Category Archives: Articles

Del Norte Reads Expands Programs Under Klamath Promise Neighborhoods Grant

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Nearly a year after it received a recommendation not to participate in the state literacy program, Del Norte Reads is using grant dollars from Klamath Promise Neighborhood to expand its services.

The goal is to eventually regain its California Library Literacy Services funding, Del Norte Reads Program Coordinator Terrin Musbach told Redwood Voice Community News. But since KPN will fund Del Norte Reads through 2026, Musbach said she and Del Norte Library Board members are identifying grants they can apply for beyond 2026.

“My work for next year is about identifying different partners — where we work together and can bring some of these resources together so we don’t have to depend on outsiders in the community,” Musbach said.

Continue reading Del Norte Reads Expands Programs Under Klamath Promise Neighborhoods Grant

Senior Center’s Mobile Showers Program To Continue At DN Wellness Center

Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Senior Center, Del Norte MIssion Possible and Open Door Clinic’s mobile medical bus offers a myriad of services including showers at the Del Norte Wellness Center on Tuesdays. | Photo by James Brooks

A lack of communication that nearly led to the Del Norte Senior Center having to find another locale for its mobile showers program has been resolved, Executive Director Charlaine Mazzei said.

The senior center has offered showers, clothing and hygiene kits in the parking lot at the Del Norte Wellness Center on Tuesdays since July 2021. It currently partners with Del Norte Mission Possible, which provides access to case management, meals and other services, as well as Open Door Community Health Center’s mobile medical bus where clients can see a primary care physician.

But on Monday, Mazzei said she received a notice to vacate from the building’s owner, the Del Norte Healthcare District. By Thursday, Mazzei met with DNHCD Board Chair Tonya Pearcey and Director Dr. Kevin Caldwell and the special district withdrew its notice.

Continue reading Senior Center’s Mobile Showers Program To Continue At DN Wellness Center

Last Week’s Waldo Fires Likely Set Maliciously, Fire Chief Says

Thumbnail photo: Debris left behind by a fire that burned RVs and other makeshift structures on Waldo Street on Jan. 30. | Photo by Heather Polen

A week after his firefighters responded to multiple blazes near Waldo and State streets, Crescent City Fire and Rescue Interim Chief Bill Gillespie says it’s likely they were maliciously set. 

Gillespie, who returned to the fire chief role in December, said the department is still investigating the origin and cause of fires that occurred on Wednesday and Friday. In one incident, there were two separate fires burning 100 yards or more apart, he said, which is too much of a coincidence for it to be incidental.

“(Firefighters) responded into the area, they got there, they had two well-established fires burning in trailers and vehicles around the whole configuration,” Gillespie told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday, adding that he spoke with Battalion Chief Ray Rook and others who responded. “The fires wouldn’t have been that well advanced if one had spotted from another fire.”

Continue reading Last Week’s Waldo Fires Likely Set Maliciously, Fire Chief Says

Ribbon Cutting Set For New Senior Apartments; Harbor Point At Capacity, City Manager Says

Thumbnail photo: The new Harbor Point Apartment building on H Street in Crescent City is already at capacity. | Photo by James Brooks

Eric Wier congratulated his staff and the City Council when he announced the official ribbon cutting of a new senior apartment complex on H Street.

It was through their work that Crescent City secured the $5 million Competitive Permanent Local Housing Allocation grant that allowed Arcata-based DANCO Communities the tax credits needed develop Harbor Point Apartments, the city manager said Monday. 

The ribbon-cutting will take place at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, but the 27-unit apartment building is already at occupancy, Wier told Redwood Voice Community News.

Continue reading Ribbon Cutting Set For New Senior Apartments; Harbor Point At Capacity, City Manager Says

Sex Offender Sweep May Have Led To ICE Rumor, Del Norte County Sheriff Says

The Del Norte County sheriff says a Facebook rumor stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in the community may have been started because of a sex offender sweep his deputies conducted Wednesday.

Sheriff Garrett Scott said his department and others, including Del Norte County probation, conducted a pre-planned sweep of the sex offenders who are supposed to be registered under California Penal Code 290.

There are about 100 registered sex offenders living in Del Norte County and the sheriff’s office regularly puts a team of law enforcement officers together to ensure they’re complying with the law, Scott said.

Continue reading Sex Offender Sweep May Have Led To ICE Rumor, Del Norte County Sheriff Says

Search Continues For McKinleyville Fisherman Who Was Swept Into The Ocean In Klamath

Thumbnail photo: Maximo Macanas | Photo courtesy of Macanas family

The search continues for a McKinleyville man who was swept into the water near the mouth of the Klamath River on Saturday.

Maximo Macanas was fishing from shore with his family on the south side of the river when a sneaker wave swept him into the ocean at about 4 p.m., according to a message posted on Facebook by Macanas’s family.

Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said the U.S. Coast Guard brought a helicopter to the area to assist in the search, both on Saturday and Sunday. Macanas was last seen in a black puffy jacket and green waders, Scott told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

Continue reading Search Continues For McKinleyville Fisherman Who Was Swept Into The Ocean In Klamath

Unwilling To Wade Into the Offshore Oil Debate, DN Supervisors Ask Staff To ‘Track Federal Policies’

Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Del Norte County supervisors declined to take a position on offshore oil drilling in the Golden State with one representative stating that weighing in on the issue might “put ourselves in the middle of a much larger fight.”

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard on Tuesday quoted from a Politico article that stated that the Trump administration’s plans to open federal waters in the Pacific to offshore drilling “looks designed to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom.” 

Howard also cited reports from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Stanford University that stated that the last time the Elk River Basin was studied for potential petroleum development was in 1960.

Continue reading Unwilling To Wade Into the Offshore Oil Debate, DN Supervisors Ask Staff To ‘Track Federal Policies’

Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department Investigating Blazes In Encampment Area Near Waldo

Thumbnail photo by Heather Polen

Eight individuals were displaced due to fires that burned “at least two RVs” and other structures in the Waldo Street area Friday evening, Crescent City Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Ray Rook told Redwood Voice Community News.

Rook said he and six firefighters arrived on scene at about 9:21 p.m. to find two fully involved fires about 100 to 200 yards apart. The larger fire involved at least two RVs and other structures, including one that someone was living in. The blazes were down toward the end of Waldo Street on the gravel portion of the road in an area that houses several homeless encampments, Rook said.

The cause and origin of the fires are still undetermined, the battalion chief said. There were no injuries.

Continue reading Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department Investigating Blazes In Encampment Area Near Waldo

CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A former county supervisor called it a red herring and the harbormaster said it was silly, but Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup reminded commissioners that the public’s concern about whether they have a faithful performance bond is real.

Northrup said she has an insurance policy that was meant to act in lieu of commissioners’ individual bonds, but it’s not signed and it’s old.

“It could have been canceled years ago,” she said Wednesday. “All I wanted was a complete current policy. That’s what I asked for and I’ve been unable to get one to date, so I want to make sure that we put it out there, it’s not silly. The public has an interest.”

Continue reading CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Among the items discussed at Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting.

Citizens Dock & Sea Wall: Harbor commissioners unanimously adopted the mitigated negative declaration the California Environmental Quality Act requires to move the two projects forward. 

Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr, who helped the Harbor District obtain the two US Maritime Administration grants needed to fund the projects, said the district could now focus on obtaining its construction permits.

Continue reading CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026