The Gray Whale Die-off
As strandings continue, scientists scramble to figure out why
From the Mouths of Bands: Spin’s Faith No More Flashback
Who’s feeling nostalgic for ’90s Humboldt County — you know, the way it used to be 30 years ago — and/or alt-rock/metal played by yell-y, long-haired dudes in high-tops who hail from said Eden? If that’s you, please enjoy this throwback Spin interview with local boy Mike Patton of Faith No More from 1990, re-upped…
Eureka Man Dies in Rollover Crash
A 25-year-old Eureka man was killed late last night when a Jeep that he was in overturned on a “rough private mountain dirt trail” on a property east of Dinsmore, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man, whose name has not been released, is the fifth traffic fatality to hit the region over the…
North Coast Night Lights: Guardian Giants on the Avenue
The full moon rose over the redwood forests of the Eel River valley, bathing the hillsides in its stark light. It flashed through the redwood tree branches beside me as I drove along the Avenue of the Giants, snaking along the river in and out of great stands of the giant trees. It was after…
UPDATE: CHP IDs Three Killed in Crash on Patrick’s Point Drive
UPDATE: The CHP has identified the three people killed in a crash on Patrick’s Point Drive early this morning as 44-year-old Trinidad resident James Cohee Jr., 28-year-old Eureka resident Chloe Chapman and 32-year-old Arcata resident Cody Behler. PREVIOUS: At 3:15 this morning, the California Highway Patrol responded to a vehicle collision on Patrick’s Point Drive,…
Photos from Dell’Arte’s Tim Gray Tribute
“Turning Gray Skies Blue: The Music of Timmy Gray” is a moving tribute to the talented man who composed music and wrote lyrics for 20-plus years of Dell’Arte Company performances in Blue Lake and around the world. See the slideshow below for highlights of the rehearsal and performance. The cast of 12 past and current…
UPDATE: Three Escape, Two Found Dead After Fire
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports that three residents were able to escape the early morning fire in the Weitchpec area, with one of them sustaining moderate injuries. According to the release, the “identification of the deceased is pending further investigation and will be released at a later time.” Several agencies responded to the…
State Route 36 Blocked by Tree, Pole
State Route 36 closed this morning near Pepperwood Falls east of Swain’s Flat Outpost after a tree fell into utility lines and brought them down across the roadway. The first report came in about 7:40 a.m. Myles Cochrane, spokesperson for Caltrans told Redheaded Blackbelt just before 9 a.m., that the roadway is closed at mile…
Fatal Crash on State Route 36
Around 4 p.m. June 23, California Highway Patrol responded to a vehicle collision on State Route 36, west of Dinsmore. According to the CHP release, a 1988 Honda Sedan crashed head-on with a 2018 Dodge truck driven by Eureka resident Nate Howle, 44. The driver of the Honda reportedly drove the car onto the shoulder…
Study: Humboldt May Need $2.5 Billion by 2040 to Combat Sea-Level Rise
The United States will have to spend more than $400 billion by 2040 to protect coastal communities against sea-level rise, according to a study released this week. The study, from the Center for Climate Integrity in partnership with the engineering for Resilient Analytics, found the problem would be particularly acute in Humboldt County, which would…
A Single Quake Hit Saturday Night
In case you haven’t heard — or didn’t feel what most of the county did on Saturday night — there was an earthquake. And a good-sized one at that. But just one. The magnitude-5.6 that struck 3.7 miles off Petrolia was, according to the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, what is known as a “strike…
HumBug: Deadly Darlingtonias
About two hours north of Eureka on State Route 199, a few miles past Gasquet, a small sign announces “Botanical Trail.” It’s a very short drive on a good gravel road to the parking area. A little walk on the well-marked trail puts you in the middle of a Darlingtonia Bog. Here, where soggy conditions…
UPDATE: 5.6 Quake Rumbles Humboldt; No Tsunami Danger
UPDATE: Minor damage has been reported from this evening’s magnitude-5.6 earthquake that struck southwest of Petrolia in areas of Southern Humboldt County, including Garberville and Redway. The Shop Smart in Redway is currently closed while employees clean up damage to the store’s inventory and Ray’s Food Place in Garberville is only allowing customers in one…
Downed Utility Pole Blocking State Route 36
State Route 36 just west of Hydesville will be closed into the evening after a single car crash knocked a utility pole across the roadway. Traffic is backing up while being rerouted through Rohnerville Road after the 1 p.m. accident, according to witness Ed Denson and the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. A man in…
Does California State University have a $1.5 billion slush fund?
A report released by California’s state auditor this week looked like a bombshell: California State University has been sitting on a $1.5 billion budget surplus, it found, failing to fully disclose the existence of the money to legislators and students even as it raised tuition and lobbied for more state funding. That includes $62.4 million…
UPDATE: Sheriff Outfits Some Jail Staff with Body-Worn Cameras
In response to a sharp spike in inmate assaults on officers, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is outfitting some correctional officers in the jail with body-worn cameras that it hopes will increase safety. According to Capt. Duane Christian, the office purchased 14 cameras — seven to be worn on day shifts and seven on night…
Missing Girl Reunited with Father After a Month
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports that a 4-year-old girl who has been missing for over a month has been reunited with her father. According to a Facebook post, Ariana Bemis-Eib was “returned to her father last night at about 11 p.m.” The post also states she was reported to be “healthy and in good…
It’s Not So Bad
Editor: With two view points about galleries and art sales recently — “Artists without Galleries” (April 11) by Gabrielle Gopinath and “More on Galleries” by Alan Sanborn (Mailbox, April 25) — I feel compelled to add my own experience to the mix. Galleries have long struggled to maintain a footing in Humboldt County and I…
‘So Savage and Relevant’
Editor: I read Jennifer Fumiko Cahill’s “This is Not a Weed Tampon” (June 13) at 9:30 Thursday night. It was so spot on I didn’t even flinch from firing off an annoying group text to friends and colleagues late in the evening. It was a risk worth taking. Fumiko Cahill’s article was so savage and…
Something We Really Don’t Need
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‘Encroachment:’ Inadequate Special Education Funding Leaves Local Districts Stretched Thin
A bill introduced earlier this year by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman would make good on long-promised funding for special education. It also puts a spotlight on the issue in Humboldt County, where disproportionate rates of students need special education services and inadequate state and federal funding streams leave districts’ budgets stretched thin. Take Northern…
The Big Dipper
Dangles above the coastline Where countless stars and waves Welcome me home. One of these stars Is extremely rare Having immigrated From a Dwarf Galaxy Far, far away … All of the waves come From foreign lands Much closer to home.
Global Population and Kids
The only proven method for curbing population growth is to eradicate extreme poverty and give people better lives, including education and contraceptives. — Hans Rosling, Factfulness Quick quiz to get us started. There are 2 billion children under 16 alive today. According to the United Nations, how many under-16-year-olds will be alive in the year…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Orfield Laboratories is an architectural company that designs rooms for ultimate comfort. They sculpt the acoustic environment so that sounds are soft, clear, and pleasant to the human ear. They ensure that the temperature is just right and the air quality is always fresh. At night the artificial light is gentle…
Summer Farewells and Metal as Hell
It’s been an interesting local news cycle as far as the local music scene is concerned. The Mateel Community Center can’t seem to catch a break, with back-to-back cancellations of Reggae on the River and the Andre Nickatina show in July. This doesn’t augur well for the state of SoHum or the rest of the…
All the Pretty Oysters
The lead-up to the 2019 Arcata Bay Oyster Festival was a lot. Local beer brewers were once again shut out of the plaza taps when event organizer Arcata Main Street made an exclusive deal with Crescent City’s SeaQuake Brewing, prompting backlash and the alternative Shuck Yeah event at Eel River Brewing Co. Then, a mere…
The Gray Whale Die-off
With a bulbous upper jaw jutting out from an elongated head dappled by a patchwork of barnacles, the gray whale may not cut the same sleek figure as its oceanic cousin — and mortal enemy — the orca, which recently made some forays into Humboldt Bay. But the whales named after their slate coloring can…
It Didn’t Get Better, I Did
Happy Pride month! I am so excited to be living in a time when the LGBTQ+ community has experienced so much progress that we are able to have an entire month dedicated to celebrating our culture and raising awareness. As with any and all things that involve humans, it is not perfect. But I have…
Men Out of Time
Reviews SHAFT. Isaac Hayes’ Theme from Shaft is a certified slapper (that’s what the kids are calling them, right?). Trouble is, so is John Shaft, at least as characterized by Richard Roundtree in the original movie from 1971. (I haven’t explored the quick succession of sequels, TV movies or the kinda-sorta sequel in 2000, starring…
Village Down and Holding in Prison
Make sure and pour a little bong water out this week for Reggae on the River and its Cannabis Village. We hardly even knew ye, Cannabis Village! For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, High Times unceremoniously pulled the plug on the 35-year-old festival June 17, posting a brief message on the concert’s website saying it…
Re: Impeachment
Editor: Thank you to Thadeus Greenson and the North Coast Journal for an excellent interview with Congressperson Jared Huffman (“The Case for Impeachment,” June 13). His answers clarified matters for me in regard to whether or not to pursue impeachment now. For many years I lived in Southern California and was pleased to have Adam…
