In 1990, President George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), giving people with disabilities assurance they would no longer be excluded from society based on their disability. The ADA was an “act to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability.” The ADA has been in effect […]
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Posted inLetters + Opinion
Tribalism and Polarization, And Why We Should Be Concerned
A Google search of tribalism in America returns 664,000 results with headlines like “The New Tribalism and the Decline of the Nation State” and “Can Our Democracy Survive Tribalism?” Recently, a bounty of new books has arrived with titles like: Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations and Us Against Them: How Tribalism […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Gun Forum Shows Left and Right Can Talk Peacefully
When the young female gun control activist started talking earnestly with the burly firearms pro — a man who had earlier proclaimed that many gun laws don’t make sense — I knew that we had succeeded in creating a respectful, constructive dialogue about this intensely polarizing topic. Around the room at Eureka’s Wharfinger Building, a […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Why I’m Pulling My Support from KHSU After 25 Years
I first heard of Katie Whiteside’s firing from my dear old Mom and thought to myself, “You must have heard it wrong. No, that just can’t be.” After a few phone calls, I felt that I had to repeat that sentence in a more imperative way: No. That just can’t be. After (in order of […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Media Basics for Activists
You have a cause. It’s important. You might think that alone would spark media interest. And yet you find your emails going unanswered, your events uncovered, your press releases evaporating into the ether. Or worse, reporters and local bloggers are paying attention to your cause but it’s all the wrong kind of coverage — weak […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Real Answer to the Single-Payer Debate
We pay taxes and local fees for water, sewage, garbage and protection, for essential services and infrastructure — an expected, rational cost for the common good. But there is one area of overlooked expense, one fraught with irrationality and inequity; namely, the literally millions of our local dollars going to buy health plans, including some […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The County Needs You
This is the time of year when everyone tells us how important it is to vote. Politicians and journalists remind us of the many historically narrow election results of the past. Our very own Humboldt County supervisors appear at town hall meetings, desperate to distinguish themselves from their opponents, while attempting to remain cordial and […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Kill the Ivy. Kill it All.
World got you down? Feel helpless, like you don’t know how to make a difference? Do I have a mission for you. You can save the world from ivy, starting with your own yard or nearby patch of woods. Get outdoors, commune with nature, kill ivy. Feel the purpose pumping through your veins. No expensive […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Charmaine Lawson: ‘Why Doesn’t My Son’s Life Matter Enough?’
It’s been a year since my son, David Josiah Lawson, was senselessly murdered and I’m still waiting for justice. His murderer or murderers are still walking free and this tragedy has sent me through a whirlwind of emotions. I’m sometimes left numb to what has happened but my fight for DJ’s justice has kept me […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Did Trump Appoint a Non-Native to Native American Ambassadorship?
Amid a maelstrom of “fake news reports” of indictments, sullied security clearances, resignations, forced resignations, removals and other such sundry vitriol among the many faces of the presidential administration, one name has gone unnoticed under society’s radar. His Highness, or as he is called by many in Native American country “The Great Orange Father,” has […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Past the Dog Whistles, What’s Really at Stake in the McKinley Statue Debate
Last week, an Arcata business leader worried aloud about Humboldt State University’s budget crunch as we sat in his office. He knew that if HSU’s annual payroll and student spending disappeared from Arcata’s economy, it would be a $100-million dollar hit. The good news is that if the future of Arcata’s economy depends solely on […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Enough!
My wife and I moved from the Los Angeles area to the hills of Northern California in 1971, 7 miles from the nearest paved road — far enough from any immediate help from law enforcement that the local police told us, “Make sure you’re right, and call us when he stops twitching.” I own five […]