A lot of people think child sex predators need to face execution in California’s gas chamber. There is the belief that once a child molester, always a child molester.
But the last time the gas chamber was used was in August 1993 when David Mason was executed by the state. The last execution by lethal injection was when Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refused clemency for and allowed the execution of Clarence Ray Allen on Jan. 17, 2006. Throughout the 1970s, Allen organized several armed robberies in California and in 1978, he was convicted for ordering the 1974 murder of his son’s teenage girlfriend Mary Sue Kitts for being an informant about Allen’s gang. Allen was 76 years old at the time of his execution.
How things have changed in California, which has governance dominated by Democrats. Today, because of them, the state is letting loose child molesters once they reach the age of 50.
Keep in mind, too, that Gavin Newsom claimed he favored capital punishment when running for governor the first time yet placed a moratorium on the practice the following year. His was a campaign lie.
Two Republican state Assemblymen Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and Assemblyman Hoover (R-Folsom) have introduced legislation to stop the early release of serial child molesters under California’s Elderly Parole Program.
The move comes as Governor Newsom’s parole board has been on a 2026 spree of granting early release to serial child molesters under the state’s “elderly parole” law.
Consider this: Newsom signed a bill into law that lowered the eligibility age for elderly parole to 50 years old. His actions have allowed the state to release a number of notable child predators, including Gregory Vogelsang, who molested more than five children in Citrus Heights and who was recently originally sentenced to more than 300 years in prison. Also released was David Allen Funston, another convicted child molester. Funston was also granted early release despite admitting he still experiences pedophilic urges.
There’s more, of course. In Stanislaus County the state wants to release 74-year-old Kevin Scott Gray, a convicted child molester, to a residence at 400 N. Central Avenue — about five miles south of Ceres’ city limit. A placement hearing before Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens to determine whether Gray would be released into the dwelling is expected to resume on April 3.
Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero is heading up the fight against Gray’s release. Chief Deputy District Attorney Wendell Emerson said Gray remains a potential threat to children. He said Gray has admitted to prison psychologists that he has thoughts about kidnapping young girls and holding them hostage in cells. The public is rightfully concerned and outraged.
Assemblyman Hoover said he is disgusted that Newsom’s Parole Board has granted early release to these serial child molesters.
The GOP bill would raise the minimum age for elderly parole eligibility to 65. As Lackey stated, “Fifty years old is not elderly. Not even close. Just because someone turns 50 does not mean they are rehabilitated! We’re talking about releasing people who committed the worst crimes imaginable. That is unacceptable. 50 years old cannot be the reason we let violent predators out of prison.”
State lawmakers and the governor who support these kinds of bills are true reprobates and don’t deserve any voter’s support.
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People truly have a cynical view of their own city government. That becomes apparent when you read through social media which is rife with folks who operate on little information and their extreme biases.
There was a recent post about a woman who was agitated that the city of Ceres is making her remove her carport. The Courier presented exhaustive coverage of the whole carport issue over a year ago so I assumed that the residents who erected illegal carports already either got the message to tear them down or knew they were in violation. Apparently some are late in getting informed.
Lupita Hernandez Sanchez posted on Facebook: “Has anybody been fined for having a carport?” She asked because the city came by and gave them nine days to remove hers.
There were those who gave their dose of shoot-from-the-hip commentary. John Osgood – who unfortunately was blocked from a council appointment in 2021 – said the law the result of “imbeciles in office” and inferred that anyone who supports such zoning laws is of “low IQ.”
Klarissa Diaz suggested that it was a stupid law and that “whoever passed that law is a clown.” Really? The law was approved after study by the Planning Commission and a City Council decades ago.
Web Matthews said “Ceres is very serious about their permit income.” His is a silly comment given that the city would collect zero income since zero permits are given for carports because they are illegal.
Here’s the deal: Carports have been illegal in Ceres for years and if you have one, you didn’t bother to seek a building permit because you would have been told no, they are illegal structures.
Zoning laws are crafted for various reasons. Let’s review what we’ve already been through, folks.
Carports often block neighbors’ views when backing out of an adjacent driveway. Carports disrupt the continuity of a neighborhood. Carports often end up being a place where junk and boxes of junk are stored. Carports can be put up in such an incorrect way that they collapse or fail in a windstorm.
What becomes a problem is when folks see other folks with their carports up and think, “well, he has one so it must be okay.” No, it’s just that the city began enforcing things last year and it’s going to take a while to get all of the illegal structures removed.
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Last week we ran a letter written by Dr. Dorie Perez praising CUSD for a literary event. Just to clarify, Perez is not a medical doctor but has a doctorate from U.C. Merced. In the back of my mind I thought it unusual to receive a letter from the planning commissioner until I learned that there is a Dorie Perez for Ceres City Council website. It states she is a candidate for District 1 which is James Casey’s seat up for grabs in November.
An anonymous person sent us an email noting that Perez mentioning that materials for the event were presented in English and Spanish. The anonymous person wrote: “It was obviously a Spanish first and an English second event and you know it. Why should Spanish be the priority? My kids get half the education you owe them because speaking a different language is prioritized. We’re sick of it.”
The person then went on to urge all to watch the 90-second YouTube video on “Limbaugh laws.” The first thing the late Rush Limbaugh says in the video is: “If you immigrate into our country you have to speak the native language” and said “no special bilingual programs in the schools.”
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Javier Lopez suspended his campaign for Congress after President Trump endorsed Kevin Lincoln, the former mayor of Stockton who wants to unseat Adam Gray. But Lopez leaves the race with a $21,599 debt.
His campaign committee reported $145,171.85 in contributions, $130,887.06 in disbursements and ending with $14,284.79 in cash on hand. But debts owed by the committee amounted to $21,599.37. The debt is owed to East West Political Strategies ($12,000 due), while vendors who provided print and campaign mail pieces are owed $6,500; and there is a $3,000 debt for website or digital ad services.
An obvious anonymous critic of the mayor emailed us on Saturday and said this about the mayor: “Apparently, he has not only been irresponsible with his past taxes for his personal business, mismanaged the city’s finances but is in the hole of upwards of $21K for his failure of a Congressional campaign. Someone get this guy a financial literacy class ASAP!” There were further disparaging terms used but I’ll not include them.
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Minnesota is known for its fraud but why isn’t California getting the same kind of national media scrutiny now that Golden Boy is running for president?
This is from the California Department of Government Efficiency (CAL DOGE). CAL DOGE is actually an independent, non-governmental initiative launched in January by Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for California Governor, aimed at uncovering corruption, fraud, waste, and mismanagement within California state government agencies
The group notes that California’s Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program promised to cut electricity bills for low-income renters. Funded at up to $100 million a year from cap-and-trade auction proceeds since 2015, the program has received roughly $1 billion. But according to SOMAH’s own reporting, just $72 million as of 2024 had gone to actual solar installations. That leaves $928 million unaccounted for! It looks like the money may be channeled to political purposes!
According to CAL DOGE, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) co-sponsored the legislation that created SOMAH, then secured the role of coordinating organization and liaison for all community outreach under the same program. CEJA operates as a subcontractor under GRID Alternatives’ program administration team. GRID’s Chief Policy and Programs Officer Chris Walker serves simultaneously as SOMAH’s program director. CEJA’s own job listing instructs its SOMAH staff to “co-leverage SOMAH ME&O activities with CEJA’s activities supporting community needs.”
CEJA’s sister organization, CEJA Action, is a 501(c)(4) that endorses candidates and mobilizes voters in the same communities where SOMAH-funded outreach occurs. CEJA Action endorsed 24 progressive candidates in 2024 and publishing so-called voter guides. It endorsed 19 in 2022 and 14 in 2020. Every endorsed candidate in every cycle is a progressive Democrat. Its 2024 legislative scorecard declared California must “stand as a leader of progressive resistance” against “the rising tide of fascism.”
CEJA Action does not file independent tax returns. It operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Tides Advocacy (now “Beyond Impact”), part of the Tides Nexus, which has been described as an organization that “washes away the paper trail between its grants and the original donor.” No public accounting exists for funds flowing into or out of CEJA Action.
CEJA has never installed a solar panel. According to its 2024 IRS Form 990, the organization reported $10.7 million in revenue. Its Civic Engagement Project aims to mobilize “voters of color” while its Energy Justice Project, which includes SOMAH, targets “residents in low-income communities of color.” Both operate in the same communities with the same staff.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
