Category Archives: Articles

Trump’s Attack On Federal Funding Could Impact Del Norters’ Access To Health Care, Senior Services, Education, Local Nonprofits Say

Open Door Clinic operates a clinic at the Del Norte Community Wellness Center. At a discussion with Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, the organization’s CEO Tory Starr said he was worried about being unable to serve patients should their federal funding be frozen. | Photo by Persephone Rose

Nearly a week after a judge temporarily blocked a Trump Administration directive to freeze federal funding, Open Door Clinic CEO Tory Starr said his organization is still bracing for the worst.

Open Door operates more than 14 clinics across Humboldt and Del Norte counties, providing behavioral health, medical, dental and obstetrics care to 60,000-plus patients and employing nearly 800 people.

During a virtual roundtable discussion hosted by Congressman Jared Huffman on Monday, Starr said that while a judge hit pause on the directive Jan. 28, guidance he’s received from the Health Resources and Services Administration suggests that federal dollars could still be at risk.

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Former Del Norte High School Principal, DNUSD Named As Defendants In Sexual Assault Lawsuit

A retired Del Norte High School principal has been accused of sexually assaulting a student in a recent lawsuit filed against both him and Del Norte Unified School District

The lawsuit, filed in Del Norte County Superior Court on Oct. 18, 2024 and amended Jan. 6, 2025, alleges that Randy Fugate was a teacher when he began grooming the plaintiff in 1999 in order to sexually exploit her. The complaint also alleges that Del Norte Unified School District was either aware, or should have been aware, of Fugate’s actions and did nothing to prevent them.

The plaintiff is seeking damages against both defendants for negligence — including negligent hiring, supervision and retention, and negligent failure to train, warn or educate — sexual battery and for violating the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act and California Civil Rights Act of 1976.

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DNUSD To Seek Public Guidance As It Continues To Develop AI Policies

DNCOE’s director of information network services showed the Board of Trustees this clip of a Morgan Freeman deepfake during a discussion last year about artificial intelligence in the classroom. Thumbnail courtesy of the Del Norte County Office of Education

A year after he showed trustees a YouTube clip featuring a Morgan Freeman deepfake, Ryan Bahten says Del Norte Unified School District will seek public input as it continues to draft policies around artificial intelligence.

The district will deploy a community survey starting next week, said Bahten, the Del Norte County Office of Education’s director of information network services. The input provided will guide him and other district and DNCOE employees as they differentiate between AI as a tool in the classroom and AI as a potential risk to student privacy.

Bahten said he is aiming to get a policy before the Board of Trustees in time for teachers to begin learning how to use AI next school year.

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Del Norte Joins Public Nuisance Lawsuit Against Social Media Giants

Photo by Ibrahim.ID via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Del Norte County is joining Sacramento and San Diego counties in a public nuisance lawsuit against tech giants Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap, alleging that those companies have “knowingly targeted and profited from minors’ excessive and compulsive uses.”

County Counsel Jacqueline Roberts and several private law firms filed the suit in Del Norte County Superior Court on Monday.

In its complaint for damages and demand for a jury trial, Del Norte County is seeking an order deeming the defendants’ alleged conduct a public nuisance under California law and enjoining them from engaging in action that further contributes to the alleged public nuisance.

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Inmate Attack At Pelican Bay Leaves Corrections Officer Hospitalized

Above: Inmates Jose Gonzalez (left), Richard Wilson (center) and Luis Torres (right) are accused of attacking a Pelican Bay State Prison corrections officer in the dining hall on Thursday. | Photos courtesy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

A Pelican Bay State Prison corrections officer is in the hospital after three inmates attacked him in a dining hall at about 7:15 a.m. Thursday.

Anthony Rivera is being treated for multiple injuries and is in the intensive care unit, according to a GoFundMe campaign created to support his family.

According to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Rivera sustained a laceration and puncture wounds. Prison staff used OC pepper spray to halt the attack and found an inmate-manufactured weapon at the scene. The inmates allegedly involved, Jose Gonzalez, Richard Wilson and Luis Torres were transferred to another institution to be placed in restrictive housing, according to the news release.

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Del Norte Supervisors Endorse SitelogIQ’s Microgrid Proposal, Feasibility Still To Be Determined

Thumbnail: SitelogIQ laid out two proposed microgrid projects to supervisors back in September. | Screenshot.; Above: Pacific Power brought in large generators to restore power to Del Norte County during the Smith River Complex wildfires in August 2023. | Photo courtesy of Valerie Starkey

Four Del Norte County supervisors endorsed a plan to connect county facilities, including the sheriff’s office and jail, to community solar generation and microgrid projects that could provide backup electricity during emergencies.

But with SitelogIQ in early conversations with the utility serving Del Norte residents and other local potential partners, District 4 Supervisor Joey Borges was skeptical. He said he doubted that Pacific Power would be “OK with our microgrid running through their lines” during a major catastrophe.

“If they’re shutting down [electricity] for a safety reason, it’s going to be shut down, period,” Borges told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday after voting against a letter of agreement with SitelogIQ, the national energy efficiency provider spearheading local microgrid and solar projects.

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Starkey, Howard Will Represent Del Norte at NACo Conference In July; Supes Set Cannabis Tax Rates

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

NACo Conference: District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey will go to Philadelphia in July as one of two Del Norte County representatives at the National Association of Counties annual legislative conference.

Starkey’s District 3 colleague, Chris Howard, will also attend the conference, which will be held July 11-14. The full Board unanimously approved the use of budgeted county travel dollars for the trip, though an estimated cost for attending the conference wasn’t included on the meeting agenda.

Continue reading Starkey, Howard Will Represent Del Norte at NACo Conference In July; Supes Set Cannabis Tax Rates

CCHD Court Washington-Based Seafood Buyers Though Space On Citizens Dock Is Limited

Thumbnail: Crescent City Harbor commissioners are working with two seafood buyers who hope to lease hoists on Citizens Dock. | Photo courtesy of the Crescent City Harbor District

Crescent City Harbor commissioners are hoping to accommodate two Washington-based seafood buyers who submitted competing letters of intent to take over hoists Global Quality Foods had operated on Citizens Dock.

Commissioner Rick Shepherd, a long-time commercial fisherman, told representatives with Fathom Seafoods, of Tacoma, and Ocean Gold Seafoods, of Westport, that he hoped they could split the two hoists Global Quality Foods once operated.

“That would be the ultimate,” he said last week. “And it would only be for this winter and maybe next winter and the winter after next. Then you would [have] a permanent hoist with trucks being able to go right up to it. A state-of-the-art hoist on land instead of out on the dock.”

Continue reading CCHD Court Washington-Based Seafood Buyers Though Space On Citizens Dock Is Limited

CCHD Commissioners Allow Pacific Seafood To Keep Hoist, Building Leases Despite Ice Plant Controversy

Thumbnail: Harbor Commissioners last week decided against terminating hoist and building leases with Pacific Seafood despite the company’s decision in October to cease operating the ice plant. | Photo by Paul Critz

Though they terminated one buyer’s lease due to delinquent rent, Crescent City Harbor commissioners decided against doing the same for Pacific Seafood despite their harbormaster’s concerns with the way they’ve conducted business lately.

In his staff report, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker had recommended terminating the processor’s building and hoist leases due to delinquent rent. At a Harbor District meeting last week, he said Pacific Seafood submitted a $43,000 check, thereby “curing the default,” but he still had concerns.

For one thing, the harbormaster said, the processor isn’t using one of the three hoists it leases. There’s a stipulation in their hoist lease with the Harbor District that 14-days of non-use could be viewed as breaching their contract. Rademaker also brought up Pacific Seafood’s decision in October to cease operating the ice plant at the end of Citizens Dock. The processor pulled their equipment out of the building in November.

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Curry County Commissioners Seek Legal Help To End Dispute With Sheriff

Thumbnail: Curry County Sheriff’s seal. Right: Curry County’s seal.

Curry County commissioners are seeking help from a judge to reopen communications with Sheriff John Ward.

The Board of Commissioners filed a declaratory judgment suit against the sheriff in Curry County Circuit Court on Jan. 13, the county announced Wednesday. Officials say they hope to “resolve long-standing disagreements” with the sheriff about their roles and responsibilities.

“Filing suit was an option of last resort that was taken after the Board and county legal counsel made multiple requests for cooperation, information and records from the sheriff’s office that were not satisfactorily fulfilled,” the county stated in its press release.

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