Cover Story
Holiday Gift Guide
On the pages of this week’s Journal — and for the next four weeks — you will find our annual Gift Guide catalog full of clever and innovative offerings from local retailers. You know the drill: Shopping at local indie stores increases the economic impact by recycling dollars, strengthens communities (meet your neighbors, solve problems),…
The Back Slap
In case you missed it yesterday, the Times-Standard’s Thaddeus Greenson delivered the definitive account of 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace’s sarcasm-powered slap-on-the-back, which he delivered last week to fellow supervisors Virginia Bass and Rex Bohn at a meeting of the California State Association of Counties in San Jose. Lovelace was reportedly frustrated at being replaced by Bass…
Fortunans: Don’t Close the Baby Dept.
In this week’s issue of the Journal (paper version out on the street now, web version up tomorrow, Nov. 28), we write about a shortage of ob-gyn docs in Humboldt, and how St. Joseph Health System’s talk of possibly closing down Redwood Memorial Hospital’s OB program might be one of several influencing factors. Now, in…
Get Your Greyhound Ticket Early
Wanna ride The Dog? Well, fine. But you have to buy your ticket first, and we don’t mean directly from the Greyhound bus driver. Says a news release from Larry Pardi, the City of Arcata’s public transportation superintendent: “Gone are the days when one could flag down a Greyhound bus and pay the driver or ride…
Stuffed
You know, there are other ways to celebrate Thanksgiving besides watching football and shotgunning gravy. If you’re vegetarian, vegan or vegetari-ish, whip up your best animal-product-free side dish and trot it over to the Humboldt Vegetarian Society’s Thanksgiving potluck at the Humboldt Area Foundation on Sunday Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. (free). It’s sure to…
Meet Your Next Eureka Councilmember via Facebook, Vol. 3
Today, in our third and final installment of Facebook-centric introductions to aspiring Eureka City Council candidates, we meet the social media profile of Barry Smith, president and founder of Barry Smith Construction. That “SARCASM” sign up top is his profile pic. It’s clear from a quick glance at his photos that Smith loves his chopper.…
This Funny-Sad Local Reddit Post Wins the Day
The hilarious and poignant picture below, which was submitted to Reddit by user “Galaga88,” has racked up nearly three-quarters of a million views in just 15 hours. The heading reads, “My dad died yesterday. But he had his priorities straight before he went.” Bravo, Steve. Note the hospital logo in the upper-right corner. And if…
Shroomy
The Humboldt Bay Mycological Society puts the fun in fungi. Its annual mushroom fair is on Sunday Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, where hundreds of species from the truffle-y to the trippy will be on display ($2, $1 children 10-16, free for kids under 10). Foraging for…
From the Hum: Friday Night’s Funtimes
Punk’s not dead! As someone who grew up in a cultural wasteland, surviving only via radio brought in from the outside world during a time when punk and new wave were still considered dangerously subversive by middle school principals and parents, the descriptions of NOBUNNY’s show at the Ink Annex brought glee to my heart.…
A Very Special Meth PSA
From a very compassionate forest-railing vandal, apparently:
Plumbers Union Calling for Lost Coast Brewery Boycott
Rumors of this boycott had been brewing for some time, but apparently it’s official. In a poster that appeared in Old Town overnight, the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local No. 290 accuses Lost Coast Brewery of hiring out-of-town contractors to build its new brewery on south Broadway, undercutting local wages and eliminating training opportunities. The subcontractor,…
Meet Your Next Eureka Councilmember via Facebook, Vol. 2
Yesterday we channeled Facebook to introduce you to Chet Albin, one of three candidates hoping to get appointed to the Eureka City Council next month by Mayor Frank Jager. Today, in our second social media intro, we check out the Facebook persona of local TV news veteran Leslie Lollich. (Click here and scroll down for her…
Co-op and Union Reach Tentative Agreement
Labor negotiations have been tense between the North Coast Co-op and the Local 5 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, but a union rep just released the following press release: After 7 difficult months of contract negotiations, UFCW Local 5 is pleased to announce they have reached a tentative agreement with the North…
Listen Up
The last time I saw the A Reason To Listen Poetry Collective, poet Therese FitzMaurice was cooing about the dying of the sun, her hand on her big pregnant belly. The same voice mesmerizes during a rehearsal of “Wind,” a piece in the collective’s new show, Spoken Synergy: A Collaboration of Spoken Word, Music and…
Transition
In June of this year, staff writer Ryan Burns was promoted to news editor and Jennifer Fumiko Cahill joined the editorial team as arts and features editor. (Veteran Arts and Entertainment Editor Bob Doran suffered a stroke in May and is still recovering.) Both Ryan and Jenn have done a wonderful job since Journal Editor…
Liberation at Last
Humboldt County residents sure love state and federal law enforcement. And rightly so. Some readers are probably too young to remember this, but 30 years back, the largest law enforcement task force in the United States — the multi-agency Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP — was deployed in California with the goal of eliminating…
Some Docs Do
Editor: I read the article “Come Hither, Dear Doc” (Nov. 7) with interest. I am a registered nurse, working in radiation oncology at St. Joseph Hospital. The article certainly described some of the issues related to recruiting physicians to our area, but didn’t report that numerous excellent physicians have been recruited, in multiple specialties. An…
Thank a Scientist
Editor: The letter by GT Buckley titled “Science. Pfft.” (Nov. 14) complaining about the expenses of space exploration and particle physics deserves a response. Approximately 2 percent of the federal budget is allocated for science and medical research. In comparison, about 20 percent is consumed by defense. Scientific research has provided society with an abundance…
Early Deadline!
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving — which means letters are due this week. Send in your thoughts, gripes and opinions by Friday, Nov. 22, at noon for publication in the Nov. 28 issue of the Journal.
Decreation
Monday. Looking down from on high, the astronaut gaped. Where is everyone? On tuesday the animals disappeared; wednesday, the birds and fishes; thursday saw sun and stars snuffed out, the moon magicked away. Then the trees died, and saturday was chaos. But the astronaut had been right. On sunday God rested.
Get Your Party On
Whether you’re giddy with the season or cranky from the cold, this week’s music offerings are worth celebrating. Even if you have to throw on an extra layer or four. Your body will combust into joyful dance frenzy Thursday night The first absolutely-must-see gig happens Thursday night when the Mediterranean-inflected, globalized electronica sound wonder that…
Nosh-giving
The planets and the calendars have aligned so that Thanksgiving falls on the same day as the start of Hanukkah. Go ahead, try out some Thanksgiving-Hanukkah hybrid names. “Thanksgiv-ukkah” is winning on the Internet, but follow your gut, because this cosmic convergence of family and feasting traditions won’t happen again for another 70,000 years or…
Is Happiness a Warm Musical?
After Nancy and Sluggo and before there was Doonesbury, the bright spot on the comics page was “Peanuts.” Named after the “peanut gallery” on Howdy Doody in the 1950s, the popular daily strip broke out of newsprint to become best-selling books (Happiness Is A Warm Puppy), animated films and a couple of stage musicals, which…
Catching Air
On a blustery, gray Sunday afternoon, a cluster of trucks parked at the Table Bluff overlook. Undaunted by the chilly wind (in fact, cheered by it), several people hoisted awkwardly sized backpacks to the end of the bluff. From these packs, they unfurled yards of ripstop material and strands of Kevlar. They adjusted their gear…
Better Men
Reviews THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY. It’s not absolutely necessary to see The Best Man (1999) to get something out of this; I managed to enjoy it without even knowing it was a sequel. However, since it eschews helpful exposition on the way to a ponderous two-hour-plus running time, the uninitiated (me included) may spend some…
That Accidentally Unfriended Thing? Still a Myth
Hey McGuinty! A year ago some friends deleted me from Facebook. I sent messages asking why and very awkward conversations followed. Recently I noticed another friend removed me from Instagram, and a week later, Facebook. How does one say, “Hey, you don’t like me anymore?” and still sound like an adult? So awkward. So humiliating. I wish…
Robot Futures
Forget the scary scenarios and dire special effects of our Apocalypse Summer at the cinema. This book is really frightening about a future that’s coming on fast, and we’re really not ready for it. According to the author, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon, we aren’t necessarily on a direct path to Robbie the…
