Retraction — Letter Alleged False Claims About Renee Good
In Vol #8, Issue #2, Estero Bay News published an opinion piece from John Curtis under the title “Carbajal got Good Wrong,” which included inflammatory language regarding Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 07.
We have since determined that the information referenced was inaccurate and unsubstantiated. We try to give voice to all opinions, even those with which we do not agree, but our editorial policy is not to publish any content that is erroneous. We apologize that we were unable to adequately verify the inaccuracies in this letter before publication and for any resulting confusion or misunderstanding.
The letter has been removed from our website, and we retract the claims made therein.
We appreciate the strong response this letter received and are grateful for our engaged, thoughtful community. Below are responses submitted for publication.
Dean Sullivan, publisher
Theresa-Marie Wilson, editor
Letter is full of Vitriol and Misinformation
John Curtis’s letter about the shooting death in Minneapolis of Rene Good is so full of vitriol and misinformation that it hardly deserves a response, but I would point out some facts that he passes over. Until an investigation of the shooting is complete, no determination can rightly be made about the culpability of the parties, so it would behoove Curtis to be more cautious about his finger pointing. I would point out that ICE officers are in Minneapolis to arrest immigrant criminals. Rene Good was a US citizen, and the activity she was engaged in, taking videos of ICE operations and warning immigrant residents of Minneapolis that ICE agents were in the area are not criminal activities; they are protected under the US Constitution’s guaranteed right to free speech. The videos that millions have people have seen show her saying “I’m not mad at you.” to the officer who came up to her car window.
These videos of the incident do not show that she had turned the wheel of her car toward the officer near the front of the car, but that she had turned the wheel away from that officer. And if the officer had been following accepted police practice, he would not have placed himself in the left front of the vehicle anyway. The videos do not show that the car hit the officer, they show the officer walking with no limp or incapacity down the street after the incident. They show that one of the officer’s shots came from the left front, going through the lower left windshield. The other two were from the side of the car, going through the driver-side window, so the officer was clearly not in harm’s way when he fired those two shots. If his life was not in danger, then he had no reason to take any of those shots. A proper investigation will determine whether these observations are accurate. Until then, Curtis should go back to living in his right-wing cesspool.
Charles Peterson
Los Osos
Truth Wins in Renee Good Case
Hello! I love Estero Bay News and I’m writing to you hoping that you will print a correction to misstatements in Mr. Curtis’s letter declaring that Renee Good, whom an ICE agent fatally shot in early January 2026, was a criminal. This is the first I had heard that charge, so I searched on the Snope’s website to see what they had to say about it. (https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/renee-good-criminal-record/) The story states: “Searches of criminal record databases in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota — states where Good had reportedly lived —for Renee Good, Renee Sheppard and Renee Macklin (Good’s name during marriages to her former husbands) uncovered no records matching the screenshot circulating online.
“Given the above, the criminal record could not have belonged to Good; therefore, we concluded that social media users miscaptioned the screenshot. It was not clear where the criminal record screenshot originated from or whether it belonged to a real person who shared a name but not a birthdate with Good.”
Although Mr. Curtis is entitled to his opinion, I don’t believe he is entitled to make inflammatory incorrect statements pass by unchallenged by the truth.
Thank you for your attention to this matter,
Kim Ramos
Morro Bay
Demanding a Retraction
I am writing to demand a full retraction of the defamatory letter to the editor published in your recent edition, which falsely accused Renee Nicole Good of “allegedly abusing two of her children” involving burning them with cigarettes. This baseless claim is entirely untrue, as confirmed by fact-checks and public records showing no such criminal history or incidents.
Such accusations are libelous per se, damaging Ms. Good’s reputation in our community without any factual basis. Your paper republished this falsehood, exposing both you and the writer, John Curtis of Los Osos, to potential liability under California defamation law.
I request that you immediately publish a prominent retraction on the front page or letters section, stating clearly that the allegations against Renee Good are false, apologizing for the error, and clarifying that no evidence supports them. Per California Civil Code § 48a, this must occur within 20 days of my notice to limit your liability.
Bill Alpert
Morro Bay
Blatant Lies
“Carbajal got Good Wrong” perpetuates blatant lies about the character of the murder victim, Renee Good.
Responsible publications issue public responses and/or apologies for repeating such spurious claims, for not performing a modicum of basic fact checking for such inflammatory allegations, PRIOR to publishing such material.
David Drenick
Morro Bay
Truth Should have been Included
Allowing a letter to the editor in the January the 29th to February the 11th, 2026 edition in the Estero Bay News to be published without the truth attached to the rants was highly irresponsible and very libelous.
John Curtis’ letter repeated false information about a murdered USA citizen in the streets of our country. Allowing all of the mis and disinformation to be published without fact checking would be the responsibility of your publication. Please, I ask you to do your own fact checking and then if you’re satisfied publish a retraction or a correction to this letter by John Curtis. Allowing this misinformation to stay as is, just fans the division we have in our country, and has to be addressed when it is spotted and brought to light.
Nancy Pickering
San Luis Obispo
Letter is Inaccurate
Regarding Mr. John Curtis’ editorial opinion, after reviewing factual information regarding Ms. Good’s background information and the accurate analysis of the incident that led to her death, I find Mr. Curtis’ attempt to vilify this woman and Representative Carbajal both bigoted and disgusting. I encourage anyone who is on the fence regarding this tragic incident to do your own research and form your own opinions.
Mr. Curtis’ screed is evidence of the bigotry and close-mindedness that has infected 30% of our population.
I’m thankful that he is not one of my neighbors.
Tom Wilker
Los Osos
Letter Highly Irresponsible
I find your publishing of John Curtis’ letter to the editor in the January 29 – February 11, 2026, edition of Estero Bay News to be highly irresponsible. Mr. Curtis lies in making incendiary comments about the late Renee Good in his letter, to wit: “You seem to conveniently forget that Ms. Good was a criminal, now a dead criminal, for allegedly abusing two of her children, by burning them with cigarettes…”
Mr. Curtis repeated misinformation about Renee Good that showed up on social media following her death. News outlets and fact-checkers from multiple outlets have rated these claims as false, noting that the “criminal records” being circulated about Renee Good were fabricated.
I appreciate you wanting to provide your readers with an outlet to publish their opinions. However, I believe you have a responsibility to all your readers to not publish obvious lies intended to smear other people, living or dead.
Paul Zive
Morro Bay
Vaccine and Autism
I do believe that my Asperger’s Autism was caused by a vaccine at the age of 3-years-old and later diagnosed in late Spring of 2010, regardless of what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said as our health secretary. As a result of having that vaccine, the vaccine overwhelmed my nervous system resulting in insomnia, in which I have to be on medications to treat the symptoms of Autism. I also have been bullied when I was a teenager, because boys used to make fun of me.
In closing I have found healing to deal with my Autism, in long term mental health help this time.
Scott C. Presnal
Morro Bay
Water From Where?
I wish Neil had explained how the Cayucos treatment plant “gives the town drinking water.” (Estero Bay News Vol #8, Issue #2 “County Extends Water Plant Agreement.)” He mentions a “reservoir,” the wells — is there an injection process from the treatment plant? After which water is drawn from the ground and sent for further treatment before delivery to households? It’s not a toilet-to-tap process, is it? One very tight paragraph would resolve the basic technical questions for your readers.
Jeff Wheelwrite
Morro Bay
