News | Mar 27 $6,94625 Commercial Angus open heifers avg sunny day for the Littau family as they held their annual bull sale at the ranch near Carter Very uniform set of power and calving ease bulls along with a select group of commercial open heifers on the sale The bulls and heifers were very well accepted by the big crowd in hand giving the Littau’s one of their best sales ever.Top bulls:Lot 574 2024 son of Millars Duke 816 x VDAR Deputy 7290 2024 son of U-2 Coalition 206c x LAR Infinite Juneau 559F 2024 son of LAR Infinite Juneau 559F x HARB Hindquarters 473 JH 2024 son of LAR Juneau 5451 x Bruns Top Cut 373 2024 son of PRA Bulldogger 1197 x Sitz Resilient 10208 2024 son of Millars Duke 816 x Bruns Top Cut 373 Sign up for daily and breaking news headlines Manage Subscriptions Join us for a 12-hour food drive Friday, 6am to 6pm, in Redding or Chico. Help stuff a RABA or B-Line bus at Les Schwab with food donations! LIVE UPDATESVice Mayor Littau explains why he abstained from vote for planning commission appointmentsby Tyler Van Dyke — The Redding City Council reached a stalemate during last Tuesday's meeting over Mayor Jack Munns' appointments to the planning commission as Vice Mayor Mike Littau abstained from voting seeking clarity after Littau's decision Vice Mayor Littau explained his decision to abstain to the Northstate's News Tyler Van Dyke on Monday "I just really wanted to give pause to the situation I felt like we shouldn't rush that evening felt it could take uh time to sit back and give the mayor a chance to rethink some options for the future." Littau proposed a counter idea to Mayor Munns " I want to ask to see if you might consider picking one of your appointments and allowing one of the former commissioners to continue." However "I am not gonna rescind my picks." Littau emphasized the importance of finding common ground "For me it was really important to try and find common ground and work with the council because it was contentious and it was getting hard to find a place where we could all agree." He also expressed concern about the political implications of his vote "I felt like my vote was gonna be a political pawn that night and it was just too fresh and that's just not the way I wanted to be remembered and for my vote to go down I wanted to allow a chance for compromise," Littau explained Littau expressed his desire to support Mayor Munns and his decisions "I want to try and find an avenue where I can do that and where I can feel really comfortable supporting the mayor," Littau continued "but this was an issue that the mayor brought to us that was contentious right from the start with his nominations and put us in a tough situation there so hopefully we just take the time to pause slow down a little bit and see if we can come to a consensus to make a good decision." Littau expects the council to revisit the issue at their next meeting on April 15 and mentioned they are awaiting advice from the city attorney regarding the status of current planning commissioners Aaron Hatch and Brandi Greene and whether they will continue serving and be holdovers or if their terms will expire on April 30 Report a correction or typo. Elizabeth is survived by her sister Magdolna Maria Antoni of Kerepes John George (Danette) Littau; grandchildren Steven Watson Nolan Matthews; as well as numerous nieces She was predeceased by her parents Stephan & Elizabeth Antoni her five brothers Sandor “Alex” Antoni When she was 17 years old Elizabeth immigrated to Canada arriving by herself in Montreal She travelled by train to Lethbridge and later moved to a farm near Wrentham whether it was her time at Budapest Restaurant and spending 25 years working on the farm in Vauxhall Elizabeth moved back to Lethbridge to work at the Chinook Regional hospital for many years even spending time working at the Balog Auction Market and if you told her she couldn’t she’d prove you wrong A Visitation will be held from 6:30pm – 7:30pm on Thursday 2024 at Christensen Salmon Generations Funeral Home A Funeral Service will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday December 14 at Christensen Salmon Generations Funeral Home with an opportunity to pay final respects the hour prior to the service A graveside service will be held at Royal View Cemetery Mike Littau and Erin Resner took the oath of office Tuesday night as the newest members of the Redding City Council What was supposed to kick off Tuesday’s meeting the swearing in of the newest members was delayed for about 45 minutes until City Clerk Sharlene Tipton read off the final vote count moments after getting the numbers from the Shasta County Elections Office Follow updates as the votes get counted: Redding, Shasta County election results 2024. Plus, measure ballots and school boards Dhanuka, a Redding physician was the top vote getter for the four-year seat with 39.5% of the vote Mark Mezzano finished second with 43.9% support served on the Redding City Council from 2018 to 2022 but chose not to run for a second term and instead ran for the Shasta County District 1 supervisor seat the council voted to seat Jack Munns as mayor Littau as vice mayor and Resner as mayor pro tempore The evening was capped with presentations of appreciation to now former council members Julie Winter Winter served two terms on the council before deciding not to run this year Mezzano decided to run for the two-year seat Johnson was temporarily appointed to fill Mike Dacquisto’s seat until the Nov Tenessa Audette also presented Winter with the Mayor's Appreciation Gavel for her service as mayor from December 2023 to December 2024 Audette ran for the District 1 state Assembly seat but lost to Heather Hadwick in November, so Audette remains on the Redding City Council. (This story has been updated with new information.) LIVE UPDATESRedding council appoints Littau to rodeo committee approves $450k for Denver flightsby Tyler Van Dyke — The Redding City Council considered multiple appointments agreements and resolutions at Tuesday night’s council meeting The new council made several appointments to both the Community Development and Community Services Advisory Committee The council also replaced former council member-elect Joshua Johnson on the Redding Rodeo ground lease ad-hoc committee which came with some discussion between the council members as to who should be appointed “I do have interest to be involved in that unless that’s something the mayor would like to do,” Councilman Mike Littau said my opinion was either you or Erin,” Mayor Jack Munns replied “That makes sense although Dhanuka is probably close behind us but I would say either you [Littau] or I have the most amount of lease negotiating likely underneath our belt," Councilwoman Erin Resner said the council unanimously decided that Councilman Mike Littau would take former council member-elect Joshua Johnson’s place on the Redding Rodeo ground lease ad hoc committee The council then considered an air service agreement with United Airlines for passenger service to Denver including a minimum revenue guarantee “Anytime a small market like Redding goes after a direct flight from one of the airlines a minimum revenue guarantee is required and that stands for the proposition that over the first year they are guaranteed to not lose funds,” City manager Barry Tippin explained The council also considered appropriating $450,000 from the general fund reserves in order to fill the gap of the funding for the required $2 million dollar minimum revenue guarantee which Tippin said they’ve been able to collect about $1.6 million thus far from the county Shasta County Supervisor Chris Kelstrom saw the benefit of this air service “I just wanted to urge you guys to move forward with this I tried to get you an additional $100,000 from the county and I was kind of torpedoed so my board let me down,” Kelstrom continued “This is kind of our doorway to the rest of the world and the rest of the world’s doorway out to us you get to Europe and I mean you can get all over the rest of the world so it is a very important flight so we need to get some more flights in there and I mean this is the biggest one we can go for I urge you to move forward with that and there may still be some help coming he said it will help residents all over the county “I believe this is gonna save our residents in Redding and the greater areas outside of Redding for the people from Anderson Shasta Lake and all the other people that will continue to use this flight It’s gonna save millions and millions of dollars and it’s a huge benefit to this community,” Littau said Councilman Paul Dhanuka also expressed his opinions on both sides “There are people in our community who do not take a flight to go out of the state and they do have a concern that 'why should they participate in that kind of public funding when they’re not going to benefit from it directly?' Which is a genuine concern I also see this as a value to our community because I do see that our city governance has a key role in building infrastructure and flights are part of that infrastructure which is important for our economy and our growth I do support this initiative wholeheartedly but I do want us to keep in mind that people do have concerns which we need to be aware of also,” Dhanuka said The council unanimously approved Tippin to negotiate and Mayor Munns to sign an air service agreement with United Airlines for service to Denver as well as appropriate up to $450,000 from the general fund reserves to close the gap in funding for the required $2 million minimum revenue guarantee Eight Redding residents have stepped up to run for three Redding City Council positions that will be available for voters to select in Shasta County’s November election The two year-term arose from an unexpected vacancy after former Redding City Councilman Michael Dacquisto retired from his term early because of health issues A News Cafe invited the following Redding City Council candidates to participate in a pre-election Q&A: David Backues Resner and Spengler are vying for the single 2-year term Please join me in welcoming to A News Cafe — in alphabetical order — unedited answers from the five candidates who accepted ANC’s pre-election Q&A opportunity: Backues and Mark Mezzano did not respond to A News Cafe’s invitation Thank you for participating in our election coverage what was the moment or incident that inspired you to run for office David Backues: I was working on an assembly candidate’s campaign and I began attending local meetings more regularly I noticed that the Bethel-majority council was heading in a direction contrary to where community members were asking it to go A council that does not listen to the people needs to change and I hope to be that change to bring the power back to the people in Redding ANC: What is your position on the future of the Redding Rodeo Grounds DB: I participated in the small group sessions and have actively encouraged community participation in the surveys and activities surrounding it I believe the report to be a waste of over $1M let’s at least make sure it accurately reflects the community’s desires for what Redding should look like A very common theme among all participants was that the Rodeo should stay where it is I support granting the Rodeo Association a long term lease to help them grow into that space further and look forward to seeing what they can do with it ANC: What are your specific plans or solutions to address Redding’s growing unhoused population DB: My stance on the unhoused is that we need to encourage them to reach out for services to get them back to being productive members of our community and obviously I cannot solve this in a brief answer That being said – Chief Barner’s 3 strikes rule for illegal camping will force many of the unhoused to raise their hands and ask for help or they will eventually leave our community There are approximately 30 organizations that are waiting for the opportunity to help effect real change in these individuals lives with a high success rate of individuals reintegrating in our community reach a state of sobriety as their first step through increasing drug rehab opportunities that have actually proven to be effective DB: As a Real Estate Broker in tune with our local market we do have an issue with rising rental rates I also do not think that rent control is the answer I support increasing the amount of housing units available to ease the strain that renters are facing We need to rezone some areas to allow for higher density living solutions to make it lower cost per unit to build and we have been diligently getting grants and funding new facilities to help many groups of people find affordable housing We are constantly looking for additional solutions ANC: Please describe your community service history DB: This is where I truly am differentiated from my opponents I have been President to multiple nonprofits I have served on many boards helping guide the organizations I have logged over 1000 personal volunteer hours in the last 5 years with dozens of our local nonprofits I mostly work with ending food scarcity for the children in our communities but I also provide services to the unhoused advocate for our 4 legged community members via Haven Humane and other groups I tried one time to list out every different organization I have worked alongside and once I got to 40 realizing that the name dropping of organizations doesn’t matter as much as the work that is being done ANC: Thank you for taking time to be part of A News Cafe’s election coverage Is there anything else you’d like to say Paul Dhanuka provided his candidate statement in addition to answering ANC’s questions we have the privilege of serving thousands of patients and families in Redding for over two decades We’ve raised our three children here and are active members of our local church I was elected as Chief of Doctors in two local hospitals and I currently serve as the President of the North Valley Medical Association Redding faces challenges: rising crime rates People feel left out of the decision-making process With united purpose we can make Redding great for future generations I am honored to have the support of of former Mayor Ken Murray and former Mayor Mark Cibula I am committed to leading with transparency and solving problems and I have raised our three children in Redding- two budding doctors and one teacher Our community has been very kind to us and now it is time for us to give back A lifetime of serving hundreds of thousands of patients has taught me that working together can make a difference I can be a unifying voice on the council that gets things done for the people of Redding PD: I support a long-term lease for Redding Rodeo We need to reduce red tape to reduce housing costs and we need to streamline the permit process to encourage affordable housing I also champion building a residential facility for mental health and drug rehabilitation as well as bringing a medical school to North State are better positioned to make these decisions PD: I served as former Chief of Medical Staff at Mercy Medical Center Redding and at Shasta Regional Medical Center Redding I serve as the President of the North Valley Medical Association and an Assistant Professor at the UC Davis School of Medicine and California University of Science and Medicine I also provide medical services to our local military veterans and their families My family and I have been long-term supporters of many local non-profit organizations including the programs for cancer prevention we have sponsored “Turtle Bay for All” program that supports admission tickets for those who are unable to afford it I serve on the Turtle Bay Exploration Park Board of Regents Shasta County Public Health Advisory Board Simpson University’s Community Advisory Board I am a member of Pilgrim Congregational Church and have served on the church council I have served on the United Way Board’s Equity & Advocacy Committee in the past and currently I serve on the United Way’s Building Bridges Advisory Committee I will bring transparency and fairness to the city council’s decision-making, respect the public opinion, heal our divisions, and unite our community. I humbly ask for your vote and support. My website is drpauldhanuka.com Mike Littau: Friends and relatives have been pressing me to run for office for years I know we can do better; Redding deserves transparent leadership that is accountable to the people ML: Redding Rodeo needs a long-term lease after operating here for 75 years They provide more than $10 million to the community and other businesses thrive during the Redding Rodeo Redding Rodeo is a community asset and a piece of our history The Riverfront Specific Plan is a difficult undertaking because the City will not have the funding to complete it What we can readily resolve is the Redding Rodeo’s long-term lease ML: I’ve had the opportunity to speak with local organizations working to address the unhoused population I’m impressed by the facilities and programs available Public safety and homelessness are Redding’s top concerns and priorities that must be addressed I want to keep working with local organizations and support programs that put people under roofs we must address the need to resolve local issues such as drug use and mental health help in our community ML: I have worries about affordable housing in our neighborhood Many landlords have been urged to automatically increase the rent to the maximum amount each year in order to keep up with future trends making it impossible for many struggling families to afford Encouraging landlords to continually raise rents is not good for our community This may also provide less incentive for investors to purchase property to rent ML: I have owned a business for almost 25 years with a staff of 10 My business handles 10% of the Redding population and is growing Over the almost 30 years I have lived in Redding I have worked and been involved with many local charities ML: I’ve lived in Redding for the past 30 years I remember when it was safe to ride our bikes I believe we can get back to how many of us remember Redding I’m not a candidate who has lived here for only 2 a person people can trust with many years of experience in business and community involvement People know me as a person who solves problems as I’m involved in crises each and every day My website is votemikelittau.com . I would appreciate your support and humbly ask for your vote! Erin Resner provided her candidate statement in addition to answering ANC’s questions raised by hard-working parents who knew early mornings feeding horses and late nights mucking stalls would instill in me the importance of a strong work ethic and family values Returning to my hometown after college was an easy choice and together with my husband we started our family that now includes four children: Beckett Coffee where I learned the financial and operational aspects of business focusing on profit and loss analysis and future projections We now have nearly three hundred employees and I still love a budget plan I was elected to the Redding City Council and appointed Mayor in 2020 My tenure included successfully advocating for the Crisis Intervention Response Team  development and supporting funding for park rangers and fully staffed fire engines I am actively involved in our community as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster youth Treasurer of the Children’s Legacy Center board preserving our small-town charm and fighting for financial stability so Redding remains a thriving community Erin Resner: When Councilmember Michael Dacquisto announced his decision to step down due to personal health matters coupled with Mayor Audette’s run-off for the district assembly seat meant only one experienced councilmember might remain I knew I could contribute by bringing my budget expertise and seeing through initiatives from my previous term that still needs finalized and implemented I felt a responsibility to see those projects through This wasn’t and isn’t about stepping back into politics- it has always been about about stepping up for my community and to ensure the progress we’ve made isn’t lost That’s why I’m running again- for the chance to finish what I started and to serve this community I love ER: I’m excited to continue the work we started The rodeo is integral to Redding’s identity and I oppose anything that doesn’t honor that tradition The Riverfront Specific Plan has incredible potential and I’m eager to move forward with a vision that preserves our culture while planning for future growth ER: I’m encouraged by the collaborative efforts among agencies like RPD We know that it often takes up to eight interactions to build the trust necessary for individuals to engage with services and these partnerships are critical for making those connections and offering consistent support RPD’s recent takeover of the bus program is a significant step forward It allows us to assist individuals who may feel stranded by providing bus passes to help them return to their support systems I’d like to see increased donations to this program as it offers a direct and impactful solution for those looking to reconnect with family or other resources I’m committed to keeping the Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) a priority during budget discussions alongside daily interactions in encampments from partners like the Rescue Mission and Hill Country is essential in bridging gaps and providing immediate One important area for improvement is reducing barriers to entry at shelters particularly by allowing individuals to bring their pets which often serve as their only source of stability and companionship we can help more people access the services they need and feel safe doing so While homelessness may be a complex issue that can’t be solved overnight I believe these steps — fostering trust and removing barriers –are key to making meaningful progress in our community ER: I don’t believe rent control addresses the root of our housing crisis Policies like AB-1482 are a continuance of poor legislation and short sided regulations from the state which continues to drive up the cost of building in California ER: Community service has been a part of my life from a young age where my family instilled in me the importance of giving back we worked hard to build a stable business that would allow us to give back I became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in dependency court one of the most special volunteer roles I’ve held I’ve always believed one person has the power to change the trajectory of a child’s life my commitment to serving the community deepened helping provide grants to organizations that support women and children I currently serve as a founding cabinet member and treasurer of the Children’s Legacy Center Board and have been honored to be part of the transition as we proceed with the acquisition of One Safe Place I recently joined the Building Bridges Advisory Committee to help tackle some of our city’s most pressing challenges with grace ANC: Thank you for taking time to be part of A News Cafe‘s election coverage ER: I have always believed true leadership starts with quiet I’ve chosen to give back to this community in ways that may not always be visible- whether through volunteer work or simply being there for people who need help I do this because I’m proud of where I’m from we come together and stand shoulder to shoulder What I want more than anything is for us to reclaim that spirit rural community built on shared values and the willingness to show up for one another I want to serve Redding with the same dedication and heart this city has shown me I’ll have the chance to continue that service I believe we can build a future that honors our past while embracing what’s possible My website is erinresner.com. I had the idea to leave California altogether and never return After visiting towns out of my area and out of state I found that every town has its own problems Instead of running from what I didn’t like and the opportunity to run for a city council position presented itself to me I chose this opportunity to finally step into the political area AS: I support the Redding Rodeo Grounds in their desire for a long-term lease and no relocation The Rodeo Grounds have been a huge attraction for Redding bringing people from all over California and beyond to our city Redding Rodeo Grounds have been a staple in Redding since 1948 it sounds like an ambitious and fruitful plan if Redding can properly fund it I don’t see Redding being able to afford this huge undertaking anytime soon I believe there are better things to spend our effort and limited revenue on AS: Redding has been making large advances in affordable housing but that isn’t all the unhoused population needs they need all the wrap-around services as well The unhoused need all the assistance at once AS: I have been a member of the Active 20-30 Club #143 since 2023 and a member of the Anderson Mt I have been cleaning up trash and debris on local trails since 2021 I have also been working with Redding Recreation on their Adopt-A-Spot program to clean South Bonnyview road since 2023 Everyone must have a voice in these decisions as well so I request everyone to spread the word and encourage others to vote Too many people in Redding feel like their vote doesn’t matter and that’s simply not true for local elections For more information, here is my Facebook campaign page. Independent online journalist Doni Chamberlain founded A News Cafe in 2007 with her son Chamberlain holds a Bachelor's Degree in journalism from CSU She's an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W She's been featured and quoted in The Wall Street Journal By Dave Bogener Click here for more Photo Cafe Big changes are coming to the Redding City Council with three of five seats on the ballot in November And if Councilman Mark Mezzano has his way that change will mean a new majority that he believes will include him Mezzano’s seat on the council is on the ballot the councilman is running to serve out the remaining two years of departed Michael Dacquisto’s term Also running are former Redding City Councilwoman Erin Resner and first-time challenger Anthony Spengler Mezzano said he didn’t want to take votes away from the three candidates he has endorsed in the five-way race for the two four-year seats Vice Mayor Julie Winter’s seat also is on the ballot Dacquisto resigned in June for health reasons the council voted 3-1 to temporarily appoint Joshua Johnson rather than leave the seat open until the Nov who ran unsuccessfully for council in 2022 is running for one of the two four-year seats on the ballot The other candidates include realtor David Backues who also ran unsuccessfully for the Redding council in 2022 He has met with each one and says he likes their values and their commitment to community service you have to be able to count to three and the issue comes up quite often your voice doesn’t count and it gets a little frustrating,” Mezzano said often found themselves on the short end of 3-2 votes Mezzano was in line to become the city’s next mayor Jack Munns and Winter voted in December to elect Audette mayor and Winter as vice mayor Here is a rundown of the candidates running for the two four-year seats on the Redding City Council said as a business owner he has seen the problems homelessness people can cause if city leaders don’t take action “I am running because the residents of Redding asked me for help I would be proud to be their voice of reason in this divisive political environment,” Backues said Redding is fine turning its strategy to deal with homeless encampments in the wake of the Grants Pass vs which gave local governments the authority to police encampments in their communities “We need to use the recent Supreme Court decision to help us in taking back our city from those who view our homes and businesses as their personal pantry to raid whenever they want something,” Backues said the Supreme Court decision does not affect privately-owned properties Backues has lived in Redding for 15 years and has worked for nonprofit organizations logging more than a thousand volunteer hours former president of the Shasta Dam Kiwanis Club and founder and former president of the Redding-Sundial Kiwanis Club He also serves on Northern California Catholic Social Service’s housing board Public safety also is an issue facing the community and Backues said he has talked to many residents who have told him that city leaders need to do more to make the streets safer Other things Backues says are important include giving the Redding Rodeo Association a long-term lease for the Rodeo Grounds a shortage of health care options and the fentanyl crisis are challenges facing Redding “My common-sense plan empowers police with the authority and resources to combat crime makes it easier for businesses and jobs to stay local lowers your local taxes and fees and makes housing more affordable I also will champion a local medical school and residential facility for mental health and drug rehabilitation,” Dhanuka said Dhanuka told the Record Searchlight that he will bring unity to the council and work with other councilors to get things done “I will champion building a residential facility for mental health and drug rehabilitation as well as bringing a medical school to the North State,” he said This isn’t Dhanuka’s first foray into politics Dhanuka ran for the California 1st Assembly District seat and came in third in the primary Hill says housing is the biggest issue facing Redding "So many thing are tied to housing and the stability it provides ease of movement during critical points in peoples' lives police interactions with people who are homeless the ability of people to leave dangerous or abusive situations It is a positive for people across all strata to have better access to housing whether that's buying Hill said he will look for housing grants and work to streamline the housing application process and develop and expand the renters' credit program and home renovation credits "I also want to start collaborating more with the county on services that provide mental health and drug addiction services since many of those programs are administered at the county level but can use help being tailored and deployed at a city level," he said Hill moved to Redding in 2002 and went to Sequoia Middle School and Shasta High School He works for the Shasta County Assessor's office as a GIS mapping specialist Johnson is a business owner and developer who also sits on the board of the Good News Rescue Mission a local nonprofit Christian organization that operates Shasta County's only homeless shelter and provides programs to help the homeless people and those battling addiction Johnson said his priorities will be to reduce homelessness and help local businesses grow my goal is to make government more accessible and transparent I want Redding voters to always feel connected and informed in the process,” he said Johnson told the Record Searchlight that he is running “to remove unnecessary friction in government more jobs and better parks and city amenities with the right leadership If you watch how I’ve approached the issues since I was appointed in July you will see that I seek to find real solutions listen to all sides of an issue and bring the people along through the process.” He said the biggest issues facing the city are homelessness better wages and the need for better parks Public safety concerns and homelessness are major issues Redding faces “We may not be able to completely solve the homeless issue but it is important that we all play by the same rules and follow the laws,” Littau said Littau moved to Redding in 1995 to attend Simpson University and has worked in the insurance and financial sectors for nearly 25 years The city’s roads need attention and how the city is going to pay for the deferred maintenance needs to be addressed “The city would need an additional $10 million a year to catch up to an acceptable average road condition in just over 10 years,” Tippin said One of the first things Littau said he would do if he is elected is review the city’s downtown parking policy which has drawn some criticism from businesses and visitors to the city’s core “We need to support local business and help bring more revenue for them to thrive and grow,” he said Here is a rundown of the candidates running for the two-year seat on the Redding City Council Mezzano is a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant who was elected to the council in 2020 He said he decided to run in 2020 because he disagreed with the city’s 2020 surplus land sale to Shasta Holdings A Shasta County judge in 2022 ruled the sale was illegal after the Redding Rancheria sued the city over the sale of the Bechelli Lane property near the Win-River Casino Resort and Casino expansion site “I didn’t like the council’s move to block the tribe’s access to its own property It was wrong from the get go,” said Mezzano who received $31,000 in campaign contributions from the Redding Rancheria in 2020 was in the 4-1 majority that approved the 2020 surplus land sale before it was ruled illegal Among the issues facing the city is the growing need to fix roads pay for additional public safety personnel and multi-million dollar building projects.“I get a lot of complaints about the roads and I give everybody the same answer give me an additional $12 million and we will have the best roads in the country,” Mezzano said “I believe Redding is and compassionate community and they want to help those who want help,” he said Resner thanked Dacquisto for his service to the city and said she appreciated the work she accomplished with Dacquisto while they both served on the council who grew up in Shasta County and owns the area Dutch Bros chose not run for reelection in 2022 and instead ran for the Shasta County District 1 supervisor seat “My decision to pursue this seat aligns with my belief that politics isn’t a career but rather an opportunity to serve where needed this shorter term allows me to balance my commitment to family with my dedication to ensuring our community thrives My goal has always been to make a positive impact in Redding and this role provides the perfect opportunity to continue that work,” Resner said She said issues facing the city are public safety But perhaps the most important task at hand for Redding is updating its Sacramento Riverfront specific plan “This plan has the potential to transform Redding’s riverfront into a vibrant accessible area for all residents and visitors while honoring the special and long-standing pillars of our town,” Resner said Resner said it will be important that stakeholders like the Redding Rodeo Association the Civic Auditorium and Turtle Bay Exploration Park be included in discussions about the future of the riverfront her first priority will be to finalize the riverfront specific plan update “This plan is essential for advancing the revitalization efforts along the riverfront which will enhance our city’s quality of life and our economic potential,” Resner said Spengler grew up in Cottonwood and has lived in Redding for nearly 10 years He went to Shasta College and recently got his business administration degree which he calls “a nerdy-themed catering and food vendor." He also owns Redding VR and he’s a member of the Active 20-30 Club of Redding Spengler said he has always wanted to get involved in local politics and sees being a councilor as a way for him to help improve the community “The biggest issues facing the city of Redding are homelessness and the mental health of our youth,” he said he said he would push for the city and county to do more to work together to help reduce the homeless population Spengler said it’s not the Redding Police Department’s job to clean up homeless camps so he would push getting more mental health professionals to come in and work with people who are living on the streets WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton Interests: Football, horse racing, motorsports, golfing, fishing, rock ‘n’ roll, wildlife and good stories. Timothy was a news intern at WISN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the spring of 2023 and produced several newscasts while there. In the summer of 2022, Timothy was a staff writer at The Saratoga Special, an upstate New York newspaper that features horse racing news and events surrounding the Saratoga Race Course. Timothy has covered a wide array of topics, ranging from the lead pipe crisis in Milwaukee to winners of the Kentucky Derby. He is always looking for the next story, trying to make it his best one yet. If he’s not chasing a story, you can probably find Timothy spending time with friends and family at a sports event, concert, the lake, golf course, or watching horse races. If you have a story idea you’d like to share with Timothy, you can email him at timothy.littau@wearegreenbay.com. LIVE UPDATESKnow Your Candidates: Redding City Council (four year)by Adam Robinson Three seats are up for grabs on the Redding City Council this November Several candidates are contending for two available four-year term seats The candidates include current fill-in councilmember Joshua Johnson and business owners David Backues and Mike Littau Former City Councilmember and Mayor Erin Resner is vying for a two-year term seat alongside incumbent Mark Mezzano and business owner Anthony Spengler Bakues and Littau responded to inquiries about their candidacies -- Dhanuka provided a video response BACKUES: "I have served on nearly a dozen boards for nonprofits and other community organizations I have a degree in Political Science - Public Administration from Humboldt State University where I served as Chair of their Student Association and on a statewide board as the liaison linking the faculty and students of all 23 California State Universities I carried this early momentum into nonprofit volunteering in Shasta County when my wife and I moved back here after college we dove into the issue of food scarcity among the youth in our community (along with many other projects and community service) Currently those programs are serving over 300 kids with food that they otherwise would not have after being identified as being at risk for going hungry by teachers and staff All this while starting and operating my business that has been located here in Redding since Day 1." LITTAU: "My family and I have lived in Redding for thirty years I've been on the boards of many groups run my own business for more than 20 years and shown that I can solve difficult issues I've made a lot of connections with neighborhood leaders and other important people in the community that let us work together to solve problems." BACKUES:"I have worked as boots on the ground and in an organizational capacity with the unhoused No candidate currently on the ballot brings forward the service experience that I have I believe this will help round out the council to aid in approaching these issues with a new perspective and compassion that has been lacking I like to build bridges between organizations and the City to help make our community even better than it currently is I have been responsible for balancing budgets Often that meant having to make the tough decisions or find unique funding options to avoid cutting I am proud of the fact that only on rare situations have my organizations ever needed to make the hard decision to cut rather we nearly every time found the unique solutions LITTAU: "The other candidates have only lived in Redding for a short time The history of Redding is something I know and understand Someone on the council who has only lived in Redding for a short time might not know how our town has changed I have strong ties to the Redding community because I have lived there for 30 years and run a successful business for over 20 years that employs 10% of the city's people It's impossible to go to the store or eat out without running into a lot of people we know People will see me as someone who can solve problems when things go wrong because I have a lot of experience and know a lot of people and job will describe me as someone who listens and can be counted on to include everyone." BACKUES: "I believe the most pressing issue that Redding currently faces is special interests getting involved in government and having a controlling interest in our City’s operations No one group should have a majority of the City Council’s votes The council should be comprised of a conglomerate of people who work with many different organizations coming together to make the best decisions possible for our City This run for council represents part of the plan to solve that issue We need to use our votes to remove these special interest candidates and get us back to working for the people." LITTAU: "Many people in the neighborhood still say that public safety and homelessness are our biggest problems Our firefighters have all the people they need I'm going to make sure we keep fully funding the cops and firefighters so we don't go backwards next year when the budget is tight I will continue to talk with and work with neighborhood groups that help the homeless as long as their programs are effective and we need to work together by reaching out and getting involved." I would like to see a long term lease extension with the Redding Rodeo signed but if it isn’t by the time I enter office it is a top priority to continue the tradition of the Redding Rodeo I plan to begin the framework of a coalition of nonprofits that represent those doing the good work in our community The goal of this organization would be to aid each other in grant writing and expansion of the programs already in operation I would like to see that group fully functional and in addition have a program running to recruit medical professionals to our City We have a drastic shortage of primary care and specialist doctors here causing residents to travel great lengths to get medical care We should be the northern hub for medical operations attracting patients from all over Northern California and I have a plan to help expand this truly vital need." LITTAU: "It's important to learn from other people and listen to them The group will look at the problems and needs and then decide what to do first I'm going to keep my lines of communication open and always be available so that plans can be changed as needed and I will put public safety and basic services first we will need to find new ways to make money like collecting taxes from hotels and Airbnb’s or applying for grants from state and government programs." BACKUES: "I firmly agree with the Council’s decision to reopen the Redding Sports Park (formerly Big League Dreams) there are many community members who use those facilities The City has also been removing baseball fields and other facilities from our parks with the promise that these facilities were going to be open for youth to have a place to still play and compete I would like to continue this work by finding a new vendor as the city is not the ideal operator of these facilities and I have several prospects to work with that may be up to the task There are so many poor decisions that our City Council has made recently it is hard to pinpoint just one to discuss I would say that abandoning the traditional mayoral succession to bypass Mark Mezzano in favor of Tenessa Audette It showed the lack of dedication this council has to tradition as Mezzano had been on the council for 3 years LITTAU: "I agree that the Rodeo should have a long-term lease The length of time it took for the City to find an answer was disappointing People are really angry at the council for not being able to help solve this situation We can trust that this problem will be fixed now without having to worry about what might happen next year I had thought that it would have been solved before the election I want Rodeo to get a long-term lease and get past the finish line BACKUES: "I have received donations and endorsements from many groups Individual leaders and large groups alike are supporting my run for City Council I am endorsed by Former Redding Mayor Michael Daquisto California Federation of Labor Unions Five Counties Central Labor Council (representing multiple local unions) To report errors or issues with this article please email the editorial team This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Sign In Subscribe Now LeEtta is survived by her husband of seventy years Tyler Aoki (Kaylan) and Jeremy Aoki; great-grandchildren Paul Littau; as well as many nieces and nephews Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines Eight people are vying for three seats on the Redding City Council and it all gets decided by voters on Tuesday night Up for grabs are the seats currently held by Vice Mayor Julie Winter and Councilman Mark Mezzano Joshua Johnson is filling in the third seat temporarily after Michael Dacquisto stepped down in June for health reasons Follow vote results on Redding.com and check back on this story for updates Paul Dhanuka (40.85%) and Mike Littau (20.96%) led in the race for the two four-year seats Erin Resner's lead over Mark Mezzano for the two-year seat was still slim Resner had 47.4% of the vote to Mezzano's 44.16% Not much movement happened in the Redding City Council race from Tuesday night Paul Dhanuka (40.90%) and Mike Littau (20.61%) are still the front-runners in the race for the two four-year seats Erin Resner's lead over Mark Mezzano for the two-year seat shrunk ever so slightly Resner has 47.54% of the vote to Mezzano's 43.73% Physician Paul Dhanuka jumped to an early commanding lead for one of the two four-year seats up for grabs on the Redding City Council according to early results.Insurance broker Mike Littau is running second In the race for the two-year seat on the council former Redding City Councilwoman Erin Resner is ahead of Mark Mezzano by less than 5 percentage points Mezzano is currently on the council but instead of defending his four-year seat he chose to run for the remaining two years of the seat vacated by Michael Dacquisto who resigned in June due to health reasons who was first elected to the council in 2016 and Mezzano is leaving his seat to run for the remaining two years of the seat vacated by Dacquisto the council voted 3-1 to temporarily appoint Johnson rather than leave the seat open until the Nov Running against Mezzano are former Redding City Councilwoman and business owner Erin Resner and business owner Anthony Spengler Both Mezzano and Dacquisto have publicly endorsed Backues and Dhanuka your voice doesn’t count and it gets a little frustrating,” Mezzano told the Record Searchlight in December News | Apr 17 $603625 Commercial Yearling Open Heifers avg The Littau family held their annual production sale at the ranch near Carter This sale was postponed from their original regular sale day due to a late March snow storm giving their customers a chance to dig out and the ground to dry out.The Littau cowherd is backed by over 60 years of Angus history and was very well received by the large crowd of buyers and neighbors in the stands on sale day.Top selling bull was lot 514 2023 son of PRA Bulldogger 1197 x VAR Legend 5019 to Steve Wonnenberg 2023 son of Millars Duke 816 x LAR Infinite Juneau 559F to Sheldon Tobin 2023 son of Bruns Top Cut 373 x LAR Alliance 64L to Dexter Black 2023 son of Millars Duke 816 x Best Fortunate 8116 to Hank Wonnenberg 2023 son of Sitz Resilient 10208 x LAR 64L to Rex Black 2023 son of Sitz Resilient 10208 x LAR Legend 5019 to Rolly & Greg King News | Mar 31 Location: Sale held at the ranch near Carter Averages:78 Yearling Angus bulls – $5,14430 Yearling Commercial open heifers – $1,783 CommentsBeautiful sunny spring like day for the Littau family as they held their annual production sale at the ranch bidders and neighbors on hand for the sale 2/1/2022 son of Bruns Top Cut 373 x VAR Legend 5019 to Rex Black 2/6/2022 son of LAR Infinite Juneau 559F x Sitz Rainmaker 11127 to Kevin Meiners 1/24/2022 son of VDAR Deputy 7290 x HARB Hindquarter 473 JH to Jim Massa 2/10/2022 son of LAR Infinite Juneau 559F x Sitz Rainmaker 5359 to Dexter Black 2/19/2022 son of LAR Infinite Juneau 559F x LAR Image Maker 64 320U to Evan Smith 1/26/2022 son of HARB Hindquarter 473 JH x LAR Windy 409 024B to Rex Black — A couple new members and one returner were sworn in on the Redding City Council at Tuesday night's meeting After the Council adopted a resolution certifying the election results of the November general municipal election they had oath of office’s to administer to the newly elected members New council members Paul Dhanuka and Mike Littau who won the two seats for the full four-year term as well as former mayor Erin Resner who won the seat for the two-year term were all sworn in at Tuesday’s meeting making for a new look to the council going forward Their first order of business was selecting who was to be Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore which brought a few motions from the new council members “I’d like to make a motion to make Jack Munns the mayor and Mike Littau Mayor Pro Tem,” Councilwoman Tenessa Audette said “I do appreciate me being nominated as a vice mayor but I would really like Erin Resner to be in the mix for one of those three positions So I would rather wait because I really want to focus on some of the things which I set out to start here I would rather wait for my term next year and I will say that Jack Munns and Erin Resner in that order will be my preference.” Councilman Paul Dhanuka said “I mean my preference would be to still see council member Dhanuka you were the biggest vote getter and if we follow tradition of the past traditionally what we do is we give it to the person that had the highest amount of votes and I think you deserve that honor and that respect.” Councilman Mike Littau said That second motion made by Dhanuka passed unanimously and it will now be Jack Munns as Mayor and Erin Resner as mayor pro tempore going forward After that council members Julie Winter and Mark Mezzano were honored for their years of service on the council “A resolution of the city council and the city of Redding commending and honoring Julie Winter for her service to the city of Redding.” “A resolution of the city council and the city of Redding commending and honoring Mark Mezzano for his service to the city of Redding.” They were also honored by a letter from Senator Dahle [the} city of Redding city council thank you for your eight years of dedicated service to the people of Redding As a member of City Council your commitment to principle has brought honor to the city and your long term duty will bear fruit for decades to come,” Mayor Jack Munns recited city of Redding city council thank you for your four years of dedicated service to the people of Redding As a member of City Council your commitment to better law enforcement is truly saving lives and your deep and sustained engagement has ensured constituents that their voice is heard at City Hall,” Mayor Jack Munns recited Winter also shared a few words about the future of Redding and the council “I see Redding maximizing its potential of its natural beauty and its human talent I see a city where my children and grandchildren have a future and I see a council that’s going to keep that vision alive.” Winter said You can see this new look council for their first full meeting together on Tuesday Dec News | Apr 1 along with sons Will and Logan and their families held the annual Littau Angus Ranch sale at the ranch near Carter This program is backed by over 60 years of Angus genetics performance and the all important mother cow Several bulls in the sale had many generations of Pathfinder cows on their pedigrees 2/7/20 son of HARB Hindquarters 473 JH x Sitz Rainmaker 11127 at $9,000 to David Mogck 1/26/20 son of LAR Infinity Juneau 559F x HARB Westover 395 JH to Todd Novotny 2/18/20 son of VAR Legend 5019 x CAR Efficient 534 to Dexter Black 2/25/20 son of LAR Infinity Juneau 599F x Sinclair Boss to Brad Gran 2/3/20 son of Paintrock Trapper x Hra Emblazon 930 to Brandon Vollmer News | Apr 2 Over 60 years of breeding was represented at the annual Littau Angus Production sale held at the ranch near Carter Brothers Leroy and Bob Littau and their families welcomed a smaller but very active bidding crowd for their sale Bidders were also represented by proxy bids and internet bidding 1/19 son of Bruns Top Cut 373 x LAR Alliance 64L epds CED 7 BW 3.1 WW 84 YW 165 Milk 32 to Ma & Pa Angus 1/19 son of LAR Windy 409 024B x LAR Really Windy 783C epds CED 10 BW 0.5 WW 50 YW 95 Milk 21 to Mike Novotny 1/19 son of Bruns Top Cut 373 x S Chisum 6175 epds CED 10 BW 1.1 WW 78 YW 136 Milk 30 to Duane Lunne 1/19 son of Bruns Top Cut 373 x Hra Emblazon 930 epds CED 6 BW 3.3 WW 80 YW 142 Milk 31 to Duane Lunne 2/19 son of Basin Excitement x Sitz Rainmaker 373X epds CED 6 BW 2.6 WW 71 YW 127 Milk 28 to Dexter Black The Alberta High School Rodeo Finals ran from Wednesday Events over the five days made use of both the big and small arena  The light rifle Shoot competition took place at Diamond N Ranch while the Trap Shooting competition took place at Stettler Trap Club This year's event is the second year it was hosted at the Stettler Rodeo Grounds.  Stettler had won the bid for two years with an option for a third year.   The association is made up of three districts.  South Each district is then able to send its top 12 competitors to the finals.  The top four competitors in each event then win the opportunity to represent Alberta at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Spring Wyoming in July Local competitor Chase Butterfield won calf-roping and the go-around Butterfield is a Stettler Grade 12 student "He had a fabulous weekend," said Ione Butterfield returns to her seat after speaking out at a Hartford Selectboard meeting in White River Junction against comments made by board member Lannie Collins after a drag story hour at Northern Stage was interupted by bomb threats earlier this month that not all members of the Hartford community feel the drag event was positive May not be reprinted or used online without permission speaks about the experience of being at a drag story hour with his kids at Northern Stage in early January when it was interrupted by bomb threats during a Hartford Selectboard meeting in White River Junction Supporters of the Upper Valley’s LGBTQ community attended the meeting to speak in reaction to Selectboard member Lannie Collins saying that some people in the community would do not feel that drag story hours are positive attend a Hartford Selectboard meeting in White River Junction during which Fitch spoke out against statements made by board member Lannie Collins following bomb threats to a drag story hour earlier in the month Fitch said Collins' comment that not all members of the community feel that drag story hour events are positive "The kind of rhetoric that emboldens people to harm us." Fitch "We genuinely feel unsafe." (Valley News - James M WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Supporters of the LGBTQ community this week voiced their dismay at recent comments by a Selectboard member who spoke critically of drag-themed entertainment just days after two events at Northern Stage were targeted by hoax bomb threats Residents and community members used a public forum at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting to rebuke Lannie Collins for his remarks at a Jan where Collins objected to fellow Selectboard member Ally Tufenkjian referring to a recent drag event as “a positive experience for children.” (At the event drag performers read family-friendly stories with LGBTQ-themes such as inclusion and acceptance.) “I take deference to it being labeled a positive experience because some people in our community would not view those events at Northern Stage as a positive experience,” Collins said during Selectboard comments earlier this month “That is a personal expression and is not shared by all members of the board or all residents within the town And I don’t think it’s appropriate (for Selectboard members) to make personal statements about whether it is positive or negative.” Collins’ comments came three days after emails containing a bomb threat were sent to several Upper Valley businesses Two of the emails went to the Northern Stage which was hosting two drag-themed events as fundraisers for the Upper Valley Circus Collective a not-for-profit camp that teaches circus arts Though police determined the threats were a hoax families who were attending an afternoon story hour at Northern Stage’s Barrette Center for the Arts were forced to evacuate the theater as a precaution and the remainder of the show was canceled Collins condemned the bomb threats at the Jan 9 meeting though he disagreed with Tufenkjian about the appropriateness of the drag shows for children LGBTQ supporters at Tuesday’s meeting called Collins’ remarks insensitive said that Selectboard members have tremendous influence in the community and therefore need to be thoughtful in their public statements “We are your neighbors and deserving of the same respect and safety that you enjoy,” Brzozowski told Collins “Your words have real consequences and I urge you to consider those consequences before you speak.” responding directly to attendees on several occasions said that he “stands by his comment” — which he said only was conveying an opinion held by some residents “I support the right for people to have a Drag Story Hour and I fully support the rights of LGBTQ both in this country and in the town,” Collins said “That doesn’t mean that I have to agree with them But several residents suggested not giving an opinion at all would have been the better course of action felt that weighing in on the merit of the event trivializes the more pressing issue of a violent threat being targeted at a marginalized group in the community Referring to drag story time as “not positive” implies “that children interacting with queer people is inherently negative and something to be avoided,” said Jordyn Fitch a media producer at Junction Arts & Media “Not only is that an embarrassing and bigoted take it (also) perpetuates the type of violence that my wife and I have experienced since we moved (to the Upper Valley),” said Fitch who lives in Lebanon but works in White River Junction said they have been harassed and threatened on numerous occasions in the Upper Valley were forced to move from their previous apartment in Lebanon due to continuous threats and acts of vandalism by another tenant Some residents questioned the timing of Collins’ comment given that many families who had attended the story hour were emotionally affected by the evacuation attended the Drag Story Hour at Barrette Center for the Arts with his two children “Maybe just think about the timing of things that are said and be sensitive to peoples’ experiences,” Haffner told Collins I was so glad that the majority of the Selectboard was offering their support to the performers and the community that was affected.” Drag Story Hour is hosted by Burlington-based performers Justin Marsh who goes by Katniss EQ when performing for families who has attended multiple Drag Story Hour events in the Upper Valley said that he has heard concerns about Drag Story Hour from fellow members at his church an evangelical house of worship on Fairview Terrace He said it is difficult to be accused of bigotry because he does not agree morally with a particular activity “I feel as a Christian that I must stand up for Christian values,” he said “but while I don’t think (Drag Story Hour) is right Collins acknowledged that the timing of his comments — coming on the heels of the hoax threats — might have been ill-chosen Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603-727-3216 you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users Six athletes from Shasta County had outstanding performances in state playoffs for basketball soccer and alpine sports while the baseball and softball season started last week Pitchers and goalkeepers from U-Prep and Foothill delivered shutouts while another two athletes lit the scoreboard up with their hitting and shooting in softball and baseball Alpine athletes from Shasta and U-Prep each earned spots at a national race in Colorado Anderson and Fall River who earned the Shasta Family YMCA Athletes of the Week award two juniors and two sophomores combined for these performances between Feb Team contributions: Price led the U-Prep boys basketball team to its deepest run in the state playoffs last week Price scored 22 points against Weed on Feb 28 in the CIF State Division V first round and 21 points against Cloverdale last Thursday in the quarterfinals Price poured in 14 points in a tightly fought 61-58 loss to Ripon Christian in the semifinals last Saturday Team contributions: Wiegand is quickly becoming one of the rising stars in Shasta County's deep softball tradition struck out 16 batters and allowed just one earned run to beat Colusa 9-8 at home last Thursday Anderson has four games scheduled this week against Pierce Team contributions: Littau maintained her team's early lead and led U-Prep 1-0 against Placer in the CIF NorCal State Division IV Regional first round on Feb Placer fired 19 shots but couldn't get a ball past Littau Team contributions: Hightower was one of the top three girls alpine athletes in the North State this year Hightower placed top five in the final women's snowboard slalom race on Feb Hightower qualified for the United States of America Snowboarding and Freeski National Championships at Copper Mountain Team contributions: Asbill won first place in men's snowboard giant slalom during the final races of the season at Mt Asbill won five of six races this year and qualified for the Five Star alpine races in Lake Tahoe Asbill also qualified for United States of America Snowboarding and Freeski National Championships at Copper Mountain Team contributions: The left handed pitching Rheem sliced through hitters last Saturday at Big League Dreams Rheem threw four no-hit innings and struck out eight against Chico High School Rheem had zero offensive support against Chico and added runs in the fifth sixth and seventh inning to beat Foothill 7-0 Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Source: GettyJune 24, 2023 ShareSave Last weekend, the vaccine scientist Peter Hotez criticized the influential podcaster Joe Rogan for hosting Robert F lamenting the fact that a podcast with millions of listeners lent its megaphone to a notorious spreader of vaccine misinformation Given the audiences that Rogan and Musk command and the following that RFK Jr the tweets sparked a kind of pressure campaign that ratcheted up quickly their Twitter acolytes were hard at work trying to shame Hotez into saying yes the argument went nowhere and both sides stood their ground it’s worth addressing the claim that someone ought to debate when challenged because it invokes the heart of the democratic ideal Democracy depends on citizens charting society’s course via their elected leaders an informed electorate is better able to choose those leaders wisely Debate is part of this process: Humans are not all-knowing and effective discourse can sharpen our views The Rogan incident is an example of how we’ve preserved the rhetoric about the value of debate even as our discourse has moved to digital platforms that undermine that value during which six complex topics were given a mere 15 minutes each Candidates had just two minutes to answer an initial question on multifaceted issues As debates shifted from in-person events to ones delivered primarily through electronic media and so production is focused on constant dance-and-pivot camera and dialogue work that doesn’t linger on anything too long Audiences have been conditioned to crave brevity and visual excitement and good debaters understand the nuances of the medium in ways that have permanently altered audience expectations and debate prep the kinds of changes that have altered how audiences receive information in new channels such as streaming video or podcasts Read: To understand anti-vaxxers, consider Aristotle A particular media type influences how messages are created and perceived. Research suggests that the same message in a photo will be processed more emotionally than text because our brains deal with images and words differently Messages in audio take on different characteristics when TV adds visual layers One can win a debate on substance but lose it in the public consciousness if the message is incongruent with the audience’s medium-specific expectations In 2012, Mitt Romney named Russia as our chief global adversary a statement the press perceived as a gaffe given the war against al-Qaeda that was ongoing Barack Obama responded with a zinger: “And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back.” From a tactics standpoint He bent to a format that asked exactly this of him The rightness or wrongness of Romney’s assertion and Obama’s reply matter less than the takeaway: How Romney’s statement landed was ultimately the result of a cultural interpretation and context more than it was about evidence or reason even as debates are ostensibly supposed to be about the latter Read: Romney was right about Putin We have already decided and sorted before the debate even happens whom is a debate serving and what is it for and everyone else who called on Hotez to challenge RFK Jr but even a long-form podcast can favor conjectural broadsides and wild claims This is an urgent problem given the scale and speed at which debate assertions spread in the electronic age compared with when debates were attended by small groups and information spread slowly Rogan’s proposal might at first glance resemble Lincoln-Douglas considering the lack of time limit and singular topic but the latter happened with some constraints and the participants were readily seen as having equivalent expertise that qualified them for the stage can’t get us to a shared truth without prior agreement on basic facts are usually less a competition to change minds and more like a sporting event with fans lined up on each side and cheering for a predetermined view When Rogan challenged Hotez to debate RFK Jr. he was indirectly invoking the Lincoln-Douglas ideal he was acknowledging the reality that debates of this nature are more bloodsport than serious or good-faith inquiry Rogan’s format has no mechanism for advancing understanding It treats persuasion outcomes as a black box Debates bring big ratings to the networks airing them and so serve media interests (clout and advertising dollars) more than they do the public Rogan’s challenge was brilliant in its self-service allowing him to win regardless of whether the challenge was accepted He got the attention and could say he tried it’d have boosted Rogan’s business by merely happening “Debate me, you coward!” is a fine bit of rhetorical shame that grafts you to the ideal of debate in a free democracy, but it begs us to look past what debates have become and whom they serve. (At least it’s better than a cage match.) News | Oct 3 The Rosebud Angus Association hosted the SD Angus tour in the Winner 23 and 24.  The event started with a golf tournament and social on Sept 22.  The tour started out bright and early on Sept DeMers Ranch and finished up the day at Raven Angus with a steak supper and Dirty Boot Band playing for the social.  24 started out at Winner Livestock with cattle on display from 3R Cattle Co. Brozik Angus and Koupal’s D&A Angus The bus the proceeded to Littau Land & Cattle Larson Family Ranch and wound up at Jorgensen Land & Cattle for supper Horse & Rodeo | May 19 The LeRoy and Bob Littau families held the Annual Littau Angus bull sale at the ranch west of Winner There was a feel of spring in the air with plenty of sunshine But the bulls offered were none the worse for wear These bulls are bred and developed with the cattlemen in mind but not over fed and should really excel in the breeding pasture for their new owners This operation is one that is truly underrated in terms of the quality of cattle offered for sale The crowd was slightly smaller than past years and the average is evident of that fact I truly feel if the spring rains that hit after the sale had come before so there were good bulls selling all throughout the day 2015 son of LAR Juneau 822Z with epds of BW 0.7 WW 71 Milk 27 YW 127 The bull had a weaning weight of 778 pounds ratio 119 and yearling weight of 1,380 pounds 201`5 son of LAR Juneau 822Z with epds of BW 2.9 WW 62 Milk 25 YW 107 yearling weight 1,296 pounds ratio 112 sold to Sheldon Tobin 2015 son of McCumber Fortunate 307 sold to Rex Black yearling weight 1,294 pounds ratio 111 and had epds of BW 2.5 WW 54 Milk 29 YW 91 2015 son of LAR Juneau 822Z with epds of BW 1.7 WW 58 Milk 25 YW 109 sold to Rodney Paulson 2015 son of Sitz Rainmaker 11127 with epds of BW 3.5 WW 65 Milk 34 YW 109 sold to Floyd Colombe 2015 son of Sitz Rainmaker 372X has epds of BW 0.3 WW 55 Milk 28 YW 101 All in all this was a pretty good sale for the Littau family They are gracious hosts and serve a great grilled hamburger with all the fixings for lunch Production Sale Reports | May 7 A beautiful spring day with a stiff wind thrown in greeted an excellent crowd of buyers and bidders at the Littau Ranch near Carter LeRoy and Robert Littau and their families had the bulls in great sale condition and offered only the best of their 2014 calf crop The bulls are deep bodied with lots of thickness and growth Littau Angus puts extra emphasis on structural correctness so there were excellent bulls selling throughout the entire sale son of VDAR Really Windy 4097 that had a 205 day wt of 1,352 pounds to ratio at 121 and epds of BW 1.6 WW 71 Milk 20 YW 111 2014 son of VDAR Really Windy 4097 with epds of BW 0.7 WW 68 Milk 25 YW 112 This bull had a weaning ratio of 122 and yearling ratio of 115 and sold at $13,000 to Rex Black 2014 son of VDAR Really Windy 4097 with epds of BW 1.1 WW 64 Milk 22 YW 108 Selling at $10,500 was LAR Really Windy 409 902B 2014 son of VDAR Really Windy 4097 that had a weaning ratio of 126 yearling ratio of 108 and epds of BW 0.1 WW 61 Milk 23 YW 94 2014 son of the home raised LAR Upward 458Y herd sire This bull posted epds of BW 2.8 WW 52 Milk 27 YW 93 Northern Michigan tart cherry growers are invited to view harvesting of high density tart cherries using a Littau berry harvester on July 29 The planting has six varieties of sour cherry planted 5 x 13 feet We are experimenting with treatments to maintain trees in a compact canopy to accommodate an over the row harvester used normally to harvest berry crops This work began in 2008 with the support of the Michigan Cherry Producers to determine the feasibility of this approach to growing and producing sour cherries The traditional approach maintains trees at greater distances (15-20 feet apart) using trunk shakers and catch frame machinery The machine removed fruit at a very high rate of efficiency with minimal canopy damage Oxley Farms has cooperated with us in a project to study horticultural approaches to restricting and maintaining a compact canopy small enough to allow a berry harvester to successfully remove fruit Oxley Farms allowed us to establish treatments in two rows amounting to over 300 trees Twin-Tower Rotating-Tine harvester (Oxbo 9000) in 2012 with intent to harvest the planting We successfully harvested fruit from the planting in 2013 The crop was severely reduced due to spring frosts in 2014 We were successful in developing a protocol for harvesting each group of trees with the machine within treatment parameters while retaining treatment integrity We were successful in 2015 using the Littau Harvester and will deploy these protocols with the harvesting at the NWHRC on July 29 Drs. Perry and Rothwell’s work is funded in part by MSU’s AgBioResearch Check out the MSU Fruit & Vegetable Crop Management Program Vegetable & Organic Horticulture Management Program Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work This information is for educational purposes only Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress We comply with the Federal Trade Commission 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) as if nothing was weird about a person wearing high-tech scuba gear around others I’m skeptical about the presentation’s perfectly manicured social reality I am optimistic about wearable headsets for specific use cases But my skepticism about Apple’s ability to create “a profound new way to be together” comes from my experience with a similar (if much lower-tech) device: Google Glass which my classes at Lehigh University experimented with almost 10 years ago My students quickly discovered social downsides for these devices; their intrusiveness made for awkward or downright hostile social interactions Vision Pro is shinier and fancier than Glass and its features and quality are dramatically improved its design replicates a specific social dynamic in the way it presents to those around the user: It’s a wearable headset with an embedded camera that can take pictures or video on demand All the selling points of Vision Pro are things for the wearer to experience—and those around the wearer to simply be subject to Glass became a punchline that has since weighed on other AR products That’s one of the things that made Monday’s Vision Pro presentation feel weird Visually showing what a product is supposed to be is a long-term Apple strategy and can speed adoption by allowing consumers to envision themselves using a device This works well for new product categories when the public is effectively a blank slate But the choice to show Vision Pro as a social device ignores the lessons from Glass about the impact of AR and VR tech on social interaction and the larger social narrative around such devices we saw a father squatting on the floor near his young children wearing the device and capturing video for keepsakes It all felt weirdly dark in its unspoken assumptions about normalcy and social consent and how our kids (and many other people) might feel being constantly regarded through a lens I was one of the first batch of Google Glass Explorers (yes that was the official name) given exclusive early access to the device as beta testers I wanted to test Glass’ potential for both education and journalism and I used my multimedia class at Lehigh to experiment with new types of visual stories Glass had working apps for things such as maps and gaming transparent screen that hovered slightly above your right eye that showed the trouble with wearable camera devices each student was required to wear Glass everywhere while awake for two days (in class and afterward journal about their interactions They were instructed not to take photos or video of others without permission and to be upfront that they were wearing it for a class assignment They also could power it down while wearing it if someone was uncomfortable students told me people around them didn’t know how to react after their initial curiosity for the tech wore off Professors in class or friends at parties were nervous about being recorded turning off the device wasn’t always enough A few times I had to text permission to remove Glass because the social costs were too high even sending me selfies while wearing the device at parties with messages like “#omgawkward.” But they estimated it was off probably 75 percent of the time The point of this assignment was to test the range of how society might accept the act of wearing such a device in public spaces We discovered that the device had some good potential it’s technology on your face that interferes with your ability to look someone in the eye The bulkiness and dark tint of Vision Pro exacerbates that problem You might think this isn’t so different from the way we ignore friends or family while looking down at our phones or seeing the world through our phone cameras But my students’ experiences taught me otherwise it’s easier to visually cue a shift in attention from phone to friend or raise your eyes to communicate you are present that signaling is much harder—the people outside of the device can’t know what you’re looking at inside it Handheld cameras or phones also come with clearer universally understandable cues: Holding the device a certain way says “I’m taking photos or a video.” Those cues disappear with a wearable camera The price of these devices also creates an inherent exclusiveness and power imbalance the relative accessibility and ubiquity of phones mean we all have similar opportunities to do good or ill a type of mutually assured destruction that encourages constructing social norms around use Communication theorist Marshall McLuhan famously observed that “the medium is the message,” challenging us go beyond the awe phase of new technology and ask questions about its social effects What does it mean to have a society with this new tech The takeaway from our Glass experiment was that wearable headset cameras create burdens on those around the wearer making social interactions awkward and inviting distrust where none previously existed Social interactions could evolve as wearable headsets become more common It happened as phones became part of our social gatherings But instead of accepting ever-present phones without conditions I could see journalistic and creative uses so long as there is understanding and a way to negotiate consent when donning the device Apple is asking people to envision a future that seamlessly (and quickly) creates social norms about wearables and consent The visceral reaction Vision Pro wearers will inevitably get in public is a sharp departure for a company famous for products such as iconic white earbuds or candy-colored iMacs expertly designed to exploit people’s desire to build social influence Apple’s pitch zoomed past the awkward phase and straight to the story it wants to get to But this time it was for a product whose category is littered with instances of disconnection and paranoia Vision Pro may someday live up to Apple’s lofty pitch but acceptance that leads to mass adoption will depend on how users behave and social rules around new technology take time We can’t shortcut the awkward phase if we want to build social norms for AR/VR devices—and it will all be much messier than Monday’s pitch implies Professor Jeremy Littau demonstrates the features of Google Glass Jeremy Littau is one of the 110,000 individuals who applied for the chance to access this new and limited technology he pitched that he would use Glass in a classroom setting and test the possibility of a broadcast classroom Out of 110,000 other hopefuls he was one of 8,000 to be chosen Funded by Lehigh's journalism department Littau was able to purchase the $1,500 device to share with the students in his multimedia storytelling class Littau’s students in the class have the ability to test the technology and there class blog acts as a resource many students can observe and learn from Google Glass is a wearable media technology which is a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S The Glass Explorer Edition is the current model and Littau explained that it’s essentially a beta device It is a lens-less pair of glasses equipped with a track pad and small screen in the upper right hand eye Within this technology is a camera that takes pictures and records video with quality that resembles that of an iPhone 4 Something Glass offers that no other device can is the capability to provide a first-person point of view video Littau and two of his students showed videos of people swing dancing and playing the piano from a first-person perspective Glass has all the functions of a normal search engine Some additional characteristics of Glass include turn-by-turn directions Another feature is a new variation Frogger Glass’s version takes advantage of motion the device can sense; by physically jumping or by the nod of a head the user can make the frog jump across the screen Each of the students is also required to create a "Glassumentary," a term coined by Littau in which they create a first-person video documentary Glass is also a relatively easy technology to learn and pick up a couple of hours over a few classes,” Littau said I forgot I was wearing it sometimes," Julie Tatios Littau said Glass does have some areas it needs improvement Because it is still in its developmental stages Littau said there are occasional glitches he experiences when using it which could pose a problem when out shooting footage Another downside is the fact that the only way to access Internet is with Wi-Fi or accessing LTE through a secondary device; Glass does not have its own 3G or 4G network Littau said one of the biggest problems Google Glass faces is a negative social stigma To many it has a “geeky” quality to it and is big in size since it’s still in its early stages but in general the Lehigh student body has gotten used to seeing Glass around campus Story by Brown and White news writer Rebecca Factor Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. 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