Tag Archives: del norte news

Articles, CC Harbor, Crescent City, Economy, Local Government

‘By Spring, You Will Not Recognize This Place’; CCHD Board Approves RV Park Lease With Developer Daniel Dahan

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Thumbnail photo: Bayside RV Park is one of two RV parks that the Crescent City Harbor District is looking to lease to Daniel Dahan, investment manager for BSD Property Management. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Before Crescent City Harbor commissioners approved leasing Redwood Harbor Village to him, Daniel Dahan outlined a timeline that included upgrading the electric system, redoing the parking lot and bringing in homes on wheels.

It will take several months, the developer said, adding that winter rains will likely make installing the septic system impossible. Eight to 10 months will pass before the revitalized RV park is ready to accept visitors, but, Dahan said, his investors are committed to making it a success.

“I promise you that by this spring, you will not recognize this place,” he told commissioners at their meeting June 24.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Local Activist To Proceed With Harbor Fundraiser Despite Objections From Its Fiscal Officer And One Of Its Commissioners

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Thumbnail photo: Alicia Williams plans to raise money to help the Crescent City Harbor District with its U.S. Department of Agriculture loan by selling items that come from the district’s gift shop and that were donated by other local businesses. | Photo courtesy of Alicia Williams

Two days after he abstained from a vote that gave Alicia Williams the official green light to organize a fundraiser for the Crescent City Harbor District, Commissioner Dan Schmidt aired a series of concerns about her efforts.

Some of his complaints were aimed at the self-described activist and community builder herself who, Schmidt said, frequently attacks the harbor and its commissioners and staff as well as members of the public. She also goes beyond the three minutes allowed for public comment, Schmidt said.

“We can’t seem to shut her up,” he said at a special meeting Friday, prompting Williams to call him a misogynist pig.

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Articles, Education, Infrastructure

DNUSD Faces Daunting Task Of Updating Surveillance System Hardware, Software Amid Skyrocketing Tech Costs

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of DNUSD Communications Director Michael Hawkins

Ryan Bahten summed up a setback to Del Norte Unified School District’s new system for monitoring emergencies in real time using its surveillance cameras with one word: RAMageddon.

DNUSD’s Information Network Services director said that in order for the district’s new ActiveNet system to work efficiently, the network video recorders at each school site need replacing. But the current skyrocketing costs in memory chips — driven, Bahten says, by the prevalence of artificial intelligence — means that won’t be cheap.

“Dell, as an example, will only give us a quote for six days on a server because every six days they expect pricing increases,” Bahten told trustees Thursday, describing 30-to-50% increases in technology costs month over month. “Right now, today, if I was to buy an NVR, we’re probably looking at anywhere from $35,000 to $40,000 per unit for that one box. But, unfortunately, we’re at a point where what we have is failing out there for our security camera hardware.”

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Articles, Education, Local Government

DNUSD Board of Trustees Recap, June 25, 2026

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Thumbnail photo: Don McArthur (middle) is retiring from his Trustee Area 1 seat on the Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees. | Photo courtesy of dnusd.org.

Trustee Area 5 representative Michael Greer was absent. Among the items discussed at Thursday’s Del Norte County Unified School District meeting:

Trustee Area 1 Vacancy: With Del Norte Unified School District’s longest-serving trustee, Don McArthur, announcing his retirement earlier this year, the Board of Trustees will soon have a vacancy.

DNUSD and the Del Norte County Office of Education will be seeking candidates interested in serving in the Trustee Area 1 seat. The Board expects to extend an appointment in July or August. For more information, email communications@dnusd.org.

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Articles, Community News, Health, Housing, Local Government

‘A Warm Dry Bed’: Del Norte Opens Its Emergency Homeless Shelter, Micro Village

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Del Norte County celebrated the opening of its first emergency homeless shelter and micro village on June 9. | Photos by Aisling Bludworth

From the ashes of the old mental health building the emergency shelter and micro village was revealed to the public last week.

Community members came to celebrate the hard work that brought it to fruition.

“It’s really not every day that your career comes full circle, and you literally find yourself helping make plans to burn down your [old] office.” said Shiann Hogan, deputy director for Del Norte County’s Behavioral Health Branch during the June 17 ribbon cutting at the facility on 200 Williams Drive. 

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Articles, Economy, Local Government

Del Norte CAO Calls General Fund Deficit ‘One Of The Largest In My Career’; Starkey Points Out Budget Errors

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Del Norte County’s top administrative official admitted that finding $9.6 million to balance the fiscal year 2026-27 general fund budget was an arduous task that goes beyond sharpening pencils.

County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez affirmed concerns District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey raised Tuesday. But, according to him and according to at least one of Starkey’s colleagues, the “huge deficit for the general fund, one of the largest I’ve seen in my career” can be traced to the Board’s actions in the fall to increase the county’s ability to be market competitive.

When the Board of Supervisors raised wages and approved the county’s new salary structure across all bargaining units in December, retirements increased too, Lopez said. Still, he reminded supervisors that the county’s 2026-27 budget is still preliminary and all the accruals from the current fiscal year that ends June 30 have not yet been realized.

“A lot of the prior year’s revenue will increase the revenue from the general fund side of things so we won’t be $9.5 million out,” Lopez said. “I don’t know where it’s going to land, it’s too early in the process, but the bottomline is we have to have a balanced budget so we will have a balanced budget.”

Continue reading Del Norte CAO Calls General Fund Deficit ‘One Of The Largest In My Career’; Starkey Points Out Budget Errors →
Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government

DN Board of Supervisors Recap, June 23, 2026

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District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard was absent. Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

DelNorteCounty.gov? County supervisors authorized Information Technology Director Dan McCorckle to apply for a new delnortecounty.gov web address.

McCorckle’s recommendation to transition to a .gov or a .ca.gov domain name will allow Del Norte to comply with California Assembly Bill 1637, which requires all local agencies to use verified domain names for their public-facing websites and employee email addresses by Jan. 1, 2029. Signed into law in October 2023, AB 1637 aims to prevent “malicious actors” from impersonating county services, according to McCorckle’s staff report.

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Articles, Community News, Health, Housing, Infrastructure

Del Norte To Cut The Ribbon On Long-Awaited Emergency Shelter, Micro Village

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Thumbnail image courtesy of the Del Norte County Department of Health and Human Services

Ranell Brown says she’s expecting a large turnout to cut the ribbon at Del Norte County’s new emergency shelter and micro village on Wednesday.

The result of a collaboration with the county, Del Norte Mission Possible and True North Organizing Network, the shelter’s grand opening comes about a year after the Point in Time Count identified 482 individuals as homeless, according to a Department of Health and Human Services press release.

The campus needs a handful of finishing touches, but Brown, who directs DHHS, said the shelter will begin accepting clients within 30 days of the ribbon cutting.

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Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News

Chamber Needs Help Putting on Independence Day Celebration

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Steve Pate-Newberry via the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce

With the United States celebrating 250 years of being a country, Cindy Vosburg is anticipating a large turnout for Crescent City’s Fourth of July festivities.

Vosburg and her team at the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce have been planning the Deck Party, accepting parade entries and figuring out where to set up vendors for the festival in the park. It’s a heavy lift mostly funded through sponsorships from the business community, but this year, the Chamber is asking the general public for help. 

“Last year we were able to raise $63,000 in sponsorships and the event costs us about $70,000 to put on,” Vosburg told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. “We also make a little bit more money off the bar, the raffle and Cow Chip Bingo. But this year, it’s a really tough year for the business community. We’re about $8,050 short of that $63,000.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Transportation

CCHD Commissioners Discuss Price With Firms Vying For Citizens Dock Project Manager Role

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The preferred alternative for the Citizens Dock reconstruction project. | Image courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Thumbnail photo: The Crescent City Harbor seeks to replace a condemned seawall and the 70-plus year-old Citizens Dock using $15 million in federal grants. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Harbor Commissioner Gerhard Weber used the same analogy twice this week to describe his take on the three proposals from firms vying for the project manager role in the Citizens Dock reconstruction and seawall replacement.

“I think I walked into a Mercedes dealership with Kia money,” Weber told GHD Senior Planner Adam Wagschal on Wednesday when he found out that the firm’s cost estimate for pre-construction work would be about $4,000 shy of the Harbor District’s budget for the project manager position in general. “Maybe we made a major mistake with our budget because we have budgeted $350,000 and now we’re hearing that it gets us down for the first part, but not actual construction.”

Weber and his colleagues on the Crescent City Harbor District Board heard proposals from Kimley-Horn representatives on Monday and from GHD and Redstone Bridge Sovereign on Wednesday. All three firms have at least one person on staff that has worked with the Crescent City Harbor District in the past.

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