

Cover Story
Digital Nomad: A Bipolar Man’s Slow Slide into Homelessness in Humboldt
With his head hung low and a purple, black eye cast to the ground, Robert Stretton crossed the street outside the Humboldt County Courthouse on the cold, rainy afternoon of Dec. 20. He had just been served with a restraining order, a day after being evicted from an office on Eureka’s E Street that he’d…
Speakers Urge Arcata City Council to Seek State Help in Lawson Case
Almost two dozen people gathered in the Arcata City Hall lobby before tonight’s city council meeting, prepared to ask the council to seek outside help in the David Josiah Lawson investigation after a criminal grand jury declined to hand up indictments in the case, sending it back to the Arcata Police Department for further investigation.…
SF Man Honored for Helping Save Humboldt Residents at Fiery Crash
Nicholas Anderson and his girlfriend Tracy weren’t supposed to be headed down the section of U.S. Highway 101 where they found themselves just after midnight on May 26, 2017. But a glitch with a credit card at a gas station had forced the San Francisco couple traveling to a family reunion to retrace their steps…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, March 20
The brothers Niemann and bassist Will Iermini are Santa Cruz psychedelic fuzz trio Supernaut, named, I can only hope, after the greatest riff from Black Sabbath’s Vol. 4. You can ask the fellas in person tonight at Blondies at 7 p.m. As of press time I don’t have a lock on the door-price but, if…
Kicking up Sawdust: Photos from the Logging Conference
The 81st annual Redwood Region Logging Conference drew large crowds to Redwood Acres in Eureka March 14-16, with displays of vintage and modern logging industry machinery and trucks, along with chainsaw wood carvers, a wildlife show, a large mix of vendors and college students displaying their skills in the Lumberjack & Jill show. One could…
HSU’s El Leñador Wins Multiple Awards
Humboldt State University’s El Leñador newspaper won six first place awards in the 2019 California College Media Association statewide awards competition this year. “I can’t be more proud of our El Leñador staff,” Jose Herrera, current editor-in-chief said in the press release. “The awards are a sign that we are doing incredible work covering the community.”…
Eureka Code Enforcement Uncovers Large Hash Lab
A butane hash lab operation was shut down near the North Coast Co-op on Friday after Eureka Police Department officers served a search warrant, finding hundreds of pounds of cannabis trim and more than 100 pounds of liquid butane. According to a release, the illegal operation at Third and A streets was discovered by the…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, March 19
Lansing, Michigan, is in the house tonight, the house in question being the Outer Space. The Mid Michigan representatives tonight are Grey Matter — a hardcore jazz noise act — and She/her/hers an indie group which are self-described gender and genre destroyers and denyers. Local punk act Wet Spot provides regional flavor at 7 p.m.…
Trinidad Rancheria Unveils its Revised Hotel Proposal
The Trinidad Rancheria recently presented its revised concept of a 100-room hotel on the bluffs of Scenic Drive but it aroused little enthusiasm from the residents of Trinidad. David Tyson, CEO of the Trinidad Rancheria Economic Development Corporation (TREDC), gave the presentation during the March 13 meeting of the Trinidad City Council to an audience…
Music Tonight: Monday, March 18
Poetry duo Mercedez Holtry and Eva Marisol Crispin come to the Outer Space tonight on a trip from their native Albuquerque, New Mexico, on their Xicana Revolt tour. Joining in for a night of spoken word poetry and hip hop will be locals Rafi B and Alyx Muro, as well as anyone brave enough to…
Music Tonight: Sunday, March 17
As I have mentioned here before, for a guy named Collin, I have never had much use for this holiday. I’m not a huge fan of this bit of Irish-American culture, and I look at day drinking with the same attitude as sunbathing: A lot of people celebrate it but very few look good doing…
‘This Doesn’t End;’ Hundreds Attend Vigils Demanding ‘Justice for Josiah’
Red hats, scarfs and sweaters enveloped the exterior of the Humboldt County Courthouse and “Justice for Josiah” and “I stand with Charmaine Lawson” signs sat on the steps, as Lawson began to speak. “We’re not going to stop fighting, this doesn’t end,” she said. “Thursday’s decision doesn’t end. Maggie Fleming, if you can hear me,…
St. Joseph Hospital Donates $2 Million to Jumpstart HSU’s New Nursing Program
Humboldt State University is bringing back its nursing program and St. Joseph Hospital has a committed a $2 million grant to help implement and sustain the new partnership between the College of the Redwoods and HSU. The program is hoped to help address health care shortages and “keep quality healthcare close to home” by allowing…
Music Tonight: Saturday, March 16
Rosewater is the only local Grateful Dead tribute act of any prominence that eschews the use of “Grateful” or “Dead” in its title and for that I applaud the group. Tonight the band will play three sets at The Jam (the first set’s free, then it’s $10 after 9:30 p.m.) of music by its spiritual…
Attorney: Zoellner Thanks Jurors, Hopes Police Will Seek ‘Truth’ in Lawson Investigation
After a criminal grand jury targeting him opted not to issue an indictment, a McKinleyville man suspected in the stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson hopes the jury’s decision “will allow law enforcement to investigate the case from a new perspective and seek the truth,” according to a press release from his attorney. “Kyle Zoellner…
You Had Me at Merlot
If you bleed red, white and rosé, you’ll be among kindred spirits this weekend at the Humboldt Wine Festival. The anticipated event, now in its 11th year, pops off Saturday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room ($45). Presented by Rotary Club of Arcata and North Bay Rotaract, the splashy soiree is…
Westhaven Center Welcomes Samara Jade
“Philosopholk” artist Samara Jade brings her diverse tapestry of sounds — folk, jazz, soul, blues and Appalachian old-time — to Westhaven Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding). Earlier in the day, Jade and WCA musician-in-residence Rosalind Parducci offer a Newcomer-Musician’s Workshop from 4 to 6 p.m. for those…
Music Tonight: Friday, March 15
Mieczysaw Horszowski was a physically diminutive Polish master pianist whose life and career literally spanned the entire 20th century. A last pupil of his, Rieko Aizawa, started The Horszowski Trio with violinist Jesse Mills and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan to honor the virtuoso’s tonal vision. Tonight at 7:30 p.m. the trio will appear at the Calvary…
Charmaine Lawson Vows to Keep Fighting for Son, Plans to Attend Tomorrow’s Vigil
The mother of slain Humboldt State University sophomore David Josiah Lawson says she won’t give up in her quest to find justice for her son, despite yesterday’s announcement that a criminal grand jury convened in the case declined to hand down indictments. “I am heartbroken by the (grand jury’s) decision, my family is heartbroken. We…
State Approves $40 Million for Environmental Studies at Last Chance Grade
The California Transportation Commission has agreed to provide $40 million in funding to complete environmental studies of the Last Chance Grade project, North Coast State Sen. Mike McGuire announced this morning. “We all made a commitment four years ago to get the job done with the Last Chance Grade and today’s vote moves the project…
It’s Easy Being Green
Humboldt is known for its greenery: pines, pastures, politics, pot. And ’round St. Patrick’s Day, things get a little greener. While many of the 21-and-up set will look to get lucky at nighttime establishments that serve green beer, Jameson and shenanigans, there are also sober options for celebrating the patron saint of Ireland. No, really.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, March 14
Pacific Northwest phenom Alice DiMicele has been playing activist-tinged acoustic music very well and on her own terms for the last three decades. Tonight she rolls a solo set out at the Arcata Playhouse for all of the folkies in the area at 7:30 p.m. (price TBA). Wunderkind Delaney Rose opens the night.
Fading Into the Mists of Time in Arcata
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Spring Reverb
Spring’s coming and along with it is St. Patrick’s Day, the Vernal Equinox, Purim and the Worm Moon. Also a certain group of my friends — you know the ones — tell me that Mercury is currently in retrograde. So, if all of this change going on — the most chaotic of which for many…
Do Uber Eats and DoorDash Deliver Profits?
When, at already-in-your-pajamas o’clock, with Netflix alerting you the next episode will start in seven seconds, you realize you must have a bacon cheeseburger or a poké bowl, throwing a few extra bucks at a delivery app sounds like a bargain. Plus tip, of course — you’re not an animal. But how much of a…
Captain Marvel Overcomes the Hero Complex
Reviews CAPTAIN MARVEL. When the post-credits Easter egg rolled at the end of Avengers: Infinity War (spoiler alert for the dozen people alive who don’t know how the ensemble blockbuster ended) and a swearing, dissolving Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) scrambled to send a message on a pager, of all things, Captain Marvel’s red, gold…
A Sad Surprise
A couple decades difference in our ages, a dozen years as neighbors, perhaps a handful of brief chats through the lattice and hydrangeas. A few times I put your newspaper at your door so you wouldn’t have to retrieve it in bathrobe and slippers. So as not to disturb you, I bring my dog in…
Steller Sea Lyin’
Some people hunt for meat and some people hunt for trophies — or both, or whatever. They tend to get the proper licenses, take safety classes and all of that crap. I’m not one of those hunters. I’ll kill anything, anywhere, by any means and at any time. As long as it’s the right size…
The Particulars of Pruning
With the mercury hovering in the frost zone, here on the home farm we’re enjoying the rush of chilly temperatures. An essential but often overlooked element of successful home farming is the downtime of the winter months. We use this time to put up our feet and drink some hot homegrown tea by the fire.…
Frustrations Mount in Klamath-Trinity School District
It’s pouring rain in Hoopa. The roads are slick with ice and snow is about to fall as roughly half a dozen people shuffle into a small room for the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District Board meeting in mid-February. The crowd is small but those attending carry the voices of their children, their community and,…
The Tax Man Giveth Back
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously March 12 to reinvest a portion of its cannabis excise tax revenue back into the industry it came from. In a series of votes, the board approved plans to create a local “equity” program aimed at helping those impacted by prohibition and the drug war, a board…
‘I’m Indoors’
This is a new beginning after a story that has been long, slow, painful and ever so drawn out. I am (finally) back indoors, in an actual apartment! Not some long-term, extended stay motel nor the local Rescue Mission nor a cold and lonely tent in the middle of nowhere. A real apartment. It’s a…
The Thing About Socialists
Editor: Socialists need Capitalists (“Newsom’s Move,” posted Feb. 4). Where else are they going to get their spending money? Pat Holbrook, Eureka Related Stories
No Trucking Way
Editor: Thank you to the North Coast Journal for your article (“Big Changes Considered for 101 Through Eureka,” Feb. 28) about the traffic woes and accompanying death toll on 101 through Eureka. As bad as the current picture you paint may be, it pales in comparison to how much worse it will be if and when…
Their Shoes
Editor: In a letter in the Feb. 28 issue of the NCJ, the ever insightful Ellen Taylor presented a disturbing and honest personal comment in reference to homeless people in Humboldt County who suffer from mental illness. Ellen wrote that if she were living in the dire situations these human beings endure daily, her own…
‘A Narrative of Belonging’
Editor: Talia Rose’s photos captured my attention some time ago; I keep a small collection. Because of her photos, I now look for the Independent as I pass through Eureka’s library. They are not just portraits of critters, but a narrative of belonging. Thank you for unveiling who is behind the camera (“Wild,” Feb. 28).…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The coming weeks might be a good time to acquire a flamethrower. It would come in handy if you felt the urge to go to a beach and incinerate mementoes from an ex-ally. It would also be useful if you wanted to burn stuff that reminds you of who you used…
Luz, an Evening of Flamenco
Seattle-based Flamenco dancer Savannah Fuentes returns to Humboldt with her new show, Luz, an Evening of Flamenco, on Saturday, March 16 at 8 p.m. at HLOC’s Space in Sunny Brae ($20 general, $34 VIP seating, $12 student, $8 child). Rounding out the performance ensemble are acclaimed Spanish-Romani guitarist Pedro Cortes and singer/percussionist/dancer Jose Moreno.






