Frankovich: Resignation About Family, Not Bullies
At a media availability today following the announcement of her intent to resign as Humboldt County’s health officer, Teresa Frankovich said she intends to stay in the role until the Board of Supervisors finds a full-time replacement. “My intent is to be part of this response ongoing,” she said, adding that she plans to stay…
Public Health Reports 4 COVID-19 Cases Today
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed four new COVID-19 cases today. That makes nine cases in September after 155 cases were confirmed in August and 100 in July. Humboldt is currently in the “moderate” category under the state’s new four tiered system, with local numbers at about 3.6 cases per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate…
CRV Buybacks Causing Backups on Broadway
UPDATE: The service has been closed until further notice due to an overwhelming demand. Read more here. PREVIOUS: One day after the Eureka Recycling Center reopened its CRV buyback service, the response has been overwhelming and impacting Broadway Street. According to the Humboldt Waste Management Authority, the city is temporarily detouring customers onto Del Norte…
Smoke Impacts Continue from Local, Regional Fires
Regions of Humboldt County are likely to see “Good” to “Moderate” air quality, with some periods of “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” and maybe “Unhealthy” as the Red Salmon Complex and others to the south and east continue to burn. The fire burning in rugged terrain primarily within the Trinity Alps Wilderness on the Six Rivers…
County Health Officer Frankovich Resigns
County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich has submitted her resignation, saying it was a “difficult decision.” Frankovich, like many in her position during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the target of backlash over restrictions aimed at protecting the public as well as praised for her calm, measured approach to the challenges of an unprecedented time. (Read…
UPDATE: Fire Southwest of Briceland
About 5:52 p.m., a piece of logging equipment caught on fire southwest of Briceland. Flames from the vehicle spread to the surrounding vegetation, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Savona. At 6:26 p.m., the fire had spread to a quarter acre and aircraft were overhead. Ground crews from Cal Fire, Briceland Fire, Whitethorn Fire,…
McKinleyville Man’s Death Investigated as Homicide
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a McKinleyville man as a homicide after his body was found near Orleans on Aug. 24. According to a news release, the remains have been identified as 64-year-old Robert Mark Coffer. “This is an active investigation,” the release states. “To protect the integrity of this…
Sheriff’s Office Investigating Death of Woman Found Near Kneeland Road
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a woman’s body was found by a motorist down an embankment at a Kneeland Road turnout on the evening of Aug. 30. According to a news release, the woman has been identified as 32-year-old Tawny Deann James. An autopsy is scheduled for Sept. 3. “This is an…
Public Health Confirms Five New COVID-19 Cases; Officials Warn Against Social Gatherings
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed five new COVID-19 cases today. The announcement comes on the heels of one new hospitalization and new 20 cases announced yesterday, which made 155 cases confirmed in August after 100 in July. Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich also issued a revised facial coverings order today to align local policy…
HCSO: Online Dog Licensing Now Available
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office’s new online dog licensing portal is at attention and ready to serve. In a press release sent out Tuesday, the sheriff’s office states that residents in the unincorporated areas of Humboldt County can now use the online portal —available at the county’s website (humboldtgov.org/DogLicenseRegistration) — to “purchase or renew their…
Local Theaters Go Red Tonight in Support of the Live Events Sector
Humboldt County entertainment organizations, including local theaters, will turn on the red light tonight in support of the live events sector, which has taken a heavy hit due to COVID-19. The idea is to draw attention to a vital industry that has been shuttered since early March, 2020, and most likely will not reopen until…
Eureka Recycling Center’s CRV Buyback Service is Back
Humboldt Waste Management Authority announced the Eureka Recycling Center’s CRV Buyback service is reopening today with limited days of service and special hours exclusively for senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals. According to a press release, the Eureka Recycling Center is now open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., with a special early hour from 8…
Yurok Tribe Offers COVID-19 Test
Starting on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the Yurok Tribe will offer drive-through COVID-19 tests in the Redwood Hotel Casino parking lot. In a press release sent out Aug. 31, the Yurok Tribe announced the free tests will be offered every Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. until the end of September. The test is available to tribal…
SECOND UPDATE: Rock Throwing Assault Suspect Arrested
SECOND UPDATE: Community tips led to the identification and arrest of a 56-year-old man suspected of assaulting another person with rocks following what the Arcata Police Department describes as a bicycle road-rage incident. According to a news release, Bryan Wayne Bach was contacted at his residence on the 4800 block of Union Street in Arcata.…
Humboldt ‘Not Far” From Losing ‘Moderate’ COVID Rank
The county’s Emergency Operations Center will be folding the state’s new four-tiered business reopening outline into its process, and businesses with local certified plans can reopen as soon as today, according to a news release. Under the state program, counties are assigned one of four tiers based on seven-day COVID case rates and positivity rates.…
Public Health Confirms 20 New COVID-19 Cases, Another Hospitalization
Humboldt County Public Health announced this afternoon that it has confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, making 155 for the month of August after the county recorded 100 in July. The county also announced that another resident has been hospitalized with the disease. In a press release, Health Officer Teresa Frankovich indicated that travel…
Cars Destroyed in Eureka Garage Fire
Humboldt Bay Fire responded this morning to a fire on the 200 block of Long Street in Eureka that destroyed two cars and caused about $130,000 in damage. “Due to a quick response, crews obtained fire control within 20 minutes,” the news release states. “Damage to the shed and garage including two vehicles inside is…
Men Injured in Ferndale Crash ID’d
Two men suffered major injuries Aug. 27 when the car they were in went off Bluff Street near Grizzly Bluff Road around 7 p.m. and hit a tree. According to the CHP, Ferndale resident Joshua Hindley was driving at a high rate of speed without a seatbelt on when the crash occurred. His passenger, Douglas…
NCJ Preview: Justice on Howard Street and a Restaurant’s Transformation
This week we’re talking about “What Happened on Howard Street,” our cover story on the assault of a Black 16 year old by a white adult neighbor who remains uncharged. Then we go to Eureka’s Old Town to see how a sushi restaurant owner adapted to shelter in place and tough economic times with a…
Red Salmon Fire Now at 23,221 acres, 42 Percent Contained
This morning’s update on the Red Salmon Complex states that the fires are now at 23,221 acres and 42 percent containment. The Red Salmon Complex is comprised of the Red and Salmon fires, started by a July 27 lightning storm, burning in rugged and remote country within the Trinity Alps Wilderness on the Six Rivers National…
Investigation Finds 2 Suspected Meth Runners
Two suspected “runners” for a drug trafficking organization were found with a combined 3 pounds of methamphetamine during traffic stops Aug. 29 as part of a Humboldt County Drug Task Force operation, including a Hoopa woman who was allegedly transporting the drug with her 3-year-old grandson in the car, according to authorites. According to a…
APD Arrests Three in Robbery and Shooting Investigation
The Arcata Police Department has arrested three suspects in what they’e calling a a robbery and attempted murder that happened Thursday morning in an apartment on L Street. Officers were called to Mad River Community Hospital shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday to a report of a gunshot victim. A subsequent investigation found the victim had…
Fire Destroys Second Arcata Barn (With Video)
Before 6 a.m., the Arcata Fire Protection District began fighting a barn fire on Mad River Road in the Arcata Bottoms. Multiple agencies responded to fight the fire and keep it from spreading to a residence and another barn. According to a Facebook post from Arcata Fire, “Loleta Water Tender(WT), Fortuna WT, Westhaven WT, Humboldt…
FRT to Reopen Fall of 2021, Satlof Stepping Down
In a press release Thursday, Ferndale Repertory Theatre, which has been shut down since shelter in place was declared in March, announced it would focus on repairs and hold off reopening until fall of 2021. It also shared that Artistic Producing Director Leira V. Satlof will be stepping down. Satlof, who’s been involved with FRT…
Hoopa Teen Charged With Murder, Potentially Faces Two Life Terms, LoCo Reports
The Lost Coast Outpost is reporting that 18-year-old Bronson Moon Lewis, Jr., who was arrested on suspicion of homicide in connection with the death of Julius Tripp, faces the possibility of two life terms in state prison if convicted of all charges in the shooting death of Tripp. The Hoopa man’s remains were recovered earlier this month, near where…
Kayaker Shares Harrowing Shark Scare
Yesterday afternoon, a shark chomped onto the end of a kayak in Shelter Cove and threw the kayaker into the water where they were eye to eye. But, fortunately, the kayaker lived to tell us the story of his terrifying experience. David Alexander, Superintendent at Bellevue Union School District in Southern Santa Rosa, said with…
Frankovich: New State Guidelines Will Go Into Effect Locally Next Week
Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich is still reviewing a new state COVID-19 monitoring system, which places tiered restrictions on individual counties, and hopes to implement the new framework early next week. In a press release, Frankovich said the new system — which places Humboldt County in Tier 3, or “moderate” risk status — will…
Public Health Confirms Four New COVID-19 Cases, Lowers Threat Level
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed four new COVID-19 cases today, making 24 this week and 135 so far this month. The results come after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced sweeping revisions to the state’s program governing what businesses, services and organizations can open throughout the state and how they must modify operations. The new system does…
Crescent City Man Killed in Logging Accident
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has launched a death investigation after a logging accident killed a 70-year-old man on a rural property near Orick yesterday. According to a press release, two pieces of logging equipment collided, injuring the John Henry Sims Jr., of Crescent City, who died at the scene. Cal OSHA is also investigating…
Look Up: Redwood Skywalk in Progress
A recent walk past Eureka’s Sequoia Park entrance gate and a right turn on the path going behind the zoo revealed what at first looked like Ewoks at work high up in the redwoods. But instead of seeing the fictional species of small mammal bipeds from Endor at work building arboreal huts (see the 1983…
Frankovich Urges People to ‘Reach Out and Check in’ with Older Community Members
Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich is worried about our older community members, and not just because they are more vulnerable to critical outcomes from COVID-19 — they’re also more likely to be socially isolated during the pandemic. “It’s up to all of us to reach out and check in with our older friends, family…
Public Health Pledges Support for Latinx Community, Assures it Won’t Ask About Documentation Status
Humboldt County Public Health issued a statement of support for the local Latinx community — whic h has experienced a disproportionate impact form COVID-19 — and pledging that its contact investigators will not ask people about their “documentation status.” According to the statement, the Latinx community makes up about 12 percent of Humboldt County’s population…
COVID-19 Testing for Hoopa Residents
The K’ima:w Medical Center (contracting with AB Med Healthcare Solutions) will be providing COVID-19 testing for Hoopa residents who aren’t showing symptoms next week at three different locations. To be eligible for testing residents must be a Hoopa Valley Tribal member, a Hoopa Valley Tribal employee or live on the Hoopa Valley Tribal reservation. Testing…
Virtual Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Garberville Campus Complex
The county of Humboldt will be holding a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction for the new Garberville Campus Complex on Wednesday, Sept. 2. The $2.6 million Garberville Campus Complex will replace the current buildings and will serve as a more modern, energy-efficient community center for southern Humboldt residents that will house a library, a…
Kiwanis Club of Henderson Center Donates $10,000 to Northern California Community Blood Bank
The Kiwanis Club of Henderson Center has made a $10,000 donation to the Northern California Community Blood Bank that will contribute to the bank’s $350,000 total expense for a new bloodmobile. According to the release, the new mobile will replace a “17-year-old Bluebird bus that has, by Blood Bank estimates, served over 70,000 local donors and made…
North Coast Air Quality PSA
Most Humboldt County areas will see “good” to “moderate” air quality, with possible periods of “unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups” according to a North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District release. According to the release, coastal, inland and southern areas are expected to have “good” to “moderate” air quality, with possible periods of “unhealthy air quality…
During the COVID Crisis, Southern Humboldt Dealt Another Bitter Blow as Only Pharmacy for 40 Miles Closes Tomorrow
The Southern Humboldt Community, already reeling from a struggling economy due to the change in the cannabis industry and the current COVID crisis, now takes another blow as their only local pharmacy will close abruptly tomorrow which will create travel times of an hour or more one way to the nearest pharmacy and require more…
Public Health Confirms Three New Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed three new COVID-19 tests today, making just five over the past three days — a welcome lull in a surge that has now seen 131 cases confirmed so far this month. Today’s cases come after Public Health tested 301 samples with a positivity rate of about 1 percent. Humboldt County…
Hoopa: No New COVID-19 Cases
The Hoopa Valley Tribal Office of Emergency Services COVID-19 Incident Management Team reports no new COVID-19 cases at the K’ima:w Medical Center today, leaving the total at 46. Today’s report also states five cases are still “active” and 43 cases are considered “recovered.” More information can be found at https://hoopaoes.org.
UPDATE: Reward Offered in Dog Cruelty Case
People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has offered $5,000 for information regarding the Samoa animal cruelty case of a female dog who was found gravely wounded. Along with PETA, a local animal advocate who regularly donates to the Humboldt County Animal Shelter has pledged an additional $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of…
New Public Health Lab Equipment Tests Nearly 1,300 COVID-19 Samples
The Humboldt County Public Health laboratory has processed 1,280 COVID-19 tests in one week thanks to a new process and the early delivery of a new piece of equipment (KingFisher Flex) that automates the extraction of RNA and DNA — the genetic materials that allow microbiologists to determine whether a patient sample contains markers for the…
‘Setting an Example’
Editor: Today in Arcata, I was in my car, parked opposite a business where several maskless employees were arranging outdoor tables. Masked, I left my car, walked over to them, calmly explained they may be setting an example for others, and walked away. They entered their place of business, and emerged wearing masks. I believe…
Lightning & Thunder
Inflame the landscapes We all take for granted, Driven by toxic plans To Divide & Conquer. Was there ever a time Clear skies prevailed, And we all gathered To discuss the obvious? Kirk Gothier
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes, “Some stuff can be fixed, some stuff can’t be. Deciding which is which is part of maturing.” I offer this meditation as your assignment in the coming weeks, Aries. You are in a phase when you’ll be wise to make various corrections and adjustments. But you…
ET, Please Phone
Every Thursday evening during the fall of 1979, I’d cycle across the Charles River from Boston’s North End to the Museum of Science for a series of free lectures. Carl Sagan, Lynn Margulis and Philip Morrison entertained and inspired, but none more so than Frank Drake. He’s best known for the “Drake Equation,” a back-of-the-envelope…
What Happened on Howard Street
Just after the sun went down on Independence Day, fighting broke out at a Eureka High School party. The kid wanted none of it. He rounded up his four friends and they drove back to Howard Street, a residential block sandwiched between Ocean View Cemetery and a mobile home park in Eureka’s Bayview neighborhood. It’s…
‘This is Our World’
Watching Black Lives Matter protests sweep across the country, toppling Confederate statues in some cities and spurring America to reconsider its past, Sean Armstrong saw an opportunity to confront legacies of historic racism in his own town. “It’s a right moment,” Armstrong said. “There have been right moments previously but now is a good right…
Letting Go and Adapting
For owner Jeni Masaki, the hardest part of closing Masaki’s Kyoto Japanese Restaurant was running into her regular customers and breaking the news to them. But as of last week’s soft opening, she’s happy to spread the good news about the sandwich joint she’s opened in its place: Chuchi’s Old Town Eats, which borrows her…
Van Duzen Venture
My spouse and I follow winding State Route 36 on a lovely July day. We, like many, have not been out in a long time and it feels good to be wandering, even with masks. We follow the bends and gentle curves that weave through Hydesville and Carlotta, the landscape changing from river bottom to…
Harvesting Your Haul
It’s the end of August and harvest season is upon us, time to gather all those goodies from the Corona garden you planted back in May. Aug. 8 was, according to the National Day Calendar, “Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day.” Keep the spirit going. In some more rural areas, you can even…
The Shadow of Death
SHE DIES TOMORROW. The plague has gone on long enough by now that we are beginning to experience the first wave of art and entertainment produced during and in reaction to it. The movie nerd internet — with which I barely and reluctantly engage, I’ll have you know — has been clamoring for some time…
Simply the Best
Editor: It’s important to support the “Best Of” finalists, local business and advertisers in the NCJ during these challenging times (“Best of Humboldt,” Aug. 6). Some of the businesses, products and services mentioned in these pages that I have been able to visit in the last year and recommend: Pierson’s Supply, Gill’s by the Bay,…
It’s the Pensions, Stupid
Editor: The letter from John Dillon (Mailbox, Aug. 6) presents an accurate assessment of the significant level of crime in Eureka. The business I work at has had its share of vandalism and break-ins, plus two armed robberies. Please read current headlines for the latest on crime in Eureka. Mr. Dillon ends his letter with,…
Fairly Loud
Editor: Concerning Ferndale Fair Board’s plans to use county property for motor sports, the Humboldt County Planning Commission must require a thorough — absolutely comprehensive — acoustical Environmental Impact Report. The report must rigorously explore the considerable effects of such activities on the entire town, not just the neighborhoods immediately adjacent to the racetrack. The…
‘HACHR Plays a Vital Role’
Editor: I am a former health officer of Humboldt County and a strong advocate for needle exchange, a harm reduction activity proven to be effective in reducing disease, increasing acceptance of treatment by injection drug users and reducing syringe litter (NCJ Daily, Aug. 20). HACHR plays a vital role in our community as a trusted…
‘Not a Friend’
Editor: As we have witnessed for many years, HSU is not a friend to our community (“A Potential Tipping Point,” Aug. 20). They have changed the entire theme of their university to Southern California, they have built buildings that destroy our forests, they have canceled our local radio station (firing many of our residents) and…
‘A Shithole Country’
Editor: President Trump has declared that he will not approve emergency funding for the United States Postal Service (‘The Biggest Challenge,” July 2). He says doing that will limit the use of mail-in balloting this fall, which he falsely claims leads to rampant voter fraud and would also favor Democrats. Perversely, he does support mail-in…
