Invasion of Big Lagoon
The New Zealand mud snail reproduces like crazy, but is it a threat?
Cover Story
Invasion of Big Lagoon
A New Zealand mud snail is a tiny thing, no more than a quarter-inch long, often less. A dime dwarfs it. In fact, a dozen or more of the critters can easily fit on top of a dime. Harmless, seemingly. And if you really look at them, with their attractively whorled, generally brownish, conical shells,…
Times They Are A-Changin’ at KHSU
KHSU-FM, the radio station that broadcasts from the campus of Humboldt State University, is about to overhaul its programming schedule, and will save some money in the process. Wait, before you politicos grab your pitchforks, no, they’re not axing “Democracy Now,” as was monetarily discussed in 2008 when there was a change in leadership at…
Measles Alert
A 22-year-old Humboldt County woman has been diagnosed with measles, the first case of the highly infectious disease here in more than a decade. The county’s public health branch is alerting residents who may have been exposed to the disease and asking them to contact their medical care providers (and stay home) if symptoms appear.…
Transitions: Journal Announces (Another) New Editor
From Publisher Judy Hodgson: Today Carrie Peyton Dahlberg takes over as editor of the North Coast Journal. I’ll tell you a little more about Carrie below. But first I’d like to acknowledge and thank the entire Journal team for weathering the past several months of transition. In particular, I’d like to single out acting editor Ryan Burns and…
PLF v. Coastal Commission
This just in from Harold Johnson, attorney and communications director, Pacific Legal Foundation, presented without comment (feel free to provide your own). MEDIA ADVISORY: THIS THURSDAY (June 9): Appellate Court hears PLF suit vs. Cal. Coastal Commission for blocking cleanup of contaminated Balloon Track property in Eureka PLF attorneys represent organization of Eureka citizens promoting environmental cleanup and protection WHAT:…
Goat Fight! (Updated with pic)
(UPDATE: Above, a photo by NCJ’s Bb Doran from the protest today — more an info-swap sesh.) Neighbors of Cypress Grove Chevre, on 1330 Q Street in Arcata, say they’ll be descending upon the world-famous goat-cheese operation this afternoon at 3, pitchforks loaded. OK, they didn’t say anything about pitchforks. But they’re mad. Or confused.…
Zen and the Art of Summer Crabbing
Got crabs? Journal interns and Venatore Media upstarts Travis Turner and Preston Drake do. They attended the Humboldt Crabs season opener on Saturday, snapped some photos, mined the depths of their souls and filed the following report: “Baseball is one of the most beautiful games. It is. It is a very Zen-like game.” -…
Department of Catburglary Studies
HSU’s news department is reporting that one student has been nabbed and another is being sought in connection with multiple burglaries of the university’s housing offices in April and May. According to the news release: The burglaries involved five early-morning entries into secure Housing offices where the suspects allegedly breached interior spaces, intruded into work…
Kinetic Transfer of Power
In a sort of epilogue to last week’s 2011 Kinetic Grand Championship, the Kinetic Universe announced late last night via their Facebook page that President Monica Topping is stepping down after five races and handing the job over to fellow Rutabaga Queen Kati Texas. While she’ll no longer be the point person for future races,…
His Beak Can Hold More Than Your Kayak Can
Barry Evans, our master of Field Notes, sent us this note-and-photos e-mail package today. Speaks — er, beaks for itself: When our kayak group was paddling during the low tide in Trinidad Bay this morning (Sunday), we were graced by this brown pelican, which perched on Mark Sommer’s boat for about 15 minutes, showing no…
Letter from Robert Parker
Yesterday evening, a memorial was held for Sophia Parker Pedreros, the 2-year-old girl who died in the Trinity River. A story on the memorial by Journal intern Travis Turner is below the break. Today, Sofia’s dad, Robert Parker, sent the following letter: Yesterday I attended a memorial service that I had never imagined I would…
June Humboldt Happenings
Arcata Oyster Festival Get shucked, Humboldt! In willful defiance of Levitical law, the Oyster Fest has become arguably the biggest single-day annual social event on Humboldt’s calendar, and definitely the most delicious. Thousands will descend on the Arcata Plaza on Saturday, June 18 to see how many slimy bivalves they can consume whilst still downing…
Humboldt Is Not Cold, Jerks
If you had friends from out-of-town stay with you over Memorial Day weekend, you no doubt felt some righteous, defensive indignation rise up into your chest when you, once again, heard some version of the whiny conclusion “it’s sooooo cold” emanate from their ungrateful, non-local lips for the umpteenth time. Pfff. To be fair, we’ll…
Green-Gold Fishers
@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }@font-face { font-family: “Impact”; }@font-face { font-family: “Agenda-Medium”; }@font-face { font-family: “Agenda-MediumCondItalic”; }@font-face { font-family: “Agenda-MediumItalic”; }@font-face { font-family: “Times-Roman”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }p.NoParagraphStyle, li.NoParagraphStyle, div.NoParagraphStyle { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 120%; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Times-Roman; color: black; }p.LETTERhed,…
On Stage in June
Jeffrey Hatcher looks eminently professorial in photos these days, and when I met him some years ago he already exhibited an impressive theatrical intelligence. But he also seemed a Noel Coward kind of guy, meant to greet you with a cocktail in hand. So it’s not surprising that his version of The Government Inspector, Gogol’s…
Bring on the Robots
Could a robot write this column? That’s the question that popped into my head when a colleague forwarded me a story on National Public Radio about a company called Narrative Science that developed software that can take data and spit out news stories. In one case, NPR reported, the robot wrote a terrific story about…
Open: Art
The big news in June is North Coast Open Studios, two consecutive weekends when artists throughout the county open their studios and homes, giving you a chance to see much more of an artist’s work than you’d see in any gallery show. “This is a wonderful opportunity for people to meet their favorite artists and…
Hung Over — Again
Reviews: THE HANGOVER 2. As regular readers of the the Journal’s Filmland section are well aware, reviewer-in-chief Charlie Myers does not, can not and will never appreciate The Hangover. Period! While looking back, you’d hardly call his initial review “scathing,” (see “Land of the Dudes,” June 11, 2009) the film uniquely tweaked Charlie in such…
June Beat
Get out your calendar: June is filled with overlapping opportunities to enjoy the visual arts. As usual, Eureka Arts Alive! is on the first Saturday, June 4, and Arts! Arcata on June 11. As noted elsewhere, North Coast Open Studios encompasses two weekends, June 4-5 and 11-12. In Southern Humboldt, the annual Summer Arts and…
Tight Squeeze
McKinleyville trucker Randy Jones is opposed to widening Hwy. 101 through Richardson Grove, but it’s not the trees he’s worried about; it’s his business. His trucks are the right length to navigate the stretch as is; realigning the road would allow big company rivals into Humboldt County. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) project remains…
Looking Glass
Considering the name of her just released album, Lucky Dogs, it’s appropriate that when we called up Alice DiMicele in Oregon she said she was “hanging out in a friend’s backyard, with my dog.” You might think of Alice as a folky who strums a guitar and sings about rivers and such. And she does…
Twirling into the Cosmos
Just around the corner is Dance Class with Erin Fernandez’ Spring Concert*. Unlike her winter production, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, a staged ballet that follows the tradition of Nutcracker with the littlest dancers looking ahead to the roles they‘ll be dancing each year as they move up the ranks, Fernandez’ Spring Concert is a…
Further Inspection
Editor: I am compelled to write, responding to the article “Queasy Eats” (May 12). Healthy food service and accountability are important and appropriate topics. At first, I was shocked to see our restaurant named in the article. Since then, my fellow employees of Seascape Restaurant at the pier in Trinidad have been discussing with me…
Diaper Island
Calgary-based singer/songwriter Chad VanGaalen successfully ascended on his own DIY path. His latest release, Diaper Island, marks a distinct departure from the eccentric folk-pop nuggets of his excellent 2008 album, Soft Airplane. This offering explores new territory inspired by an assortment of garage music as VanGaalen plugs in his electric guitar and creates strong, accessible…
No Good
Editor: I must express my sincerest gratitude. Not only have my crossword grievances been rectified, but lo, I have been shown the light. Your man Bob really swung the bat this time (“The Hum,” May 26). Where the rest of us so obviously failed, Mr. Doran took upon himself the heavy burden of giving some…
Common As Air: Revolution, Art, And Ownership
Lewis Hyde is one of those non-famous writers who is eagerly read by the famous with bigger audiences (ecologist Paul Shepard is another). So as a kind of preview of ideas that others will eventually repackage, here’s the undiluted original. Calling Hyde original is ironic, given one premise in this book, which is that almost…
Bake Off
Sometimes I long for the simple days of classic American cooking and culturally assigned gender roles. Ah, to be a woman trapped in the kitchen, with five squalling brats and an apron collection fit to beat the band. That’s the problem with today, all these exhausting options and freedoms. Not only do I have to…
Arts Alive!
Presented by the Humboldt Arts Council and Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and/or performances are held the first Saturday of each month. Phone 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org, for more information or to have an exhibit/performance included. 1. EUREKA INN 518 Seventh St. Artist Peggy Jenkinson, “Silent Poetry,” multi media and verre…
Cold Water by the Numbers
You’ll find us kayakers all over the place in this part of the world — bouncing down the Mad or the Trinity, cruising on the Bay, playing in the rocks around Trinidad harbor. While we all have our favorite type of boat, paddle and other equipment, one thing we can all agree on is our…
Spring Church Mouse
My name is Dory and I am plain…
June Tunes
Summer doesn’t kick in officially until later in June, but the summer music season is already upon us. It starts with a roar the first weekend, June 3-4, as the Mateel throws the 35th Annual Summer Arts and Music Festival, once again at Benbow Lake State Recreation Area. You’ll find more details in the main…
In the Chamber
After a busy May full of big concerts, June is relatively lean on the classical front. The exception is in the chamber music world, including a Sunday afternoon concert on June 12 at Trinidad Town Hall by Chamber Players of the Redwoods benefiting Trinidad Library. The program by the countywide chamber musicians’ alliance starts with…
Humboldt Green Invades Blue Lake
The credo of the internationally renowned theatre company and school we know simply as Dell’Arte is akin to that most famous portion of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address — “of the people, by the people, for the people.” For Dell’Arte’s artisans, it’s something they call “Theatre of Place” — plays “about where you live, for and with…
Hot da-! It’s Pony Express Days
‘Tis an unreported fact (’til now) that participants in this year’s Pony Express Days in McKinleyville must swear upon the worn old saddle of “the missing Pony Express rider” (a Mayo ancestor, we hear) the very same oath, with ever-so-slight variation, that the skinny little mail riders of yore had to swear: “While I am…
