Days of Lore

Fight for your right
At the July 17 City Council meeting, Chico Vice Mayor Ann Schwab said she would feel more comfortable waiting until students returned before voting on a proposed ordinance that would give local police the power to shut down any event they deemed “disorderly.” It was a logical idea, considering the ordinance (9.40) was aimed at shutting down parties and musical events typically associated with the college crowd, and the council voted 4-3 to revisit it in September.

At this same meeting, after a large group from the local music community descended to voice opposition, the council voted to strike from the ordinance some language that included moshing and stage diving as activities that could be considered “disorderly.”

But some people aren’t too keen on the entire ordinance, which would give police the authority to shut things down if they spot three misdemeanors or one felony taking place “at the location of the event, or on adjacent property”—explaining that it’s too general and makes it too easy for police to shut down events.

The same members of the music community as well as reps from the South of Campus Neighborhood Association are already gearing up to for the next City Council meeting (Tues., Sept. 4), where the ordinance will be re-introduced. (The council will vote on it Sept. 18). Many are concerned that if the ordinance passes, it will take only the word of an officer who thinks a crime may have been committed for police to close down an event .

Chico Police Chief Bruce Hagerty told the CN&R that the ordinance would give officers “more leverage to shut down an out-of-control party,” explaining that officers currently don’t have the ability to do so unless it’s a second-response call, an event violates a noise ordinance, or if it becomes a crime scene.

Really?

The idea for the ordinance (modeled after a similar one in Santa Barbara) came to Hagerty after two incidents involving bottles being thrown at officers. My question is: Would the ordinance really stop people from acting aggressively toward police?

For those who would like to get involved in opposing the ordinance, contact Brent Blacklisted or René Stephens at fight940@gmail.com.

Rock ‘n’ rant
I think Ted Nugent knew exactly who his audience was at his recent show in Oroville. The ax-slingin’, bow-and-arrow wieldin’, right-wingin’ author of classics like “Stranglehold” and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” (and more recent songs like “Thighraceous” and “I Shoot Back”) gave the crowd an earful during his Aug. 22 concert at Feather Falls Casino.

A few videos have surfaced from the show, where Nugent called Barack Obama a “piece of shit” and Hillary Clinton a “worthless bitch.” Of course, all this came while he was waving a couple of impressively-sized assault rifles in the air, telling Clinton “you might want to ride one of these into the sunset” and Obama to “suck on my machine gun.”

Ahh, The Nuge … he’s so cute when he’s trying to be crude.

The video clips were shot by Kevin Carroll, a Paradise resident and self-proclaimed “old-timer metalhead” who attended the show after purchasing the tickets on Craigslist. Carroll posted the video on YouTube, where it’s received about 40,000 views. The video has since appeared on a number of blogs, as well as video-sharing site LiveLeak and even RollingStone.com. Of course, it was also shown on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes, where Nugent has appeared numerous times.

Carroll said he’s seen The Nuge seven times, and that even though he leans more to the left, he wasn’t going to let ol’ Ted ruin his night. Lucky for him, too. After the show Carroll said he dropped $1 into a slot machine and promptly won 50 bucks.

Escaping the belly of the beast
The time machine has seen better days. I outran a Tyrannosaurus Rex last week, but not before he bumped the machine and caused some serious damage. I managed to escape back to 2007, and I’ve been making repairs all week. It’s all for the better, however, since all kinds of fun stuff has been happening right here. If I can get the wing re-attached, I’ll be back in business (and I can milk it for at least one more column … or two?).