Opinion – Shasta Scout

Temple Beth Israel Responds To Local Antisemitism

By Temple Beth Israel ● Community Voices ● August 17, 2022 August 17, 2022

“Faith leaders, parishioners, atheists, and total strangers, have expressed their indignation that this kind of hate was left on their doorsteps, and distributed in our community. Instead of feeling isolated, we feel wrapped in the warmth and kindness of strangers.”

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Opinion: Local Tribe’s Prayer Journey Creates Community that Cares for Rivers, Salmon, and Each Other

By Misa Joo ● Community Voices ● August 12, 2022 August 12, 2022

“When we stop in this place we pray ‘Come this way.’ We pray and we sing, remembering that first time at the confluence, when the runners arrived in the dark, stars sparkling on the river. We could only hear the lapping of the water against the shore. And then in the hushed darkness, up and down the river where we stood lining up on the shore, all the songs started being sung.”

Opinion: Extreme Heat Presents Real Threat To Those Living Without Shelter. Shasta County, and Redding, Should Help, Not Harm

By Shasta Mutual Aid ● Community Voices ● August 5, 2022 August 5, 2022

Local community group, Shasta County Mutual Aid, describes how excessive heat and lack of accessible shelter and cooling are impacting community members. They fear that the city’s newly planned “sweeps” of the unhoused living within the Nur Pon Open Space will exacerbate the current crisis and worsen the danger to life and health.

Opinion: The Recently Closed Club 501 Wasn’t Just Redding’s Only Gay Bar; It was Home

By Troy Hawkins ● Community Voices ● July 24, 2022 July 25, 2022

Troy Hawkins, a longtime Redding resident and patron of Club 501, shares some of his poignant memories of the bar many affectionately called “the 5,” and describes what its recent closure means to many of its loyal customers.

Opinion: Who Was Responsible For Uvalde? All Of Us.

By Sharon Brisolara ● Opinion ● June 12, 2022 July 18, 2022

Societal issues emerge through a confluence of societal factors shaped by individuals. We exist in communities, we share society, and together, we make America what it is. That’s why effective solutions to the social problem of mass shootings must address the interconnected societal factors that lead to gun violence.

My Abortion Story

By Irene Salter ● Community Voices ● May 15, 2022 June 3, 2022

Stigma around abortion ends when we can talk about it like any other health care choice we make for ourselves – a surgery, a biopsy, physical therapy, a pill. Compassion emerges on both sides when abortion is associated with the faces and names of people you know, love, and care about.

My Journey to Recovery Didn’t Begin Because I was Afraid of Jail

By Ernestine McCullough ● Community Voices ● May 7, 2022 June 3, 2022

Meth gave me the voice that I needed to be heard, the look I needed to be seen, the strength to be fearless, and the power to be strong. I honored and respected meth for what it gave me! Meth controlled every iota of my life. Meth was my mother, father, brother, sister, adviser, friend, and lover. Meth told me where to go, what to do, and how to do. I did not move unless meth said so.

Supervisors Are Busy With Performance Evaluations But Are They Actually Doing Their Job?

By Susanne Baremore ● Opinion ● April 4, 2022 June 14, 2022

Opinion writer Susanne Baremore says that a recent closed session performance evaluation of Public Health Officer Karen Ramstrom is a form of harassment that is out of line with accepted policy and practice. Drawing attention to how Ramstrom has appropriately fulfilled her role in the county, Baremore calls on the Supervisors to fulfill theirs, by learning to govern as a body, while maintaining their individual perspectives, in service to their community.

bright green baby lettuce growing in black soil

Don’t Blame the Lettuce

By Sharon Brisolara ● Opinion ● March 12, 2022 June 14, 2022

Put simply, finding fault is easy. Doing the work you’ve criticized, isn’t.

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Opinion: Gender, And the Words We Use, Matter

By Sharon Brisolara ● Opinion ● January 4, 2022 June 14, 2022

After losing someone she loves to suicide this fall, Sharon Brisolara reminds the community of the dangers of stigma and the power of acceptance. The words we use, including our choice to use appropriate pronouns, are powerful. Brisolara explains why.