April, 2026.
On this program, we cover the No Kings Rallies in Curry County, new housing in Crescent City causing controversy, a new cancer infusion center in Gold Beach is scheduled to open in the Fall and our Phantom Gourmet reviews Pancho’s restaurant.
Transcription:
Speaker 1 • 00:01
Welcome to First Friday, a monthly news magazine program. I’m Lori Gallo-Stoddard, reporting from the award-winning KCIW Newsroom. And on today’s program, you’ll hear about the No Kings rallies in Curry County. Plus, new housing in Crescent City is causing some controversy. We’ll tell you why. And a new cancer infusion center in Gold Beach is scheduled to open next fall. We have the details. All this and more, right now. This is First Friday. First Friday is a monthly news magazine program produced at the studios of KCIW Curry Coast Community Radio. First Friday is a partnership between KCIW, KFUG Crescent City, the Del Norte Redwood Voice, Jefferson Public Radio, Tillamook Rising, and the Oregon Capitol Chronicle. First Friday is made possible in part through a grant from the Roundhouse Foundation, from listeners like you, and silly words, beautiful music, and his late wife Alice. I’m Laurie Gallo-Stoddard reporting from the KCIW newsroom and it was huge. The March 28th No Kings protest will go down in history as the largest single-day non-violent worldwide demonstration ever and Curry County was part of it. Every city in Curry County was represented as part of the history-making No Kings protest. Brookings, Gold Beach, and Port Orford joined with millions of people from thousands of cities in all 50 United States and more than a dozen countries from around the world to oppose the Trump administration and its policies. In Brookings, the sidewalk at the corner of Oak and Chetco Avenue was two and three people deep. From Evergreen Bank north to the yellow pet mark building, protesters chanted and held signs from noon to two in the afternoon. Indivisible North Curry County organized the event and Rebecca See was one of the volunteers there.
Speaker 2 • 01:59
And tell me, what are you seeing?
Speaker 3 • 02:01
I’m seeing people who are gathered together. There are great spirits. They’re happy to be here. And we’re all gathered here for a cause, which is democracy and the end of dictatorship.
Speaker 2 • 02:12
And you are part of the group that put this on, correct?
Speaker 3 • 02:15
Yes, I am affiliated with the Indivisible North Curry County.
Speaker 1 • 02:19
Brett Cecil is also part of Indivisible North County. And he was stationed at a table where he handed out American flags, water bottles, signs and t-shirts to protesters.
Speaker 2 • 02:29
What do you think folks are going to take away from this?
Speaker 4 • 02:31
It’s to show our numbers. Let other people see that it’s okay to be out and make yourself known. I think that’s been a big part of No Kings is it just keeps snowballing every time. It’s a bigger count, a bigger group. A big part of that is just people feeling like it’s safe enough to step out and have their opinion heard and their voices seen. So I think that’s what’s driving it and people are just ticked off with what’s going on. They want to be heard and they want to be seen and they’re not waiting for
Speaker 2 • 03:02
an election. What do you say to the folks who say, “Listen, we got rid of kings back in 1776, what are you guys talking about?” So in case no one’s noticed, we have a president sitting in the
Speaker 4 • 03:14
White House that is doing whatever he wants. He’s completely oblivious to our laws, which is what our nation runs on. That’s what we all agree that we’re gonna all obey the same set of laws and the same set of rules for some reason he doesn’t have to. Doesn’t apply to him when he goes to court, somehow he manages to get off of anything that he’s brought to trial on. The rest of us are feeling like it’s a two-tiered system. So I kind of feel the same way and I want to make sure that our voices are heard and that we know that we’re not a two-tiered system and and those laws apply to all of us, we all have to obey them. That’s why we’re not out in the middle of the street, because pedestrians don’t belong there. That’s a statute in Oregon. So we obey that statute, and I expect our president to do the same.
Speaker 2 • 03:58
– So what do you say to the folks who are claiming that a lot of the people who are out here are paid? They’re paid protesters. Have you guys paid anyone?
Speaker 4 • 04:06
– Let me know where I can sign up. I’ve been calling Mr. Soros, and I can’t get him on the phone. People are waiting to get their checks. We’re just out here ’cause we care about our country. We love our neighbors and our communities, and we want to make sure that our voices are heard and that we can turn this ship around before it sinks.
Speaker 5 • 04:22
I live here and I’m just tired of it.
Speaker 1 • 04:24
That’s Grant. He’s a first-time protester who lives in Brookings.
Speaker 5 • 04:28
And I am sick and tired of this administration taking advantage of this country in any way they see fit with a lawless, reckless abandonment.
Speaker 1 • 04:36
Now we’re told some 300 folks showed up in Brookings, 300 in Gold Beach, 200 in Port Orford and in Del Norte County nearly 400 marched and waved signs by the fairgrounds. Voter integrity and protecting Oregon’s current mail-in ballot voting system was on the minds of many protesters. That’s something U.S. Congressional Representative Val Hoyle is also concerned about. Now she appeared recently on KCIW’s Curry Cafe program and says she fears our democracy is in
Speaker 6 • 05:05
Well, there’s been a decades long effort to undermine voter integrity, right? Like and people voting, but people’s belief in the system. And so a lot of misinformation has gone out. The amount of voter fraud is so small and you have to understand that, you know, When someone signs something, right, to say, “Yes, I am a citizen and I am eligible to vote,” by doing that, they’re certifying, right, under penalty of a felony, prohibition, that they are eligible to vote. And I think voter fraud should be prohibited to the fullest extent of the law. For sure. But it is very, very small. And I’ll tell you what about, you know, vote by mail that was promoted by Norma Paulus who was a Republican secretary of state. Our last Republican secretary of state, Dennis Richardson nobody would call him liberal or even moderate but he was very clear. Our vote by mail system is safe. Now, let me tell you what would happen if, you know, they canceled vote by mail especially in our rural communities, right? That would mean people would have to take off a day from work that they would have to drive to a polling place– – $5. – To vote in. Yet $5 a gallon in a rural and frontier county, that’s a major problem. And then, yeah, it basically, we would have to set up an entirely new system before our November election. And so vote by mail with our voters pamphlet where everybody gets to put 325 words in. I bring in voters pamphlets to show my colleagues and they’re like, every voter gets this? I’m like, absolutely. I mean, that evens out access to voter information. But vote by mail is the safest way to vote and you have a paper copy. Senator Wyden and I have sponsored a national vote by mail bill so that every state could do this because it is the safest most secure means to vote. We
Speaker 1 • 07:33
remind you that there is a primary election here in Oregon in May so don’t forget to vote on May 19th. If you haven’t checked, updated or registered to vote you have until April 28th to do so. Now voting of course is the way we elect our government leaders and that’s why it’s important to know about the folks who are on the ballot. And that’s where the League of Women Voters comes in. It’s a political organization, but doesn’t endorse candidates. Mary Jane LaBelle is the Curry County League of Women Voters president and says for more than a century, the League of Women Voters has sponsored candidate forums and debates and promoted voter integrity and safety. She says the league is opposed to the Trump administration’s proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act.
Speaker 7 • 08:18
One of the issues with the SAVE Act is that you must, in order to vote, you must have a proof of citizenship. Well, citizenship is already a requirement to vote. The federal government already has our citizenship records to make people find in their birth certificate or the passport, it’s very difficult for them. And it’s going to cut down on the number of people, the number of eligible people who will vote. So we oppose the SAVE Act.
Speaker 8 • 09:02
Now you have a candidate forum coming up. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Speaker 7 • 09:06
So we have on April 20th at the Port Orford City Council Chambers, we have a forum. On the 22nd in Gold Beach at the Curry Public Library, we have a forum. And on April 23rd at the Chetco Community Public Library in Brookings, we have a forum. All the forums begin at 6 p.m. and end before 730. So the public is invited and we welcome the public and their questions. The commissioner position, one seat is open and there are three candidates. And all those three candidates will be at our forum.
Speaker 8 • 09:53
So it’s very different than doing a debate. In this case, what you’re trying to do with the forums is simply educate folks, not necessarily change their minds about a vote you just want to give them information and you want it to be clean and fair from all of the candidates is that correct
Speaker 7 • 10:14
absolutely the league does have debates and that’s a whole different system than the candidate forum
Speaker 8 • 10:24
at this point the curry county league of women voters is only planning to have one candidate forum and that will include all of the candidates who are vying for the Curry County Commissioner seat. Is that correct?
Speaker 7 • 10:38
That is correct. And there will be more, there will be other forms for the November election, which is going to be much bigger. Anything else you want to say? I don’t think so. We would really like to have members and new members. If you’re interested, please go to our website, League of Women Voters, Curry County, or lwvcurrycounty.org, and join us. We would love to have you join us in this nonpartisan, but political organization. Let’s get together and do what we can to save our democracy and make life better for everybody.
Speaker 1 • 11:27
Making life better for everybody is, of course, an altruistic goal, but in many ways, government can make lives better, especially in rural areas like ours, because federal dollars can make life-changing differences. Representative Val Hoyle says she’s very proud to have helped bring in some $17 million to local communities here in Oregon.
Speaker 6 • 11:48
We’re actually coming up on another round of community project funding, but one that I was most proud of was in Curry County at the Cancer Treatment Center. We had people in Curry County that were having to go up to Eugene and drive back in all kinds of weather. That’s like, what is that? Seven and a half hours round trip, right? At best. And while you’re getting chemo, while you’re sick, while you have cancer. And so getting money for that cancer treatment center was really important.
Speaker 1 • 12:27
That cancer treatment center is being built right now in Gold Beach at Curry General Hospital. And Representative Hoyle is right. Getting it built is going to make a tough diagnosis a little bit easier for patients. You may not know this, but just by living in Curry County, your risk of dying from cancer goes up a lot. The mortality rate for cancer in Curry County is 21% higher than the rest of Oregon and 22% higher than the national rate. What’s more, according to Curry General Hospital, about 100 folks who live here get a cancer diagnosis every year. But we’re told the good news is, the Curry Infusion Center will mean they won’t have to choose whether to travel to Medford or Eugene or anywhere else for chemotherapy. They’ll be able to stay home. Now the facility is still under construction with projected completion by fall of this year and they’re admittedly a few dollars short of their goal, which is why you’re going to hear a fundraising plug right now. So if you’d like to make a donation or find out more about the Curry Infusion Center, you can contact Karen at the Curry Health Foundation. Her email is [email protected]. Karen C as in cat, Karen C, all one word, @curryhealthfoundation, again, all one word,.org. Karen [email protected]. And you might also want to know that there were other federal dollars that came to our area from Washington. Again, an excerpt from a recent episode of The Curry Cafe on KCIW. The guests were Representative Val Hoyle and state congressional candidate Brett Cecil. The subject? Stretching dollars and making dollars count. Also we’ve gotten money for
Speaker 6 • 14:07
dredging the ports. The district, as it was redistricted, was made into a a coastal district, right? You used to have three congressional representatives representing the coast. So now I represent two thirds. Suzanne Bottomici represents one third. So I’m able to focus on coastal issues, whether that’s dredging of ports, commercial fishing, tourism, housing, and the fact that as we don’t have a sales tax, we have people, tourists that come in and they don’t pay towards water and sewer and those other kinds of things. We have the travel and lodging tax and that’s one thing. But we’ve been able to get those kind of infrastructure projects funded.
Speaker 4 • 14:54
So if I may point out in Curry County, Representative, that you brought, I think it was a little over a million dollars to Curry County to improve our county jail, which has been needed for a really long time. And I don’t know if that’s a drop in the bucket or if it’s going to be a good part of the bucket, but thank you for doing that. And also there was a million dollars brought for us to have work on replacing aging water infrastructure here in Brookings along Easy Street, I believe it is. So these are dollars that come directly to our communities and our county here in Oregon. So thank you for doing that. I appreciate it greatly.
Speaker 6 • 15:28
– Well, we do have an issue with the Curry County Jail, right? And that is, we got money for upgrading it, but if they upgrade it with the money they have, Then, it has to be built and it needs it. There’s no one that disagrees. It has to be then built completely up to code, which is a much more expensive proposition. And we don’t have the money to do that. So, this catch 22 of we want to have improvements and need the ability to make these improvements, you know, in a staged piecemeal way. And I’m trying to work with the state to figure out how we get that done, because it’s so desperately needed.
Speaker 1 • 16:19
Again, that was Representative Val Hoyle on a recent episode of KCIW’s Curry Cafe. You can find that episode and other archived programming at our website, KCIW.org. That’s KCIW.org. And while you’re there, check out all that KCIW has to offer. We’d like to remind you that KCIW is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. That means we can’t sell commercial advertising, so we depend on donations to stay on the air. Over the years, we’ve had some wonderful individual support. We’ve also been able to get small grants, and all of that helps to buy equipment and pay the rent, keep the website live and active. But since the federal government cut funding for so many programs, the foundations and grant organizations that did help KCIW in the past are being stretched. filling income gaps and supporting more organizations than ever, but here’s the reality for us here at the radio station. Without some serious financial and volunteer help, KCIW is in serious trouble. We really don’t know how long we’ll be able to stay on the air without more community support, so whether it’s your dollars or your time, if you’re someone who believes that keeping our community informed is important, please let us know. You can reach us at [email protected]. [email protected] and we’ll get back to you quickly. Again, if you can help with a check or your time, we want to hear from you at [email protected]. Well, one Del Norte County affordable housing project has been put on hold and questions about what’s being built at another is making people talk. As Redwood Voice and KFUG reporter, Jessica St. Art Andrews tells us, there’s misinformation being spread in Crescent City.
Speaker 9 • 18:03
There is a mischaracterization of Battery Point Apartments that it is going to only be available to those that receive Section 8 housing vouchers and that is not true. There is another housing development that we have talked about, the Redwood Downtown. They are also, residents have also and business owners in the area have also raised concerns about parking in the area. That development just went before the Planning Commission earlier this month and there were talks about that developer taking advantage of the state density bonus law and one of the incentives is if you build near a transit hub and there is a transit center being developed for about a half mile away from where this building is going to be located, you don’t need to put in parking. And that’s a concern to several of the businesses in the area.
Speaker 8 • 19:14
They’re concerned that the folks who end up living in those homes are going to have cars and they’re going to have to park them somewhere because the developer isn’t offering parking
Speaker 9 • 19:23
Yes, that’s the concern.
Speaker 8 • 19:26
And tell me about Roger Gitlin. Who is he and why is he so upset about these particular units going in?
Speaker 9 • 19:37
Roger Gitlin is a former Del Norte County supervisor and he was the editor of the Del or triplicate up until last September. And the concerns that he’s raised– he feels that the city hasn’t done enough to encourage people to buy homes rather than rent them. He feels that low income housing, he says, degrades the community. With the Battery Point Apartments, as I said, he was the one that said that it was going to be all Section 8 housing, and that’s not true. As of right now, he’s just a concerned resident that gets up and speaks during public comment period, quite a bit.
Speaker 8 • 20:43
Are his concerns legitimate? Does he raise some issues that other folks in the community are also concerned about or is he in the minority?
Speaker 9 • 20:54
He has raised issues that other folks are concerned about. He’s saying that the proliferation of affordable housing is going to bring people into the community from Los Angeles and the Bay Area and other people have said the same thing. It basically echoed his concerns. Why would he be concerned about
Speaker 8 • 21:18
people from Los Angeles and the Bay Area coming to Del Norte County? What’s the
Speaker 9 • 21:22
appeal and why would they come? Del Norte County is in it, Crescent City is an affordable community on the coast and I don’t know why he’s concerned about it. One of the things that has been raised is that they’re basically worried that people are going to come to the community to live here because it’s an affordable place to live in a beautiful area and basically not work. I don’t want to say drain, but I think that’s the concern.
Speaker 8 • 21:51
Well, are there jobs in Crescent City to be had that would bring people there?
Speaker 9 • 21:56
Not really, no.
Speaker 8 • 21:58
So what do you think? Are they going to get their housing done on time? Do you think that there’s going to be enough support in the community and enough interest that this is going to be a successful project?
Speaker 9 • 22:12
I think the city staff, the city manager, the city council, I think they are supportive. They know, the city manager Eric Weir has said that affordable housing has been a need in the community for several years. So I think everybody wants to make sure that that project, that work starts again on the project and that it’s completed and tenants are able to move in. There are, and it’s the same with several of the other housing developments in the community as well. You’ve got Harbor Point Apartments, which is a senior housing complex in another part of the city that came online in October, tenants started moving in. And then there’s the Redwood Downtown, which is in the earlier stages of development. And there’s also some moderate income housing being developed as well. So they’re hoping to get those all online, that the city is and city council. Of course having a
Speaker 1 • 23:29
home is a basic need but sometimes finding that perfect home with that perfect someone takes a bit of time and that’s especially true when one of those someone’s is a dog who needs a little extra love. Here’s KCIW’s Candace Michelle to introduce you to Dory, a very special four-legged furry friend.
Speaker 10 • 23:47
Today we showcase beautiful Dory. Dory is a bit of a sad story. She came here in August 2025 from a high-kill shelter in California as a six-month-old pup, so she’s literally had to grow up in a shelter setting. She’s now a little over a year old and needs a loving home with someone who has patience to let her figure out life outside the concrete walls of a kennel. She’s a tricolor cattle dog mix who’s shy and hesitant at first, but rebounds into an energetic, loving girl as she gets comfortable. She’s dog friendly, OK with bigger kids, spayed, microchipped, and up to date on all of her vaccines. She does have some separation anxiety that she’ll need your help working through, since she’s only ever known shelter life and has never learned to be alone. But she’s young and eager to please and will make someone an amazing companion if you’re willing to take the time to help her navigate into a home setting. Are you her special person? If you’re interested in meeting Dory, contact the South Coast Humane Society at 541-412-0325. That’s 541-412-0325. or email at [email protected]. That’s southcoasthumane, all one word, @gmail.com. Or you can visit the website at southcoasthumanebrookings.org.
Speaker 1 • 25:21
Well, if you’ve been out and about, maybe walking the dog, and you’ve got a rumbly in your tumbly, our Phantom Gourmet has a tip for Mexican food lovers. She says you should take another look at an old favorite, ponchos, on the north side of town.
Speaker 11 • 25:38
Hi everybody, it’s the Phantom Gourmet and I’m back again with a new restaurant. We all know it’s an old time favorite, Poncho’s, at the far end of town. My husband and I were there together and we had margaritas. He had a fabulous margarita with no salt and skinny. And I have to say they have a great selection of non-alcoholic beers if that’s your beat. It is mine and I had a really nice selection there. We had chips and salsa. There’s lots of chips and lots of salsa as you know. The service people are lovely. Occasionally there can be a little wait and when we were there the second time they were having a big wedding party so it took a little while for our food to get out. Just need to say that up front. I had a taco salad one time and then the next time I had the fish tacos. They were so good. Done with fresh caught Gold Beach red snapper and a big, big piece of red snapper. Beautifully cooked, perfectly done. All the sides were there. The beans are good of course and the rice. I can’t say enough about the fish taco. I was really, really impressed. And another time I had the tortilla soup, which was really good. Prices are reasonable. The soup was $10. I think the fish tacos were $17. My husband had the fajitas, beef, both times. He loved them. He said there was so much, we took part of it home and he had them in an omelet the next day. The enchilada mole were delicious. We never had dessert, but I saw people who were having their birthday party and they They bring out those wonderful hats and they sing a happy birthday and they give them a little dessert with a candle on top while they sing happy birthday. It’s really quite sweet. Well until next time, like I say, “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” This is your Phantom Gourmet saying see you next time.
Speaker 1 • 27:45
That’s all the time we have for now. I’m Lori Gallo-Stoddard and I thank you again for joining us on this edition of First Friday. Friday is produced at the studios of KCIW, Curry Coast Community Radio in Brookings, Oregon. We are an all-volunteer Edward R. Murrow award-winning station, and we’re here in part because of the support of listeners like you, and through the generosity of Bob Silky O’Sullivan, who loves truth, silly words, and his beautiful late wife, Alice.