Minutes after telling hundreds of people inside Oregon’s Capitol rotunda how four dams have sickened the Klamath River, its fish and his people, Yurok Tribe Chairman Thomas O’Rourke prepared to sign two historic agreements that in his words would “set the river free.”

Ever since he was a child, O’Rourke knew he wanted the dams out of the Klamath River. He said he saw firsthand the impacts the structures had on the waterway and those who relied upon it.

Salmon runs, once some of the largest on the West Coast, plummeted, threatening his tribe’s way of life. And toxic blue-green algae, formed in large blooms behind the dams, floated downriver, leaving skin rashes on those who dared enter the water.

$13.5 million plan calls for better tsunami protection, more efficiency, flexibility

The Crescent City Harbor Commission this week chose a new design for rebuilding the docks inside the inner boat basin, which were severely damaged during a 2006 distant-source tsunami.

The Crescent City Crab, Wine & Cheese Festival will be held Saturday at the Cultural Center, featuring live music and plenty of food.

The festival from 4 to 9 p.m. will feature a food court and competition among area restaurants for the “crabbiest dish,” best seafood chowder and best clam chowder, said Bill Renfroe, executive director of the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority.

There also will be a crab race, although a different one than those held during the 42 years that Crescent City hosted the World Championship Crab Races and Festival each February. That event was discontinued in 2008.

Daniel Rodriguez, “The Singing Policeman,” will perform on the Crescent Elk stage Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

For the Del Norte-Curry Community Concert Association’s third concert of the season, Rodriguez will present a musical journey through different stages of his life.  Familiar favorites include “Impossible Dream,” “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “Stout Hearted Men” and “God Bless America.”

A Crescent City woman was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing a car through a fence and into a tree at a home on the 2000 block of Old Mill Road on Wednesday evening.

Sandra J. Arispe, 44, sustained moderate injuries and was taken to Sutter Coast Hospital by ambulance after the accident occurred at 5:10 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The secret to catching perch off the beach is out — or it will be.

Fisherman Wes Wesson will be sharing his trick for ocean fishing this Saturday at the College of the Redwoods-Del Norte library from noon to 1:30 p.m.

“This technique has never been (taught) before,” he said. “It has too high of a success rate.”

Collapsed buildings in Haiti's capital. (Photos courtesy of Carolyn Dikes)

Carolyn Dikes has many stories from the nearly two weeks she spent in Haiti helping with earthquake relief efforts.

But she will likely never forget the man who blessed her.

Del Norte County authorities plan to scale back their efforts in the search for 85-year-old Crescent City resident Keith Gerald Richcreek, who vanished Sunday afternoon.

DN fares poorly in health survey of state counties

Del Norte is considered the least healthy county in California among those included in statewide rankings compiled in a report released Wednesday.

It is far from the lowest-ranked, however, when it comes to access to health care.