There’s the ancient Buddhist story about blind men describing an elephant. One grasps the tail: “An elephant is like a rope.” One has an ear: “An elephant is flat and floppy.” Another, a leg: “An elephant is like a tree trunk.” These isolated conclusions do not describe an elephant. This has relevance to what people […]
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Posted inLetters + Opinion
The End of the Intertribal Gathering is the End of an Era
Many people were recently left without what has become their fall tradition. For 38 years the Northern California Indian Development Council (NCIDC) has put on the Intertribal Gathering and Elders Dinner around Veterans Day. This year there was no reveling in the reunion of friends and family, no basking in the glow of honor placed […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Energy Literacy
Perhaps the biggest breakdown in the recent power shutoff was communication. As I write this, the California Public Utilities Commission has convened an emergency meeting with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. about the blackout. High among the commissioners’ concerns are PG&E’s communication failures to local governments, state agencies and customers during this event. As important […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Biomass: A Local andRenewable Source of Irony
Despite its official pledge to supply Humboldt county with 100 percent clean and renewable energy by 2025, Redwood Coast Energy Authority has doubled down on biomass energy. Nearly a quarter of our electricity now comes from burning wood. In fact, according to its latest Comprehensive Action Plan for Energy [CAPE], RCEA plans to keep buying […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Unraveling of the Times-Standard
It’s difficult to watch what’s been happening at the Times-Standard over the last several months, even from my seat on the sidelines. If you’re unaware, the region’s only daily just weathered another round of layoffs, including three members of the newsroom. I’m not sure how they are managing to put out a paper six days […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Cannabis Raids and Our Economy
Speakers at the Sept. 10 Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting expressed concerns about recent sheriff’s office cannabis raids and the extreme costs and long timelines needed to get grows permitted. Humboldt County’s economy has taken a big hit with the onset of cannabis regulation, as evidenced by a 10-percent reduction in sales tax receipts […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Some Urgency’
At the Aug. 27 meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn introduced a measure calling for the creation of a citizen advisory council on climate action. Such a council, it is hoped, can provide a significant additional voice to a process — the creation of a climate action plan […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘A Humanitarian Disaster’
A beautiful 2-year-old Honduran girl flashed a huge, radiant smile when we walked up to her July 27. Her name is Natalia and she just wanted to play. We were instantly friends and she demanded that I draw a gato for her on papel. When I playfully drew a whale instead, and then a shark, […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Come See for Yourself
Safety of employees, contractors and trespassing individuals is Humboldt Redwood Co.’s first priority. We are aware of trespassers on our property (“Straight from the PALCO Playbook,” July 18). We have a fully licensed and bonded professional security group looking out for everyone’s safety in the area of operations near Rainbow Ridge. Because someone is moving […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Straight from the PALCO Playbook
An ember of the old Timber Wars is still smoldering in the woods near Rainbow Ridge in the Mattole. There, a stand-off between forest defenders and Humboldt Redwood Co. is heating up. It is like 1997 all over again — tree-sitters are blocking road construction and logging operations, the sheriff’s office and private security are […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘Hook, Line and Turbine’
How dispiriting to read that officials at Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) have fallen hook, line and turbine for a deeply flawed energy proposal. Like many outside colonizers since 1850, a Manhattan energy company, Terra-Gen, is relying on local officials to support its plan to place up to 60 wind turbines, each standing 600 feet […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Why I Support Terra-Gen’s Wind Project
I want to highlight why I support the Terra-Gen wind project and how the project fits into Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s (RECEA’s) larger, long-term goals for using local, renewable energy production to promote local economic development and reduce the environmental impact of our energy use. With respect to the Terra-Gen wind project, I support it […]