Bag by Bag
The fine art and terrifying task of carrying groceries from market to home
Cover Story
Bag by Bag
A steady stream of groceries moves past the checkstands at the North Coast Co-op’s Arcata market one recent sunny afternoon, into a wide variety of containers: a colorful woven reed basket, an empty carton from the store’s binful of used cartons, a clever bamboo-slatted box, some old cloth bags, a heavy duty “museum style” plastic…
APD to “Significantly Increase Police Presence” for Plaza Halloween
The art of McKinley climbing is in serious jeopardy. Arcata Plaza frequenters will recall the increased law enforcement presence this past New Year’s Eve when compared with previous years. Expect more of that. A press release issued today by the Arcata Police Department indicates that that approach to curbing the chaos will now extend to…
McKinleyville Weed Bust, Three Arrests
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office: On 10-15-2012 at about 1830 hours the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence located in the 2200 block of McKinleyville Avenue, McKinleyville regarding a marijuana investigation. Sheriff’s Office Deputies discovered a large moving van that was parked near the front door to the residence. Deputies…
Humboldt Beer is Officially “Great”
Above: Mad River wins! File this away in the tell-us-something-we-don’t-know drawer: Humboldt-produced beer is top shelf, kids. And now it’s official (again). At last weekend’s annual Great American Beer Festival — the Academy Awards of brewin’ — Mad River Brewing Co. bested 67 other microbrew entries to take home ze Gold in the “Golden and…
Give Us the Slime, the Lies …
… the wretched masses from your election-teeming mailbox. Because we’re hunting for the most scurrilous, most distorted campaign material making the rounds in Humboldt. It’s a contest! When you see a campaign whopper, drop it off at our office at 310 F. St. in Old Town Eureka, with a little note about what you think…
Old Town Sunbather John Tutuska Has Died
A memorial sprang up in front of the Clarke Musuem soon after Eureka resident John Tutuska died on Sunday. The endearing, highly visible Old Town character could often be seen shirtless and deep in meditation in front of the museum. He was 67. Update, Oct. 16: For those who might have missed this in the…
SoCal Dispensary Owner Could Face Life in Prison
That’s correct: A cannabis dispensary owner could wind up serving the kind of prison term that’s typically reserved for society’s most heinous and violent criminals. Aaron Sandusky was operating three medical marijuana dispensaries in compliance with state law, but over the weekend a federal jury convicted him of a handful of drug-related charges that carry…
If You Bought a House in August, You Won
“Now is a great time to buy a house,” a Realtor said every single day since the dawn of Realtors. And until The Great American Housing Bubble, they were usually right. Houses were good investments … until Wall Street started using them as tokens in their rigged casino games. The housing market has been out…
Ginormous Weed Bust: $4M of Bud Seized, 17 Arrested
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (click images to enlarge): On 10-11-2012, approximately 9:30 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office assisted by the Eureka Police Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Humboldt County Drug Task Force served a Humboldt County Superior Court Search Warrant in the 2000 block of Sunset Ridge Road, Blocksburg. Upon…
The Marble Halls of Oregon
The Oregon Caves National Monument, just 20 miles east of Cave Junction on Highway 199, is one of the world’s few marble caves. “Solutional” caves, that is, caves formed in soluble rock, are almost always found in limestone country. In a nutshell, rainwater absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere forming a weak solution of carbonic…
“Aunnie”
Bubbling right under our noses like 16 oz. of the finest redwood curtain microbrew is HumCo’s very own rising slap star, OnHell. Over the last year, the Producer/DJ extraordinaire has created quite a stir in the underground house scene. This writer has been lucky enough to experience his live show, and from one music…
Morning Office Treats
Morning Office Treats
Jolly Greens
Editor: You pretty much covered the subject, Maureen (“Green Rescue,” Mailbox, Oct. 10). I’ve been voting consistently in federal, state and local elections since 1968. I suppose that tells you how aged I am, certainly old enough to now realize our elected officials have been and are failing us. Look at the gridlock in Congress!…
Firewalking Secrets
Editor: I would like to add something to Barry Evans’ reasonable but incomplete explanation in the “The Physics of Firewalking,” (Sept. 27). Well-established neuroscience recognizes the different types of neurological signals transmitted within our bodies, including distinguishing between fast and slow pain. There is also the matter of Gate Theory, which allows for certain signals…
Don’t Gag Unions
Editor: Thanks to Heidi Walters for the clarity on Propositions 30 and 38 (“Propping up Schools,” Oct. 4). Right now, it is crucial that Prop 30 passes. Our schools need Prop 30. But there is another proposition that seriously troubles me as an educator. Prop 32 would have a negative effect on our schools by silencing…
Pressure Drop
It is you, oh yeah. It is you, you, oh yeah. I said pressure drop, oh pressure, oh yeah pressure’s going to drop on you. “Pressure Drop” by Toots and The Maytals Thursday night at some as-yet-undisclosed location in northern Humboldt dubbed “Club More Fyah,” a fiery Jamaican dancehall shouter known as Capleton is…
Take My Dead Dog … Please!
Reviews FRANKENWEENIE. Everything Tim Burton touches turns into Johnny Depp. Frankenweenie is Burton’s first film since Big Fish to not star Depp (and Burton’s ever-trusty sidekick, Helena Bonham Carter). Depp’s high cheekboned, creepy countenance is all over Frankenweenie, despite his absence from the cast. His visage is worn blaringly by the main character, Victor Frankenstein…
Ball of String
One thing for certain: Humboldt loves its string bands, be they traditional or alternative, and both are in evidence this weekend as sting music abounds. A big ball-o-string unravels Friday night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge with Absynth Quintet, local practitioners of something the band calls “high energy gypsy jamgrass,” presenting a seven-band mini-festival, the…
The $38 Million Label
At farmers markets along the North Coast, buyers look farmers in the eyes and know with certainty that the fruits and vegetables were engineered by no more than the earth’s warmth and water. There’s little mystery about it. Pure. Raw. Food. But buying groceries at supermarkets is a different story. In today’s agriculture, some…
Women Ruhl
Edison’s electricity was just beginning to transform middle class American life in the early 20th century. This is the setting for In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl, now on stage at Ferndale Repertory Theatre. The fictional Dr. Givings (played convincingly by Calder Johnson) has designed what today would be known…
Piroshki
He would eat them in a small, white…
Pot Tax Privacy
Editor: Thanks for your in-depth coverage of Arcata’s Measure I, “The Grow Tax,” on Oct. 4. One issue that is still a concern to many citizens is confidentiality of individual customer energy usage information. PG&E’s policy is currently and will remain only to release energy usage for an individual residence if PG&E is presented with…
Drinkable Herbs
We’re continuing to work our way through a year’s worth of grow-your-own cocktail ingredients, moving on this month from flowers to herbs. Let’s start with some of the sweeter, more floral herbs you might mix into a drink, and next month I’ll move on to the savory herbs. Autumn is a great time to plant…
Watching Ward 2
Of course, it’s not all about earth-shattering decisions like approving a Marina Center mall or cracking down on an Occupy encampment. Most Eureka City Council decisions are ho-hummers. Picking a contractor to redo a water-sewer building’s interior. Awarding a cable franchise. Buying city-planning software. Hardly divisive. The office is non-partisan, but there’s a marked philosophical…
Many Mediums
On a recent visit to Arcata Artisans I watched a small group of people enter together, engaged in a lively conversation. Almost immediately upon entering, the conversation faded and they split up, each drawn to different work around the gallery — each gravitating toward something that spoke to their personal aesthetic. It’s that kind of…
Women Revealing Women
You sick of this election season yet? Long, tedious, loud, yes, it’s all encompassing. So. Let us try to give you something about it to celebrate. Ahem. Did you know that this year marks the 100th year of California women’s suffrage? Don’t lie! You didn’t! But Arcata Playhouse executive director Jackie Dandeneau did. And she’s…
Picture This
To remind my sister that we had tickets for Elvis Costello at the Van Duzer Theater, I grabbed a photo of Elvis off the web, stuck a word balloon next to his face and inside typed the words “Don’t forget tomorrow night!” Then I took a picture of that with my phone and messaged it…
John F. Kennedy
I turned 14 the summer Senator John F. Kennedy was nominated for president, and I participated in my first political campaign. I had relatives I could visit in Washington D.C. to see the inaugural parade in January, and by luck and pluck that weekend I was one of the first non-dignitaries to shake hands with…
