The politicos have been fighting over it for the last six years. The ground underneath it has been a city headache and a constant source of grief for at least a decade. Now, with Measure N on Eureka’s ballot next month, the public will have something to say about Marina Center, the massive waterfront development […]
John C. Osborn
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Interested Parties
If the recent campaign finance disclosures for both Eureka and Humboldt County races are any indicator about how high the stakes are in this election, it is clearly evident that a number of special interests locally continue to fervidly pour oodles of cash into the election — a total of almost $1 million in just […]
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Crumbling Foundation
A group of about 50 people — Humboldt State University administrators, faculty and staffers on various projects — congregated last Thursday in one of the stadium-seating classrooms in the Natural Resources building. The topic: The possible end of the Sponsored Programs Foundation, a quasi-independent body that administers funds donated to university projects. In the face […]
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Wardshopping
Once again, a candidate running for office in Eureka shows how that city’s ward system, in its current form, is flawed and perhaps even irrelevant. Michael Newman, chairman of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and adviser to Shaw and Petersen Insurance, is one of the three contenders for the soon-to-be vacant […]
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Red Tide
The Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District Commission meeting last Wednesday (June 23) represented both the burning optimism and the sobering reality of the economic storm facing Humboldt County, particularly its port. Few public entities have managed to weather the “Great Recession” here unscathed, but the fateful financial future facing this public agency is nothing short […]
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Money in Politics
It’s that time again. The latest round of campaign finance disclosure forms have arrived, and the money frenzy reached new heights. By this point, the lines are drawn and the typical players are rallying behind one candidate or another. In the Fourth District Supervisor race, incumbent Bonnie Neely and contender Virginia Bass broke the $100,000 […]
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Mad Props
Last week, we gave you the low-down on Propositions 13 and 14, which you can check out in the archives. Today, we give you the three other propositions California voters will decide on in June that could create a publicly funded elections scheme, make it more difficult for local governments to form publicly funded utilities […]
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Mad Props
This is a hot political season, not only because of the battles raging across Humboldt County for a variety of key positions, but also for the multitude of ballot initiatives coming to a ballot near you in June. Much attention has been paid to the Tax Cannabis Act, which could very well legalize marijuana in […]
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Notes from the Hustings
High Flyers It was a particularly warm yet partly cloudy Saturday morning at Murray Field outside Eureka. A variety of single-prop planes spread across the tarmac. If there was an award for unique fundraising events, this one would certainly make the list. The $25-per-plate gathering attracted friends of Mike Hislop, chief investigator for the District […]
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Notes from the Hustings
Reportable Interests With so much discussion of policy priorities and who is backing whose campaign, attention is rarely paid to the candidates’ personal finances. When a candidate runs for office, they need to fill out a conflict of interest form, where candidates and their spouses disclose their income, investments, property owned, etc. Public officials do […]
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The Dioxin Question
Eureka’s sprawling 43-acre Balloon Track is, in its current state, a difficult place to picture a bustling 500,000 square foot mini-city with residences, industry, a wetland and a commercial hub anchored by a big-box retailer. It’s littered with piles of garbage, islands of broken concrete slabs and the rusty remains of abandoned rail yard structures. […]
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Fear Factor
Seasons pass like the fog creeps across the landscape here — summer to autumn, baseball to football, sown seeds to bountiful harvests. So it is with marijuana in places like Humboldt County, where isolation and optimal weather create a breeding ground for vast commercial (and illegal) grow operations. And as the loud booming swooshes of […]