This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. On Aug. 28, 1976, sometime between 7:30 and 8 p.m., a 6-year-old boy named Willie Cook disappeared from the bed of his father’s pickup in Happy Camp, a secluded logging community in Northern California’s Klamath National Forest. Willie’s father, Bill Cook, had been […]
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A History of Humboldt County Baseball
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in the Humboldt Historical society’s Humboldt Historian in spring of 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the Humboldt Crabs Baseball team. In 2023, after a decade playing as an independent team, the Crabs joined the Pacific Empire League. The oldest continuously operating semi-pro collegiate summer baseball […]
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A Newly Accessible ‘Treasure’
The Arcata Ball Park got a much needed makeover expanding access to Crabs games for those with mobility challenges this spring, and it’s thanks largely to a huge Crabs fan in a high place. North Coast state Sen. and Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire announced that he’d secured $1 million in state funding to […]
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Rancor, Recalls and a Resignation
Things have gotten awfully muddy in Blue Lake. The city council’s decision to part ways with longtime City Manager Amanda Mager early last month has laid bare deep divisions in the small city of about 1,200 residents, prompting an extended series of social media spats between those applauding the newly elected council majority’s move and […]
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Humboldt County Fair to Hold Town Hall
With horseracing in the far back stretch as an option for entertainment, the Humboldt County Fair board and staff are seeking input from the public on what to do next. A town hall is scheduled for Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m. in the fairgrounds’ Turf Room. HCFA CEO Moira Kenny cautioned the board during […]
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Sheriff’s Office Identifies Contractor Killed in Landslide as Former Police Sergeant
An employee of a Caltrans contractor was killed Saturday morning during an active landslide on State Route 36 east of Swimmer’s Delight, the agency announced. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office identified the man killed as former Eureka Police Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez, 58, who reportedly took up work with the contracting company after his retirement in […]
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Kinetic Glory, Trump Cuts and Rural Portraits
Our Glorious edition features the three-day Kinetic Grand Championship race. We’ve also got an update on how Trump’s cuts are impacting vital services for folks in Humboldt County. Finally, we have the story of a painter who focuses on the warmth, humor and humanity of rural Humboldt. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on local stories.
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Co-op Donation Brings Food for People Closer to Challenge Goal to Offset Trump Cuts
Food for People’s efforts to offset a huge, DOGE-induced funding loss got a boost recently, when the North Coast Co-op pledged to add $3,500 to the Farmers Fund challenge, encouraging community members who are able to also contribute to the effort to help both local farmers and food-insecure households. “The North Coast Co-op is excited […]
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Glory Over Land and Sea
After the Brake Check lap around the Arcata Plaza on Saturday, May 24, 48 kinetic sculptures and their teams — from canine to bovine, warriors to hippies, spooky to sparkling — set off on the more than 50-mile, three-day quest for glory that is the annual Kinetic Grand Championship. The rollicking ride detoured past Dead […]
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Feds Impact in Humboldt
Another week, more news of the cascading impact of the Trump administration’s actions on Humboldt County. Here’s a rundown on the latest: Cal Poly Under Investigation On the same day the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced its investigation found Columbia University had violated federal law by showing indifference […]
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Correction
A story in the May 22, 2025 edition of the North Coast Journal headlined “‘God Looking Back at You’” contained an error regarding the branch of the service John Calkins served in. He served in the U.S. Navy. The Journal regrets the error.
