Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

(UPDATED) CCPD Investigating Hit & Run Claims Connected To MVA Involving CCHD Vice Chair

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Updated at 12:05 p.m. Saturday:

Crescent City Harbor Vice Chair John Evans didn’t want to jeopardize an active investigation, but he denied screaming at the other party in a minor collision that took place in the Safeway parking lot on Thursday.

“It’s just not my character to scream at a lady with a child in a parking lot during an interaction like that,” he told Redwood Voice Community News on Saturday. “During that interaction, one of the things she said to me, and she kind of yelled it at me, was, ‘You’re acting like this is no big deal,’ and I think anybody can infer what that means if somebody’s screaming and yelling at you.”

Evans also denied Tara Music’s claims that he left the scene before she could provide him her insurance information, though he said he didn’t want to make accusations against her. Evans said he provided he gave a report to Crescent City Police Sgt. Alex Pearson so he could review the claims against him.

Evans said he would also reach out to Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin to provide him information for any ongoing investigation.

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Crescent City police are working to determine whether a minor collision involving a local elected official meets the criteria for hit and run.

The collision involved Crescent City Harbor District Vice Chair John Evans and took place in the Jedediah Smith Shopping Center parking lot near Safeway between 1 and 1:15 p.m. Thursday.

Police Chief Richard Griffin said both parties left the scene of the accident. Evans provided the other party, Tara Music, with his insurance card, Music didn’t reciprocate, Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News.

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Articles, Crescent City, Infrastructure, Local Government

Crescent City Approves Tight Budget With Water, Sewer Rate Increases Factored In

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Crescent City councilors approved a budget that will have an unallocated fund balance of about $55,000 when the 2026-27 fiscal year closes.

Their decision comes about a month after Finance Director Linda Leaver said that the estimated unallocated general fund balance at the end of 2026-27 would be “basically nothing” at $62,559. 

On Monday, the budget Leaver presented to councilors reflected the changes they called for at that three-hour workshop on May 20. It also reflects water and sewer rate increases the City Council approved on June 1 following an unsuccessful Proposition 218 protest effort. Those increases are expected to stabilize both the water and sewer funds, Leaver said.

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Articles, Environment, Transportation

Cleanup Continues A Week After Overturned Tanker Dumped Asphalt Binder On 199

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Thumbnail photo courtesy of Caltrans District 1

State and federal agencies continue to oversee a cleanup effort involving liquid asphalt emulsion that spilled from a tanker that overturned on U.S. 199 about a week ago.

While it’s still unclear how much material entered the river, the cleanup has recovered about 3,778 pounds of asphalt emulsion, said Eric Laughlin, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response. Responders have not observed the asphalt emulsion one mile downstream from the incident, Laughlin told Redwood Voice Community News via email Thursday.

The 2016 Kenworth semi was hauling about 6,000 gallons of liquid asphalt emulsion on June 11 when the driver collided with the embankment and overturned at milepost marker 27.4 on U.S. 199 south of the Idlewild Caltrans Maintenance Station.

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Articles, Crescent City, Housing, Infrastructure, Local Government

Construction On Battery Point Apartments Set To Resume By June 29, Developer Says

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Thumbnail photo: Changing state regulations and water damage from winter storms sidelined construction on the senior housing portion of Battery Point Apartments in Crescent City. | Photo by James Brooks

Construction is expected to resume at Battery Point Apartments in about two weeks, a representative of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit behind the affordable housing project said.

The project’s subcontractors are paid and a crane will be on site later this week, Synergy Community Development Corporation President Bill Rice told the Crescent City Council on Monday. The investor working with Synergy and its partner, Step Forward Communities, also brought in a construction management firm to remediate water damage to the senior housing structure.

Rice was reluctant to give an exact date of completion, but he told councilors that Synergy and Step Forward Communities are working with their insurance company to ensure the remediation is “done right.”

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Articles, Crescent City, Education, Local Government, Youth

Uncharted Shores Academy Leases City-Owned Former Preschool Building At Peterson Park

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Thumbnail image courtesy of Uncharted Shores Academy

Uncharted Shores Academy has found safe harbor for its Offshore Resource Center thanks to a Crescent City Council decision Monday.

The Council’s unanimous approval to lease its property at 475 7th Street to the charter school comes roughly two weeks before Uncharted Shores was set to vacate one of its satellite locations at Washington Square, according to Executive Director Dan Cartwright. 

In addition to offering space for students in its homeschool program to meet with teachers, the Washington Square space also housed the school’s business office, Cartwright said. But because of Sutter Coast Hospital’s plans to use the building for medical offices, its current tenants need to be out by the end of the month, he said.

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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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Obits

OBITUARY: Jeff Gupton, 1970-2026

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Jeff Gupton, 55, of Eureka, California, passed away on June 7, 2026. Born on September 21, 1970, in San Francisco, California, Jeff lived a life filled with creativity, passion, and love for his family and friends.

Jeff graduated from St. Bernard’s High School in 1988 and went on to attend the College of the Redwoods. He dedicated much of his professional life to Six Rivers Produce, the family business he worked at and eventually ran. His commitment to the business reflected his strong work ethic and dedication to supporting those around him.

A man of many talents and interests, Jeff was deeply passionate about tabletop gaming and role-playing games. He found joy in painting miniatures for these games as well as customizing Hot Wheels cars for the game Gaslands. His artistic flair extended beyond gaming; he shared his creative process through videos he posted on YouTube, inspiring others with his skill and imagination. Jeff also loved music and movies, often enjoying them with friends during regular game nights that brought people together in laughter and camaraderie.

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Articles, CC Harbor

Fashion Blacksmith Owner Agrees To Revision That Reduces Harbor District’s Settlement Payment This Year

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Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Two years after the Crescent City Harbor District entered into a settlement agreement with Fashion Blacksmith, the parties negotiated a revision that reduces the district’s payment for this year and divides it into two installments.

Reporting out from a closed session meeting on Wednesday, Board President Rick Shepherd said CCHD will pay a total of $162,500 to its former tenant in two installments of $62,500 and $100,000 this year. The Harbor District was due to pay $362,500 to Fashion Blacksmith, Shepherd said.

According to the agreement, the remaining portion of the CCHD’s payment this year will be amortized over the remaining terms of the settlement agreement, between 2027 and 2034 with 5% interest.

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