The Arcata City Council has scheduled a special May 17 meeting to discuss possible courses of actions, including a recommendation that the city obtain a workplace violence restraining order, after an outside investigation found Councilmember Brett Watson sexually harassed a city employee. Other options include a public censure, removing Watson from his council assignments and […]
Courts
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California Democrats Lean into Abortion Rights as ‘Defining Issue’
When a draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion leaked Monday night, Democratic leaders in California reacted swiftly with shock, grief and fury. It didn’t take long for the personal devastation to turn political. By Wednesday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for re-election this year, had already cut […]
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Rally for Reproductive Rights in Eureka
A group of about 50 demonstrators gathered at a rally for reproductive rights in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse Tuesday night after a leaked draft U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion indicts the court may overturn the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, which instilled the legal right to abortion. As members of the crowd held […]
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Medical Malpractice Deal Could Replace Ballot Measure, Still Raise Monetary Awards
A measure slated for California’s November ballot that sought to raise the cap on medical malpractice awards could be pulled, under an agreement announced today. Instead, a bill will seek to raise the cap for a patient’s “non-economic damages,” or pain and suffering, although in a more incremental approach than the ballot measure would have. […]
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Police and Prison Guard Misconduct and Bias: Audit Asks State to Step In
Police departments and state prisons aren’t doing enough to identify and punish bias among their officers and the state should do more to combat the problem, a state audit found. The audit, released this morning, recommended that the state Justice Department more regularly investigate how local police departments and sheriff’’s offices handle such alleged incidents, […]
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Justice for Josiah Vigil
Charmaine Lawson spoke Friday at a courthouse candlelight vigil, continuing her call for justice five years after the still unsolved fatal stabbing of her son, David Josiah Lawson, at a house party in Arcata. On the same day, the Arcata Police Department once again put out the call for witnesses to come forward, stating that […]
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Vigil Today to Mark Fifth Anniversary of Josiah Lawson’s Killing, Arcata Police Renew Call for Witnesses to Come Forward
Today, on the fifth anniversary of the still unsolved killing of David Josiah Lawson, his mother is holding a 4 p.m. candlelight vigil at the courthouse to call for justice for her son and the Arcata Police Department is once again putting out the call for witnesses to come forward. “It is paramount that witnesses […]
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SoHum Man Pleads Guilty in Grisly 2020 Killing
A Southern Humboldt man pleaded guilty today to manslaughter in connection with the grisly February of 2020 killing of a man that he reportedly kidnapped off a rural road. Under the plea deal, 34-year-old Ryan Tanner is scheduled to be sentenced April 11 to 39 years in prison and agreed to waive credit for the […]
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Newsom, Unions Eye $50k Bonuses for Juvenile Prison Workers
As the state prepares to close its youth prisons, workers for the Division of Juvenile Justice could receive up to $50,000 bonuses to stay on the job until then, CalMatters has learned. If approved, the bonus appears to be among the largest offered by the state to retain a group of employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s […]
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Newsom Unveils ‘Completely New Strategy’ for California’s Mental Health Crisis
Gov. Gavin Newsom today unveiled a much anticipated proposal to address a mental health crisis increasingly visible on trash-strewn sidewalks and in cramped jail cells around California. The proposal, known as the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (or CARE) Court, would provide a framework for courts to compel people with serious mental illnesses and substance […]
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Meth, a Mother, and a Stillbirth: Imprisoned Mom Wants her ‘Manslaughter’ Case Reopened
The 29-year-old woman was rushed to a Central Valley hospital on Dec. 30, 2017. Seven of her nine children had been born high on methamphetamine. This one, her 10th, was coming two weeks early. Doctors detected no fetal heartbeat at 9:30 p.m. At 10:14 p.m., she tested positive for methamphetamine. Eight minutes later, Adora Perez […]
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Sentence Handed Down in Bear River Triple Homicide
One year after a newly engaged couple and a 16-year-old girl were shot to death at a home on the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria Reservation, the now 19 year old who pleaded guilty to their murders was sentenced today to 150 years to life in prison. Judge Timothy Canning handed down the […]