Articles, Elections, Local Government

(AUDIO) Gutierrez, Howard Discuss Goals If They Win, Keep District 3 Supervisor Seat In Conversation With Redwood Voice

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Del Norte County District 3 Supervisor candidates Chris Howard and Lupe Gutierrez sat down with Redwood Voice youth producers Monique Camarena and Aisling Bludworth for an evening conversation last week. | Photos by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Lupe Gutierrez said she was surprised when people urged her to run for the District 3 supervisor seat.

They were adamant that it shouldn’t go unopposed, she said, which is why she’s challenging incumbent Chris Howard. She says she’s got the character to take on the job and one of her goals is to urge more youth to participate in the government process.

“I’m so disappointed when I look at the demographics and I see that they, the ages of 18 to 45, just don’t participate as much as the older people do,” Gutierrez said. “And sometimes I wonder about that and I know they’re disenchanted. I would really love to bring them back into the government so they can be effective in their own decisions because right now other people are making their decisions for them.”

Continue reading (AUDIO) Gutierrez, Howard Discuss Goals If They Win, Keep District 3 Supervisor Seat In Conversation With Redwood Voice →
Articles, CC Harbor, Economy, Local Government

CCHD’s Pick For RV Park Developer Operates A Resort in Smith River, Has More Money Behind Him, Commissioners Say

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Thumbnail photo: Bayside RV Park is one of two RV parks at the Crescent City Harbor that developer Daniel Dahan and his company BSD Property Management will revitalize and manage. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Daniel Dahan’s relationship with local engineer Lee Tromble and his company’s management of White Rock Resort in Smith River stood him in good stead with the Crescent City Harbor District Board.

Despite skepticism from the public, who urged them to go slow, warning that the Long Beach-based developer has a history of judgments against him, commissioners unanimously selected his firm, BSD Property Management, to revitalize and operate Bayside RV Park and Redwood Harbor Village RV Park.

The Board submitted their votes on paper to their clerk Kristina Hanks on Tuesday. Hanks then read their decision into the record.

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Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

Decision Expected on CCHD RV Park Leases Following Public Hearing

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Commissioners are expected to reach a decision, finally, on who should develop the Crescent City Harbor District’s two RV parks.

A special meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Harbor District Office.. The open session will follow a closed session meeting scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

“Tuesday’s the drop-down deadline,” Board President Rick Shepherd said at CCHD’s April 22 meeting. “We’re going to make a vote and the winner will be the lessee of the RV parks.”

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Articles, Housing, Local Government

Councilors Are Reticent About Supporting State Housing Bill Though Hopeful About Its Promise Of Greater Flexibility

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Thumbnail photo: The Redwood Downtown is a 36-unit residential and retail development that’s slated to go in space that’s currently occupied by the vacant Daly’s department store building in Downtown Crescent City. | Image courtesy of Crescent City.

At least one city councilor said he would support a bill that would allow local governments to “claw back” authority from the state. 

But, while representatives of State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, author of State Senate Bill 1216, say Crescent City would be eligible for the greater discretion his proposed legislation offers, councilors were reluctant to offer their support just yet.

Though he liked the idea of regaining some of the authority he feels is lost to state government, Councilor Jason Greenough on Monday recommended that he and his colleagues table the proposed letter of support. Mayor Isaiah Wright seconded this recommendation, saying he didn’t have a full grasp of what SB 1216 would do.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Manager Expounds On Protest Process Ahead Of Water, Sewer Rate Decision

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Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

Two weeks after Crescent City councilors took the first step toward increasing water and sewer rates, City Manager Eric Wier attempted to quell concerns about the Proposition 218 protest process.

Wier also addressed the idea of moving the wastewater treatment plant from its current location at B and Battery streets to the area behind Safeway, which was once the McNamara & Peepe lumber mill site. The city manager said that was before he began working with the city, however a cost analysis determined that it would not be feasible.

“When you talk about relocating the treatment plant, it’s not just about picking up the treatment plant and moving it,” he said. “It’s all of the infrastructure that goes into the treatment plant that still goes into the location it’s at now.”

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Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

Crescent City Council Recap, April 20, 2026

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Mayor Pro Tem Candace Tinkler and Councilor Ray Altman were absent. Among the items discussed at Monday’s Crescent City Council meeting:

Citizens Dock Pier 2 Project: Crescent City councilors agreed to send a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, supporting the second phase of the Citizens Dock rebuild.

The Crescent City Harbor District was encouraged to apply for $11 million in 2026 Port Infrastructure Development Program dollars from MARAD. If awarded, those funds will be an addition to the roughly $15 million in 2022 and 2024 PIDP grant moneys CCHD received to reconstruct Citizen’s Dock Pier 1 and an adjacent seawall, according to Mike Bahr, CEO of Community System Solutions, the consultant managing the Harbor District’s grant-funded projects.

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Articles, Health, Local Government

Del Norte Joins CSAC, Other Counties In Seeking State Funding Ahead of ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Implementation

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Del Norte is joining a statewide effort that seeks to shield counties from the “health and human services tsunami” that’s coming with the implementation of H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

In an April 14 letter conveying a “multi-year countywide H.R. budget request” to state lawmakers, county supervisors stated that California counties may see an impact of between $6 billion and $9.5 billion due to the federal legislation.

The demand for indigent care is expected to increase, which will force counties to expand their workforce, according to the letter. H.R. 1 will also strain other safety net programs due to people losing access to MediCal as a result. 

But there are so many parts, it’s unclear how much of an impact Del Norte County itself will feel.

Continue reading Del Norte Joins CSAC, Other Counties In Seeking State Funding Ahead of ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Implementation →
Articles, Arts & Culture, Economy, Education, Local Government, Youth

Strengthening Bonds of Friendship; Largest Rikuzentakata Delegation Visits Del Norte

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Thumbnail photo: Takeya Owada, who is in the oyster fishery business, shows his fellow delegates from Rikuzentakata how to shuck one of the oysters Mike Schmidt and Erik Karle, of Schmidt’s House of Jambalaya grilled at the Taste of Japan event on Friday. | Photo courtesy of Jen Schmidt

Cal-Ore Lifeflight CPR instructor Aubree Arneson shows the life-saving technique to a Joe Hamilton Elementary School student as part of the Kamome Festival’s focus on emergency preparedness Friday. |

Taku Sasaki gave a simple “nice to meet you, konnichiwa,” when he and his fellow travelers filed into the Del Norte County Airport on Thursday.

After exchanging hugs, handshakes and bows, the Rikuzentakata mayor and his fellow delegates from Japan grabbed their bags and were whisked away to their first event, the cardboard boat races at the Fred Endert Municipal Pool. 

Coinciding with the Kamome Festival, this visit marks a new development in the Sister City relationship between Crescent City, Del Norte County and Rikuzentakata. The current delegation, consisting of 21 city officials, business leaders, students and educational leaders, is the largest to visit since cultural exchanges began more than a decade ago, according to Kiyoshi Murakami, Rikuzentakata’s senior international affairs advisor.

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Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

Paul Place To Get Attention This Year, Though Supervisors Decide Against Bringing It Into The County-Maintained Road System

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Thumbnail photo: Paul Place near Charm Lane and Old Mill Road was selected for repairs as part of an effort to ensure emergency vehicles have access to public roads that are not on the county-maintained road system.| Photo courtesy of Del Norte County

Del Norte County supervisors agreed to commit about $20,000 from the general fund to repair a ditch and grade Paul Place.

But they rejected a proposal to spend an additional $26,000 to pave the first 250 feet of Paul Place, adding it to the county’s network of maintained roads, despite County Engineer Jon Olson arguing that vehicles were tracking mud onto nearby Charm Lane and Old Mill Road. There’s also water puddling up onto Old Mill Road, which is damaging the asphalt, Olson said.

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey said Olson’s argument could be made for Napa or Lake streets, which impact Washington Boulevard. 

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Articles, Environment, Fort Dick, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

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

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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 →

Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.