A new state law mandating organic waste recycling and the creation of food recovery programs will overhaul the state’s garbage system — changing everything from how residents throw out their trash to how organic waste is recycled and where cities source their mulch — all while reducing emissions of methane, one of the worst climate […]
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‘Responsibility’
The day after his officers combined to fire more than 40 shots on the streets of downtown Eureka shortly before 5 p.m. on a Tuesday amid a chaotic pursuit in 2016, then Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills held a press conference and pledged a thorough investigation. “Each officer is personally accountable for every round that […]
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Quantifying Impact
I n 2019, Nordic Aquafarms approached the county with a unique proposal: Using some derelict land owned by the Harbor District, the Norway-based company wanted to build a giant land-based fish farm, with Atlantic salmon raised in tanks, separated from the waters of the ocean and Humboldt Bay, and marketed all over the nation. As […]
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A Holiday Week Marred by Hate in Humboldt
Independence week in Humboldt County saw a series of hateful, bigoted events, spawning multiple criminal investigations from Fortuna to Arcata and the county’s unincorporated areas. The incidents include the assault of a Black man by multiple white men on Eureka’s waterfront after he reported being called a racial slur, the widespread distribution of anti-Semitic flyers […]
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Trial by Fire
The morning sun warms California’s high desert, launching a clear spring day. Behind high walls at The Nurturing Nest, across from a burbling mineral pool, a small group of men and women roll up yoga mats and arrange themselves in a semi-circle. Their week at this tranquil retreat is ending and a counselor seeks final […]
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Paz Dominguez Out as Auditor-Controller
Just weeks after a decisive election loss to challenger Cheryl Dillingham, embattled Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez has negotiated a separation agreement under which the county will pay her more than $90,000 for leaving office early. Under the terms, Paz Dominguez — who in her single term in office became one the most recognizable […]
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After Roe
The constitutional right to abortion in the United States is no more. June 24 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its landmark Roe v. Wade precedent in a 5-4 decision, ending nearly 50 years of guaranteed abortion access for American women. The historic ruling has been expected since early May, when a draft of the opinion was […]
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‘We Are Not Going Back’
Hundreds gathered in Humboldt County to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, joining hundreds of thousands across the nation in decrying the ruling that abruptly ended nearly five decades of constitutional protection. Until June 24, the 1973 landmark case was widely considered settled legal precedent grounded in the fundamental right to […]
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Clear Skies for Second Annual Ferndale Pride March
Editor’s Note: Portions of this story originally appeared in The Enterprise‘s June 16, 2022 edition. The Enterprise is owned by the North Coast Journal, Inc. Ferndale on a Sunday morning is quiet but not sleepy. Middle-aged couples put in their daily miles walking loops down Main Street, turning on Van Ness to pass the fairgrounds. […]
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Coming Home
On March 25, a California condor landed on the North Coast. Unlike his predecessors, the bird known as No. 746 didn’t travel on thermals, using his massive, nearly 10-foot wingspan to soar across the landscape. Instead, the 7-year-old adult male came by plane from an Idaho breeding facility to mentor a new generation of condors […]
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The Grand Jury Weighs In
Just a couple weeks after creating a swirl of controversy by releasing a sharply critical report of incumbent Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez just days before the June 7 election, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury quietly dropped three reports in the span of about an hour on June 17. The reports focus on the topics […]
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Opium Dens and ‘Morphine Fiends’
When Charles Martin addressed the Judge, his condition invoked the sympathy of everyone in the room. “Standing in the prisoners’ dock, he presented a pitiable sight,” the Humboldt Times described in an edition printed later that day. “Though young in years, he was nevertheless a broken, decrepit being, trembling in every nerve and muscle.” Martin […]