The victims of Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme continue to pile up at the base of the cliff, a sad tangle of duped philanthropic organizations, banks, hedge funds and individuals. The reverberation, as well, continues to travel ever outward. Madoff was arrested in early December and accused of fraudulent investments — he used new investors’ […]
Life + Outdoors
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Dip in the Bay
My wife Louisa is an open-water swimmer. Her idea of a good time is to don her thin (1/8 inch) wetsuit, slide into Humboldt Bay off the C Street dock, and swim around for a good 30 minutes. Maybe 50 minutes in summer, when the water is warmer. My job, as her “spotter,” is to […]
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Medical Chief Grief
Eureka cardiologist David Ploss has resigned as chief of the medical staff of St. Joseph Health System-Humboldt County, leaving behind scant fresh clues as to the depth of his fed-upness with things — but fed-up we do know he is. Ploss was elected chief of staff in 2008, after having served as vice chief in […]
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Drive-Thru Nativity
A line of taillights glowing redder than Rudolph’s nose wrapped around the block — families in Caravans and Expeditions waiting bumper-to-bumper to drive past the baby Jesus. Out on I Street, motorists on last-minute Christmas errands honked in annoyance at the sedans and minivans blocking the far-right lane, sitting through green lights because Buhne was […]
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The Transglobal Tourist Tube
We’re in an economic slump, no question. What we need is a new and profitable tourist attraction right here in Humboldt. Nope, not a steam train around the bay, much as I’d love to see it. I’m thinking just a tad grander. Here’s the plan: Announcing the Transglobal Tourist Tube. It’s pretty simple, really. My […]
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Blooming in Winter
Among garden bloggers (a small but mighty force in the blogosphere) there is a tradition of posting a photo of whatever happens to be blooming in your garden on the 15th of each month. It’s a useful practice for a gardener; if you keep it up for a couple of years, you will be able […]
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Celebrate the Solstice!
Don’t forget to set your alarm so you can celebrate this year’s winter solstice, one of Earth’s four annual regular-as-clockwork astronomical events — the others being the summer solstice and the spring and fall equinoxes. Solstice happens here in Humboldt — and everywhere in the Pacific time zone — on December 21 at 4:04 a.m. […]
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New Front in the Development War
Housing and population growth have long been among the Humboldt County’s most sensitive political issues. The question of where to put new people, and how tightly local government should control development, has fueled any number of deeply ideological, bitter debates in recent years, especially where they touch upon county government’s work to update its general […]
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Red Tail Stare-Down
While walking my dog Chuck in the Arcata marsh and wildlife sanctuary last Thursday evening we came suddenly upon a juvenile red tail hawk. Practically stepped on him before we noticed him. Perched on a fallen branch just inches off the path, the striking raptor stared unflinchingly up at me, then Chuck. After recovering from […]
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In Praise of Stuff
It used to be such a simple, innocent question: What do you want for Christmas? Tell me and it will save me the trouble of buying the wrong thing. Tell me and you’ll probably get it. It’s a question we’ve heard from our spouses, parents, children, friends — what do you want? And just like […]
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Albino Redwoods
Turns out that my weakness for rum balls is shared by the co-owner of Eureka Books. Scott and I found ourselves standing in front of what I think of as the "Temptation Display" in Ramones. "So what’s the topic of your next Journal piece?" he asked. "Haven’t a clue," I replied, "Any ideas?" "Albino redwoods." […]
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The Tides of the Bay
Twice a day, Humboldt Bay inhales and exhales a vast amount of water through the half-mile-wide harbor entrance between north and south spits. How much water? Picture a cube straddling four city blocks, that is, two blocks long, wide and high. That’s the volume, on average, that passes through the “throat” of the bay every […]