This story was originally published by ICT and CalMatters. Five days after signing a law formalizing a state apology for “harms and atrocities” against California’s Native peoples, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two additional bills that California tribes had championed, one on water and the other on sacred sites. Tribal leaders say the vetoes leave them […]
News (NCJ)
Big Backyard Visitors
A black bear’s sense of smell is 2,100 times better than a human’s and seven times better than a bloodhound’s, according to the national bear education program Bearwise. A full-sized bear also eats thousands of calories per day and, leading up to hibernation, that number can reach more than 20,000 calories. While bears in Humboldt enter […]
Gold in the Cracks
Conrad Calimpong draws a thumb along the gold seam running through his chestnut brown “Pillow Pot Vase” to where it meets three other metallic streaks, fusing a mottled river rock like a jewel or a heart at its center. Like the other pieces in his show Earthquake Trauma: My Path to Recovery in the Anderson […]
Changing LivesThrough Medicine
Terre Donaldson has been a nurse anesthetist in a wide range of medical fields. After retirement, she began volunteering for California CareForce’s free health clinics, drawn to lending her skills by the astounding need for healthcare she has seen. She recalls one woman at the last CareForce clinic held in Humboldt two years ago who […]
Humboldt County Fair Faces Another Tough Year
While the books for the 2026 Humboldt County Fair are not yet closed, initial reports paint a bleak picture. Total paid attendance was down by about 1,000 tickets, and total admission revenue was down by approximately $14,310, a decrease of about 6 percent from 2025. CEO Moira Kenny, reporting to the Humboldt County Fair Association […]
It’s Flash Fiction Season 2026
Here’s the story in 99 words: NCJ’s 99-word Flash Fiction Contest is on. Send up to three entries in the body of an email (no attachments or links) to fiction@northcoastjournal.com with your name and contact information (no pen names) by midnight Oct. 31. Dainty dramas, bite-sized adventures, flits of fantasy, micro-mysteries, half-pint hauntings, brief romances […]
Skeleton Showdown: Who’s Got the Best Bones on Main Street?
The votes have been tallied and the results will be announced here and in this week’s edition of The Ferndale Enterprise!
Xine:wh-ding
Hoopa Valley Tribe elder Verdena Leona Chase Parker was raised speaking Na:tinixwe Mixine:whe’ (Na-teh-nah-hwah Meh-hah-neh-hweh), the language of the Hupa people since time immemorial. Her fluency was a tribute to brave women in her family, including a grandmother who threw an Indian boarding school agent over a gate when they tried to forcibly take Parker’s […]
‘Ski Mask Rapist’ Richard Stobaugh Dies
Editor’s note: Be advised, this story covers violent sexual assaults and may be disturbing to readers. A sexually violent predator in the process of appealing a Humboldt County Superior Court judge’s decision last year to reverse course on his previously granted conditional release has died. Dubbed the “Ski Mask Rapist,” Richard Stobaugh was convicted of a […]
Newsom Signs New Gun Control Laws, Including One Requiring Owners to Take a 4-Hour Class
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Have a gun? You’re going to need to take another safety class after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills Saturday that are a boon to gun control advocates and anathema to Second Amendment groups. The law, Senate Bill 948, would apply to current residents with newly […]
California Sues Over Trump’s Changes to Endangered Species Act, Arguing They Threaten Habitat
This story was originally published by CalMatters. California’s beloved condors and sea otters have rebounded from the brink of extinction thanks to the Endangered Species Act. Now the state is going to court to keep the 50-year-old law intact, filing two lawsuits this month to block what Democratic leaders describe as the Trump administration’s rollback of its protections. […]
Local Lit
We hear a lot about the artists and musicians of Humboldt County, but it turns out the redwoods are teeming with writers, too. This week we’ve compiled reviews and recommendations for local reads across ages and genres that explore imagined realms and familiar North Coast landscapes. Grab a cozy spot and read along with us. […]
