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June 28, 2001
Humboldt
Bancorp loses $8 mil
Humboldt Bancorp, parent company
of Humboldt Bank, announced last month that it was discontinuing
operations at one of its subsidiary corporations and accepting
a loss of about $8 million dollars.
Bancorp Financial Services,
which was mainly involved in servicing leases for less than $100,000,
was closed down as the result of a long-term strategic review,
according to wire reports. It was decided after the review that
Bancorp Financial Services' prospects does not merit continued
investment by the parent corporation, Humboldt Bancorp.
The $8 million loss did not
put the Eureka institution into danger, according to company
sources. The firm has been able to continue its status under
banking regulations as a "well-capitalized" institution.
Children's
shelter closes
The Humboldt County Children's
Shelter will close its doors July 1 to undergo a state licensing
process, shutting down a controversial resource to the emergency
childcare community.
The shelter was intended to
house children over the age of 6 who had been removed from their
homes while more appropriate housing was found. It had evolved
into a more permanent facility for high-risk children, said Phillip
Crandall, director of Humboldt County's Department of Health
and Human Services (see "In
the news," Nov. 23, 2000). The problem, Crandall said,
was that it had never been intended to serve that purpose and
wasn't properly equipped or staffed to do so.
During the shelter's closure,
the county will try to beef up the services it provides to meet
the needs of high-risk children.
"We want to be able to
monitor and stabilize them, and move from there," Crandall
said. Children could be evaluated for possible mental illnesses
at the shelter and would then be placed in the best treatment
setting possible, he said.
In the interim the county won't
have a children's shelter -- and that worries Brian Nunn, president
of the Foster Parent Association of Humboldt County.
"My concern is that children
with high-level needs will be placed in basic foster homes without
the level of training or expertise they need to meet the needs
of the kids," Nunn said.
Crandall said that a pool of
therapeutic behavior aides -- professionals who calm kids down
and prevent dangerous behavior -- has been trained to help foster
parents with the kids. But Nunn said that isn't enough.
"If this child just came
from a residential facility and they say, `We're going to give
you an aide for six hours a day and that makes it OK,' but that
does not make it OK."
Power
to the people?
As the power crisis continues
statewide, Humboldt leaders are looking at how to cut energy
bills --whether or not to jump into the energy production business.
Represented on the newly formed
Humboldt Energy Task Force are the county, and several cities
and other agencies. The first order of business was to draft
a letter of understanding, a written agreement to work together
"to help the public become better informed about energy
conservation opportunities, provide information on appropriate
alternative energy systems and to identify funding strategies
for cost-effective energy projects."
The Board of Supervisors, represented
by 3rd District Supervisor John Woolley who initiated the task
force meetings, and the cities of Arcata and Rio Dell have already
signed the letter. Eureka and Blue Lake consider it this week
and Ferndale has it on the agenda for its July council meeting.
Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District and the Humboldt Bay Harbor
and Recreation Conservation District have been participating
and are expected to sign.
When it comes to energy conservation
issues, Arcata is ahead of the curve. The city established an
energy task force four years ago that came up with some energy-saving
recommendations. There were members who suggested Arcata should
pursue a municipal utility district, an idea the Mayor Connie
Stewart quickly dismissed as "a nightmare."
"The fact is we're not
power experts," she said with a laugh, "We didn't have
the money, the expertise or the need to do it."
Instead the Arcata Council formed
the Community Energy Authority.
"It's similar to a redevelopment
agency in that it allows the city to seek grant funding to offer
conservation education and other bigger scale stuff to citizens,"
said Stewart.
The countywide task force is
taking a similar conservation-based approach for many of the
same reasons. Woolley said he sees a potential for adding a power
plant but, "whether it's financed entirely by the private
sector or by shared financing, any kind of major power generating
plant is really long term."
For the short term, "We
had to think about what we can do to help now, and that leans
toward conservation of energy, not only to help residents but
businesses as well," Woolley said. "What we've done
is put a few dollars into a contract with Schatz Energy Lab to
pull together a technical analysis that will give us a sense
of what we can do."
"(The plans) will include
solar panels for electricity, solar hot water, weather stripping
and educational stuff," said Stewart. "They're researching
how much it would cost if we put together a collective body,
say 100 households, who wanted to put solar hot water systems
on their houses. With a big buy we could reduce the price."
Woolley sees a unified conservation
effort as the first step toward municipal power.
"If we can organize ourselves
and get experience and discover how we can make things happen,
we will be in a position to go to the next level," he said.
"We may not be able to form a municipal utility district
easily, but maybe we can find a way to capitalize ourselves so
we could partner with a firm that would in the long term set
up a new power generating plant."
What about the main power plant
owned by bankrupt PG&E?
Stewart said any notion to purchase
the plant is impossible until the company is out of bankruptcy.
And even if it were for sale, the plant is outmoded and would
require a major upgrade.
"And do we really want
to inherit PG&E's nuclear power plant along with its gas
power plant? What entity would be stupid enough to do that?"
she said. "For all of those reasons and a lot more, we're
not even considering it."
Stewart said even with the whole
county working together, there are not enough people here to
make municipal power work.
"Our population is not
dense enough to make that our focus. I think we need to focus
on conservation."
County keeps
gravel advisors
The Humboldt County Board of
Supervisors voted June 5 to continue the county's relationship
with a controversial group of scientists that help regulate gravel
mining.
The County of Humboldt Extraction
Review Team (CHERT) is a group of scientists that estimates how
much gravel can be taken from the Mad River. Those estimates
are used to write an Environmental Impact Report outlining how
much can be taken from the river bed without harming salmon habitat.
The last EIR was written five years ago; a revision is due within
the next year or so.
Gravel miners are upset because
during the last round of regulations CHERT probably underestimated
the amount they could take. They argued before the board that
it was foolish to continue working with scientists who had --
by the county's own admission -- probably been wrong about the
amount of gravel they should be allowed to take.
"CHERT said you could take
about 200,000 cubic yards without habitat degradation,"
said Kirk Girard, planning director for the county. A new report
from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers suggests the number is closer
to 230,000.
"That's where the rubber
hits the road," Girard said.
Supervisors reasoned that including
CHERT would help attract grant money to fund the new EIR because
of their expertise in the area.
Fire restrictions
in place
The extremely dry weather in
Northern California has led officials with the Six Rivers National
Forest to put special restrictions on the use of fire on its
land.
"Wildland fires that are
currently burning on other National Forest lands have exhibited
extreme fire behavior, posing a threat to public and firefighter
safety," Six Rivers Forest Supervisor Lou Woltering said.
"By allowing open campfires only in designated fire safe
areas, we hope to minimize any potential wildland fire starts."
The restrictions aren't limited
to campfires. Smoking is only allowed in enclosed vehicles and
developed recreation sites and internal combustion engines are
limited to Forest Service roads. Acetylene torches and explosives
are also prohibited. Campstoves and other enclosed flames are
permitted with a campfire permit, which are available free at
Forest Service offices.
HSU building
plan wins in court
Humboldt State University's
proposed construction of a Behavioral and Social Sciences Building
on Union Street cleared a legal hurdle June 21 when a lawsuit
filed by the City of Arcata to halt its construction was dismissed.
Humboldt Superior Court Judge
J. Michael Brown rejected the city's claim that the university's
environmental documentation was out of date. The proposed 95-foot-tall
building has been attacked by the city and would-be neighbors
for its visual impact and potential effects on traffic in the
residential neighborhood.
"Now that we have this
ruling behind us, it is our hope that we can look to a more productive
relationship with the city of Arcata," stated HSU Community
Relations Director Elizabeth Hans.
The city is vowing further legal
challenges, however. Mayor Connie Stewart said in a press release
that the ruling was "a blessing in disguise" and that
additional evidence has been found that will bolster the city's
position.
Ironically, the legal fight
has been rendered temporarily moot by realities outside the courtroom.
The building's construction, which was to begin this summer,
was postponed indefinitely after bids from contractors turned
out to be $4.5 million more than the university had budgeted
for.
The building's $17.5 million
in state funding reverted to the California University system.
The University has said it plans on reapplying for funding.
Humboldt
Redwoods' new plan
The Humboldt Redwoods State
Park is getting a new general plan and now is the time to put
in your two cents on what you'd like to see.
A preliminary version of the
plan has just been released by California State Parks. The plan
calls for additional interpretive facilities, like an environmental
education center and a history program at the Holmgren homestead.
"We're looking at interpretive
facilities that will be close to access points so that we can
help capture some of the motoring public on the freeway,"
said Joann Weiler, project manager, in a telephone interview
from Sacramento.
The plan only lays out general
priorities and not specific proposals, but the park hopes to
move to get more people onto the Avenue of the Giants. Part of
that approach might be reducing the speed limit and improving
signage along the avenue. The idea is to "make it more leisurely
and intimate," Weiler said.
Copies of the plan are available
at branch offices of the Humboldt County Library, state park
offices and through the mail. Call (916) 445-8907 for more information.
NoHum's
favorite pastime
Baseball facilities in Arcata
and McKinleyville are in line to receive grand slam-sized funding
in this year's state budget.
Two parks stand to get $200,000
each for development and improvement. The Arcata Ballpark would
use its funds to switch from seasonal to year-round operation.
McKinleyville would use their funds to develop the Hiller Sports
Complex and Community Park, which would have softball, baseball
and soccer fields.
The money is not yet a sure
thing, however. The funding requests by state Sen. Wesley Chesbro
were included in the Legislature's budget proposal, but Gov.
Davis could still veto the monies.
One lane
closed, one open
One lane of traffic on Plaza
streets will be closed during the Arcata Farmer's market following
a decision by the city council at its June 20 meeting.
The plan had initially been
to close all traffic on the streets along the perimeter of the
Plaza, but opposition by merchants who said such a move would
hurt their business has stalled that proposal. The North Coast
Growers' Association, which administers the market, hasn't pursued
the idea.
The one-lane closure is a stopgap
measure, and merchants and representatives of the growers' association
are to meet again before the city council reconsiders the issue
July 18.
The barbers
of Eureka
A new vocational training program
is opening in Eureka. It won't teach you to design a web page
or fix a car; its aim is to teach the art and science of haircuts
to potential barbers.
The Humboldt Bay Barber College,
located on Fifth Street in Eureka, has started accepting applications
and will begin classes soon.
"It's going to train people
in the community and give them a chance to go get jobs,"
said Susan Waddingham, director and sole instructor of the school.
Currently, the nearest such school is in Sacramento.
Waddingham, who has been a barber
for 28 years and has had her own shop for nine, said the school
will accommodate 15 to 20 students at a time. At 40 hours a week,
you could be a barber in just 10 months.
The school will be offering
haircuts at reduced prices soon after classes begin, Waddingham
said. It's not just for daredevils, she said. She will only let
students "who have become proficient with the tools"
take the shears to an actual head of hair. Call 444-8833 for
more information.
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