April 7, 1949-October 17, 2025 Stephen (Steve) Emmes loving husband, loyal son, talented artist, woodworker and active community member died at his home in Olga on Orcas Island. Steve is survived by his wife, Lynn Marie Emmes, brother Ken, and children Emery and Merry. Born in Pasadena California, Steve was the oldest of two sons […]
Letter Writer
Send letters to the editor to letters@northcoastjournal.com. See our Writer's Guidelines for other submissions.
Posted inMailbox
‘Not Impressed’
Editor: The four contenders for governor, detailed in the CalMatters article (“They Want to Be California’s Next Governor. Here’s What They’d Do About Health Care, Nov. 20), range in age from 57 to 72. Katie Porter, who didn’t answer CalMatters’ questions, is 51. Other non-respondents were Chad Bianco who is soon to be 59, and […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Something of Our Lives’
Editor: I often think about the fact that I’m the extremely unlikely product of an unbroken, four-billion-year-long chain of survival and reproduction. What are the odds? Sometimes I’m wracked with guilt by the fact that, partly by luck but mostly by choice, I’ve broken that chain. Mr. Evans (“The Lure of Immortality,” Nov. 20) points […]
Posted inObituaries
Gordon Schatz
Gordon Schatz was born and raised in Tacoma Washington, and he married his high school sweetheart Karen Lyle in 1964. They then moved to Hollywood, where he obtained a BA degree in Photography from Art Center College of Design. He operated his own advertising photography studio until the family relocated to Humboldt County in 1975, […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Sanctuary for Trans Individuals
Editor: Recently, several Eureka residents approached the city council requesting Eureka consider becoming a Trans Sanctuary City. The individuals came out of fear of being transgender in today’s America, but why is this? Certainly, Donald Trump plays a part. Immediately in office, he placed an executive order that mandated there no longer be federal recognition […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Fascism in the USA
Editor: Franklin Stover’s letter of Nov. 13 (“Stop Misusing the F Word”) claims Jennifer Fumiko Cahill is wrong to call Trump a dimwitted fascist, and offers some pretty weak arguments to prove it. Thus, he claims Trump’s regime can’t be called fascist because 1) things were worse in “Mussolini’s Italy,” and still are in North […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Censure and Punishment of Supervisor Bushnell
Editor: Excellent reporting by Kimberly Wear (“Chronicle of a Censure,” Nov. 13)! Just the facts … it certainly appears the county acted extrajudiciously in removing the supervisor from her chair position. Ryan Lee, Glendale
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Our Cultural Heritage’
Editor: Justin Crellin’s eloquent article (“How rescinding the Public Lands Rule Harms Humboldt County,” Nov. 6) alerted us just in time to the threat posed to our nation’s public lands by the prospective rescission of the Public Lands Rule. Hopefully many people wrote comment letters. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages one-eighth of the […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Blame Trump
After Tuesday’s elections, many pollsters cited two major reasons for the GOP’s dismal performance: Trump wasn’t on the ballot and the government shutdown. However, Trump was on the ballot. His poor job performance ratings hung like an albatross around GOP candidates’ necks. This was mostly due to Trump’s failure on promised lower prices and increased […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Re: Protecting the Night
Editor: The Journal’s Oct. 16 cover story by Griffin Mancuso, “Protecting the Night,” included snippets from an interview with yours truly! After reading Doug Ingold’s letter (‘Disappointed,’ Oct. 30), I’m writing to provide more information on how we can all keep Humboldt’s night skies dark, why that’s important for people and wildlife, and where to […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Stop Misusing the F Word
Editor: I fundamentally differ with Jennifer Fumiko Cahill’s characterization of fascism in her “This Paper is Anti-Fascist” (Oct. 23). I could pen a lengthy rebuttal to it, but that would be boring. The first problem with the article is that the sweeping generalizations aren’t supported by actual examples. In other words, explain how “individual rights […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Space for Poetry’
Editor: Thank you for publishing poems in the NCJ. I am always disappointed with a “poemless” issue. The latest poem by Ryan Muenzer, “The January Wake Up,” (Oct. 30) is a seriously good prose poem. There are multiple layers of meaning, natural and political; not contrived or preachy. The reader joins in the personal and […]