the town dandy / By Hank Sims

Job Shop

Meanwhile, across the aisle and on the other side of the county, the campaign apparatus of McKinleyville incumbent Charles Ollivier exited the gate strong, with a press release touting his endorsements — Congressman Mike Thompson, three of the five county supervisors, three of the sitting Harbor District members, businessmen, union members, a tribal member, various McKinleyville-area elected officials. The press release didn’t shrink from Ollivier’s raison d’être as a district commissioner: the development of Humboldt Bay’s shipping facilities, and the return of the long-dormant railroad line (see “The Squeeze,” July 5).

Not much yet from Ollivier’s challenger, fisheries biologist Pat Higgins, or from the incumbent Quilez is challenging, Fortuna’s Roy Curless. Unless they pick up the pace soon, it could be a one-sided race in each of the districts. If the challengers gain only one seat, they’d still be left with the butt end of a 3-2 majority.

Welcometo North Coast Journal version 2.52, Service Pack 6. Let’s take a moment to get acquainted with the three new features we’re introducing in this issue.

First up: As a convocation to the proceedings, we will now offer a poem. Said poem will usually be from a Humboldt County poet. Its subject will almost always pertain to matters of local interest. Preferably, it will be somewhat topical in nature.

A statistically significant percentage of our readership has long clamored for poetry, so we are pleased to finally quiet their bloodthirsty howls. And we are especially excited to introduce what we believe to be a brand-new innovation in the poetry trade: payment. That is, poets selected for publication will receive a very small amount of money in return. Get scribbling, rhymesters! Send your cinquains, kyrielles and ottava rimas to either Heidi Walters or Japhet Weeks, depending on which you think will give you a more sympathetic reading. Their e-mail addresses are to my left.

Second: “In Review.” Each week, our cold-blooded critics will dissect new cultural artifacts — books, CDs, DVDs, live concerts, web sites, household products. Their deep, exegetical analyses will unlock the hidden meanings of such texts, deftly limning their aporia and ultimately determining whether or not they are worth your $15. Imagine the bastard love-child of James Huneker and Roland Barthes writing for Consumer Reports.That’s what we’re aiming for.

Finally, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Don Garlick to our pages in a little feature we will call “Garlick’s Notebook,” despite his objections. The North Coast is home to infinite unique natural phenomena, wondrous to the eye and nourishing to the spirit, but we layfolk often lack an understanding of why things are the way they are, and we are the poorer for it. In his Notebook, Dr. Garlick, an emeritus professor of geology at HSU and an immensely wise and humble man, will endeavor to answer questions on North Coast natural science, at times enlisting the help of his fellow savants. Why are there agates at Agate Beach? Why haven’t we had a really good earthquake in a while? Why does my hand look so trippy? You have only to ask.

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