Recently retired Police Chief William Dobberstein was found dead in his Fortuna home Saturday night of an apparent suicide. He was 53. Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said his department is investigating Dobberstein’s death with an autopsy scheduled later this week, but said the preliminary report is the death appears to have been a suicide. […]
Government
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Gas money: Is it Better to Send Out Checks or Suspend a Tax?
State lawmakers have several proposals for sending checks to people to help with the increased cost of gas. One-time checks would be especially helpful for people with lower incomes, economists and policy experts said. Republicans are pushing to temporarily suspend the state gas tax to reduce the price of gas. California is flush with cash […]
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Audit: California Utilities Aren’t Doing Enough to Reduce Wildfire Threats
As record-breaking drought fuels another potentially dangerous wildfire season, the state auditor reported today that state officials are failing to hold California’s electric utilities accountable for preventing fires caused by their equipment. The report to the California Legislature found that the new Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety approved utility companies’ wildfire prevention plans even when […]
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It’s Only A Test: Tsunami Warning System Drill
The annual Tsunami Warning Communications Test takes place tomorrow (Wednesday), giving local emergency officials the chance to tryout the local warning system and residents an opportunity to learn more about the ways those same officials will be getting out the word if a distance-source tsunami is heading to Humboldt’s shores. The drill is scheduled to […]
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The Collapse of Community College Enrollment: Can California Turn it Around?
After community college enrollment collapsed in late 2020, California lawmakers last year gave the system of public two-year colleges $120 million to help stem the tide of departing students and bring them back. So far, progress has been uneven. Through last fall, just 17 of California’s 116 community colleges have seen the number of students […]
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Quake-Up Call: Tsunami Drill in Manila
Heads up, Manila. A tsunami drill taking place tomorrow is going to make for a noisy morning, with sheriff’s deputies and Arcata Fire Department trucks making their way through neighborhoods there while sounding hi-lo evacuation sirens. To be clear, this is only a drill. “Humboldt County is prone to a variety of natural and human-caused […]
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Time to Test for Tsunami Preparedness
In just the last few months, Mother Nature has sent out a few reminders about the North Coast’s seismic vulnerability, including two earthquakes separated by seconds in December — a magnitude-5.7 and 6.2 — and the tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption near Tonga in January. While Humboldt County was largely spared in both cases […]
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Californians Used More Water as State Braces for Another Dry Year
Californians used 2.6 percent more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back. The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack […]
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Auditor Controller’s Report Didn’t Make Supes’ Agenda
Those waiting for a public vetting of the allegations of fiscal mismanagement Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez made at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ March 1 meeting will have a bit more waiting to do. After hearing Paz Dominguez report the “findings” of her ongoing review of the county’s finances, which included a laundry list […]
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NCJ Preview: Tsunami Sirens and Eureka’s Drive-thru Dilemma
Is it worth it to fix Humboldt’s tsunami sirens? This week’s cover story looks at the cost and the payoff, as well as whether sirens are as effective as cellphone alerts and other warning systems. And as a petition circulates to keep Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine from being converted into a Starbucks, we’ll talk about what […]
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Time to ‘Spring Forward’ this Weekend
The twice a year ritual of changing the clocks arrives at 2 a.m. Sunday, as we “spring forward” again to begin daylight saving time, which means darker mornings and losing an hour of sleep. Seemingly right on cue, Congress is once again debating whether it’s time to end to what many consider an outdated practice […]
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Newsom, Unions Eye $50k Bonuses for Juvenile Prison Workers
As the state prepares to close its youth prisons, workers for the Division of Juvenile Justice could receive up to $50,000 bonuses to stay on the job until then, CalMatters has learned. If approved, the bonus appears to be among the largest offered by the state to retain a group of employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s […]