Keeping up with the Cabreras
A career case, a record bust and the front lines of an unwindable war
Cover Story
Keeping up with the Cabreras
From a cop’s perspective, it was a good day, a great one even. The Humboldt County Drug Task Force brought in a huge case Nov. 3, the kind that captures headlines and makes careers, when agents reported seizing more than 11 pounds of methamphetamine and black tar heroin from a drug trafficking organization operating in…
How to Ditch Your Pills in Humboldt
… the short answer is, you can’t. Not if they’re opiates, or another controlled substance. Despite a growing local and national epidemic of prescription pill abuse, stringent guidelines from the Drug Enforcement Administration have made it nearly impossible for those in Humboldt who want to dispose of their leftover medications to do the right thing. …
Parklets Waiting for Droplets to Stop
Those parklets, the tiny, public, Old Town outdoor spaces that were supposed to be completed in September, got held up a little, but we’re assured they’re on their way. Eureka Community Development Director Rob Holmlund says the parklet plans for two of the four participating businesses have been approved by the city. Ramone’s Bakery owner…
R.I.P., KBRA
With Congress home for the holidays and hope of legislation to enact the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement coming before the Dec. 31 deadline evaporated, stakeholders will gather for a conference call Monday. But don’t expect another extension or a unified path forward. “No,” said Karuk Tribe Natural Resources Policy Advocate Craig Tucker. “Pretty much, the…
Happy Boxing Day! Here’s How to De-Fest Your Home
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, you’ve outlived your usefulness! Below are all the places in Humboldt County where you can drop off that gaudy fir corpse that is now shedding pieces of itself on your tinsel-strewn floor. Thanks to Humboldt Waste Management Authority for the head’s up. Most of these disposal areas are free…
Merry Christmas: Here are the Center Arts Riders from the Last Two Seasons
In this week’s cover story, we read through nearly 100 contracts between Center Arts, which brings big-name music, dance and theater acts every year, and the performers who grace HSU stages. Those contracts contain the riders — documents that detail an artist’s technical and “hospitality” needs, in other words the food, drinks and comforts they…
Breakfast for the Born-again
So, after the holiday decadence you’ve resolved to eat healthy foods, to treat your body like a sustainably built temple instead of the shameless altar of Bacchus it’s been for the last two months. But do you have to be a monk? Because that bowl of cold grains you’re starting off with is a little…
The Oldest Living Christmas Tree
Since the early 1980s, the Humboldt Redwoods Interpretive Association has been celebrating the winter holidays by lighting a Christmas tree in front of the visitor’s center at Burlington, off Avenue of the Giants. Unknown to many is the fact that this continues a tradition started in the 1930s. The vision of “living” Christmas trees began…
HumBug: Killer Legs
Nature it seems is fond of extremes. In the world of reptiles the hands down lethal hunter is the snake with no legs at all. In the arthropod world, one of the most capable killers is the centipede (Latin for “100 feet”) with 30 to over 100 legs (depending on species). How does it coordinate…
Robert Durst to be Extradited to Face LA Murder Charge
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has announced a deal to extradite eccentric New York real estate heir and former Trinidad resident Robert Durst to Los Angeles stand trial for murder, the Los Angeles Times reports. Durst, whose time in Trinidad was recounted in the Journal’s June 25 cover story, “Robert Durst’s Ghost,” stands accused of…
Journal Files Response in Police Dash Cam Case
The North Coast Journal filed a reply Monday to the city of Eureka’s appeal of a Humboldt County judge’s order to release video footage of a police officer arresting a juvenile in 2012. In its reply brief, the Journal argues the city has provided the California First District Court of Appeals with no evidence supporting…
Rain, Rain, Here to Stay
Merry Christmas from Mother Nature! We are at 126 percent of normal rainfall for the year, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association meteorologist Bob Ruehl. The normal amount of rainfall, measured from Oct. 1 through Dec. 21, is 13.53 inches. This year, NOAA measured 17.59 inches. December alone has brought 11.53 inches, three inches…
County Pays $32K for Warren Conviction
With a conviction in hand and a gag order lifted, Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming opened up about the arrangement that brought a special prosecutor up from Mendocino County to try the double murder case of Jason Anthony Warren. The deal — which saw Mendocino County Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira take a months-long…
Championship Crusaders
The St. Bernard’s High School football team made history yesterday, becoming the first North Coast team to win a state championship. Under a driving rain in Laguna Hills, the Crusaders lead throughout and beat Saddleback Valley Christian 28-21 to claim the California Interscholastic Federations Division V-A state title. After taking the early lead, the Crusaders…
Art House Kids
Do your kids still whine about not being able to see the Spike and Mike animation festivals? Have the little ones watched all the holiday specials a dozen times each? Is the new Star Wars too mainstream for them? Take heart. Richards’ Goat Tavern and Tea Room brings the best of the NY International Children’s…
MediCal Expansion May Bring Better Addiction Treatment to Humboldt
Drug and alcohol related fatalities comprised 20 percent of all Humboldt County deaths over the last three years, but the number of those seeking help often exceeds the amount of treatment available. A change in the state’s MediCal program may change that, opening up access to treatment for many low-income residents. A key component of the…
Show of Force
Wow. I mean … Just… Wow. I was ready to roll out the Star Wars puns and unleash all kinds of Jedi-like cleverness on this post, and then comes this picture of local Tattoo artist Justin Love with the helmet and those knuckles. Oh, and what’s that he’s driving? It’s a Ford Falcon. Well played,…
Cinematic Cheer
There are two kinds of people: those who have a favorite holiday movie and those on the naughty list for being straight-up liars. Even the most heartless film critic has a favorite, whether it’s Jimmy Stewart saving the town in It’s a Wonderful Life or Bruce Willis shimmying through the air ducts in Die Hard,…
Don’t Be Crabby
Editor: I fully support the proposed federal aid to fisherman if the crab season gets called off (“Hold the Crab” Nov. 5). I support this for the same reason I support aid to the homeless, or others in need: although we all try to be self-sufficient, sometimes we are not able to be. Maybe it’s…
McKinleyville Arts Night
A celebration of local art and artists with music, food and fun. McKinleyville Arts Night is open for all McKinleyville businesses to display the work of local artists on the third Friday of the month. Call 834-6460 or visit www.mckinleyvilleartsnight.com for more information. CALIFORNIA REDWOOD COAST AIRPORT 3561 Boeing Ave. View artwork by Humboldt County…
Reasons
The twig of holly does not mind, pays no heed To the wind swirling ’round, wood scratching Resting sure, through thousands of years The yule log brought cold as death Into the hall, waiting to be reborn as light and Ash, swirling into smoky air Winter, immortality burning like An evergreen seen and smelling like…
Changing Tides
“This was a weird year for the ocean,” says Dave Bitts. The 40-year veteran of the local fishing industry and president of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations is docked at Woodley Island. He sits at the Marina Café nursing a cup of coffee and talking with some other fish folk about the weather.…
Guns Don’t, You Know…
Editor: Judy Hodgson’s opinion piece calling for more firearm bans was short on facts and long on hyperbole (“Tipping Point?” Dec. 10). A tragedy happened in San Bernardino but banning rifles won’t make us any safer as a nation. Putting aside the hysterical rants of much of our media and too many of our politicians,…
‘Impossible to Fathom’
The pre-sentencing report paints a chilling picture of a 23-year-old former ward of the state who, failed by the very systems designed to protect him, brutally murdered someone just eight days after being discharged from the U.S. Army. “Defendant’s thought process is impossible to fathom, and his lack of remorse is outright frightening,” a probation…
Chill Out, New York
In the first months of marijuana legalization in Oregon, a flood of medical marijuana shops has spread the customer base thin in parts of the state. According to a Guardian article, an oversaturation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Portland has some business owners hurting, with hundreds of business license applications still being processed. Recreational pot…
Scores to Settle
It’s not every week that a musician whose work has been featured on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and CSI plays live in Arcata. Keyboardist and bass player George Sarah has collaborated with members of Bauhaus and Save Ferris, and wrote a score for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, performed by the Beijing Modern Dance…
Humboldt on Tap
It’s cold in the back room of Humboldt Beer Works, and steam is rising from a big metal pot. We can hear the soft clanking of metal on metal each time Josh Reed scrapes his spoon against its sides. We’re sitting in a space that looks like a cross between warehouse and test kitchen. A…
Memristor
For the most part, computers don’t compute; they shuffle. About 75 percent of the time, they’re shuffling information, in the form of ones and zeros, between various layers of memory, and between memory and the central processing unit (CPU) where the actual work of computing is done. That’s because computers in 2015 work essentially the…
All at Sea
Reviews IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. The history of whaling, that 19th century boomlet involving rowdy mariners, inked scrimshaws, tycoon investors and far-off isles, indeed deserves a definitive, epic story onscreen (or at least an eight-hour series from Ken Burns). This is, alas, neither of those, although it does deliver lots of sea mammal…
Fortuna on Ice
Nobody here wants to get out of bed. It’s an entirely reasonable approach to the rain, the wind, the dark and the looming holiday stress. Well, listen up, fellow blanket dwellers. The good people of Fortuna have given us reason to emerge from our soft furnishings: ice skating. Stormy out? No problem. The rink is…
Vacation Strife
Editor: Thank you to Ted Pease for a balanced article about the needs of the Trinidad community to retain its small-town feeling compared with the perks of very needed vacation dollars coming in from vacation rentals (“For Rent,” Dec. 10). I feel like Mr. Pease was able to express the situation accurately and with respect…
Power Play
Editor: “Power Surge for County Electricity Plan” (December 10) included a photo of a biomass plant in Chester. This plant was meant to show what we can expect with more biomass development here. Unfortunately, your article didn’t mention that the plant’s operator, Collins Pine Company, was sued last year for alleged multiple, ongoing Proposition 65…
Change the Job Description
Editor: The cartoon “The Most Dangerous Jobs in Humboldt County,” (Dec. 10) depicting the empty place for the position of director of the Department of Health and Human Services, is a good start to a necessary conversation. As a community, we all are impacted by the programs and innovations implemented by the DHHS. All of…
Knock out Concussions
Editor: In Grant Scott-Goforth’s piece about concussion (“Putting Heads Together,” Dec. 3), he quoted Beth Larson and Dustin Dutra as not being ready to make a direct connection between concussion concerns and declining enrollment in high school football. Here is one direct connection; my son won’t play high school football because of the risk of…
A Dog’s Life
Editor: The plight of unaltered animals in this area is due to the fact that, even with a voucher from the animal shelters for low income families, the lowest cost for a female dog that is 90 pounds was $375 (“Strays,” Nov. 19). Others in our area were up to $750, even $800. I know…
