On September 29th, the 2010 Redwood Coast Broadband Forum was held in Fortuna.   The forum was organized by RREDC, the California Center for Rural Policy, Redwood Coast Rural Action, and the Redwood Technology Consortium.

Approximately 100 people from Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity Counties attended.  In addition, we had representatives from the California Office of the Chief Information Officer, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Emerging Technologies Fund.  
 
A great deal of informatoin was delivered at the conference, too much to summarize here. Some headlines of the day were:

• The day before the forum, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 1040, which provides more funding and extends the life of the California Advanced Services Fund. This fund provides support for broadband projects in rural areas.  In fact, it is partially funding a project to build a build a second fiber optic line that will serve Humboldt and Trinity Counties.

• IP Networks reported on their progress in constructing a second fiber optic line from the Central Valley to Humboldt County.  They reiterated their plan to have it completed by next summer.

• There are a number of companies pursuing development of wired and wireless broadband projects throughout the four county region.  It's always interesting to hear of new rural communities being served by these local entrepreneurs.  In addition, tribes in the region are undertaking projects to bring service to their unserved areas.

• Unfortunately, none of the local grant applications to the Federal government as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were funded.  There were a number of applications from private and public entities throughout the region.  In Humboldt County, this means that we will have to look for other sources of funding to support proposed broadband infrastructure projects that will serve the Highway 299 and 96 corridors

RREDC Business Spotlight:
Six Rivers Brewery

Six Rivery Brewery owners Meredith Maier and Talia Nachson had a dream of owning a brewery in the tradition of a brewpub, combining an onsite brewery with a quality menu and friendly atmosphere.  

Click for Website

They came to RREDC for a loan that made this a reality. By partnering with the Humboldt County Headwaters Fund, RREDC was able to help Meredith and Talia purchase a business and expand it to be the distinctive micro brewery it is today.
 

Not only is the Six Rivers Brewery a great place to eat great food and hear great music, but they have earned a reputation for being creative in making great beers.  This year at the annual beer tasting festival, Hops in Humboldt, the jud ges awarded Six Rivers the "Best of Humboldt" for the second year in a row. In addition those attending "Hops" voted 6R the "Tasters Choice" award for best brewery. The top award, "Best of Hops" was given to Six Rivers Brewery for the first time.

Six Rivers Brewery is located at 1300 Central Avenue in McKinleyville. It is open for dinner 7 days a week and for lunches Tuesday/Sunday. 

Small Businesses Succeed With RREDC Loans

Tuesday, October 19th is the official launch and "Winner's Forum" for this year's Economic Fuel business plan contest.  The event will be held in the Kate Buchanan Room at Humboldt State University from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Click on image to go to website.

The event will feature 2010 winners talking about why it's great to be a college entepreneur.  There will also be an opportunity to mingle with competition advisors.

News From Our Members

City of Arcata 
 
The Arcata Ridge Trail of Arcata is lucky enough to have three fundraisers. The first was Bat N Rouge which was a great success and brought in enough money to close the Stromberg addition to the Sunnybrae  forest. 

The Race for the Ridge Trail Festival will be held on Saturday, October 30th and Sunday, October 31st in Redwood Park.  The Festival is a fund-raiser for the Arcata Ridge Trail Project, a city-sponsored effort to acquire parcels, easements and develop trails adjacent to publicly owned lands.  The Arcata Ridge Trail will provide open space protection, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and permanent linkages between city owned lands and neighborhoods throughout the hillside areas of Arcata.
 
The Festival is two days of athletic events, and one day of music, food, a beer garden and family events centered in Redwood Park and making use of the Arcata Community Forest. The Festival events will have Halloween elements and themes and will provide interest for the entire community.

Updates are on the Arcata Ridge Trail may be found by clicking here.

Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District has been at the forefront of developing west coast marine highway applications for nearly a decade and most recently has been working with a potential marine highway service operator, Humboldt Maritime Logistics, LLC.  The America's Marine Highway Program was developed in an attempt to lessen traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and improve safety on some of the nation's major highways by shifting some of the freight to coastal shipping routes.  In Humboldt's case, the M-5 corridor has been established to work in conjunction with Interstate Highway 5.

Recently the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District announced that it will be included in the management of a $275,000 grant to assist the U.S. Maritime Administration in a project that will develop a market analysis of a potential marine highway service along the US West coast, including use of the Port of Humboldt Bay and other ports on the North coast.  
 
This project is a follow up to the August 2010 announcement by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood where he unveiled a package of marine highway corridor designations, projects and initiatives eligible for funding as part of the federal government's America's Marine Highway program.  That package included three projects sponsored or co-sponsored by the Harbor District and championed by Congressman Thompson.  Specifically, the projects included were the designation of the "M-5 Marine Highway Corridor", the "West Coast Hub-Feeder Initiative" and the "Golden State Marine Highway Initiative".  
 
Along with the Port of Redwood City and the West Coast Corridor Coalition, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District will coordinate and collaborate on this market analysis. The results of this project will help the US Maritime Administration determine the federal interest in supporting marine highway development on the West coast and opens the door for future federal funding of marine highway projects that will utilize the Port of Humboldt Bay.