Shasta Scout is organized around principles and processes that encourage our readers to become our collaborators in the production of local news. We’re also working to increase trust in the news by breaking down barriers between journalists and the public. As part of that process, we're about to open our notebooks to members.
The “hub and spoke” style facility would include rehabilitation services integrated within a large county detention facility. The plan is designed to provide increased accountability for those who are unhoused or facing mental health or substance use issues within the county, top leaders said. Supervisors were divided on the approach but expressed interest in learning more at future meetings.
Across California, gas prices are soaring. That matters to everyone, but it matters more to those who have less disposable income, including many in Shasta County.
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.
Put simply, finding fault is easy. Doing the work you’ve criticized, isn’t.
The Redding Chamber of Commerce distributed $4 million of the county's $18 million in CARES Act COVID-19 relief funds to local businesses in 2020. Little is publicly available about how that distribution occurred and some have criticized the process. With new federal funds becoming available, Shasta Scout reached out to the Chamber and the county for more information on how previous funds benefited businesses.
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.
Stories of healings at Redding’s Bethel Church draw faith-filled visitors each year. But Bethel has not yet provided proof of a single medically verified miracle. Shasta Scout discusses the medical research organization hoping to change that, and how faith tourism contributes to Bethel’s revenue.
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.
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.
