Have you been following the saga? No, not that one, this one. You know, the one where ten Redwood High School students, after the Senior class picture, rearranged some lettered T-shirts to spell out “2FAG6OTS”? Yeah, that one. Here’s some more, about one of the School Board Trustees who said it was nothing more than a “student mistake”. It wasn’t Visalia Unified School District’s first rodeo, however.
The District quickly let us know they’d conducted an investigation, and put out this notice on February 13, 2026 – (the incident happened the day before, February 12)
That seemed rather quick, didn’t it? Yeah, I thought so, too. Then a few days later, this appeared:
“…please know that as we continue our investigation…”
Wait – you said on the 13th “…following a thorough investigation…”
I have questions. I addressed them in the format of a public records request.
To: Custodian of Records / Public Information Officer
Visalia Unified School District
5000 W. Cypress Ave. | Visalia, CA 93277
Date: 4/17/2026
RE: CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST – SLUR INCIDENT INVESTIGATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
To the Custodian of Records:
Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.), I am requesting the following public records held by the Visalia Unified School District (VUSD):
Investigation Results (Feb 13): All reports, final results, and documentation regarding the “thorough investigation” referred to in the VUSD Facebook “Community Alert” posted on February 13, 2026.
Investigation Results (Feb 17): All reports, preliminary or final results, and documentation regarding the investigation into the “anti-gay slur” incident referred to in the VUSD Facebook announcement posted on February 17, 2026.
Staff Communications: Any and all emails, text messages (on district-issued or personal devices used for district business), or internal memoranda related to the senior class picture incident and subsequent investigations. This request specifically targets communications from:
VUSD staff assigned to the senior class picture event where the photo was taken.
The Principal and Vice-Principal of Redwood High School.
Named District Officials/Staff: Kirk Shrum, Andrew Di Meo, Monica Andrew, Dennis Dyck, Cristina Gutierrez, Jordan Markham, and Lesha Weatherford.
Named Board Members/Personnel: Todd Oto, Walta Gamoian, Paul Belt, Kenneth Dejonge, Jacqueline Gaebe, Joy Naylor, and Randy Villegas.
Redactions and Privacy: I recognize that certain information, such as specific student names or protected personnel records, may be exempt from disclosure under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or California law. Pursuant to Gov. Code § 7922.525, please provide all reasonably segregable portions of these records. I accept legally required redactions (such as the masking of student names) so that the remaining public portions of the investigative findings and staff communications may be disclosed.
Request for Digital Format: Please provide these records in electronic format. If the District maintains these records in a searchable digital format (such as PDF), I request them in that native form.
Timeline: I look forward to your response within ten (10) days, as required by statute, indicating whether this request seeks disclosable public records and the date on which the records will be made available.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Jim J. Reeves
Visalia, CA
I received this response at the ten-day deadline required by state law:
So we wait some more. I’ve had several people contact me through social media, commenting on my Facebook posts about this request. Basically, they’re saying, “good luck! I’ve had very little success with records requests with other school districts or governmental bodies!”
We’ll see what happens, but be assured that I’ll not stop my digging until I get everything legally available to me. And lest anyone think, and they have been thinking this and yelling at me about it, I’m not looking for information on the students or their individual punishments. That part doesn’t interest me at all. This is all about the Visalia Unified School District and it’s perpetuating of an environment of homophobia, and allowing a school culture that led these students to think this was something that was “funny”, a “prank”, or a “mistake”.
I earlier in this post said this wasn’t VUSD’s first rodeo when it comes to homophobia in their schools. Apparently their first rodeo didn’t teach them to keep a halter on their herd.
I asked Gemini AI to create a profile on me, so I could have it compare candidates for office in California’s primary election, and recommend who would be good choices for me to select for my votes. Here’s what it came up with.
This is the political profile I have developed for you, based strictly on the content and commentary found on your blogs, primarily jimmiejoe.com and alternatingcurrents.net. I have used this specific set of values and priorities to analyze candidate platforms and determine which individuals most closely align with your viewpoints in the 2026 California primary.
Here’s how I’m voting in the California primary election for 2026.
With sixtyone(!) candidates on the ballot just for Governor, and sixteen for Lieutenant Governor, this ballot is a mess. The top two vote-getters for each office will move on to the general election in November. (For some offices on the ballot)
Since I recognize exactly zero of the candidates for many of these offices, I tried something I’ve never done before. I asked Gemini AI to create a political profile of me based on my blog posts here on Jimmiejoe.com, and at AlternatingCurrents.net. I then had it compare the profile of me it created to the public information of some of these candidates, and suggest which ones best match my politics. On some of the suggestions, it was difficult to choose between the top candidates who it said matched.
Here’s what we have. Not all of the candidates I’ve chosen were chosen with AI help.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
“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.
Random thoughts, occasional rants, illuminating commentary, and an odd story now and then from the world of 9-1-1 dispatching. All this and more from a gay liberal atheist living in California’s Bible belt. I recently married, so MAGA beware! I’m your worst nightmare! Some names have been omitted to protect the innocent, but the guilty will be hung out to dry!
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Visalia Unified School District – Public Records Request
May 19, 2026
Jim Reeves commentary, News ACLU, education, faggot, Gay, homophobic incident, News, Redwood High School, visalia, Visalia Unified School District, VUSD Leave a comment
Have you been following the saga? No, not that one, this one. You know, the one where ten Redwood High School students, after the Senior class picture, rearranged some lettered T-shirts to spell out “2FAG6OTS”? Yeah, that one. Here’s some more, about one of the School Board Trustees who said it was nothing more than a “student mistake”. It wasn’t Visalia Unified School District’s first rodeo, however.
The District quickly let us know they’d conducted an investigation, and put out this notice on February 13, 2026 – (the incident happened the day before, February 12)
That seemed rather quick, didn’t it? Yeah, I thought so, too. Then a few days later, this appeared:
“…please know that as we continue our investigation…”
Wait – you said on the 13th “…following a thorough investigation…”
I have questions. I addressed them in the format of a public records request.
To: Custodian of Records / Public Information Officer
Visalia Unified School District
5000 W. Cypress Ave. | Visalia, CA 93277
Date: 4/17/2026
RE: CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST – SLUR INCIDENT INVESTIGATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
To the Custodian of Records:
Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.), I am requesting the following public records held by the Visalia Unified School District (VUSD):
Investigation Results (Feb 13): All reports, final results, and documentation regarding the “thorough investigation” referred to in the VUSD Facebook “Community Alert” posted on February 13, 2026.
Investigation Results (Feb 17): All reports, preliminary or final results, and documentation regarding the investigation into the “anti-gay slur” incident referred to in the VUSD Facebook announcement posted on February 17, 2026.
Staff Communications: Any and all emails, text messages (on district-issued or personal devices used for district business), or internal memoranda related to the senior class picture incident and subsequent investigations. This request specifically targets communications from:
VUSD staff assigned to the senior class picture event where the photo was taken.
The Principal and Vice-Principal of Redwood High School.
Named District Officials/Staff: Kirk Shrum, Andrew Di Meo, Monica Andrew, Dennis Dyck, Cristina Gutierrez, Jordan Markham, and Lesha Weatherford.
Named Board Members/Personnel: Todd Oto, Walta Gamoian, Paul Belt, Kenneth Dejonge, Jacqueline Gaebe, Joy Naylor, and Randy Villegas.
Redactions and Privacy: I recognize that certain information, such as specific student names or protected personnel records, may be exempt from disclosure under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) or California law. Pursuant to Gov. Code § 7922.525, please provide all reasonably segregable portions of these records. I accept legally required redactions (such as the masking of student names) so that the remaining public portions of the investigative findings and staff communications may be disclosed.
Request for Digital Format: Please provide these records in electronic format. If the District maintains these records in a searchable digital format (such as PDF), I request them in that native form.
Timeline: I look forward to your response within ten (10) days, as required by statute, indicating whether this request seeks disclosable public records and the date on which the records will be made available.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
Jim J. Reeves
Visalia, CA
I received this response at the ten-day deadline required by state law:
On May 18th, I got this response:
So we wait some more. I’ve had several people contact me through social media, commenting on my Facebook posts about this request. Basically, they’re saying, “good luck! I’ve had very little success with records requests with other school districts or governmental bodies!”
We’ll see what happens, but be assured that I’ll not stop my digging until I get everything legally available to me. And lest anyone think, and they have been thinking this and yelling at me about it, I’m not looking for information on the students or their individual punishments. That part doesn’t interest me at all. This is all about the Visalia Unified School District and it’s perpetuating of an environment of homophobia, and allowing a school culture that led these students to think this was something that was “funny”, a “prank”, or a “mistake”.
I earlier in this post said this wasn’t VUSD’s first rodeo when it comes to homophobia in their schools. Apparently their first rodeo didn’t teach them to keep a halter on their herd.
Share this: