As the Trump administration continues to slash and burn parts of the federal government in its avowed mission to weed out “waste, fraud and abuse,” embers continue to land on the North Coast, scorching services. In recent weeks, news arrived that cuts at the United States Department of Agriculture will hamper nutrition assistance programs supporting […]
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The Foilies 2025
The public’s right to access government information is constantly under siege across the United States, from both sides of the political aisle. In Maryland, where Democrats hold majorities, the attorney general and state Legislature are pushing a bill to allow agencies to reject public records requests that they consider “harassing.” At the same time, President […]
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Ten Years of The Foilies
In the year 2015, we witnessed the launch of OpenAI, a debate over the color of a dress going viral and a Supreme Court decision that same-sex couples have the right to get married. It was also the year the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) first published The Foilies, an annual report that hands out tongue-in-cheek […]
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Judge Orders Patrick Harvey’s Release
Patrick Harvey, reportedly the first Humboldt County defendant sentenced under California’s three strikes law, will soon be a free man after serving 9,954 consecutive days — more than 27 years — incarcerated for a trio of nonviolent felony convictions, a judge ruled March 11. At the request of the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office under […]
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There’s a Fish Market Splashing into Eureka
Something fishy is moving from the Woodley Island Marina’s docks across the bay to Eureka’s Madaket Plaza, where Humboldt County will have its first fisher’s market, starting in May or June. Ashley Vellis, owner of Ashley’s Seafood, has been brewing up the idea of a local fish market since late 2019 and is now partnering […]
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‘In Exile’
Humboldt County District Attorney Stacey Eads is asking a superior court judge to resentence Patrick Harvey, reportedly the first local person sentenced under California’s three-strikes law, and order him released from custody. The recall and resentencing motion is the first filed locally under a prosecutor-led resentencing pilot project initiated in 2021 and argues that resentencing […]
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‘Breathing Room’
A year has passed since a group of local residents first began receiving payments from a guaranteed income pilot program aimed at providing them with financial support during the crucial months before and after having a baby. Since then, more than $1.4 million has been distributed to 150 recipients living across the county through what’s […]
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‘It’s Just Chaos’
Now a month into the second Donald Trump presidency, we’ve seen a daily barrage of headlines documenting executive orders, funding cuts and layoffs, though how those are trickling down to the North Coast has been hard to decipher. Journal attempts to get hard numbers of local federal employees fired and local funding streams frozen or […]
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Winners of the 2025 NCJ Pet Photo Contest
If aliens come to Earth to decide whether they’re going to vaporize the planet, our best move as a species is to show them our pet photos. For here, preserved in the snapshots of snouts and tails, is the best of us. Our pets are both the vessels into which we pour our unconditional love […]
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Judge Takes St. Joseph Abortion Case Under Submission
After hearing about 30 minutes of oral arguments on Feb. 14 over whether he should dismiss or delay a landmark lawsuit from the California Attorney General’s Office alleging St. Joseph Hospital violated state law when it refused to provide a medically necessary abortion, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning took the matter under submission, […]
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Support for Spagna
Hundreds of members of the Cal Poly Humboldt community, including students, staff, faculty and alumni, have signed a letter to California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia nominating Interim President Michael Spagna to become the university’s next president. “We believe Dr. Spagna is the right leader to guide Cal Poly Humboldt forward,” reads the letter, which […]
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Step Aside Prop. 47, Proposition 36 Has Arrived
Proposition 36, one of six state ballot measures passed during the Nov. 5 election, went into effect Dec. 18 and local officials have divergent views on what Humboldt County residents can expect. The proposition, which passed with 68.4 percent in favor statewide (and 56.52 percent in Humboldt County), repeals much of Proposition 47, a 2014 […]