KPAY-AM (Chico, CA)

A 67 yr old man was killed after a head-on crash on State Route 162 in Willows around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, CHP says 26-year-old Cameron Vessels was driving a pickup eastbound on Highway 162, east of County Road 304, when he traveled across the center line into the westbound lane and hit a motorcyclist head-on.CHP officers determined Vessels was under the influence. He was arrested and booked into Glenn County Jail for murder. The crash in still under investigation.

Chico police are investigating after a man was found dead in the Lindo Channel on Sunday morning. At about 8:50 a.m., a citizen called Chico Police Dispatch to report a person lying in the Lindo Channel near Manzanita Avenue and Hilda Way. The caller said the person was lying on top of an electric bicycle and appeared to be unresponsive. Chico Fire Department, Butte EMS and Chico police officers responded and determined the person was dead. The man has not yet been identified.

The war in Iran reportedly cost about 246-million dollars per day in its first five months. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report on Tuesday estimating the war with Iran cost the U.S. over 38-billion dollars from late February to early August, and could cost up to three-billion dollars for each additional month. The report said over half that cost has come from replacing all the munitions used in the fighting. The war has also led to higher fuel prices around the world.

The Oroville Police Department is investigating after the body of a woman was found at an homeless encampment on Feather River Island. Tuesday morning The reporting party told law enforcement that a deceased individual was at an homeless encampment Officers located the body of a middle aged female. The Oroville Police Department says there are no indications of any foul play associated with the individual's death.

KPAY Alerts: The Chico City Council discussed protests over a sewer rate hike and a third-party review of the Chico Police Department's audit of its automated license plate reader program at its meeting Tuesday night. The council decided to continue the hearing on November 17th after the city received protest letters from property owners.

KPAY Alerts: Assembly Bill 2700 (AB 2700), known as the Wildfire Victim Restitution Bill, has officially passed the California Legislature and is now on Governor Gavin Newsom's desk for his signature. The bill cleared the California State Senate unanimously with a 40-0 vote before the Assembly concurred in the final Senate amendments on August 31, 2026.

Former City of Biggs Mayor Robert Bassett was sentenced on Wednesday to more than four years in prison for multiple sex crimes involving a foreign exchange student. The Butte County District Attorney's Office says in addition to the prison sentence, Bassett was ordered by Judge Deems to register as a sex offender for ten years after he was released.

Butte County residents will soon have a new option for electricity — Pioneer Community Energy. The city of Chico is moving closer towards starting service with Pioneer Community Energy, a non-profit community choice aggregation program. A CCA allows not-for-profit agencies, like Pioneer, to purchase electricity and use an existing utility company's infrastructure, like Pacific Gas & Electric, to distribute it.

The White House is unveiling what it calls its "economic D-Day" for Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new sanctions amount to an economic onslaught against Iran to further isolate it from the rest of the world. Speaking from the Treasury Department on Monday, Bessent said operation "Economic Outcast" will cut off Iran from exporting oil and from other trade. Bessent said President Trump is already calling leaders to warn them to cut off all ongoing deals with Iran.

The U.S. and Canada are locked in a trade war. President Trump says tariffs on imports of cars, trucks and auto parts from Canada will increase to 50-percent starting January 1st, 2027, after talks between the two countries broke down.