KCHO/KFPR-FM (Chico, CA)

2 days ago | mynspr.org | Ken Devol

The El Rey Theater in downtown Chico is the longest standing cinema in California and the second oldest in the country. It fell on hard times when multiplexes arrived, but now a group of local visionaries wants to bring it back, and it happens to be for sale. At a town hall last night on the upper patio of Stoble Coffee, members of the Save the El Rey committee gave a progress report to a small crowd of about 40 supporters detailing the evolving business plan, strategy, goals and needs.

1 week ago | mynspr.org | Angel Huracha |Sarina Grossi |Erik Adams

California has reached a milestone in wildfire preparedness with its 1,000th Firewise community designation. Cal Fire and the National Fire Protection Association last week recognized Table Mountain Rancheria in Fresno County for its commitment to reducing wildfire risk. There’s been a rapid increase of Firewise communities, in the North State, including about 20 in the Paradise area, and more than 30 in Plumas County.

1 week ago | mynspr.org | Jon Hamilton

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:This next story could not be introduced by a chimpanzee, unfortunately, but chimps do possess some of the building blocks of spoken language. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on two new studies that hint at the evolutionary roots of human speech. (SOUNDBITE OF INSECTS CHIRPING)JON HAMILTON, BYLINE: One critical element of spoken language is rhythm, so scientists have been studying the beats produced by wild chimps in the African rainforest.

1 week ago | mynspr.org | Dave Schlom |Matt Fidler

Some of the most important and underappreciated parts of healthy ecosystems, invertebrates get their due in this special edition of Blue Dot profiling the work of the Xerces Society. Named for a butterfly that went extinct in the San Francisco Bay Area, the society works on behalf of invertebrate species, especially pollinators like bees and butterflies which are under tremendous stress due to development, the use of pesticides and climate change.

1 week ago | mynspr.org | Ken Devol |Sarina Grossi |Angel Huracha

The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Friday, May 9, 2025. Headlines is published every weekday morning at 8:30 a.m. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and NPR One. Theme song Borough is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions. Headlines Chico, CaliforniaParadise, CaliforniaRedding, CaliforniaButte CountyShasta CountyCaliforniaLorna SuchreligionCalifornia Department of Fish and WildlifeMusic