Category Archives: Fort Dick

San Bernardino Lawmaker Authors Bill to Cede Tolowa Dunes State Park To Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation

Thumbnail photo: Rosa Laucci, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation marine program manager, led a hike down the Sweetwater Creek Trail during a 2023 celebration commemorating the reclamation of place names at Tolowa Dunes State Park. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Brie Fraley identified a divide between her community and those who see the land that’s now Tolowa Dunes State Park as just a public space.

A descendant of the Grimes family, one of the last to live at the village of Yontocket, Fraley said its current status as public land is a barrier to her being able to practice her spirituality in a safe way. 

Yet the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation tribal member agreed with Del Norte County District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey who, along with her colleagues on Tuesday, raised concerns about proposed legislation that would turn the state park over to the TdN.

“As a tribal member I was not afforded the information as well,” Fraley said of Assembly Bill 2356, which was authored by San Bernardino Assemblyman James Ramos. “I do think there should be a public engagement process so we can focus on this as an activity of healing. … There needs to be an empathy project for understanding the tragedies that have happened to my people.”

Continue reading San Bernardino Lawmaker Authors Bill to Cede Tolowa Dunes State Park To Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation

Redwood School Is In For Some Overdue Upgrades This Summer; Project Will Cost $2.7 Million

Thumbnail photo by Heather Polen

Redwood School will be under construction for much of the summer and possibly into the fall as Del Norte Unified School District embarks on a $2.7 million modernization project.

Work will include reroofing four buildings as well as the school’s covered walkways, The school will be repainted and all the electric panels, feeders and main switchboards will be upgraded, according to a March 26 staff report from DNUSD Maintenance and Operations Director Josh McCubbin.

“The existing roofing systems on buildings A, F, G-L, N and the covered walkways have reached the end of their useful life and require replacement to prevent water intrusion, protect structural components and reduce the likelihood of costly emergency repairs that could disrupt school operations,” he stated.

Continue reading Redwood School Is In For Some Overdue Upgrades This Summer; Project Will Cost $2.7 Million

Alexandres Caught Up In Class Action Lawsuit A Year After Cruelty Allegations Surfaced; Defendants Include Certified Humane

Thumbnail: Cows mill about at Alexandre Family Farm’s operation on Lower Lake Road last spring. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

The matriarch of Alexandre Family Farm says a new consumer class-action lawsuit against her family’s dairy operation, stemming from allegations of animal cruelty that are nearly a year old and revealing new claims, is without merit.

The animal cruelty allegations levied against the Alexandres in an April 11, 2024 exposé from the nonprofit organization Farm Forward forms the basis of this new lawsuit, Taylor v. Humane Animal Farm Care and Alexandre Family Farm. It also accuses the Alexandres and Humane Animal Farm Care — the organization behind the Certified Humane logo — of deceiving consumers.

According to the complaint, Humane Animal Farm Care allowed the Alexandres to continue to display its logo despite knowing that the farm didn’t meet the organization’s “advertised standards of animal welfare.”

Continue reading Alexandres Caught Up In Class Action Lawsuit A Year After Cruelty Allegations Surfaced; Defendants Include Certified Humane

Animal Rights Advocates Sue Alexandre Dairy Over Cruelty Allegations Farm Forward Exposé Raised In April

A Sacramento-based nonprofit organization combating factory farming and animal abuse in the poultry industry is suing Alexandre Family Farm alleging “rampant cruelty” at their Humboldt and Del Norte County dairy operations.

Legal Impact for Chickens filed its lawsuit in Humboldt County Superior Court last week. The organization’s complaint contains the same cruelty allegations another organization, Farm Forward, outlined in a report released six months ago. In an Oct. 1 news release, Legal Impact for Chickens references that exposé and accuses the dairy of pouring table salt in cows’ eyes to treat maladies, dragging disabled animals across concrete and starving them.

“We saw the exposé and we saw that Alexandre was accused of pouring table salt into animals’ eyes and dragging cows across concrete and starving them,” Legal Impact for Chickens Executive Director Alene Anello told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. “Being familiar with California’s animal cruelty laws, we immediately thought to ourselves, ‘that is illegal, we need to stop them.’”

Farm Forward released its exposé, “Dairy Deception: Corruption and Consumer Fraud At Alexandre Family Farm” on April 11.

Continue reading Animal Rights Advocates Sue Alexandre Dairy Over Cruelty Allegations Farm Forward Exposé Raised In April