Born in Humboldt but raised in Del Norte County, Aisling has been telling stories for as long as she can remember and holding a camera just about as long. She likes to tell the stories of forgotten people, places, and things. Some of her notable visual works include "My Visit to the Loneliest Lighthouse on the West Coast," "Steve Mattson, a Portfolio in Short," and her live play debut "Orick 95555."
There was a sea of purple shirts in the Board Chambers. The people wearing these purple shirts were all supporters and people represented by SEIU 1021, a union that bargains on behalf of Del Norte County employees.
After the Consent Agenda concluded at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, several employees of the County confronted the Board of Supervisors. The volley opened with Norma Williams, Chapter President of the SEIU 1021 branch for Del Norte County.
During the Del Norte Board of Supervisors meeting — September 24th, at the Flynn Center in Crescent City — the Board received a presentation on how Del Norte County can implement microgrids to provide sustainability and resilience to our electricity in times of crisis. SitelogIQ’s presentation explained what a microgrid is to the Board as an interconnected, self-sufficient energy system within a clearly defined electrical boundary that can act as a single controllable entity.
Redwood Voice’s Aisling Bludworth travels up to Ophir, Oregon to witness the An Tir West War of 2024. Thanks to Seneschal Fereradach and Duke James for taking interviews for this video. For more information on the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) visit sca.org.
Listen to the full audio version of this report, as taken from the Redwood Voice Community Newscast—or read it below! Thumbnail courtesy of Cory AG via Facebook, as a screenshot from a video taken at the time of the incident.
Forbes described Independence Day as the 3rd most dangerous holiday in the United States. This year has lived up to that reputation, with many incidents occurring throughout the night. The largest event was the explosion on South Beach at approximately 11PM, which injured 14*¹ people and left a 3 year old in critical condition, according to a post in the Del Norte and Curry County Scanner Feed Facebook group. The 3 year old has a crowdfunding campaign on his family’s behalf which has steadily gained support since the incident. Redwood Voice’s Monique Camarena was nearby and described the scene.
Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe sits down with Joanie Lindenmeyer, author of Nun Better, about her two soon-to-be-released books regarding queer joy and healing religious trauma. If you’re interested in Joanie’s books visit twosisterswriting.com, or find her where books are sold.
All information from this video was accurate as of April 24th, 2024. For live on the ground updates tune to KRFH 105.1FM in Humboldt, as well as the publications of the Humboldt Lumberjack and El Leñador. This account was put together solely by Sebastian Monroe of Redwood Voice Youth Media.
For information from the occupation itself, visit @occupycalpolyhumboldt on Instagram.
Curry County is a notoriously conservative county in our area, and yet they’re having a pride festival in June. Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe spoke with some of the youth behind the festival, and what it takes to build community during adversity. You can find out more about Southern Coast Oregon Pride at socpride.org.
The only game convention in Curry County is Harbor Game Con. While the convention is still only a couple of years old, there are a lot of insights to be gleaned from its organizer Ian Crockett. So Redwood Voice’s Sebastian Monroe sits down and talks shop about running a convention in our rural area with him.
On March 21st, the Epicenter opened in Crescent City California. We talked to the minds at work at this new DNUSD facility, and what one can expect to find when they go there.
This is part of our larger coverage of the Klamath Promise Neighborhood’s week of events.
On February 27th of 2023, there was an approximately one square mile spill of oil into Elk Creek adjacent to the Cultural Center in Crescent City. This spill originated from the Sheriff’s Office generator fuel tank which was installed in 1995. The tank spilled approximately 13 gallons into a storm drain where it reached the ocean. The day after the diesel fuel oil appeared on the water, Coast Guard officers were informed of the source of the leak. The Del Norte County Department of Building Maintenance and Parks sent several staff to clean up the sheen from Elk Creek, whilst also cleaning the oil water mixture from a secondary catch basin that tipped the Sheriff’s Office that the tank was leaking. After repairing the faulty line, booms were placed to soak up the remaining diesel coming from the storm drain. With all of the cleanup efforts they could manage complete, the Sheriff’s Office received a Notice of Federal Interest and a warning.
This full timeline took almost a year to get from the Coast Guard through a Freedom of Information Act request. I requested this information on March 30th. I had the information pertaining to the 13 gallons that spilled into Elk Creek, that booms were placed at the storm drain, that the leak did in fact come from the Sheriff’s Office and there was a large removal tank next to the Sheriff’s Office for some time. Everything else was hidden behind a wall of red-tape and Del Norte secrecy. First I called the local Environmental Health branch, who directed me to the Department of Maintenance, who then redirected me to the Environmental Health branch. I managed to break the circular call structure by asking the Coast Guard. I was very quickly brushed off however, the Coast Guard told me I needed to fill out a Freedom of Information Act request to get that information. So as a journalist, I did just that. I called back and forth with the Coast Guard for the full year, with my contact at the San Francisco branch equally as perplexed by the red-tape as I was.
Only after I had voluntarily elected to redact all personal information pertaining to the case from my request by calling a higher-up and stating as much, did the Coast Guard provide the information I was looking for. The final report leaves a lot to be desired. Above are official pictures from the released documents. Most of the information I sought was within the purview of personal information, and the actual numbers in the report were already known to me. The only reason I found out about the booms, tank and the source of the leak originally was through an anonymous source who contacted KFUG. The source told us none of the clean up was done with any documenting paperwork on the part of County Maintenance. The Sheriff’s Department, Department of Maintenance, and Coast Guard were willing to sweep this under the rug. This is a symptom of the good old boys club that our local government is known for. If we hadn’t been contacted by someone on the inside, we never would have found out a lot of this information.
If you need to find out information from a public agency and they’re pushing you aside, here’s how to make a Freedom of Information Act Request. First, see if you can find the information on the public internet, as some things have already been made public for your viewing. Assuming you did not find what you were looking for on the public internet, determine what agency has the information you seek. Each agency handles its own FOIA requests, and having the correct agency in mind gets you one step closer to finding that information. After determining which agency has your information visit foia.gov/#learn-more. This webpage will lead you through the rest of the FOIA request process. There are no immediate fees to make an FOIA request, nor is there any special form that you need to fill out to file the request. Fees may be assessed as the request grows in complexity. When writing your request, be as specific as possible. Good luck out there truth-seekers.
Telling the untold stories of Del Norte and Tribal Lands through amplified youth voices.
