Downstroke
The name of the disease killing the large number doves, pigeons and other birds is trichomoniasis. It is highly contagious and easily spread from birds sharing the same feeding or watering areas.
The disease primarily affects the upper digestive tract in the birds. They develop lesions inside their throats and mouth, which eventually cause them to stop eating and drinking. If the birds don’t starve to death or suffocate from the lesions, the disease attacks the liver.
If you keep or feed birds, here are a few tips from the California Department of Fish and Game:
To avoid the parasite, replace food and water daily and clean the old food around the feeder. It is smart to clean the feeder frequently using a 10-percent solution of household bleach in water. Also, when possible don’t use a feeder—instead spread small amounts of seed over a large area of sunny ground.
Accused baby killer waives pre-trial hearing: The Chico State sophomore accused of killing her newborn son minutes after he was born in a sorority bedroom on the evening of April 1 appeared briefly in court June 2, where she waived her right to a preliminary hearing. The defendant, Gina Rose Grinsell, wearing black slacks and a white, pinstriped, button-up shirt, walked into court with her mother and five sorority sisters, who have been attending court appearances in her support. She briefly cuddled with her mother before taking the stand and waiving her preliminary hearing. District Attorney Mike Ramsey said it is not unusual for a suspect to waive the hearing, though it suggests her lawyers concede there is enough evidence for a trial.
Discussions between defense lawyers and prosecutors are ongoing, Ramsey said, but there have been no concrete plea offers made by either side. Grinsell has pleaded not guilty.
Got MLK? Not in Chico, yet: Efforts by local activist Willie Hyman to rename Ivy Street after slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have apparently hit a dead end. This week Councilmember Steve Bertagna announced he and Hyman had reached an agreement to abandon the Ivy Street idea and look for an alternative way to honor King. Councilmember Dan Herbert agreed that naming something after King “was a good idea at some point but really unfair to business owners” who would have to print new stationery and business cards and notify vendors “at an incredible expense” should their street address change.
Local activist Jackie Leser, who for years has organized a candlelight vigil for King, suggested renaming the 20th Street Park. She said while it would be nice to name a street that runs through the university (where Ivy changes to Warner), the park may be more appropriate.
“We need to start with the children,” she said. If the college kids haven’t gotten it by then, they’re not going to.”
She also told council that until she sees more faces of color in local government, “I think this is an important subject.” The council’s Internal Affairs Committee will revisit the issue next month.
