Downstroke

She’s running: Mary Andrews, former Chico mayor, announced her candidacy Monday for 3rd District supervisor, replacing the retiring Mary Anne Houx.

“I do have the experience,” she said. “I do have the energy.”

Andrews wants to make local government more efficient by improving communication and the quality of information available. She has the research and analytical skills to get the job done, she said. Her 13 years of experience on the City Council also make her a strong candidate, Andrews added.

She wants to focus on land development, water, fire, police protection and budget issues, she said. “I am not afraid to tackle the big issues,” Andrews said. “I will make a difference.”

Out with a bang: Greg Kiefer, the president of the Butte County Deputies Association who last week blasted County CAO Paul McIntosh with a string of so far unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, told the News & Review this week he is taking a medical retirement from the Sheriff’s Office.

Kiefer made headlines last week when he accused McIntosh of manipulating county funds and bargaining in bad faith with the deputies’ union. McIntosh credibly discounted most of Kiefer’s allegations and accused Kiefer of posturing for the press in order to make gains at the bargaining table.

A new president of the deputies’ union will be chosen sometime in the next few weeks.

Still not convinced: Despite a week-long charrette (a fancy word for a developer-hosted neighborhood block party) that seemed to dull some of the sharper edges contained in the expansion plans of Enloe Medical Center, the hospital’s neighbors are still concerned with the impact the project will produce.

At a public forum held in the City Council chambers July 12, neighbors weighed in with a number of concerns, including increased traffic problems and the potential for disturbing neighborhood dogs, especially by the disruptive noise created whenever the LifeFlight helicopter is called into action from the roof of the building. Some neighbors have long called for the copter to be based at the Chico Municipal Airport to reduce the number of flights over the neighborhood.

The comments from the two-hour meeting will be entered into the project’s environmental-impact report.

Cranes for a cause: Thousands of origami cranes created by volunteers to raise cancer awareness will be auctioned off to raise money for the cause.

Enloe Cancer Center is hosting the silent auction on Thursday, July 14 with an open house to view the cranes running from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., followed by an artists’ reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. featuring watercolorist Charlotte Sweetland. The event takes place at the cancer center at 265 Cohasset Road.

Nine thousand community members folded 25,000 cranes in recent months as part of an annual project, and the money they reap will be used to support Enloe Cancer Connection, which is a network of education and support programs.

Japanese folklore holds that folding 1,000 cranes will allow one person’s wish to be granted.