Everybody’s business

May the Force be with us
Not satisfied with being just a baseball town, Chico now brings us a little professional hoops action with the Chico Force.

The team is part of the International Basketball League (IBL), which begins its inaugural season on April 16. Eighteen cities have committed to play; teams include the Oakland Slammers, the Waterloo Kings and the Detroit Pros.

The basic premise behind the IBL was to create a faster, more skilled game. IBL rules state that players are required to make immediate inbounds and there is only one timeout allowed per quarter.

The Force’s home games will be played at Pleasant Valley High School’s gymnasium. with its opener set for April 16 against the San Jose Ballers. That’s right, the Ballers.

The biz on the College of Biz
After years of revolving-door deans in Chico State’s College of Business, the university has finally found its man.

Willie E. Hopkins will replace Steve Adams, who’s served as acting dean for the last three years while the university searched for someone to fill the position. Adams, who’s been a professor at Chico State for 23 years, will enter the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP).

Hopkins is currently the dean of the School of Business and Technology at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). He also worked from 1989 to 2004 at Colorado State University, where he chaired the Management Department and associate dean for Research and Administration. Hopkins is set to begin in July and will be the fifth dean in just about as many years.

Brew, in the house?
I heard the Chico Brewhouse was possibly closing, so I called co-owner John Abbott to see what was up. He wouldn’t give me any details but said the business was closed for now and that something may happen later this week. I was told it looked pretty dark on the premises. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Nightmare on 32nd Street
As many of you have probably noticed, 32nd Street Subs & Bakery closed its doors on March 12. Mert Ahlstrom, who’s run the shop with his wife Cathy Johnson for six years, said the building is being sold but isn’t sure what’s going in. He said they were offered a deal—at double the rent—and decided it would be best to just shut it down. The sandwich shop has been in Chico for nearly 20 years.

Adiós, au revoir, sayonara, ciao and good bye
Well, my stint filling in for Devanie Angel has come to an end.

She’s back from maternity leave and, no doubt, ready to inform, educate and entertain the Everybody’s Business groupies of Northern California. Show her how much you care by sending in those biz tips and maybe even dropping a “Welcome back Devanie!” in her e-mail.

But if you miss seeing my adorable face, just perform the opposite procedure I had you do before. You remember. Simply take a sharpened No. 2 pencil, erase the bangs and scribble in a scruffy beard on the above photo, and it will be as if I never left.