News
Fighting Demons
The guitar player is dressed head to toe in black. Flanked by a drummer and a key-board player at a Eureka coffee-house on a Saturday night, he rips into a set of music he describes as “zombie surf rock.” He starts with a number called “Zombie Songs” and works his way through “Haunt This World” […]
Do You Hear What I Hear?
A strange phenomenon descended upon the Arcata Community Center Saturday morning as the fourth weekend of youth basketball got underway. It was … quiet. Once, when play ceased on both courts, there was a moment of pure, breath-holding silence. It was downright eerie. Sure, during each game you could hear the players calling to each […]
Star Gazer
PLEASE NOTE. Algonquin Books, the publisher of Flower Confidential, graciously allowed us to put an exclusive excerpt online until March 1. Find out more about the book and where to buy it at http://www.algonquin.com/catalog/?isbn=1565124383, or visit Amy’s website at amystewart.com. – The Journal Journal columnist Amy Stewart will be appearing at Northtown Books (957 H […]
Constructing Solutions
Making a building is a loud undertaking. Drills whine and hammers strike up an odd beat, quickening at the end of each sequence to drive the nails flush. Compressors kick, their motors changing pitch. The low light of a gray day is just enough to illuminate the dust. Finishing time at the emerging store – […]
Loud Pavement
On a clear and breezy Friday around rush hour, Gerridina "Dinie" Lean was finishing the last of the day’s chores. The sun was beginning its descent behind the hills and a few more horses still needed to be fed. On Lean’s 42-acre Tompkins Hill ranch in Fortuna about a mile from Highway 101, the Ferndale […]
White Pavement
Fhyre Phoenix awoke in the middle of the night, brain ablaze. He had an idea for saving the world! Again. But this time, he thought, the solution was one that ordinary citizens could enact with ease. There was just one minor, niggling obstacle. So let’s hark back to where it all began: in the letters […]
Back to the Land 2007
The Old Tomlinson Ranch, July 2006. The Wilsons had slept hard, exhausted by their two-day journey up from Ojai and the fiasco they’d had with the moving truck. The truck was too tall to pass under the bridge that crosses over the road at Lady Bird Johnson Grove, and they’d had to bring in a […]
Roller Derby Comeback
Like so many couplings, theirs began with a terse Craigslist posting a few weeks back. "Looking for a woman 21+," the ad read, "to help co-found Eureka Roller Derby. I’ve got the knowledge if you’ve got the time! "Must be able to skate on quads (4 wheel roller skates) and have excellent leadership abilities. Contact […]
Preaching Impeachment
Eight senior citizens and one adorable little girl stormed the Eureka offices of Congressman Mike Thompson last Wednesday at noon, lending their voices to a nationwide day of protest aimed at fomenting impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush. It was a cold, wet, blustery day. After several hours of silent protest outside the office […]
