Elisa Ballard

Redding, CA — The Shasta County Board of Supervisors this week launched its FY 2026-27 budget hearings, where department heads are delivering detailed presentations on operations, major challenges, and funding requests. Tuesday’s session on June 9 provided the public with a rare and valuable look behind the curtain at county government. Department leaders laid out budgets, goals, performance data, and pressing concerns — offering taxpayers a clear window into how their money is being managed...

Deputy Sheriff Austin Nelson, Employee of the Month The Monday, June 8, 2026, regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held in the Shasta County Board Chambers at 1450 Court St., Redding, where lively discussions took place surrounding several topics. As usual, the meeting began with the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Austin Nelson, Deputy Sheriff, was named Employee of the Month for his outstanding professionalism and commitment to duty. Nelson, who joined the K-9 unit...

As of the latest unofficial results posted Sunday evening (June 7, 2026), Shasta County elections officials have processed most of the ballots from the June 2 Primary Election. The Election Office aims to complete tabulation tomorrow, with the next update expected by 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 8. Note: These are preliminary, unofficial results. Approximately 4,669 ballots remain to be counted across the County and an unknown number across the districts; final certified results will be released...

The Election Observation Room in Shasta County In Shasta County, a noticeable shift in voting patterns emerged with the 2020 election and has continued in subsequent cycles. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, absentee/vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots generally tracked closely with in-person Election Day results. Partisan and candidate percentages showed relatively modest differences regardless of voting method. Since the implementation of California’s universal mail-in ballot system — in which every...

In a significant shift in U.S. public health policy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 29 directing federal agencies to align the nation’s childhood vaccine recommendations with practices in peer, developed countries, potentially reducing the number of routine immunizations recommended for all children. The order endorses a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) scientific assessment comparing the U.S. schedule to those in countries like Canada, Germany, and...

Frontier Senior Center in Anderson, CA ANDERSON — The Frontier Senior Center in Anderson has received a significant boost in its efforts to repair its aging roof, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the McConnell Fund of the Community Foundation of the North State. Trish Clark, president of the Frontier Senior Center, made the announcement on her Facebook page recently. The grant will help fund the replacement of the center’s roof, which has an estimated total cost of approximately $119,000. The...

Redding Civic Auditorium - Image Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license Redding, Calif. — After more than 50 years as a cornerstone of entertainment, culture, and community gatherings in Shasta County, the Redding Civic Auditorium faces an uncertain future as its longtime operator, Advance Redding, prepares to step away from management. The Civic Auditorium opened in 1970 after years of planning led by local businessman and former Mayor Carl A. Williams. Designed as a versatile...

Equal Justice or Does Something Smell Fishy? OPINION If a personnel department is doing its job properly, I would think that any employee complaints would be investigated, that bad behavior would be noted, and that offending employees would be warned. Since January, sources inside the Election Office have indicated that complaints were made about entrenched employees’ harassment of new employees and insubordination toward Clint Curtis, the new Registrar of Voters, and it doesn’t appear...

Joanna Francescut and Clint Curtis, Candidates for Registrar of Voters/County Clerk Redding, CA – Joanna Francescut, who served nearly 17 years in the Shasta County Elections Office—including as Assistant County Clerk/Registrar of Voters—has filed a lawsuit against the County of Shasta following her termination on May 27, 2025. Francescut was terminated as an at-will employee by the newly appointed Registrar of Voters, Clint Curtis. In the wake of the lawsuit, former Supervisor Patrick Jones...

OPINION Update: In response to questions we received about our article, we are publishing additional information. A reader suggested that the majority of county workers are paid only the minimum wage of $17/hour and that they accept this meager wage only because of the benefits. While it is true that many do only get paid minimum wage, the data show that the vast majority of county workers are paid far more. Here is that data: Shasta County Public Employees (2024 data) Employee Class...

OPINION Redding, CA — In yet another example of selective reporting, Shasta Scout published a shallow, one-sided article on May 22, 2026, that whitewashes critical findings from the Anderson Police Department’s investigation into former Youth Options Shasta Director Susan Wilson. The article was entitled "Unsatisfied with lack of charges against former nonprofit director, Crye takes aim at Shasta's district attorney" by Nevin Kallepalli. While Shasta Unfiltered has consistently provided...

Clint Curtis, Registrar of Voters, Holding a Press Conference Redding, CA — Clint Curtis, Shasta County’s Registrar of Voters and County Clerk, held a press conference on Thursday evening, May 21, 2026, to push back against recent accusations of workplace harassment and a hostile work environment in the elections office. Curtis and several current employees defended his leadership and character, claiming the allegations are politically motivated and one-sided. The event, held outside county...

Redding, CA - May 21, 2026 Jennifer Katske Jennifer Katske is making a name for herself in Shasta County, even though she initially wished to remain anonymous, filing her first complaint in Superior Court as Jane Doe (filed February 17, 2026, as Katske v. Shasta County Board of Supervisors, et al., Case No. 26CV-0209919). The original case was filed against the Shasta County Board of Supervisors and Clint Curtis, Shasta County Registrar of Voters and County Clerk, to prevent Measure B from...

The Redding City Council held its regular meeting on May 19, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The session lasted approximately 2 hours and 13 minutes and covered routine business, financial updates, public safety items, and forward-looking decisions on key city assets. Master Fee Schedule Increases Hearing Scheduled for June 16 Council members and staff referenced upcoming discussions on potential master fee schedule increases, with a public hearing set for the June 16, 2026, at...

Redding, CA (May 20, 2026) — The Shasta County Board of Supervisors convened its regular meeting on Tuesday, addressing a mix of public safety initiatives, long-term planning, fiscal pressures, and community health concerns amid ongoing local tensions. Shasta County Fire Chief Sean O'Hara Defensible Space Push One of the opening presentations came from Chief Sean O’Hara on the rollout of stayreadyshasta.com, a new resource aimed at helping residents prepare for wildfires and a place to...

For several days in October and November 2024, I served as a citizen observer at the Shasta County Elections Office located at 1643 Market Street in Redding. The processing of mail-in ballots for the November 5, 2024, election was overseen by Registrar of Voters Thomas Toller and Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut. In my observations, Mr. Toller was never present in the office areas where the work was being conducted. He seemed to remain inside his own office, with the door...

Simone Anderson instructs the attendees at the New California State convention. May 14, 2026 – Roseville, CA Simone Anderson, an independent researcher and digital commentator who has lived in Egypt, Turkey, and Bahrain and conducted business with Saudi partners, presented her findings on Islam to approximately 150 attendees at the fifth New California constitutional convention held on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Hall in Roseville. Anderson urged the audience to question...

Statehood Inching Closer to Reality? Many Hurdles Ahead The “Restored California” movement held its fifth constitutional convention on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at the Veterans Memorial Hall in Roseville, California. Approximately 150 attendees gathered for a full day of presentations led by Governor Pro Tempore Paul Preston. Speakers included Chriss Street (Chief Financial Officer and Vice President), attorney Robert Thomas, independent researcher Simone Anderson, petroleum engineer Rod Guice,...

WASHINGTON — Dr. Marty Makary, President Donald Trump’s FDA Commissioner, resigned Tuesday, May 12, 2026, after just over a year in the role, capping a tenure marked by policy clashes, staff turnover, and public criticism from figures within the administration’s health reform circles. Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon known for his outspoken views on COVID-19 policies during the pandemic, faced mounting pressure from multiple sides. Health industry executives, anti-abortion advocates, and...

In one of the most significant transparency efforts in recent U.S. government history, the Department of War (DOW), in coordination with multiple federal agencies, launched the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE) and released its first batch of declassified files on May 8, 2026. This follows President Donald J. Trump’s February 19, 2026, directive on Truth Social ordering agencies to declassify records on “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified...

Photo Credit: msn.com Arcadia, California Mayor Eileen Wang, 58, resigned on Monday, May 11, 2026, after federal prosecutors announced she had been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Wang has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge as part of a plea deal. The city of Arcadia is located 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles and has a population of about 57,000. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the charge via an information (a...

As a new board member of YOS in 2024, Crye took his oversight responsibilities seriously. He began examining the organization’s daily operations and structure and asked why Executive Director (ED) Susan Wilson was not involved in operational activities. YOS staff informed him that Wilson had not been in the office for months, yet was still receiving full pay while on medical leave. Crye’s review of documents revealed inappropriate payments of medical benefits, sick leave, and salary increases.

Former Shasta County Supervisor, Redding City Councilmember, and Mayor Patrick Jones made a startling disclosure during a Sunday morning appearance on KQMS radio’s “Poke the Hornet’s Nest” with host Nick Gardner. Jones detailed what he described as illegal harassment directed at Assistant Registrar of Voters Brent Turner by county personnel. According to Jones, Turner recently received a phone call from someone in Shasta County’s Support Services Department—believed to be an individual named...

After a long and emotional NICU journey, Lorenzo Leone Pasini was discharged and welcomed home by his loving parents, Jessi and Alessio. In their heartfelt new YouTube video “Welcome Home, Lorenzo,” the family captured the joyful moment of the final car seat test — the “click” that meant freedom — and the emotional walk out of the hospital on May 1st. Alessio and Jessi described it as the end of an incredible chapter, with tears flowing as they realized they were finally leaving the NICU...