Elisa Ballard

Shasta County Permanent Road Division Assessment Zones Redding, CA The Shasta County Board of Supervisors convened its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, addressing a range of administrative, fiscal, and local governance matters. Discussions included an update from the Department of Public Works on the County’s Permanent Road Division Zones, adjustments to public comment procedures to comply with new state law SB 707, the formal adoption of the FY 2026-27 budget, and the advancement...

Shasta County employees who completed a CSAC course in leadership and planning, posing with the Board of Supervisors and Graham Knaus The meeting opened with a call to order, invocation, and Pledge of Allegiance. Key agenda items and discussions included: Presentations (CSAC): Graham Knaus, CEO of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), provided updates on CSAC activities, state budget negotiations (including funding for counties and distressed hospitals), advocacy on...

Shasta County legacy Courthouse - copyright shastaunfiltered.com Redding, CA — A whistleblower with direct knowledge of the Old Courthouse at 1500 Court Street in Redding has come forward anonymously, asserting that the building remains suitable for immediate use by Shasta County departments that currently spend substantial sums on leased space. Rather than proceed with demolition — the current plan — the whistleblower argues the facility is usable despite what they describe as fear-mongering...

OPINION Old Courthouse at 1500 Court St., Redding - Credit: Shastaunfiltered.com Dear Chair Kelstrom, Members of the Board of Supervisors, and County Executive Officer: I write as an observer and journalist covering Shasta County government to respectfully request that the Board pause further demolition preparation on the former courthouse at 1500 Court Street and direct staff to conduct or commission a targeted, independent feasibility study on repurposing the building as a modern...

REDDING, Calif. — The Redding City Council heard an important update on the future of local film promotion during its June 16, 2026, meeting: Tyler Lockamy, a North State native and established filmmaker, has been named Film Liaison for Shasta and Tehama Counties under the Upstate California Film Commission (UCFC). The appointment takes effect July 1, 2026, as longtime Regional Film Commissioner Sabrina Jurisich transitions out of the role after a decade of leadership. Lockamy will step into...

Shasta County, CA — A status hearing on settlement negotiations in the River Ranch Neighborhood Association’s lawsuit against the City of Redding and Shasta County is scheduled in Shasta County Superior Court, Department 22, Monday, June 22, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The case challenges the $1 lease of approximately 90-91 acres at 7251 Eastside Road for an expanding correctional complex that now includes alternative custody programs, a men’s reentry program, and potential future development of a...

Vingenzo Colletti's Profile Picture on Facebook Shasta County, CA — A 47-year-old Palo Cedro man died Thursday evening after the boat he was on struck the shoreline at Town Creek Cove on the Sulanharas Creek Arm (formerly known as the Squaw Creek Arm) of Shasta Lake, ejecting three people into the water. According to a Shasta County Sheriff’s Office media release, at approximately 5:21 p.m. on June 18, 2026, the single-vessel boating collision threw Vingenzo “Vinnie” Anthony Colletti, an...

Mike Michalak, speaking at Redding City Council Meeting Redding, CA — After nearly 50 years of silence at public meetings, Mike Michalak, owner of The Fly Shop® in Redding, addressed the Redding City Council on June 16, 2026, to strongly oppose plans for a 1,200-bed jail, male re-entry program facility, and alternative custody campus at the Eastside Road location along the Sacramento River, adjacent to the River Ranch neighborhood. Michalak, who co-founded The Fly Shop in April 1978 with...

Redding, CA — The Redding City Council convened its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, addressing a packed agenda that highlighted tourism promotion, long-term infrastructure planning, water management, and wildfire preparedness amid an early heat wave. Councilmembers in attendance were Mayor Mike Littau, Vice-Mayor Dr. Paul Dhanuka, Councilmembers Jack Munns, Erin Resner, and Tenessa Audette. The evening opened with presentations on tourism and downtown revitalization by Danny...

Shasta County, CA — On Saturday, June 6, 2026, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting featuring a closed session on vaguely worded “anticipated litigation.” The public soon learned the item stemmed from a June 4 incident at the Elections Department, possibly triggered by insubordinate conduct by one supervisory employee. Clerk/Registrar Clint Curtis had reportedly been trying to obtain needed information from that employee to complete critical reconciliation paperwork....

Shasta County, CA — A politically motivated lawsuit filed by a vocal critic of Supervisor Kevin Crye, Jeffrey Gorder, has been dismissed with prejudice after draining county resources and delivering zero benefit to taxpayers. In March 2025, Gorder — a former Shasta County Public Defender and leader of the failed recall effort against Crye — sued County CEO David Rickert, the County of Shasta, and the Board of Supervisors. His target: a $40,000 Personal Services Agreement (PSA) with healthcare...

On June 12, 2026, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified evidence confirming longstanding U.S. government funding for more than 120 biological laboratories across over 30 countries, including facilities in Ukraine. The announcement highlights significant concerns over oversight, potential gain-of-function research on dangerous pathogens, and past efforts to downplay or conceal the program from the American public. According to the official DNI press release,...

Image Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license Redding, Calif. — The Redding Civic Auditorium, a North State landmark since 1970, faces an uncertain future as operator Advance Redding winds down after 14 years. A Shasta County Grand Jury report highlights concerns over due diligence on public funding, while the City of Redding grapples with budget deficits and the effectiveness of its tourism promotion efforts. The venue has hosted concerts, graduations, trade shows, and community...

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...