A Humboldt County jury on Wednesday convicted an Alderpoint man of first degree murder for the fatal shooting of an acquaintance at his home in January of 2022. Jake Henry Combs, 31, faces 50 years in prison for the death of Trevor John Earley, 25, who was apparently shot in the head without warning at […]
Courts
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Arkley Hosted Justice Samuel Alito on His Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Friends of the Court Clarence Thomas’ Beneficial Friendship With a GOP Megadonor In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a […]
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Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 25-to-life for Kneeland Murder
A 28-year-old Rhode Island man was sentenced today to serve 25 years to life in state prison for the murder of 28-year-old Emily Lobba in her Kneeland home last year. Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced Austin M. Medeiros for the first-degree murder today, and added another six years, four months to his […]
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Missing Woman’s Remains Recovered After Defendant Tells Investigators Location in Plea Deal
The body of a 32-year-old woman who has been missing since April of 2021 was recovered earlier this month from a site on the “outskirts of Eureka” after the man who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for her death directed investigators to the location as part of a plea agreement, according to the Humboldt County […]
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What Can California Do About Abortion Pill Ruling? Not Much
California’s Democratic lawmakers have spent the past year enacting legislation to protect abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal, but an April 7 ruling by a Texas federal judge is one thing they can’t touch. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone more than […]
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Social Security Conflict: California Child Welfare Agencies Under Fire for Pocketing Foster Kids’ Benefits
In December 2019, a month after her son’s death, Patricia Baca contacted the federal government to provide for her surviving grandchildren. The twins, just 3 at the time, had lived a difficult first few years of life. San Diego County had removed them from their parents’ custody that year due to allegations of drug and […]
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Yurok Chief Justice Named North Coast Woman of the Year
State Sen. Mike McGuire announced today that Judge Abby Abinanti — a Yurok tribal member dedicated to addressing the Murdered and Missing Indigenous People crisis and the first Native to become a member of the California Bar Association — has been named the 2023 North Coast Woman of the Year. Abinanti has served as the […]
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CalPERS to Pay $800 Million Settlement Over Claims It Misled Retirees on Costs of Long-term Care Insurance
CalPERS is preparing to pay out roughly $800 million to settle claims that it misled retirees when it began offering long-term care insurance in the late 1990s and pledged it wouldn’t substantially raise rates on certain plans. The nation’s largest public pension fund in the 1990s and early 2000s sold long-term care insurance with so-called […]
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Judge Approves Restraining Order for Former Councilmember Watson
A Humboldt County Superior Court judge has issued a workplace violence restraining order for former Arcata City Councilmember Brett Watson that restricts him from contacting, being near or entering the workplace of four city officials, among other requirements. Filed by Judge Timothy Canning on Friday, after several days of hearings earlier this month and last […]
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Court Upholds California Prop. 22 in Big Win for Gig Firms Like Lyft and Uber
In the winding story of California’s gig worker laws, another chapter has come to a close. Justices in a California court of appeals ruled Monday that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft, and other platforms to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees – is largely constitutional, but […]
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SCOTUS Probes Constitutionality of Indian Child Welfare Act
In an hours-long Nov. 9 hearing, the U.S. Supreme Court pressed attorneys about whether a 44-year-old law to shield Indigenous children and families from unjust separations goes beyond the power of Congress to regulate federally recognized tribes. The Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, was passed by Congress and became law at a time when as […]
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Hearing on Restraining Order for Arcata Councilmember Watson Delayed
At the request of the city of Arcata, a court hearing today on a workplace restraining order for Councilmember Brett Watson was continued to December, without objection from Watson’s attorney, and both sides also agreed to have Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn search Watson’s house “immediately” for possible firearms. The city’s attorney Tom O’Connell told […]