In 1991, Eric Hollenbeck, founder of the Blue Ox Millworks in Eureka, wrote a long poem about his experiences in the armed services during the Vietnam War titled Uncle Sam’s Tour Guide to Southeast Asia . In this week’s Short Stories section of the Journal , we visited Blue Ox Radio during their 11-hour Memorial […]
Japhet Weeks
Posted inNews
Mall Shame?
Local conservative radio blogger Tom Fredriksen of Old Glory Radio gave the Journal a ring today to inform us of the filth being hocked in the hallways of the Bayshore Mall in Eureka. In particular, he noticed a shirt in front of Spencer’s facing out towards passersby that read — close your eyes if you’re […]
Posted inNews
Van Eck Forest
NPR’s Weekend Edition has a story about the carbon credit industry in California that focuses on the Van Eck Forest in Humboldt County. Tamara Keith of the California Report reports. Listen here . Also, read this December, 2007 Journal story about the forest if you haven’t already.
Posted inNews
Humboldt Auction Yard, Fortuna
From his rustic lectern, Lee Mora, auctioneer and owner of the Humboldt Auction Yard, presides over his cowboy-hat-and-cowboy-boot-clad flock of local ranchers. Ascending prices cascade off his tongue. Cows low and spin in the central corral. The cool air in the windowless interior of the auction yard is a fragrant mix of cow shit and […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Of Cubs and Men
Last week a reader came into the Journal office with what sounded like a really juicy story tip. It involved a death, a government agency and a cover-up. And it wasn’t an isolated incident. The agency responsible for protecting the victim, it was alleged, had a hidden agenda and a history of past offenses. For […]
Posted inNews
Aiy-yu-kwee Mobile Home Park Update
In January the Journal wrote about the residents of the Aiy-yu-kwee Mobile Home Park in Blue Lake who were being evicted from their homes. One of those residents, Hellen Studdert, has written an update about the situation. Well, it looks like it’s too late to save our homes, but thanks to the community for their […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Rebuffeted
Last weekend, Chook-Chook Hillman of the Karuk Tribe got in line outside of the 30,000-seat Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., at 1 o’clock in the morning and waited. The 23-year-old wasn’t hoping to catch a glimpse of his favorite rock star. He had a higher mission. He wanted to secure a spot in front of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Straining Water
On a recent Sunday evening, Mike Zamboni’s old Toyota truck grumbles noisily down the pot-holed dirt road that winds through Redwoods State Park out to Gold Bluffs Beach, north of Orick. With the sun setting, Zamboni jumps out of his truck, engages the 4-wheel drive and unlocks the contentious gate that allows a handful of […]
Posted inNews
Seeing Red
It was the first time I had ever heard the words "dialectical materialism" uttered inside a doublewide trailer. It was also my first glimpse into Humboldt County’s small community of communists. I had come to the right place. Sitting on a twin bed with his dog stretched out beside him in a sunlight-filled room in […]
Posted inNews
Oops: Local Power Plant Belches Black Smoke
A Loleta resident called the Journal today to tell us she had seen black smoke “belching” from the stacks of the PG&E power plant early yesterday afternoon. About an hour later she called the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District to file a complaint — the NCUAQMD told her they weren’t aware of a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Robo Conspiracy
Something is rotten in the State University of Humboldt. At least, that’s what former Associated Students Legislative Affairs Vice President Jason Robo is saying. Robo, a senior majoring in political science and economics, is a self-proclaimed "scholarly revolutionary," and in the most recent campus elections, in which he stood as a candidate for student body […]
Posted inMusic
Terror’s Advocate
DVD, directed by Barbara Schroeder. Magnolia Home Entertainment Terror’s Advocate opens with a bucolic scene of the Cambodian countryside, followed by patient shots of a pastel-colored temple amidst the trees and carefree monks strolling barefoot down a dirt path. Cue the soft, tired voice of Pol Pot, the notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, responsible […]