Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Linda Sutter Files Federal Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor, Says CCHD Commissioners Violated Her Constitutional Rights

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Thumbnail photo: Linda Sutter spoke with KFUG Community Radio as a candidate for Crescent City Harbor commissioner in October 2024. | Photo by Amanda Dockter

Local activist Linda Sutter has filed another court complaint against the Crescent City Harbor District, this time accusing officials of violating her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Filed in the Eureka-McKinleyville Division of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Dec. 14, Sutter’s complaint included Harbormaster Mike Rademaker and commissioners Rick Shepherd, John Evans and Gerhard Weber as individual defendants. In her complaint, she accuses them of attempting to silence her when she speaks at public meetings and states that not responding to her requests for information under the California Public Records Act interferes with her “First Amendment news gathering rights.”

Sutter also states that Weber, who was chairman for much of 2025, used his position to suppress the speech of other women, namely Stephanie Abrams, Alicia Williams and Donna Westfall.

Continue reading Linda Sutter Files Federal Complaint Against Crescent City Harbor, Says CCHD Commissioners Violated Her Constitutional Rights →
Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News

Art Notes: Rikuzentakata Taiko Performers, New Public Art, Celtic Music Concert

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Thumbnail image courtesy of DNACA.net

If you have Arts Notes that you would like featured, contact DNACA at DNACA_CC@CLOUD.COM. We would love to spread the word about your events. You can also send the info to our Facebook Group, as well.

• Beginning January 8, 2026 we will be displaying at the Del Norte Regional Airport on the 2nd Floor Mezzanine, Tolowa Dee-Ni’ Nation posters.  Come see the beautiful artwork.  

• Beginning January 9, 2026, the Nat Soules Art Collection will be displayed in the main building hallway at College of the Redwoods’ Del Norte campus.  Please come during regular business hours to see the beautiful artwork.

Continue reading Art Notes: Rikuzentakata Taiko Performers, New Public Art, Celtic Music Concert →
Articles, Law, Local Government

Del Norte Sheriff May Ask Supervisors to Unfreeze Positions Previously Frozen To Increase Staff Salaries

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A move to freeze positions in his office to increase salaries and retain deputies has been effective. 

But now that a compensation study and structural analysis of all positions in the county is completed, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he’ll be asking the Board of Supervisors to reverse that decision, probably around March.

“My goal is to ask for the funding to unfreeze those positions so I can put more than just two deputies per shift out there and I can start working on more narcotic enforcement and search warrants, things like that,” the sheriff told Redwood Voice Community News on Friday. “The public, Del Norte County, deserves to have more than two deputies on a shift. I know we’re not a rich county and that ask is not just a simple fix, but I think our Board does want that.”

Continue reading Del Norte Sheriff May Ask Supervisors to Unfreeze Positions Previously Frozen To Increase Staff Salaries →
Articles, Emergencies, Infrastructure

Newsom Issues Disaster Declaration For July 30 Tsunami; Damage Estimates At CC Harbor Range From $2-5 Million, Harbormaster Says

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Thumbnail photo: The tsunami that struck Crescent City on July 30, 2025 caused complete separation of the harbor’s H Dock. | Photo courtesy of Mike Rademaker

Five months after an earthquake near Kamchatka sent a tsunami into Crescent City, the harbor has received the state disaster declaration needed to begin making repairs, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement Dec. 23 declaring a state of emergency in Del Norte County due to the tsunami that struck early the morning of July 30. The California Office of Emergency Services on Monday confirmed that the Crescent City Harbor District’s request for disaster assistance funding was approved, Rademaker told Redwood Voice Community News via email Tuesday.

The next phase, according to Rademaker, is for the Harbor District and Del Norte County to coordinate with state emergency officials to figure out a project list as well as scope and cost estimates so the Harbor District can be reimbursed. He said he hopes “things will happen within the next couple of weeks.”

Continue reading Newsom Issues Disaster Declaration For July 30 Tsunami; Damage Estimates At CC Harbor Range From $2-5 Million, Harbormaster Says →
Articles, Community News, Infrastructure

Tsunamis, Marches, Government Shutdowns, or 2025 in Del Norte County

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Thumbnail photo: Del Norters participated in the People’s March on Jan. 18, two days before Donald Trump was inaugurated to his second term as president. | Photo by Jessica Andrews

Two weeks after the calendar ticked over to 2025, more than 100 Del Norte residents gathered at the Cultural Center in Crescent City.

Waving signs preaching “love not hate” and “united we stand,” they vowed to safeguard the rights of the vulnerable ahead of what they believed to be a dangerous presidential administration.

“Let us be on the right side of history,” Troy Lea said in a statement read aloud during the People’s March on Jan. 18, the first of several demonstrations Del Norters would take part in during 2025. “For our people, our nation and future generations whose lives will be shaped by the work we do here today.”

Continue reading Tsunamis, Marches, Government Shutdowns, or 2025 in Del Norte County →
Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News, Radio, Youth

Annual Fugathon Will Be KFUG’s Official Relaunch

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Editor’s Note: KFUG 101.1 FM is Redwood Voice Community News’s parent organization.

Have you ever wondered what’s lurking around Orick after dark? 

Aisling Bludworth has and at 3 a.m. Sunday, she and Bryce Evans are going to regale KFUG 101.1 FM’s loyal listeners with a tale that turns on the roll of the dice.

“I have a real fascination with Orick,” Bludworth said of the former lumber community about 42 miles south of Crescent City. “It’s a tiny little town that I’ve passed through a few times. There are old buildings that are shuttered and quiet. Something about Orick calls to me — that’s the perfect setting for hunting monsters.”

Continue reading Annual Fugathon Will Be KFUG’s Official Relaunch →
Articles, Community News, Health

Heating Assistance Is Available For Low-Income Households

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Thumbnail image courtesy of the Del Norte Senior Center

With its 2026 LIHEAP contract in hand, the Del Norte Senior Center is accepting applications from residents seeking energy assistance.

The Low Income Energy Assistance Program is open to all low-income households, not just senior citizens, Executive Director Charlaine Mazzei said. But with funding more limited than in previous years, applications will be prioritized on need, she told Redwood Voice Community News via email on Tuesday.

“We are starting 2026 with about $253,000 available to help with electricity, wood, propane and other heating fuels,” Mazzei said. “VERY roughly, that’s enough to help about 350 households based on our average benefits amount from 2025. But that can vary a lot depending on the circumstances of the households that apply.”

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Articles, Education, Emergencies

Del Norte Unified, Office of Ed Launches Emergency Communications Protocol

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Thumbnail image courtesy of the Del Norte County Office of Education

Del Norte education officials are launching a new communications protocol officials say will present a “united and effective approach” to their messaging during emergencies.

Del Norte Unified School District and the Del Norte County Office of Education have adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). Developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, the platform will use shared language and procedures for communicating with students, staff, families and first responders at all of its campuses during an emergency.

Staff will begin practicing the new protocol starting Jan. 5, DNUSD spokesman Michael Hawkins said Monday. The public launch will be held Jan. 9, according to the district’s SRP web page. 

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan

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Thumbnail photo: The Crescent City Harbor District is working on paying back a $5.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan that rebuilt the inner boat basin following tsunamis in 2006 and 2011. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A week after county supervisors rejected a Crescent City Harbor Facilities Plan, its harbormaster argued that voters didn’t want the agency to wait 40 years before it began using Measure C tax dollars to make needed repairs.

The transiency occupancy tax measure voters approved in 2018 wasn’t specific about the repairs and maintenance the generated revenue would pay for, Harbor District CEO Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

In addition to being used to pay back a $5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, Measure C revenue should also fund repairs and maintenance of harbor facilities. Rademaker cited legal advice he received from CCHD attorney Ryan Plotz, who said that could mean “anything that involves repair and maintenance.”

Continue reading After County Supervisors’ Rejection, Harbor Commissioners Opt To Re-Work Facilities Plan →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County

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Thumbnail photo by Amanda Dockter

A week after the question over whether they have faithful performance bonds in place reached the Board of Supervisors, Crescent City Harbor Commissioners learned they would need a different attorney to resolve the issue.

County officials have raised a conflict of interest objection stating that the firm the Harbor District’s attorney works for also represents Del Norte, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told commissioners at a special meeting Wednesday. 

Rademaker, who had spoken with Ryan Plotz, the district’s legal advisor, said the attorney had found a provision in California Government Code, 1481(b), that supersedes the Harbors and Navigation Code.

Continue reading Crescent City Harbor District Needs Another Lawyer To Resolve Bond Dilemma With The County →

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