Category Archives: Local Government

Harbor Critic Takes Bond Complaint To State; CCHD To Revisit Issue Today

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Linda Sutter says she has taken her concerns that a majority of the Crescent City Harbor commissioners are unlawfully occupying their seat to the California attorney general.

Sutter, a recent participant at public meetings whose 2024 run for the Crescent City Harbor board was unsuccessful, told Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday that she has filed a quo warranto complaint with the California Attorney General’s Office. Her filing comes ahead of a renewed discussion scheduled for Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting on a proposed resolution affirming that the district’s insurance coverage complies with a state requirement that each individual commissioner hold a $5,000 faithful performance bond.

Sutter told county supervisors that evoking the legal proceeding challenging an elected officials’ right to hold public office is the last lawful mechanism she has to “address what is happening at the Crescent City Harbor District.”

Continue reading Harbor Critic Takes Bond Complaint To State; CCHD To Revisit Issue Today

CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A former county supervisor called it a red herring and the harbormaster said it was silly, but Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup reminded commissioners that the public’s concern about whether they have a faithful performance bond is real.

Northrup said she has an insurance policy that was meant to act in lieu of commissioners’ individual bonds, but it’s not signed and it’s old.

“It could have been canceled years ago,” she said Wednesday. “All I wanted was a complete current policy. That’s what I asked for and I’ve been unable to get one to date, so I want to make sure that we put it out there, it’s not silly. The public has an interest.”

Continue reading CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

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

Del Norte Supes Recap For Jan. 27, 2026

Thumbnail image: Screenshot

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

Welcome to California: The Board of Supervisors congratulated Caltrans representative Julia Peterson after she unveiled new California welcome signs that they said were far superior to Oregon’s.

Peterson showed supervisors an early rendering of the signs created after a public survey showed that the most favored themes were bears and elk. Three-dimensional bears will grace the sign on U.S. 199 while elk and salmon will welcome motorists driving south on U.S. 101, she said. 

Continue reading Del Norte Supes Recap For Jan. 27, 2026

Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners are expected to take a final step toward starting a $15 million project to replace Citizens Dock and an adjacent seawall this spring.

The Harbor Board will consider adopting a mitigated negative declaration Wednesday based on a 709-page study of its potential environmental impacts. The study includes two phases of the Citizens Dock rebuild, though the Harbor District doesn’t have the funding to complete the second phase, according to Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr.

It also includes a construction project near the small boat ramp off Anchor Way to mitigate potential habitat loss as a result, Bahr told commissioners during a public hearing held Jan. 14.

Continue reading Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting

RV Park Proposals Spark Discussion Over Harbormaster’s Living Situation

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners rejected proposals from two Orange County developers eager to revitalize Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks, Chairman Rick Shepherd announced Wednesday.

The Board’s rejection of proposals from Sean McGraw and Scott Lawhon doesn’t mean that further negotiations couldn’t be had with either developer, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker. For now, a request for proposals commissioners approved in August is still active, he told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday.

“Not much has been stated publicly after several closed session deliberations over several months,” Rademaker said, calling the move cautious. “This public statement reflects the Board’s conclusion that, after sufficient review, the proposals were not yet close to terms the district could accept.”

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Del Norte County BOS Roundup, Jan. 13, 2026

Thumbnail photos: District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short and District 2 Supervisor Joey Borges. Borges and Short will serve another year as chair and vice chair of the Board of Supervisors.

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

Borges, Short ‘Keep It Going’: District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey ended the long pause that followed Chris Howard’s nomination of Joey Borges for another year as Board chairman.

Howard, who represents Del Norte County District 3, praised Borges’ efficiency in running county meetings, saying he’s done a “wonderful job” over the past 12 months. Though she has yet to serve in the chair position since she first took her seat in 2021, Starkey said she couldn’t think of a reason why Borges shouldn’t continue in the role. Her initial plan was to nominate District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short to the chair position since he’s been the vice chair for the past year, but decided to second Howard’s original motion.

Continue reading Del Norte County BOS Roundup, Jan. 13, 2026

Del Norte Fair Board Calls For Review Of Its ‘First Amendment Expression’ Policy; Rally Set For MLK Day

Fairgrounds CEO Kim Floyd sent this map to Del Norte Democratic Committee Chairman Kevin Hendrick ahead of a rally in April asking that demonstrators park in the north parking lot.

Thumbnail photo: Nearly 1,000 demonstrators showed up for the No Kings Rally at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds in October. | Photo by Heather Polen

Three months after the No Kings Rally brought nearly 1,000 demonstrators to their front yard, officials at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds are calling for a review of its First Amendment Expression policy.

At a meeting of the 41st District Agriculture Association Board of Directors on Monday, Board President Kara Miller said she wanted to make sure demonstrators aren’t disturbing businesses or people renting buildings on fairgrounds property. 

Meanwhile, 41st DAA CEO Kim Floyd said she wanted to make sure the fair is protected from liability. She pointed to a confrontation that she said occurred during the No Kings Rally in October between someone who had pulled into the parking lot and a demonstrator.

Continue reading Del Norte Fair Board Calls For Review Of Its ‘First Amendment Expression’ Policy; Rally Set For MLK Day

‘LA Times’ Lists Del Norte Fair Among Others Plagued With Scandal After State Audit Raises Nepotism, Credit Card Misuse Concerns

Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

A month after the Los Angeles Times listed the Del Norte County Fairgrounds as one of 26 fairs in California struggling with misfortune CEO Kim Floyd offered minimal information on how things would change in the future.

In her Dec. 11 rundown, the Times reporter Jessica Garrison cited a state audit from 2019 that found that Del Norte County fair officials improperly spent more than $1,200 on alcohol in violation of state rules and allowed a manager to employ a close family member. 

Garrison also cited a state audit from 2025 that found additional violations of the state’s nepotism policy as well as $34,637 in credit card charges without receipts. The audit cited $11,903 in credit card charges for food and drink without receipts.

Continue reading ‘LA Times’ Lists Del Norte Fair Among Others Plagued With Scandal After State Audit Raises Nepotism, Credit Card Misuse Concerns