Humboldt County Planning Commission Alan Bongio officially stepped down as the commission’s chair before last night’s meeting, at which he and fellow commissioners voted unanimously to send a letter of apology to three Wiyot area tribes stemming from his conduct at a meeting last month. Bongio did not speak at the meeting about stepping down […]
Government
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PlanCo to Consider Formal Letter of Apology to Wiyot Area Tribes
The Humboldt County Planning Commission will consider Thursday sending a letter of apology to three Wiyot area tribes after Commission Chair Alan Bongio’s comments during its Aug. 18 meeting, which tribal officials found deeply offensive. After a representative for local developer Travis Schneider accused the Wiyot Tribe and Blue Lake Rancheria representatives of lying during […]
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Governor Signs Contentious Nursing Home Licensing Bill that Splintered Advocates
A controversial bill aimed at fixing aspects of California’s broken nursing home licensing system was signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faced dueling pressure from advocates who typically are aligned. In approving Assembly Bill 1502, the governor had no comment about his decision. The bill was drafted to address serious problems with the state’s […]
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Four in a Row: California Drought Likely to Continue
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 […]
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Effort to Remove Bongio from Services District Presidency Fails
A Humboldt Community Services District director’s effort to strip fellow Director Alan Bongio of his board presidency due to racist and offensive comments Bongio made at a recent Humboldt County Planning Commission meeting failed without a vote tonight. Director Michael Hansen, who requested the agenda item be brought forward, made a motion to have the […]
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Newsom Signs Abortion Protections into Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 12 bills Tuesday, establishing some of the strongest abortion protections in the nation — a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn federal abortion guarantees earlier this year. Collectively, the new laws aim to improve access and protect patients and clinicians by strengthening privacy […]
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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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Reparations Task Force: State Could Owe Black Californians Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
California’s task force on reparations has begun putting dollar figures to potential compensation for the various forms of racial discrimination, generational pain and suffering Black Americans experienced in the state. The rough estimates by economic consultants may mean that hundreds of thousands of dollars could be due to Black Californians who are descendants of enslaved […]
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‘Mandela’ Bill Would Limit Solitary Confinement in California Prisons and Jails
In solitary confinement, a former California inmate recalled, there were two kinds of people: One kind would read books in their cells, exercise and do and re-do crossword puzzles. The other kind would scream and curse, refuse to dress and throw their feces at the walls. The goal in solitary confinement, he said, was to […]
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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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Yurok Tribal Leaders Attend Feather Alert Bill Signing
Yurok tribal leaders joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assemblymember James C. Ramos at today’s signing of the Feather Alert bill, which will allow for the quick dissemination of information when an Indigenous individual is reported missing under “unexplained or suspicious circumstances.” The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis only gained real attention outside of Native […]
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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 […]