Category Archives: Infrastructure

Crescent City Harbor District Recap For Feb. 25, 2026

Thumbnail image: Crescent City Harbor commissioners chose a preferred option for Citizens Dock back in 2024. | Image courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District.

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

2026 MARAD Grant: Harbor commissioners agreed to contribute 20%, or $2.8 million, toward the construction costs associated with the second Citizens Dock reconstruction phase.

Associated with a $11.25 million U.S. Maritime Administration Port Infrastructure Development Program grant, the Board unanimously approved a resolution agreeing to the match. The federal agency has increased the amount of funding small ports can apply for, Bahr said, but it means that the required contribution is larger.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor District Recap For Feb. 25, 2026

Crescent City Settles Digital Sign Debate, Saves Billboard Discussion For Another Day

Thumbnail photo by Heather Polen

A month after local bowling alley owner Dr. John Kirk argued that his digital sign is both a service to the community and generates revenue for his business, the Crescent City Council decided it could stay.

Four councilors who attended the Feb. 17 meeting approved an ordinance that sets restrictions on signs like the one on the Tsunami Lanes Bowling Alley. Councilors also agreed that digital signs could advertise other businesses, services or events.

But at the request of Mayor Isaiah Wright, concerns regarding billboards and other off-site advertising will be considered before the full Council at a future meeting. His colleague, Jason Greenough, was absent.

“Based on everything we heard from the public, we probably need to bring back off-site and just general advertising back to the Council for discussion,” Wright said. “We need to talk a little bit more.”

Continue reading Crescent City Settles Digital Sign Debate, Saves Billboard Discussion For Another Day

Larger ‘Redwood Downtown’ Housing Project Gets Council’s Blessing, Will Go Before Planning Commission in March, City Manager Says

Thumbnail photo: Crescent City councilors last week viewed an updated Redwood Downtown mixed-use development slated to replace the former Daly’s department store building. | Screenshot

Crescent City councilors learned that a proposed downtown-area development that would include both retail and residential space will offer more housing units than originally stated.

The Redwood Downtown, which is planned to replace the old Daly’s building at 3rd and J streets, will be 36 units instead of 27, City Manager Eric Wier said. It would consist of two buildings — a residential apartment building and a building with both residential and commercial space “with a nice courtyard in between,” he said.

The city manager on Tuesday asked councilors for an amendment to a $1 million loan agreement they had approved with Community System Solutions in December. 

Continue reading Larger ‘Redwood Downtown’ Housing Project Gets Council’s Blessing, Will Go Before Planning Commission in March, City Manager Says

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

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?

Crescent City Harbor To Pursue 2026 MARAD Grant To Complete Citizens Dock Project

The preferred alternative among six options Harbor commissioners chose for the Citizens Dock project in 2024. | Image courtesy of Moffatt & Nichol

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Federal officials are urging the Crescent City Harbor District to pursue the grant dollars needed to finish the Citizens Dock reconstruction.

The U.S. Maritime Administration is offering about $11.25 million in 2026 Port Infrastructure Development Program dollars, Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr told harbor commissioners on Wednesday. Bahr, who manages the Harbor District’s grants, said he and Harbormaster Mike Rademaker are nearly finished with the new application and will have to go before commissioners before submitting it.

If the Harbor District is successful, that money would pay for the second dock the Citizens Dock reconstruction project calls for, Bahr said.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor To Pursue 2026 MARAD Grant To Complete Citizens Dock Project

Del Norte Teams Up With CalOES, Crescent City On Tsunami Education Kiosks For Visitors

Tsunami information kiosks like this one will be at seven locations popular with visitors throughout Del Norte. | Image courtesy of Del Norte County Office of Emergency Services

Thumbnail photo: H Dock damage at the Crescent City Harbor from the July 30, 2025 Kamchatka tsunami. The harbor will host one of seven tsunami information kiosks throughout Del Norte. | Photo courtesy of Mike Rademaker

Del Norte County is stepping up its tsunami preparedness efforts, focusing on visitors who may not be aware that they’re in a hazardous location or how to evacuate.

Seven kiosks will be installed in areas popular with visitors. They will highlight the natural warning signs that a tsunami is imminent, the immediate actions to take as well as a simplified evacuation map leading folks to a safer spot, Emergency Services Coordinator Jessica Seaman said Tuesday.

“Each evacuation map will be site specific and developed with assistance from the subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity for the exact location,” she told the Board of Supervisors. “The kiosks will also include a QR code that links directly to Know Your Zone and Prepare Del Norte (which has) additional preparedness information.”

Continue reading Del Norte Teams Up With CalOES, Crescent City On Tsunami Education Kiosks For Visitors

Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Recap For Feb. 10, 2026

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Boat Ramp Access: Despite skepticism from a member of the public, District 1 Darrin Short said he and his colleagues did have public safety in mind when directing the county to do repairs on the public access road to Saxton’s Boat Ramp in Smith River.

Supervisors unanimously approved allocating an additional $1,922.11 to the project, which, Short says, is necessary for the sheriff’s office to be able to deploy its rescue boat. This allocation brings the project cost to $8,900 in funds the Board of Supervisors had set aside to make repairs to non-maintained county roads.

Continue reading Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Recap For Feb. 10, 2026

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

After AB 1014, County Supervisors, Residents Seek To Slow Speedsters on Fred Haight

Thumbnail photo: County supervisors and residents are seeking to potentially lower the speed limit on Fred Haight Drive near the Smith River townsite. | Photo courtesy of Michelle Carrillo

Michelle Carrillo rejected the idea that hearing a person’s lived experience isn’t data.

Appearing before Del Norte County supervisors about three weeks after a car struck and killed her family’s dog near their Fred Haight Drive home, Carrillo said that she spent a month speaking with neighbors who shared stories of near misses and dead animals. It may be qualitative data, but it’s still data, she said Tuesday, and taking no action to try to reduce speeds on the Smith River thoroughfare was untenable.

“We’re in an agricultural area of the county with multiple uses happening at once from farm equipment, school activities, residential driveways, pedestrians and through traffic,” Carrillo said. “I understand there are certain things we have to figure out there and it’s not going to be a uniform speed across the whole road, that makes sense, but 50 on any section of that road does not make sense.”

Continue reading After AB 1014, County Supervisors, Residents Seek To Slow Speedsters on Fred Haight

Elk Valley Cross Roundabout, STAA 199/197 Start Construction in April; Highway Closures Anticipated

Thumbnail photo: After Caltrans announced Tuesday that a project to install a roundabout at U.S. 199 and Elk Valley Cross Road will start in April, Del Norte Local Transportation Commissioner Executive Director Tamera Leighton said the intersection is “probably the most dangerous place to be” in the county. | Map courtesy of the DNLTC

Calling herself a “data girl,” Tamera Leighton highlighted the role accurate statistics play in making safety improvements on local roads. 

Addressing negative Facebook chatter regarding a roundabout slated to be installed at Elk Valley Cross Road and U.S. 199 this spring, the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission executive director said her family drives these roads too.

“That intersection is probably the most dangerous place to be in Del Norte County,” Leighton said, adding that a 2020 study of the Elk Valley Cross Road corridor found that the intersection’s collision rate is 811% greater than the statewide average for similar intersections. “Since this document was produced, my son’s car was totaled at this intersection. My first cousin was in a serious collision a few months ago. She still hasn’t been able to go back to work. It’s my job, sure, but it’s also my family. It’s your families.”

Continue reading Elk Valley Cross Roundabout, STAA 199/197 Start Construction in April; Highway Closures Anticipated