Cover Story
School Lunch 2.0
At Jacoby Creek School in Arcata, billows of steam cloud the plastic food guards that protect the tables of hot food, duplicating the winter fog that mists the cafeteria windows. The smells of ketchup, vegetable soup and yesterday’s lasagna mingle with the odors of rubber balls and kid sweat from the game of kickball that…
The End of Occupy Eureka? (UPDATED)
Doesn’t appear that way. As expected, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse at 4 p.m. Wednesday to begin enforcement of the “urgency ordinance” passed by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Prior to their arrival, Occupy Eureka members moved their information tables over the crack in…
Humboldt County: Beer Champion
Today’s New York Times features a lip-smacking review of American porters — those deliciously dark, British-style ales — and get this: The expert panel’s top 10 list includes not one but two porters brewed right here in Humboldt County: Mad River Brewing Co.’s Steelhead Scotch Porter (“earthy, grainy flavors with a mild hint of chocolate”)…
Supes Restrict Occupy Protesters
This morning the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 (with 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace opposing) to enact an “urgency ordinance” ostensibly designed to address “health, safety and access concerns” on county courthouse grounds. These concerns (or complaints, if you prefer) have accompanied the Occupy protests that have been taking place there since September. Among…
Hawk Murders Pigeon
On 03-26-12 approximately 1:40 P.M. this Journal reporter encountered an avian assault in progress at the Old Town Gazebo, near the corner of F and 2nd streets in Eureka. The victim, who is described as a chubby, partially beheaded pigeon, was alive but did not respond to the blank stares of numerous onlookers. Residents of…
St. Joe’s, Redwood Memorial Lay Off 68
St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna are laying off 68 employees today and tomorrow, Chief Executive Officer Joe Mark announced this afternoon. At a somber press conference, Mark said the reduction in workforce is necessary after a “significant dip” in the number of surgeries and outpatient services at both hospitals,…
How I was (temporarily) banned from the KIEM News Channel 3 Facebook page
I arrived at my home on H St. in Eureka Saturday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. and soon found myself sucked into Facebookdom. Scrolling down my newsfeed, I was confronted with the following screaming status update: News Channel 3 A GUNMAN MAY STILL BE ON THE LOOSE IN EUREKA. … SEE WHAT OUR CAMERAS CAUGHT AS…
Here Comes American Airlines
A deal has been struck. American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, will start direct flights between the Arcata-Eureka Airport and Los Angeles International Airport on June 14. The company is expected to formally announce the deal via press release on Monday. Details remain sketchy. County staff has been working furiously with the Redwood Region…
Reggae on the River – Still at Benbow
There’s something about Reggae on the River that gets the rumor mill grinding. In the last month the Journal has heard from readers that the annual concert put on by the Mateel Community Center was “definitely moving to a new location,” away from Benbow, that everything was in place for relocating to Riverview Ranch, home…
More Bumper Sticker Meanings
More Bumper Sticker Meanings
A Urethra Runs Through It
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, with the National Cancer Institute predicting about 242,000 new cases and 28,000 deaths in 2012. (For comparison, the Institute estimates about 227,000 new cases of female breast cancer, with 40,000 deaths.) Until recently, conventional medical wisdom has been to identify prostate cancer…
NCJ’s Ugliest Billboard Contest
Which billboard or other signage do you think uglies up 101 along the bay more than any other, either because of where it is or what it looks like? Take a gander at the candidates below. Then click HERE to cast your vote. (Voting ends at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, 2012). Click HERE to…
Lives of the Novelists: A History of Fiction in 294 Lives
The novel arose with the literate middle class that it was designed to please and ultimately to reflect. From its beginnings in the 17th and 18th century it was the most egalitarian of literary forms, mashing up everything from the high art of epic poetry and the high aspirations of religious texts to the common…
Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun
Shouldn’t our North American neighbors in Canada have an equal right to lay claim to what is loosely termed “Americana” music? Three principle ‘60s Canadian artists — Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young — contributed immensely in changing the landscape of contemporary folk and rock: In the current wave of “alt.” folk-country, there are…
Birthday Again
Rain’s back, redwood stumps sliding further into duff….
Dancing Up a Storm
Don’t be surprised if you see an uptick in bowler hats, vests, fringed dresses and Mardi Gras beads around Eureka this weekend. It’s jazz time once again as Redwood Coast Music Festivals presents the 22nd Annual Redwood Coast Jazz Festival starting Thursday, March 22, and running through Sunday. By the numbers, the RCJ Festival features…
Truth to Power
As the sun set on the final day of last summer’s Reggae on the River, Seun Kuti’s band, Egypt 80, filled the stage and eased into a rock-solid Afrofunk groove. Like the bandleader, the gyrating dancers and many of the players were young, but the bass player and guitarist were clearly veterans, guys who’d backed…
Plaza Aftermath
Editor: On the afternoon of March 1 the Big Daddy of the Arcata Economic Development Corporation, Ross Welch (“Default Lines,” March 15), entered Plaza Design in Arcata, placed his hand with authoritative display upon the counter near the manager (my wife) Tracy and announced in a reportedly loud, aggressive tone in the middle of a…
Struggling Man
Reggae singer Jah Sun straddles a stool in front of a computer desk in Jah Culture Studio, a cozy converted garage nestled beneath towering redwoods high in the hills above Arcata. His dreadlocked hair is so long it trails on the ground when he sits. One wall sports a large banner for Lion Camp, a…
Stinking Badges
Reviews RAMPART reunites writer/director Oren Moverman and star Woody Harrelson, who collaborated on 2009’s The Messenger. This time out, Moverman enlisted crime-fiction titan James Ellroy to co-write the screenplay. I’d argue that nobody writing today has a deeper fascination with corruption and the male ego than Ellroy, so he seems like a perfect fit to…
A Picture’s Worth
Will and Andrew take in a little art during their tour of the Capitol.
Playhouse Bound
With his dress shirt buttoned to the top and a ‘20s-era haircut, 20-something old timer Frank Fairfield looks like he could have stepped out of a time machine. He’ll often play selections he calls “unheard ofs and forgotten abouts” from his carefully curated collection of vintage 78-rpm records before he sits down with a guitar,…
Catching a Flight
The Humboldt County government is rushing to catch a plane. Or a jet, actually — an Embraer 140 regional jet equipped with a pair of Rolls-Royce turbofan engines so powerful they can propel up to 44 passengers (in leather seats) from the Arcata-Eureka Airport to LAX in just 90 minutes. American Eagle, a wholly…
Anoint Adams
Editor: As your thorough overview of the upcoming congressional election pointed out (“Congress: The Dating Game,” March 15), this is a race for two spots on the November ticket. As the title you assigned to Jared Huffman, “The Anointed One,” suggests (and polling has confirmed), he will win one of those two spots. So the…
Corrections
In last week’s cover story, 4th District Humboldt County Supervisor Virginia Bass was misidentified by her previous title. [][][] Last week’s article on the Navy’s Northwest Training Range Complex (“Navy Bounces Sonar off Public”) misstated the complex’s size. The complex covers 122,400 square nautical miles, equivalent to almost 162,000 square statute — or land-based — miles.…
