Rex Ballard

Shasta County residents are already feeling the squeeze from sky-high property taxes, inflation, and Sacramento’s endless spending spree. But a hidden financial disaster is quietly building in our local school districts—one that could dwarf the 2008 housing crash and stick our children and grandchildren with the bill for decades. Shasta Union High School and other North State campuses — symbols of community pride, but increasingly tied to long-term debt obligations. Image - KRCRTV.com...

If you have one of these in your neighborhood, you're racist. At least that is what city councilmembers in Ann Arbor, Michigan say. Ann Arbor's last 'Neighborhood Crime Watch' sign ceremonially taken down - mlive.com In a staggering display of ideological zeal, the Democrat-run city of Ann Arbor has shelled out $18,000 in taxpayer funds to rip out more than 600 blue-and-white Neighborhood Watch signs across town. Officials, including Mayor Christopher Taylor and Council members Cynthia...

Picture a humid Philadelphia summer night in 1776. Candles flicker in a rented room on Market Street. A tall, red-haired Virginian, thirty-three years old, sits alone at a small writing desk, quill scratching across fresh parchment. Thomas Jefferson pauses, dips the pen again, and writes one of the most revolutionary sentences in human history: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Outside, British warships hover in the Delaware River. Inside, the future...

Earlier we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major 6-3 decision on April 29, 2026, striking down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. In Louisiana v. Callais, the Court sharply limited how states may consider race when drawing district lines under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Click here: US. Supreme Court - Image: en.wikipedia.org What the Ruling Means The conservative majority ruled that Louisiana’s second majority-Black district...

Shasta County’s election integrity battles keep delivering wins for We the People. After another round of lawfare aimed at blocking Measure B, private citizens stepped up, defended the qualified ballot measure in court, and won decisively. With the June 2, 2026, election approaching, it’s time for Shasta County to reimburse those proponents for the legal fees they never should have had to pay out of their own pockets. Vote on Measure B campaign sign - Image shastascout.org Measure B — the...

Opinion Piece “It is not who votes that counts, but who counts the votes.” Joseph Stalin (infamous communist): Stalin understood that control of the counting process trumps everything else. In Shasta County’s race for County Clerk and Registrar of Voters, voters face a choice that tests this reality. Joanna Francescut, the candidate with 17 years in the office, is on the ballot despite lacking a college degree — a credential that many other California counties treat as a baseline for this...

Jessica Rapoza, softball coach, El Camino College - image eccwarriors.com Torrance, Calif. — Jessica Rapoza, who grew up playing softball in the fields of Redding, California, reached another historic milestone Friday. The Redding native became the all-time winningest coach in El Camino College (ECC) softball history with her 328th victory at the school — a 6-3 win over Fullerton — while pushing her overall head coaching record over 400 wins. From Redding Roots to National Recognition Born...

This report summarizes notable incidents, arrests, and enforcement activities reported by the Redding Police Department (RPD), Anderson Police Department (APD), Shasta County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), and California Highway Patrol (CHP) Northern Division for the period April 1–30, 2026. Data is compiled from publicly available sources, including official agency media releases, press reports (KRCR, Action News Now, Redding Record Searchlight), social media, and arrest logs. Crime trends for...

cst.brightspotcdn.com alaskapolicyforum.org If you read our recent report on how teachers’ unions have quietly moved more than $1 billion from member dues into Democratic campaigns, left-wing nonprofits, Planned Parenthood, race theory groups, and other partisan causes, you already know the problem. Click here. Here’s the solution every Shasta County teacher needs to hear: You no longer have to pay a single cent if you disagree with who the union is giving the money to. In a landmark...

Phil Mickelson - one of the earliest defectors to LIV Golf - image by media.cnn.com It was supposed to be the revolution that saved professional golf. Instead, LIV Golf is limping toward an uncertain end, its Saudi millions drying up and its biggest stars quietly eyeing the exit doors. Launched in 2022 with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), LIV arrived like a wrecking ball. It dangled nine-figure guaranteed contracts in front of PGA Tour stars, promising a flashy,...

supremecourt.gov In a strong 9-0 decision on April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory for free speech, associational rights, and faith-based nonprofits. In First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin, the justices ruled that crisis pregnancy centers can immediately challenge intrusive state subpoenas in federal court when those demands objectively chill their First Amendment rights. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the unanimous opinion, reversing lower courts...

supremecourt.gov In a single day of landmark rulings on April 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decisive victory for common sense and states’ rights. The high court struck down Louisiana’s racially gerrymandered congressional map. nytimes.com Video: Supreme Court rules on Louisiana redistricting (NBC News) Redistricting: Court Reins in Racial Gerrymandering In Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Louisiana’s map creating a second majority-Black district was an...

Teacher Strikes, Explained: Recent Strikes, Where They’re Illegal, and More Image - edweek.org Shasta County teachers, parents, and taxpayers—pay close attention. If you’ve ever assumed your local educators’ union dues were going straight to better classrooms, higher salaries, or stronger contracts for the people actually teaching our kids, a bombshell new report says think again. According to a detailed investigation by Defending Education, the National Education Association (NEA) and...

Federal prosecutors in the D.C. metro area delivered a triple blow today to high-level officials tied to the Biden administration and earlier controversies. Two cases involve career bureaucrats accused of betraying public trust—one at the Department of Veterans Affairs and one at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases—while the third targets former FBI Director James Comey. For Shasta County veterans still dealing with glitchy health records, families scarred by pandemic...

A few days back, I was driving along a quiet stretch of highway when the opening piano notes of “Blueberry Hill” drifted from the oldies radio station. That unmistakable voice — warm, rolling, full of joy — filled the car, and suddenly I was transported back to New Orleans in 2006. Memories came flooding in like the waters of Hurricane Katrina itself: I can still remember the devastated streets, the smell of rebuilding, and one unforgettable evening that I will carry with me forever. At the...

Walz Claims Credit, Patel Fires Back Federal agents executed 22 search warrants across the Twin Cities metro area this morning in a sweeping operation targeting alleged fraud in Minnesota’s publicly funded social programs, primarily Medicaid-funded child care centers, daycares, and autism service providers. Agencies involved included the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), IRS Criminal Investigation, and Minnesota partners such as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Agents...

Opinion Piece Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn - Image politico.com I have been calling it for years: the left doesn’t “believe” in climate change — they worship it. And on Monday, April 28, 2026, that religious zeal was on full, unhinged display during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the EPA’s FY2027 budget. Watch the full heated exchange here EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin — the no-nonsense Trump appointee who actually believes in following the law instead of chasing green fairy...

Another violent attack aimed at President Donald J. Trump was stopped in its tracks Saturday night when a 31-year-old California teacher and Caltech graduate allegedly stormed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and opened fire.

Fresh off back-to-back announcements, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is sending a loud message: transnational criminals preying on Americans are no longer operating with impunity.

ActBlue, the dominant online fundraising platform powering Democratic candidates and progressive causes, is confronting its most intense scrutiny in years. Multiple congressional committees, the Texas Attorney General, and federal investigators are examining whether the organization loosened fraud safeguards, accepted potentially illegal foreign and straw-donor contributions, and misled lawmakers about its vetting processes.

A Strategic Shift to “Rocket City” for the New High Ground On September 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the headquarters of U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) would relocate from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama — reversing a prior decision and fulfilling a site-selection process that had originally favored Alabama. The move, now well underway as of April 2026, is a deliberate, phased transition designed to...

Picture the frozen Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776. A howling nor’easter drives ice and sleet across the black water. Oars creak against the current as Durham boats grind through floes. At the prow of the lead boat stands a towering figure in a blue cloak, tricorn pulled low, jaw set against the gale. George Washington, forty-four years old, stares toward the New Jersey shore where Hessian mercenaries sleep in warm barracks.

And Why the Way It Happened Is Now Under Fire Imagine quitting your job one day, starting to collect a big retirement check the next, then getting right back into the same office with your full salary on top. Sounds like a sweet deal, right? That’s exactly what Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson did in early 2022 — and it’s all perfectly allowed under California law. But the how of it has former Supervisor Patrick Jones sounding alarms about secret shortcuts and broken rules. In a...

As first reported by Shasta Unfiltered in December 2025, former Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones filed a major civil lawsuit in Shasta County Superior Court against District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett and Shasta County, seeking approximately $56 million in combined damages and punitive awards. Click here for that article