Birthday Boy Breaks His Beak
It doesn’t give me too much pleasure to be writing this on my 57th birthday. I can do the math. It’s not going to be too much longer before I check out. I might still be a teenager at heart,… Continue Reading
Author: R.V. Scheide
Trump Throws Stoners Off Train—Meanwhile, Judge Recuses Self From Benno Medical Marijuana Trial
Writer’s Note: This story is my take on remarks made by Trump officials last week that indicate the administration may enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized recreational use. My argument is that federal marijuana law has done… Continue Reading
California Flood Watch 2017: View From The High Ground
Water, water, everywhere. I’ve lived in California since 1978 and I’ve never seen the north state so saturated with rain and runoff. The floods of 1997 have already been surpassed, at least in my mind, and the bad news is… Continue Reading
On the Trail of a California Grifter Part 3: The Man in the Cage
Putting a person behind bars is a serious thing. That’s a hard fact to ignore in Department 62 of the Lorenzo E. Patino Hall of Justice, housed inside the Sacramento County Jail, where in-custody defendants make their pleas to magistrates… Continue Reading
On The Trail Of A California Grifter Part 2: Humboldt County Victim’s Decade-long Saga
In the first installment of this series, I introduced readers to Jeffrey Lang, a convicted felony embezzler who’s currently sitting in jail without bail facing fraud and forgery charges in Sacramento County. I also introduced, anonymously, the two women who have brought… Continue Reading
On the Trail of a California Grifter, Part 1: The Ladies Strike Back
Meet Jeffrey Lang, advertising salesman, convicted felon, grifter. Currently, he resides in the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Sacramento County, where he awaits trial on six felony charges that include the forgery or counterfeiting of seals, grand theft of money,… Continue Reading
Goodbye Obama, Enter The Don: The Days Of Writing Gingerly
So a friend of mine went missing on Facebook shortly after the presidential election. He wasn’t just a Facebook friend; I’ve known him for decades, long before the Internet was invented. He was last seen wearing a custom “I’m With… Continue Reading
Make Shasta County Great Again? Timber!
The logging trucks are rolling through Whitmore again and it has nothing to do with President-elect Donald Trump. The bone-dry woods of eastern Shasta County have finally absorbed enough water from recent storms to permit timber harvesting after a Cal… Continue Reading
Prison Realignment Part III: Police Chief Advises Don’t Put Christmas Tree In Window
Merry Christmas, California, the crime rate is rising! These not-so-glad tidings come to you courtesy of Redding Chief of Police Robert Paoletti, who along with his cohorts across the state has access to crime statistics unavailable to us mere… Continue Reading
Real News, Fake News and Sherri Papini
When I first learned of Sherri Papini’s disappearance on Nov. 2, I expected the worst. An attractive woman, the mother of two small children, snatched while jogging. Gone in the blink of an eye. These types of stories almost always… Continue Reading
