The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office has decided not to criminally charge 27 of the 39 people arrested during the Pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus in late April, during which protesters occupied Siemens Hall for a week. Responding to a Journal inquiry, District Attorney Stacey Eads wrote in an email that she […]
Courts
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Eureka Woman Arrested for Manslaughter, DUI for I Street Crash
A 30-year-old Eureka woman reported has admitted to using nitrous oxide just prior to causing a fatal multi-car collision on I Street in May that left a pedestrian dead, according to Eureka police. The Eureka Police Department issued a press release this afternoon announcing it had secured a Ramey warrant for the arrest of Maria […]
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Supreme Court Gives Cities in California and Beyond More Power to Crack Down on Homeless Camps
The U.S. Supreme Court today granted cities more power to arrest, cite and fine people who sleep outside in public places — overturning six years of legal protections for homeless residents in California and other western states. In Grants Pass v. Johnson, the court sided with Grants Pass in a 6-3 decision — ruling an […]
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Court Rejects Zoellner Appeal
The United States’ Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling finding Arcata police had probable cause to arrest Kyle Zoellner on suspicion of murdering David Josiah Lawson, rejecting Zoellner’s claim for damages against the city. The unanimous ruling filed Tuesday rejects all five of Zoellner’s legal arguments, upholding the October 2022 […]
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Judge Kreis ‘Censured and Barred’ in Agreement to Close Ethics Case
Former Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Greg Kreis has resolved the ethics complaint lodged against him by the Commission on Judicial Performance, admitting to 17 charges that he violated the code of judicial ethics and agreeing to be publicly censured, resign his position and never seek judicial office again. Kreis, whose campaign to retain the […]
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Judge Rules Arcata Can’t Put Earth Flag on Top
The Earth flag’s future at the top of three municipal flagpoles in Arcata is in question after a judge found this week that voters there “do not have the power to exempt” the city from following state laws mandating the U.S. flag fly above all others. Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning’s ruling on […]
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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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Judge Takes Earth Flag Case Under Submission
The future of the Earth flag’s spot on city-owned flagpoles in Arcata is now in the hands of a Humboldt County Superior Court judge. After hearing brief final arguments today, Judge Timothy Canning said he would take the matter under submission before rendering a ruling based on those comments and a series of briefs submitted […]
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Judge Rules Voters Should Decide Cannabis Initiative
Voters will get to decide the fate of the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative in March, a superior court judge has ruled. In a five-page ruling filed last week, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning rejected arguments put forward by the Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA) and seven cannabis farmers that proponents of Measure A […]
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Dinsmore Remains in Limbo Amid Jurisdictional Questions
Family and friends who’d walked into court yesterday afternoon hoping to see Steve Dinsmore released from jail left disappointed, but not without hope that day may soon come. Dinsmore, who was ordered released from custody in 2022 after serving more than 17 years in prison only to be returned to the jail in August after […]
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Former HumCo Fair Bookkeeper Indicted for Alleged ‘Ghost Payroll’ Scheme
A federal grand jury has indicted the Humboldt County Fair Association’s former bookkeeper on five counts of wire fraud stemming from an alleged embezzlement scheme that prosecutors believe saw her reroute hundreds of thousands of dollars from the association and another local nonprofit to her personal accounts in 2021 and 2022. Nina Tafarella, who oversaw […]
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Eureka Parking Lot Proponents File More Lawsuits as Initiative Qualifies for Ballot
The great Eureka parking lot war is escalating. Less than a week after the city of Eureka reported that an initiative seeking to block its plans to transform a host of downtown city-owned parking lots into multi-family housing developments has qualified for the November of 2024 ballot, a group of local residents led by Security […]