Carl Dean Boyd: 1938-2024
Carl Dean Boyd was born June 2, 1938, to James Earl “Babe” Boyd and Ruth Frances Walker on the Old Boyd Farm in the town of Elba in McLean County, Kentucky. Carl was the second oldest of six boys. His family worked hard for what they had and lived a simple life. When Carl was…
Delbert (Del) V. Westman
Long time Fortuna businessman, Del Westman has died at 86. Born in Washington State, Del settled in Humboldt County with his family as a young boy. He graduated from Eureka High School, then Humboldt State College, where he obtained a business degree. He owned several businesses in Fortuna, first with his family, then with his…
Still Tied: Blue Lake City Council Race Heading to Random Selection
As the old adage goes, every vote counts, something two candidates locked in a tie for a third open seat on the Blue Lake City Council now know all too well. The final cumulative report from the Nov. 5 election released by the Humboldt County Elections Office on Tuesday shows hopefuls Adelene Jones and Kat…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Dec. 3
Multi-instrumentalists, Grammy winners and married duo Mark and Maggie O’Connor bring their bluegrass and beyond virtuosity to the Van Duzer Theatre tonight at 7 p.m., where they will showcase Mark’s holiday vision, An Appalachian Christmas. The title rather says it all but still, there’s a frisson between the players as they trade off instrumental and…
Top Democrats Say They Won’t Just ‘Trump-proof’ California — They’ll Make it Affordable Again
The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is — and we’re going to fix it. After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul-searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas are returning…
Students Watch History Unfold on the Klamath, Dam Removal Celebration Set for Dec. 7
On a recent field trip to the Klamath River, local school children were able to witness a momentous example of nature’s ability to rebound: salmon spawning in a creek upstream from the former Iron Gate dam after decades of absence. It’s one of many ecological milestones being reached following the largest dam removal project in…
NCJ Preview: Shopping Local, Patty Berg and Leftover Sandwiches
This week we’re diving into the annual Gift Guide and the joys of shopping local. We’ve also got a profile on the late Patty Berg, a legend in our State Assembly and Humboldt County. Finally, we’ve narrowed down the Thanksgiving sandwiches to our top three favorites. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on local stories.
After the Storm
How can it be That after the wind rushes Through the trees Flinging branches into the air Like frenzied dervishes And hail pounds the deck While water courses through gutters And rushes downhill like the mighty Mississippi That the morning breaks Serene and crystalline Tree branches shimmering In the dawn The grassy hillside glimmering and…
The Fearless Force
As those who knew Patty Berg best take time to reflect on her life and legacy in the wake of her Nov. 19 death at the age of 82, they call her many things. The term “trailblazer” comes up repeatedly, as they note Berg’s role as Humboldt County’s first sex-ed instructor, the founding executive director…
Simple Gifts
“‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free, ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.” Joseph Brackett Jr., Shaker Elder, 1848. If you ever find yourself in the…
Turkey Lurkey, Baby
The Thanksgiving leftover sandwich is a creation of our collective imagination executed in wildly different ways according to our individual aesthetics. We all think we mean the same sandwich, layered with the remnants of the holiday meal, but we don’t. Turkey, of course, but only carved breast meat? How thick should it be? Are you…
The Tasty and the Toxic at the Mushroom Fair
Hundreds of fans of the world of mycology stopped by the 46th annual Mushroom Fair at the Arcata Community Center on Sunday to improve their mushroom identification skills. Attendees checked out tables filled with local mushroom species labeled “Edible” or “Toxic,” and stopped by the bring-in-your-mushroom identification table staffed with experts. They ought to know…
A Small, Good Thing
The work of being a writer often feels both worthless and pointless. Literally worthless in a culture that does not want to pay for it, literally pointless when fewer and fewer people seem to have confidence that anything they read will tell them the truth. Because what is our — my — job, if not…
Blitz Strikes its Mark
BLITZ. The screen acting of children, like their writing, can and often does transcend inexperience with immediacy and truth. Not yet calloused by influence, uninformed by professional habit or tricks or laziness, these performances lie closer to the surface than for most of their adult counterparts and can, given appropriate direction, create something realer and…
Why Housing Costs Are so High
Editor: In your Oct. 24 issue, you had a story headlined “Why California Housing Costs Are So High” that covered everything except the two main reasons: unfettered greed and thousands upon thousands of vacant places. There are plenty of buildings for people to live in and have businesses in, they are just too expensive or…
‘I Would Like to Differ’
Editor: I appreciate the column that Jennifer Fumiko Cahill wrote for the Nov. 21 NCJ (“Food Will Not Bring Us Together”). It is good to be reminded of the different life experiences of those we know and admire. However, I would like to differ with your advice to fellow Americans to not sit at the…
‘Don’t Drive Drunk’
Editor: Festive foods, drinks and a myriad of holiday events come now. For example, December Arts Alive on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. (Calendar, Nov. 21). “Cheers” to holidays means planning ahead if drinking. A responsible driver can get folded like a pretzel after hit by a drunken one. A drunken driver…
Another ‘Wake-up Call’
Editor: Great news about our North Coast California condor A9 again flying free following weeks of intensive medical treatment at the Sequoia Park Zoo due to a potentially lethal case of lead poisoning, though scary news about eight other condors with elevated lead levels during a recent exam (“Another Close Condor Call,” Nov. 21). We…
The Woolly Bear Crosses the Road
Recently, I watched a documentary that depicted the Serengeti’s famous wildebeest migration as the animals forded a river in Tanzania. The wildebeests are reluctant to cross the river because of the huge crocodiles waiting to catch and eat them. While the majority safely make the crossing, a significant number are killed. We, too, have a…
