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 […]
Agriculture
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UPDATE: Evacuation Orders, Warnings as Eel to Hit Major Flood Stage, More High Winds on Tap
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation orders and warnings for sections of the Eel River area. Find the areas and further information here. For those who need to evacuate, the HCSO states: “The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services in coordination with the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services […]
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Humboldt Cannabis Grower to Pay $750,000 for Violating State Water, Wildlife Regulations
A Humboldt County cannabis grower has agreed to pay $750,000, remove unpermitted ponds and restore streams and wetlands after state officials accused him of violating regulations protecting water supplies, wildlife and waterways. Of the total, $500,000 is a record penalty for a water rights violation in California. State officials say the violations by Joshua Sweet […]
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UPDATE: Earthquake Damage to Grandstands Jeopardizes Fate of Humboldt County Fair
UPDATE: An emergency meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday to discuss the earthquake-caused damage to the grandstands at the Humboldt County Fairgrounds and possible actions, including the county creating an agreement with a contractor and having them work directly with engineering firm KPFF, which conducted […]
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California Ranchers Intentionally Violated an Emergency Water Order. Now Lawmakers Want to Triple the Fines
When ranchers violated an emergency order to stop pumping water from the drought-plagued Shasta River last year, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing a bill that would triple fines for such infractions — and could allow the penalty to climb higher than a million dollars. Authored by […]
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Mangoes and Agave in the Central Valley? California Farmers Try New Crops to Cope with Climate Change
In a world of worsening heatwaves, flooding, drought, glacial melting, megafires and other calamities of a changing climate, Gary Gragg is an optimist. As California warms, Gragg — a nurseryman, micro-scale farmer and tropical fruit enthusiast — looks forward to the day that he can grow and sell mangoes in Northern California. “I’ve been banking […]
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Eel River Expected to Pass Flood Stage, Livestock Owners Advised to Protect Animals in Low-Lying Areas
A flood warning has been issued for the Eel River Valley from late tonight into early Wednesday afternoon and a special action statement has been issued that advises taking steps to protect livestock in low-lying areas, according to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service. The California Nevada River Forecast Center is predicting the […]
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Sheriff Honsal Declares Local Emergency Due to Winter Storms
With recent storms wreaking havoc across the region and more winter weather on the way, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal has declared a local emergency, which allows the county to apply for state and federal funds to address the damage and other impacts. “Consecutive major winter storms have resulted in a large accumulation of snow, […]
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‘Dream Big:’ Cannabis Workers Search for New Futures as Emerald Triangle Economy Withers
GARBERVILLE — Leann Greene’s rose-colored glasses are scratched, cracked, sitting askew, but still firmly planted on her face during her latest monthly open house for the Humboldt Workforce Coalition. For three hours this Wednesday afternoon in a sunny conference room at the public library, apprehensive cannabis workers, lured by a segment on the community radio […]
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‘Tridemic’ Threatening Local Hospital Capacity
Following a trend seen across the state, region and country, local hospitals are nearly at capacity amid a surge in respiratory illnesses that’s being dubbed a “tridemic” or “tripledemic” by some. “With the circulation of multiple respiratory illnesses, such as RSV, influenza and COVID-19, we, like the rest of Northern California, are experiencing a significant increase […]
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Ranchers Who Tapped Shasta River Face $4,000 Proposed Fine for Violating State Drought Order
California’s water officials plan to impose a $4,000 fine on Siskiyou County ranchers for violating orders to cut back their water use during a weeklong standoff last summer. State officials and the ranchers agree: A $4,000 fine isn’t much of a deterrent to prevent illegal water diversions during California’s droughts. The proposed fine would amount […]
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Four in a Row: California Drought Likely to Continue
As California’s 2022 water year ends this week, the parched state is bracing for another dry year — its fourth in a row. So far, in California’s recorded history, six previous droughts have lasted four or more years, two of them in the past 35 years. Despite some rain in September, weather watchers expect a […]