Cover Story
A Place in the Woods
It was overcast that August morning, and cool enough for a campfire. Theresa Aubuchon sat by the fire reading a book. Like a lot of Fortuna families, the Aubuchons treated this campground like an outdoor home away from home for a couple of weeks each summer. On this midweek morning, the rest of her family…
The Dem Schism Gets Real
Now it’s on: The struggle for control of the Democratic Party in Humboldt County has officially gone ballistic. Two weeks ago we reported on an ideological rift in the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee — a schism between liberal Democrats such as Eureka City Councilwoman Linda Atkins and her more conservative nemeses. We assumed the showdown…
Kirk Girard Resigns
As you may have read elsewhere (LoCO, TS), Kirk Girard, the embattled director of community development services for Humboldt County, has resigned. After some bruising years out in front of the county’s General Plan update, Girard had his department cut in half by the Board of Supervisors two months ago. That’s apparently when he started job…
M. Night in the Classroom
You’ve undoubtedly heard that the famous director M. Night Shyamalan was in Humboldt recently making a movie called After Earth with the famous actor Will Smith and his son Jaden. You may have read, in passing, about the director’s visit with a group of young, local filmmakers. Here’s the inside story on that close encounter, written…
EPD Traffic Stop Leads to Discovery of $40,000, Illegal Weapon
Press release from the Eureka Police Department: On 5-4-2012 at about 1:10 am, an officer of the Eureka Police Department conducted a traffic enforcement stop at the 600 block of Broadway on a silver van for unsafe speed. Upon contacting the driver, the officer observed several objective signs of the driver being under the…
Come, Sailor
Sailors, merchants, workerbees, all: Stuff your ears with bees wax or tie thee to the mast of your sane life, because here comes The Siren’s Song. OK, you’ve got a few months before the “danger” arises. By August, business partners Phyllis Barba and Nathan Swenson hope to open their new tavern, The Siren’s Song, on…
Former Speaker Speaks
“White guy, white guy, white guy, white guy, white guy, white guy, white guy, … Karen Bass.” That was Assemblymember Wes Chesbro describing the gallery of Assembly Speaker portraits at the state Capitol to an adoring group of Dems-supporting-Jared Huffman. He introduced her as the keynote speaker at a Friday luncheon at the Eureka Women’s…
With Wal-Mart Looming, Toy Barn to Close its Doors
Let the Wal-Mart death tally begin. After 15 years in the Bayshore Mall in Eureka, the locally owned Toy Barn store will be closing at the end of the month, owner Sandy Powell announced today. In a press release, Powell said she reached the decision after learning that Wal-Mart is moving in. The store has…
Jealous or Puzzled?
Editor: Two things occur to the relic as she puzzles over the alleged merit of so many of the Flash Fiction submissions (“Fiction in a Flash,” April 26). Probably she is just jealous, resentfully self-flagellating for not having been disciplined or focused enough to submit an entry of her own stellar nonsense. Or maybe she…
Sum of the Parts
When most people pull off southbound Highway 101 into the parking lot shared by Mr. Fish and a pawn shop, they’re probably looking to bring home a few pounds of fresh crab or make a few bucks off that old guitar that’s been taking up closet space — but not local artist and gallery owner…
Ersatz Democrats?
Editor: I want to thank Ryan Burns for his article (“Dem Schism,” April 26) about the battle over seats in the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee. It is important that voters are aware of what is at stake in an election that often attracts little interest. I feel, however, that the article missed some of the…
Rock ‘n’ Roll Women: Portraits of a Generation
The phrase “rock ‘n’ roll” describes a diverse genre of music, the makers and listeners of which span generations, class and cultural bounds. Rock can be unpretentious, raw, emotional, comical, glamorous, heartbreaking, dark or light. Rock is loved by many, and for some, rock music is a lifestyle. Indeed, rock is an attitude that can…
Voting Fail #2
Editor: Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap raises some very troubling concerns in her letter “Voting Fail” (Mailbox, April 26), about congressional candidate Stacey Lawson’s abysmal lack of a voting record. For this young multimillionaire, who now aspires to be our next elected representative to Congress, to have only voted in four of the last 12 elections (on top…
Boys and Girls
There’s not a lot for young people to do in Athens, Ala., a small town just south of the Tennessee border. So when a group of young music geeks got together to fight off the boredom, eventually forming a band and exploring their musical chops, it was a typical story. What’s atypical, however, is that…
Six Rivers (By Any Other Name)
How many phrases starting with “Six Rivers” can you come up with? Let’s see, we’ve got Six Rivers Brewery, Optical, Running Club, Masonic Lodge, Real Estate, Medical Clinic, Planned Parenthood, Bank … and many more. The “Six Rivers” moniker might never have been, though. In 1946, when a name was being sought for the state’s…
Wedding Ring Tone
Classic farce involves people running in and out of a lot of doors. There are multiple deceptions and discoveries, and a frantic frenzy to manage a situation that is obviously and hilariously already out of control. But a large chunk of today’s reality is virtual, and the opening and closing of doors often involves key…
Can We All Get Along?
South Central Los Angeles was set ablaze in the spring of 1992 after a jury acquitted a group of police officers charged with beating a black man, Rodney King. As riots rocked the city, King famously asked, “Can we all get along?” In early May of that year, with L.A. still smoldering, Terrence Kelly and the Oakland…
Unearth
What we call poor must be more than…
Long May You Bike
$4.49 per gallon. That’s where we’re at, people. And with summer fast approaching, the rising price of gasoline is likely to put a damper on your summer Portland/San Francisco escape attempts. Is this the toothache that gets American drivers to realize that they’ve been eating too many pixie sticks? History screams “no.” But coincidentally (or…
A Long, Winding Aisle
THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT. Writer/actor Jason Segel has been collaborating with writer/director Nicholas Stoller for some time now. Often backed by Judd Apatow’s production company, they’ve achieved pretty significant financial success with their efforts. Their first major movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was something of a breakthrough for the young filmmakers, even if I found its tone…
Hold the Mayo
Saturday is the 5th of May, aka Cinco de Mayo, another of those quasi-holidays like St. Patrick’s Day pushed by marketing departments that wants to sell more beer, or in this case, beer, margaritas and tequila shots. Ask a reveler on bar row what it’s about and, unless you chance upon a history major, they’ll…
Super Pay
Every now and again, what our Board of Supervisors members are paid comes into question — because they’re public officials; because the pay (up to $82,000) is more than decent compared, say, to the median household wage in Humboldt County which hovers around $35,000 to $40,000. In 2010, the Humboldt County Grand Jury recommended the…
Eureka Flying Ace
Eureka Flying Ace
Santorum’d
Will makes a startling discovery.
“On My Way to Harlem”
If you’re a fan of classic jazz and timeless voices, then we’ve found what your aural cavities have been missing. Harlem-born crooner Gregory Porter has a sound as rich and intoxicating as his surname suggests. Don’t be discouraged by a 7-minute video, kids. This Porter will be well worth the taste…
