UNDERTONE. In the photograph Mary Todd Lincoln sits laden in the heavy black garb of formal Victorian mourning, with only her round pale face and clasped hands visible. Behind her is the transparent form of her deceased husband, his spectral hands on her shoulders. This photograph was one of many staged by infamous “spirit photographer” […]
Linda Stansberry
Linda Stansberry was a staff writer of the North Coast Journal from 2015 to 2018. She is a frequent contributor the the Journal and our other publications.
Posted inNews
Race Dates for 2026 Humboldt County Fair Still in Question
The California Horse Racing Board deferred approving race dates for Northern California fairs this morning, voting instead to hold a special meeting on the item in February. The vote came after more than an hour of discussion and comment on the agenda item, a proposal by Bernal Park Racing Management Co. to conduct 19 weeks […]
Posted inSeriously?
Our Daughter Amantha
Attn: Milton G. Burg Junior High Principal Samantha Summers Re: Fair Accommodation Standards for all students, possible litigation Dear Principal Summers, I’m writing to you today to document our family’s struggles over the past few months to obtain a fair and equitable education for our child, your student, Amanthania BloodRoseoftheHeath Anderson. A copy of this […]
Posted inOn the Table
Two Bags of Apples
Doing what you can with what you have I am a perfectionist. A lot of the things I want to do don’t get done because I am afraid I won’t do them perfectly. This is why I don’t have a few dozen of my own novels on the bookshelf: I instead put my prodigious imagination […]
Posted inNews
Humboldt County Fair to Hold Town Hall
With horseracing in the far back stretch as an option for entertainment, the Humboldt County Fair board and staff are seeking input from the public on what to do next. A town hall is scheduled for Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m. in the fairgrounds’ Turf Room. HCFA CEO Moira Kenny cautioned the board during […]
Posted inNews
Still No Racing Decision, but Fair Will Seek Meet Dates
February’s regularly scheduled board meeting of the Humboldt County Fair Association included an announcement from Junior Livestock Auction Chair Mandy Marquez that the committee has added three new members (Lee Chamberlain, Charlie Anderson and Breanna Cahoon), a decision for revised fair dates that will allow for the possibility of an open show and a report […]
Posted inNews
Fair Board Violates Brown Act in Deciding Fair Dates
The Humboldt County Fair Association violated California’s open meeting laws when deciding to advance a seven-day fair calendar during closed session Feb. 18. The amended fair dates — which will see the fair start Aug. 16 and close Aug. 24 — were formally approved by the board at its regularly scheduled Feb. 24 meeting after […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Checking in with the Best Friend of an Amateur Detective Who Stumbles onto a Murder Everywhere She Goes
I guess I should have acted surprised, but when I saw Macy standing over the body sprawled in the snow, the fifth body in as many weeks, I was justifiably annoyed. Like, wow, that charming young ski instructor was blackmailing the resort’s accountant, and that’s why the ski lift malfunctioned, sending him to his death? […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Small, Good Thing
The work of being a writer often feels both worthless and pointless. Literally worthless in a culture that does not want to pay for it, literally pointless when fewer and fewer people seem to have confidence that anything they read will tell them the truth. Because what is our — my — job, if not […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Embracing Monsterpause
Are you between the ages of 42 and 55 and staring down the barrel of perimenopause/premenopause/menopause? Does each new quirk in your ever-slower, ever more confounding body send you directly to the internet to research whether you’re feeling the effects of your nosediving progesterone or simply old age? Was that a hot flash? Or a […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Lobster Girl Finds the Beat
For three glorious months in 2019, it seemed like it was finally going to happen for me. I was attending a dance fusion class at the Arcata HealthSport led by an amazing instructor named Jovonne. Once a week I’d stand at the back of the class with my friends and try to keep up. Never […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Tales from the CryptTok
Timestamp: Sept. 20, 2023 Location: Trinidad, CA Hey Grave Babies, it’s me, Shyla, your favorite tomb raider! I know it’s been a few weeks since I posted but I’ve been busy with a big surprise for you all! Remember how I told you St. Louis has some of the best archeo-foraging sites of all time? […]