News

One of the locally relevant Census ads that TRT staff helped create created

Apparently, those folks flacking for the U.S. Census just think "teepee" when they think "Indian" and, as a result, their attempts to pull in Native Americans for the 2010 count instead repelled some members of the Hoopa Valley Tribe.

As the Two Rivers Tribune reports in its latest issue, TRT Advertising Clerk Connie J. Davis was shocked when she saw the Census ads that would be running in our region, depicting a Plains Indian with teepees in the background. Said Davis:

My immediate reaction was, 'there's no way we can print those!' ... None of the ads they sent us reflected our region.

So Davis complained to G & G Advertising, the Census Bureau subcontractor that made the ad, and G & G sent over a couple more efforts. Wrong and wrong again.

So the TRT took over and made their own dang ads, with help from facilitated by New America Media. They created four regionally relevant ads -- including the one up top and the one below -- reflecting the importance of rivers and salmon and tribal culture to local people. The ads apparently impressed a congressional Census subcommittee that met earlier this year.

As an odd side note, a post on New America Media's Web site about this and similar Census outreach efforts has a goofily off detail on the living situations of present-day Hupa people, with regards to the teepee question:

Their community's "trusted voices" ultimately advised that the [teepee] image was inappropriately stereotypical and irrelevant to the Hupa, who live in subterranean housing, in northeastern Humboldt County's Redwoods.

 

 

(photo courtesy of Bike49's Web site )

On May 16 , four stalwarts will roll out of Arcata on their bicycles, and they won't be back until 14 months and 49 states have passed beneath their wheels. One is a bird nut; another does frogs and toads; another, buildings; and another, farms. And they all love bikes, so this bike tour is their way to share their interests with as many schoolchildren as they can encounter along the way.

The four -- Aaron Viducich (wildlife biologist with a bird bent), Sara Dykman (amphibian biologist), Tommy Viducich (green-building aficionado) and Matt Schiff (soil science major who's into food and farming practices) -- call themselves " Bike49 ," and they'll be traveling town to town with satchels-ful of lesson plans.

What's in the lesson plans? Well, some bicycling know-how. And more:

Bike49 has designed a lesson plan that incorporates geography, environmental science, and health education into one interactive lesson plan," they write on their blog. "We will spend the first portion of the class discussing our route and goals, and then move on to centers that teachers choose before our arrival. These presentations are not just about teaching sustainability, but about inspiring students to dream big and create goals that test their strengths, challenge their bodies, and fill their lives with adventure and fun.

Before they even take off, they plan to "warm up" with some local schools, said Dykman in an e-mail this afternoon.

We will be speaking with three schools in Arcata, one in Eureka, and one in Big Lagoon. Our next scheduled stop is Mrytle Point, OR then Seaside, OR. ... We are all really excited about this tour. We have been talking about it, planning it, and dreaming about it for over two years now, and it is looking like all our hard work is going to pay off. We already have a dozen schools on board, many generous sponsors, and people across the country cheering us on.

 

 

 

In case you missed it, you can catch last night's debate between sheriff candidates Mike Hislop and Mike Downey here: 

This was the first in a series of KHUM/ NCJ -produced round table discussions among candidates for the June 8 primary elections. Hank Sims and I are taking turns moderating, with help from Eric Kirk for next week's DA forum and Jack Durham for the May 20 5th District Supervisor debate. 

Topics last night ranged from the budget to code enforcement, AR-15s to homemade rockets, meth to racial profiling. Things even got a little heated at one point when a caller asked about rumors of wife beating (starting about the 39-minute mark).

Mexico

I'm more than a little peeved about the press release from Fifth District Supervisor candidate Ryan Sundberg's campaign, which was sent to the Times-Standard earlier today (see below). In it, the campaign declines to participate in the series of political debates that the NCJ and KHUM will be producing throughout the month of May. (Tune in tonight, 6-7 p.m., to hear Ryan Burns talk with the candidates for Sheriff.)

If this release is to be believed, Sundberg is bowing out because KHUM is owned by Lost Coast Communications, Inc., which is majority-owned by rival candidate Patrick Cleary and his family. This, it seems, presents a "conlict of interest," though what that conflict could be is entirely unclear. The Journal is moderating the debates and asking the questions; KHUM employees will be there to twiddle the knobs, but will not otherwise participate.

We tried to call Sundberg and reassure him of this yesterday. We left a message on Sundberg's cell, but instead got a call back from Sundberg's, uh, high-energy campaign manager, Rich Mostranski. Mostranski -- never shy about answering questions on his candidate's behalf -- assured us that it was an obvious conflict for Cleary's station to host a debate on the Fifth District race. I'm sorry to say that he couldn't really define what the conflict was, or what it would look like in practice, but he insisted that it was obvious. Because the Journal would tilt the debate simply out of gratitude for being given some KHUM airtime (making ourselves look like fools in the meanwhile)? No, no, Mostranski said. It wasn't to do with the Journal. Because Cleary would line his pockets with revenue from the smash-hit broadcast of a political debate? Unclear.

So now the Sundberg/Mostranski camp is asking Cleary to "do the right thing" by recusing himself, but gives no sort of indication of what "recusal" might look like in this instance. Not showing up himself? Banning his people from holding a debate at all? It's all a bit confusing.

We wanted to have a frank and smart discussion of the issues on the most popular radio station in Humboldt County, and there's no reason that shouldn't be possible, Cleary or no Cleary. Again: Tune in tonight for an example. And unless there's a change of heart -- and why shouldn't there be? -- you can hear Cleary and fellow candidates Patrick Higgins and Jeff Lytle debate the issues in the Fifth District on May 20.

Sundberg is universally regarded as the nice guy to end all nice guys, and that has certainly been our experience. We can't help but believe that he's getting some bad advice about this. Call us, Ryan! If there's anything at all we can do to assure you that the thing will be clean and fair, we will do it.

Ryan Sundberg Declines Invitation to Lost Coast Communication's KHUM Radio Debate

North Coast Journal and HKUM (sic), a Lost Coast Communications radio station, are requesting candidates for 5th District Supervisor to participate in a live radio forum.   
 
Sundberg is politely declining to participate because one of the candidates, Patrick Cleary, owns Lost Coast Communications, and Sundberg believes there is an inherent conflict of interest. 
 
When previously asked by Hank Sims, of the North Coast Journal, about potential conflict of interest for a Supervisor as a radio station owner, Patrick Cleary said he would recuse himself.  Here is the opportunity for Mr. Cleary to demonstrate his ability to recognize a conflict of interest, and do the right thing. 

"I am appreciative that KHUM has provided a public service by introducing the public to candidates who are running for a variety of county offices.  However, in this particular race, the station's owner and CEO is running for 5th District Supervisor.  This would be akin to a newspaper owner running for office and being interviewed by a reporter from his paper.  The public has to be assured of professional objectivity", said Sundberg.

Sundberg welcomes the opportunity to participate in a public forum with other 5^th District candidates, but feels this is only appropriate on a radio station not owned by Lost Coast Communications. He has participated in two public forums hosted by the League of Women Voters, co-sponsored by Kiwanis of Willow Creek, and Healthy Humboldt in McKinleyville, and will participate in the KEET forum May 12.

John Ross on Democracy Now: "El Monstruo: Dread and Redemption in Mexico City": Amy Goodman talks with the former Arcatan about what's going in in

Humboldt State University's Nursing program will not be eliminated as had been recommended by the Academic Senate in the face of dramatic budget cuts. Instead, HSU President Rollin Richmond announced this morning that he will enact recommendations from Provost Robert Snyder to restructure Nursing -- in part by reducing admissions from 60 to 40 students per semester -- and suspend enrollment in both the Computer Information Systems and Computer Science departments. Also, the Theater, Film and Dance department will undergo review.

These moves, along with the earlier elimination of the Industrial Technology program, will generate approximately $600,000 of the $1.3 million in savings that had been the goal of program elimination, but Richmond said additional savings may be achieved by streamlining and restructuring Nursing and Theater, Film and Dance.

"It should come as no surprise that the decision about the Nursing program was the most vexing," Richmond said in a statement. "Nursing is one of the most expensive programs we have -- both per-student and overall -- but California also has a pressing need for new nurses."

For details, pick up a copy of this week's Journal, on newsstands tomorrow.

"spunky.")

KHUM's Mike Dronkers reports that District Attorney candidate Kathleen Bryson just told him that she is dropping out of the race.

UPDATE, 10:30 p.m.:

After much thought and discussion with my family, I have made the decision to drop out of the campaign for Humboldt County District Attorney.

While I am grateful for the opportunity, the campaign was taking too much time away from my family and legal practice. I am only 44 years old, the youngest of the DA candidates, and our children are school-age. In particular, our youngest daughter is in elementary school, and my many hours away from home were taking too much of a toll on her. In addition, recently, our eldest daughter suffered a very serious car accident that has put matters into perspective for our entire family.

I want to thank all the people who contributed their time, money and moral support to my campaign. I also want to thank the other candidates for their open dialogue in relation to the issues. The experience of running for public office has given me profound respect for those who sacrifice their time and privacy to be our public officials.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Bryson.

City!"Lost Coast Sessions on Current.org: Current.org, the online mag about public television and radio, features KEET-TV's low-budget music series, Lost Coast Sessions in a piece on making the pilot with Ukesperience. (They call KEET

Fifth District Supervisor Jill Duffy today announced her support for Ryan Sundberg in the race to succeed her in office. Duffy, who is not seeking re-election, told the Journal that based on her conversations with Sundberg, she believes he has the temperament and listening skills required for the job.

"An important element is being a critical listener, being open to various viewpoints," Duffy said. "It requires a lot of work, and in my conversations with Ryan I observed that he's very thoughtful and diligent, and I know he is talking with a lot of people in the Fifth District."

She added that as a lifelong local, Sundberg appreciates the distinct personalities of each community in the district.

For full coverage of the Fifth District race, check out this week's Journal , on newsstands Wednesday.

Marijuana, Boom and Bust by Alexander Cockburn: Syndicated piece by the CounterPunch writer traces some local history and responds in part to Kym Kemp's recent Journal story, "Welcome to Pot