Category Archives: Economy

Agriculture, Articles, Economy, Environment, Science, Smith River

(Updated) Water Board Seeks Comment On Proposed Easter Lily Bulb Order, Public Workshop Set For Today

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Ninety-five percent of the world’s Easter lily bulbs are produced in the Smith River area. | Photo courtesy of the North Coast Water Quality Control Board

Updated at 8:02 a.m. Wednesday to correct the workshop location. The workshop will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Elk Valley Rancheria Sam Lopez Community Center, 2332 Howland Hill Road in Crescent City.

State water quality scientists are seeking public comment on proposed regulations aimed at controlling waste discharge from the Easter lily bulb industry into the lower Smith River basin.

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board representatives will hold a public workshop Wednesday focusing on Draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Commercial Lily Bulb operations in the Smith River Plain.

Also known as the Lily Bulb Order, draft discharge requirements seek to “protect and restore beneficial uses, such as cold freshwater habitat in the Smith River Plain,” according to the state agency’s Feb. 5 news release.  

Continue reading (Updated) Water Board Seeks Comment On Proposed Easter Lily Bulb Order, Public Workshop Set For Today →
Articles, Economy, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Del Norte Airport Officials Say Flights To Portland May Boost Use, But Will Advanced Air Agree?

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

With another runway project pending, more passengers need to fly into and out of Crescent City for the Del Norte County Regional Airport to be sure of the federal dollars needed to make that happen, Director Sean Rosenthal said.

The Federal Aviation Administration provides grant funding every year for capital improvement projects, Rosenthal told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. Increasing the number of enplanements from 7,485 to 10,000 annually could not only speed up the process, it could convince the FAA that the airport needs a longer runway.

Convincing Advanced Air, the airline that serves Crescent City, to offer flights to Portland is a viable option for boosting those numbers, the airport authority director says. But there are caveats.

Continue reading Del Norte Airport Officials Say Flights To Portland May Boost Use, But Will Advanced Air Agree? →
Articles, Economy, Environment

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

Leave a comment

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

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

Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading Chris Howard Pushes For Last Chance Grade Advocacy As Del Norte Develops Legislative Platform →
Articles, Economy, Transportation

Advanced Air Will Fly As Long As It Can If Shutdown Continues Beyond Nov. 2; No Word Yet On Future of EAS Program, Airport Director Says

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

The airline serving Del Norte and Curry counties says it will continue to operate for as long as it can beyond Nov. 2 even if funding for the Essential Air Service program isn’t renewed.

The federal subsidy the community relies on for commercial air service would have been suspended earlier this month if the U.S. Department of Transportation hadn’t secured funding to keep it going through Nov. 2. 

However, with that deadline a little more than a week away, Sean Rosenthal, director of the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority, said he’s yet to receive an update on the program’s status.

Continue reading Advanced Air Will Fly As Long As It Can If Shutdown Continues Beyond Nov. 2; No Word Yet On Future of EAS Program, Airport Director Says →
Articles, Brookings, Curry, Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation, Tribal Affairs

US DOT Secures Funding to Keep EAS Service Going Till November; Local Airport Authority Still Assessing ‘Best Options’

1 Comment

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Though the federal government shutdown continues, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a reprieve that will allow commercial air service in Del Norte County to continue through November.

In a notice Border Coast Regional Airport Authority Director Sean Rosenthal said he received Wednesday morning, the DOT stated that it has secured additional funding to support both the Essential Air Service and Alternative Essential Air Service programs. As a result, air carriers and communities receiving those subsidies must continue to fulfill their obligations “until such time as the Department notifies them otherwise.”

According to the notice, carriers who serve rural communities under the Essential Air Service — including Advanced Air, which flies from Crescent City to Oakland and to Southern California  — will be able to provide service through Nov. 2.

Continue reading US DOT Secures Funding to Keep EAS Service Going Till November; Local Airport Authority Still Assessing ‘Best Options’ →
Articles, Curry, Economy, Local Government, Transportation

Government Shutdown Threatens Commercial Air Service In Del Norte, Curry Counties

2 Comments

Thumbnail image courtesy of Border Coast Regional Airport Authority

A day after finding out that commercial air service to Del Norte County may be a casualty of the federal government shutdown, Sean Rosenthal says he’s still searching for answers.

Less than two months after the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority hired him as airport director, Rosenthal said the U.S. Department of Transportation notified him on Monday that if the government shutdown continues, Alternative Essential Air Service funding will end Sunday. 

In an email to BCRAA members Tuesday morning, he said he had hoped to have some information to share, but he’s still working to “fully understand the impact this situation will have on us.”

Continue reading Government Shutdown Threatens Commercial Air Service In Del Norte, Curry Counties →
Articles, Economy, Local Government

A Quarter of Del Norte County’s Positions Are Vacant, HR Director Says

1 Comment

Updated at 4:37 p.m. to correct the spelling of Samantha Reagen’s name.

After weighing in on a compensation analysis they said fell short of expectations, county supervisors learned that Del Norte’s overall vacancy rate is 25%.

Out of a total of 482 positions countywide, 121 are empty, Human Resources Director Kerri Vue said last week. This represents a significant staffing shortage that is more pronounced in the Social Services and Behavioral Health branches of the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the District Attorney, Probation and Sheriff’s Offices, she said.

“We also see several smaller, yet important, single vacancies across various departments such as the administrative office, animal control, the assessor and the auditor-controller,” she said. “All these numbers are smaller, [but] each vacancy represents a critical gap in a specific function, potentially impacting efficacy and the ability to meet department objectives.”

Continue reading A Quarter of Del Norte County’s Positions Are Vacant, HR Director Says →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City, Economy, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Takes First Step On Long Path Toward Revitalizing Its Downtown

Leave a comment

Thumbnail image courtesy of Crescent City; YouTube video by Heather Polen

Karen Betlejewski choked up a little when she described her dad’s impression of Downtown Crescent City as a 40-plus year resident returning home after being away.

“He said, ‘I wanted to cry,’” she told a gathering of business owners, elected officials and other stakeholders with interest in the downtown area.

Betlejewski, who manages the Del Norte County Historical Society’s museum and says “she’s into old,” said she enjoys shopping in Downtown Crescent City and she loves the people. But the vacant buildings make the area look sad.

“You know that it just needs help,” she said. “And I would like to see that.”

Don Arambula agreed. The project manager, principal planner and urban designer for Portland-based Crandall Arambula PC presented a preliminary assessment to Betlejewski and about 80 other residents on Wednesday.

Continue reading Crescent City Takes First Step On Long Path Toward Revitalizing Its Downtown →
Articles, Community News, Economy, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government

Lobbyist Talks One Big Beautiful Bill, SRS, EAS and Last Chance Grade With Del Norte Supervisors

Leave a comment

Thumbnail photo: Passengers board Advanced Air’s inaugural flight from Crescent City to Hawthorne on March 17, 2024. | Pnoto by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Nearly three weeks after President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law, Greg Burns helped Del Norte County supervisors unpack how it may affect their constituents.

Burns, a representative with Thorn Run Partners, Del Norte’s advocate in Washington D.C., started his presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday by mentioning a program not included in the legislation — the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act.

The lobbyist touched on the Essential Air Service Program, the Community Development Block Grant program, a funding proposal from California’s senators on behalf of the Veterans Memorial Hall as well as the Last Chance Grade project’s long-awaited final environmental clearance.

Continue reading Lobbyist Talks One Big Beautiful Bill, SRS, EAS and Last Chance Grade With Del Norte Supervisors →