‘Absolutely Preventable’
A family devastated by a fatal tree fall fights to stop it from happening again, by Kimberly Wear
North Coast Night Lights: A Humboldt Commute
I was where I wanted to be, out beneath the moonless night sky overlooking the Redwood Highway, watching others passing through the night on their separate journeys to their own destinations. What a wonderfully beautiful commute they had, I thought: redwood forests, clear air, the rivers, perhaps the rugged coast. Lucky we are to live…
Hot Wheels: Photos from Fortuna’s AutoXpo
Vintage gear heads descended once again on the Friendly City this past weekend for the annual AutoXpo. The chrome gleamed, the engines roared and a parade of classic beauties cruised down the main drag to give everyone lined up on the sidewalks an eyeful. The Journal’s Zach Lathouris was there shooting the highlights as the…
UPDATE: Fatal Motorcycle Crash on State Route 36
UPDATE: The California Highway Patrol has identified the man found dead this morning after a motorcycle crash on State Route 36 as 25-year-old Steven Forrest Johnson, of Loleta, who had been reported missing to the Rio Dell Police Department on Saturday evening. PREVIOUSLY: The California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal motorcycle crash off State…
With Newsom’s Signature, Presidential Hopefuls Now Have to Show Us Their Taxes
Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed legislation brought forward by North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire that requires presidential hopefuls to release their tax returns in order to run in the Golden State’s primary election. “These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders…
Trinidad Rancheria Believes it May Have Found Water Source for Hotel Project; Sundberg May Have Violated State Lobbying Law
At the 11th hour, with a hearing looming before the California Coastal Commission next week, the Trinidad Rancheria believes it may have found a water source for its proposed hotel development on Scenic Drive. The commission is set to meet Aug. 8 in Eureka, two months after a divided commission voted 6-3 in San Diego…
Barney the Old Town Horse Has Died
Blue Ox Historic Village announced on its Facebook page last night that “Barney,” the Old Town Carriage Co. draft horse, died unexpectedly over the weekend. According to the short post, Barney had been treated for a variety of ailments of late but “it appears that there was some type of neurological issue that came on…
Crabs Smash Potters and a Record
He did it. HE FINALLY DID IT. Damian Henderson hit his 10th home run of the year in the bottom of the third inning Friday evening, breaking the 13-year record set by Brian Blouser. It was a frozen rope to right field that nearly busted the scoreboard. Henderson went tearing down the base path, watching…
HumBug: Nymphs Patrolling
I have seen alarmingly few dragonflies along my stretch of the Van Duzen River this year. Where I’m used to seeing dozens in a day, I’m seeing one or none. About the only species I’ve seen recently hereabouts is the large black and yellow western river cruiser (Macromia magnifica) patrolling along gravel roads parallel to…
Rita’s Restaurants Hit with ABC Fines; One Liquor License Sold at Auction
The state of California seized a local restaurant’s liquor license and auctioned it off this month, an action that came amid a flurry of local activity from the department of Alcohol and Beverage Control. With a bill of more than $500,000 in delinquent taxes and penalties owed to the state, Rita’s Margaritas and Mexican Grill,…
Wookiee Here
Magic Mirror, on the wall, what’s the best Star Wars of all? Answer: Episode IV or V. (That’s Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back to us first-run ticket holders) That’s it. The only two contenders in this debate. Sabers down. Discuss amongst yourselves. And if you need a refresher, both sequel-spawning space fantasies are…
Airport Equipment Upgrades Leading to Flight Disruptions
Flying out of Humboldt is always tinged with the possibility of delays or cancellations but flights over the next few days are going be disrupted by equipment upgrades rather than the usual affliction of weather. According to a release, the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, is working on navigation equipment on the main runway, which…
Deja Vu All Over Again – Another Split Series Victory for the Crabs
Bryce Kirk simply cannot stop hitting dingers. You couldn’t keep this kid in the park with a leash. He goes yard more than a stick. He has five home runs in the last three games and Wednesday night he hit two bombs for the second time this week, his seventh and eighth on the year.…
North Coast Night Lights: Kneeland Road, One Year Later
Have you ever really thought about the difference between night and day? An interesting difference between day and night is that from one year to the next there are differences between night skies, but no differences between daytime skies. It may be a little odd-sounding if you haven’t thought of it, but it’s not strange…
‘A Total Goner’
Editor: Nice to read about the wind turbines (“Hook, Line and Turbine,” July 4 and “Why I support Terra-Gen’s Wind Project,” June 27). They could help locally. Basically, our planet is a total goner. Burning the oil is the worst thing on record. Global warming (like the sunny day here in once cloudy Freshwater). Hot…
‘Absolutely Preventable’
JoAnn Duey was still in high school when she first saw the man who would become her husband walk inside the small Carlotta grocery her parents owned. Soon Ted Duey was a frequent visitor, driving up in his red Mustang and drinking cup after cup of coffee at the store’s counter so he could spend…
City Problems
Editor: Another significant party in McKinleyville is Caltrans (“McKinleyopolis,” June 27). The freeway construction in 1964 altered the west side. Over the years, the drainage on the west side has been compromised by large tree roots, street drainage changes and sitting water. I’ve been flooded by ground water for three years now and have depended…
‘A Higher Priority’
If you’ve read stories about the disaster afflicting Flint, Michigan, you are probably grateful we still have good drinking water in Humboldt County. But the agency that provides water to a majority of county residents is increasingly worried about the future and going head-to-head with the county Planning and Building Department to protect water quality.…
‘The Proof is in the Permitting’
Editor: Author David Corn describes America’s corrupt economy as the “White Tablecloth Syndrome.” Spilling red wine on a white tablecloth is obvious and embarrassing but overlooked on a tablecloth covered in stains. For example, manipulating shortages in affordable housing, (AKA “housing bubbles”), continues unabated, hiding in plain sight among the other corrupt industries also manufacturing…
No Show
The high-powered U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs met July 23 for what was hailed to be a landmark hearing. Lawmakers, industry executives and advocates lined up to testify on the topic of the day: how Congress could ease federal cannabis banking restrictions, making the industry safer and more lucrative in states…
At Butcher Slough
No ducks ply the slough, no great egrets glide. Wrung out clouds pattern the marsh in light ink. Air as crisp as cave-cooled watermelon. Silence ambushes me in this quiet place of still water, wood pilings— remains of a mill— an old railway track. My lungs catch a scent I am an egret sensing fish…
Fool Me Once
First performed in France in 1664, Molière’s Tartuffe is a comedy for the ages — a hypocritical individual seeks to relieve an impressionable gentleman of his wealth, possessions and social standing by means of flattery and persuasion. Currently on stage at the North Coast Repertory Theatre, the play perfectly illustrates the willingness of some people…
Sauvignon Blanc: Perfect for Summer
Before I had ever tasted a sauvignon blanc, I was told it smelled like cat pee. The wine dork who told me this didn’t even mean it in a bad way and I was so very confused. I mean … I grew up with cats. My mom was completely incapable of turning away a stray.…
No Disrespect
Would you like to learn how to talk to fish like I do? It’s easy. Try starting with small talk like, “Sorry about that hook in your face, buddy. How’s it goin’ otherwise?” Sometimes fish make noises or flap their fins in what could be a response. But I never understand what they’re saying. (But…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): An Aries reader sent me a boisterous email. “I was afraid I was getting too bogged down by my duties,” he said, “too hypnotized by routine, too serious about my problems. So I took drastic action.” He then described the ways he broke out of his slump. Here’s an excerpt: “I…
The Pretty Kitty has No Teeth
THE LION KING. By the time the original Lion King (1994) came out and caught fire, I had already started moving out of the animated feature lane (where I had only really spent a brief, though admittedly enjoyable, season). I was of just the right age that Pulp Fiction hit a lot harder that year,…
Hot Summer Nights
Oops, I did it again. Another late night with one of my friends has led into a morning deadline panic and bleary-eyed struggle session with the English language. It’s OK, it was probably worth it. While I wasn’t in a Paris salon or a New York City coffee klatch, I would like to think I…
A Plateful
Related Stories
Affordable Housing ‘Outside the Box’
Editor: The inclusion of two seemingly unconnected articles in the July 18 North Coast Journal invites comment. In “Apollo Plus Fifty” Barry Evans recounts how when the moon landing project was started, “virtually everything that made it all possible didn’t exist.” No one knew what it would take to put a man on the moon.…
332 Reinforcements
Editor: While I appreciate the criticism of the literalist (Mailbox, July 11) of my admonishment of Mr. Huffman to “get to work” (Mailbox, July 4), the resounding defeat of the impeachment resolution in the House of Representatives on July 17 more simply reinforces my original premise that the majority of the people of America say…
‘Passive and Cynical’
Editor: Remember Mr. Winkler’s 2015 admonition to an inspired group of high-school students planning to fly to the Paris Climate Conference? Instead of praising them for their eagerness to learn, and concern for the future of their generation and the rest of the planet, he scolded them for the carbon expenditure of the flight! Well,…
