After State Farm declared in late May that it wouldn’t sell any new home insurance policies in California, people shopping around for new insurance had one fewer option. When days later it was revealed that Allstate had quietly made the same decision last year, Californians are now left wondering: How bad is this? And how […]
Business / Economy
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inNews
Lawmakers Want More Social Media Regulation. Here are the Legal Hurdles They Could Face
When Sophie Szew first downloaded Instagram at her 10th birthday party, she was exposed to a flurry of information that “promoted eating disorders,” she told California lawmakers. By 15, she said, she was following “every starvation regimen recommended” by Instagram’s “explore” page. Szew, now 20, spoke in Sacramento at a Senate hearing in April in […]
Posted inNews
Proponents Stand by Cannabis Reform Initiative, Warn County to Correct ‘Distortions’
Proponents of the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative are standing by their proposal that would overhaul the county’s cultivation regulations if passed by voters next year, saying the county’s analysis of the measure is “packed with factual errors, untruths and distortions.” A county staff report on the 38-page initiative presented to the Humboldt County Board of […]
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NCJ Preview: Undamming, Creative Reuse and Eco Dining
For our annual Green Issue, we’ve got stories impacting the environment. First up, what it takes to minimize the harm to local waters and species as the Klamath Dams come down. We’ve also got the story of how SCRAP Humboldt’s creative reuse mission is being kept alive at Maker’s Apron. Finally, we’re looking at how […]
Posted inNews
Developer Agrees to Tear Down Controversial Home, Faces Daily $40K Fines
Local developer Travis Schneider has agreed to remove his partially constructed 20,000-square-foot home on Walker Point Road in an effort to resolve a litany of permit violations that resulted in a county-issued stop-work order on the project in December of 2021. In an April 5 letter to Humboldt County Planning Director John Ford, an attorney […]
Posted inNews
Bushnell Quiet on Possible Cannabis Conflict
With Humboldt County’s cannabis cultivation industry on edge after an initiative to overhaul local cannabis regulations qualified for next year’s ballot, an ad hoc committee is attempting to negotiate with the initiative’s proponents to see if they’ll withdraw it. But questions have abounded about whether it’s appropriate for one of the Humboldt County supervisors who […]
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Salmon Season Closure: Huffman, Pelosi Pledge to Work to Fast Track Federal Aid, Cite Need for Long-Term Solutions
North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman joined other officials today in pledging to work for the expedited release of federal dollars to help those impacted by the all-but-certain closure of the 2023 salmon season due to what’s forecasted to be near record-low returns of Chinook to the Klamath and Sacramento rivers. “We can’t afford to wait […]
Posted inNews
What Stands Between You and a Four-day Week
It’s Thursday evening. You pack up your things at work and hit the road. Maybe you’re thinking about a lunch plan you’ve got with a friend or a show you plan to binge. But you’re not thinking about clocking in tomorrow: You’ve got a three-day weekend. All your weekends, in fact, are three-day weekends. It’s […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Forest Moon Festival to Celebrate Return of the Jedi’s 40th
We sense something … a presence we have not felt since the premiere of Return of the Jedi in 1983. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars sequel featuring the moon of Endor, filmed locally in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission is putting on its inaugural Forest Moon […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Dumplings and Tea at the Carwash
Even in a rainy month, Auto Spa in McKinleyville still sees a little traffic since the bright blue Auntie Hao’s truck is parked out front Thursday through Saturday (1642 Holly Drive). The trim menu of Chinese crepes, dumplings, fried noodles and tea stands out amid bumper-to-bumper taco and sandwich trucks, and it’s likely the only […]
Posted inEat + Drink
Arrivederci, La Trattoria
After 21 years, Jim Becker and Patricia Cambianica, husband and wife owners of La Trattoria in Sunny Brae, are bidding farewell, shuttering the little restaurant after service Saturday, April 1. “We’ve been doing this for 21 years,” says Becker over the phone. In that time, La Trattoria has built a loyal following with its traditional, […]