My family was evicted from our Oakland apartment in November of 2018. Since then, I’ve stayed in motels, on church floors, in homeless shelters and dorm rooms. And yet, I consider myself lucky. I’ve never had to sleep on a sidewalk or in a park. On my worst days, I was able to get breakfast […]
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Posted inLetters + Opinion
Eureka Needs to Stand Up to its Playground Bully
Once again, Eureka City Schools (ECS) has created an uproar. This time, it has threatened litigation to wrest control of Academy of the Redwoods, a school that has been operating under the authority of Fortuna Union High School District. There’s no strong reasoning for the sudden interest in the school except that it’s within ECS’ […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
There’s Nothing Clean About Offshore Wind Development Unless California Tribes are Involved
Since colonization began, the impacts of natural resource extraction have devastated Indigenous communities in the United States and across the globe. In Northern California, gold miners inflicted nearly irreparable damage to the Klamath River, the lifeline of my people. Hydropower dams spurred the collapse of salmon runs that sustained us since the beginning of time. […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
KHSU MIA After Quake
Tuning in to KHSU-FM (90.5) for much-needed emergency information never occurred to me after the magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit at 2:34 a.m. on Dec. 20 or following the Jan. 1 aftershock. I’ve lost interest in listening to KHSU, given the sad status of Cal Poly Humboldt’s public radio station since the administration got rid of all […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
‘We Will Not Hide’
These past few difficult weeks bring tears to our veils. Our hearts are heavy with painful pulsing brought by violence. Hurting people brought hate and violence to our Oct. 23 Redwood Pride event at Jefferson Community Center, shouting at participants. Hurting people brought hate into our civic centers and continue to shout deeply misguided, privileged […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Taxing Tribal Lands Adds Insult to Injury
News feeds are being flooded with pro and con arguments about whether federally recognized tribes and licensed gambling companies should be allowed to offer online sports betting in California. Instead, #LandBack should be trending. The #LandBack movement seeks to return lands to tribal nations. These lands, with few exceptions, are subject to state property taxes. […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Coastal Commission is Not the Enemy; Developers Flouting the Rules Are the Real Problem
Sure, an 8,000-square-foot house sounds crazy to those of us who somehow managed to raise three children in humbler accommodations, but saying you wouldn’t do something is always easier when that something isn’t an option. If I had the money to build a mansion, maybe I would! But what I wouldn’t do is choose to violate […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
This Land Is Their Land
Editor’s note: The following was written and submitted in response to last week’s cover story, “Broken Trust.” Most of us know that what we call Humboldt Bay was part of the territory of the Wiyot people. And most us of know of the terrible mass killing that occurred in 1860 on what was called Indian […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Yes, They Are Racist. What Now?
Progress often provokes a vicious response from those who wish to maintain the status quo. Much as the election of this country’s first Black president fueled the retaliatory rage of right wing white supremacists, leading to Trump’s election and an increase in racist attacks, it is clear that the progress this community has made toward […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Corporations Aren’t People but They Can Be Psychopaths
Manipulative, deceitful, aggressive, remorseless, lacking empathy and affect — all are classic definitions of psychopathic social behavior, according to psychiatric evaluations. These are traits also emblematic of today’s legal fictions called corporations — entities that have taken control of our democracy and our lives, entities that exist only for the purpose of increased revenue and […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Climate Inaction Threatens Grandchildren’s Future
Recent evidence reveals that California has surrendered to the climate crisis, so prospects for our grandchildren’s future look grim. For example, this year the Assembly and state Senate passed no effective climate legislation. Lawmakers ignored climate’s effect on wildfires, floods, drought and soaring temperatures. Worldwide temperatures are now 1.2 degrees Celsius above historic levels, headed […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
The Overturning of Roe and What to Do Now
We knew it was coming and still the news launched a million expressions of fury across the media landscape and onto the streets. We’ve known this was coming for years, decades. The steady march of the Republican party as it took over school boards, rallied candidates for local offices, blocked judicial appointments at all levels […]