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…
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!
The Latest
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…
Newsom Apologized to Tribes for Historic Harms, Vetoed 2 Bills that Would Have Empowered Them
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…

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Griffin Loch’s Scaregrounds

Oct. 16-18, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Oct. 23-25, 6:30-10:30 p.m. and Oct. 29-31, 6:30-10:30 p.m.

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A Very del Toro Spooky Season
Last week, I took advantage of the re-release of writer and director Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) in theaters to see it on the big (well, bigger) screen. The strange, sad, dreamy marvel of…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Oct. 11
Live Dead & Brothers is a jam band tribute act dedicated to playing all things Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers. Tonight’s set at Humbrews will be recreating the Merry Prankster era of the former group.…
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…
‘Digger’ Devastates
DIGGER. The truth is that I didn’t think I would enjoy Digger. Even more than that, I had assumed that it would disappoint me: a stickler for the psychological battery that characterizes the realist landscapes…
A Nightmare on Main Street
If you ever find yourself wondering what being haunted or possessed feels like, think about a nightmare. Then wake up and try to move on. Think about a beautiful dream. Then wake up and once…
Paul Steven Costa
Paul was born in Eureka California Aug 31, 1971. The much welcomed son of Karen Anderson Ross and Dennis M Costa. He left us suddenly on August 24, 2026. He was 54 years old. He…
William Zielinski
William Zielinski, age 71, passed away peacefully on Oct. 2, 2026, in Portland, Oregon from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Bill, as he was known to most, was a loving husband, father, brother, son, friend and…
Thales’ Eclipse and the Saros Cycle
“… just as the battle was growing warm, day was on a sudden changed into night. This event had been foretold by Thales, the Milesian, who forewarned the Ionians of it, fixing for it the…
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…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Ilyas Ahmed is a Portland-based experimental musician who has a long discographyfull of collaborations with similar West Coast gems, including a lovely record with JefreCantu-Ledesma from my favorite ’90s San Francisco dynamic-ambient band Tarantel.He is…
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…

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Letters & Opinion
Supporting Kimberley White
Editor: It is my pleasure to endorse Kimberley White for Arcata City Council in 2026.…
‘It Is Serious’
Editor: It’s that time and it is serious. No Propositions: 38…39…41…42…43…44…45!!!!!! Yes Propositions: 38…4…40!!!…
Yes on Measure D
Editor: As a longtime local merchant and resident of Fortuna, I’m supporting Measure D, which…
‘This One Struck Home’
Editor: I am extremely impressed by this week’s editorial (Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, “The Good Ones,”…
Bone to Pick
Editor: I note with some interest the campaign by one disgruntled individual to eliminate or…
Supporting Kimberley White
Editor: I am here to express my solid approval for Kimberley White to continue to…






