I Miss Chico
I grew up in Chico. I remember when the houses on Notre Dame were called New World. I remember only having one mall. I remember when I could play on the remnants of the Hooker Oak. I remember a wood tree house at Caper Acres. I remember a lot of things that just are not around anymore. I remember a Chico I miss. I remember a Chico we will never get back. Where did our Chico go you ask. Well unfortunately we gave it away. We gave it away to an endless supply of college students that just don't leave and want Chico to be a little more like home. Well that and others coming from the bay area and Southern California. They wanted Chico modernized with all the comforts of the city crammed into a small town. Things like history and tradition are slowly getting washed away with each passing year. We have stares like Walmart and Target and Costco and have lost stores like Tower Records, Sundance and others. We have Lowes and Home Depot but how much longer will we have Meeks. We have lost small local taverns and have gained more clubs and bars for the college kids. Over the years we have sold our town to its visitors. What have we got in return?
Well we have one of the most out of whack ratios of income to housing costs. Why? Because mommy and daddy pay for their kids rent and landlords just keep jacking it up because they can.
We have no place for anyone over 25 to hang out. It is all geared towards getting those kids to spend money.
We have a horrible job market. What do you expect when you have people getting degrees then working at McDonalds because they they like Chico. Not to mention because the city has refused to let so many businesses come in that could have provided jobs we now have our retail haven. It would be nice to have a few more places that do not rely on Chico for their profits just their workforce. Remember the HP rumors from a few years ago?
We have had a worthless DA. I am just going to say that I have nothing nice to say about Mike Ramsey and leave it there. If you have lived here long enough you know the stories.
We had a nice downtown park. Now it is a concrete monstrosity that tears at my soul when I see it. All they needed to do was replant the trees and rebuild the gazebo and stop there. What they have done is a disgrace to this town.
Really the next thing I am waiting for is attempts to mess with out beloved Bidwell Park. That is when I will lose my mind and protest on the front lawn of every city council member.
How would I fix Chico? That's easy. I would just get rid of Chico State. Get rid of the students you get rid of a big chunk of the problems. Then I would actively encourage businesses to come to Chico whose business is not dependent on our local economy. No more new retail. We have too many strip malls. I have other ideas, but I would rather here your ideas to fix what was once our town.
I miss my Chico. Do you?
Comments
I wrote an entry JUST like this a few months ago! I feel your pain!
Posted by: Robby Halford | February 25, 2008 10:07 PM
Thanks. I have felt this way for years. Every once in a while you just have to get it out. I am sure this a topic that many of us will revisit as we have lost the Chico we knew.
Posted by: Jim - Just a Guy | February 25, 2008 10:54 PM
I couldn't resist your title, it makes me feel good/sad to hear that people feel same as me.
"I grew up in Chico. I remember when the houses on Notre Dame were called New World."
Well, that's weird, I was just explaining that to my kids the other day.
"How would I fix Chico? That's easy. I would just get rid of Chico State. Get rid of the students you get rid of a big chunk of the problems."
I don't agree. My family has been attending Chico State for generations. And remember, alot of those "bad kids" are Butte College students - would you get rid of Butte College too? My 17 year old is currently enrolled at Butte College, thank goodness we don't have to send him out of town to go to college.
You need to attend a city meeting to see what's really wrong, and it's going to take a lot more than one reactionary solution to fix it. There's a finance comm meeting today at 8am, city hall, rm 1.
If you really want to fix town instead of laying around wallowing in frustration, be there.
Posted by: Juanita | February 26, 2008 06:55 AM
I agree that I took a simplistic approach to the issue. I like Butte College. Butte College is affordable for people in Chico to attend with out huge college loans. The enrollment at Butte College does not play a roll in what we pay for rent. People are not attracted to Butte College a place to party.
The city government has been a big pert of the problem as well. Look what they did to the downtown park. How did they pay for those hands. I am sure that would have paid for real city improvements. I know there are deeper more complicated issues that have driven my frustration. I just went after a target instead of all targets.
Oh and before I forget, thank you for stopping by and taking the time write your comments.
Posted by: Jim - Just a Guy | February 26, 2008 09:29 AM