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STORY | PUBLISHER | CALENDAR
Jan. 30, 2003
Cutting
corners:
Faced with shrinking state
support, county officials get creative
by
GEOFF S. FEIN
Earlier this month, Allen Campbell,
Humboldt County public works director, told the Board of Supervisors
the county's road maintenance fund would lose $500,000 in the
current fiscal year and another $700,000 in fiscal year 2003-2004
if Gov. Gray Davis made good on a proposal to eliminate local
street and road funding.
Without the state's $500,000
allotment, Campbell warned, county roads might have to wait months,
if not years, for repairs.
But last week Campbell was spreading
some good news. Because Davis and state legislators can't agree
on how to balance the $34 billion deficit (some estimates put
the shortfall as high as $40 billion), funds continue to filter
down to the county. Last week the county got $180,000 for its
road fund. However, it may be the last time for a while that
the county sees any more road money from the state.
"I told the board we used
[the reserve] up because we were unsure if the state would help
us out," Campbell said. "Now it appears we will get
reimbursed. We will build back up the reserve."
Damage from December's winter
storms was also expected to deplete the road fund. The county
had a reserve of $650,000, but early estimates showed it could
cost in excess of $2 million to repair roads damaged by the rains.
By doing the repair work itself, the county expects to shave
almost $1 million off the cost. Additionally, the supervisors'
recent declaration of a local emergency means that the state
will chip in 75 percent of the bill.
The county, in other words,
is in better shape than previously expected -- at least in terms
of funding for road work. But the financial fix is only temporary.
Next fiscal year could be worse, Campbell said.
For example, Campbell expects
the county will have less money to do road surfacing work next
year. Public works crews do about 30 miles of roads a year. Without
the state funds, work will have to be put off, Campbell said.
In addition, a change in the
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) fund allocation
could mean projects like the $1.6 million reconstruction of Union
Street, south of Eureka, could be delayed.
"Our projects are in jeopardy,"
Campbell said.
Other projects facing potential
delays include widening of Myrtle Avenue; widening of Old Arcata
Road, a project that includes construction of bike lanes; and
repaving McKinleyville Avenue.
The Myrtle Avenue project has
already been delayed a year because of sewer and water line replacement,
Campbell said.
Campbell doesn't expect to learn
which projects will be delayed until at least April.
But projects that pertain to
public safety, such as filling potholes and replacing signs,
will continue to be done, he said.
Under the provisions of STIP,
Caltrans determines how much funding will be available for road
projects over a four-year period. The agency then determines
how many projects can be funded. From fiscal year 2000-01 to
2003-04, the state anticipated a budget of approximately $19.8
billion. Of that amount, 75 percent went toward regional transportation
projects. The remaining 25 percent was directed to projects chosen
by the state.
For the four-year period, Humboldt
County was scheduled to receive approximately $39 million for
road projects. For fiscal year 2002-03, the county had $9 million
budgeted. That has now been reduced by the state to $7 million
and further reductions are expected, said Loretta Nickolaus,
county administrative officer.
A juggling act
Talk of state legislators withholding
funds for road maintenance, public health and general fund programs
has left Humboldt County officials scrambling to find ways to
pay for services, many of which the county is required by law
to provide. County officials hope the state sticks by its promise
to help fund mandated programs.
It's a juggling act even the
most accomplished performer would admire.
"We are trying to take
as many [cost-saving] measures as we can right now," Nickolaus
said.
In a report to the supervisors,
Nickolaus said the county stands to lose more than $20 million,
$9 million of which will come from losing vehicle license fees,
if the governor's proposed cuts go through. It is a scenario
the supervisors and county department heads are hoping to avoid.
But until Davis and legislators agree on a budget, some time
this summer, the impacts of the state's deficit won't really
be known.
The supervisors have implemented
a freeze on all travel by county employees. Only those employees
who are required to attend continuing education programs, such
as attorneys, will be exempted. The county is hoping to take
advantage of a state-run program that offers reduced travel expenses
to help save money.
Officials are also looking at
buying teleconferencing equipment to further cut back on travel
expenses. The county may also refinance its debt; that could
lead to a savings of $70,000 a year, Nickolaus said.
The county has frozen about
200 jobs -- vacancies that won't be filled. Public works has
frozen 10 of 86 positions. The Public Health Department has frozen
80 positions -- 50 mental health jobs and 30 in social services.
Director Philip Crandall said the hiring freeze is necessary
to protect county jobs.
"Further reductions could
lead to layoffs, but [we're] hoping for a salary savings by not
filling jobs," he said. The supervisors could ask all departments
to make additional cuts of more than 10 percent, Nickolaus said.
"The county is in a good
position right now. We are not in a deficit," she said.
But the supervisors are concerned
about what happens after July 1, the beginning of the fiscal
year, Nickolaus added.
Even though 80 positions in
his department are unfilled, the budget reductions have not affected
services, Crandall claimed. If true, that's a good thing, since
about 70 percent of the population will turn to the health department
at some time during their lives.
Unfunded mandates
While the state is looking to
reduce payments made to counties, declining revenues -- for example,
from sales taxes -- are compounding the economic problem.
At its mid-year budget review,
the supervisors were told there is a substantial gap between
declining revenues and increasing expenditures. Many of those
increasing expenditures are in social service programs.
So far the Public Health Department,
which includes social services, mental health programs, and programs
for children and adults, has taken a $1.2 million mid-budget
year cut.
What concerns Crandall is how
the county will fund state-mandated programs, such as In-Home
Support Services. The state required every county to have an
in-home service program in place by the end of 2002. The program,
which will put the county in charge of care givers, could have
an annual price tag of $5 million. With additional budget cuts
planned, the county could be stuck footing the entire bill for
the service.
"We don't want the state
to walk away from unfunded mandates," Crandall said.
More troubling is that there
is no way to avoid implementing mandated programs, Nickolaus
said.
"The state is threatening
to withhold funds if some programs, like in-home services, are
not funded by the county," she said.
In 1979, voters approved the
so-called Gann initiative, which allowed cities and counties
to get reimbursed by the state for unfunded mandates. A few years
before, state legislators established a commission to handle
reimbursement of mandated programs to municipalities.
This is how it works: Local
governments file a claim with the state, the claim is reviewed
by the commission, and, if approved, it becomes an amendment
to an appropriations bill so that a county or city can get paid.
But according to a spokesman with the California State Association
of Counties, it can take from three to 20 years before a county
is reimbursed.
Crandall questioned what will
happen if caseloads and costs grow, if new mandated programs
are created, or if the economy fizzles and the county can't meet
its obligations.
"Those are issues we are
concerned about," he said. "What are the basic mandates
the county is required to handle?"
Davis is also proposing a cut
in vehicle license fee payments made to cities and counties.
That could translate into a $9 million loss for Humboldt County's
general fund.
"Hopefully [he] won't go
there," Nickolaus said. "It would be devastating."
A cut in the fee could impact
the Humboldt County Library and programs such as probation.
In 1998, when California was
in the midst of an economic boom, legislators cut the fee from
$170 to $55 for an average car. The state made up the difference
to cities and counties through what was referred to as a "backfill."
Last week the state Assembly
Budget Committee proposed raising the fee back to its 1998 level.
It was a move favored by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors,
but opposed by Davis.
Dark
Anniversary
Fort Humboldt marks its
sesquicentennial
by BOB
DORAN
 When
Fort Humboldt was established in 1853 on a bluff overlooking
Humboldt Bay, some saw it as a reassuring sign of civilization
in an untamed land. The fort's main claim to fame is that Ulysses
S. Grant was stationed there for four months in 1854, nearly
drinking himself to death in what he considered a forced exile.
But today, many local residents are unaware the fort ever existed,
and ignorant of the role it played in the bloody extirpation
of the region's Indian population.
At noon this Saturday, a color
guard from Eureka High School's Naval Jr. ROTC will hoist a replica
of the American flag raised by U.S. soldiers 150 years ago. Additionally,
the original flag itself, replete with 36 stars, will be on display
during the fort's sesquicentennial celebration. [photo above right]
Celebration is probably not
the right word. "The event Saturday is a commemoration of
the first raising of the flag, but it's hard to stand behind
the history of what happened here," said Edie Carhart, the
state park interpreter who is organizing the event. [in photo below left, with Fort Humboldt's
hospital/museum]
As sole employee of Fort Humboldt
State Historic Park, Carhart's duties include leading tours of
what was once the fort hospital. She has told the story of the
fort, and of the conflict between two cultures, over and over
to groups of students, to locals and to tourists from other continents.
"When the gold rush [in
the Trinity Alps] hit, a number of white settlers came into the
area. Of course, they were pushing out the Native American population,
who had lived here for thousands of years, pushing them back
into the forest, so a conflict started."
 Humboldt
Bay was not "discovered" until the Josiah Gregg party
came out of Trinity country at the end of 1849. The onslaught
of white settlers began in the spring of 1850 with boatloads
of people streaming into the region by sea, staking claims on
land that was already occupied. The area the whites called Humboldt
Bay was home to the Wiyot.
"The bay was ringed by
Wiyot village sites; there were trails connecting them. They
used canoes for transport across the water," said Jerry
Rohde, a Humboldt County historian who will speak at the event
Saturday.
At the end of January 1853,
a company of U.S. Army soldiers under the command of Lt. Colonel
Robert C. Buchanan arrived in Humboldt County. Their assignment:
protect the community of new settlers from their Indian neighbors
-- and vice versa.
Buchanan chose to center his
operations on a bluff near what was then known as Bucksport.
On Feb. 2, 1853, troops raised the U.S. flag for the first time
over what would become Fort Humboldt.
According to Rohde, "the
standard history" of the county usually includes two things:
"There were a bunch of hostile Indians up here who were
interfering with the development of the white community and its
commerce, and they needed a military presence to subdue those
hostile Indians and to protect the white population.
"You hear about conflicts
all through the 1850s, first minor things but eventually escalating.
There were incidents right around the bay, occasional times when
the whites murdered Indians or there might have been an attack
on a white person. A lot of things didn't get reported, you have
to piece them together. What you hear about mostly is stuff that
went on further out in the hinterlands where the whites were
setting up ranches and where the pack-train trails went."
Cheryl Seidner, tribal chairwoman
of the Wiyot Tribe, said she is not sure how she feels about
a celebration of the establishment of the fort. In her mind,
the army was supposed to stop the settlers from attacking the
Wiyots, not the other way around.
"The fort was supposed
to be there for our protection, but I'm not sure how well it
protected us," she said. "I've heard people talk about
small skirmishes, people say, `This is what happened to my family'
in the 1850s to the 1860s.
"It was not a good time
to be a Native American. I don't know that it's ever a good time
to be a Native American or someone of color in these United States
of ours," she added.
"If you read the early
military dispatches, you see that the commanders saw themselves
as a peacekeeping force," said Rohde. "They were not
there solely to attack Indians and you see instances where they
claim to have taken Indians under their protection. There were
occasions where they mediated conflicts, apparently to no one's
satisfaction.
"The whites felt they were
being too easy on the Indians. The whites were concerned that
cattle were being stolen or there were attacks on individuals.
They did not feel that the military response was satisfactory."
When federal troups were called
east during the Civil War, Governor Leland Stanford brought in
the California Volunteers, seasoned Indian fighters who were
considerably more aggressive.
"It all happened very fast
here," said Carhart. "There was less than 20 years
from the time the Native Americans saw the first white settlers
to when they were all shipped off to reservations -- those who
were left alive."
After operating for a mere 13
years, Fort Humboldt was abandoned by the Army in 1870. By that
point the place was in a sorry state, according to Carhart, with
most of the buildings having been looted by whites.
In 1893 the land and the remaining
buildings were bought by a man named W.S. Cooper for $6,000.
Cooper restored the hospital building, intending to save it for
posterity; he also built several new structures along the bluff
where there had been no buildings. After he died, in 1928, his
family gave the fort to the city of Eureka.
"There was a museum with
an odd collection of things, some from the fort, some from elsewhere,"
said Carhart. "The city had it until 1955 when it was given
to the state park system."
In the late 1960s the Northern
Counties Logging Interpretive Association began working on assembling
a collection of historic logging equipment including the Falk,
a vintage steam train. In 1986, exhibits were installed in the
old hospital building to tell the story of the fort and of the
intercultural conflicts, including the slaughter of many Native
Americans.
"They talk about celebrating
the sesquicentennial of the fort," said Rohde. "I really
don't think it's anything you can celebrate, it's not a joyous
occasion. I think we can note the date. There's a lesson to be
learned, something that goes beyond the death and destruction
that occurred here."
Pepper
spray trial to be held here
Anti-logging protesters whose
eyes were swabbed with pepper spray in a controversial police
tactic in 1997 received a new trial date last week in their bid
to win damages from Humboldt County sheriff's deputies.
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn
Walker, who dismissed the original lawsuit in 1998 after jurors
deadlocked 4-4 in the first trial, set May 12 as the date for
the new trial, which was ordered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.
But in a surprising twist, Walker
directed that the trial be held in Eureka, near where the 1997
incidents at issue occurred, instead of in San Francisco, where
the first trial was held.
In an informal courtroom conference
with attorneys in the case, Walker said he wants the trial to
be held in May instead of later in the year because, "This
case is old and it needs to be resolved."
The activists who are the plaintiffs
in the case claim that Humboldt County sheriff's deputies used
excessive force when they used pepper spray during three protests
in the fall of 1997 over Pacific Lumber Co. logging of ancient
redwoods. The protesters had locked their arms together inside
metal cylinders.
The activists are seeking unspecified
compensatory and punitive damages as well as a judgment that
would prevent police from using the chemical on nonviolent protesters.
After the plaintiffs appealed
Walker's decision to throw out the original suit, the Court of
Appeals issued two opinions that voiced disapproval of the use
of pepper spray and ordered a new trial.
The case also was taken to the
U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the appeals court to re-evaluate
the case under a different standard, which
includes considering not only
whether the alleged force was excessive but also whether the
officers in question understood it was excessive.
-- reported by Bay City
News Service
Water
board may hit PL
The staff of the North Coast
Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering taking steps
to halt possibly illegal logging by the Pacific Lumber Co. in
the Freshwater basin east of Eureka.
At press time late on Tuesday,
Frank Reichmuth of the water board staff said the agency was
trying to determine whether cutting by PL in the Freshwater basin
was causing sediment discharges in violation of state water codes.
If so, he said the water board could seek an injunction from
the state attorney general. Another option, Reichmuth said, is
for the water board to slap PL with a cleanup and abatement order.
The dispute centers on three
timber harvest plans in Freshwater which, under an October order
from the water board, cannot be the source of any sediment discharge
while the board studies what restrictions are necessary to protect
water quality.
The company continued to log
despite the order, claiming that cutting trees does not in and
of itself cause erosion.
Reichmuth said Tuesday that
water board staff is "out in the field" trying to determine
whether that claim has any merit. Activists maintain that it's
not necessary for the water board to prove a discharge has occurred.
All they need to do is prove that there is a threat of a discharge,
said Ken Miller of the Humboldt Watershed Council.
The matter was not resolved
during a stormy two-day meeting in Santa Rosa meeting last week
before the water board. The Board issued some permits for PL
logging, while refusing to waive permit requirements in other
areas.
Residents living downstream
of PL timberlands in Freshwater and the Elk River watershed have
been plagued for years by flooding which they believe is due
to overlogging.
That belief seemed to be backed
up by a recent report from a board-appointed independent scientific
panel, which recommended that specific logging rates be established
and mitigation measures taken to limit erosion.
It also recommended additional
study, a clause PL has jumped on saying the report was an incomplete
rush-job which failed to take into account erosion abatement
measures the company already has in place.
Drive-by
shooting
A group of suspected gang members
opened fire on a truck full of high-school age kids on Broadway
in Eureka Monday night, hitting the driver twice before speeding
away.
The 19-year old driver had one
bullet lodge in her hand and another pass through one buttock,
but both injuries were described as minor.
The incident occurred after
what appears to have been a confrontation in front of the Bayshore
Mall Food Court just before 9 p.m. on Monday.
According to the passengers
there was some kind of stare down, which the suspects -- possibly
members of the Hispanic Nortenos gang -- took a little more seriously
than the other teenagers, none of whom are known to have any
gang affiliation.
The suspects are several white
male teenagers, around 15 to 16 years of age, and a large hispanic
male about 6 foot 2 inches tall weighing well over 200 pounds.
They were driving a gray or bluish early 1990s model Cadillac,
When one of the Cadillac's passengers opened fire, someone in
the pickup yelled, "Duck!" and the middle passenger
pulled the driver's head down as bullets sprayed into the vehicle.
One of the bullets, according to police ballistics, ricocheted
and was on a line that would have hit the driver's head or face
if she hadn't moved quickly.
"She was very lucky,"
Harpham said. "The potential for a death or maiming was
very likely."
Despite having been hit twice,
the driver remained remarkably calm. Apparently she peeked up
and had enough presence of mind to pull over into the parking
lot of Broadway Gas and Deli. She was standing up, waiting when
police arrived on the scene soon thereafter.
The suspects are still at large,
though the police say they are following up on several leads.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the police at 441-4044.
Attempted
child abduction
Eureka Police are searching
for a man who tried to kidnap two eight-year-old girls on F Street
Saturday night.
According to police, the girls
were walking south on F Street around 5:30 p.m. when they were
approached by a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, black
hair, 6-feet tall and weighing about 180 to 200 pounds. The suspect
grabbed one of the girls and attempted to pull her to him and
asked her if she wanted some candy.
The girl broke free and along
with her friend they kicked the man in the shin and fled.
The suspect left in a dark colored
newer model compact car, with at least one other person in the
vehicle.
Library
threatened
If the state withholds Vehicle
License Fee payments to Humboldt County, it could spell trouble
for the county library. According to a report given to the Board
of Supervisors Tuesday, the county's library fund could lose
$133,000.
If the county loses the payments,
it would be unable to continue providing the same level of library
service it currently provides, said Karen Suiker, assistant county
administrative officer.
In addition, if the state decides
to begin withholding payments beginning next month, that could
result in an additional loss of $4 million to the county.
Suiker told the supervisors
on Tuesday the county is not prepared to handle such a cut.
"It's beyond comprehension,"
she said.
Cities also would be hit.
Arcata could lose $316,000 in
the first year and $666,000 in the second year if the fees are
withheld. Blue Lake would lose $21,415 in the first year and
$45,000 in the second year; Eureka would lose $500,000 in the
first year and more than $1 million in the second year, Suiker
said
Got
a million bucks?
 The
Northcoast Environmental Center is looking for $1 million (or
"20 people with $50,000" as Econews editor Sid
Dominitz put it) to rebuild their offices on I and 9th streets
in Arcata, which were burned to the ground in July 2001.
The three-story building would
feature apartments on the top floor, a large conference room
and terrace on the second, and an expanded NEC office on the
first. The plans call for an appropriately eco-friendly design
including roof-top solar panels. [architectural
rendering by Jack Freeman & Associates]
"This is going to be a
project that would be of great benefit to the city of Arcata,"
said NEC director TIm McKay.
In other NEC-related news Arcata
City Councilwoman Connie Stewart will be leaving her job as NEC
office manager, a post she has held for 14 years, to work for
Patty Berg in the Assemblywoman's Eureka offices.
"I've been here a long
time," Stewart said on Tuesday. "It's been a very amazing
adventure and it's time to move on. I'm really happy to be joining
Patty's team."
Campbell's
last hurrah
John Campbell, chairman of Pacific
Lumber's Board of Directors, retired last week. He had served
as the timber company's president for 15 years before being replaced
by current President Robert Manne in October.
The retirement party was not
without incident. Several activists passed themselves off as
reporters for KIEM Channel 3 to gain entrance to the party. The
activists and PL representatives had differing views of the incident.
According to witnesses at the Scotia Fire Hall event, the activists
served Manne with legal papers. But activists said Manne was
served with the documents earlier.
They're
No. 1
The four-year old Coast Guard
Recruiting office in Eureka is the No. 1 recruitment office in
the nation.
The Eureka center signed up
more than 168 percent of its required recruits, according to
the Coast Guard.
It's the first time the north
coast office has received the top honor, beating out 125 other
recruiting offices from across the country.
Petty Officer First Class Jack
Clifford fell two recruits shy of being named Recruiter of the
Year. Clifford's recognition has earned him a transfer to Chicago,
Ill., where he will concentrate on inner city recruiting.
Clifford's last day in Eureka
will be Feb. 15. He will be replaced by Petty Officer First Class
Tim Crothers of Yakima, Wash.
Jacks rebound
Humboldt State University's
basketball team, the Jacks, extended their home-court victory
streak to 27 straight wins last week, defeating Western Washington
76-69 on Thursday and following it up with a 80-70 victory over
Seattle Pacific Saturday.
The wins helped HSU maintain
its number one ranking in the Great Northwest Athletic conference,
and keep its number two spot in the national rankings.
HSU had been rated number one
nationally until losing on the road to Central Washington two
weeks ago.
The Jacks' number two all-time
scorer, Fred Hooks, became the number one all-time rebounder
during last weekend's playing with 795 rebounds.Mark White, who
had been out due to back surgery, rejoined the team last week.The
team will take to the road yet again this week playing University
of Alaska, Anchorage on Thursday followed by U of Alaska, Fairbanks
on Saturday. The games will take place at 8 p.m. local time and
will be broadcast on KATA 1340 AM and online at www.hsujacks.com.
Letter backs
U.N. efforts
Rep. Mike Thompson and 121 other
House members -- all Democrats -- signed a letter to President
Bush last week asking him to give peace a chance.
The letter urges the President
to give U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq all the time they need
to do their work and to use his State of the Union message Tuesday
to reassure Americans and the international community that he
favors a peaceful resolution.
"The U.S. should make every
attempt to achieve Iraq's disarmament through diplomatic means
and with the full support of our allies, in accordance with the
process articulated in U.S. Security Council resolution 1441,"
the letter reads.
Correction
A news item in last week's issue
incorrectly spelled the name of David Hagemann, an arborist brought
in by the city of Eureka to assess the condition of more than
two dozen Monterey Cypress trees that had been slated for cutting
as part of a water tank replacement project at the corner of
Harris and K streets. The item also mistakenly said Hagemann
estimated that if the trees were left alone they would live for
another 20 to 25 years. Hagemann said he never made such an estimate,
but that if he had he would have said that some of the trees
had "many decades" to live. Both mistakes stemmed from
a city document.
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