Backstage Pass
Testimony at the Reggae Trial reveals years of SoHum backstabbing
Cover Story
Backstage Pass
There is no backstage at the Reggae Trial.And while it follows the same sort of rules and general form, the legal proceeding is not a traditional trial, civil or otherwise. The Hon. James Warren, a retired judge from San Francisco, presided over the first portion of the hearing, which ran from Jan. 28-Feb. 6 in…
Life, live!
Cafeteria roenbergensis photo by Tamara Clark, CreativeCommons Have you been to the Encyclopedia of Life site yet? Yes, of course you have — you and hordes of others, causing the new “ecosystem of websites,” as they’re calling it, to crash. But it seems to be back up, so in case you haven’t been there, check…
Scotia For Sale
Sharp-eyed Blogthing reader “Lou” — who wins instant promotion to our MVP Reader Team — noticed yesterday that nine commercial properties in downtown Scotia have been listed for sale on the Humboldt County Multiple Listing Service . (No direct links, unfortunately. Search for Scotia properties.) The buildings in question include the Pacific Lumber HQ, the…
Enter Vevoda
Looks like there’s going to be a real election in each of the three supervisorial districts up for grabs this time around. In the Arcata-centered Third District, you’ve got the four-way progressive mishmash coalescing around Paul Pitino, Mike Wilson, Mark Lovelace and Elizabeth Conner. Down in the Fortuna/SoHum Second District, it’s incumbent Roger Rodoni v.…
Redwood in NYC
Well, poor Johnny Redwood is gone, but one of his dreams, “Redwood Adventures TV,” is going straight to the top — New York — as a finalist in the TV pilot category at the NY International Independent Film and Video Festival, which starts this Friday. In case you’re there. More about it here.
Virtual Candidacies
Most everyone up here in the Third Supervisorial district is keeping coy. You’ve got activist Mark Lovelace, Bay District Commissioner Mike Wilson and former Arcata City Councilmember Elizabeth Conner each saying that they are currently “seriously considering” a run for the Board of Supervisors seat being vacated by John Woolley. Only current Arcata City Councilmember…
‘Bloodhounds’ Requested
The University of California at Davis has launched a dog blood-donor program . That’s dog-to-dog of course. Some die-hard owners would no doubt be willing to open a vein for their favorite pet, but that service isn’t available yet. And if you’re wondering, according to the UC Davis press release, dogs, unlike humans, have 13…
A Yurok Perspective
Thomas Dunklin, a local fisheries geo-videologist, recently completed a documentary film, commissioned by the Yurok Tribe, about the Klamath River Restoration Agreement. It includes interviews with Yurok Tribal Chairwoman Maria Tripp, tribal member Troy Fletcher, who has been active in the settlement talks, and senior fisheries biologist for the tribe Mike Belchik. [vodpod id=ExternalVideo.481187&w=425&h=350&fv=] from…
Save the other Grizzly
Worried about that huge padlock that may be clamped onto the entrance to Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park once — if — the guvnr shuts ‘er down, along with 47 other beloved state parks across California? That’s his idea, as part of a budget nip that critics say will save little but wound many. Well,…
Neighbors
By now, we’re all thoroughly bored with the cute story about the neighborly squabble in Sunnyvale over some redwood trees on one side of the property line that swallowed whole some solar panels on the other side of the property line. Or shaded them out or whatever. Most of the press chuckled a bit while…
Thompson Blasts Maxxam
… relatively speaking. Of all the position statements filed by politicos in the Pacific Lumber bankruptcy — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and now Rep. Mike Thompson — Thompson’s, submitted on Friday, comes closest to actually taking a position on the case. As with all political communications, you have to read between the lines.…
You Saw It Here First
… unless you’ve already seen it somewhere else. This is the Internet’s next big thing, mark my words. Just in time, too — LOLcats are so mid-to-late-2007. Visit Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle now. And then prepare for the next six months of everyone talking about Barack Obama Is Your New Bicycle and its…
‘Til Tuesday
The Board cannot state more ardently the importance of Redwood Memorial Hospital and keeping the hospital operating. They’re throwing around a lot of money over there at the County of Humboldt. Perhaps they should think about hiring an editor. They do come cheap. The sentence above was taken from a draft letter from the Board…
Blog on Blog Ruling
Shasta County Superior Court Commissioner Gary Gibson has rejected a request from a reporter at the Record Searchlight in Redding seeking a restraining order against a former friend turned blogging nemesis. Beth Doolittle-Norby’s blog, “No Phat Pink Chicks,” pokes fun at journalist Christy Lochrie’s reporting, looks and personality, according to an AP report , which…
Poetry without Borders
Activist poet David Smith-Ferri will read from his book, Battlefield without Borders, at Northtown Books in Arcata, Saturday, March 9, at 7 pm. Smith-Ferri first visited Iraq in 1999 as part of an eight-member fact-finding delegation. According to his website, he wrote two thirds of the poems while in Iraq after encounters with Iraqi people.…
More Power to You
PG&E is planning an upgrade of its aging Humboldt Bay power station. It currently produces 135 megawatts from two steam turbine generators working at 35 percent efficiency (backed by two emergency 15-megawatt diesel-fired gas turbines). The new system would employ 10 reciprocating internal combustion engines running on natural gas, capable of producing 163 megawatts with…
The $100,000 Club
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the last couple of days, it’s this: Working for the County of Humboldt can be a very lucrative proposition. Last week the Journal filed a Public Records Act request seeking the salaries of every county employee. In the request, we piggybacked off a California Supreme Court decision handed…
Decadence in Red
Story and Spirito di contraddizione was one of the epithets my mother would use in reference to me. I tend to do the opposite of what I am told. I refuse to buy red things and chocolates on Valentine’s Day, but this year I spent the days leading to the celebration of the patron saint…
Gardening in the Snow
I don’t belong to a garden club, and the reason for that is, I’ll admit, pretty stupid: I can’t stand appointments. The thought of having to add something else to my calendar, of having to be somewhere next Thursday at 7 p.m., just wears on me. So I don’t sign up. But sometimes I get…
Tim Catlin
Live performance Feb. 2 at the San Francisco Arts Institute Tim Catlin’s CD Radio Ghosts, released last year, doesn’t make for good driving music. Unless the listener is Roman Polanski or David Lynch sizing it up as soundtrack material, this is music best reserved for the live experience. Devoid of any ascertainable melodies, Catlin’s work…
In the Future
CD by Black Mountain. Jagjaguwar Records. Three years ago Black Mountain’s eponymous debut crashed onto the indie scene and immediately captivated both press and fans. Their quick success secured them an opening spot for Coldplay and landed them on the soundtrack for Spider-Man 3. For any band rising to such a level from virtual obscurity,…
Swan Lake
Ballet performance by Saint-Petersburg State Academic Theatre Feb. 17 at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts Those of you who went to the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 17 to see Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, Swan Lake, might have failed to notice that while you were watching the graceful drama unfold…
Universal
His name is Tilmann Otto, but he’s best known as Gentleman , the No. 1 reggae performer in Germany. He was born and raised in Cologne, the cultural center of the Rhineland — not exactly a place that comes to mind in connection with reggae. "There’s a big scene there," says Gentleman, who is in…
Jump Me Outta Here!
Previews Finally arriving locally on Friday, Feb. 22, is the Mexican ghost story The Orphanage , a first feature from Juan Antonio Bayona wherein Laura (Belén Rueda) purchases her childhood home to open an orphanage only to discover that her son’s imaginary friend is anything but benign. In Spanish with English subtitles. Rated R for…
Bulletproof
Lyal Corliss’ huge hands tell the story of his life. They have felled Sequoia sempervirens and shod countless horses. His fingers are burly and broad like tree roots, and they are wrinkled and weather-beaten. A finger on one hand is missing from an accident in the woods. Still, they are immensely strong hands, especially considering…
935 haikus
Black snake, yellow cake Nine hundred and thirty…
