‘Vat a year!’

It’s safe to say that 2003 was one of the more interesting among recent years, especially from a journalistic standpoint. Not only did we have a nasty and controversial little Middle Eastern war to keep us excitedly argumentative, we had the unprecedented, often bizarre and ultimately successful effort to recall California Gov. Gray Davis to entertain and confound us. That Davis was replaced by strongman-turned-superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger only made the election seem stranger.

These stories all made themselves felt in Chico and so warrant inclusion in our list of the top 10 local stories. But there were also a number of strictly local events, some of lasting significance, that are also worthy of notice in this annual look back at the year that was.

The top 10 stories of 2003
Recall circus and a controversial war compete with local events to dominate the news

Other stories of note from 2003

What were they thinking?
An arm-chair quarterback’s look at some of the year’s more interesting developments and decisions