Category Archives: Local Government

Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Crescent City Harbor Board Approves Months-Old Meeting Minutes Amid Debate Over Their Accuracy

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Despite appearing on a portion of the agenda dedicated to routine items, the approval of minutes from seven Crescent City Harbor District meetings on Wednesday drew debate from a handful of public commenters.

One member of the public, Del Norte Triplicate Editor Roger Gitlin, a former Del Norte County supervisor, cited Rosenberg’s Rules of Order and said that even if a commissioner was absent from a meeting, if they had read the minutes and could attest to reading them, they could approve the minutes.

Another member of the public, Stephanie Abrams, argued that the minutes should be read aloud at a following meeting so those who weren’t able to attend could get up to speed on what was discussed.

A third commenter, Joe “Hank” Akin, president of the Big Rock Community Services District, pointed out that one set of minutes was from Jan. 22.

“They’re up to seven months old, who knows if they’re accurate?” Akin said. “And you’re going to vote on them. That in itself is troubling to me.”

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Articles, Community News, Economy, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government

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

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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.

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Articles, Community News, Local Government

Supes Tap Into Previous SRS Allocation to Award Funds to Search and Rescue and Gasquet FPD

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norte Search and Rescue volunteers in May returned to an area where a Smith River woman went missing while picking mushrooms in January 2024. | Photo courtesy of Del Norte Search and Rescue

An earlier authorization will enable Del Norte County supervisors to award federal Title III dollars to Search and Rescue as well as the Gasquet Fire Protection District, according to Community Development Director Heidi Kunstal.

Kunstal had initially asked the Board to choose between the two agencies. But on Tuesday, she told supervisors that a different pot of Title III dollars might be more appropriate for Search & Rescue, which sought $45,361 to buy a Ford F150. 

After assuring them that she would bring SAR’s application and a separate report back to the Board at its first meeting in August, supervisors directed Kunstal to proceed with processing Gasquet Fire Protection District’s request for $47,511.50 for Atlas 1200 repeaters and other equipment at the Camp Six communications site.

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Articles, Environment, Local Government

Supervisors Raise Concerns About Proposed Timber Harvest, Sells 18 Pacific Shores lots to State of California

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Thumbnail photo: California Coastal Commissioners met with California Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientists and Smith River Alliance representatives at Pacific Shores last year. | File photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

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

Timber Harvest Near Hunter Creek Subdivision: 

Supervisors agreed to send a letter to Cal Fire outlining their concerns that a Green Diamond timber harvest plan could impact drinking water and increase wildfire risk in the Hunter Creek Subdivision.

The proposed letter came from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson, who said he attended a presentation the timber company held for residents in the Klamath area subdivision. Green Diamond’s West Tepo Timber Harvesting Plan encompasses 294 acres, 60 percent of which will be clearcut, he said. Forty percent of those 294 acres will be set aside for selective harvesting, Wilson said.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Law, Local Government

Though Immediate Focus Will Be Juvenile Probation, Study To Determine Whether Del Norte Could House ‘Justice Services’ Separate From Courthouse

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Thumbnail photo: Though it’s owned by the state, the Del Norte County Courthouse houses the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department. | Amanda Dockter

Pointing out that Del Norte County has 23 youth under its supervision, according to her most recent statistics, District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said a feasibility study to determine how their needs would be met during the rehabilitation of the county jail seemed unnecessary.

Coming about a month after she and her colleagues approved a proposal to house adult inmates at the Youth Opportunity Center building while the jail is under construction, Starkey said Tuesday she worried that having to go through a feasibility study would delay the process.

“I feel it’s one extra layer,” she said before voting against the county’s proposal. “And I don’t know necessarily why we’re doing this now and in this process.”

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Articles, Community News, Law, Local Government

Firefighters Lauded For Response During Officer-Involved Shooting Incident; New CHP Commander Introduces Himself

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Thumbnail photo: Crescent City firefighters Beau Smith, Dave Bowdish and Eugene Starkey received commendations from Fire Chief Kevin Carey for distinguished service after facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon.” | Screenshot

Crescent City Fire Chief Kevin Carey applauded three of his firefighters, not only for facing a dangerous subject armed with a “knife-type weapon,” but for providing aid to that person when law enforcement shot him.

Carey awarded distinguished service commendations to Capt. Beau Smith, Engineer Dave Bowdish and Firefighter Eugene Starkey, who had responded to a call for an individual covered in blood on the beach near Anchor Way on June 27. 

The chief praised their decision to call on law enforcement for help when the patient approached firefighters, saying it showed great courage and situational awareness.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Law, Local Government

Grand Jury Notes Improvement At Jail, Though Facility Is Still In Disrepair

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

The Civil Grand Jury painted a rosier picture of the Del Norte County Jail this year, commending the sheriff’s office on steps taken to address the issues last year’s investigation uncovered.

However, after touring the facility in January, five Grand Jurors still had concerns ranging from stained and filthy walls and floors to an inmate property room that was so malodorous some members didn’t want to enter.

Much like last year, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott acknowledged the truth in the Grand Jury’s report, though he said addressing many of those concerns is outside of his control. As for the unsanitary property room, Scott said the Measure R Oversight Committee has already approved an emergency purchase of a vacuum sealer his staff can use to better store inmates’ belongings.

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Articles, Elections, Local Government

County Clerk-Recorder Invited Grand Jury To Observe Election Night Proceedings

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Photos by Paul Critz

On its face, the Del Norte County Civil Grand Jury’s report on Alissia Northrup’s office might appear mundane.

Unlike other agencies the citizen-led watchdog group delved into, there were no alleged violations of state law to investigate nor were they acting upon a citizen complaint. Del Norte’ county clerk-recorder said she invited the Civil Grand Jury to observe the counting process for mail-in ballots on Nov. 5, 2024

“I wanted to make sure I had someone completely unbiased, someone there that could report out if they saw anything they thought was wrong or inappropriate,” Northrup told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. “It’s another layer of transparency.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Davis-Based Attorney Accuses Triplicate Editor of Bias, Says Roger Gitlin Published ‘False Statements of Fact’ About CCHD Commissioner Annie Nehmer

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Thumbnail photo: Roger Gitlin, editor of the Del Norte Triplicate, comments at a June 2 Crescent City Council meeting. | Screenshot

Annie Nehmer

Editor’s note: The author of this article worked for the Del Norte Triplicate from 2012 to 2019. Her employment with the Triplicate ended when Country Media became the newspaper’s owners.

Paul Nicholas Boylan says his job is to make sure his client, Crescent City Harbor Commissioner Annie Nehmer, gets a fair shake in the local press and, up until last week, the Davis-based attorney thought that would be achieved.

Those hopes were dashed, however, after Del Norte Triplicate editor Roger Gitlin published an article July 9 under the headline “Harbor Commissioner Sues Herself.” The article came after Boylan raised concerns about the appearance of bias in Gitlin’s questions to his client.

Boylan says he had also received assurances from Joe Warren, chief executive of Country Media Inc., which owns the Triplicate, that Gitlin would submit questions to Nehmer, providing her with a chance to comment before publishing further pieces. This never happened, the attorney said.

Continue reading Davis-Based Attorney Accuses Triplicate Editor of Bias, Says Roger Gitlin Published ‘False Statements of Fact’ About CCHD Commissioner Annie Nehmer →
Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government, Tribal Affairs

Crescent City Officials Say $2 Million Grant Will Complete Tolowa Interpretive Trail

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Thumbnail photo: A $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow Crescent City to finish the Tolowa Interpretive Trail, city officials said Wednesday. | Screenshot

Crescent City received a $2 million grant that officials say will extend the Tolowa Cultural Trail in Beachfront Park to Battery Point where many Tolowa were imprisoned in the 1850s.

Councilors unanimously accepted the grant from the Mellon Foundation at a special meeting Wednesday. They also approved an agreement with T.B. Penick & Sons Inc. to install lithomosaic basket patterns at the entrance to the visitor center and as a welcome to the Tolowa Cultural Trail.

T.B. Penick & Sons will also create a special lithomosaic pebble pattern at the Tolowa Cultural Trail welcome station, City Manager Eric Wier said.

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