WEEKEND EDITION
FRIDAY, March 27, 2020
S E R V I N G O U R C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 18 7 9 • W W W. T R I P L I C AT E . C O M
With Summer Olympics postponed, local marketing campaign still a go David Hayes Staff Writer
On March 24, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach agreed to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The event, which organizers were holding out hope to begin July 24, will now start around the same time in 2021.
According to Cindy Vosburg, Executive Director of the Crescent CityDel Norte Chamber of Commerce, the delay does not alter the “Go for the Gold” project here. Vosburg said NBC Sports has been in contact with Del Norte County officials and said while they will be re-filming some of the Olympic athlete interviews, they still plan to air the support stories they have been working on. One of which is the
sister city relationship between Crescent City and Rikuzentakata, Japan, the origin of the student boat “Kamome” which washed ashore locally after the 2011 tsunami. “Although there are no guarantees in life, everything we are hearing from NBC Sports is that the coverage will still happen,” Vosburg said. What will change, Vosburg added, is the timeline for the coverage. “When COVID-19
is under control and the CDC once again opens up travel in the country, there will be a rush for the economic upswing from the tourism dollar, and we want to be positioned to pull those dollars into Del Norte County," Vosburg said. “Additionally, we have been in conversation with ‘Visit California,’ one of the largest tourism organizations in the country, which is recommending we wait until the CDC gives the all-clear for travel again
within the United States." Vosburg said the delay could position local efforts even stronger than originally. “We were working within a very tight timeline and this gives us more time to gain even more of the earned media, which is so valuable in driving the tourism economic engine,” Vosburg said. “Additionally, the travel writers are going to be hungry for ‘feel-good’ stories and we have plenty of those.”
The “Go for the Gold” campaign is funded by the City of Crescent City, Del Norte County, Crescent City Harbor, Crescent City Harbor Fishermen's Marketing Association, Yurok Economic Development Corporation, Elk Valley Rancheria and the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation as a joint effort to capitalize on the NBC Sports coverage of Crescent City during the 2020 Summer Olympic games.
Dear Reader News related to the COVID-19 virus is changing by the minute. The Triplicate continues to provide you with the most complete and accurate information possible about how these changes are affecting the lives of Del Norte County residents and visitors. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order directs businesses statewide to provide for customer and employee social distancing, and for employees to work from home whenever possible. So beginning Thursday, March 26, our office hours at The Triplicate for walk-in customers will be temporarily shortened to 9 a.m. – noon. In addition, our reporters will be working from their home offices, to further limit the number of employees in our office and provide for everyone’s health and safety. Meantime, feel free to call our customer service phone number at 707-4606727. We will have staff on hand from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to help with subscriptions, classified ads and other inquiries. And I can be reached at bkenfield@countrymedia. net. Thank you for your continued trust and support.
Crescent City closed playgrounds this week, like the Kids Town at Beachfront Park, due to social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, city parks remain open. Lance Nichols, eighth grade homeschooler from Castle Rock Charter School, tries to get out to the Crescent City Skatepark on 5th Street every day. He said being home while schools are closed, ‘It was nice at the beginning, but it’s starting to get boring. Nothing to do.’ Photos by David Hayes.
Local leaders provide updates during COVID-19 pandemic David Hayes Staff Writer
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eaders from all levels of local government on Monday, March 23, participated in a video presentation on Youtube to update the community on efforts being taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Chair Gerry Hemmingsen kicked off the presentation, assuring viewers that the government at both the state and federal levels are doing everything they can to ensure both the economy and the people will be taken care of during the crisis. “We need to do our part. We need to continue social distancing, washing your hands, self-quarantine, all the things you can do to help the cause,” Hemmingsen said. “Please be a part of the solution. This is a very serious pandemic, and we all need to do our part to make this as minimal as we can." ‘Everybody should assume they’re sick’ Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, Del Norte County Public Health Officer, said the take-home message is the need to slow this virus down to an absolute crawl. “We have no reason to believe it will not arrive. We don’t have proof that it’s here, it may already be creeping into the community as I speak. We are aware of cases in the surrounding counties that have shown up in the last week. So, we have to presume it will get here if it’s not here already,” Rehwaldt said.
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“So, people have to be mindful of that, to take these precautions seriously, do everything they can to distance themselves, stay home when they are sick. If you’re elderly or at risk, otherwise stay home when you’re well away from people who carry a virus you could get.” Rehwaldt explained Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter in place order creates the safest environment through public health measures, adding this community mitigation strategy is very important for people to abide by because it’s the best defense against the virus right now. “Everybody should assume they’re sick and everyone else around them is sick and behave that way because that’s the best way to prevent transmission,” Rehwaldt said. “We are very hopeful by doing this and continuing to do it, we’ll create the environment that when the virus arrives, it will not spread very easily. If it does spread, it will spread very slowly, in a way we can manage.” Going forward, Rewaldt said the health department will be changing its testing strategy for the virus, prioritizing tests for those who need it most. For now, most people don’t need a test. “The young folks who get this are going to mostly do very well, it will feel like a cold or a flu. And when they’ve recovered, life goes on,” Rehwaldt said. “We may be able to test them
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California extends tax deadlines after the fact to prove they had the virus. We’d like to do that because we’d like to find out how much of an immunity we’re building up in the community over time.” He added the health department might change that message in a few weeks when it has better testing. Rehwaldt pointed to some potentially good news as evidence is starting to grow that people are trying drugs elsewhere in the world that might have a good effect. “I suspect by the end of this week, or the end of next week, we’ll have some proof, one way or another. And I think that’s an encouraging thought,” Rehwaldt said. More COVID-19 on Page A2
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California State Controller and Chair of the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), Betty T. Yee pointed out the following changes during the COVID-19 pandemic: • Individual taxpayers will have until June 15 to file their returns and pay any taxes owed. • Partnerships and LLCs also will have until June 15 to file their returns and pay any taxes owed. • Those who have quarterly estimated payments due on April 15 will now have until June 15 to make those payMore Tax on Page A2
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