North Coast Journal Reader

Editor: I read with interest Jeff Bird’s thoughts on hunting entitled “Carnivore’s Dilemma” (Nov. 17) in last week’s Journal.  This week I read with some distaste the letters of two rather self-righteous guilt-slingers taking him to task for his views, so I felt moved to reply myself. First of all, we are all the descendants of ancient […]

Editor: While I commend your concern for the health of North Coast citizenry, your “Drugs In Disguise” article (Nov. 10), was a one-sided and somewhat condescending opinion piece. The author, a Washington D.C. resident with a doctorate in molecular and cellular biology, seems to suggest that mere folks are not capable of using herbal “folk medicine” […]

Editor: Publisher Judy Hodgson recalls how in the 1950s we had rapid economic growth and a strong middle class (“What’s it All About?” Nov. 24). She infers it was economic growth that “narrowed” the differences in income and allowed the middle class to prosper. It’s not that simple. In the 1950s we had a very […]

Editor: I was amused to see that Ryan Burns seems to think that the “liberal elite appear to be lining up behind Huffman.” (“Blog Jammin,’” Nov. 24)  Liberal elite? Please. Thompson, Chesbro, et al are politics as usual, the “I’ll-scratch-yours-if-you’ll-scratch-mine” crowd. Thompson is running in a more conservative area than he’s used to and Huffman […]

Editor: I’ve built computer energy performance models on millions of square feet of commercial and residential buildings, and I’ve long been lobbying local window vendors and installers to look at exactly this issue (“Sun Block,” Nov. 17). There absolutely are high solar gain low-E windows available that maximize free solar heating without sacrificing any of […]

Editor: I read, with keen interest, your Nov. 17 Blogthing regarding matsutake mushroom gathering. It made me wonder if the Six Rivers NF cappo bothered to read the law they cite to justify charging a Mafia-esque $200 fee for gathering forest fungi. I read the law (FSH 2409.18, Chapter 80), and several points came to […]

Editor: Mr. Bird is experiencing what is known as “Evolutionary Stress Disease,” (“The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” Nov. 17). He is still part Neanderthal (as are we all), and exhibits the symptoms of stress involved when we consciously choose to evolve to a higher human level. I salute him for his effort. The will to kill is […]

Editor: I drove by the once-occupied Occupy Eureka camp in front of the Humboldt County court house today (“Blog Jammin’ ” Nov. 17), and wondered what the final cost of the camp will be to our cash-strapped city and county. The additional police time to investigate acts of defecation, spotlights atop the courthouse, fencing to […]

Editor: As a professional in the energy efficiency industry, I read the article titled “Sun Block” (Nov. 17), with nerdish delight. I appreciate the breadth of the interviews that the NCJ conducted for this article. As if reading a suspenseful mystery novel, I found my opinion on the matter wavering back and forth as successive […]

Editor: In reference to your article “Drugs in Disguise” (Nov. 10), I think a few other drug facts are in order. Every year in the U.S., conservative estimates say that around 200,000 people die as a direct result of their doctor giving them the wrong drug, drug dose or drug combination. Prescription drug abuse now […]

Editor: Hooray for Amy Stewart’s “Etter Bomb” (Nov. 10)! It was just last night we were sipping apple brandy with our neighbor and wondering what kind of apple concoction to serve for the winter solstice. Problem solved! Thank you, Amy, for the great suggestions and enthusiastic article! We are kindred spirits! It is odd that […]

Editor: There’s a lot of talk lately about the marijuana business (Blog Jammin, Oct. 20), with some suggesting it threatens our small town atmosphere and values. That got me thinking, suppose the dirty hippies didn’t come here and didn’t create a new resource economy (wink, wink) to replace the old one. Where would we be […]