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News: Civic Engagement

Anti-Abortion Activists Train To More Aggressively Intervene at Local Women’s Clinic
The only Shasta County clinic that provides women with access to surgical abortions was used as a training ground to equip anti-abortion activists for more aggressive interventions to dissuade women from accessing abortions. Local women organizing under the newly-formed Shasta Abortion Coalition say they are prepared to defend women’s right to abortion as clinic defenders, advocates, and escorts.

May 16, 2022
Shasta Scout

Civic Engagement

Our civic engagement coverage focuses on civil rights issues, and stories that affect women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community.  We also share stories about local non-profits and the arts.  We are committed to covering communities and projects that have been historically under-represented by the media.

“This Is a Misuse of the Pledge”: In Shasta County, Political Candidates Challenge League of Women Voters Forum Tradition

Invoking “patriotism,” county candidates for the positions of superintendent of schools, elections clerk, and county supervisor called on participants at multiple forums to stand and pledge, despite the League’s policy of not doing so. One candidate also released disinformation about his incumbent opponent’s response. The events appear to some to have weaponized the pledge as part of a political agenda.


May 8, 2022

Shasta Scout Explains . . . Misinformation

Do we have the power to slow the spread of misinformation? As part of our central commitment to building healthier communities and a stronger democracy, Shasta Scout explains why we’re all susceptible to “information disorder” . . . and how we can fight back.


April 28, 2022

 COVID Explained: What’s VAERS?

Those who oppose the use of COVID-19 vaccines frequently cite data from VAERS, a federal vaccine harm reporting system. But while VAERS data can provide an important early warning of potential vaccine harm, raw data from the system can’t show us whether a vaccine is actually unsafe.


April 16, 2022

Sherri Papini May have Lied About Her Kidnapping But Research Shows Most Women Tell the Truth about Sexual Assault

News broke recently that Redding’s Sherri Papini, who went missing for 22 days in 2016, is accused of faking her kidnapping, repeatedly lying about it to investigators, and taking over $30,000 in victim compensation for a crime that never occurred. Those allegations, if true, make Papini an outlier in a sea of research that documents women’s high risk of assault, their hesitancy to report it, and how often they tell the truth.


March 15, 2022

Shasta County’s Disease Detectives And the Fight Against COVID-19

Over the early months of 2022, Shasta County’s COVID-19 positivity rate soared as the Omicron variant spread. For county epidemiologists it was yet another leg of what has been a multi-year sprint to keep up with an unpredictable and deadly virus. Shasta Scout went inside Public Health to learn more about the disease detectives whose quiet diligence is slowing COVID’s spread.


February 20, 2022

Redding Chamber Pivots To Dissolve Political Action Committee Amidst Tense Political Climate

As the county votes on whether to recall a local supervisor, Redding’s Chamber announced a decision to end all endorsements and donations to political candidates. They’ve faced scrutiny for funding a group opposing the supervisor recall after being chosen by the county to distribute $4 million in federal COVID-relief funding to local county businesses.


February 1, 2022

“Our Greatest Weapon Is Our Relationships”: How the Coalition to Stop Fountain Wind Overcame Partisan Divides

From Indigenous sacred site protectors and former hippies to Trump supporters and conservative Christians, an eclectic Intermountain community collaborated last year to resist the proposed $300 million Fountain Wind energy project. Several key organizers talked to Shasta Scout about what the coalition’s story means for the future of the region and alternate energy.


January 28, 2022

More Trust-Based Funding Will Promote Racial Equity Across California’s North State

The North State Equity Fund seeks to combat stark disparities in philanthropy. Organizations in nine North State counties are invited to apply for a new round of funding.


January 27, 2022

To Build A Strong Indigenous Future, Native Researchers Seek Survey Respondents

A short survey offered in 2020 and again this year, offers respondents a chance to provide key data to Native researchers, advocating for the needs of Indigenous communities, nationwide. Local Native community members are invited to participate.


January 13, 2022