For nearly two decades before becoming editor of the Journal just a few short weeks ago, I worked in mainstream media — corporate media as some have cursed it, myself included, especially whenever I was forced to report on the Big Story of the day, which often involves big helpings of FUD – fear, uncertainty […]
Tom Abate
Posted inNews
Tsunami Damage
In the wake of the tsunami that clobbered Crescent City Harbor last week, two dozen fishing boats from that battered city now crowd into Eureka’s Woodley Island Marina, floating refugees from the worst disaster to hit the North Coast in decades. “I don’t know what happens next,” said Joe Daignault, skipper of the Gemini, a […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Thinking Globally
We live in interesting times. That subtle curse describes so well how families and governments everywhere are struggling to cope with the Great Recession that was ushered in a few years back when the world’s largest banks finally had to admit what former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan should have realized back when he was […]
Posted inNews
Return of the Salmon
Fisheries biologists counted what may be a record run of Chinook salmon in the Eel River last year, but they aren’t ready to cheer or loosen up management policies because toxic algae and other ills continue to threaten this vital ecosystem. “This is the biggest run of salmon in the Eel since the 1985 to […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Eel River Trails Association
About 50 civic and government leaders met in Scotia last Tuesday night to support a new plan to convert a long stretch of the Northwest Pacific Railroad, from Willits north nearly to Eureka, into a non-motorized trail way that would preserve the option to restore a motorized transit system should one ever prove feasible. The […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Trailblazer
On a snow-covered hillside above Phillipsville, rancher and community activist Chris Weston shares one of his hobbies: creating a walkway of petrified stones on a slope so steep a strong hiker would probably have to scramble up on all fours. “I call it my stairway to heaven,” said Weston, 53, principal organizer of the Eel […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Hear Ye, Hear Ye
This week the Journal spotlights one of the most promising and powerful ideas to have taken root on the North Coast: sustainable agriculture. It’s a multifaceted idea that embodies respect for the land, honest living for the tillers, safe and nutritious food for consumers. The focal point of our coverage is a unique gathering that […]
Posted inNews
Anchors Away!
Two high school seniors from Southern Humboldt spoke out against the U.S. Navy’s plans to create a target practice range off the coast of Humboldt County at a rally in Eureka Saturday. “The animals don’t have voices so we have to speak for them,” 17-year-old Kali Persall of Shelter Cove told 50 activists who gathered […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Nursing Our Wounds
The demise of the Bachelor of Science nursing program at Humboldt State University has wounded the region’s health care system and signaled that something may be awry on campus. The hurt to the health care system extends well beyond the roughly 60 openings for new bachelor’s-level nursing students that will no longer be available said […]
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Two Guys Each $10 Shy of a Tea Party
My Saturday night hit a bump when the Humboldt County Tea Party Patriots refused to let me hear former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack argue for a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution at a well-attended fundraiser at the Fortuna Veterans Memorial Building. Truthfully, I could have gained entry by paying the $10 suggested donation, but […]
Posted inNews
The Little Casino That Could?
Maryann Six and Treg Combs leaned back against a cushioned divan at the Blue Lake Casino Saturday night to try their luck at a new software package that turned the iPad on their laps into the gambling equivalent of a 300-pound slot machine. This new system, dubbed iSino, was recently approved by state regulators, making […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Boomerangers
When I moved to Humboldt County in 1980 one of the first people I met was Fred Griffith, who then ran a shop in downtown Eureka. I had come to town dreaming of becoming a publisher. Fred briefly rented me a commercial space in an alley behind F Street, and was gracious enough to give […]