
Fridays, 9-10: Protest at the absent Rep. LaMalfa's office, 120 Independence Circle. Bring signs. Don't bring diapers.
Saturdays, 12:30-1:30, 3rd and Main: Chico Peace Vigil, standing up for peace since 1962.
News, Notes, and Peaceful Actions
July 9, 2025
Elizabeth Minnich on the Peace and Justice Program
Friday, July 11, noon on KZFR 90.1
Professor Elizabeth Minnich, author of the expanded edition of The Evil of Banality, On the Life and Death Importance of Thinking, will be helping us clarify our understanding of the current period and our authentic response. If you can't catch the program live, Peace and Justice programs can be found in the KZFR archives for two weeks after the broadcast: kzfr.org > archives.
.
Remembering John Lewis
A local coalition of groups and organizations is planning a march and rally on John Lewis Day, Thursday, July 17th, 6:30 pm, a national day of nonviolent action to support civil, human and voting rights.
John Lewis was born in Alabama into a family of sharecroppers. He grew up to become a leader of the '60s civil rights movement, inspired by the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King and the sit-in demonstrations for equality and justice. He participated in Freedom Rides and marches from Selma to Montgomery. He endured a brutal attack by state troopers in the Bloody Sunday March. He knew was an advocate of Making Good Trouble! He was a strong defender in Congress for civil rights and voting rights for decades. He passed away from pancreatic cancer on July 17, 2020.
We honor his counsel to continue to Make Good Trouble. We will gather at Trinity Commons (former “Free Speech Area” north of Bell Memorial Union and east of the library) at CSUC to start the march at 6:30 pm.
We then will march to the Hands near City Hall, where organizations such as MLK Unity (leading the march), League of Women Voters, Chico Peace Alliance, Stonewall Alliance, Community Citizens for Justice, and the Gender and Sexual Equality Coalition student group from CSUC have been invited to table with information on how to support and protect each other and our civil rights during this difficult period in our history. Drummers will also lead the march around the perimeter of the Downtown Thursday Night Market.
Please let others know about this! Protect yourself from the sun as we approach The Hands at approximately 7 pm. Bring water and signs!
We stand in unity and peacefully defend and support each other as we speak truth to power. And to keep doing it at every opportunity! Please join us!
Defenders of Democracy Coalition.
530.519.0389
Find LaMalfa Friday!
Join Indivisible Chico, the Democratic Action Club of Chico, and other grassroots organizations gathering with signs at LaMalfa's office in Chico every Friday from 9-10 am for the foreseeable future to demand that he hold townhalls and hear from the people who he is supposed to be representing. We will be near the entrance to Independence Square near the corner of Esplanade and Eaton. Bring signs and good community spirit!
Peace Endeavor Vigil
Saturdays, 12:30-1:30
3rd and Main in Downtown Chico
Held every week for over 60 years, this peace vigil is an opportunity to show support for peace, social justice, and human rights at home and around the world. Sponsored by the Peace Endeavor and supported by the Chico Peace Alliance.
Observation of 80th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Sunday, August 3, 9:30 AM, Sycamore Pool
Join us in a Bell Ringing Ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Meet above the Sycamore pool on Sunday, August 3, at 9:30 am. Bring a chair to sit on, bells to ring, and flowers to float in the creek. Please bring an inspirational reading to share.
For more information on the exact location or anything else, contact Diane Suzuki
530 518-9122
Texting is best
Letter to the People of Japan
The Chico Peace Alliance has signed on to the following letter of apology to the people of Japan
-o-
This August marks the 80th anniversary of the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. U.S. activists have come together to write an OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN FROM CONCERNED PEACE AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES to mark this anniversary. The letter begins: "We, the undersigned, representing a coalition of concerned peace and civil society organizations in the United States, are advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons globally. We join to express our profound regrets and apologies for our nation’s atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki..." [The full letter is printed at the end of this newsletter.]A Peace Gathering to Commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will take place on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 from 12 noon to 1pm in front of the Japanese Consulate at 299 Park Avenue, New York, NY. At that time, the letter will be delivered to the Japanese Consulate.
Thank you for your work and your support for nuclear abolition.
Veterans for Peace – NYC Chapter 34
Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World
Brooklyn For Peace
Pax Christi New York State
Peace Action New York State
NYC War Resisters League
NYC Metro Raging Grannies
-o-
Comment by Jim Anderson:
Americans had already begun "obliteration bombing" on Japanese cities, abandoning the distinction between military and civilians.
The Japanese had already accepted defeat though they were readying to fight to the end expecting the Americans to invade to finish the war..
The bomb was dropped on Asians but not on Europeans [would it have been if it was ready earlier? obliteration bombing was used in Germany].
Survivors of the blast suffered greatly, even beyond the horrible effects of war in general.
America opened the nuclear era with the decision to use this weapon.
Letter to the People of Japan
Full Text—In observance of the 80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Japan--
We, the undersigned, representing a coalition of concerned peace and civil society organizations in the United States, are advocating for the elimination of nuclear weapons globally. We join to express our profound regrets and apologies for our nation’s atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although our government has not apologized officially for this horror, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha) and descendants of hibakusha, as well as all those impacted by the U.S. nuclear testing, who have endured great mental and physical hardships for decades. May you and the generations behind you continue to heal, speak truth to power, and walk towards justice.
Given that 80 years have passed since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and, four years since the entry-into-force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), we might have expected that the threat of nuclear annihilation would have greatly diminished by now. But that is not the case. The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists places us at 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has been since the launching of the clock in 1947.
Consider, for example, the many times during wars and international crises that the U.S. has prepared and threatened first strike nuclear attacks, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia in its years-long war with Ukraine, or the attacks by covertly nuclear-armed Israel on Iran since June, with no intervention by European nations or the U.S. to stop the escalating war there.
The Trump administration has also ordered an increase in the National Nuclear Security Administration’s budget from $19 billion this year to roughly $25 billion in the 2026 fiscal year, a rise of 29%. Its intent is to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal and “protect the American people.” It is said that the weapons budget supports “a safe, secure, reliable and effective” stockpile, but we know this will only bring us closer to catastrophe whether accidentally or intentionally. The nuclear arms budget would fund work on “six simultaneous warhead modernization programs,” including a nuclear sea-launched cruise missile, nuclear propulsion systems for the U.S. Navy, and upgraded nuclear sites throughout the science and production complex, none of which will make us “safe” or “secure.”
Compounding this U.S. nuclear escalation, the other eight nuclear-armed nations have gone ahead with modernization of their nuclear programs. Some of the countries have added a large number of nuclear-armed bombs and missiles, are upgrading their existing weapons, and are developing newer and more lethal versions.
In addition, fourteen years since the beginning of the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant disaster, and two years after the beginning of the dumping of 1.3 million metric tons of radioactive wastewater from the nuclear site into the Pacific Ocean, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders titled “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base,” “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy,” and “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” with the goal of "re-establishing the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy.” Ignoring the enormous mental and radioactive harm done to the hibakusha who survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to the Indigenous Peoples in the Pacific and the United States caused by nuclear testing and uranium activities, the United States now proposes to vastly increase the possibility of nuclear disaster through new nuclear reactors. The use of nuclear technology - whether military or civilian - comes with enormous risks and incalculable consequences; it is not a solution to our world’s climate crisis, it undermines democracy, and it is not economically viable. Effective global nuclear disarmament will not be possible as long as we continue to allow the commercial use of plutonium and highly enriched uranium.
We, the signers of this letter, are deeply ashamed of the actions of the United States and other nuclear-armed nations (including Israel) who continue to increase the likelihood of a nuclear-powered disaster, either through nuclear war or as a result of disasters at nuclear sites.
The only alternative to such catastrophes is that we come together, as we do outside the Japanese Consulate in New York City, to recall and repent for the U.S. crimes against humanity that were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to demand that all nuclear weapons manufacturing plants be shut down and all nuclear weapons be abolished. All people must know of this horrific history and do all in our power to end the increasing threat of worse nuclear catastrophes in the months and years to come.
NO MORE HIROSHIMA
NO MORE NAGASAKI
NO MORE FUKUSHIMA
NO MORE WAR
NO MORE HIBAKUSHA
NEVER AGAIN!
August 5, 2025
Founded in 2022, the Chico Peace Alliance is a growing group of local people who support non-violent advocacy for peace and social justice―locally, nationally, and globally.
The Chico Peace Alliance seeks to encourage dialogue in its work for peace and justice and periodically publishes opinion pieces in our newsletter. While certain guidelines of both form and content are employed as we review these, a wide variety of views may appear. None of such opinion pieces is meant to represent the views of the CPA, but hopefully may serve to further dialogue as we build a community of informed peacemakers.
Contact us: [email protected]
Visit our website: www.chicopeacealliance.net
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Chico Peace Alliance News
May 22, 2025
Peaceful Protest Training Session
The Chico Peace Alliance co-sponsored a very successful Peaceful Protest Training with Stonewall Alliance on May 10. This training marks the first Peace Alliance joint venture with Stonewall. We are looking forward to more work together!
The purpose of the training was to give resistance protestors tips on how to de-escalate interactions with counter-protestors at events. So far, the counter-protestor presence has been negligible at our previous events, thankfully. But our presence and resistance is here for the long haul, so we may yet have an issue arise.
Shelby Hebert, the Stonewall Training Director, presented many tips for bystander intervention and de-escalation tips if one of our fellow protestors is being harassed. She used interactive question-and-answer techniques and a slide presentation to show us examples of using techniques that de-escalate conflict.
We had a diverse group of people in terms of age at the training. Space at the Chico Friends Meetinghouse is comfortable and welcoming. In fact, another similar training is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 if there seems to be sufficient interest. If you would like to attend the June 21 two-hour training from 2-4 pm (with plenty of after-training discussion time over light snacks for those who wish to stay and talk) please let us know by emailing [email protected] by June 1st so we can plan another session!
Hope to see you there! And hope to see you at any of the resistance events happening in May and June.
CPA Cohosts
Empty Chair Town Hall
Wednesday May 28 5:30 PM, Doors Open at 4:30
Masonic Family Center
What happens when your representative won't show up to answer questions? We gather anyway.
Join us for an Empty Chair Town Hall--a chance for our community to speak out, share stories, and demand accountability, with or without a seat at the table.
Debra Lucero will be the MC. Heidi Hall will be the keynote speaker. Other speakers include Tami Ritter, Katie Hawley, and Gale Olsen.
We will demonstrate the demand for accountability, highlight the invited Representative's absence, and amplify the voices of those he was elected to serve.
Suggested donation is $10; no one turned away.
Preserving Veterans' Health Services
Peace and Justice Program on KZFR
Friday, May 30, noon-1
Suzanne Gordon, co-author of Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs will be Chris Nelson's guest. Suzanne is also the author of The Wounds of War and The Battle for Veterans Health Care. She will be discussing all the reasons Veterans are mobilizing against DOGE. Medically disabled veteran Daneva Marshal, an Iraq combat veteran, and Bill Bynum, Vietnam era veteran, will discuss their concerns and describe the upcoming June 6, 11 am gathering at the VA Health Clinic, 1601 Concord Avenue, Chico. All will be welcome. We need to do all in our power to save the VA. The Peace and Justioce Program is on the air at 90.1 FM, streaming and archived at KZFR.org.
CPA Joins Signatories
Unified Call to Confront Famine in Gaza:
Launch the Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy Now
In March 2020, Law for Palestine (L4P) was officially established as a non-profit human rights organization, registered in both the United Kingdom and Sweden . Led by a diverse team of Palestinians and non-Palestinians, L4P operates locally and internationally. From its inception, the organization has brought together young professionals from around the globe, united by a shared mission to address gaps in the application of international law to the Question of Palestine and to support the Palestinian people in realizing their inalienable right to self-determination.
The Chico Peace Alliance has joined the call as a signatory.
The unified call states:
1. We call on all states to publicly commit to joining the humanitarian convoy by dispatching official diplomatic missions to accompany the aid trucks into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing. A specific departure date will be announced soon. States must also reject the weaponization of aid and Israel’s planned distribution mechanisms, which militarize relief efforts and bypass UN agencies and humanitarian actors.
2. We urge all states to coordinate with the United Nations and the Government of Egypt to facilitate the convoy’s entry and ensure the immediate, unhindered, and safe passage of humanitarian aid, medical teams, and relief workers.
3. While some governments complicit in the ongoing atrocities may choose not to participate, we call on individual diplomats, parliamentarians, and ministers from those countries to join the convoy in their personal capacities.
4. We urge international media outlets to accompany the convoy - to bear witness, to document the famine, and to expose the blockade starving Gaza.
5. We call on global civil society, including NGOs, trade unions, student groups, political parties, and solidarity networks, to mobilize immediately - to pressure governments to support the convoy and provide material, political, and public support.
6. We call on the United Nations to immediately declare Gaza a famine zone based on the verified data, and to support this unified call by actively facilitating, endorsing, and joining the Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy.
This is a human imperative. A Diplomatic Humanitarian Convoy would mark a historic step to break the siege, end the starvation, and affirm the world’s rejection of hunger as a weapon of war.
This call is grounded in international law, shared morality, Genocide Convention, the ICJ’s provisional measures, the UN Charter, and countless resolutions from the UN, OIC, Arab League, and the European and African Unions.
Learn more at https://law4palestine.org/
Letter to Congress
Negotiating Peace in Ukraine
The Chico Peace Alliance supports a letter to congress stipulating provisions for a peace settlement in Ukraine. The key principles are stated below. Dear Members of Congress,
We write as organizations variously focused on U.S. national security and foreign policy, human rights, the protection of civilians, peacebuilding, and humanitarian response. As negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine continue, it is important that members of Congress engage robustly in supporting an inclusive peace process. We believe that the goal of a secure and prosperous Ukraine is achievable if the United States takes an inclusive, realistic, and sophisticated approach to these talks. The framework for the peace process should result in:
● A durable and verifiable end to the fighting, including an end to the targeting of critical infrastructure and the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.
● Meeting immediate humanitarian needs, including access to basic services and humanitarian needs.
● The release and return of captives in line with international law and establishing a process for justice.
● Inclusion of civilian voices in negotiations.
● Upholding the rights of civilians, especially in occupied territories.
● Enabling family reunification.
● Obtaining concrete guarantees for Ukrainian reconstruction and establishing a process for reconciliation, accountability and repair.
Signed by over thirty Peace and Human Rights Organizations
Peaceful Actions
May 6, 2025
Stonewall/Peace Alliance Training
This Saturday, May 10
2-4 PM
Friends Meetinghouse, 16th and Hemlock
The Chico Peace Alliance and Stonewall are teaming up on a workshop on deescalation, bystander intervention, and cultural competency as it relates to the LGBTQ+ community. This training is designed to help folks keep demonstrations peaceful and to help us understand the specific ways to help support and protect the Stonewall community, especially during this time of resistance work done in our community.
Refreshments and visiting to follow.
RSVP if you will be able to attend: [email protected]
Understanding Palestine and Israel
The Peace and Justice Program (KZFR, 90.1FM, Friday, 12-1, May 9th. Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, will discuss the new edition of her classic, Understanding Palestine and Israel.
Concerned Community for Justice and Police Accountability
8th year Anniversary
Potluck Brunch
Sunday, May 18,2025 at 11 am
at 5 Mile picnic tables
Rsvp: text Diane at 530 518-9122
cc4jchico.org ~ [email protected]
Empty Chair Town Hall
Wednesday May 28 5:30 PM, Doors Open at 4:30
Masonic Family Center
Because of the failure of Representative LaMalfa to meet with constituents, Chico will be hosting a Townhall meeting without him on May 28. It will be at the Masonic Family Center. Doors will open at 4:30 PM and the program will start at 5:30 PM. Keynote speaker will be Heidi Hall. Heidi is currently the chair of the County Supervisors in District 1 (Nevada Co. area). She is also a candidate for the 3rd Congressional district hoping to unseat Kevin Kiley. There will be additional speakers from the Chico city Council, Butte county supervisors, and the Chico board of education. The primary purpose of the Townhall meeting is for residents of this district to come with their questions and concerns in the hopes of finding some answers.
Protest at Travis Air Force Base
Saturday, May 10
10 am
Main gate, Air Base Parkway and Parker Road. Foci: Stop arming Israel; end the genocide; stop mass deportations; end ethnic cleansing. For more information: www.peoplesarmsembargo.org.
May 6, 2025
Stonewall/Peace Alliance Training
This Saturday, May 10
2-4 PM
Friends Meetinghouse, 16th and Hemlock
The Chico Peace Alliance and Stonewall are teaming up on a workshop on deescalation, bystander intervention, and cultural competency as it relates to the LGBTQ+ community. This training is designed to help folks keep demonstrations peaceful and to help us understand the specific ways to help support and protect the Stonewall community, especially during this time of resistance work done in our community.
Refreshments and visiting to follow.
RSVP if you will be able to attend: [email protected]
Understanding Palestine and Israel
The Peace and Justice Program (KZFR, 90.1FM, Friday, 12-1, May 9th. Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies, will discuss the new edition of her classic, Understanding Palestine and Israel.
Concerned Community for Justice and Police Accountability
8th year Anniversary
Potluck Brunch
Sunday, May 18,2025 at 11 am
at 5 Mile picnic tables
Rsvp: text Diane at 530 518-9122
cc4jchico.org ~ [email protected]
Empty Chair Town Hall
Wednesday May 28 5:30 PM, Doors Open at 4:30
Masonic Family Center
Because of the failure of Representative LaMalfa to meet with constituents, Chico will be hosting a Townhall meeting without him on May 28. It will be at the Masonic Family Center. Doors will open at 4:30 PM and the program will start at 5:30 PM. Keynote speaker will be Heidi Hall. Heidi is currently the chair of the County Supervisors in District 1 (Nevada Co. area). She is also a candidate for the 3rd Congressional district hoping to unseat Kevin Kiley. There will be additional speakers from the Chico city Council, Butte county supervisors, and the Chico board of education. The primary purpose of the Townhall meeting is for residents of this district to come with their questions and concerns in the hopes of finding some answers.
Protest at Travis Air Force Base
Saturday, May 10
10 am
Main gate, Air Base Parkway and Parker Road. Foci: Stop arming Israel; end the genocide; stop mass deportations; end ethnic cleansing. For more information: www.peoplesarmsembargo.org.
Peaceful Actions
May 3, 2025
Social Security Demonstration
What the Chico ER called a “massive” gathering of protestors took place on May Day (International Workers’ Day), May 1, at the Chico Social Security Offices in support of Social Security and protesting cuts proposed by Trump and gaining support in the Republican controlled Congress. With a variety of peaceful signs, protesters lined up on Lassen sidewalks and extended around the corner onto Cohasset. (A similar, well-attended protest also took place at the SS offices in Oroville.)
The event was organized by the Peace Alliance, Chico Indivisible, Chico Resist, and the Democratic Action Club.
Laurel Yorks did incredible organizing work to help this turnout. In the ER, she said, “We’re really trying to get organizations to come in and to be allies with us on this.” She added, “We have to keep the pressure on Congress. We have to keep pressure on the Supreme Court and especially on the presidential administration. We cannot stop. We are going to keep organizing these for the long haul.”
One participant and monitor, Mharia Ross-Walcott, wrote afterward:
Monitoring at the local Butte Actions make me feel alive in my body. People feel held by the ones wearing the neon vests. When I got home after the event I felt weary with the density of these times in my cells & took the chance to grieve. The sobs made me feel alive too.
The intimacy shared last night from people at the Bonfire Immigration Stories Event at CSUC sparked for me a recognition around the cost of migration & the imprint of displacement trauma, as well as the multi faceted trauma of colonization- for all Native American people in particular, and then again for all of us.
As Cory Himp Hunt shared,
Life itself is a migration
Of spirit through time…
And with all the wars, histories
And new executive orders by the hour
~~~
I mean when did Europeans
stop being immigrants anyway
Never
They just are quick to dial 911
Demanding we never forget
Never forget alright
Never forget this is occupied Mechoopda territory
Y En Tierra Robada
Nadie Es Ilegal
(On stolen land, no one is illegal)
Mharia continues:
My grandparents were immigrants to the US and my husband came here at 30 years of age. Cultural riches lost… & then again~ we have the opportunity to weave vital tapestries of colorful human connection. As we stand together in this time of unraveling & uncertainty, unity & strength are grounded in building community!
Leslie Johnson and Bob Trausch, writing to the monitors:
We just wanted to thank you all for showing up and contributing your time to help keep everything running smoothly and safely at the rally today. I think it was a really great event. These demonstrations draw a lot of attention to the issues, and I think they also give people comfort and courage to push on, knowing a lot of other people care about the same things, and recognize the crisis we currently face. It really builds community, and you all are a huge help in making that happen. Thanks, and let's keep going.
Obviously demonstrations will continue.
CPA and Stonewall Training
Saturday, May 10
2-4 pm, 16th and Hemlock
The Peace Alliance and Stonewall will conduct a workshop on Harassment Intervention and De-Escalation Training, plus LGBTQ allyship training. Knowledge is Power. You can become a more skilled advocate for the causes you care about. Followed by a potluck: Get to know your fellow resisters.
Empty Chair Town Hall
Wednesday May 28 5:30 PM
Masonic Family Center
Because Republicans in Congress have been reluctant in many cases to hold Townhall meetings during the very unpopular Trump administration where they face a lot of criticism and pushback from their constituents, there has arisen a large number of citizen organized events across the country called Empty Chair Townhall meetings. The empty chair reflects the fact that, although invited, the congressman fails to appear. Our congressman, Doug LaMalfa, is a typical example.
Chico will be hosting a Townhall meeting on May 28. It will be at the Masonic Family Center. Doors will open at 4:30 PM and the program will start at 5:30 PM. Keynote speaker will be Heidi Hall. Heidi is currently the chair of the County Supervisors in District 1 (Nevada Co. area). She is also a candidate for the 3rd Congressional district hoping to unseat Kevin Kiley. There will be additional speakers from the Chico city Council, Butte county supervisors, and the Chico board of education. The primary purpose of the Townhall meeting is for residents of this district to come with their questions and concerns in the hopes of finding some answers.
Protest at Travis Air Force Base
Saturday, May 10
10 am
Main gate, Air Base Parkway and Parker Road. Foci: Stop arming Israel; end the genocide; stop mass deportations; end ethnic cleansing. For more information: www.peoplesarmsembargo.org.
Peaceful Actions
April 28, 2025
We Love a Parade
Chico Peace Alliance at
the Procession of the Species.
The Peace Alliance was well represented at the Butte Environmental Council Procession of the Species parade on Saturday, April 26. We had the Tree of Unity, the Hands of Peace, and much more, marching with numerous children and adults, drummers, and giant puppets, all recognizing the importance of preserving and protecting life. We deeply appreciate Kathy Faith's creativity and hard work and also Dale Rudisill's help in actualizing the movement of the beautiful tree. Also thanks also to Laurel Yorks for setting up a table in the Plaza and for those who stayed late into the rainy afternoon to talk peace with passers by. More than a dozen folks signed up to receive our emails.
KZFR Pledge Drive
KZFR community radio is in the midst of its spring pledge drive. As you probably know, the Trump administration is attacking the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio stations like KZFR and KCHO. The theme of the Zephyr pledge drive is "Protect Community Radio," and funds will be needed to fill in gaps created by the Trump crowd. You can pledge anytime, but might focus on public affairs programs like:
Ecotopia--Tuesday 5-6:30
The Real Issue - Wednesday 6-7
Peace and Social Justice - Friday, 11:30-1
Natalie Hanson will be the Peace and Social Justice Program host on Friday as the pledge drive draws to a close.
KZFR broadcasts live at 90.1 FM and streams at kzfr.org.
May Day (International Workers Day) Demonstration
Thursday May 1, 11 a.m. to Noon
Outside the Social Security office in Chico, 1370 East Lassen Ave.
Protestors will spread out along Lassen and around the corner along Cohasset, depending on numbers. They will be dropping off a basket of thank you notes to our dedicated social security employees too.
More than 70 million people currently rely on social security checks, earned through their own hard work, or the hard work of a parent or spouse. All this is under threat by the Trump administration.
Plan to join this peaceful action! Bring signs calling for The Trump and Musk administration to keep their Hands OFF Social Security!
Sponsored by your local Defenders of Democracy Coalition.
Protest at LaMalfa's Office
120 Independence Circle
Every Friday, 11-noon
Save the Date!
Saturday May 10th from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Coming to the Friends Meetinghouse at 1601 Hemlock in Chico: Peaceful Protest Training by advocates from Stonewall Alliance! Another in a series of trainings to help us all stay safe during our local Resistance events. More details will follow shortly
8th Year Anniversary Brunch
Concerned Community for Justice
and Police Accountability
Saturday, May 18 11 am
at 5 Mile Picnic Tables
RSVP: Text Diane at 530-518-9122
cc4jchico.org [email protected]
April 28, 2025
We Love a Parade
Chico Peace Alliance at
the Procession of the Species.
The Peace Alliance was well represented at the Butte Environmental Council Procession of the Species parade on Saturday, April 26. We had the Tree of Unity, the Hands of Peace, and much more, marching with numerous children and adults, drummers, and giant puppets, all recognizing the importance of preserving and protecting life. We deeply appreciate Kathy Faith's creativity and hard work and also Dale Rudisill's help in actualizing the movement of the beautiful tree. Also thanks also to Laurel Yorks for setting up a table in the Plaza and for those who stayed late into the rainy afternoon to talk peace with passers by. More than a dozen folks signed up to receive our emails.
KZFR Pledge Drive
KZFR community radio is in the midst of its spring pledge drive. As you probably know, the Trump administration is attacking the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio stations like KZFR and KCHO. The theme of the Zephyr pledge drive is "Protect Community Radio," and funds will be needed to fill in gaps created by the Trump crowd. You can pledge anytime, but might focus on public affairs programs like:
Ecotopia--Tuesday 5-6:30
The Real Issue - Wednesday 6-7
Peace and Social Justice - Friday, 11:30-1
Natalie Hanson will be the Peace and Social Justice Program host on Friday as the pledge drive draws to a close.
KZFR broadcasts live at 90.1 FM and streams at kzfr.org.
May Day (International Workers Day) Demonstration
Thursday May 1, 11 a.m. to Noon
Outside the Social Security office in Chico, 1370 East Lassen Ave.
Protestors will spread out along Lassen and around the corner along Cohasset, depending on numbers. They will be dropping off a basket of thank you notes to our dedicated social security employees too.
More than 70 million people currently rely on social security checks, earned through their own hard work, or the hard work of a parent or spouse. All this is under threat by the Trump administration.
Plan to join this peaceful action! Bring signs calling for The Trump and Musk administration to keep their Hands OFF Social Security!
Sponsored by your local Defenders of Democracy Coalition.
Protest at LaMalfa's Office
120 Independence Circle
Every Friday, 11-noon
Save the Date!
Saturday May 10th from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Coming to the Friends Meetinghouse at 1601 Hemlock in Chico: Peaceful Protest Training by advocates from Stonewall Alliance! Another in a series of trainings to help us all stay safe during our local Resistance events. More details will follow shortly
8th Year Anniversary Brunch
Concerned Community for Justice
and Police Accountability
Saturday, May 18 11 am
at 5 Mile Picnic Tables
RSVP: Text Diane at 530-518-9122
cc4jchico.org [email protected]
Join the Chico Peace Alliance
at the Endangered Species Faire
Procession of the Species Puppet Parade!
Saturday April 26
Help represent the local and global community and children of the world with a 14 foot Unity Tree (“puppet”) creation in a playful demonstration for the parade (9:30) and a performance (12:30) at the plaza. Lots of fun props to carry.
Kids, let your parents know they can help too!
Meet at 3rd and Salem at 9:30 AM to get your task and instructions. Look for Chico Peace Alliance and a big green and rainbow-ie tree.
The earlier you come the more choice in your role.
Dress comfortably. Bring water.
Contact Kathy Faith to sign up!
[email protected]
The walk will go through the closed off streets of downtown and will end back at the plaza for the Endangered Species Faire where there will be food, vendors and live musical entertainment.
at the Endangered Species Faire
Procession of the Species Puppet Parade!
Saturday April 26
Help represent the local and global community and children of the world with a 14 foot Unity Tree (“puppet”) creation in a playful demonstration for the parade (9:30) and a performance (12:30) at the plaza. Lots of fun props to carry.
Kids, let your parents know they can help too!
Meet at 3rd and Salem at 9:30 AM to get your task and instructions. Look for Chico Peace Alliance and a big green and rainbow-ie tree.
The earlier you come the more choice in your role.
Dress comfortably. Bring water.
Contact Kathy Faith to sign up!
[email protected]
The walk will go through the closed off streets of downtown and will end back at the plaza for the Endangered Species Faire where there will be food, vendors and live musical entertainment.
Peaceful Actions: April 29, 2025
Workshop and Rally
Saturday, April 5
9-noon Nonviolent Workshop
1:30-3:30 Hands Off Rally
Saturday, April 5th, is a National Day of Action, with what may be the largest rallies and marches held all over this nation since Trump started his second term with seemingly daily Executive Orders that erode democracy, wipe out jobs, destroy our social safety net, and shred our constitutional protections. We want a stop to loss of due process, human rights, access to health care, and massive job losses. We are in this together!
We can put pressure on Congressional Republicans who are fueling this coup. Tell them ‘ “Hands Off of Immigrants’ Rights. Hands Off of Social Security. Hands Off of Medicaid. Hands Off of Veterans Jobs. Hands Off of LGBTQIA and Trans Neighbors. Hands Off of First Amendment !
Join us on April 5th here in Chico at 1:30 pm at Children’s Park (across from Colliers Hardware in downtown Chico on First Street where it meets the Esplanade). Bring your signs. Hear from people who are affected by program cuts and job losses.
Then march with us, peacefully but determined, starting approximately at 2:15 pm through downtown and back to Children’s Park.
We’ll have tables where you can find kinship with local organizations who can fight the battle with you.
We need your help to do this! Can you come to our Peaceful Protest Workshop (see info below) from 9am to 12 pm and get trained to help as a traffic monitor to help keep marchers safe? Or learn how to de-escalate situations where provocateurs may try to instigate violence through insults or other aggression?
And:
On April 5 at 9 am to noon, the Chico Peace Alliance will be hosting a training workshop on how to engage in effective nonviolent actions for change. Advanced training makes mass actions more organized, better coordinated, more effective, and safer for everybody.
In this workshop, we will review the history of nonviolent campaigns, consider various different kinds of non-violent actions, and share guidelines for engaging in successful nonviolent demonstrations. We will talk about power: What it is, who has it, and how they get it. We will reflect on violence and the roots of violence.
There will be some brief role playing exercises and opportunities for discussion. Once you have had this training, you will be better prepared to be involved in nonviolent direct actions. We think you will find this training thought provoking and inspiring, as well as useful.
No cost. Donations accepted. Refreshments and breaks provided. Space is limited. Please let us know if you plan to attend:
[email protected]
Saturday, April 5
9-noon Nonviolent Workshop
1:30-3:30 Hands Off Rally
Saturday, April 5th, is a National Day of Action, with what may be the largest rallies and marches held all over this nation since Trump started his second term with seemingly daily Executive Orders that erode democracy, wipe out jobs, destroy our social safety net, and shred our constitutional protections. We want a stop to loss of due process, human rights, access to health care, and massive job losses. We are in this together!
We can put pressure on Congressional Republicans who are fueling this coup. Tell them ‘ “Hands Off of Immigrants’ Rights. Hands Off of Social Security. Hands Off of Medicaid. Hands Off of Veterans Jobs. Hands Off of LGBTQIA and Trans Neighbors. Hands Off of First Amendment !
Join us on April 5th here in Chico at 1:30 pm at Children’s Park (across from Colliers Hardware in downtown Chico on First Street where it meets the Esplanade). Bring your signs. Hear from people who are affected by program cuts and job losses.
Then march with us, peacefully but determined, starting approximately at 2:15 pm through downtown and back to Children’s Park.
We’ll have tables where you can find kinship with local organizations who can fight the battle with you.
We need your help to do this! Can you come to our Peaceful Protest Workshop (see info below) from 9am to 12 pm and get trained to help as a traffic monitor to help keep marchers safe? Or learn how to de-escalate situations where provocateurs may try to instigate violence through insults or other aggression?
And:
On April 5 at 9 am to noon, the Chico Peace Alliance will be hosting a training workshop on how to engage in effective nonviolent actions for change. Advanced training makes mass actions more organized, better coordinated, more effective, and safer for everybody.
In this workshop, we will review the history of nonviolent campaigns, consider various different kinds of non-violent actions, and share guidelines for engaging in successful nonviolent demonstrations. We will talk about power: What it is, who has it, and how they get it. We will reflect on violence and the roots of violence.
There will be some brief role playing exercises and opportunities for discussion. Once you have had this training, you will be better prepared to be involved in nonviolent direct actions. We think you will find this training thought provoking and inspiring, as well as useful.
No cost. Donations accepted. Refreshments and breaks provided. Space is limited. Please let us know if you plan to attend:
[email protected]
Peaceful Actions
March 19, 2025
Protest at Representative LaMalfa’s Office
Fridays, 11-noon
120 Independence Circle, Chico
We will obey all laws of peaceful protest to get our message heard by our absent Congressperson. Bring Signs. There are numerous Trump/Musk actions to protest. The office is at Philadelphia Square, near Eaton Road exit from Highway 99 or Esplanade and Eaton.
Peace Alliance at
the Endangered Species Faire
The Chico Peace Alliance will be bringing our children-friendly view of an endangered world to the Endangered Species Faire on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
Join us if you'd like to volunteer to carry a prop or make music in the parade. The streets will be closed off completely.
Meeting time is 9:30 at Third and Salem. We will contact you before that date with details.
The Parade and the Faire at the Plaza are not to be missed!
Please contact Kathy Faith through [email protected]
Commentary:
Let's Not Allow the Return of a "Siege"
Jim Anderson
Chico Enterprise Record
We all know of medieval warfare from books and films. We know the siege was a tactic by which a town or castle was surrounded to prevent anyone from entering or leaving and to prevent food, water, and necessities from being suppled. Starving the townspeople was a strategy.
Today the world has outlawed the use of such tactics that cause terrible harm to civilians and has called upon all nations to reject this cruel practice. As noted in a recent Enterprise-Record article, just such a siege blockade had been imposed by Israel on the people of Gaza. Food, water, electricity and fuel cannot enter, and even the few bakeries still making bread risk closing.
If you were seeking an enemy in hiding and your friend said: "Why don't we just lock up his family and neighbors and starve them until he gives up?" what would you say? Our country has the power to prevent this cruelty through its control of arms sales, its public statements and influences with Israel, and by supporting Security Council actions calling Israel to account (rather than using its veto).
There is certainly a desire now for our country to enter an era in which we show strength, courage, and moral leadership. To stand against this cruel practice of harm to Gazan men, women, and children would show such leadership. To hold back our power to protect shows either moral disregard or weakness.
Call Representative LaMalfa and our Senators Schiff and Padilla and press for action.
March 19, 2025
Protest at Representative LaMalfa’s Office
Fridays, 11-noon
120 Independence Circle, Chico
We will obey all laws of peaceful protest to get our message heard by our absent Congressperson. Bring Signs. There are numerous Trump/Musk actions to protest. The office is at Philadelphia Square, near Eaton Road exit from Highway 99 or Esplanade and Eaton.
Peace Alliance at
the Endangered Species Faire
The Chico Peace Alliance will be bringing our children-friendly view of an endangered world to the Endangered Species Faire on Saturday, April 26, 2025.
Join us if you'd like to volunteer to carry a prop or make music in the parade. The streets will be closed off completely.
Meeting time is 9:30 at Third and Salem. We will contact you before that date with details.
The Parade and the Faire at the Plaza are not to be missed!
Please contact Kathy Faith through [email protected]
Commentary:
Let's Not Allow the Return of a "Siege"
Jim Anderson
Chico Enterprise Record
We all know of medieval warfare from books and films. We know the siege was a tactic by which a town or castle was surrounded to prevent anyone from entering or leaving and to prevent food, water, and necessities from being suppled. Starving the townspeople was a strategy.
Today the world has outlawed the use of such tactics that cause terrible harm to civilians and has called upon all nations to reject this cruel practice. As noted in a recent Enterprise-Record article, just such a siege blockade had been imposed by Israel on the people of Gaza. Food, water, electricity and fuel cannot enter, and even the few bakeries still making bread risk closing.
If you were seeking an enemy in hiding and your friend said: "Why don't we just lock up his family and neighbors and starve them until he gives up?" what would you say? Our country has the power to prevent this cruelty through its control of arms sales, its public statements and influences with Israel, and by supporting Security Council actions calling Israel to account (rather than using its veto).
There is certainly a desire now for our country to enter an era in which we show strength, courage, and moral leadership. To stand against this cruel practice of harm to Gazan men, women, and children would show such leadership. To hold back our power to protect shows either moral disregard or weakness.
Call Representative LaMalfa and our Senators Schiff and Padilla and press for action.
Peaceful Actions
March 13, 2025
Call Senator Padilla
Free Mahmud Khalil
Gather at Rep. LaMalfa's Office
Send a Postcard to the President
We Invoke Blessings
Options for Social Action
Call Senator Padilla's Office
202-224-3553
Please call Senator Alex Padilla's office by the end of the day Thursday, March 13, as the Chico Advocacy Team meets with his key staff on the issue of humanitarian aid to Palestine. The Advocates who are meeting are from all over California, including five of us from Chico. The team is led by Jesus Martin Gallegos from San Diego, a younger activist who deserves our support. Tell the phone answerers that we demand electricity and water restoration, humanitarian aid, and the re-installation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Be sure to make your call by Thursday afternoon.
Demand the Release of Mahmoud Khalil
Call ICE at 319-992-1600
Mahmoud is a Columbia University student detained by ICE for his political activism. This is an unconstitutional attack on free speech, initiated by Trump and his cronies. The First Amendment protects all individuals, including non-citizens, from being punished for expressing their views. The Supreme Court has ruled that peaceful activism is not a crime. This detention echoes McCarthyism, where people were persecuted for their beliefs. America must not repeat its past mistakes. Targeting activists for dissent is illegal and un-American. Call ICE. Demand answers: On what grounds is he being held? If there are no formal charges, he must be released immediately. Call today!
#FreeMahmoudKhalil
Gather at Representative LaMalfa's Office
120 Independence Circle, Chico*
This Friday, March 14, 11 am - noon
Given our elected representative's unwillingness to hold town hall gatherings to hear the voices of his constituents, there will be a gathering, with signs, this Friday, March 14. This will be a peaceful protest. Since he won't hold a town hall in Chico, we are left with showing up at his district office to let him know we are concerned about the course our country is on. We will obey all laws of peaceful protest to get our message heard. Bring signs! These gatherings will continue on Fridays.
*Philadelphia Square. Take 99N to Eaton Road exit; take the roundabout to westbound Eaton; take an immediate left into Philadelphia Square. Or follow the Esplanade north to Eaton and follow signs to Philadelphia Square.
Send a Postcard to the President
On March 15, many people will mail Donald Trump a postcard that publicly expresses opposition to him. And people, in vast numbers, from all corner of the world, will overwhelm the man with his unpopularity and failure.
If each of us writes even a single postcard and we put them all in the mail on the same day, March 15th, well: you do the math.
So sharpen your wit, unsheathe your writing implements, and see if your sincerest ill-wishes can pierce Donald’s famously thin skin.
Write one postcard. Write a dozen! Take a picture and post it on social media tagged with #TheIdesOfTrump! Spread the word! Everyone on Earth should let Donnie know how he’s doing.
Then, on March 15th, mail your messages to:
President Donald Trump, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
from Mobilize.us and other sources
Strategic Joy Deployed Against DespairRob Brezsny
a blessing on the meals you cook as democracy collapses a blessing on your healing hands that mend what empire breaks a blessing on your quiet mornings when you choose to rise again a blessing on the stories you preserve when others would erase them a blessing on your vigilant heart beating strong through the storm of cruelty a blessing on the seeds you scatter in neglected spaces a blessing on your fierce protection of all things small and wild a blessing on the wisdom you gather from elders and from earth a blessing on your careful documentation of what must not be lost a blessing on your mutual aid networks flowering in oligarchy's rotting shadow a blessing on your kitchen table strategies where sly revolution simmers a blessing on the wild songs you sing when courage starts to falter a blessing on your strategic joy deployed against despair a blessing on the future being born in what you do a blessing on the bridges you build between wounded communities a blessing on your sacred rage that fuels the work of redemptive justice a blessing on the hope you sustain when vulgar bullies assault hope a blessing on your children's children who will know what you defended a blessing on the healing you dare to imagine now
We Invoke Blessings - Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter
Options for Social Action
Key Categories of Social Action
Direct Action: Participating in protests, rallies, sit-ins, or strikes to directly challenge a policy or practice.
Advocacy: Lobbying decision-makers, writing letters to elected officials, or starting petitions to influence policy change.
Community organizing: Bringing people together to identify issues, build power, and collectively advocate for change within a community.
Education and awareness raising: Sharing information about social issues through workshops, presentations, social media campaigns, or creating educational materials.
Philanthropy: Donating money or time to charitable organizations working on social issues.
Consumer activism: boycotting companies with unethical practices or supporting businesses aligned with your values.
Considerations When Choosing Social Action Options
Personal passion: Choose issues that you are personally passionate about to sustain your commitment.
Local impact: Consider actions that can directly affect your commitment.
Skill set: Utilize your skills and talents to contribute effectively.
Level of commitment: Choose actions that fit your available time and energy.
from Worldwide Web Sources
https://www.google.com/search?q=options+for+social+acdtion&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8hl=en-us&clieng=safari&sei=alzGZ_Cal_b-80PEP1pSf8AO