Category Archives: Economy

Articles, CC Harbor, Economy

OC Developers Unveil Grand Plan For Harbor District RV Parks Amid Lingering Skepticism Over Previous Efforts That Failed

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Thumbnail photo: A few RVs linger in a nearly-deserted Bayside RV Park in this photo from June 2023. | By Jessica Cejnar Andrews

After hearing a pitch from two Orange County-based developers who want to revitalize the Crescent City Harbor’s RV parks, public commenters resurrected memories of a previous investor whose grand design never materialized.

Many are still bitter over the Harbor District’s experience with Alex Lemus, Henry Geiger told the new developers, Sean McGraw and Scott Lawhon following their proposal on June 25. 

Geiger said he liked their proposal, which includes improving deteriorated pavement, broken electrical outlets and outdated restrooms at Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks, but wished they had made their pitch to the Harbor District seven or eight years ago.

“The problem is you’re coming in behind an individual who made promises in the past,” Geiger told McGraw and Lawhon. “I have no doubt you’re committed, but I also heard the same commitment from the previous individual who promised the world and stuck [the Harbor District] with some big bills.”

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Community News, Crescent City, Curry, Economy, Humboldt, Local Government, Newscast, Regional News, Tribal Affairs

YOU CAN’T OWN THE NIGHT LIKE THE 4TH OF JULY – Redwood Voice Community News

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May 21st, 2025– For Redwood Voice Community News, a production of Redwood Voice Youth Media, today’s news: Roadwork Updates from Caltrans District 1; Del Norte’s ad hoc firework committee announce their “No Tolerance” Campaign against illegal fireworks; The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office warns of recent scam calls demanding Jury Duty fines; The Tolowa Dee-’ni Nation share information on projects and contributions at the 2025 Economic Summit; A lifejacket advisory from Curry County Aquatic Safety; The California Fish & Game Commission open Chinook salmon fishing in three Central Valley rivers; A proposed funding bill will result in cuts to Medicaid, affecting rural hospitals; An update on the ongoing investigation into West Coast Game Park Safari; A look at Oakland’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program; Five proposed Oregon bills will protect customers from predatory business practices; California State Parks is offering free admission for veterans and military members this Memorial Day; and the Humboldt County Board Of Supervisors announce the upcoming appointment of a new Aviation Director. All this and our regular segments from the Pacifica Radio Network and National Native News.

We’re broadcasting on KFUG 101.1FM and kfugradio.org every day at 12PM, with a rebroadcast at 5PM. We’re also airing on KZZH 96.7FM at 6AM, and KCIW 100.7FM at 6PM!

Articles, Economy, Local Government, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

DN Supervisor Calls Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s Latest Fee-to-Trust Application An ‘Erosion Of Our Tax Base’

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Thumbnail photo by Persephone Rose

Del Norte County could lose $162,000 in revenue, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard said, urging his colleagues to oppose what he called “an erosion of our tax base” — the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s latest fee-to-trust land acquisition efforts.

The properties the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation seeks to place into trust are close to three miles away from its boundaries in the Smith River townsite, Howard told his colleagues Tuesday, and are homes that “generate a substantial amount of revenue to the general fund.”

Howard called on his colleagues to reach out to any contacts they might have within the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs as well as their national representatives.

Continue reading DN Supervisor Calls Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s Latest Fee-to-Trust Application An ‘Erosion Of Our Tax Base’ →
Articles, Community News, Economy

Meat, Movies, McGuire — The 2025 Economic Summit

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“We are a place-based people,” Emily Reed said as a map of the Del Norte coast appeared on the screen behind her. Gone are the familiar landmarks, the names of local towns replaced with the traditional Tolowa names of the villages that came before. “And the locations of where we are and where we are going hold deep significance.” 

Reed is the Administrative Services Director for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation as well as the current president of the Crescent City – Del Norte Chamber of Commerce. Either role could have landed her the gig as first presenter at the 2025 Del Norte Economic Summit, the yearly confab held by the Chamber in which local leaders gather to discuss the community’s collective economic future. 

As the Chamber’s executive director Cindy Vosburg explained, the economic summit is “an opportunity to bring the business community together and share what’s happening, what the city’s going to be working on, what the county’s working on. It’s a time to celebrate good things, it’s not the time to talk about what’s bad in our county, but to celebrate what’s good here. It also brings business people together and our local governments together and a lot of good things come out of that type of collaboration.”

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Articles, Brookings, Community News, Curry, Economy, Local Government

Councilors Approve Vacant Property Registry As Safeguard Against Blight

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Thumbnail: City of Brookings seal

With one of its members citing the broken windows theory, the Brookings City Council on Monday approved an ordinance that would charge vacant property owners a $25 annual fee and require them to fill out a registration form.

The decision wasn’t unanimous. Council President Andy Martin said he felt the city should invest in economic development and make decisions that would attract businesses to Brookings. Requiring the owners of vacant properties to pay an annual fee and register with the city was government overreach, he said.

“I think government should get involved as little as possible in telling people what they can and can’t do with their property,” he said.

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Articles, Community News, Economy, Environment, Local Government

Del Norte Supervisors Weigh In On Updated Plan For Managing Forest Service Lands

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Thumbnail: A rain-swollen Smith River in the Smith River National Recreation Area, which is one of the U.S. Forest Service units addressed in its Northwest Forest Plan. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard used an example from the 1960s to highlight the importance of local input into an amended Northwest Forest Plan.

Del Norte County housed 52 manufacturing mills six decades ago, he said, now there are none. Howard blamed their collapse on the Northwest Forest Plan, which was created in 1994. Now, with a public comment deadline approaching on an amended plan, Howard urged his colleagues to weigh in on a letter to the U.S. Forest Service, the agency spearheading the process.

Tacked onto Tuesday’s agenda at the last minute due to the Monday public comment deadline, the county’s letter was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.

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Articles, Community News, Economy, Infrastructure, Local Government

Staff Vacancies Among Top Concern In Strategic Plan Update; County Supervisor Suggests AI To Increase Productivity

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Norma Williams rejected a suggestion from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson that artificial intelligence might allow Del Norte County departments to increase productivity despite struggling to hire and keep staff.

Williams, Del Norte County Employees Association SEIU 1021 president, provided public comment following an update of the county’s 2024-29 strategic plan on Tuesday. She reminded Wilson that many county services are state- and federally-mandated. The technology staff use to provide those services was created by the state or federal government and, therefore, the responsibility to update those systems rests with the state or federal government.

Del Norte’s vacancy rate is still high and AI can’t replace everyone, Williams said.

“I doubt very seriously that the community at large is going to want to talk to an AI,” she told supervisors. “When they walk through the door they want to see a live human being. Someone who can understand them, who can speak with them and who can serve them.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Community News, Economy

Ocean Gold Seafood Gets Hoist Lease, Promises To Reopen Crescent City Ice Plant

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Photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners are holding a Westport, Washington-based seafood buyer to its promise to reopen the ice plant Pacific Seafood shuttered in October.

The Harbor District last week entered into lease agreements with Ocean Gold Seafoods to operate hoists on Citizens Dock and to produce ice locally. If the company fails to reopen the plant within six months, the Harbor District will consider that a default of its lease, Interim Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told Redwood Voice Community News on Feb. 10.

“This gives us the confidence the commitment will be fulfilled,” he said via email. “Restoring essential ice production is critical to maintaining the quality of our local seafood as it reaches the marketplace.”

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Articles, Community News, Curry, Economy, Environment, Local Government

Curry County Proposal to Take Over Management of Federal Lands Draws Overwhelming Opposition

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Pistol River in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service

A proposed resolution stating that Curry County aims to “invoke policing powers of the state” to “clear and thin undergrowth and to remove fire-damaged trees” on federal lands is not a takeover, according to its newest member.

Facing 17 north county residents who opposed the resolution on Wednesday, Patrick Hollinger said he and his colleagues hope to be stewards for lands currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and other state and federal agencies. The proposed emergency declaration seeks to hold them accountable, though the Board of Commissioners said Wednesday they weren’t yet ready to approve it.

“We are the closest elected officials to the people with special authority under environmental and jurisdictional law to see these matters through to success,” Hollinger said. “We’re working right now on completely overhauling our land-use plan for the county, our comprehensive plan and our Wildland Urban Interface plans. The state and federal agencies, by law, are supposed to be consulting with the county on an annual basis in order for them to move forward with their plans. That’s not happening. That hasn’t happened in forever. We’re going to implement that going forward.”

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Articles, Community News, Economy, Education, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation, Youth

Trump’s Attack On Federal Funding Could Impact Del Norters’ Access To Health Care, Senior Services, Education, Local Nonprofits Say

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Open Door Clinic operates a clinic at the Del Norte Community Wellness Center. At a discussion with Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, the organization’s CEO Tory Starr said he was worried about being unable to serve patients should their federal funding be frozen. | Photo by Persephone Rose

Nearly a week after a judge temporarily blocked a Trump Administration directive to freeze federal funding, Open Door Clinic CEO Tory Starr said his organization is still bracing for the worst.

Open Door operates more than 14 clinics across Humboldt and Del Norte counties, providing behavioral health, medical, dental and obstetrics care to 60,000-plus patients and employing nearly 800 people.

During a virtual roundtable discussion hosted by Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, Starr said that while a judge hit pause on the directive Jan. 28, guidance he’s received from the Health Resources and Services Administration suggests that federal dollars could still be at risk.

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