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 […]
Environment / Natural Resources
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New Schneider Permit Problems Prompt Query Into Planning Staff’s Handling of Project
Amid revelations last week that local developer Travis Schneider’s family home is twice the permitted size, it was also discovered that Schneider brought in 10 times the amount of fill dirt allowable for the project under its coastal development permit, county Planning Director John Ford confirmed to the Journal. The latest in what is now […]
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NCJ Preview: Burgers, Bareilles, Building Barriers and Bongio
NCJ Burger Week is upon us and we’re scanning the menu to see what’s flipping around the county. We’ll get into the free concert Humboldt native Sara Bareilles is playing in Eureka and how her roots have influenced her life and career. Down in Fortuna and Rio Dell, plans for new housing and other construction […]
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Planning Director: Developer’s Home is More than Double Permitted Size
It appears Travis Schneider’s problems may have just doubled in size. The local developer’s efforts to get a permit and permit amendments necessary to lift a county stop work order and resume construction of his family home on Walker Point Road south of the Indianola Cutoff have already been complicated by concerns over the permitted […]
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Supes Support Proposal for Sue-meg Point Naming
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support a proposal to rename the Patrick’s Point headland as Sue-meg Point, following in line with the State Parks and Recreation Commission’s decision last year. The item brought forward by Fifth Supervisor Steve Madrone supports a request that California State Parks submitted to the U.S. […]
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NCJ Preview: Nuclear Safety, Zoellner’s Civil Case and Painted Wild Times
Is 44 feet far enough away from Humboldt Bay for spent nuclear fuel rods? We’ll talk about the long-term plans and risks, as well as the 44 Feet group working toward a longer-term solution. We’re also updating on the civil case Kyle Zoellner has brought against the city of Arcata and the twist in the […]
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Looking Back: A Surreal Day Two Years Ago (Slideshow)
On this date, two years ago, Humboldt County residents awoke to the apocalyptic glow of an eerie orange sky created by heavy haze in the air from surrounding wildfires, some of which had already been burning for weeks. For weeks, residents across wide swaths of the region would face choking smoke, a series of evacuation […]
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Interior Department Removes Derogatory Term from Humboldt Sites, Hundreds of Others Nationwide
The Department of the Interior announced today that replacement names have been approved for hundreds of valleys, streams, ridges, summits and other geographic features across the nation, including several in Humboldt County, that contained a derogatory word for Native women. The final vote by the Board on Geographic Names — the federal body tasked with […]
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NCJ Preview: Fire and Real Estate, and a Chili Contender
How will the already stretched Arcata Fire District manage with proposed expansion of Arcata’s population and housing in light of the university’s shift to a Cal Poly? We’ll talk about what the costs and obstacles for keeping people safe. Speaking of Cal Poly Humboldt, we’ve got a story on the university’s high-priced land purchase. We’ve […]
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UPDATE: Planning Director Disputes Developer’s Account as More Permit Problems Arise for Schneider
UPDATE: Planning Director John Ford followed up with the Journal this afternoon after publication of this article to say he’d checked his records and wanted to clarify the timeline surrounding his Jan. 19 conversation with developer Travis Schneider. Ford was adamant that he did not undermine what county planner Cliff Johnson had relayed to Schneider […]
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PlanCo Staff Recommends Approval of Schneider Permit; Documents Shed New Light on Contentious Meeting
A couple weeks after the matter spilled cantankerously into public view, Humboldt County and Building Department staff is recommending the Planning Commission approve the permits necessary to allow a local developer to continue construction of his family home, with some revised conditions, at its meeting tonight. The issue arose after Travis Schneider violated the terms […]
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‘Forcing the Hand’: Gavin Newsom Leans into Legislative Agenda as First Terms Nears End
As California’s legislative session comes to an end tonight, the priorities and focus of the closing days have been heavily shaped by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in the final year of his first term has taken significant steps to execute his agenda through legislation like never before. His first three years in office saw Newsom […]