Del Norte Football wins league opener B1
Govenor stands with Redwood Trail A11
SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879 www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2021
Crescent City, CA
Hernandez pleads not guilty to stabbing By Diana Bosetti The Triplicate
Ramesis Hernandez pleaded not guilty last Friday to stabbing and firing three shots at an acquaintance in the 400 block of E. Hoover Street on Sept. 19.
Last week’s appearance in the Del Norte Superior Courtroom was Hernandez’s second appearance before Judge Robert Cochran. During the first appearance, Hernandez requested a public defender, with the intention that a plea could be entered
once representation was secured. However, on Oct. 1, two public defenders who had received the case stated they were unable to take it on due to conflicts of interest. Attorney James Fallman, who was in the courtroom, stated he could take the case and after
talking briefly with Hernandez, a not guilty plea was entered. A readiness hearing was scheduled for Oct. 4, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 9. Bail was also denied based on a previous no show by Hernandez.
“I have no trouble denying bail based on a previous failure to appear,” stated Cochran. According to Chief Richard Griffin of the Crescent City Police Department, Hernandez had Please see STABBING, Page A3
Crescent City Planning Commission conducts ‘granny flat’ workshop By Daniel J. Schmidt Special to the Triplicate
Contributed Photo
Graph shows that Crescent City has more offenders per residents than bordering towns.
Sex offenders a concern in Del Norte County By Diana Bosetti The Triplicate
In a place where local police officers make the effort to handcuff rogue shopping carts to patrol cars to return them to grocery stores, it’s hard to imagine that what lies beneath the fog of this quaint shoreline town are some alarming sex offender statistics. According to City-Data.com, for every 80 persons who live in Cres-
cent City, there is one sex offender. That’s 88 registered sex offenders or 1.3% of the population. That’s well above nearby Brookings, which is located in Curry County, Oregon. Brookings has a similar population size but has a ratio of one sex offender for every 3,284 people living in the community. Or in simpler terms, Brookings has two registered sex offenders. In Humboldt County, Calif. -
where the towns of Fortuna and Eureka are located - the resident to sex offender ratios are 402 to 1, and 173 to 1, respectively. On its website, City-Data. com states that it derives its information from official public records, but added this caveat: “It is possible that the information displayed here does not reflect the current residence or other information.” Indeed, even the Megan
website, which is governed by the California Attorney General’s office, may be less than perfect. California Penal Code 290, also known as Megan’s Law, states that any person convicted of certain sex crimes must register as a sex offender. That is to say that not all sex crimes require sex offender registration, and some require shorter registration
Granny flats are coming to Crescent City, to your neighborhood, and maybe even to your own backyard. The Crescent City Planning Commission conducted its second of three workshop sessions last Thursday to consider the details of a proposed ordinance to regulate Accessory Dwelling Units, previously known as granny flats. The ordinance will greatly simplify the permitting process for construction of ADUs on existing single-family residential lots. Space permitting, the ordinance will allow multiple ADUs - in addition to the existing principal residence - on a single lot. An ADU can take the form of an existing or newly built detached structure, an attached structure such as a room addition or converted garage, or as a separate dwelling unit created entirely within the existing footprint of the principal residence. The ADU can consist Please see GRANNY, Page A3
Please see OFFENDERS, Page A3
Accessory Dwelling Units: Many Questions, Few Answers By Daniel J. Schmidt Special to the Triplicate
Crescent City needs more low and medium cost housing. Just last year, modest single-family homes were on the market for $150,000 to $175,000. Comparable homes today often command prices of $225,000 and more. And these properties are quickly snatched up, often by out-oftown buyers. Priced out of the home buying market, many local families are forced to compete for the limited supply of available and suitable rental housing. There are 1,794 housing units within the city, 1,136 units are occupied by renters. Just onethird of Crescent City families reside in their own homes. Blame the red-hot housing market, and the high cost of land, labor and building materials. Consider also the upfront costs and delays associated with obtaining building permits and utility connections. Home builders can hardly keep up with the demand for more expensive, higher profit construction projects. What can be done about it? No longer willing to let the marketplace and reluctant local Please see DWELLING, Page A3
By Diana Bosetti/The Triplicate
A vandal made a statement about vaccines while spray painting this rock located at the bottom of “skateboarder hill’ off Pebble Beach Drive.
Council approves letter opposing vaccine mandates By Diana Bosetti The Triplicate
The city council of Crescent City voted at its Oct. 4 meeting to send a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, as well as two other state officials, to express opposition to vaccine mandates. In a draft penned by Mayor Ja-
son Greenough, the letter stated: “We are writing you because we are concerned about the recent push in the State of California to mandate the Novel Coronavirus vaccines for health care professionals, correctional staff, educators and children in schools.” The merits of the draft, including whether it should be edited
Rower sets off on nine-month journey. Fire-fighters stop Redwood Fire at six acres. AT TRIPLICATE.COM
and sent were discussed by the council and members of the public for about two hours. Public Health Director Dr. Aaron Stutz provided a quick vaccine update prior to the discussion, saying he was encouraged by another one-point increase in vaccination rates in Del Norte County to about
47%-48%, “but we would like to see that continue to go up,” Stutz said. Members of the council seemed to support increased vaccination levels, but in a 4-1 vote stated mandates aren’t the way to go about it. Councilman Please see VACCINE, Page A10
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