Everybody’s business

Pow wow will
After taking a year off due to money troubles, the Chico Pow Wow is back on, with two days full of events set for June 19-20.

Chico Pow Wow 2004: Sober Nations will be held at the East 20th Street Community Park and will feature many dancing and drum contests, along with native arts and crafts. And yes, promise organizers, there will be Indian tacos.

“You don’t have to be native to come see what we’re about,” says one member of the all-volunteer Chico Pow Wow Committee.

Myriah Stagno, a local 13-year-old who has been dancing for five years, is excited to be competing in three categories: Traditional, Fancy Shawl and Jingle. “It’s very honorable,” says Myriah, who is dancing in respect for her uncle, who is away at war. “I feel a lot of pride.”

Admission and parking are free, and no alcohol or drugs are allowed.

While donations (including sponsorships from Gold Country, Feather Falls and Colusa casinos) have made sure this year’s event is a go, the Pow Wow Committee is still short of its goal and would appreciate any funds being sent to 2889 Cohasset Road, Suite 4, or givers can call 898-8516. Donors can also sponsor a dance category and receive a certificate of appreciation.

Free-CD windfall
Butte County libraries will get 2,154 free CDs, thanks to the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of customers of music companies.

“That’s a lot,” said an excited library Director Nancy Brower. She just returned from a library conference in Seattle, and that city is getting only 3,300 CDs.

The CDs, which will range in genre from classical and jazz to rap and rock, could arrive as early as April. “It’ll be interesting to see what we get,” Brower said.

She said the libraries’ current CD collection is limited to the few items donated by patrons or charitable organizations. “It’s not something we budget for at all,” she said.

The lawsuit accused the music companies of price-fixing, with distributors allegedly paying the promotional costs of retailers “who agreed to charge minimum advertised prices, which were dictated by the distributors,” the California Attorney General’s Office reported.

Besides the $75.5 million in CDs going to libraries, three million music customers will get refunds of $13.86—if they signed up to be added to the suit in time.

Sandwiches to boards
Steve Jasco, who came to Chico more than a decade ago as a developer but became known for his success in the restaurant business, is getting out of food to focus again on building.

Jasco, who sold his downtown restaurant several years ago, last week decided to close his sandwich shop in the new shopping center he built on Forest Avenue.

“It was kind of a quick decision,” Jasco said, so he’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Chico community for its support. “I don’t want to fade away without saying thanks.”

But Jasco isn’t disappearing. He’s already working on a retail/ commercial center and a residential cul-de-sac in Oroville— projects he wouldn’t have had time to focus on if he’d kept at the restaurant gig.

“The [Forest Avenue] center’s doing well,” he said. “It’s always busy.” And if people are still craving a Jasco’s-style foccacia sandwich, Broadway Heights downtown is the place to go.