North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman joined other officials today in pledging to work for the expedited release of federal dollars to help those impacted by the all-but-certain closure of the 2023 salmon season due to what’s forecasted to be near record-low returns of Chinook to the Klamath and Sacramento rivers. “We can’t afford to wait […]
Government
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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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‘Super Disappointed’: Lawmakers Want UC, CSU Systems to Enroll More Californians Sooner
“Frustrating.” One word, uttered under breath by a California lawmaker, captured a sentiment, at times boiling over into anger, among legislators struggling to get more California students into the University of California. What Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a Democrat from Sacramento, found frustrating last week was the UC’s seeming refusal to adopt the same systemwide guaranteed […]
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NCJ Preview: Flag Flap, Plays and Windy/Motor City Pizza
This week we’re talking about Arcata’s Measure M, which adds an Earth flag atop the national flag. But does the environmental gesture conflict with state and federal law? We’ve also got two local theatre productions, Radium Girls and Sister Act up for review. And if you’re craving pizza, we’ve got the story on Detroit and […]
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‘I Was a Hostage’: McKinleyville’s Jeff Woodke Talks About His Six Years Held by Al-Qaeda in Africa
In his own words, McKinleyville’s Jeffrey Woodke was held captive “a long time.” “Six years, five months, five days and 12 hours, give or take a few minutes, I was hostage,” he told a handful of reporters this afternoon in the Fireplace Room of Arcata First Baptist Church during a brief press conference, offering his […]
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Tsunami Warning Test Day Tomorrow
The Tsunami Warning Communications Test takes place tomorrow (Wednesday) between 11 a.m. and noon, an annual opportunity for local emergency officials to tryout local alert systems that would be activated in the case of a distance-source tsunami heading toward Humboldt’s shores, like events in 1964 and 2011. “The test will trigger the Emergency Alert System […]
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UPDATE: 101 in Mendo Reopens
Caltrans reports U.S. Highway 101 has reopened. PREVIOUS: Another winter storm has dumped enough snow to close down U.S. Highway 101 at Rattlesnake Summit in Mendocino County north of Laytonville, according to a Caltrans District 1 social media post. There is currently no estimated time for reopening. 🔴ROAD CLOSURE: U.S. 101 (pm 70-77) is fully […]
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NCJ Preview: Transparency, a Hostage Released, Indigenous Boats and More
Celebrate Sunshine Week with us (despite the rain) by reading this year’s Foilies, highlighting the worst in government transparency across the nation. Also worth celebrating is the release of McKinley man Jeff Woodke, who’d been held hostage in West Africa for six years. We’ll also touch on some turnover at the Humboldt County Fair Association, […]
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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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McKinleyville Man Freed After Six Years Hostage
A McKinleyville man kidnapped and held hostage for six years in Africa has been freed, according to multiple news outlets and a social media post by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “I’m gratified and relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over six years in captivity,” Sullivan posted to Twitter this […]
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Duffy Tapped as Interim Fair GM
The Humboldt County Fair Association is under new — if temporary — leadership. The association board voted March 13 to approve the hire of retired Humboldt Waste Management Authority Executive Director and former county Fifth District Supervisor Jill Duffy as the association’s interim general manager. Duffy officially started the job March 15, succeeding Rich Silacci, […]