Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

Harbor Commissioners Direct Staff To Obtain Insurance Quotes For Inner Boat Basin

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Though the district’s loan payment negotiations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on hold due to the federal government shutdown, Crescent City Harbor commissioners directed staff on Wednesday to obtain quotes for insuring the inner boat basin.

The Harbor District Board’s new vice chair, John Evans, encouraged Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and Fiscal Officer Sandy Moreno to continue exploring “alternative ideas” with the federal agency.

Moreno said having the insurance quotes, and finding out whether the Harbor District can afford insuring the marina or not may help in its negotiations with the USDA, particularly if those quotes address tsunami coverage.

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Articles, Brookings, Curry, Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation, Tribal Affairs

US DOT Secures Funding to Keep EAS Service Going Till November; Local Airport Authority Still Assessing ‘Best Options’

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff

Though the federal government shutdown continues, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a reprieve that will allow commercial air service in Del Norte County to continue through November.

In a notice Border Coast Regional Airport Authority Director Sean Rosenthal said he received Wednesday morning, the DOT stated that it has secured additional funding to support both the Essential Air Service and Alternative Essential Air Service programs. As a result, air carriers and communities receiving those subsidies must continue to fulfill their obligations “until such time as the Department notifies them otherwise.”

According to the notice, carriers who serve rural communities under the Essential Air Service — including Advanced Air, which flies from Crescent City to Oakland and to Southern California  — will be able to provide service through Nov. 2.

Continue reading US DOT Secures Funding to Keep EAS Service Going Till November; Local Airport Authority Still Assessing ‘Best Options’ →
Editorials, Education, Local Government, Opinion

Editorial: Keep Party Politics Out Of Our Local Government

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Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees from left to right: Frank Magarino, Charlaine Mazzei, Don McArthur, Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. Courtesy of DNUSD.org.

This first editorial is the collective opinion of Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP and is separate from our regular news coverage. To make your own opinion known to us, email redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com.

It’s not lost on Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP that we are stating our opinion about a local elected official stating his opinion.

But when said elected official, in this case Del Norte Unified School District Trustee Michael Greer, seeks to make his opinion DNUSD’s official opinion by asking his colleagues to approve a resolution, we need to speak up.

Greer plans to ask his fellow school board members on Thursday to “adopt a position of opposition to Proposition 50.” For anyone who doesn’t know, if it passes, Prop. 50 would be California’s response to Texas’s efforts to add five more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives through Congressional redistricting.

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Articles, Environment, Health, Smith River

Water Board Hosts Meeting Focusing On Smith River’s Easter Lily Bulbs

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Thumbnail photo: Ninety-five percent of Easter lily bulb production in the United States occurs in the Smith River coastal plain. | Photo courtesy of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board

Conservationists seeking to eliminate pesticide use in the Smith River Easter lily bulb industry are urging residents to tell water regulators how they have been impacted on Wednesday.

The California Northcoast Regional Water Quality Control Board isn’t expected to take action, Senior Water Resource Control Engineer David Kuszmar told Redwood Voice Community News. Instead, staff will present findings from a local water quality monitoring study and provide an update on the development of water quality regulations for lily bulb growers.

“This meeting represents an important opportunity for interested members of the public to speak directly to the Board about water quality issues that concern them, Kuszmar said. “Board members are free to offer suggestions and/or provide direction to staff at any time based on information provided and comments received.”

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Articles, Curry, Economy, Local Government, Transportation

Government Shutdown Threatens Commercial Air Service In Del Norte, Curry Counties

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Border Coast Regional Airport Authority

A day after finding out that commercial air service to Del Norte County may be a casualty of the federal government shutdown, Sean Rosenthal says he’s still searching for answers.

Less than two months after the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority hired him as airport director, Rosenthal said the U.S. Department of Transportation notified him on Monday that if the government shutdown continues, Alternative Essential Air Service funding will end Sunday. 

In an email to BCRAA members Tuesday morning, he said he had hoped to have some information to share, but he’s still working to “fully understand the impact this situation will have on us.”

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Articles, Elections, Health, Infrastructure

Huffman Discuses Government Shutdown, ICE, Healthcare With Del Norters

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Thumbnail photo and videos by Heather Polen

“This is not a normal time,” Del Norte County’s representative in Congress told his constituents on Sunday.

On the fourth day of a federal government shutdown, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman began a town hall meeting in Crescent City by addressing who he felt was responsible for 10 months of chaos. Yet it wasn’t only President Donald Trump’s tariffs, executive orders and military deployment to Los Angeles, Portland and other American cities Huffman was referring to.

“We’ve never seen so many of these executive orders from any president in history, and my colleagues in this Congress are comfortable with that,” he said. “They’re pretty comfortable with just yielding their Article 1 independent branch of government authority over to the president.”

Continue reading Huffman Discuses Government Shutdown, ICE, Healthcare With Del Norters →
Articles, Elections

Prop 50 Voting Starts; Those Casting Ballots By Mail Should Send Them Early, Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Says

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Thumbnail photo: Under new proposed Congressional District boundaries, Del Norte County would share a representative with Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, which are currently in District 1. | Photo courtesy of the Senate Election and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

Voters wanting to weigh in on Proposition 50 — California’s attempt to counter a Texas mid-decade redistricting proposal — shouldn’t wait until Election Day to mail in their ballot, County Clerk Recorder Alissia Northrup says.

Since Del Norte is more than 50 miles away from California’s six U.S. Postal Service processing facilities, ballots may not be postmarked until after Nov. 4. Northrup and her staff can’t count ballots that aren’t postmarked on or before Election Day.

“We just want to get the word out to people,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “Because they’re not going to be upset at the post office, they’re going to be upset at us.”

Continue reading Prop 50 Voting Starts; Those Casting Ballots By Mail Should Send Them Early, Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Says →
Articles, Community News

Camp Barry Needs A New Home; Del Norte Animal Rescue Starts GoFundMe

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Camp Barry’s GoFundMe page

If Del Norte County had a Noah, it would be Rhonda Barry, Gloria Bobertz says.

From ducks and chickens to dogs and cats, Barry, who operates Camp Barry with her son Matt, “is about the animals,” Bobertz told Redwood Voice Community News. But with the organization’s landlords looking to sell the property, Camp Barry will need to find a new ark soon.

“It’s going to be a huge loss if they can’t find a place,” said Bobertz, whose dog Cash was one of the first litters Camp Barry took in about seven years ago. “The Dogs of Del Norte County, or the dog pound here, yes they give the dogs shelter and they try to find them homes, but they don’t go the extra mile with the dog and make sure that dog is well rounded and adjusted to go live a new life.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Curry County Commissioners Says Spectrum Agreement Will Increase Public Meeting Access

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Thumbnail photo by Ken Lund via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Lynn Coker evoked Abbott and Costello before he and his colleague Patrick Hollinger approved a $6,335 agreement between Curry County and Spectrum Business on Wednesday.

Coker, who was appointed to the Board of Commissioners earlier this year, said he hoped the agreement, which will allow Curry County to televise its public meetings, will help residents better navigate local government.

“They attend these meetings, they listen and they read the news and they’re not quite sure who’s on first and why there’s a first base in the first place,” he said. “What’s the difference between the work a legislator does, like a Court Boyce, and the work the county does? Those kinds of things can be addressed in an educational format using our Spectrum education channels.”

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Articles, Curry, Local Government

Curry County DA Announces Resignation; Joshua Spansail Says His Last Day is Nov. 17

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Thumbnail photo: Curry County District Attorney Joshua Spansail announces his resignation to the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday. | screenshot

Curry County’s district attorney announced his resignation on Wednesday, telling the Board of Commissioners that he made the “bittersweet decision” for his family’s sake and his last day will be Nov. 17.

“I’ve been here going on 10 years now either as a deputy DA or the elected DA, but this is a family decision,” Joshua Spansail told commissioners Lynn Coker and Patrick Hollinger. “I have just had my third child and my wife and I made the decision that with a growing family and aging parents, it’s time to get closer to them, so we are going to be moving on.”

Board Chairman Jay Trost was absent.

Continue reading Curry County DA Announces Resignation; Joshua Spansail Says His Last Day is Nov. 17 →

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