HIT >> Over the past three years, budget meetings for the Butte County Board of Supervisors have been bleak. Even though the board only has discretion over a fifth of the budget, with the rest dictated by the state, this sliver has caused an outsized share of consternation given the county’s tightened margins between revenues and the costs of providing services.

Then came Measure H, the county’s sales tax measure with the same name as Chico’s. Seasonal fire stations, libraries, the Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office were identified as key beneficiaries. Voters passed the measure decisively last fall, and it’s had the similar effect of bolstering the general fund.

So, unsurprisingly Tuesday, the mood in the board chambers was a lot brighter. In fact, as reporter Jake Hutchison noted, the 2025-26 budget hearing ended with roaring applause.

Supervisors approved a $1.1 billion budget — an increase of $53.4 million from the 2024-25 fiscal year — with the county’s general-fund operations totaling $305.2 million. The county estimates $44 million in additional revenue from Measure H, of which 59% will go toward public safety and 9% to libraries (with the remainder shoring up other line items).

“Never in 20 years have I seen so many happy faces at a budget hearing,” Supervisor Bill Connelly said.

We’re smiling, too, at the the Amador stations in rural communities now staffed year-round, the expansion of library hours and the hiring of more deputies and prosecutors.

MISS >> On the flip side, there’s the federal budget. The House of Representatives sent the Senate a financial package that, depending on the final reconciliation and President Donald Trump’s signature, could decimate programs that numerous north state residents rely upon for their literal survival.

That’s not an exaggeration. Butte County’s poverty rate of around 20% exceeds both the state and national averages by around 5 percentage points. On the chopping block are funds providing income, food and health care.

As such, we’re especially disappointed that our local representative, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill — which passed 215-214. We won’t go so far as saying he cast the deciding vote, as he consistently supports Republican-led legislation and thus voted predictably — but he did advance it nonetheless.

LaMalfa is a Richvale rice farmer. Food is his family’s business, and the LaMalfas have received federal subsidies to grow it. That the proposed cuts would adversely impact the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, whose funds feed the state’s Cal Fresh program, adds insult to injury.

HIT >> What do Baton Rouge and Butte County have in common? Jay Johnson, the Oroville native who just coached the LSU baseball team to its second national championship in three years.

Johnson’s Tigers wrapped up a 53-15 season with a golden bow by sweeping 2016 champ Coastal Carolina in the best-of-three finals. Along with another ring, the triumph offered him a measure of payback against the team that beat an Arizona squad Johnson coached in the ’16 College World Series finale.

In recognition of his first title, Johnson was honored as Sportsperson of the Year at the 2024 Chico Sports Hall of Fame and Senior Athletes Banquet. Will he repeat in 2026? Stay tuned. Regardless, we congratulate him and LSU on this rarified achievement.

HIT IN A MISS >> Championship coach aside, Oroville takes a lot of hits in a non-baseball sense. The latest is a long-simmering controversy, the Gateway Project, which reporter Kyra Gottesman described in an update this week as a development slated to create an upscale entrance to the city. As she noted, mysteries surround the current developer’s contract and project’s lack of progress.

That’s an obvious lowlight, as we’ve stated previously.

The highlight is a decision by the Oroville City Council to hire MRG, Inc. — a Sacramento-based firm with expertise in public sector investigations — to look into the matter. Finding are expected next month.

Local governments often face scrutiny for hiring outside consultants. In this case, another set of eyes is warranted … and welcome.

Hits and misses are compiled by the editorial board.