After months of politicking, door knocking, lawn signs, glad handing and debating, Election Day is finally here. North Coast voters have some big choices before them today, including who will be the county’s next district attorney and who will represent the 4th and 5th districts on the county board of supervisors. There’s also a field […]
Government
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Driller Sues Eureka
Apex Directional Drilling, the company that earlier this year abruptly halted work on part of the Martin Slough Interceptor, a massive sewer system upgrade, is suing the City of Eureka for upwards of $6,280,000, according to a complaint filed May 23 in Humboldt County Superior Court. The complaint alleges breach of contract for construction of […]
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Klamath in Congress
UPDATE: In a statement released today, May 22, Congressman Jared Huffman calls the senators’ new Klamath bill “a milestone toward an historic effort to revive California’s ailing salmon stocks, improve water quality and build economic resilience” and says it “provides a framework for ending decades of conflict through the biggest dam removal project in the […]
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‘Does that Mean Trails are Back?’
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously this afternoon to put language in the General Plan Update’s Conservation and Open Space element supporting the creation of a “regional trail system.” Today’s meeting kicked off on an unusual note, as 5th District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg cued up his cell phone’s speakerphone and played a voice […]
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Harbor Commissioner to Stand Trial in Poaching Case
A superior court judge ruled today that there is sufficient evidence to hold Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Aaron Newman to stand trial on poaching and perjury charges. Newman was arrested June 8 and has pleaded not guilty to a total of eight charges in the case, which alleges that he lied […]
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Council Meeting Prayers OK with SCOTUS
Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this week upholding a town in upstate New York’s right to open its public meetings with a prayer, a local attorney is moving forward with his case alleging the Eureka City Council violated the law when doing the same. Eureka attorney Peter Martin brought the suit last year on behalf […]
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Off the Tracks?
The Upstate RailConnect Committee will meet hold its meeting in Weaverville on Wednesday, but will do so without a highly-anticipated presentation from Robert Martin. Martin, a Tehama County business man, sent waves of curiosity and excitement through rail circles last month when he addressed the committee and unexpectedly urged it to back away from its […]
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Ballots in the Mail; Voter Registration Deadline Looms
The ballots are in the mail. The Humboldt County Elections office today sent out ballots to the more than 34,000 county residents who will be casting their ballots by mail this time around. Following national and state trends, nearly 46 percent of Humboldt’s 75,053 registered voters are now signed up to exercise their civic duty by […]
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A Patriot Among Us
The North Coast Journal’s own Media Maven, Marcy Burstiner, recently took home the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union’s 2014 Patriot Award for her support of free speech rights and open government. Burstiner, who chairs the Humboldt State University Journalism Department and is the faculty advisor to the university’s newspaper, The Lumberjack, is […]
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(UPDATED) Martin Movement
UPDATE: Contract approved! —- The Eureka City Council is holding a special session at 11 a.m. Tuesday (April 29) to consider a contract with Eureka-based Wahlund Construction to complete part of the Martin Slough Interceptor Project — that long-in-the-making streamlining of pipes taking Eureka’s sewage to Elk River Wastewater Treatment Plant by Humboldt Bay. No, […]
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Nice, and Nicer
The question came near the end of the two-hour debate Friday night, one she said she hadn’t expected: What do you bring to the position of 5th District supervisor that your opponent does not? After a long pause, challenger Sharon Latour said, “Twenty years more of adult life, of problem-solving, tragedy and joy, mistakes and […]
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Flags Lowered For Madsen
Former Fifth Ward Eureka City Councilmember and police detective Lance Madsen died Saturday, April 5, after a nearly four-year battle with lung disease. Madsen, 65, most recently joined the city council in December 2010, just months after learning he was suffering from a lung disorder that causes scarring and thickening of the lungs (see “Lance’s […]