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December 28, 2000
'Bijou'
gets green light in Ferndale
It's official. Jim Carrey is
coming to Humboldt County. Filming for a romantic comedy called
The Bijou is scheduled for six weeks beginning in March.
The period piece, set in 1951, will use Ferndale as a backdrop.
"Monday (Dec. 11) we got
the permit from the city of Ferndale," said Rory Enke, location
manager for Castle Rock, the production company shooting the
film. "Now it's a matter of negotiations with private property
owners in the downtown area and dealing with downtown merchants
arranging for fees connected with filming."
The city will receive fees for
police services and the use of city property, including streets,
the town cemetery and a public parking lot where a Bijou movie
theater will be built.
Castle Rock will also cover
the cost of converting a veterinary office into office space
for the film crew. After the filming is concluded, the building
will become Ferndale's new police station. Ferndale's mayor,
Jeff Farley, estimates that the city will take in $60,000-$70,000.
"That's a fairly good sum
of money for not having to do a lot," said Farley in a call
from his milk delivery truck. "We told them up front we're
not going to gouge them. We just want them to make everybody
happy. And we want it in writing."
Fees paid by the film company
are just a small part of the millions the production will spend
locally. Humboldt County Film Commissioner Jensen Rufe estimates
that filming for Outbreak brought in $3 million. "And
that was just a three-week shoot. This time they will be here
twice as long."
Despite the financial benefit
for the county as a whole, after the Outbreak experience
some in Ferndale were leery about another film crew coming to
town.
"We learned a lot from
Outbreak," said Farley. "We had people upset.
`I didn't know they were going to do that, or I didn't know they
were going to do this.' This time we've had five different public
hearings and meetings for all the merchants and all the people.
That way they can ask all those questions and believe me, they
did. And Castle Rock was there to answer them.
"We said, `If you'd like
to film in Ferndale we'd love to have you. But here's the way
it's going to be this time: You're going to take care of Ferndale
first.' Between the hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, we
have 63 rooms in town for rent. We're going to rent about half
of them to the film and crew. That's one thing the people wanted;
They didn't want Castle Rock in all of them so no tourists could
come in."
Besides shooting downtown, the
film crew will set up a sound studio in the largest building
on the Ferndale Fairgrounds, Hindley Hall. Other interior shots
will be done in Los Angeles, but Enke said, "The problem
is we're shooting in the rainy season. We cannot afford to shut
down. This way we'll have a place to go when it rains. When you're
paying 100 some-odd people who are all living in motel rooms,
you have to keep it moving."
Farley said he has read the
script and thinks The Bijou will be "a fine movie."
Carrey plays a writer blacklisted
by the House Un-American Activities Committee who suffers a case
of amnesia. Arriving in a small town, he is mistaken for the
estranged son of the owner of the local movie house, the Bijou.
"This time Jim Carrey is
not just a comedian," said Farley. "He really gets
to act. It's a romance and a drama together. It's the kind of
film I'd take my family to."
Rufe is collecting resumés
from those looking for work as an extra or in production. He
requests that anyone interested send two copies of a resumé
and a head shot to the Humboldt County Film Commission, 1034
2nd St., Eureka, 95501.
Energy
crunch worse for some
As the energy squeeze tightens
and consumers across the state are looking for ways to reduce
costs, certain businesses are being especially hard-hit.
Some are "non-firm"
customers, those who purchase electricity from Pacific Gas &
Electric at reduced prices. In return they agree to be taken
off of the grid in power emergencies. In good years, the savings
can be substantial, but right now, it's anything but a good deal.
"We've gone down 17 times
this year," said Kenneth Cole, manager of the Louisiana-Pacific
particleboard plant in Arcata. Cole said in the past the company
has saved money but not this year.
"It's not cost-effective
with this many curtailments. We go completely black," Cole
said. "It certainly puts a strain on us and it gets to the
point where it was probably not the best decision we made. When
the contract comes up it will be something we look at."
Even if you don't get taken
off line, the crunch can be costly, said Sean Kearns, director
of university advancement for Humboldt State University.
"Last December, our natural
gas bill was about $47,000. We do not know how effective our
conservation measures will be, but it's likely that cost will
double." He said the university had budgeted extra money
for natural gas this winter but was unprepared for such rapid
price increases.
Kearns said that while the university
is introducing extra conservation measures to adjust to the energy
shortage, there is a limit to the number of improvements possible.
"We are in a situation
as a campus where we have implemented many conservation measures
in the past, including energy-efficient building designs or replacing
old boilers. There's not a lot of fat in our energy usage."
The check's
in city's account
Rob and Cherie Arkley handed
over two checks for a total of $2 million to Eureka Tuesday to
cover the shortfall in the city's boardwalk project.
"I want to make sure it
gets in the bank tonight," said Rob Arkley, who said his
wife will be present for a press conference Wednesday to acknowledge
the donation.
City Manager David Tyson said
he was happy to accept the check a day early. The interest on
$2 million for one day is about $600.
City officials discovered in
November that bids exceeded estimates for the $4.2 million project
by about $2 million. They recommended the project be completed
in sections while additional funds were pursued.
However the Arkleys, who have
undertaken a number of private projects to enhance the city's
cultural and historic buildings over the last two years, did
not want to see the boardwalk project delayed. Since Cherie Arkley
is on the City Council, she had to recuse herself from accepting
the gift to the city. A special fund was created to accept donations
from the Arkleys and any other potential donors.
The Arkleys, along with developer
Kurt Kramer, are responsible for the renovation of the Vance
Hotel in progress and the two adjacent buildings now housing
Kokopilau boutique and Hurricane Kate's restaurant. The couple
also purchased and donated money for remodeling another historic
building which is now the home of the Redwood Concert Ballet
on F Street.
The concrete boardwalk will
run approximately 1,200 feet between C and G streets along the
bay. A pedestrian promenade along F Street between First Street
and the bay will lead to a plaza at the foot of F.
Water authority
shift?
When Secretary of the Interior
Bruce Babbitt signed the historic decision to restore almost
half the flow to the Trinity River Dec. 19, he shared the podium
in Hoopa with representatives of state, county and other governments.
However there was one official that day who may have had her
mind on another river -- State Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin.
Strom-Martin recently introduced
Assembly Bill 38, which would shift control of the Sonoma County
Water Agency from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to an
independent, elected body. The agency controls as much as $8
billion in water facilities and resources, including water diverted
from the Eel River in Southern Humboldt to the Russian River,
supplying agriculture and almost 600,000 people in Sonoma and
Marin counties.
"The bill I've introduced
takes the 1949 state legislation that created the agency and
says the Board of Supervisors will not be the water agency. It
will be a separate elected body," Strom-Martin told the
Journal. She called the bill "just a starting point,"
and said the new, elected body could possibly include representatives
of Humboldt and Mendocino counties, although such language is
not in the bill at this time.
"We need to make these
decisions by taking into account all of the people affected,"
she said. "Those are the kinds of things we're researching
now."
AB 38, which has yet to be referred
to a committee, comes at an important time for the water agency
and those affected by its decisions. The agency is planning a
$140 million expansion that would increase the amount of water
sold by 40 percent. At the same time, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, which controls the dam diverting water from the Eel
to the Russian, has proposed reducing the amount taken by 15
percent.
Strom-Martin said the bill is
an attempt to broaden the decision-making process.
"I wouldn't be doing this
without the outcry from citizens. Water systems don't know political
boundaries."
About 95 percent of the state's
water agencies are separate, elected bodies.
More firefighters
in 2001
In response to this year's disastrous
fire season, the federal government has funded more than 1,500
new positions for wilderness firefighters, including 75 in Six
Rivers National Forest.
"Being a firefighter is
hard work," said Peggy Lawrence, supervisor of the Eureka
office of Six Rivers, cautioning prospective applicants.
The forest service holds a week-long
camp in early summer to train new recruits that includes a grueling
physical fitness test, classroom work and building a mock fireline.
"They wear all the safety
gear, work long hours in hot, dusty, dirty conditions. It's very
physical work, and of course it's very smoky," Lawrence
said.
Starting pay is about $7 an
hour plus room and board. Workers with experience get paid more,
and any time a crew is actually fighting a fire, they receive
hazard pay. When not actually digging firelines, the firefighters
will be mechanically clearing brush to reduce the likelihood
of future fires.
Applicants may call 441-3548
for more information.
Harbor commission
vacancy
When Jimmy Smith won the race
for 1st District Supervisor, he lost something else: his seat
on the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District
Board.
The board directs policy for
the harbor district, a county agency with an annual budget of
$1.7 million. Smith's replacement will be appointed by the four
remaining commissioners out of a pool of applicants. Applications
will be available starting Dec. 29 and will be accepted until
mid-January.
Teacher
of the year named
John Matthias, a 28-year veteran
of Fortuna Union High School, has been named Humboldt County's
Teacher of the Year. Matthias, a Eureka native and graduate of
Humboldt State University, teaches English.
Matthias said he always wanted
to be a teacher. "I can remember even as a kid playing school,"
he said.
In addition to teaching English,
Matthias has taught psychology and served as the chair of the
English Department. He was recognized as Teacher of the Year
by graduating seniors in 1987 and 1990.
"It's a great honor,"
Matthias said of his latest award. "I feel like I represent
a lot of great teachers in the county. It is too bad only one
can be singled out, because there are a lot of good people."
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