Shasta Scout

Shasta County has dozens of “possibly optional” committees and commissions, staff say. – Shasta Scout At their Tuesday October 7 board meeting, supervisors will discuss the breadth of the county's commissions and committees. The board could vote to eliminate some, including the county’s Public Health ...

The question of dissolving certain committees and commissions has been a recurring flashpoint issue during public meetings over recent months.

Some Shasta poll workers uncertain ahead of November 4 special election – Shasta Scout Just four weeks before November’s special election, former poll workers in Shasta County say they’re waiting to hear when they’ll be trained and where they'll be assigned. Some have reservations about...

Poll workers are front line elections workers. Ensuring their competence and adherence to the law is central to protecting the right to vote, especially for those with specific access needs.

Stillwater Pow Wow will come to Redding Rodeo grounds this weekend – Shasta Scout From October 3–5, the Redding Rancheria will host a pow wow to celebrate Tribal ceremonial dances, food, art, and music.

The Stillwater Pow Wow is free and open to all. It's a celebration of Native culture, including ceremonial dance.

U.S. Forest Service announces fall 2025 schedule for “prescribed burns” within the Shasta-Trinity forest – Shasta Scout Throughout this fall, winter, and spring, teams of fire experts will be starting and maintaining controlled burns in areas of forest across Shasta County. The burns are part of land management practic...

For millennia, indigenous people have intentionally set controlled fires, something research shows has been an extremely effective means to nourishing the Klamath Mountains’ biomass.

Francescut holds campaign kickoff. She hopes to win Shasta's top election role in 2026. – Shasta Scout Almost 200 people showed up to a campaign event hosted by former Assistant Registrar of Voters (ROV) Francescut. A majority of the vocal public wanted her to be appointed to the ROV role earlier this ...

“Fair, accurate, and secure elections are the foundation of our democracy... let’s show Shasta County, and the country, what it looks like when a community chooses trust, truth, and democracy.”

Published in collaboration with American Community Media. bsky.app/profile/amco...

From the Hindu Kush to the Cascade Range: Hamid’s journey to America – Shasta Scout Through remarkable circumstances and the assistance of a few local community members, the Ghulam family left Afghanistan to settle in Redding, California. They’re one of only three local Afghan famili...

The Ghulam family has found stability in their new life through the help of the Redding Refugee Circle, but only after a long and precarious process that began the moment Hamid first learned he had won the lottery.

Redding implemented body cameras for police transparency. So why can’t Daniel Maher get video of his own arrest? – Shasta Scout Body worn cameras are often seen as the gold standard for ensuring police transparency. But as this community member’s story shows, police departments sometimes stonewall public access by withholding ...

Neither Maher nor Shasta Scout has been able to obtain body camera footage of his arrest, despite his claim that two of his ribs were broken during the incident.

A Charlie Kirk vigil was held at Shasta College last week. Here’s what we know. – Shasta Scout An estimated 2,000 people attended a vigil held last Thursday, September 18, for Charlie Kirk. The event was held on Shasta College’s campus by the evangelical nonprofit 1Hope4America, which is run by...

A Shasta College spokesperson said the college respects that some staff and students may have had issues with the thoughts expressed during the event encouraging them to “engage in civil constructive dialogue."

Judge holds Tyler McCain to answer on all charges including murder, felony domestic violence – Shasta Scout Tyler McCain is accused of having killed his wife Nikki Cheng Saelee-Mccain last year to prevent her from testifying against him on felony domestic violence charges. Tuesday a judge maintained that mu...

“Let the evidence speak for itself and let Cheng’s spirit be in the courtroom."

Reorganization of Market Street Election Office creates new space for ballot filming – Shasta Scout An open house to show off the new set up at the Shasta Election Office revealed more of what ballot processing will look like under Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis. November 2025 will be his first ti...

Pairing people with opposing ideological views to work together in the election process is one theme for Curtis’ approach to administering elections.

Ring camera video evidence caps second week of McCain hearing – Shasta Scout A video recording depicting a man alleged to be Tyler McCain pounding on a door and repeatedly screaming “open the door or I’ll kill you," brought some to tears. The camera footage came at the end of ...

During the last testimony of the day, an interview with Shasta’s lead detective in the case, Kilee Holroyd, the prosecution presented footage from a Ring camera mounted at the front door of the home of Saelee-McCain’s sister, Chloe Saelee.

City of Shasta Lake says public commenters deemed “boisterous,” “profane” or “slanderous" can be banned – Shasta Scout The city’s new regulation empowers elected council members to remove public commenters based on subjective criteria regulating the content of speech, something that legal experts say curtails the comm...

The policy how allows elected officials to censor the public based on subjective opinions that a remark is “slanderous” or “profane”, something that could be used to silence political dissent.

In conversation with Shasta Election official Clint Curtis – Shasta Scout A July interview with Shasta’s newly appointed election official Clint Curtis revealed his hope for the indictment of his campaign opponent, former Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut. We'...

During an interview with a Shasta Scout reporter, Shasta County's election official mused on his hopes for the indictment of his campaign opponent and former Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut. We're sharing highlights from that interview.

Shasta, California's 15th charter county, finally confirms its new status – Shasta Scout Shasta County board chair Kevin Crye is celebrating an accomplishment he helped spearhead over the past few years, the county’s new charter status. It was delayed for more than a year by an administra...

“This designation strengthens our ability to shape a brighter future for Shasta County while preserving our values and priorities," Board Chair Kevin Crye said.

First gathered by Native forest stewards, pine mushrooms are now accessible for all to forage, with a paid permit – Shasta Scout With the changing season, a highly-valued species of edible mushroom begins to fruit in the forests of Shasta County. Local foragers are invited to search for it — under the supervision of the U.S. Fo...

Up the Pacific coast, various species of similar pine mushrooms have been historically cultivated by Indigenous people during the autumn season, including by the Karuk tribe of Northern California.

Proposed update to City of Shasta Lake policy poses free speech concerns, First Amendment attorney says – Shasta Scout In response to Shasta Scout’s questions, staff from the City of Shasta Lake amended a draft policy released last week that poses limitations on public comment at city council meetings. But a First Ame...

"There’s a universe of protected speech that could fall within those definitions,” First Amendment Attorney David Snyder told Shasta Scout today, referencing a proposed policy for public comments the City of Shasta Lake will discuss this week.

After presentation from nonprofit Amity Foundation, county moves forward with tentative plan to develop an alternative custody facility – Shasta Scout If a hoped-for reentry project comes to fruition, those served will be mostly Shasta County locals who are currently incarcerated in state prisons. The Amity facility would be a place for them to “com...

Amity facilities, CEO Doug Bond said,are an example of the ways that state and local carceral systems can integrate to provide an off-ramp for people released from state prisons, something that can reduce recidivism.

New witness in Tyler McCain case alleges relationship with Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain – Shasta Scout The witness testified to details of Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain’s injuries in 2023 after she was allegedly beaten by her husband. He was one of three people to speak on the stand during the fourth day o...

Three witnesses took to the stand on the fourth day of a preliminary hearing to determine whether McCain will move forward to trial. They included a man who said he was in a relationship with Saelee-McCain in the year before her disappearance.

Our growth announcement has been well-received by readers who are excited to see us expand and cover the county in more depth than ever before. Here is just one statement of support we received. If you haven't already donated, help us grow our newsroom sustainably: shastascout.org/donate-2025/

Donate - Mid-Year 2025 Campaign – Shasta Scout Shasta Scout is news as a service. We scout out the truth, for you.

That’s the difference between our news service and other media outlets. One community member put it this way, “What I like about Shasta Scout is that you respect the reader.” Yes, we do. If you haven’t already this week, we hope you’ll become a monthly member. shastascout.org/donate-2025/...

Donate - Mid-Year 2025 Campaign – Shasta Scout Shasta Scout is news as a service. We scout out the truth, for you.

And then the process starts all over again the next week with the next Signals email! We dedicate all of this time to public meeting coverage so you don’t feel obligated to go. We spend the necessary time to learn what the outcome really means to Scout readers. shastascout.org/donate-2025/...

Donate - Mid-Year 2025 Campaign – Shasta Scout Shasta Scout is news as a service. We scout out the truth, for you.

We head back to the newsroom to work on a written story that provides context and commentary for readers. That’s why it might take another day or two until we publish an in-depth meeting-related story on our website. shastascout.org/donate-2025/...

Donate - Mid-Year 2025 Campaign – Shasta Scout Shasta Scout is news as a service. We scout out the truth, for you.

We plan our editorial calendar, in part, around the noteworthy items previewed in the Signals email. Then, while attending public meetings throughout the week , we report key outcomes and real-time meeting updates on Instagram and Facebook.
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Donate - Mid-Year 2025 Campaign – Shasta Scout Shasta Scout is news as a service. We scout out the truth, for you.

Shasta Scout newsletter subscribers receive a weekly preview of upcoming public meetings and notable agenda items. Delivered each Saturday morning, “Signals from Shasta Scout” outlines upcoming civic activity in Shasta County. shastascout.org/donate-2025/...

As part of this week’s campaign to grow our newsroom sustainably, we want to share how we find much of the news on our radar. If you haven’t already, please become a member today, as we still need at least 16 donations to hit our goal!
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Brief outburst by the defendant interrupts Tyler McCain hearing on Day 3 – Shasta Scout On the third day of a preliminary hearing for Tyler McCain, who’s facing murder charges, the court heard from two individuals being offered immunity in exchange for their testimony. The hearing was…

On Day 3 of a preliminary hearing for Tyler McCain, who’s facing murder charges, the hearing was briefly interrupted by McCain after the court was shown a picture of framed family photos on the walls of their home, prompting an outburst.

shastascout.org/brief-outbur...

Uproar erupts over Shasta’s failure to file charter status with the state – Shasta Scout A clerical oversight had left Shasta County without the official charter status voters approved in March 2024, until this week. Fixing that mistake was quick, but the issue exploded into the public ey...

Notably, former Assistant ROV Joanna Francescut was the only person among those pointing fingers to make a reference to the law, which clearly spells out the process.

Redding Police Department vehicle pursuit ends in critical injury of motorcyclist – Shasta Scout RPD alleges a motorcyclist fled from a traffic stop, prompting a chase and crash that landed the driver in the hospital. California Penal Code imposes specific guidelines for how police officers shoul...

It’s not clear from RPD’s initial press release what, if any, immediate danger to the public the RPD officer suspected when they initiated a motorcyclist pursuit.

New criminal protective orders issued after second day of Tyler Scott McCain’s preliminary hearing  – Shasta Scout Testimony from the stand included items found in the home of Tyler McCain and his wife Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain in the days after she went missing. The judge agreed to put new criminal protective…

Testimony included items found in the home of Tyler McCain and his wife Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain in the days after she went missing. The judge agreed to put new criminal protective orders in place to prevent McCain from contacting two of Saelee-McCain’s sisters.
shastascout.org/new-criminal...