California News

REDDING — With mail ballots already in the hands of California voters and less than three weeks until the November 3 midterm election, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the state after officials declined to review a list of more than 20,000 people the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were automatically mailed ballots. Acting Deputy Attorney General R. Trent McCotter sent a letter dated October 13 to Secretary of State Shi

Democrat Xavier Becerra has not agreed to another debate with Republican Steve Hilton after their only scheduled fall matchup, while a Hilton campaign poll taken immediately afterward shows the governor’s race tightening. The week has also brought a fight over Becerra’s family story and a backlash, much of it from Republicans, against a sexually suggestive Hilton ad aimed at liberal voters. The two nominees to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom had debated for an hour on CN

Political Cartoon Shasta County is Involved in a Possible Unlawful Destruction of Public Records Redding, CA October 2, 2026 On the morning of September 30, while a shredding company employee stood ready to wheel ballots to the shredding truck parked behind the Elections Office, Shasta County Registrar of Voters opened sealed ballot boxes for the November 2024 election and found log sheets in the boxes. Those log sheets should not have been commingled with the ballots and

Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra clash over homelessness - Credit nbclosangeles.com (fair use for news commentary) BURBANK — Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton spent an hour Wednesday night arguing less about the fine print of California government than about who is to blame for the state’s condition: President Donald Trump, or 16 years of one-party Democratic rule in Sacramento. The CNN debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash at the network’s Burbank s

Shredding truck parked behind the Election Office on September 30, 2026 September 30, 2026 Redding, CA REDDING — A shred truck was already parked behind the Shasta County Elections Office on Market Street on Wednesday morning when Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis stopped the destruction of November 2024 election materials. Curtis, in front of staff and local reporters, began opening sealed boxes so the vendor could start feeding them into the truck. Curtis opened 10 boxes and

September 27, 2026 Redding, CA On Sunday morning’s “Jefferson State of Mine” on KCNR (1460 AM / 96.5 FM), hosts Terry Rapoza, Janet Chandler, and Win Carpenter interviewed Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis and his wife, Jody Curtis, about the federal review of June 2, 2026, primary ballots and what Curtis described as additional problems in that election. A federal grand jury subpoena issued Sept. 10 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Californ

Jackie LaBarbera (Shasta County Office of Education Member) REDDING, Calif. — Jackie LaBarbera did what Anderson families elected her to do. Sacramento and the statewide teachers' union have spent four years trying to make her pay for it. LaBarbera was elected to the Anderson Union High School District Board in 2022; then, in 2024, she was elected to the County Office of Education Board as the top vote-getter for SCOE Area 2, but she continued serving on the Anderson Board.

A West Redding resident's real-life encounter with California black bears on this rural ranch. What a single Shasta County case shows about the West’s surge in human-bear conflict. On a 20-acre ranch in the Centerville area west of Redding, a family kept twenty organically fed hens — no hormones, no drugs — for eggs they could trace to their own yard. The coop was closed at night. Fences enclosed the run. For two months this summer the owners were out of state visiting family

Steve Hilton challenges Xavier Becerra to debate - Credit: latimes.com Steve Hilton wasted little time in making political ads highlighting Xavier Becerra's reluctance to hold a debate ahead of the upcoming November election. Now, it's reported that Xavier Becerra has indicated he will debate Steve Hilton more than once before the November 3 election. For weeks, the Republican challenger accepted every major media invitation and publicly pressed the Democratic frontrunner to

SNAP Logo - Credit usda.gov Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as CalFresh in California) has fallen sharply, declining more than 13% in a single year. Preliminary USDA data shows participation dropping from 42.2 million people in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026. This follows the implementation of expanded work requirements and other reforms in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (also called H.R. 1 or the “big beautiful bil

Hollywood’s production decline continues, with another longtime service company shutting down and Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison threatening to relocate the studio’s headquarters and jobs out of California unless Attorney General Rob Bonta settles or drops an antitrust challenge to Paramount’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA - Credit: travelinusa.us Shadowcast Pictures, a Los Angeles-based production equipment rental compa

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton addressing the attendees at the Shasta County GOP's Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. REDDING, Calif. — California Republican gubernatorial nominee Steve Hilton delivered a wide-ranging keynote address at the Shasta County GOP’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on July 31, 2026, at the Win-River Event Center, framing the race as a fight to restore “liberty under the law,” slash the cost of living, and break what he called a corrupt one-party “machine” in Sacram

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 169 on July 13, 2026, expanding California’s mobile Driver’s License (mDL) pilot program. The cap on participants rises from 15% to 60% of licensed drivers, opening access for millions more Californians. What Is the mDL Pilot? The free CA DMV Wallet app lets you store a secure digital version of your driver’s license or state ID on your phone. It uses strong encryption, device biometrics (Face ID/fingerprint/PIN), and international standards (I

In an era when California taxpayers are asked to shoulder some of the highest burdens in the nation while often left in the dark about where their hard-earned dollars actually go, one candidate is doing more than talking about accountability—he’s building the tools to deliver it. Herb Morgan, the Republican candidate for California State Controller, has launched California Radical Transparency (CRT 2.0), a powerful, citizen-focused web platform that transforms complex state s

California’s biggest problems with fraud, waste, and mismanagement of federally funded programs are concentrated in its largest, liberal-run cities. Yet when the federal government responds with penalties, cost shifts, or funding pressure, the consequences fall disproportionately on smaller rural and inland counties like Shasta — communities that had little to do with creating the original problems. How State-Level Failures Trigger Federal Consequences When California shows h

California cases among the worst: SoCal officials looted $20 million for luxury homes, BMWs, designer bags and Disney cruises while kids lost thousands per student Education Secretary Linda McMahon dropped a bombshell this week: the Trump Administration has already stopped more than $2 billion in fraudulent federal student aid (mostly FAFSA “ghost students” and bot-driven scams) — and is now turning the full force of the Department of Education’s fraud-fighting machinery on K

While Shasta County residents still enjoy one of the lowest combined sales tax rates in California at 7.25%, parts of the Golden State have quietly crossed into double-digit territory that would make even high-tax East Coast states blush. Lancaster and Palmdale — two Antelope Valley cities in Los Angeles County — now charge a combined sales tax of 11.25%. Santa Fe Springs sits at 11.00%. Dozens of other Los Angeles County cities and several Bay Area jurisdictions hover betwee

Newsom Awards Multi-Million Dollar Diaper Contract to Nonprofit Tied to Wife’s Board — Then Stonewalls Release of Records for Over 60 Days California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Golden State Start” free diaper program was pitched as a compassionate, first-in-the-nation effort to help new parents. What has unfolded instead looks increasingly like a familiar pattern: a high-profile contract awarded to a nonprofit with personal ties to the First Partner, followed by months of secre

Filling the vacancy left by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, James Gallagher won a special election to Congress in June and is heavily favored to win the full term in November. From his new perch in Washington, D.C., he can champion the inland two-state initiative that is already winning formal support from county boards across California — including Shasta. James Gallagher sworn in to finish LaMalfa's term in the House – Roll Call - Credit rollcall.com Newly sworn-in Congressman

On Saturday, July 11, 2025, the Shasta County Republican Central Committee hosted an inspiring Candidate Breakfast at the Win-River Event Center, bringing together local conservatives with three standout Republican nominees for statewide office: Michael E. Gates for Attorney General, Jennifer Hawks for State Treasurer, and Herb Morgan for State Controller. The morning emphasized unity, bold conservative principles, and a shared commitment to restoring law and order, fiscal re