Friends and family gathered at Belotti Hall in Ferndale May 20 to celebrate the life of Robert “Curley” Tait, a former model and Chicago blues nightclub owner who for much of his life was well known and well loved for his restaurant, Curley’s Bar and Grill, which served California-style favorites for 16 years in Ferndale. […]
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
What’s In 10 Years’ Worth of Sequoia Park Zoo Animal Autopsies
“Monty” was not feeling well. The 17-year-old male Pygora goat’s osteoarthritis had stopped responding to medication. In the extreme upper age range for his species, which usually lives to 14, the ram was in otherwise good health, with the veterinarian reporting his skin, heart and urinary system were all normal. But due to his chronic […]
Posted inNews
The Surprisingly Dramatic Race for Auditor-Controller
Does slow and steady really win the race? Mike Lorig, an accountant with the Department of Health and Human Services and a contender in this year’s auditor-controller election, certainly hopes so. Lorig, who ran for the position unsuccessfully in 2010, hopes to edge out Karen Paz Dominguez, a controversial newcomer to county bureaucracy, for the […]
Posted inNews
What Is Going On With the Beer at Oyster Fest?
The Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, a notoriously big and boozy annual celebration of all things bivalve, has been the subject of a rumor mill in the hops-and-barley set lately. Several local brewery owners told the Journal that the event — which in the past has seen its organizers dogged by controversy about their choices to […]
Posted inNews
Multi-Candidate, Multi-Group Supervisor Rumble at Labor Temple Tonight
Five candidates. Nine community groups. Two hours of questions. This is the format for a forum at Eureka’s Labor Temple, scheduled to be held tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. The candidates include contenders for two supervisor’s seats, with Fifth District incumbent Ryan Sundberg facing off against challenger Steve Madrone, and the three-way race between […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
My Hometown Has Changed. Or Maybe I have.
Maybe it’s because I had just finished re-reading a news story about a family member’s murder. Maybe it’s because I had just written up a press release about a homicide investigation. Maybe it’s just the road — it’s such a terrible, long, pock-marked, winding, bone-jarring road. Whatever the reason, I did not want to drive […]
Posted inEat + Drink
A Pie to Take with You
Family traditions are a fine thing, except when they’re inconvenient, outdated, unappreciated, annoying or molded in gelatin. Which is to say one or two family traditions are a fine thing, particularly the edible ones. I’m at that weird point in my mid-30s where, fully launched into the uncharted waters of adulthood, I pilot a strange […]
Posted inNews
What we did, and didn’t, learn from the state’s audit of skilled nursing facilities
Brius Healthcare, LLC, did nothing illegal when its local skilled nursing facilities spent millions of dollars on related party transactions, according to a state auditor’s report on the practice that was released May 1. In 2015, Brius spent $65.7 million on services such as building leases, medical supplies and administrative services from companies also owned […]
Posted inNews
State Audit Confirms Inadequacies in For-Profit Skilled Nursing
A report published on the California State Auditor’s website this morning appears to confirm the worst suspicions of state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood, who in June of 2017 requested an audit of skilled nursing providers and the state agencies that monitor them. The audit focused on for-profit company Brius, which holds a […]
Posted inNews
Fatal Crash on State Route 36 Claims One
A single-vehicle collision on State Route 36 ended in the death of Chelsea Renee Cash, 22, who was driving a 1999 Dodge Intrepid sedan eastbound at around 7:25 p.m. when her vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. Cash was from Quincy and, according to her Facebook page, was employed at the Swain’s Flat […]
Posted inNews
2nd UPDATE: Man Found Dead on U.S. Highway 101 Died of Gunshot Wounds
2nd UPDATE: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges confirmed this morning that Salvatore Riccobono IV died from “multiple gunshot wounds.” Karges could not say how Riccobono’s body ended up on U.S. Highway 101 near Salmon Creek, where it was struck by a driver in the early hours of April 23. She also could not release any […]
Posted inNews
Marek Reavis Appointed New Public Defender
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted in closed session this afternoon to appoint Marek Reavis, currently serving as interim public defender, to that office’s top job. Reavis’ appointment caps a tumultuous year for the department, which saw public outcry and mass resignations over the board’s previous appointment, David Marcus, whom many considered unqualified. After […]