The room is quiet. It’s 9 a.m. on a day in late January and students are spread out across the stadium seating of the Native American Forum at Humboldt State University. The smell of burnt coffee wafts through the air as they listen to an instructor discuss last week’s reading. It’s almost like any other […]
J. Daniel Fernandez
Bakers, Mustard Makers Break Free
When Mary Ann Hytken needed surgery two years ago, she began asking herself bigger questions. “The surgery gave me time to think about what I really wanted to do,” says Hytken, a former junior high English teacher. Faced with her own mortality, her mind turned to an unlikely source of inspiration: banana bread. Or, more […]
Straightening the Hairpins
One of the best ways to spend a summer day is on a drive from Arcata to Redding via State Route 299. Travelers are likely to see birds of prey circle overhead, as small cumulus clouds drag across a blinding blue sky, and a flurry of wildflowers, redwoods and oaks rush by on either side. […]
KEET at the Crossroads
On the outskirts of southern Eureka sits a faded, light-blue building, which — except for the looming broadcast tower and small parking lot — looks like a slightly larger version of the homes that surround it. From here on Humboldt Hill, KEET-TV beams some of our favorite shows to Humboldt County and beyond: Downton Abbey, […]
Stimulus Lost
Late last month, U.S. Census enumerator Pamela Ward was driving down a seldom-used dirt road looking to get a head count at one of the many residences in Garberville that would prefer not to be bothered by government workers. As she made her way in her black 4×4 Jeep Wrangler, “this guy and his kid […]
Los Hechados
On Friday, May 28, a young man who we’ll call “Slim” stood in the living room of the home that he has shared with up to 10 roommates at a time for the last 14 months. The week previous, Slim had received notice from the person who sublet the home to him and his roommates […]
