Cold Shoulders
As winter freeze sets in, Arcata debates limits on begging.
Cover Story
Cold Shoulders
Last Friday night, Santa Claus rode into the Arcata Plaza in a firetruck and whipped the throng of squealing tots — “Santa! Santa!” — and their parents into a swirling frenzy as the truck slowly promenaded twice around the glittering square behind a marching band slinging brassy Christmas jingles. In the center of the storm…
A Local Doctor On H1N1
From Dr. Michael Fratkin: Hello Community…. I have something to contribute regarding H1N1 Influenza. My comments are predicated on a deep respect for your autonomy and your capacity to make good decisions for your self and your family. They are also based on 15 seasons caring for the most critically ill hospitalized patients in a…
Pla-Garr-ism?
The blogosphere’s abuzz, sorta, with speculation that Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen plagiarized his recent My Word piece in the Times-Standard. The exact same piece, word-for-word, appeared the week before in the Fresno Bee. The Journal called up the EPD for an explanation. Chief Nielsen was not in, but shortly thereafter he issued the following…
Buy local! Holiday gift sure to please
Because what could be better than a piece of Absynth? Quintet, that is. Would you like to give a friend a slot as the sixth member of Humboldt’s renowned* gypsy-jazz-string-happy Absynth Quintet? Or have the erstwhile male models** follow them about for part of a day a la Jonathan Richman in Something About Mary? Or…
A Christmas Peril
This came in too late to make it into this week’s calendar: Local doctors and nurses perform A Christmas Peril, a humorous yet sobering update on national health reform a la Charles Dickens, on Friday, Dec. 18, at the Labor Temple (840 E St. Eureka) and on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Arcata Playhouse (1251…
County Wins Jackpot!
That’s the title of a press release this morning from Angie Schwab at the county’s Community and Economic Development office. The payout: $1.9 million in grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the same agency that recently rejected the Housing Element of the county’s General Plan Update. (Or “notified the county…
Dead Man on Mad River Bar ID’d
The man found dead on the Mad River bar near Boyd Road Sunday morning has been identified as David Earl Sanford. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office considers the 47-year-old’s death suspicious, according to a news release sent out this afternoon: Mr. Sanford had sustained visible injuries, although a cause of death has not been determined…
Legalization Set For Nov. 2010
cocaine. So says the Los Angeles Times: Supporters of an initiative that would legalize marijuana in California say they have collected enough signatures to ensure that it will be on the November 2010 ballot. The petition drive, which was run by a professional signature-gathering firm, collected more than 680,000 signatures, 57% more than the 433,971…
Buju Banton busted
notoriety.”Buju Banton busted: The Miami Herald reports that Buju Banton, the Jamaican dancehall star whose local show was canceled following protests over his gay bashing lyrics, is in a federal lockup in Miami charged with conspiracy distribute more than five kilos of
Sac Bee on “Pot City” Arcata
Sac Bee on “Pot City” Arcata: Sac Bee’s take on Pot City Arcata focuses in part on the iCenter’s Stephen Gasparas, who echoes The Beverley Hillbillies saying he came to Arcata because he was told by a Rainbow Family hippie that it’s “the place you oughta be.” Despite various legal problems, he has expanded his…
Busking, Target in Eureka
Brian Smith, from Boise, traveled down from Portland last week to Eureka. He’s heading south.
Pets Die in McVille Mobile Fire
A fire in a mobile at the Ocean West Mobile Home Park in McKinleyville last night killed two cats and a dog, according to a news release from the Arcata Fire Protection District which responded to the fire just before midnight. The human occupant escaped. Firefighters attacked the fire and began a primary search of…
Unhappy Families
Previews Opening Friday, Dec. 11, is Clint Eastwood’s Invictus. Based on a book by John Carlin, the film centers on Nelson Mandela, recently elected as the first black president of South Africa, as he tries to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unify his country. Morgan Freeman is Mandela and Matt Damon is the…
Guitar and Whatever
Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter rose to the top of the Bay Area music scene with a custom 7-string axe and a masterful style that allowed him to play bass and lead at the same time. In the ’90s, he moved to jazz central, New York City, and found more success, landing a contract with the…
Cleanup Mess
In theory, the latest round of governmental wrangling over Eureka’s Balloon Track property has nothing to do with Marina Center, the proposed mixed-use, Home Depot-anchored development slated for the site, nor is it per se about Rob Arkley, the millionaire financier behind project applicant CUE VI. In theory, all we’re talking about at this point…
Cage Match
As Journal reporter Ryan Burns writes elsewhere in this paper, the California Coastal Commission is set to hear an appeal connected with the proposed Marina Center development today (Thursday, Dec. 10). The hearing will kick off the true beginning of the fight over the proposed big box-anchored development on the old railyard on the Eureka…
Arts! Arcata
1. Bubbles 1031 H St. Bluegrass by Clean Livin’. 2. Garden Gate 905 H St. Peggy Jane Murray, animal art; Locally Delicious: Recipes and Resources for Eating on the North Coast, book signing. 3. Arcata Main Street 791 8th St. Chris Wisner, photographs. 4. Arcata Artisans 883 H St. All artist show. 5. North Soles…
Wipeout
Editor: I applaud the decision Jennifer Savage made regarding not to comment on the “Where to Surf” article (Dec. 3). My Grandpa never talked about his favorite fishing holes, and I don’t let people know where the best places are to pick blackberries. Why ruin a good thing! Karen Ann Clement-Douez, Eureka Editor: Hank…
Wild About Harry
Editor: I take exception to Marcy Burstiner’s description of Harry Potter as “children’s trash” (“Media Maven,” Dec. 3). One of the differences between ink-stained wretches like Burstiner and great poets like J.K. Rowling is that the latter inspire the best instincts in the universal spirit, while the former criticize local newspapers and public radio stations.…
Encore
Editor: My name is Lauren Wieland and I am a cast member of Ferndale Rep’s Oliver. I have been very active in theater the last six years or so, doing over 15 shows in the area. I love theater and I feel very blessed to be in an area that has so many artistic opportunities.…
Self and Society: Studies in the Evolution of Culture
Self and Society is an oddly vanilla title for the guy who wrote At the Edge of History, Evil and World Order, Coming Into Being and The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light. William Irwin Thompson burst on the scene in the early 1970s as a counter-cultural intellectual and later a boundary-crossing New Age synthesist…
Scotia Forever
Editor: The recent article on “Reinventing Scotia” (Nov. 26) was a good summary of what has transpired over the last few years as the company town begins its transition to an independent and self-sustaining community. The article quoted Professor Beth Wilson who stated “What might be more common to see is wealthier people might ……
Hooray for Hanukkah!
I love this time of year. I love to cook and to eat. I love to hang out with friends and family and play and cook and eat. I love that everyone makes time for each other. I love to heat up the oil and sizzle those latkes and eat them. I love pouring the…
Food Stamps for You
Editor: Jennifer Savage’s colorful account of her experience applying for food stamps years ago (“Food Stamps and You,” Nov. 26) states correctly that fewer than 50 percent of eligible Humboldt County households receive food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Benefits are available, yet so many of our friends and neighbors still struggle to…
Extended Vacation
Drummer, percussionist, instrumentalist and composer Glenn Kotche has been prolific in his output lately. Earlier this year, he appeared on his primary band’s release, Wilco (The Album), then recently, on the excellent recent 7 Worlds Collide collaborative project (The Sun Came Out), headed by Neil Finn. With his duo project, On Fillmore, Kotche has released…
We Have a Winner!
Editor: In case no one else takes a stab at clearing up the misunderstanding around “deconstruction,” I’ll give it a shot. (See the Dec. 3 and Nov. 19 “Mailbox” columns). The thing is, from a deconstructionist perspective it would be hard to claim that there is any “misunderstanding,” as that would suggest there is an…
No Limits
Ask people and most will agree adolescence is an especially intense time. Feelings overwhelm; desire consumes; fear paralyzes; triumph burns pure and sweet. Even through the most slothful of teens, a mysterious energy triggers the transformation from child to adult. This metamorphosis demands so much. The world looms, full of complexity, danger and dreams, yet…
CLARIFICATION and CORRECTION:
Last week’s cover story, “Where To Surf,” may have given the wrong impression about ways to access Big Flat, a surfing spot on the Lost Coast. It should be noted that the airplane landing strip at the site is strictly private property; no one may land there without previous written permission from the owners. “Reinventing…
The Punta Gorda Light
Anyone wanting a taste of the Lost Coast — without backpacking 25 miles from the mouth of the Mattole to Shelter Cove — can enjoy a fine day’s hike to the Punta Gorda light, a seven-mile round trip down the beach from the Mattole parking area. In its time, the Punta Gorda Coast Guard outpost…
Reindeer
The reindeerare nearbut whatis nearis far –…
Early Days, Late Days
Being at COP 15 (officially, the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Copenhagen is an experience for which there is no adequate precedent. Today (Tuesday, Dec. 8) is the second day of a two-week conference that will reach its apotheosis only on the last days, when…
