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CCHD Financial Officer Says She’ll Make Lighted Boat Parade Happen

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Thumbnail photo: The Jennifer Anne received participated in the lighted boat parade at the Crescent City Harbor in 2023. | Photo courtesy of Mike Bahr

Four members of the Crescent City Harbor District gave their blessing to Sandy Moreno to hold a lighted boat parade, though the date she is shooting for was about two weeks away.

Moreno, the Harbor District’s financial officer, told commissioners Friday that while staff told her that holding a festival this late in the season would be a heavy lift, she was sure she could pull it together for 5-7 p.m. Dec. 20 — the Saturday before Christmas.

“We need a positive thing to happen,” Moreno said, adding that she would work with former commissioner Harry Adams, owner of Stella’s Adventures charter boat tours. “A light show would be great for the community and I’ll make it happen. You say let’s do it and I’ll make something happen.”

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Articles, Community News, Infrastructure, Local Government

Beachfront Park’s Wheelchair Swing May Be An ADA Violation, Disability Rights Advocate Warns

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Thumbnail photo: A local disability rights advocate Crescent City is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by locking its wheelchair swing and requiring users to get a key. | Photo courtesy of Crescent City

Steven Jackson isn’t looking to sue Crescent City, but, he says, a lawsuit could happen if a lock and chain aren’t removed from a swing designed for wheelchairs at Beachfront Park.

Jackson, who has worked with adults with developmental disabilities in Del Norte County for about 20 years, warned the City Council on Monday that requiring people to get a key to be able to use the swing violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“I’m not here to propose a lawsuit on you guys,” he said. “But I’m letting you know that the city is really looking at a lawsuit for anybody who tries to go down and access that equipment when it’s not available. What’s that showing to people who come into our community that think we are an inclusive community?”

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Articles, Law

Inmate Dies at the Del Norte County Jail

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An investigation is underway into the death of an inmate who died at the Del Norte County Jail on Thursday.

Tyrel Grant, 31, was pronounced deceased by sheriff’s deputy coroners despite receiving medical assistance from corrections staff and medical personnel, according to a Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office post on Facebook. Corrections staff were notified that Grant was having a medical emergency at about 6:30 a.m. Paramedics also responded to the jail to administer medical aid, according to the sheriff’s office.

Grant had been in custody at the jail since Nov. 17, DNSO Capt. Kyle Stevens told Redwood Voice Community News. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and a post-release community supervision violation. 

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Articles, Local Government

Greenough Asks If Limiting Cannabis Retailers Is Necessary, Votes Yes On Updated Regulations

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Thumbnail photo by Jennifer Martin via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License.

Despite opposing Crescent City’s commercial cannabis ordinance five years ago, Councilor Jason Greenough argued that limiting the number of businesses selling it was unnecessary.

“It seems like the market is regulating itself,” he said Monday. “We’re not being inundated with cannabis shops on every corner, so I’m confused why this is even before the Council again.”

Greenough, who was absent when his colleagues first considered a Planning Commission recommendation on Nov. 17 to make changes to the city’s cannabis regulations, urged the City Council to remove the proposed limitation. 

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Articles, Community News, Local Government

Mary Dorman Wins Crescent City’s ‘Service Above Self’ Award; Measure S Paving Project is Under Way; Councilors Approve ADU Update

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Thumbnail photo: Mary Dorman, community volunteer liaison with the American Red Cross’s Northern California chapter, received Crescent City’s Service Above Self award on Monday. | Screenshot

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

Service Above Self:

City Manager Eric Wier applauded Mary Dorman’s readiness to assist Del Norters with everyday disasters, saying she best exemplifies former fire chief Steve Wakefield’s personal motto of service above self.

Dorman, community volunteer leader with the American Red Cross’s Northern California chapter, often acts as a liaison between that organization and the Del Norte Emergency Operations Center, Wier said. 

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Articles, Economy, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Chris Howard Pushes For Last Chance Grade Advocacy As Del Norte Develops Legislative Platform

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Thumbnail image: District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard urged his colleagues on Tuesday to advocate for the tunnel project around Last Chance Grade in the Board’s 2026 Legislative Platform. | Image Courtesy of Caltrans District 1.

Days after he returned from a visit to Japan, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard touted that country’s tunnel-building prowess when he urged his colleagues to step up advocacy for Last Chance Grade.

During a discussion of the county’s 2026 Legislative Platform on Tuesday, Howard said he wanted to explore how Japan’s innovative techniques could apply to the Last Chance Grade tunnel project. He also told his colleagues that Caltrans still needs a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission for the project despite completing nearly a decade of environmental studies.

Howard asked Assistant County Administrative Officer Randy Hooper to include advocacy for an exemption from that hurdle in the platform.

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Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News, Youth

Del Norte High Students Paint Miniature Kamomes For ‘Boats of Hope’ Art Tour

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norte High School senior Elle Jacot painted two Kamome replicas for the Boats of Hope art tour. One will be headed to Rikuzentakata during a student exchange in January. | Photo courtesy of the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce

Four years after the friendship between Del Norte and Rikuzentakata found an international stage at the Tokyo Olympics, replicas of the fishing vessel that sparked the relationship will be featured in a local art tour.

The Boats of Hope art tour will feature seven mini Kamomes placed at various places throughout Del Norte County. The project is spearheaded by the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce as well as Carol Zocchi, advisor for Del Norte High School’s Japan Club.

Zocchi put out a call for students interested in pitching a design and inspiration for their boat to seven partner agencies, according to a chamber press release. The students were also able to earn an artist stipend.

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Articles, Local Government

Del Norte Launches New Salary Structure Starting With Unrepresented Employees

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Del Norte County supervisors took a first step toward implementing a salary schedule they say will make wages more competitive, starting on Tuesday with their unrepresented county employees.

County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez said he hopes to bring revised salary schedules and wage adjustments for the county’s represented bargaining groups before the Board on Dec. 9.

“We’re trying to get everybody implemented at the same time, which will be the 19th of December,” Lopez told Redwood Voice Community News. “The pay period begins the 19th of December and we want everybody on the same ship when this whole thing gets established.”

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

Del Norte BOS Recap: New Compensation Rate for County Supervisors; Team-Approach to Capital Improvements; New Truck

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District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Meeting:

County Supervisors Compensation: Supervisors approved an ordinance that set their biweekly compensation rate at $2,277.67 regardless of how many terms they serve in office. The ordinance adds language to a provision in county code that justifies an extra $100 the Board chair receives, which is also paid biweekly. 

It also offers a cost of living adjustment for county supervisors that will be between 2.5% and 4% each year based on the Western Region Consumer Price Index.  According to the county’s staff report, the Board of Supervisors will be required to review this COLA every three years starting in 2029 and can, by a four-fifths vote, waive that adjustment.

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Articles, Community News, Infrastructure, Transportation

Del Norte’s Friendship With Rikuzentakata May Influence Last Chance Grade Tunnel Project

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Thumbnail photo: Jaime Matteoli, Caltrans’ Last Chance Grade corridor manager, and Caltrans District 1 Director Matt Brady visit with Japan’s Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism during a recent visit. | Photo courtesy of Chris Howard. Above: Caltrans chose a 1-mile long tunnel out of several alternatives for rerouting U.S. 101 around the slide at Last Chance Grade. | Image courtesy of Caltrans District 1

Jaime Matteoli returned from his Japan trip excited about the ongoing collaboration he hopes to have with his counterparts at that country’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Matteoli said he hopes to gain some wisdom from the lessons his colleagues across the Pacific have learned as Caltrans begins refining its design for the 1-mile long tunnel at the Last Chance Grade landslide south of Crescent City.

But he called the trip special for another reason: The Japanese people still remember the role a handful of Del Norte High School students played in bringing a 20-foot fishing vessel home to Rikuzentakata two years after the 2011 tsunami.

“To stand by Kamome and visit the site of Rikuzentakata — it was on our way past the tunnel project in the Sanriku expressway — I felt proud of our community, proud of the youth,” Matteoli told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “It all started with young people providing an act of kindness to the people of Japan. We heard from many people, including the vice minister of MLIT, who expressed gratitude for their support.”

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