Editor: Happy 2025. Let’s take a moment and look at some of the events of 2024 and of 2020 (Top 10 Stories of 2024, Dec. 26). In 2024, Sen. McGuire was in town for the annual food drive over the Christmas Holidays. The need is greater than ever, as the food bank is now serving […]
North Coast Journal Staff
Posted inLifelines
Paul Jespersen: 1942-2024
Paul Jespersen, 82, of Salem, Oregon, passed away peacefully Nov. 27, 2024, surrounded by family. Born in 1942 in Ferndale, California, Paul was the son and youngest child of Raymond and Lois Jespersen. After graduating from high school, he moved to Arcata to attend Humboldt State College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. Soon after, […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘It’s Pretty Fascist’
Editor: I am not sure whether Bill Hassler was writing tongue-in-cheek, or whether he just hadn’t thought his argument through (Mailbox, Dec. 19). I believe, though he doesn’t explicitly state it, he was referring to the recent election results when he said, “Most people are just too dumb to know what’s in their best interest, let alone […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Get a Life’
Editor: I had composed this letter for last week’s NCJ but decided it was pointless to send it as everyone would be settled down by now. I was wrong (Mailbox, Dec. 19). Guys, guys. It’s over! Your guy lost. Get a life. I know we’re all going to hell in a handbasket and that we […]
Posted inArts + Scene
7.0 at the Vance Hotel
You felt it more than heard it that first bone-deep jolt before alarms began to sound and Mother Nature’s band really began to play. But the grand old dame the Hotel Vance was quick to catch the tune. Her giant sashes set to tapping her long brass chandeliers began to sway. And just when I […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
The Top 10 Stories of 2024
What a year. In our sliver of the North Coast, 2024 brought triumph and tragedy, drama and departures, and a host of stories that will reverberate in our communities, hearts and memories for years to come. In no particular order, here’s our list of the most important and impactful stories of the year, and this […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
NCJ Preview: The life of Mark Campbell and St. Joseph Hospital update
On this week’s episode of the NCJ Preview, we’re joined by Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, who honors the life of the beloved local chef and ceramicist Mark Campbell in her piece “Big Heart.” News Editor Thadeus Greenson gives an update on St. Joseph Hospital and a second harrowing lawsuit related to care […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Tackiness at the Top?
Editor: President-elect Donald Trump appears to be continuing in his role as “The Merchant of Self-Branded Stuff” (Mailbox, Dec. 12). At one time, such behavior might have been considered tacky for a soon-to-be president, but apparently not for Trump today. In this role, Trump just released a new line of men’s and women’s colognes at […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A ‘Price Put on His Head’
Editor: In response to news of the $4.5-million price put on his head earlier this month by President Biden’s “America the Beautiful” challenge grant (NCJ Daily, Dec.10), the Barred Owl signals his rage: “When Moon unmasks your naked face, and gilds your gun with diamonds green, I mark your progress from afar. You stumble toward […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘She Tried!’
Editor: The older Journal archives are not easily searchable. The “local newspaper” that labeled Patty Berg “the Energizer Bunny?” It was the Journal in a July 10, 2003, cover story (“Eye of the Storm.”) I didn’t know her well in those days but later I was honored to become one of Patty’s girlfriends — once […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Who Profits?’
Editor: By all measures, the United States was hit hard by the COVID pandemic. It was real. Unemployment, scarcity of essential parts and consumer products, medical overwhelm, reduced education for children, anxiety, fear, distrust of masks and shots, and polarized actions. All of these factors collectively caused economic and societal pain and anguish. All in […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Who Will Be to Blame?’
Editor: As the stable genius, President-elect Donald Trump, nonchalantly stated right smack dab in the middle of a horrifyingly deadly global pandemic, “It is what it is.” To him, it was the “kung flu” and it would soon go away. And now he’s slated to run this country of 345 million people … again (Mailbox, Dec. 5). So, when the […]