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Athletes from more than two dozen area schools competed at the 20th annual Unified Gifted Games held on May 9 at Andy Hardin Stadium at Hollister High School.

According to Sam Sauer, a Gilroy Unified Adult Transition Program teacher, 25 schools attended the games. 

“I first participated back in 2010, ” Sauer said. “That was my first Gifted Games, and I have seen it grow significantly over the past 15 years or so.”

According to Sauer,  this year’s event included many different sports and activities, such as softball, the long jump, and the football throw, as well as inflatables. 

“We are having an amazing time, as always,” Sauer said. “We love this event and look forward to it every year.”

“I think this event is awesome,” said Hollister High Behavioral Support Supervisor Vanya Robles Davidson, adding that everyone was “having a terrific time.”

Cristina Vasquez’s son, Mateo Sotomayor, participated in the wheelchair race.

“We love it,” Vasquez said. “I hope we can do it more times in the year. My son was very excited and trained a lot.”

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FORT BRAGG, CA., 5/12/25 – After being informed by the President Donald Trump administration that their National Endowment for the Arts grants were terminated earlier this month, two local nonprofits will still be able to implement the programs they planned – with the help of national foundations stepping up to fill the void.  

In January, the Larry Spring Museum and Art Explorers were told they would receive $10,000 grants from the NEA.  

Dedicated to the science experiments and outsider art of Larry Spring and artists working in the fields of art and science, the Larry Spring Museum was set to receive a grant to expand its Redwood Time project, which examines the narrative of settlement and resource development on the Northern California Coast. The grant will fund an artist in residency with artist Ursula Brookbank and an artist workshop with Anne Beck. 

Art Explorers, an art gallery and studio for adult artists with disabilities, was awarded a grant to launch Film School, which will offer filmmaking workshops to its artists culminating in a film about Fort Bragg.  

The grants were part of the NEA’s Challenge America program, which funds art projects in underserved communities, including rural areas like Fort Bragg, and populations such as individuals with disabilities.  

It takes on average 25 to 40 hours to write a NEA grant. Thousands of nonprofits across the country apply and less than 300 organizations are selected.  

Art Explorers board member Adele Horne called the grant “a really big deal” due to its competitive nature.  

However, the excitement of the grant awards was short-lived.  

In March, the museums received emails from the NEA that funding may be delayed due to staff having to review executive orders signed by Trump that could possibly impact the grants.  

On May 2, the Larry Spring Museum and Art Explorers received emails stating that “the NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President. Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.” 

Both grants were determined to fall out of scope of Trump’s priorities, which include art projects that “empower houses of worship” and “make America healthy again.”  

That’s when two national arts organizations stepped up to the plate.  

On Wednesday, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation announced that they would jointly award $800,000 to 80 nonprofits across the country that found their programs in jeopardy due to NEA grant uncertainty.  

The Larry Spring Museum and Art Explorers were among the chosen organizations. Each would receive $10,000 to implement the programs they proposed to the NEA.  

“We’re thrilled,” said Maria Trombetta executive director of Art Explorers. “We are deeply grateful to these foundations for providing this generous support at such a critical moment for so many organizations.” 

The response was similar for the Larry Spring Museum’s Executive Director Anne Maureen McKeating. “We are deeply grateful that the Frankenthaler and Warhol foundations have elected to ensure that visual art projects that lost their funding—many of which serve remote communities like ours—can move forward without further interruption.”

There was no time like the present, according to Elizabeth Smith, executive director of the Frankenthaler Foundation. She hopes that other organizations will step up to fund organizations that are seeing funding dwindle away by the power of the president’s pen. 

“In times of crisis—whether in response to natural disaster, global pandemic, or financial disruption—foundations do their best work when they come together to assert shared values,” she said.  

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“James Wright,” Danita Quinn (Pit River, Wintu, Yana) called out to a group of demonstrators as she held up a poster with a yearbook photo of a little boy’s face. In 1986, when Wright was only 17, he disappeared without a trace. Today, the Pit River community continues to keep James’ memory alive, referring to him as “Little Man.” 

Recently, when his mother Florence contacted the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office to inquire about his investigation, Quinn told Shasta Scout, officers said there was no longer a case. The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

“He’s a cold case, if anyone wants to hold him.” Quinn said, as she distributed Wright’s portrait and others amongst a group of about 50 demonstrators behind Redding City Hall on May 5, a day designated for bringing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP).

In conjunction with the national MMIP movement, local Indigenous people took action this week to call attention to a systemic crisis on dual fronts. Data shows both that Native people are disproportionately affected by homicidal and sexual violence, and that law enforcement often mishandles or neglects investigations involving Native victims. 

During Tuesday’s MMIP event, several of those present at Redding City Hall were direct family members of the missing or murdered featured on posters, many of whom were locals to Shasta and the surrounding counties before they disappeared.

Quinn was the organizer of a five mile prayer walk from Redding City Hall to the Redding Rancheria. She was joined in her efforts by Jack Potter of the Rancheria’s Tribal Council and Morning Star Gali (Pit River, Ajuwami Band) who is the founder of Indigenous Justice. After reaching their destination Tribal members engaged in a sacred fire ceremony and traditional dance and congregated over dinner. 

Tuesday’s MMIP walk in Redding was one of three events held locally this week. On May 4, community members also organized a candlelight vigil for the missing at the Sundial Bridge. And on the morning of May 5, before the Redding walk, a similar event was held in Burney. The area now known as Shasta County includes the ancestral lands of the Pit River Tribe, the Nor-El-Muk Wintu Nation, the Wintu Tribe of Northern California, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and the Redding Rancheria.

The MMIP Legacy in Shasta County

“Jessica Alva was a friend of ours who was killed in 2019,” Gali told Shasta Scout. According to Alva’s autopsy report, her death was suicide by hanging. Her community maintains that she was strangled by her physically abusive partner. Gali also named other local missing indigenous women including Melody Turner, Heather Cameron-Haller, and Angela McConnell.

Explaining that local law enforcement can be slow to act, Gali said it often falls on the members of a local tribe to search for answers on their own. 

“In the case of our loved one Nick Patterson, when he went missing… Shasta County unfortunately provided lots of roadblocks and really impeded the search efforts,” she said. “It really came down to the families and the local tribal community that had to coordinate search efforts to look for Nick in the snow.” 

Patterson’s remains were only recently recovered, 5 years after he was last seen alive. 

“It doesn’t seem that there was a willingness to do more in terms of a young Native American man that went missing under very suspicious circumstances”, Gali continued. “But when non-Native American people have gone missing, especially here in Redding, we’ve seen those resources activated in a way that our community just doesn’t experience.”

In a May 7 statement from the Sheriff’s Office, Public Information Officer Timothy Mapes pushed back on that perspective, telling Shasta Scout that the Department treats all missing persons reports “with the utmost seriousness” and conducts missing persons investigations “without bias or discrimination”.

“Every report is evaluated and acted upon with the same urgency and commitment to public safety,” Mapes emphasized.

Despite the fact that California is home to the largest Native population in the United States, it wasn’t until 2018 that James Ramos, the first Native lawmaker, was elected to the California State Assembly. Ramos, who’s now the chair of the California Legislative Native American Caucus, was the author of AB 1863. That bill implemented Feather Alerts, a specific tool through which Indigenous communities can alert the public when a Native person goes missing. 

Until recently, law enforcement were given broad leeway in determining if a missing Indigenous person met the criteria of a Feather Alert. This meant that local law enforcement and California Highway Patrol Officers had the power to deny a family’s request for a Feather Alert for any reason, including the officer’s assessment of their social or behavioral history. A 2024 amendment to the Feather Alert process now explicitly ensures that Tribal members with mental health or addiction issues will be included in Feather Alerts.  

Gali is concerned that bias amongst North State law enforcement is also exacerbating the MMIP crisis. Shasta Scout’s reporting on the initial disappearance of Patterson (Pit River, Atwamsini Band) documented his family’s fears that the Shasta County Sheriff was not taking the investigation into his disappearance seriously. According to his aunt, officers suggested that Patterson could have voluntarily taken off on his own, despite the fact that his loved ones felt it was unlike him to go totally incommunicado. 

Five years later, Patterson will soon finally be laid to rest, but Gali feels that “there’s definitely many more questions than answers.” 

Historical Context

It’s now been more than a hundred years since a concerted effort by the State of California to forcibly exterminate Indigenous populations. Still, generations of Native people have continued to experience harm at the hands of law enforcement.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta says that the Department of Justice is committed to prioritizing the families of Native people who disappear or are murdered.

“Trust is earned, and we’re doing our best to earn it by showing our respect, by listening, by learning, by being the best advocate and ally that we can be,” Bonta said on a podcast in 2023, “by standing up for the rights and dignities of all people, including certainly our Indigenous people.” 

On May 7, the California Assembly Democrats addressed the crisis and proposed solutions on May 7. A recording of the livestream is available here.

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A Cinco de Mayo Festival featured a slate of mariachi bands and drew a big crowd to Las Micheladas Bar & Grill on May 4.

According to Las Micheladas owner David Ramirez, more than 500 people attended the event during the festival’s first year.

“We celebrate this collaboration between the Downtown Association, Las Micheladas, and La Catrina,” Ramirez said.

The plan, Ramirez told BenitoLink, is to have the festival every year

Six bands played at the festival, including  Mariachi Mexico de Gilroy, Nuevo Instinto from Hollister, and Gente de la H from Hollister.

“We have mainliners from Hollister, Salinas and Grupo Desesperado from Watsonville.” Ramirez said.  

He said that there is good local talent and for Sunday’s festival they picked out the best of the best. 

“We celebrate the life and opportunity of our culture. Our transition and how we’ve made it here in the U.S.A.,” Ramirez said. “We are bringing it home and really sharing it with our fellow community members over here.”

He said they had never seen something like Sunday’s festival before. “We are so proud of the community for coming out here and enjoying such a good weekend.”  

One of the attendees, Joe Bonnie Hernandez, said he wanted “Hollister to get to know more Mexicans.” 

He said his favorite band is Mariachis Mariachi de Gilroy.

Daniel Espinosa, who also attended the festival, told BenitoLink he had fun and enjoyed watching the bands. “When you’re with family and you embrace your culture, why would you not have a good time?” 

We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.

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President Donald Trump recently took aim at the federal Department of Education, casting doubt over the future of various forms of financial support to local districts across the country and San Joaquin Valley. 

In a “skinny budget” proposal released May 2, the president recommends slashing the federal department by more than 20% – cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from programs that aid English learners and migrant students. 

California is home to more than one million multilingual learners, according to state data. In the central San Joaquin Valley, where roughly one in five students are English learners, federal dollars account for a notable portion of funding in school districts. 

In counties like Fresno and Merced, education leaders are keeping a close eye on how changes in the federal government will affect local schools. 

Trump’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year recommends completely abolishing a funding stream for migrant education and English learners, known as Title 3. 

“To end overreach from Washington and restore the rightful role of State oversight in education, the Budget proposes to eliminate the misnamed English Language Acquisition program which actually deemphasizes English primacy by funding NGOs and States to encourage bilingualism,” the budget reads in a one-paragraph explanation of the funding cut. 

“The historically low reading scores for all students mean States and communities need to unite—not divide—classrooms using evidence-based literacy instruction materials to improve outcomes for all students,” the budget reads.

The attacks on the federal agency come after the president issued an executive order in late March mandating the full closure of the Department of Education. 

The order also required that any program receiving federal funds must stop any progression on “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. 

Following the executive order, the Department of Education issued a statement expressing its intention to continue to “empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.”

The full closure of the department and implementation of the budget will take an act of Congress. It’s unclear when legislators will decide the department’s future.

What are these funds for?

Title 3 provides districts with dollars to provide professional development for EL teachers, principals, school administrators and create EL parent and community engagement opportunities.

The funding also provides resources to help recently-arrived immigrant and migrant students reach state academic and achievement standards.

In Fresno County, where one of the state’s largest – and some of its most rural – districts reside, federal funds are “critical,” according to the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools.  

“[Title 3] is particularly important to us in the Central Valley because they’re designed to ensure all our students can achieve English proficiency and high academic achievement,” said Superintendent Michele Cantwell-Copher.

On average, Copher said the county receives between $4.5 million to $5 million of Title 3 funding annually. Each district then receives funding based on the number of English learners and immigrant students enrolled in schools. 

Fresno Unified – the third-largest district in the state– receives the highest allocation in the county, with more than $1.8 million granted for the last academic year. 

“Without [this funding] we would be concerned about program objectives, instructional opportunities being diminished,” Copher said. “There would be curriculum materials, software and assessment opportunities that would be negatively impacted. We need that funding to meet the unique needs of our under-resourced students.”

The county office is keeping a close eye on how federal funding may shift in the near future, Copher said. 

“We have been very persistent about communicating to the leaders of the state on how critical this funding is [for our students], but right now there’s no reason for districts to worry,” Copher said.

Some rural districts say federal funding is ‘very small.’

Small, rural districts in Fresno County are also not yet alarmed about the federal funding cuts. Mendota Unified in west Fresno has a student body of 4,000 – with nearly half designated as English learners and almost all coming from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The district receives up to $400,000 in Title 3 funding annually. The district uses the funds to support their English learning programs, after-school tutoring and summer school courses.

“It’s a very small amount of money, considering our overall budget is $80 million,” said Jose Ochoa, the district’s director of state and federal programs. 

According to Ochoa, the district receives more than half of its overall funding from the state Local Control Funding Formula, which finances districts through a combination of local property taxes and state funding based on student demographics. Federal grants make up about $5 million of Mendota Unified’s annual budget.

In Merced County, the Merced Union High School District is also not concerned about major financial changes. The district – serving 11,000 students – receives more than $12 million in federal funding, making a fraction of its nearly $250 million annual budget. 

According to district spokesperson Viviana Fuentes, EL programs at MUHSD are primarily funded through its general fund and the Local Control Funding Formula. 

Meanwhile, the federal Title 3 funds allotted to the district are used primarily for its community liaison staff – which serve as communication links between home and school for parents and guardians. The district would continue to have those positions without federal funding, Fuentes said.

In the case of more federal funding cuts, Ochoa of Mendota Unified said the district is able to operate and serve its students with LCFF funds. The district is anticipating a small roll back of about $300,000 in its federal funding next year, Ochoa said. 

“Obviously we’d miss it, but I don’t believe our kids will be impacted negatively to the point where we can’t continue to offer our current programs,” Ochoa said. “But anytime we can have federal funding, we’re taking it.”

The post President Trump slashed the Department of Education. What does it mean for the Valley’s multilingual learners?  appeared first on Fresnoland.

MENDOCINO CO., 5/5/25 – Mendocino County firefighters are preparing for a difficult fire season this summer. 

The latest seasonal outlook report from the National Interagency Fire Center Predictive Services released Thursday predicts an early fire season, with significant fire potential for June, July, and August, further complicating difficulties created by federal budget cuts. 

Brett Lutz, fire meteorologist for the Northern California Geographic Area Coordination Center, said the seasonal outlook combines two factors: predicted warmer-than-normal temperatures and fuel characteristics. The latter includes fuel loading, or the amount of grass, brush, and trees on the land, and the moisture contained in those live and dead fuels. 

While consistent rain and snow over the past few years have lifted much of Northern California out of drought conditions, they have also supported high growth rates for fuels like grass and brush. When these fuels dry out, they become an important factor in large fire growth.

“You’re likely to see some fuel curing in the herbaceous fuels, the grass and to some degree brush as well,” Lutz said.

Especially in inland areas, this curing is happening earlier than usual, which signifies an early start to fire season. 

The seasonal outlook report also noted a heightened risk of “flash drought,” which occurs when there are intense heat waves capable of drying out fuels to dangerous levels over a short period of time. As an example, Lutz pointed to the record-breaking heat wave in early July of last year, which created conditions that allowed the Park Fire to expand to the fourth-largest in California history, burning through nearly 430,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties in 2024. 

Wind, though harder to predict months in advance, plays a considerable role in the spread of wildfires, as seen recently with the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. According to Lutz, July and August face a higher likelihood of northerly dry wind events, which, when coupled with dry fuels, create red flag conditions. 

Outside of these key months, May is predicted to remain sporadic in its weather, with cool and moist periods mixed with warming and drying periods. The warming and drying trend should become strong in the summer in the inland Bay Area, Lutz said. 

“The grass is definitely turning a little sooner than expected,” said Shane Lamkin, battalion chief for the Cal Fire Mendocino Unit. “It usually starts around this time of year anyway, but we’re already seeing those greens turning yellow — especially in the valley, and particularly the Ukiah Valley.” 

This observation is backed by data, noted Kevin Osborne, a fire analyst with the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s just happening earlier, which means then curing happens earlier and once the brush fuels are available, then you have that alignment between the valley floor and the foothills with all the grass and then the mid elevation with all the chamise and manzanita,” he said. “Once those both are available, the opportunities for large fire really increase because you can transition the same fire from the lower elevations to the upper elevations or mid elevations.” 

Local winds also become a bigger factor as summer heats up, Osborne said, especially those that blow down the lee slopes of the coastal ranges during hot inland days. 

“Those thermal trough winds that blow down the slope into the valley – those are going to be driven by long periods of hot dry weather, and we’re expecting a really warm and dry summer,” Osborne said. “We’re always warm and dry, right? But extended warm dry periods tend to really help develop the trough and make those winds pretty strong.” 

In addition to these predictions, cuts at the federal level affecting the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service will play a significant role in how fires are fought. Federal agencies like these employ the majority of wildland firefighters across the nation, including thousands in California. 

In the past few months, many employees were laid off or took buyouts. Though the cuts have largely affected non-firefighting employees, many red-carded employees — qualified firefighters who are able to leave their day jobs to assist firefighting efforts — have been affected. This can hamper fire response, especially during large fire years, when firefighting resources are already stretched thin. 

“It’s definitely possible that people with qualifications that support firefighting on those larger fires could be missing because of that,” Osborne said. However, he emphasized the cuts have not targeted frontline firefighters. 

 “Staffing challenges that forests have faced in the past they’re going to continue to face because it’s just difficult to find employees to work hard in rough terrain and remote locations,” he said. “But currently the federal government has specifically avoided targeting fire.”

The majority of Mendocino County is state and private land, and Cal Fire is preparing earlier than ever for the coming fire season, Lamkin said.

“On the state side we’ve been getting ready as early as January this year to hire back our seasonal workforce. I’d say several months earlier than we normally have,” Lamkin said. “All of our engines are staffed up to their full capacity and we’re taking the measures that we need to be ready for an early fire season.”

Lamkin also stressed the work property owners can do in the coming weeks to assist with fire prevention.

“Right now, we encourage residents to take advantage of the time to clear any kind of vegetation that’s unwanted on their property, or anything that would pose a risk to their homes. But we encourage them to do it in a safe manner. And to do so, you can apply for a burn permit by going to burnpermit.fire.ca.gov.” 

More information on how to prepare a home for fire danger can be found at readyforwildfire.org. For active incidents throughout the state and information about them, including evacuations, go to fire.ca.gov. Mendocino County emergency information can be found at mendoready.org. 

Caio Driver is a freelance writer and a firefighter.

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WILLITS, CA., 5/1/25 — Every weekday around 11:45 a.m., a large group of seniors gather at the Willits Senior Center on Baechtel Road for a hot meal prepared by the center’s trained kitchen staff. 

The scent of lasagna, fresh salad and chocolate chip cookies fills the dining room as guests enjoy their lunch, leaving satisfied and happy. On some days, the seniors enjoy recipes like chicken teriyaki stir-fry, while on others they have a celebratory meal like turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.  

In addition to enjoying a fresh, homemade lunch, seniors at the center have the opportunity to socialize with friends, participate in activities such as bingo and music classes, and experience a sense of community. The center also offers transportation services for seniors who need rides to medical appointments, grocery stores and other essential errands around town. 

Despite the support the center provides for the elderly community, it faces ongoing funding threats. As of July 2026, the center will lose $34,100 in funding from Mendocino County, according to documents provided to The Mendocino Voice by the Willits Senior Center and the county. The department that has initiated the funding cuts is the Mendocino County Department of Social Services. 

The center has been a supportive network for seniors since it was founded in 1974. In the late 1970s, the center was operating out of a slowly deteriorating facility, prompting local businessman and philanthropist Robert Harrah and his wife Jayne to donate land and fund the construction of a new building. The project was completed in 1987 and is the current building on Baechtel Road. 

Richard Baker, the executive director of the center, spoke passionately about his time working with seniors and how he’s seen older folks get so much joy from the food and outreach provided by the facility. 

Baker, originally from Salt Lake City, relocated to the Willits area in 1995, shortly after his father passed away there. Around 2010, he began working at the senior center as a driver, assisting seniors with tasks ranging from taking them to important appointments to delivering newspapers to their front doors. He also occasionally picked up supplies for them from grocery or gardening stores. 

In 2017, Baker was promoted to executive director of the senior center, taking on responsibilities that included organizing employees and volunteers, as well as managing funding strategies to keep the facility up and running. Above all, Baker ensures the center provides everything it can for the seniors of Willits. 

“The bottom line is, we do wellness checks, go to people’s houses and check on them,” Baker explained in an interview. “When a senior in Willits has a problem, they call us. Whether it’s something we are getting funding for … we do it.”  

Baker said the Meals on Wheels program, which provides meals to homebound and disabled seniors in Willits who cannot cook for themselves, has been a key support for many people who would otherwise go without food. 

“I was delivering a meal to a woman in a trailer park off Walker Road. She was sitting alone, and when I gave her the meal, she started crying,” Baker emphasized. “She said, ‘If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had a meal today. I don’t have any friends or family.’ I took a moment to sit down with her and explained that even though I’m the one delivering the meal, there are many people behind the scenes who make it possible.” 

According to the documents from Mendocino County, $34,100 will be cut from an outreach contract previously funded by the county’s Department of Social Services. 

According to Baker, the center also experienced a funding cut of $15,999 this year from the department’s CalFresh unit. In total, the Willits Senior Center is facing $50,099 in funding losses in less than two years — cuts that Baker said will significantly impact outreach services. Outreach departments are responsible for identifying seniors and caregivers in need of assistance and resources from the center. 

“Currently, we have a two-person outreach department, but at a minimum, it would be reduced to a one-person contract … we’ll need to reconfigure our outreach department and determine what we can and cannot afford to do moving forward,” Baker added. “Right now, we can’t sustain an extra $30,000 to $40,000 in expenses every year. You can’t hire an employee without having the funds to pay them.” 

Fortunately, the senior center has other funding from sources like its on-site thrift store, which brings in about $300,000 annually. It also receives significant funding through grants, such as those from the Mendocino Transit Authority. 

But for the senior center’s outreach department, $50,099 is a significant amount of money, and Baker is still considering different ways the center can reach its budget goals next year without losing employees. 

“By January 2026, I’ll start reaching out to the city of Willits and the [county] Board of Supervisors to see if any additional funding will be available,” Baker said. “We’ll make adjustments at that point, but people are still going to need help, and they’re not going to stop calling us just because the funding disappeared. The senior center is a trusted resource, and we want to be able to direct people to someone who can help them instead of just telling them they’re out of luck.” 

To sustain its finances and increase donations, Baker said the senior center is creating a fundraising platform called the Redwood Society, a program where elders could dedicate their estates or other assets to secure the center’s future. 

“We’re shifting our strategy and trying to become more independent, moving away from reliance on government funding. One of the key steps we’re taking is setting up the Redwood Society,” Baker stated. “We plan to reach out to the community and ask people to consider including the senior center in their wills, trusts, or estate planning — whether it’s a percentage of their estate or their entire estate if they have no relatives and want to support us in that way.” 

Through the creation of the Redwood Society and other plans to build an endowment that will provide funds to the center annually, Baker hopes the senior center can rely less on outside funding sources. However, these plans will take time to implement. He explained that Willits Senior Inc., the nonprofit behind the Willits Senior Center, has already created an endowment for the center.  

Baker said Willits Senior Inc. has a $1 million endowment, which provides $30,000 to $35,000 each year in operating revenue. 

“If we can grow that to $3 million, we’ll generate $100,000 annually, which would eliminate the need for county funding,” he said. “This will help us reduce our dependence on outside funding sources. It’s going to take time, but it’s part of our current plan.” 

Baker said creating the Redwood Society will not only allow seniors to contribute to a cherished community resource but also give them a chance to leave their mark in a unique way. He hopes to acquire a large piece of redwood to display in the center’s lobby, where members of the Redwood Society can sign their names. 

“We’ll make it nice and place it in the lobby. As people donate, we’ll add their names to it,” Baker said. “These ideas are all important, especially the endowment. Many seniors who have benefited from the center and understand how important we are will want to contribute.”  

To contribute to the center, either financially or by volunteering, visit their website. To donate by check, mail it to 1501 Baechtel Road, Willits, CA. 

People can also donate items to the thrift store or consider becoming a board member. The senior center will be sending updates on the creation of the Redwood Society.

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After hours of public interviews yesterday afternoon, April 30, Shasta County’s Board has selected a new Registrar of Voters (ROV). Clint Curtis is a Florida-based attorney with no ties to Shasta County and no experience running elections.

He’s also an outspoken opponent of the use of voting machines who highlighted his connection to MyPillow CEO and election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell during his interview. 

Curtis will replace ROV Tom Toller whose resignation became official on April 29th. Toller, who was also appointed by supervisors, held the role for only eight months before stepping down for health reasons.

Supervisors Kevin Crye, Chris Kelstrom and Corkey Harmon cast the deciding votes for Curtis late afternoon after interviewing a total of four candidates. Curtis was the only one of the four with no previous experience in elections management.

Other candidates included long-term Shasta County election staffer and Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut; Elle Leigh Sharpe, a staffer at the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office with previous experience at the Placer County Elections Office; Robin Underwood, a City Clerk based in Michigan. The fifth candidate invited to interview for the position did not appear.

Board Chair Crye made the motion for Curtis’ appointment, saying while he doesn’t believe there are any significant issues with Shasta County elections, “its time for change” in a “directio n that may be unknown” to do things “way out of the box.”

“I think now is the time to do things differently and lead in a different way,” Crye continued, without further explanation.

What Curtis plans to do differently, he told supervisors, is film the entire Shasta County elections process, a step he says will allow the community to see for themselves if voting machines are accurate. He provided no details about the practicalities of such a plan including how much it would cost, whether and how he’d adjust current state-regulated election processes to implement it, or how exactly the public will be able to use the filming process to verify accurate election processes. 

Nevertheless, Supervisor Kelstrom immediately seconded Crye’s motion to select Curtis. He aid he had no concerns with the work of Assistant ROV Francescut, who has 17 years of experience in the local Elections Office, but wanted to go with Curtis instead. 

This is the second time Francescut has applied for the position in a year. She was passed over both last year and this year, despite strong public support from a majority of the vocal public, while the Board majority consistently chose candidates with no experience in elections management. She’s faced a litany of accusations from a small but vocal group of locals who believe widespread election fraud is occurring across the United States, many of whom are associated with New California State, a secessionist movement that hopes to separate from the “tyrannical” California government.

Harmon, who provided the swing vote on the vote to select Curtis, also expressed support for Francescut. But he told Shasta Scout after the meeting that he agrees with Crye that a new approach to elections is needed, saying what’s at stake is bigger than Shasta County. 

“It’s about election integrity across the country,” Harmon said. “California-wide, country-wide…  Everybody knows there’s issues with elections. And I think there’s stuff coming (federally) that’s going to change some things, for the better.” 

The idea that the Trump administration’s recent executive order might impact local elections was a recurring theme throughout interview questions and Board conversations. In response to questions from Supervisor Crye about whether they’d follow the will of the Board or the will of the state when it comes to elections, all four candidates emphasized that they would follow election law, which is currently set primarily at the state level.

Curtis’ selection was strongly opposed by Supervisors Allen Long and Matt Plummer, who both raised concerns about Curtis’s work history and qualifications for the role. Curtis has long been a controversial figure. He’s a former computer programmer who claims he wrote a code that could be used to flip election machines, then later blew the whistle saying he didn’t know what the code was intended for when he wrote it. He told supervisors yesterday that he wanted to work in Shasta County elections to atone for his mistake in writing that code decades ago.

While Curtis has previously claimed publicly to have been fired from one of his former jobs, he wrote in his ROV application that he’d never been discharged or forced to resign from a position. When asked about that discrepancy by Supervisor Crye during his interview, Curtis defended himself, saying he wasn’t technically terminated from his former employment because he was a contractor, not an employee.

Faced with a similarly tough question from Plummer about how many election cases he’d won as an attorney specializing in election law over the last twelve years, Curtis first said none then hedged saying he thinks he won a small one once, “but nothing much.” 

Curtis’ lack of success in the courtroom, along with his’ four unsuccessful runs for Congress, prompted Plummer to refer to Curtis as not having a track record of success, adding that it would be unwise to appoint someone whose goal is to address alleged illegalities at the elections office that have never even been documented. 

Supervisor Long spoke similarly, saying what Shasta County needs in the ROV role is experience, qualifications and stability — not an outsider with new ideas on how to change election processes in order to address unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Long said he didn’t believe Curtis met even the basic qualifications that had been set by the Board for the ROV appointment making a motion that Curtis be eliminated from consideration based on his lack of qualifications for the role which wasn’t seconded.

Curtis’ application was screened by an ad hoc committee that included both Long and Crye, which means Long originally approved him to interview for the role before changing his mind. Speaking to Shasta Scout after the meeting, Long said he approved Curtis for the interview process because he and Supervisor Crye were told by Shasta County’s Director of Support Services Monica Fugitt that Curtis met qualifications for the role. 

It was only after checking the video of the Board’s vote on qualification requirements and reviewing details of the agenda packet, Long said, that he became convinced Curtis didn’t actually qualify to be interviewed at all. Fugitt told Shasta Scout last week that she would not comment on whether Curtis met qualifications for the role.

During a fifteen-minute speech to the Board in an attempt to dissuade them from choosing Curtis, Long also addressed concerns about various aspects of Curtis’ work history, as reported by Orlando Weekly. Neither Crye nor Kelstrom offered any response, but Harmon summoned Curtis to the dais. The candidate offered hard-to-follow rebuttals to Long’s concerns, saying Long should have done better research and recommending he read a specific blog for accurate facts.

The meeting was briefly disrupted during Long’s comments to the Board after community member Christian Gardinier called out from the chamber floor for the second time, after a first warning. In response to Crye’s commands to leave the room, Gardinier held his ground saying he was willing to be arrested. Chair Crye called a meeting recess and asked everyone but the press to exit the chamber before calling on the two Sheriff’s deputies in the room to assist Gardinier to vacate the room. After a few moments, in response to a request from Long, Gardinier chose to leave on his own. He remained outside the chamber for the rest of the meeting.

After being selected, Curtis offered brief comments to the press. He took a cavalier tone, delivering mostly vague answers to questions about how he intends to run the Elections Office. Last his interview last year, Curtis said that he might want to “start over” with fresh staff at the Elections Office. This year, he said he’s going to wait and see how “retraining” goes before making a decision. Asked specifically about maintaining the employment of Assistant ROV Francescut, Curtis said he might be able to work with her, “if she was telling the truth during her interview.”

Francescut has worked in Shasta County elections since 2008 and held the Assistant ROV role since 2018. She has administered over 30 elections and ran the March 2024 primary on her own while ROV Cathy Darling Allen was out on medical leave.

She told supervisors yesterday that she was willing to continue in her role as Assistant ROV if not selected for the lead role. Speaking to Shasta Scout after the meeting, she expressed respect for the Board’s decision to choose Curtis. Within a few hours of the Board’s decision, she issued a press release publicly announcing her candidacy for the ROV role in 2026.

“Shasta County deserves experienced and trusted leadership in the elections office,” Francescut wrote, “I’m committed to this work that I’ve done locally for 17 years and I’m running to bring stability, experience, and integrity to the role at a pivotal time for local elections.”

Now that Curtis has been selected, he must pass a background check, move to Shasta County, and register to vote before he can legally become Shasta County’s next ROV. If appointed he’d hold the role until at least January 2027. That’s when the winner of the June 2026 election for the ROV role will take their seat.

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Hollister’s weekly Farmers’ Market reopened on April 16 on San Benito Street and drew a fine turnout despite the cold weather.

Bri Rodriguez, who manages the market, said it has been in operation for 38 years and has grown to include more than 90 vendors—from fruit and vegetable stands to food trucks. 

DJ E-Poki performed during the event.

“We sell Belgian Liege waffles made out of a brioche dough with sugar pearls inside,” said Nick Belaski of Wafflz & Pearlz. “There are many different varieties: dipped waffles, waffle pops, and classic waffles with fresh toppings.

Customer Jay Guardro’s favorite menu item is the Wafflz & Pearlz Strawberry Pop, a recently introduced item made with Dubai chocolate and strawberries. 

Belaski said he thinks the new pop will be a big hit, but their most popular item is the dipped Cookies and Cream waffles.

“This is our second year doing the Farmers’ Market,” Belaski said, “and the flavors people have liked have been pretty consistent. They tend to be creatures of habit.”

Market-goer Aliana Reyes said this is the fourth time she has been to the market. Her favorite spot is an area next to the bookstore where you can create your own slime.

She said, “I love to come here with my family because there are so many things to do.”

Cassandra Garcia said she got a baked potato and a piña colada.

“I moved here around two years ago,” she said. “It’s our first time here at The Farmers’ Market and it’s one of the funniest things ever.” 

Brook Sword said her favorite vendors were the farmers and BR Beef, where she buys the organic beef jerky.

“I love the delicious vegetables and the good weather,” she said. “I come every single week and buy dinner, so I’m so happy that it’s back.”

Andrew Avila of Hollister’s Valois Family Farm said the most popular items are mushrooms and strawberries.

“The trend changes,” he said, “It’s surprising to me that a lot of people have recently been buying carrots.” 

Customer Zuleyka Reyes said she saw online that it was the first day of the Farmers’ Market and decided to attend.

“I try to come every now and then,” she said. “Ivan’s Baked Potato is probably my favorite. They are really good. And there is a vendor here that sells really pretty fresh flowers.”

The post Hollister Farmers’ Market kicks off another season appeared first on BenitoLink.