Rex Ballard

Interim City Manager Michael Webb named Joe Bowers as Interim Redding City Finance Director. Bowers is the utility official who sold rate hikes and explained a $9 million jump in personnel costs. The appointment came four days before Circle 6’s full efficiency report reaches the council dais. REDDING, Calif. — Four days before a $300,000 consultant study is scheduled to tell the City Council where Redding can cut costs, Interim City Manager Michael Webb handed the city’s checkbook to the man...

Thomas Jefferson called him “truly the Man of the Revolution.” Governor Thomas Hutchinson called him the greatest incendiary in the King’s dominions. Both were describing the same Bostonian: Samuel Adams, the organizer who turned local anger into a continental cause. About 1772 – Demanding the troops leave after the Massacre. Adams was born in Boston on September 27, 1722, cousin of John Adams and heir to a malt-making family. He studied at Harvard and even argued, in a thesis, that it could...

Batteries you can buy today. Solar that bends. A Japanese plant that makes power from salt water. Small nuclear plants going up. Beaming power from space. And fusion that still isn’t on the grid. Here’s what’s real — and what isn’t. California power bills are among the highest in the country. In the North State, we feel that every summer: hot days, fire shutdowns, and a grid that was never built for all the new electric cars and air conditioners. Labs have been promising cheaper, cleaner...

In the last ten days, two large Republican-led states have moved against the automated license plate reader (ALPR) networks that have spread across American roads. Florida ordered the cameras off state highways. Texas cut off state money that was paying for them. Neither action is a full statewide ban. Both are a clear signal that the “more cameras, longer databases” model is no longer politically safe. New Hampshire already went further. It does not ban the cameras. It bans the product that...

Dolly Rebecca Parton went home to Jesus on August 25, 2026. She was 80. The world lost a voice. Pigeon Forge lost a daughter. Heaven gained a woman who spent her whole life glorifying God and uplifting mankind. She never hid where she came from. Fourth of twelve children in a two-room cabin on Locust Ridge in Sevier County, Tennessee. Her daddy, Robert Lee, farmed and took whatever work he could find. He could not read or write. Her mama, Avie Lee, sewed a winter coat from donated scraps and,...

Enos Stanley “Stan” Kroenke was born July 29, 1947, in Columbia, Missouri, and raised in Mora, an unincorporated speck of a town whose population could be counted on two hands. His father, Alvin, owned the Mora Lumber Company. By age 10, Stan was sweeping the floors and keeping the books. By 12, he was putting in 10-hour days, six days a week, hauling lumber by hand. His full name honored two St. Louis Cardinals legends his family listened to on the radio: Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial. E....

In a significant development for election integrity efforts, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a major lower-court block on President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at strengthening safeguards around mail-in ballots. The 6-3 decision represents a clear positive step forward for the administration’s push to ensure only eligible citizens receive and cast federal ballots ahead of the November midterms.

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 commit 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 bill”), signed in...

When Washington was unable to pay troops he said, "Send for Haym Salomon" In the closing months of the Revolutionary War, George Washington faced a crisis more dangerous than any British army. His troops were unpaid, hungry, and edging toward mutiny. The Continental Congress had no money. Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance, had none either. Washington’s reply was sharp and immediate: “Send for Haym Salomon.” That summons brought forward one of the most consequential and...

Redding marked a significant milestone today with the grand opening celebration of the Sierra Pacific Regional Cancer Center. The new $70 million outpatient facility, operated by Dignity Health’s Mercy Medical Center Redding, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning at 10 a.m., followed by public tours until 3 p.m. Located at 2396 Henderson Road near the intersection of Cypress and Hartnell avenues along the Sacramento River, the approximately 40,000-square-foot, two-story center...

In Case You Needed Another Reason for Flock Cameras to Go A typical Flock Safety automated license plate reader camera with solar panel, mounted on a pole. These devices photograph vehicle plates and characteristics for law enforcement databases. Credit: theshoestring.org A Shasta Unfiltered reader from Tulsa, OK (raised in Redding and possibly returning) recently forwarded a ReclaimTheNet piece after reading our earlier coverage of Flock Safety cameras. The tip highlighted a Roseville,...

Redding’s inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Northern California on Sunday, August 16, 2026, delivered a successful debut that highlighted the region’s scenery, community energy, and endurance sports potential. The event drew roughly 1,600+ athletes (plus thousands of supporters and spectators) for the classic 70.3 distances: a 1.2-mile swim in Whiskeytown Lake starting at Oak Bottom Marina, a 56-mile point-to-point bike through rolling Shasta County roads (with a net elevation loss of nearly 1,000 feet...

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 company that supplied...

Mother and 17-year-old daughter forced to cover “XX-XY” and “For the Girls” shirts or leave Atlanta Dream-Indiana Fever game A Georgia mother and her teenage daughter say arena security singled them out during overtime of Sunday’s Indiana Fever-Atlanta Dream game, ordered them to cover their XX-XY Athletics T-shirts or face ejection, and handed them promotional Atlanta Dream “Wellness & Health Night” shirts to wear instead. Mom and daughter told to cover up XX-XY T-shirts, say they were...

Massachusetts Legalizes Abortion Up to Birth On August 10, 2026, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (a professed Catholic) signed the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act (H.5595 / Acts of 2026, Chapter 188), removing the state’s previous 24-week gestational limit and specific statutory exceptions for later abortions. The new law states that after 24 weeks, “an abortion may be performed by a physician based upon the professional judgment of the physician.” Governor Maura Healy, MA, signs...

Implications for Shasta County, Redding, and Anderson Typical Flock Cameral Installation - credit: cnn.com Shasta Unfiltered has extensively covered the rollout and controversy surrounding Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras in Shasta County, the City of Redding, and the City of Anderson. Local debate has mirrored a national wave of concern over mass vehicle tracking, data sharing, privacy, and documented cases of law-enforcement misuse. This week, Flock Safety CEO...

A man stood on the edge of Nashville’s Victory Memorial Bridge above the Cumberland River, livestreaming what he intended to be his final moments. Officers arrived. Traffic stopped. The situation was tense and fragile. Lieutenant Mike Hotz, a combat veteran and crisis negotiator, did not rush the man with commands or force. He simply approached and said, “Hey man, my name’s Mike… Can I just holler at you?” What followed was not a high-pressure negotiation. It was a conversation. Hotz...

As summer winds down and the election season ramps up, Shasta, Tehama, and Siskiyou counties offer several opportunities for residents to support local candidates, first-responder programs, trauma recovery for kids, and the ongoing fight for Second Amendment rights. Here’s a look at key upcoming events worth marking on the calendar. Fundraising Dinner & Live Auction to Support 2nd Amendment Lawsuit. Friday, August 21, 2026, Anderson VFW Hall, 3210 W. Center St., Anderson Mark Baird and the...

Drawing athletes and visitors from across the country while showcasing Shasta County’s outdoors. This Friday through Sunday, August 14–16, 2026, the City of Redding and surrounding Shasta County will welcome the inaugural IRONMAN 70.3 Northern California. More than 1,600 athletes have registered for the high-intensity half-distance triathlon—featuring a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run—with thousands more family members, supporters, and spectators expected. Officials and local...

Hiring freeze already in effect as Circle 6 efficiency study continues; layoffs expected once findings are released. William Tarbox, who served as Redding City Manager from February until his death on July 19, 2026. Information circulating since the sudden death of Redding City Manager William Tarbox suggests budget shortfalls are significantly more severe than public statements have conveyed. Tarbox died July 19 of cardiac arrest at age 56, only five months after starting the job in...

Exclusive reporting from the Daily Caller News Foundation, amplified by The Daily Signal, raises urgent national security alarms. White House - Credit: unsplash.com A senior Chinese Communist Party-linked official with a documented background in Chinese state security and special forces sniper training has purchased a historic commercial building just 650 feet northeast of the White House grounds. According to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation published this week, the Philip Qiu...

Update - August 14, 2026 Mayor of Lawrence, MA indicted for misappropriation of COVID funds Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña (left, in interview) and scene related to his arrest - Credit: NBC Boston On August 14, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest and charging of Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña (also styled Depena/DePena), 61, a Democrat first elected in 2021 and reelected in 2025. He faces one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering....

A recent discussion on X pointed out an uncomfortable pattern: the diagnostic thresholds for common conditions keep shifting, instantly turning large numbers of previously healthy people into patients—and reliable customers for the pharmaceutical industry. Hypertension, prediabetes, and diabetes were the examples cited. Those cases are well documented. They are also part of a larger process that has increasingly treated normal aging itself as a collection of medical deficiencies requiring...