The June 7 election is wrapped up — almost. We’ve got a rundown of who won what and how close the races are that still haven’t been called. That includes the landslide in the auditor-controller race and the 50 percent Natalie Arroyo clings to in the supervisor race. We’re also doing an after-party revel in […]
Government
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Climate Controversy: California’s Plan for Handling Crisis is Flawed, Advisors Say
As California races to prevent the irreversible effects of climate change, some experts are questioning key policies that the state is counting on to meet its ambitious goals and accusing state officials of failing to provide substantial details to back up its claims. The California Air Resources Board’s proposal, called a scoping plan, outlines policies […]
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Grand Jury Report Blasts Auditor-Controller, Auditor-Controller Says it’s All Incorrect
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has interjected itself directly into the county’s auditor-controller race. Less than a week before Election Day, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury poured gasoline on what was already considered to be the county’s most contentious political race yesterday, issuing a largely scathing report stating incumbent Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’s […]
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Reparations Could Include Tuition, Housing Grants, California Task Force Says
California’s reparations task force will release today its first of two reports detailing the state’s history of slavery and racism and recommending ways the Legislature might begin a process of redress for Black Californians, including proposals to offer housing grants, free tuition and to raise the minimum wage. The 500-page study describes decades of state […]
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NCJ Preview: All in the Game – Elections and Arcades
With Election Day drawing near, we’re looking at the surprisingly contentious auditor-controller race between Cheryl Dillingham and Karen Paz Dominguez — a race in which the candidates are cordial and supporters are the main source of vitriol. We’ll get into some background and why accounting is such a hot topic these days. And break out […]
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Cal State Raises Issue with Cal Grant Expansion
The campaign to expand free tuition to more low-income California students has been riding a wave of unanimous goodwill, despite its large costs. But the state’s — and nation’s — largest public university system has made public its concern that key trade-offs required for that expansion will be a financial burden for some middle-class students. […]
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HumCo Planning Director Headed to Fort Bragg
Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford has informed the Board of Super visors he will be leaving his post next month and is expected to start work as the city manager of Fort Bragg in July. Ford, who stepped into the role in 2016, has helmed Planning and Building through a tumultuous period, […]
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Interior to Open Offshore Wind Comment Period Next Week
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced today that it will publish a Proposed Sale Notice next week, opening a 60-day public comment period on plans to open lease areas off the California coast — including one off Humboldt Bay — to bidding for the creation of offshore wind farms. “The Biden-Harris administration is moving forward […]
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Candy Stockton Named Humboldt’s New Public Health Officer
Humboldt Independent Practice Association Chief Medical officer Candy Stockton has been confirmed by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to serve as Humboldt County’s Public Health Officer. She is slated to begin the new post July 18. “Having spent years practicing medicine in rural Northern California has given me a deep understanding of the challenges […]
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Sex Abuse Suits Pouring in as State’s Catholic Leaders Seek Relief From Highest Court
In California, the lawsuits are mounting — middle-aged men, saying they were sexually assaulted as children by a Boy Scout leader or a priest. A woman, now in her late 30s, detailing how she was allegedly assaulted in a center for foster children. A man who said he was abused while volunteering with the Salvation […]
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The Great Culling: Which California Bills did Legislators Kill?
California lawmakers won’t be creating a state Election Day holiday this year. Nor will they be providing grants to local governments to convert public golf courses into affordable housing, or forcing health insurers to cover fertility treatments. All of these proposals were victims of the seasonal culling of bills known as the suspense file. This […]
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‘Bad Optics’ Hang Over Auditor-Controller Contract
Within weeks of the Humboldt County Auditor-Controller’s Office issuing almost $12,000 in payments to a local consulting firm earlier this year, the firm’s owner, who up until December served as chair of the Humboldt County Central Democratic Committee, voted in favor of the committee’s endorsement of Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’s re-election bid and made a […]