All posts by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Articles, Local Government

Recap: Crescent City Council Has A Vacancy to Fill, Discusses Accessory Dwelling Units, Appoints New Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem

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Thumbnail: Councilor Daran J. Dooley, middle, resigned last month, meaning that his former colleagues are now tasked with appointing his successor. | File photo by Aisling Bludworth

Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Vacancy: Though one member of the public argued for leaving the seat vacant until next year, city councilors directed staff to begin advertising for a replacement for Daran Dooley, who resigned on Oct. 21.

According to City Attorney Martha Rice, the new appointed city councilor would serve until the November 2026 election. At that point, the seat would be up for a vote and whoever won the election would serve until the term ends in November 2028, the city attorney said.

The alternative was a special election that could be done in the spring through mail-in ballots or in conjunction with the November 2026 midterm election, Rice said. The current City Council could also choose to leave the position vacant until November 2026, the city attorney said.

Continue reading Recap: Crescent City Council Has A Vacancy to Fill, Discusses Accessory Dwelling Units, Appoints New Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem →
Articles, Emergencies, Local Government

Greenough Urges Councilors To Reach Out to U.S. Senators To End Government Shutdown

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Thumbnail: Marina MacNeil and Dominique Richcreek, staff members at Pacific Pantry, distributes food in Smith River in this September 2024 photo. Pacific Pantry has expanded its hours in the wake of uncertain SNAP benefits as a result of the federal government shutdown. | File photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Crescent City Councilor Jason Greenough argued that writing to the U.S. senators who represent California, urging them to help end the federal government shutdown wasn’t political.

In response to concerns from his colleague Candace Tinkler, Greenough pointed to the disruption in food stamps, potential impacts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the Crescent City Housing Authority, as well as federal employees who are going without pay.

“Our senators have both decided to continue to vote to keep the government shutdown,” Greenough told his colleagues on Monday. “So we at least need to have a discussion about communicating with them to hopefully get this fixed if it is still shut down by our next meeting.”’

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Articles, Health, Infrastructure, Transportation

Transportation Commission Kicks In Funding For Road Improvements Related To Homeless Shelter

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Thumbnail image courtesy of the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services

Transportation commissioners provided support for two Del Norte County projects on Tuesday, including one associated with its emergency homeless shelter and micro village campus.

The Del Norte Local Transportation Commission awarded a total of $572,240 to Del Norte County for the Williams Drive Access Improvement for Vulnerable Road Users Project. According to the DNLTC’s staff report, $492,240 is coming from Regional Surface Transportation Program funding and $80,000 is coming from Transportation Development Act dollars.

Del Norte received two Highway Safety Improvement Program grants totaling $441,260, but the estimated project cost is more than $1 million, Assistant County Engineer Rosanna Bower said in a Sept. 22 letter to the commission. The $572,240 funding shortfall includes a required local match for the two grants of $49,030, she said.

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Articles, Community News, Elections

Not Sure Where Your Polling Place Is? The Del Norte Elections Office Has The Answer

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Image courtesy of County of Del Norte, California Facebook page

Voters still have options for weighing in on Proposition 50 if they haven’t dropped their ballot in the mail already.

With only one choice before voters in the statewide special election Tuesday, Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup said she has consolidated polling places for the county’s 19 precincts. If people are still not sure where to go, they can visit the Del Norte County Elections Office at 981 H Street, Suite 160 in Crescent City, Northrup said.

For precincts Nos. 1, 2 and 3, the polling place is the Del Norte County Courthouse, 450 H Street in Crescent City.

Continue reading Not Sure Where Your Polling Place Is? The Del Norte Elections Office Has The Answer →
Alerts, Crime

Crescent City Mother, Daughter Charged With Embezzling Money From Local Cleaning Business

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

Two Crescent City women are accused of embezzling money from a local cleaning business, according to a complaint filed with the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office on July 11.

Wendy Malone, 61, and her daughter, 33-year-old Kaitlin Smith, face charges of grand theft by embezzlement in connection with the theft of “money, labor and real and personal property” valued at $950 or more from Wen-Cor Cleaning.

Smith faces charges of embezzlement by an employee and fraudulent use of an access card, while Malone faces an additional charge of grand theft by embezzlement.

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Recall Effort Against Trost, Hollinger Fizzles Out; Chief Petitioner Says They’ll Try Again After the Holidays

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Thumbnail photo: Curry County commissioners Lynn Coker, Jay Trost and Patrick Hollinger. | Screenshot

Recall efforts against Curry County commissioners Jay Trost and Patrick Hollinger have fizzled out due to a lack of signatures, André Bay, chief petitioner in the Hollinger recall, told Redwood Voice Community News.

Bay said he and Lt. Jeremy Krohn, chief petitioner in the effort to oust Trost, only received about 1,600 signatures and “ran out of time.” There will be another recall attempt after the holidays targeting the entire Board, including appointed commissioner Lynn Coker, Bay said.

“It will be a much more intensified effort this time,” he said Thursday.

Continue reading Recall Effort Against Trost, Hollinger Fizzles Out; Chief Petitioner Says They’ll Try Again After the Holidays →
Articles, Local Government

Del Norte Supervisors Question Salary Schedule Placement Requests

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Updated at 8:42 p.m. Thursday to correct an error, an employee being hired at a Step C would top out about a year later at Step E and would then have to wait roughly nine years before reaching longevity, according to Norma Williams, Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021.

With the president of Del Norte County’s largest bargaining unit warning that the practice was creating a retention problem, the Board of Supervisors took no action on five requests to hire staff at a more advanced step on the salary schedule.

Two weeks earlier Norma Williams, president of the Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021, told supervisors that their hiring at Step C was fast becoming a standard. On Tuesday, noting that negotiations with county administration were scheduled for Thursday, Williams said the union seeks clarity on the hiring process.

Williams also noted that the length of time an employee has before they reach longevity is shorter if they are hired in the middle of the salary range than an entry-level worker. According to Williams, if a new employee is approved at a Step C after being hired, he or she would top out at Step E about a year later. They would then have to wait about nine years before reaching longevity where they would get a 5% pay increase, she said.

Until then, Williams said, the only pay increases that employee would see is any SEIU 1021 and county agree on.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Transportation

Federal Subsidy Del Norte, Curry Relies On For Air Service Is Extended Till Nov. 18, U.S. DOT Says

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Border Coast Regional Airport Authority

The federal subsidy that allows Advanced Air to serve Del Norte and Curry counties will continue through Nov. 18.

If the federal government shutdown extends beyond Nov. 18, the U.S. Department of Transportation states it will “provide notice to air carriers and communities” in advance, according to a Wednesday notice.

“We’re at the mercy of the system at this point,” Border Coast Regional Airport Authority Director Sean Rosenthal told Redwood Voice Community News. “It’s kind of like starting all over again from the last notice.”

Continue reading Federal Subsidy Del Norte, Curry Relies On For Air Service Is Extended Till Nov. 18, U.S. DOT Says →
Articles, Community News

(Updated) Del Norte Safety Net Mobilizes Ahead of Potential Suspension Of CalFresh Benefits To 3,900 Families

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Thumbnail photo: The FRC of the Redwoods’ Pacific Pantry has set up A Mighty Cause fundraising campaign to prepare for a surge of need should CalFresh benefits be suspended starting Saturday. | Photo courtesy of A Mighty Cause.

Updated at 4:31 p.m.:

Iya Mahan, food program director for the DNATL Community Food Council, said the Emergency Food Task Force has been activated in response to the potential suspension of SNAP benefits for Del Norte families.

Originally created to respond to natural disasters, Mahan said that with nearly 4,000 families that will be potentially impacted the task force is working together to come up with solutions.

“There have been a lot of people who want to get involved,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. “So we are making sure that we’re not duplicating efforts. For the people who want to get involved, I’m having them fill out a form so I can get them to the right people.”

The Emergency Food Task Force includes local food banks, Del Norte Unified School District’s Department of Nutrition Services, the Del Norte Office of Emergency Services and the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services.

For more information on food security resources, click here. Organizations that distribute food resources are asked to click on this link to fill out a short form.

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Original Post:

People are stepping up to ensure Del Norte families don’t go hungry next month, though District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey still hopes this was a “just how-prepared-are-you” kind of test.

After learning that an average of 3,900 families could be without their CalFresh benefits in November due to the federal government shutdown, Starkey said Monday that the community was “mobilizing.”

On Wednesday, she posted on Facebook that the Emergency Food Task Force met to ensure local food banks had the supplies and volunteers necessary to meet the increased need. It’s also coordinating resources with other community partners and churches.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Del Norte Board of Supes Recap, Oct. 28, 2025

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Among the items discussed at the “Halloween edition” of the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday:

County roads update: County supervisors endorsed a plan to reach out to emergency responders as the Community Development Department prepares its list projects on non-maintained county roads for the next fiscal year.

County Engineer Jon Olson said the feedback he hopes to get in late November or December will help him evaluate which roads are in public right-of-ways but are not county maintained. He will then put together an estimate to present to the Board of Supervisors before the 2025-26 budget cycle starts.

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