A current candidate for Stanislaus County Supervisor in District 4, Tom Berryhill was fined $40,000 in 2014 by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC). Was this a technical violation of complex campaign law? Did Mr. Berryhill admit the violation? Was he repentant? The answer to all three questions appears to be, “No.” Why look at this “historical” event, stemming from activity in 2008? Well, while the fine was widely reported, […]
The Death of Evin Yadegar: Facts May be Buried Forever
Former Modesto Bee reporter and retired attorney Steve Ringhoff combines his passions for journalism and law in series of investigative reports about Modesto and surrounding areas. Read more of his work HERE. For those who live in the subdivision just east of Highway 99 in southeast Ripon, that sound at night—sirens—was not unusual. But, then, for those awake or awakened in the early hours of February 26, 2017, it changed. […]
Donor Review for Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors
When Dick Monteith announced his retirement from the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, both Democrat Frank Damrell and Republican Tom Berryhill announced they would run for the vacant seat in Stanislaus County’s District Four. Former Modesto City Councilmember Janice Keating jumped into the race much later. Read more from Steve Ringhoff at Modestoexplained. Frank Damrell III had the most donors through April 21. Tom Berryhill got the most money during that […]
County Pays Big for “Limp, Lame, and Lazy” Claim
In the sad story of the late Sheriff’s Deputy Dennis Wallace—gunned down by a mentally ill killer at Fox Grove fishing access near Hughson almost two years ago—Stanislaus County may get stuck with a big bill: $1,471,843.95. An order from Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Timothy W. Salter says that’s what Wallace’s attorneys are owed. Wallace may have given his life in service to the same agency that put him […]
California Congressional District 10 Donor Numbers are In
As we did after the year end Federal Election Commission filings, we look past the amount of money given to each candidate to find out how many INDIVIDUALS opened their wallets for their favorites. Methodology: The FEC filings list donations individually but some donors pony up a bit at a time, so there are duplications. So, we created a spread sheet and then filtered the list by unique last name. […]
Harder Rolls Big Bucks Over First Quarter
Below, Steve Ringhoff, of Modesto Explained, offers a concise and revealing summary of candidate fund raising for California’s District 10 Congressional Campaign during this year’s first quarter. Democrat Josh Harder out raised all other democratic challengers during the first three months of 2018, including Michael Eggman, who one wag dubbed the “incumbent Democratic challenger.” Harder also brought more into his treasury during that period from individual contributions than the actual […]
Is the City of Modesto Our Own Big Brother?
Here’s another of Steve Ringhoff’s deep dives into the otherwise covert operations of our city authorities. Should we be concerned? You decide. For several years now, the MPD has been collecting data on your travels by photographing your license plate and storing the data, first locally then, later, in a central database to which public and private security operations have access. It is the perhaps unintended consequence of an anti-auto […]
Did “Plastic” Jeff Denham Fail to Disclose Loans from JP Morgan?
Steve Ringhoff’s careers as a journalist and attorney led him to a love of investigation and publication. His “Modesto Explained” website features detailed analysis of how our government does, and, more often, does not, serve the people. We hope to be publishing more of Steve’s fine work soon. Would it be important to know a congressman’s relationship with the country’s largest bank, especially with banking regulation legislation pending? Well, two […]