All posts by Amanda Dockter

Local Church Hosts Memorial Service for Transgender Victims of Violence

Thumbnail courtesy of Amanda Dockter.

St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Crescent City will be hosting a candlelight vigil in observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) and Resilience this Wednesday, November 20th at 7pm. The event honors the memory of transgender and gender-variant individuals who have lost their lives to violence, while also focusing on cultivating community and resilience among the LGBTQIA+ population.

The event will feature several speakers from various backgrounds, including Christie Lynn Rust – a local woman who transitioned after retiring from her decades-long career as the beloved Music Director at Del Norte High School. The names of trans individuals in the United States who lost their lives in the past year will be read, with a candle lit for each of them. Unfortunately, as hate crimes often go unreported, there is no way of knowing the true number of victims lost to anti-trans violence.

The official flier for the Transgender Day of Remembrance 2024 Service.

Statistics about the unique challenges faced by transgender individuals paint a worrisome picture. A 2011 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force survey revealed that anti-transgender biases perpetuate discriminatory practices and attitudes towards gender-variant individuals. 63 percent of transgender respondents reported having experienced at least one form of significant discrimination, 35 percent said they were physically assaulted, and 41 percent reported attempting suicide.

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Crescent City Cuts Ribbon On Refurbished Front Street

Video and photo by Amanda Dockter

(Updated at 8:02 p.m. to correct an error. Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street.)

Crescent City added another piece to the Front Street reconstruction puzzle when it cut the ribbon on the block between I and Play streets on Friday. Construction on the final block, which brings the reconstructed drive to U.S. 101, will start next year, according to Councilwoman Kelly Schellong Feola.

Crescent City used state and federal grant transportation dollars, Community Project Funding from Congressman Jared Huffman’s office and Measure S tax moneys to pay for the project. Schellong Feola thanked the city’s state and federal partners who “worked so hard” to allow Crescent City to cobble the Front Street project together.

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore cut the ribbon on Front Street. He was joined by Schellong Feola, Ernie Perry, chairman of the Measure S Oversight Committee, Councilor-Elect Candace Tinkler, Public Works Director Dave Yeager and Cindy Vosburg, executive director of the Crescent City Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce.

Severe Geomagnetic Storm May Light Up The Skies & Interfere With Communication Technology

Graphic presented during a SWPC / NOAA press briefing regarding the threat of severe space weather.

The Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as SWPC, held a press conference on Wednesday October 9th to alert the media about a Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch. This storm was ignited by a Coronal Mass ejection that erupted from our sun on the evening of October 8th, 2024.

Video coronagraph footage from the SWPC shows the Coronal Mass Ejection alongside a coincidental photobomb from the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Comet

This fast-moving solar flash sent radiation particles hurdling towards earth, with the potential to envelop earth’s magnetic field causing a G4 Class or severe Geomagnetic Storm. This particular storm was analyzed and anticipated to reach earth on October 10th. Indeed the CME arrived Thursday at 11:15 AM Eastern Time, causing SWPC to upgrade its Storm Watch to a Storm Warning.

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OPINION: Limited Choice in Rural Reproductive Care Sheds Light on Systemic Moral Hazards

Signage outside the Trillium Birth Center at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, California, taken in November of 2019.

Photo and Editorial by Amanda Dockter

In 2019, I experienced a miracle of sorts. After more than a decade of coping with irregular menstrual cycles and infertility caused by Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), I learned that I was pregnant. At the age of 33, I found myself navigating a major life milestone that I didn’t think I would ever get to experience. When I saw the faint lines indicating a positive on my home pregnancy test, I was hesitant to believe it could be true. A visit to Open Door’s wellness center confirmed the pregnancy, so I went ahead and scheduled my first trimester appointments for prenatal care at the Sutter Clinic — the only obstetrics practice in Del Norte County.

I was nervous about receiving prenatal care through Sutter. I had heard numerous horror stories from friends and relatives who had experienced labor and delivery at Crescent City’s Sutter Coast Hospital. Locals living in a rural county know that finding quality medical care is a huge challenge. Sutter was the only game in town, so we decided to give them a chance. 

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