This article is a bit more dramatic, and is in a more of an adversarial tone than I would probably write, but it gives a fair appraisal of where we currently stand in regards to the Visalia Police Department and it’s use of the Flock Automated License Plate Reader system.
More Flock, more fun
April 28, 2026
commentary, News visalia, privacy, visalia police department, VPD, Flock Camera, Flock License Plate Reader Leave a comment
Well, Flock me!
April 24, 2026
commentary, News, Personal ai, ALPR, Flock Camera, Flock License Plate Reader, license plate readers, News, politics, technology, visalia, visalia police department, VPD Leave a comment
Some more License Plate Reader fun. KMPH 26 posted a story about Merced’s Police Department discovering a, shall we say – just to be very understanding of the complexity of computerized systems – a “mis-configuration” of their automated license plate reader system. Although not the Flock ALPR, like Visalia’s, they released a statement on April 23, 2026, saying, in part, the following:
Merced, Calif – In the interest of transparency, the Merced Police Department is addressing recent concerns regarding automated license plate reader (ALPR) data sharing.
Following these reports, the Department conducted a comprehensive internal review of its ALPR system. That review determined that prior system configurations allowed data sharing with certain federal agencies.
Upon identifying this issue, the Department immediately disabled the identified connections and will continue to conduct additional audits to ensure ongoing compliance.
Merced joins Santa Cruz, Oxnard, and Ventura Police Departments to identify (through media reports, not, apparently, through their own oversight) problems with unauthorized access to their databases. Each agency has said they’ve fixed the problems, but one has to wonder how many other instances of unauthorized access have occurred.
I’ve sent the following Public Records Request to the Visalia Police Department:
To: Custodian of Records
Visalia Police Department
303 S Johnson St.
Visalia, CA 93291
(Or via NextRequest Portal)
Date: April 24, 2026
RE: CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST – FLOCK ALPR DATA SHARING AND SPECIFIC PLATE RECORDS
To the Custodian of Records:
Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.) and California Civil Code § 1798.90.5 et seq., I am requesting the following public records held by the Visalia Police Department (VPD):
System Access & Inter-Agency Sharing Logs: Any and all records, audit logs, or documentation showing access to data compiled by the VPD via the Flock Safety ALPR system by any agency other than the Visalia Police Department. This request includes, but is not limited to:
Lists of “Hot List” hits shared with outside agencies.
Audit trails showing when outside agencies (federal, state, or local) queried the VPD’s Flock database.
Current lists of all agencies with whom the VPD has a data-sharing agreement for ALPR data.
The time frame for this request is from the initial installation/implementation of the Flock system to the present date.
Specific License Plate Records: All records, images, and data points captured by the VPD ALPR system (including fixed cameras and mobile units) that reference or identify the following California license plate: JJRJR.
This request includes time stamps, location data (GPS coordinates or camera IDs), and associated photographs for every instance this plate was recorded from the time of system installation to the present date.
Redactions and Privacy:
If the Department contends that any portion of these records is exempt from disclosure, please provide the non-exempt portions pursuant to Gov. Code § 7922.525. If any portion of the request is denied, please provide a written response citing the specific legal authority for the denial within the ten (10) days required by statute.
Request for Digital Format:
Please provide these records in electronic format. If the records exist in a searchable database or spreadsheet (such as CSV or Excel), I request they be provided in that native format.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Joe Reeves
Visalia, CA
That license plate request is for my own car, and I’m interested how many times the system has seen me while I’m running around town. From what I understand of their operational rules, they should have no images older than 30 days. We’ll see if I get anything, or get buried with data files.
CHEMTRAILS!
April 22, 2026
commentary, News chemtrails, contrails, jet exhuast, NextDoor, urban legend, visalia Leave a comment
From my local version of the Nextdoor app:
Has anyone else noticed all of the chem trails that this state puts into our atmosphere. If the my is not blue it is because of all the chemicals being dispersed in our atmosphere. Ho much is this effecting our health and the weather. I predict that the rain forecasted for next week will not occur because of the chemicals being dispersed. Some states have outlawed chem trails. Do some research, this is not a conspiracy theory.
This post generated 135 responses in the four days it’s been up.
Here’s my comment about it all, and Rick’s response:
Tell me you failed science class in middle school without telling me you failed science class in middle school. 🙄
Rick decided to respond with “appeal to authority”.
I have a BS degree in chemistry, nominated to who’s who in American colleges and universities, graduated with honors, I have a minor in Earth and Environmental science, two years of graduate work in biochemistry at ASU. Taught middle school physical science for 38 years, was nominated as one of top 10 teachers in region 7 of California. When I taught my students had some of the highest test grades in my district. Should I tell you more of my accomplishments. Master’s degree in computer education from Fresno Pacific. Was a research chemist. Should I go on?
And it goes on that way for over a hundred other replies. Most agreeing with Rick, and suggesting I do “research” to find the “research” that proves his claims. A few even provided links, but not to anything actually reputable.
Just in case, here’s at least one reputable source that debunks “chemtrails”.
I now understand why Visalia is consistently rated very low in educational surveys.
What the Flock?
April 19, 2026
commentary, geek, News Flock Camera, Flock License Plate Reader, privacy, surveillance state, technology, traffic cameras, visalia, visalia police department, VPD Leave a comment
“I always feel like somebody’s watching me
And I have no privacy (oh, oh)
I always feel like somebody’s watching me
Who’s playing tricks on me?” Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
London is a city well known for extensive video monitoring by CCTV systems. London Metro Police have eyes across the city. Jurisdictions in the United States are following suit, bit by bit. Starting last year (2025), Visalia jumped on that bandwagon, too, with (at this writing) thirteen Flock cameras. Not to the extent of London, but every place has to start somewhere, right?
I was a bit surprised when I checked out the https://deflock.org/ map for the Visalia area. I was expecting to see 13 cameras under the control of the Visalia Police Department. I didn’t expect to see seven of them covering the College of the Sequoias, four at the Packwood Creek Shopping Center, and four at the Willow Creek Shopping Center. (I don’t think those are for VPD. I’m sure they’re under the control of the property owners. Especially since all the cameras there are pointing inwards to the properties, and not out towards the street.)
The City of Visalia page on the Flock website is https://transparency.flocksafety.com/visalia-ca-pd. It gives some interesting information on Visalia’s system. At the time of this post, 13 cameras had logged 344,972 “vehicles detected” in the past 30 days.
MoreIs The Truth Out There?
March 27, 2026
commentary, News China, conspiracy nut, conspiracy theory, Donald Trump, history, new world order, politics, Russia, The Truth is Out There, Trump, United States Leave a comment
I’ve never been a conspiracy nut, honest.
I don’t believe in Bigfoot (we’d have found a body by now, if there was a population large enough to sustain a species – accidents befall even the most careful of us), alien visitation (too far, and there’s almost no science supporting the idea that FTL is possible), any of the popular – or momentarily in-the-news – ideas, like baby sacrifices going on in pizza parlor basements, or secret cabals running the world.
So, not a conspiracy nut.
But…
One has to wonder how the United States has so quickly fallen. It hardly seems like this is something we would deliberately do to ourselves, but it seems we have. We’ve gutted important government agencies, stopped aid to needy people around the world, broke alliances that had served us well since World War II, and disrupted the very fabric of our nation. Republicans in Congress have ceded their authorities and powers to the President, and the Democrats can’t seem to get their act together to present a unified resistance.
If I were an adversary of the United States, I would know one basic thing as truth. Nobody on the planet can seriously challenge the United States military, if the U.S. decided to stage an all-out response to attack. Military force is not an option.
However…
Americans are terribly myopic. The business world only sees as far as the next quarterly report. Politicians only see to the next election. People who are educated and study world affairs are ignored, most of the time. The general public is too focused on social media (now). Those who have been and are still watching television are enamored of “reality” TV, watching instigated drama in groups of people staged to be either physically attractive, or sufficiently sinister. News programming is increasingly dropping facts and analysis for ratings and clicks. Nobody is really “minding the store” that is the United States.
So how would a theoretical adversary on the United States overthrow them, destroy their leadership in the world, fracture alliances, and generally make them pariah in the world’s eyes, all without firing a single missile or bullet?
Now, this requires some long term planning, which at the very least, China has demonstrated they are willing to do. Russia keeps shooting itself in the foot, but it, too, has a longer outlook than does the United States.
Get compromising information on people who might end up in office. The most determined to attain power will probably have something in their closet they don’t want exposed to the light of day. If not, a honey-pot trap often works. Infiltrate other organizations, businesses, and universities. Feed disinformation to the internet and legacy news media. Be relentless with all of it. Convince people that “they, those people over there, the brown ones, the liberal ones, the media, the ‘others’ “, are the real enemies of the state.
Then along comes Donald J. Trump. They’ve already got all the kompromat they could possibly have over him (Epstein files? Pee tapes?), and they understand his narcissism and greed. Promise him money, threaten him with what they know, and he eats out of their hands. Feed his supporters with constant refrains of “only he can save us”, “only he can fix it”, “it’s the liberals fault”, “it’s the illegals fault”, “things will get better if you elect him”. Lie to them, but do it in a way that strokes their egos. Make them feel like they’re smart, they know what’s going on, their dire straights are not their fault, but the work of “them”. Elect Trump President.
So they did. What did we get?
He and his supporters in Congress and the Courts are systematically tearing down the framework of the United States, and putting long-time alliances that have kept the peace in Europe since 1945 in the position of no longer being able to trust the USA. Taking Greenland? Cuba? Venezuela? The Trump regime is creating chaos around the world. In the middle of it all, Trump is raking in the money faster than any one can count it. The rich oil states are shoveling money at him.
That, and more, might be what someone would do to undermine and diminish the United States, without firing a shot.
But that’s just conspiracy talk, right?
Right?
Visalia’s Charter: Time For A Refresh
March 9, 2026
commentary, News Charter City, history, News, politics, visalia, Visalia Charter, Visalia Municipal Code Leave a comment
A charter city is a municipality where the governing system is defined by its own unique legal document—a city charter—rather than solely by general state, provincial, or national laws. Visalia’s charter was created in 1923, and updated in 1974. We’re due for some critical thinking on the charter, and some updates to reflect today’s world. Much of the charter still works, but much of it also needs amending. I uploaded the Charter to Grok, and asked it to analyze the current document, and suggest things to bring it into the 21st century. Here’s what it came up with. (The current Charter can be found at the end of this blog.)
Analysis of the City of Visalia Charter
The provided Charter of the City of Visalia, adopted in the early 20th century and last amended in 1974 (with Section 21 deleted), establishes a council-manager form of government with broad home rule powers over municipal affairs, as permitted under Article XI of the California Constitution. It is a concise document (around 25 articles) that emphasizes local control, fiscal conservatism, and procedural safeguards, reflecting the era’s priorities like post-Depression financial limits and mid-century urban planning. The charter aligns with California’s framework for charter cities, granting supremacy over “municipal affairs” (e.g., elections, officer compensation, zoning) while subordinating to state law on “statewide concerns” (e.g., housing mandates, labor relations under certain statutes).
Key strengths:
- Home Rule Emphasis: It robustly asserts powers over utilities, zoning, franchises, and emergencies, consistent with charter city autonomy.
- Fiscal Prudence: Strict limits on taxes (1% property tax cap, specials for libraries/parks), debt (20% of assessed value), and bidding (aligned with state thresholds) promote accountability.
- Governance Structure: Council-manager system with appointed officials (e.g., City Manager handles operations) supports professional management.
- Public Safeguards: Provisions for initiative/referendum/recall, open meetings, and audits enhance transparency.
Key weaknesses/outdated elements:
- Language and Inclusivity: Gendered pronouns (“he,” “his”) assume male officeholders, excluding modern norms of gender neutrality.
- Lack of Modern Priorities: No explicit focus on equity, sustainability, technology, or post-2020 innovations like remote governance.
- Potential Conflicts with State Law: Some sections (e.g., zoning, elections) predate major reforms like Proposition 13 (1978), SB 9 (2021 on lot splits/duplexes), or redistricting laws (e.g., AB 764, 2024). Courts have increasingly classified housing as a statewide concern, limiting charter city exemptions.
- Rigidity: Fixed processes (e.g., 2-hour notice for special meetings) hinder agility; no provisions for term limits, ethics commissions, or diverse representation.
- Omissions: Lacks sections on climate resilience, data privacy, or economic development tools common in updated charters.
Overall, the charter functions but feels archaic compared to peers like San Francisco (reformed 1996, ongoing updates) or Oakland (1998 shift to mayor-council). Modern best practices, per the League of California Cities’ Charter City Toolkit and the National Civic League’s Model City Charter (9th Edition, 2021), emphasize flexibility, equity, and performance metrics. California’s 121 charter cities (out of 482 total) often use charters for tailored governance; Visalia could enhance efficiency without losing core principles.
MoreConsent Decree Visalia Unified School District, 2002
March 6, 2026
commentary, News ACLU, faggot, Gay, homophobic intent, Loomis, Redwood High School, visalia, Visalia Unified School District, VUSD Leave a comment
In 2002, to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a Golden West student, the ACLU, and the GSA Network, the Visalia Unified School district agreed to the following consent decree. The decree was valid until June 30, 2005, with an extension to June of 2007 if VUSD failed to complete the agreement. In it, the District agreed to the following:
- Adopt policies explicitly forbidding staff or student harassment or discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation;
- Name “”compliance coordinators”” to help parents, students and teachers with incidents of discrimination;
- Establish a community advisory group to help address discrimination and assess how the settlement is working.
It also required the District to facilitate any student requests to form a LGBT-related school club, and make the efforts to find a teacher willing to be the club’s advisor. Materials regarding discrimination and LGBT rights, staff training, student training, and protection from retaliation were parts of the agreement.
Flash forward to 2026.
Redwood High School students, on Senior picture day, decided to arrange tshirts with letters and numbers on them to form the derogatory “2FAG60TS” seen above. Students posted the images to social media, and the community erupted. See previous posts on this blog for further information.
It may be time for VUSD to dig into their storage units and dust off the materials required by the decree. They clearly need some review.
The next VUSD Board of Trustees meeting is Tuesday, March 10, 2026. It will be held at the Board room, VUSD, 5000 W. Cypress, Visalia, California, at 5:30 pm. A large crowd is expected.
Here is the consent decree as agreed to between VUSD, the student George Loomis, the ACLU, and the Gay Straight Alliance Network.
“The Devil Made Me Do It!”
February 18, 2026
Gay, News education, faggot, Gay, homophobic incident, News, Paul Belt, Redwood High School, teaching, visalia, Visalia Unified School District, VUSD Leave a comment
In my previous blog, “Hate In A Small Town 5 (Visalia Edition)“, I talked about the how the community responded to ten Redwood High School seniors taking a picture of themselves in tshirts that spelled out “2FAG6OTS”. It’s caused quite the dust-up in our community, and has become international news.
You can read my previous post about the situation to see what the Visalia Unified School District has done about the situation, but I wanted to highlight a particular response by one of the Visalia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Paul Belt.
In a Facebook post on 2/17/26, Belt says the incident was a “student mistake”. Then in the comments, he blames it all on being part of a “spiritual battle”, rather than young people being raised in an environment that condones such actions. He seems much more bothered by the uproar in the community than he is with the students actions. “Hatred and vitriolic language have no place for young minds to grow and flourish”. Does he think the students should be free to express hatred and vitriolic language, since it’s just a “mistake”.
I wonder if he would think it was a “mistake” if the students had spelled out “SATAN ROCKS”, or something similar. I’m suspecting not, but, hey, you never know, right?
I think we can tell what Mr. Belt thinks about the LGBTQIA+ community, when he says a deliberately committed act of making and posting a derogatory image to social media is a “student mistake”.
The March 10, 2026 School Board meeting promises to be a packed affair. A lot of folks have a lot to say to the Board and the District. I think it will be a long night, unless the Board moves to limit comments.
The regular session begins at 5:30pm, at the Board room of VUSD, 5000 W. Cypress, Visalia.
UPDATE 2/23/2026:
Belt has deleted (or hidden) his posts about the “student mistake” from his Facebook page. Makes one wonder if someone at the Visalia Unified School District yelled at him, sorry…, ‘recommended’ he delete those posts.
Hate In A Small Town 5 (Visalia Edition)
February 15, 2026
Gay, News, Personal ACLU, faggot, Gay, homophobic incident, Loomis, Redwood High School, visalia, Visalia Unified School District, VUSD 1 Comment
Since the Pride Month proclamation fiasco in Porterville, California, in the summer of 2013, I’ve written several blogs on ‘Hate In A Small Town’. You can find them here: Hate In A Small Town (1) 9-18-2014, Hate In A Small Town (2) 6-18-2014, Porterville City Council Still Snubbing LGBTQ Community 9-24-2014, and Hate In A Small Town 4 – It’s Déjà vu all over again 3-19-2025. The first blog was printed in the Weekend Edition of the Visalia Times Delta on September 21-22, 2013. Those blogs all dealt with a nearby city, Porterville, California. My city, Visalia, has been better about LGBTQ issues, for the most part, until this incident. (Not that Visalia has been a gay beacon, by any means. In 2002, the ACLU settled a lawsuit against the Visalia Unified School District, in which the District “agreed to adopt sweeping reforms to address anti-gay harassment, including groundbreaking measures to train staff and students with the goal of preventing harassment before it happens,” *see below for the Consent order)
The picture above started making the rounds on social media on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Here’s the background, as I know it at the time of this publication.
A class picture was taken in an auditorium, with some of the ASB officers wearing white t-shirts with lettering, designed to spell out “Always Legit Class of 2026”. See the image below.
The event was apparently also hosting freshman orientation, with students from feeder middle schools on campus. The current story circulating is that two eighth grade boys were seen holding hands, triggering the students in the above picture to spell out a homophobic slur, and have other students take pictures. It’s not known if the targets of the slur saw it in the moment, but they have certainly seen it on social media since. It’s also not clear where Redwood High School staff and teachers were during this incident, as they appear not to have put a stop to the students posing for the picture.
Students immediately posted to Instagram and other social media sites, and the shit hit the fan. “Going viral” doesn’t do justice to how those posts took off, and how they were received by the community.
Visalia Unified School District began immediate damage control. Click on ‘more’ for the rest of the story.
More
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Congress is at it again
April 30, 2026
Jim Reeves commentary, Gay, News, Personal california, California 20th Congressional District, Congress, H.R. 26126, lgbtq, News, politics, Protect Kids Act, students rights, Transgender rights, Vince Fong Leave a comment
I know it’s been going on for a long time, now, but I still find it annoying. Republicans in Congress are attacking transgender children, again, and trying to hide it in a misleading bill title.
H.R. 2616 is the “Parental Rights Over The Education and Care of Their Kids Act or the PROTECT Kids Act”. It of course does exactly the opposite of that.
From the Congress.gov website:
This bill requires public elementary and middle schools, as a condition of receiving certain federal funds for elementary and secondary education, to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender on school forms or changing a student’s sex-based accommodations.
Specifically, an elementary school or a school consisting of only grades 5-8 must obtain parental consent before changing a minor student’s (1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or (2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.
A BILL
To require public elementary and middle schools that receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to obtain parental consent before changing a minor’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form or sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the “Parental Rights Over The Education and Care of Their Kids Act ” or the “PROTECT Kids Act”.
SEC. 2. Parental consent requirement related to gender markers, pronouns, and preferred names on school forms and sex-based accommodations.
(a) Requirement.—As a condition of receiving funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), a public school that receives funds under such Act shall obtain parental consent before changing a covered student’s—
(1) gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form; or
(2) sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.
(b) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) COVERED STUDENT.—The term “covered student” means a minor who is—
(A) an elementary school student; or
(B) a student in any of the middle grades.
(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms “elementary school”, “middle grades”, and “parent” have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
That’s it. That’s the entire bill. The entire intent is to out trans kids, regardless of the student’s wishes. Regardless of the hostility from family or the community. The child’s needs are irrelevant. Only the political points gained by the Republicans matter.
I sent a message to my Congressman, Vince Fong (R) about this bill, urging a NO vote. Here’s his response:
Dear Jim,
Thank you for reaching out to me regarding LGBTQ Americans. I understand that many people have strong and differing opinions about this issue. I take all of these views seriously and value the diversity of thought in our district.
While I am opposed to policies that ignore the fundamental biological differences between men and women and have supported legislation to protect the integrity of Title IX, I believe those in Congress should respect the dignity of all citizens when debating legislation.
Over the last few decades, our political discourse across America has worsened. Instead of having productive negotiations, lawmakers have turned policy debates into uncontrollable arguments, opting instead for whatever gets the most retweets or soundbite coverage on network news.
For too long, we have denied one another the chance to be seen not as a member of a particular political party, but as men and women with values, families and loved ones, and experiences that have shaped who we are and what we stand for. We must recommit ourselves to civility and respect one another as human beings no matter where we fall on the political spectrum.
Thank you again for contacting me. Hearing about what is most important to you and your family helps me represent California’s 20th Congressional District to the best of my ability. It is a great honor to serve you in the U.S. House of Representatives. Should you have additional comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at my Bakersfield, Clovis, or Washington, D.C. offices.
If you would like to receive regular updates to learn more about my legislative work on behalf of our neighbors and communities, please sign up for my newsletter below.
Sincerely,
I suspect if I were to have access to a “politi-speak” AI, and asked it to explain to me what he said in this response, it would return “not much”. He’s going to vote in support, I suspect, regardless of how this bill would hurt kids.
I wonder what the price of a Republican soul is these days? It must be an impressive payoff, as so many of them have signed on the dotted line so easily.
Oh, credit where credit is due. Fong’s office responded quicker to my message than any Representative or Senator, or Assemblyman or state Senator has in the past. It only took a couple of days to get a response. That’s unusual.
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