HHS Secretary Bobby Kennedy Jr. and grandkids took a dip in sewage tainted waters last weekend.
It’s official. Now that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has posted topless photos of himself cavorting in a polluted Washington D.C. stream with his grandkids the United States is literally up shit creek without a paddle. The end of expertise is at hand.
Kennedy, ostensible leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement, a MAGA subgroup, has no medical or scientific training. He spent the first third of his adult life mainlining heroin and pushing drugs on his entitled Ivy League friends. He’s not just a vaccine skeptic, he doesn’t believe in germ theory, one of the main principles underlying modern medicine.
This alleged ex-junkie claims a parasitic worm crawled inside his brain, took a chomp out of his grey matter and promptly died. How the hell did RFK Jr. get put in charge of America’s health?
In a word, anti-intellectualism, a key feature of the MAGA movement that was on full display Tuesday evening at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting, held at the limited capacity Shasta Lake City Hall chambers while their own chambers are being renovated.
Anti-intellectualism. That’s why Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye, former District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones and District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom voted to appoint Dr. James Mu as Shasta County’s Public Health Officer in October 2023. A family physician with no formal training in public health or virology, Mu’s public break with mainstream medical beliefs during the COVID-19 pandemic earned him the six-figure position, created after the board fired Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom in 2022, who actually did have a Master’s in Public Health.
Shasta County Public Health Officer Dr. James Mu.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Dr. Mu once again delivered for his MAGA puppet masters, sowing doubt about the efficacy and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines based on data from the Vaccine Event Adverse Reporting System, VAERS. Although Dr. Mu pretended to be a detached scientific observer of the facts, the main source of his tepid Power Point presentation was OpenVAERS, a well-known distributor of anti-vaccine misinformation.
“Again, think of this VAERS report as one big canary in a coal mine,” Dr. Mu wrongly concluded. “It tells us something could be wrong, but we don’t know exactly what it is.”
Anyone slightly acquainted with scientific method and virology realizes Dr. Mu and Chair Crye’s crusade against COVID-19 vaccines, which have saved tens of thousands of lives in Shasta County, California, the United States and around the world, has no foundation.
Dr. Mu has declined to pursue a Master’s in Public Health, as suggested by the good faith contract he was awarded 18 months ago. Instead, he’s in the process of being board certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Here’s its stance on providing COVID vaccines to children under 18:
“As you care for childhood and adolescent patients, it is important to STRONGLY RECOMMEND COVID-19 vaccines. Family physicians are the most valued and trusted sources of health information for their patients. While many parents and caregivers believe that vaccines are important, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many others expressed skepticism, were concerned, and became hesitant about all vaccines.”
In his presentation, Dr. Mu offered exactly none of the tempered advice offered by AAFP about COVID vaccines, even as he awaits the medical board’s certification required by his contract. It’s fair to say Dr. Mu is not promoting public health.
He’s promoting the opposite.
Scariest thing of all? Not a single board member called out Dr. Mu on his bogus presentation.
Meet Clint Curtis, your uniquely unqualified Shasta County ROV/Clerk.
The anti-intellectualism intensified on R4, which called for the official appointment of election denying Florida fabulist Clint Curtis as Shasta County ROV/Clerk. As A News Café previously reported, Curtis was less than honest on his job application, not listing that he’d been fired from the Florida Department of Transportation in 2002.
As District 2 Supervisor Allen Long discovered, there may be a deeper reason behind Curtis’s deception, revealed by the inhouse background check conducted by county staff.
“I’m not going to delve too much into the background check but I just want to make two points,” Long said. “The first point was that the background revealed 11 lawsuits against or involving Mr. Curtis. Seven of those were against Mr. Curtis, including a Bank of America lawsuit for bankruptcy garnishment.”
“So my point with this is that we’ve got a lot of litigious activity that is swirling around this particular candidate,” Long said.
Long’s second point? Curtis signed a statement agreeing “that everything in the application was true and complete and that he agreed that any omission would be grounds for forfeiture of his potential right to this position in Shasta County.”
Curtis was less than forthcoming. In a normal job interview, that’s the kind of thing that gets you not hired.
Former District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert.
Former District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert, attending her first board meeting since current District 3 Supervisor Corkey Harmon took office in January, torched Curtis’s sketchy work history.
“I interviewed Mr. Curtis for the position of registrar of voters last year,” Rickert said, addressing the board. “At that time, I felt Mr. Curtis was woefully unprepared and lacked the knowledge and skill set to run our ROV office for Shasta County. After doing my due diligence, the more I uncovered of Mr. Curtis, the more questions I had. A thorough background check by a professional is warranted, and this board majority is not living up to its oath of office by not providing that.”
Then Rickert drilled down on her successor, Corkey Harmon.
“This board majority is not listening to the people,” she said. “And Mr. Harmon, when you campaigned, you stated you were not aligned with anyone. We have seen the truth, Mr. Harmon, by your voting record. This decision rests on the shoulders of the board majority. Do what is right, complete a thorough background check and be transparent. The public is entitled to the facts.”
Chair Crye called Curtis to the podium to defend himself. It didn’t go well.
“Those lawsuits that I did go bankrupt for was when I actually was a whistleblower and I told all the information and testified before Congress,” he said. “And so I couldn’t get a job for a while because they kind of put the squeeze on you.”
Curtis denied he was fired from FDOT on his application but now he’s playing it up—like he’s done for the past 23 years.
“I had no money,” Curtis said. “I had no job, even though I was a programmer from NASA and all these other places. They put the squeeze on you. I was in Florida, and it was Jeb Bush’s Florida. So if you know anything about the Bushes, you know that’s the way it works. So that’s the explanation, sir.”
Again, that’s the sort of confession that generally blows up the job interview, unless you’re a MAGA partisan applying for work in Shasta County.
I’d say God help us but this crap has turned me into an atheist.
SCOREBOARD
REGULAR CALENDAR
Board Matters
R1 Receive an update from the County Executive Officer on County issues and consider action on specific legislation related to Shasta County’s legislative platform and receive Supervisors’ reports on countywide issues.
No Additional General Fund Impact
No Vote
R2 Adopt a proclamation which designates May 15, 2025, as “Peace Officers’ Memorial Day” in Shasta County, and direct the Courthouse flag be flown at half- staff on May 15, 2025 (Sponsored by Supervisor Long).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Score: 5-0.
Presentations
R3 Receive a presentation from the County Health Officer regarding COVID-19 vaccine side effects (Sponsored by Supervisor Crye).
No Additional General Fund Impact
No Vote
Support Services
R4 Adopt a resolution that appoints Clinton Curtis to the office of County Clerk – Registrar of Voters, effective May 14, 2025, for the remaining duration of the unexpired term, lasting until the first Monday after January 1, 2027.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote Board of Supervisors
Score: 3-2, with Supervisors Crye, Kelstrom and Harmon voting to hire Clint Curtis for Shasta County ROV/Clerk.
R5 Adopt a resolution which designates the Shasta County Chamber of Commerce as Shasta County’s destination marketing organization (Sponsored by Supervisor Kelstrom).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 3-2, with Supervisors Crye, Kelstrom and Harmon voting in favor.
R6 Designate Supervisors Crye and Harmon as spokespersons of the Board of Supervisors to present to the California Energy Commission at a forthcoming meeting regarding the Fountain Wind Project.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-0.
R7 Approve a letter to President Trump regarding the layoff of federal workers and the potential impact to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-0.
County Administrative Office
R8 Receive an update from the County Executive Officer regarding Health Care initiatives in Shasta County and consider providing direction to staff.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-0.
R9 Take the following actions: (1) Discuss the goal of committing to end veteran homelessness in Shasta County; (2) adopt a resolution which establishes a commitment to achieve functional zero for veteran homelessness in Shasta County; and (3) consider providing direction to staff.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-1.
SCHEDULED HEARINGS
Health and Human Services Agency-Economic Mobility
R10 Conduct a public hearing and approve the Community Action Agency’s 2026-27 Community Action Plan which establishes local policies for the administration of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-0.
Resource Management
R11 Take the following actions in order to comply with the Preemptory Writ of Mandate issued in Shasta County Superior Court Case # 23CV-0203713: (1) Conduct a public hearing; (2) find that the proposed ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Section 21080(b) and State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c); (3) introduce, waive the reading of, and enact, “An Ordinance Of The Board of Supervisors of the County Of Shasta Authorizing Compliance with a Preemptory Writ Of Mandate Issued in Shasta County Superior Court Case # 23CV-0203713 (Anderson/Millville Residents v. County Of Shasta; Shasta County Board of Supervisors and Patrick Jones), and Repealing Ordinance No. 378-2074;” (4) direct staff to return to the Shasta County Planning Commission to vacate and set aside Planning Commission Resolution 2023-010; and (5) authorize the Director of Resource Management, in his capacity as the County Environmental Review Officer, to withdraw the CEQA Notice of Determination adopted for Ordinance No. 378- 2074.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Score: 4-0.
CLOSED SESSION ANNOUNCEMENT
R12 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – ANTICIPATED LITIGATION
(Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4)):
Initiation of Litigation: One potential case
Score: The Board voted to initiate litigation and hire outside counsel.
R13 CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL – ANTICIPATED LITIGATION
(Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2)):
Significant Exposure to Litigation: One potential case
The significant exposure to litigation arises from former employee Eric Magrini.
Score: The Board voted to retain outside counsel.
CONSENT CALENDAR
The following Consent Calendar items are expected to be routine and non-controversial. They may be acted upon by the Board at one time without discussion. The Board voted 5-0 to approve all 29 items on the consent calendar.
County Administrative Office
C1 Approve the Local Planning Council Priority Submittal for the California Department of Education which identifies local zip code priorities for Fiscal Year 2025-26 as determined by the Shasta County Local Child Care and Development Planning Council in accordance with Education Code requirements.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures
C2 Approve a budget amendment which increases appropriations and revenue by $168,375 in the Ag Comm & Sealer of Wts Budget (BU 280).
No Additional General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
Auditor-Controller
C3 Deny the claim from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for refund of Fiscal Year 2020-21 property taxes in the amount of $2,136,576 plus interest.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Board of Supervisors
C4 Approve a letter to Governor Newsom requesting a statewide federal waiver to restrict the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds for purchasing sugary drinks and processed foods, aiming to improve public health aiming to improve public health and reduce healthcare costs (Sponsored by Supervisor Plummer).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C5 Approve a letter to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and a resolution declaring a local state of emergency due to the increasing presence and depredation of gray wolves in Shasta County (Sponsored by Supervisor Harmon).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C6 Approve a letter of support for House of Representatives Bill 2492: Fire Safe Corridors Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Supervisor Plummer).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
County Fire
C7 As introduced on April 22, 2025, enact, “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Shasta Approving the 2025 Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map for Local Responsibility Areas.”
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Health and Human Services Agency-Behavioral Health and Social Services
C8 Approve an amendment to the Shasta County Commission on Aging Bylaws which: (1) Updates the purpose of the Commission on Aging; (2) changes membership requirements; (3) adds Treasurer as an elected officer; (4) adds term lengths for elected officers; (5) adds elected officer expectations; and (6) updates reasons to remove a Commissioner.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C9 Approve a retroactive renewal agreement with Hill Country Community Clinic for a mental health wellness and recovery program in Eastern Shasta County.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Health and Human Services Agency-Economic Mobility
C10 Approve and authorize the Health and Human Services Agency Director to sign a retroactive amendment to the revenue agreement with the City of Redding for utilizing Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program round three funds (HHAP-3) to clarify payment provisions.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C11 Approve a retroactive amendment to the agreement with Providence International for subsidized employment services which increases maximum compensation.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Public Works
C12 Take the following actions regarding the “Shasta County Roofing Membrane Replacement – Various Locations Project,” Contract No. 610983 (Contract): (1) Award the Contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Harbert Roofing, Inc., on a lump sum basis, in the amount of $621,010; and (2) approve and authorize the Public Works Director, or their designee, to sign a Notice of Completion and record it within 15 days of actual completion of the work.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C13 Approve contracts with: (1) Mikala Corp dba A-1 Tree Service; (2) Tree Service Kings, Inc.; and (3) West Coast Tree Service, Inc., for tree and vegetation management services at County facilities.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C14 Approve an agreement with David A. Lawrence, Inc., dba Lawrence & Associates, for specialized consulting and testing services for the “Buckeye Landfill Phase III Ozone Injection Pilot Study” Contract No. 207586.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C15 Approve a renewal agreement with Cascade Software Systems LLC for Cost Accounting Management System technical support.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C16 Adopt a resolution which: (1) Designates authority to the Public Works Director, or their designee, to: (a) File applications for Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) grants; (b) accept allocations of FAA and Caltrans grant funds; (c) execute FAA and Caltrans grant agreements; and (d) sign any documents required to apply for and accept these subject funds on behalf of County; and (2) repeals Resolution No. 2008- 101.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C17 Adopt a resolution which authorizes the Federal Apportionment Exchange Program and State Match Program Agreement No. X25-5906(149) (Agreement) and approves the Agreement with the State of California through its Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to exchange Regional Surface Transportation Program funds for State Highway funds.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C18 Adopt a resolution for the “CSA 17-Cottonwood Collection System Improvement Project,” Contract No. 610533, which adopts a California Environmental Quality Act Addendum of a Mitigated Negative Declaration.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C19 Approve budget amendments which: (1) Increase appropriations by: (a) $2,000 in the CSA Administration Budget (BU 175); and (b) $9,100 in the Roads Budget (BU 301); and (2) increase revenue by $11,100 in the Facilities Management Admin Budget (BU 955) for the transfer of capital assets.
No General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
C20 Approve budget amendments for the “1265 Redwood Roof Replacement Project,” which increase appropriations and revenue by $44,600 in the Land Buildings and Improvements Budget (BU 166) and transfers appropriations in the amount of $44,600 in the Ag Comm & Sealer of Wts Budget (BU 280).
No Additional General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
C21 Approve budget amendments for the “Fire 72 Roof Replacement Project,” which increase appropriations and revenue by $15,000 in the Land Buildings and Improvements Budget (BU 166) and transfers appropriations in the amount of $15,000 in the CSA 1 Fire Protection Admin Budget (BU 00391).
No General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
Resource Management
C22 Adopt a resolution which ratifies the signature of the Director of Resource Management to the CalRecycle grant application for Local Enforcement Agency Grant Program (EA36) (Program) funds for Fiscal Year 2025-26 and designates authority to the Director of Resource Management, or their designee, to apply for additional Program grants, accept Program funds, and execute all grant- related documents during the five-year effective period of the resolution.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C23 Approve a budget amendment which increases appropriations and revenue by $200,000 in the Building Inspection Budget (BU 282) for the Shasta County ARPA Voluntary Nuisance Abatement Cleanup Program.
No Additional General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
Support Services
C24 Adopt a resolution which appoints Christy Coleman as the Interim Health and Human Services Agency Director effective May 13, 2025, and establishes Ms. Coleman’s compensation at the C-step salary range ($95.096 per hour/$16,483 per month).
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C25 Approve an amendment to the agreement with Technical Resource Management, LLC, dba Cordant Health Solutions, for drug testing and confirmation testing services which increases maximum compensation.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C26 Approve a renewal agreement with OpenGov for an online eProcurement system.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C27 Adopt a resolution which approves a successor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Deputy Sheriffs Association – Correctional Officer – Deputy Sheriffs (DSA-CO) and the County of Shasta covering the period of April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027, and adopt a salary resolution effective May 18, 2025, which amends the Salary Schedule for positions in County Service pursuant to the DSA-CO MOU.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
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