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July 18, 2002 Las Vegas, Atlantic City -- and Eureka?A statewide initiative proposed by a Southern California man seeks to legalize Las Vegas-style gambling in Eureka as a test pilot for the state. Robert W. Wilson of Studio City, Calif., has filed an initiative to amend the state Constitution to allow "sports wagering, roulette, slot machines and percentage games played with cards or dice for the next 28 years in the city of Eureka on an experimental basis." This is Wilson's second attempt to gather enough signatures to force a statewide vote. "We first heard about it about a year ago. This group from Ventura was promoting [legalized gambling in] 12 California cities and up to two Indian reservations," said Eureka City Manager Dave Tyson by telephone Tuesday. "We thought it was dead in April, then it came up again in early June." Both times Tyson took the matter to the Eureka Council and councilmembers directed him to send a letter of opposition directly to the Secretary of State's Office. The initiative would create a three-member state commission to supervise gambling operations and operators and a commission appointed by the city of Eureka to investigate applicants for gaming licenses. The fiscal impact on state and local government "could result in revenues ... potentially up to the low millions of dollars annually from fees and taxes ... and other related economic activity," according to the initiative proposal. Even with the promise of such riches, city officials are saying, "Thanks, but no thanks." Another home for Arcata HouseThe Arcata House, which provides temporary shelter to those who cannot afford housing, has found another home. A ground-breaking ceremony Friday celebrates the beginning of the renovation of the old Eagles Hall on 11th and I streets in Arcata. The 10-year-old non-profit already runs two homes in the city and this will be the third. The first step in the renovation, demolishing the building from the inside out, has been completed. The work Most of the outside structure has remained intact, and Arcata House officials say they intend to preserve as much of the building as possible. The remodeling is estimated to cost $247,000. The remodel is funded through the city of Arcata from a federal development block grant. When completed, the new Arcata House will house six people and provide office space for the nonprofit's operators. The Arcata House provides transitional housing to people who are suffering from a financial setback. The goal is to help them acquire permanent housing. HSU enrollment upHumboldt State University is expecting a 12 percent increase in incoming freshmen and new transfer and graduate students for the fall semester. That number is up significantly from previous years, university officials said. In addition, HSU has seen a 30 percent increase in enrollment applications for the past two years, placing it near the top of the 23 California State University campuses. "(We) had the third highest gain in the CSU system," said Ron Maggiore, dean of enrollment management. A shift in HSU's recruitment plan, seeking students from up and down the state, is partially responsible for increased enrollment, Maggiore said. Limiting recruitment to within 100 miles of the university would have meant fewer students, he said. But whether the downturn in the economy played a role in increasing enrollment won't be known for another 18 months. That is because the recruitment cycle runs about 18 months out, Maggiore added. As of July 3, 310 new students were enrolled at HSU, an 8 percent increase, according to university spokesman Sean Kearns. "Freshman registration numbers are up significantly from last year," Kearns said. Additionally, the number of students who applied for admittance to HSU increased by 29 percent and the number of students admitted increased by 27 percent. However, those numbers are hard to assess because students could be applying to more than one campus in the state university system, Kearns said. That could mean HSU is not necessarily a student's first choice. HSU is expected to enroll 731 freshman this fall, for a total student population of 7,382, said Dennis Armstrong, public affairs assistant for the CSU system in Long Beach. Maggiore is optimistic that HSU has turned the corner on enrollment. "Building enrollment is a high priority for the (university) president," Maggiore said, referring to the new top man at HSU, Rollin Richmond. But even with the increased enrollment, HSU is still among the lowest for student population in the statewide system, Armstrong said. San Diego State university leads with a student population of 31,609. CSU Monterey Bay, in contrast, has 2,600. The California Maritime Academy in Vallejo has 653 students, Armstrong said.
Seventeen employees were laid-off from the Arcata Co-op last Friday and more layoffs are expected by the end of this week. "Of course, we'd like to see more people keep their jobs," said John Fromm, a Co-op employee and union organizer, "but if it's what the Co-op feels it has to do, we can't do much about it." So far the layoffs have been limited to staff in the coffee bar and juice bar, but Fromm declined to speculate as to what other parts of the store might get hit with layoffs. The juice bar, which was closed with the layoffs, is scheduled to be back in operation by next Monday. The reason for the layoffs? A bloated workforce, with payroll accounting for 25 percent of the $13 million in gross sales, and the fact that the store has been running in the red for the past two years. "We're in a transition period, " said store General Manager Patrick Cleary. "We did lay off quite a few people, but it's not a huge number, and we're trying to keep it to a minimum."
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involved removing pest-infested wood and salvaging old redwood beams.