Tag Archives: del norte news

Articles, Infrastructure, Transportation

Transportation Commission Discusses Traffic Management Ahead Of STAA 197/199 Highway Closures

September 3, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Work has already begun on the 197/199 Safe STAA Access project, particularly on State Route 197 and on U.S. 199 near the Patrick Creek Narrows. | Photo courtesy of Caltrans District 1}

Though Caltrans pushed its plans to close parts of the highway for the 197/199 Safe STAA Access project back to January, Tamera Leighton went back to 2021 and the landslide at Last Chance Grade when thinking about how to manage traffic.

Leighton, executive director of the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission, mentioned the queue of cars that would form near South Beach and proceeded down U.S. 101 when the highway reopened at specific times to traffic.

In January, when Caltrans starts work on U.S. 199 in the narrows and has to close the road for hours at a time, Leighton said cars could queue up at the east end of the four-lane freeway past Gasquet.

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Articles, Gasquet

Del Norte Supervisors Approve Private Road On Gasquet Property Over Neighbors’ Objections

September 2, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail image: A Gasquet property owner seeks to subdivide a 40-acre parcel off into two lots as well as extend an existing road that serves the parcel. | Image courtesy of Del Norte County}

A Gasquet property owner received the go-ahead last week to extend a private road as part of his plan to subdivide the 40-acre parcel.

Ron MacMaster contradicted two of his neighbors at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 25 meeting and said he has no plans to build a mobile home park. Though the county’s zoning laws allow the property to be subdivided into 21 lots, MacMaster said he’s planning on subdividing it into two lots.

“As far as the road goes, it’s my understanding that’s my property, so my two neighbors shouldn’t be impacted by this at all,” he said. “Right now it’s a dirt road. If it gets gravel and asphalt it’ll keep the dust down. It’ll be an improvement.”

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Articles, Community News, Crescent City

Del Norte Library Writes New Chapter, Preps For Move To Former Ben Franklin Building

September 1, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte County Library has purchased the former Ben Franklin building and plans to turn it into the new library. Library Board President Andrew Napier said the library has about two years to renovate it. | Photos courtesy of Andrew Napier}

Three years after its board decided that staying in Downtown Crescent City outweighed the tsunami risk, the Del Norte County Library will eventually move into the old Ben Franklin building.

At just under 15,000 square feet, Library Board Chair Andrew Napier says he envisions a maker space with access to 3D printers, laser engravers and button makers. There’s office space for Del Norte Reads, room for community meetings and, potentially, a Friends of the Del Norte County Library cafe.

But right now, the building at 1072 3rd Street is an empty shell, Napier told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday. The library has about two years to renovate it and move its 50,000-plus books, periodicals, movies and other materials in, he said.

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Education, Transportation

New Transportation Director Describes Smooth Start To School Year

August 29, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Jenna Lussier raved about her bus drivers and staff.

Four days after students returned to class, the new transportation director told Del Norte Unified School District trustees that her staff has been working extra time to make sure Klamath students are picked up. She also mentioned special efforts being made for youngsters at Redwood and Pine Grove schools.

“We are working diligently to get our children where they need to go,” Lussier said. “We had a couple of hiccups, but I think today those hiccups have been resolved…. I just want to thank my drivers because they’re making it awesome.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government, Transportation

Crescent City Harbor District Recap, Aug. 26, 2026

August 28, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Crescent City Harbor commissioners received a report on the structural conditions of several structures including the former Fashion Blacksmith building on Starfish Way. | Photo by Gavin Van Alstine}

Commission Annie Nehmer was absent. Among the items discussed at Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting.

Infrastructure Assessment: Promising a more formal presentation at CCHD’s Sept. 16 meeting, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker introduced commissioners to GHD’s structural condition assessment of several of the buildings at the port.

“It does identify a lot of the challenges that we’re facing trying to rehab these buildings and come up with funding,” Rademaker said. “But fortunately we’ve got some investment from some other companies, such as Ocean Gold, that are going to help us address some of these infrastructure challenges.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

(UPDATED) Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Set To Enter Final Design Phase With In-Water Construction Scheduled to Start July 1, 2027

August 28, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Updated at 1:15 p.m. Monday to clarify items regarding how long Kimley-Horn has been working with CCHD and to add more information regarding their proposal.

~~Nearly three months~~ Two months after becoming project manager for the federally-funded seawall replacement and Citizens Dock rebuild, Kimley-Horn representatives say Sept. 23 is the “kickoff date” for the endeavor’s final design phase.

After that Sept. 23 “kick off meeting,” Kimley-Horn will be vetting contractors and ensuring the project has the permits needed for in-water construction to begin by July 1, 2027, said Jerry Holcomb, an engineer who focuses on ports, maritime and waterfront projects for the firm.

“As project manager, the thing we’re going to try and make sure everybody understands is, kind of working back from that date, how do we make sure we’ve got the bids in place.” Holcomb told Crescent City Harbor Commissioners on Wednesday. “How do we make sure that we’ve got the contractor already mobilized … so they’re there ready to start on Day One.”

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Del Norte Supervisors Appoint Gerry Hemmingsen to Airport Board’s Public Member Seat; JPA Voted For Someone Else

August 26, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Andrew Goff}

Four Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday chose their former colleague, Gerry Hemmingsen, over Cal-Ore Life Flight employee Mark Weaver to serve on the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority’s governing body.

Their action ran counter to a 5-3 vote BCRAA commissioners took after multiple split decisions on Aug. 6 to appoint Weaver to Del Norte’s third seat on the joint powers authority with Hemmingsen serving as his alternate.

According to District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard, who sits on the BCRAA Board with District 1 representative Darrin Short, there currently isn’t a mechanism for the JPA’s public member to have an alternate.

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Articles, Health, Infrastructure, Local Government

Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, Aug. 25, 2026

August 26, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

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

California Automated Response and Engagement System: County supervisors received an advocacy letter from the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services to state legislators concerning the launch of the Child Welfare Services-California Automated Response and Engagement System (CWS-CARES).

According to a staff report from DHHS Director Ranell Brown, the County Welfare Directors Association asked the department to weigh in on the issue. The project is expected to go launch on Oct. 26, according to Brown’s letter to Assembly members Jesse Gabriel and Corey Jackson and State Senators John Laird and Carolin Menjivar.

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Articles, Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation

Starkey, Howard Urge Local Advocacy As Last Chance Grade Project Enters Design Phase; ‘Real Hurdle’ Is Finding $2-Plus Billion For Construction, Starkey Says

August 24, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail image: Conceptual art of the 1.1 mile-long tunnel that will allow U.S. 101 to avoid the Last Chance Grade landslide area south of Crescent City | Image courtesy of Caltrans District 1}

Efforts to re-route U.S. 101 around Last Chance Grade reached a milestone on Friday after the California Transportation Commission approved funding for the project’s design and engineering phase.

But Del Norte County supervisors Chris Howard and Valerie Starkey, who attended the commission’s meeting in San Diego, say local advocacy at the state and federal level is imperative for the 6,000-foot tunnel project to continue to advance toward construction.

“What was interesting about the CTC meeting was when they got to the funding portion of it, the staff member from CTC (said) we’re supporting this, but this is the largest chunk of money we put out for one specific project,” Starkey told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “They said we never awarded this much money. We’ve never supported this much money going to just one project, but we understand the importance of it.”

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Articles, Education, Elections, Local Government

School Board, City Council Seats Still Open To Candidates; Crescent City Harbor District Lineup Set For November Election

August 11, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Del Norte County’s Veterans Memorial Hall was used as a polling place during the June primary. | File photo by Monique Camarena}

A slew of director and trustee positions are still available for candidates who want to help shape policy concerning local water use, fire protection and the education of Del Norte County’s youth.

The filing period for two of the three seats up for grabs on the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees has been extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday. The incumbents in both the Trustee Area 1 and Trustee Area 5 seats did not file their election paperwork by Friday’s deadline.

So far, two candidates — Briannon Fraley and Ron Bates — have filed election papers for the Trustee Area 5 seat that represents Klamath and communities south and east of Crescent City. Incumbent Michael Greer is seeking the California State Assembly District 2 seat currently held by Chris Rogers and is not seeking another term on the DNUSD Board.

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