Cover Stories
Another One Rides the Bus
Two tatted-up guys sit at the 11th and N bus stop in Fortuna, passing a pretty glass pipe. Eyes shuttered. Coughing. “We’re traveling hip hop artists,” the taller one tells me. He’s wearing black and white pinstriped duds, and has strips shaved out of one eyebrow. He’s Jordan Marozine. This is his best friend, Vince…
HTA By the Numbers
$2.6 million – Redwood Transit’s 2012-13 proposed budget. $1.1 million – Portion of Redwood Transit income from fares and Jack Pass fees (the rest come from local transportation funds received by the county and cities). 500,000 – Lifespan of a bus in miles. $210,000 – Amount of fares that came from Jack Pass student fees.…
Win a Chance to Name the Baby Red Panda
The Sequoia Park Zoo is offering up the chance to name its baby red panda in a drawing. At five weeks old, it’s about time we start calling her something besides “the baby red panda.” The second place winner will get to feed mom and dad red panda, and the third prize will be a…
Made in Humboldt: ‘Weed the Game’
Who says stoners are lazy? Jim Gray, a resident of McKinleyville, has launched a company called Stoner Brothers Games, and his first product, set to launch next month, is WEED the Game. We got a press release describing the board game thusly: Players buy seeds and plants and try to grow pounds of weed for cash.…
Bus Betterment
Remember how we mentioned in our bus story (July 18) that a new-and-improved schedule was in the works? One that will restore frustrated local bus patrons’ pulled-out hair and diminish their brow furrows – er, ahem, that is, make it easier for them to plan their daily excursions? It’s starting Aug. 19! That’s what Humboldt…
Planned Trinity Water Release Rankles Central Valley Irrigators
Another round of the all-too-familiar fight over Trinity and Klamath waters has pulled North Coast congressmen and Central Valley irrigators into the mix. The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) — which controls the release of water from the Trinity Reservoir — announced last week that it was considering an extra release of Trinity water this year…
Right Over the Plate
Watching the Giants is too painful these days. Instead, tune into the Oakland A’s game on Thursday at 7 p.m. and see hometown boy Greg Collins toss out the first pitch! Collins, an associate archaeologist for California State Parks at Fort Humboldt, won the honor this past December in a Twitter contest sponsored by the…
Craigslist Ad Targets Scantily-Clad Video Winner
It seems our Reggae on the River video contest from last week has inspired affections aimed at the subject of the winning video. This post appeared in the “Missed Connections” section of Humboldt County Craigslist yesterday: Reggae On River Winner – w4m – 35 (arcata jah) I can’t stop watching your video You’re a shinning star!…
Psst. Check This Out.
Suddenly we’re all feeling a little cooler at the Journal. One of our own, graphic designer Alana Chenevert, a.k.a. The Last Artful Dodger, has just released her rap mixtape online. 199NVRLND is available to download for free — free! She’s like Lady Gaga with pants! Give a listen to “Mushroom Kingdom” for starters, then get…
And the Winning Video Is …
We had some great entries in our video contest, but it’s time to give away four four-day passes to this year’s Reggae on the River festival. Thank you to everyone who took the time to record and upload your Rasta-flavored eye-and-ear candy. If we’d been judging on cuteness alone, then the pug or the baby…
Report: East-West Rail Would Cost $1 Billion
A whole lot of money and a whole lot of cargo. That’s what a draft report says is necessary to build and pay for a “high risk” east-west railroad between the Samoa Peninsula and the national rail system in the Central Valley. The cargo necessary for a viable railroad would make Humboldt Bay one of…
Back on Their Feet
In May, when Jessicurl founder/world music DJ Jessica McGuinty underwent heart surgery and our own lovable Arts and Entertainment Editor/Music Guru Bob Doran had a stroke, many people asked if there was anything they could do. After all, recovery can be tough, and medical bills ain’t cheap. The good news is that both lovely people…
Krill Kill
For weeks, now, beach-goers from Bodega Bay to Newport, Ore., have encountered ribbons of pink bedecking their ocean shorelines. It’s krill — millions of the shrimpy critters, many of them impregnated females. A marine ecologist based in Eureka is trying to pinpoint what’s causing this major whale staple to wash ashore in such numbers. According to…
Forget the dredge, gold miners. Start building that starship.
Scientists have discovered what they believe might be the original mother lode — and it’s in an “exploding star system “3.9 billion light-years away,” according to a report in the <aLos Angeles Times</a today: “All the gold in the cosmos may have come from stellar cataclysms — the collision of two neutron stars, which sends bursts of particles and radiation…
Yee Ha!
The Fortuna Rodeo is on, so saddle up for some ropin’, wranglin’ and ridin’. For those of us not quite ready to climb onto a bronco, the carnival is going all week long with rides and a midway right in Rohner Park ($25 for all-day wrist bands). On Thursday, the Junior Rodeo continues with young…
Kai the “Hatchet-wielding Hitchhiker” Attempts Suicide in Jail
Kai tried to kill himself yesterday in a New Jersey jail where he’s being held on murder charges, Gawker reports. He was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Kai — born Caleb McGillivary — was arrested in May after police found a 73-year-old New Jersey lawyer Joseph Galfy dead in his home. The two reportedly met by chance in…
Police and Prison Excess
Editor: All three items in last week’s Blog Jammin’ (July 11) had to do with the overreaches of law enforcement. The first concerned the prison hunger strike, a desperate and painful act of resistance. They are up against a formidable empire. Prisons employ over a million people. Prison shares are traded on the stock exchange.…
Caltrans-parency
Editor: Your article “Straightening the Hairpins” (July 11) was one of the worst I’ve seen in the Journal in a long time. Its flip, light coverage of the issue shows no grasp of the depth of the meaning and ramifications of the project. This project is part of a package of projects Caltrans has been…
Hard Rock
Editor: In the article “Strawberry Rock: Mission Accomplished?” (July 4) the author suggests that the issues around the timber harvest plans (THPs) of Green Diamond are all but resolved at this time due to the goodwill of Green Diamond company. Unfortunately, this issue is far from resolved and our group has yet to be heard…
Help Keep KEET
Editor: Compliments to J. Daniel Fernandez for his informative article (“KEET at the Crossroads,” June 20), and to the NCJ for giving former volunteer/employee Matt Knight the opportunity to air his opinions (“Inside KEET,” June 27). I think KEET-TV is a North Coast treasure that warrants our best efforts to preserve it. How? I would…
Rethink Dune Science
Editor: It is becoming apparent to an increasing number of us that the 30-year-old science that accompanied these vegetation removal projects needs an update (“Rogue Dune Experiment,” June 20). The permits granted for these projects did not allow for the changes we see happening. We have much more current information that can help us rebuild and secure…
Why Them?
Editor: If, as some readers claim (“Mailbox,” June 27 and July 4), the great majority of Humboldt residents are enamored with the pristine Humboldt landscape, uncluttered by piecemeal development, why then did they elect this Board of Supervisors? Terence Marlow, Trinidad
No More Fuel Boost
What do a hotdog cart, a flower-planting robot and a preschool have in common? They’re all Humboldt County businesses that got a leg up by winning Economic Fuel. Established in 2006, the annual Economic Fuel competition has attracted local entrepreneurs hoping to win start-up cash for their businesses. In each of the last eight years,…
Correction
Last week’s story “Straightening the Hairpins” contained errors. While Caltrans is overseeing the project on State Route 299, much of the construction work has been contracted out to the Eureka-based Mercer-Fraser Company. Also, the 223 accidents from 2005 to 2009 occurred just east of the Trinity-Shasta county line, not west. The Journal regrets the errors.
The Pleasures of Summer
A quick note for those picking up the Journal on Wednesday – did you make it out to the Blitzen Trapper gig last week? Humboldt Brews offers another chance to hear a band perform similarly evocative, melodic sounds on Wednesday (tonight, so hope you picked up the paper early). Athens’ Futurebirds has played with Drive-By…
Hopland
Her smiling face Framed by wisteria, Promises made That now surface, As my life slows And hers quickens. 30 minutes, 6 bottles of wine, Hugs and smiles Wedged between Clients and drives North and South. I try to hold it under 70 As I head towards home.
The Joys of Bocce
I got the ball rolling by just showing up at the Larson Park Bocce Ball courts in Arcata one Saturday morning. Intending only to watch, I was surprised when John, Dave and Rochelle invited me to join them. As I soon learned, playing with four is much preferred to any other combination, even if the…
McKinleyville Arts Night
Presented by members of the McKinleyville business community and open for all McKinleyville businesses to display the work of local artists. Receptions for artists, exhibits and/or performances are from 6-8 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. Call (707) 834-6460 or visit www.mckinleyvilleartsnight.com for more information. 1 California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport 3561…
Blitzen Trapper
Standing on the burnished hardwood floor, surrounded by the laughter and chitchat of the waiting crowd, I try to imagine what the Humbrews vat room looked like before they turned it into such a classy show space. The show was supposed to start at 9:30, but in true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, it’s now 10…
Not Ready For Our Close-Up
By now you’ve seen After Earth, or you’ve heard the epithets tossed its way: boring, turgid, narcissistic, M. Night Shyamalan. About the only nice thing anyone can say about the Will Smith vanity project (currently sitting at a cool 11 percent positive rating on meta-critic site RottenTomatoes.com) is that it co-stars some purty redwoods. Of…
An Uplifting (But Cautionary) Tale
A rite of passage for a girl is, I understand, putting on her first bra. The equivalent life event for a boy, of course, is the removal thereof, once he’s figured out how to undo the hook-and-eye catch (extra points for one-handed and in the dark). Somehow we survive these early experiences, and the fact…
The Idiocracy is Upon Us
Reviews GROWN UPS 2. Two years ago, when I watched Jack and Jill, it occurred to me that Adam Sandler movies are kind of unassailable. They don’t break any new ground and they’re not consistently funny, but he and his buddies seem to have fun making them, and they seem generally good-hearted. But this new…
Where’s Waldo?
Guys in Arcata with chunky glasses and knit caps are a dime a dozen, but finding this guy pays off. This month in Arcata, 24 paper Waldo figures from Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo? illustrated hide-and-seek books have been stashed all over local shops. Hunt them down and you could end up with a cache of…
