‘Benefit Cliff’
CalFresh recipients worry the end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration will mean the end of expanded benefits
Cover Story
‘Benefit Cliff’
Mary’s story is like so many: She entered 2020 with high hopes for the new year only to see them shattered three months in. A single mother of two teens, she’d just been offered a full-time job but, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, bringing lockdowns and social distancing, her employer rescinded the offer. Like many…
Two Additional COVID Deaths Reported in Humboldt County
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed two COVID-19 deaths since its last report April 6: One was a resident age 80 or older and the other was an individual in their 50s. One new hospitalization was also reported today but, according to a state database, eight people are currently hospitalized…
Suspect in Garberville Motel Arson Arrested
A 30-year-old suspect was arrested early this morning on suspicion of arson in connection with a Monday afternoon fire at the Sherwood Forest Motel on the 800 block of Redwood Drive in Garberville that caused an estimated $750,000 in damage, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Spencer Reuben Jordan was taken into custody just…
Eureka Chamber Announces Death of CEO Donna Wright
The Eureka Chamber of Commerce announced the death of its president and CEO Donna Wright in a statement this afternoon. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Donna Wright, CEO and President of the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce,” the statement reads. “Donna’s leadership at the Chamber for the past…
UPDATE: Snow in the Mountains, Rain, Winds on the Coast
UPDATE: The Eureka office of the National Weather Service has extended the winter weather advisory to 6 a.m. on Wednesday for interior areas of Humboldt County above 2,000 feet. “Travel could become difficult at times over some mountain passes at Berry Summit on Highway 299, and at the Collier Tunnel on Highway 199. Chain restrictions…
Armed Kneeland Murder Suspect Arrested in Santa Cruz
A 27-year-old Rhode Island man wanted in connection with the homicide of a woman found dead in her home April 2 was arrested in Santa Cruz on Sunday, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The victim has been identified as Emily Rose May Lobba. She was 28. Austin Michael Medeiros was taken into custody…
Plans to Curb California Insulin Costs Abound. Will Anything Get Done This year?
As consumers, advocates and others prioritize their fight to lower prescription drug costs, insulin is usually first in line. Now, momentum to curb rising insulin costs seems to be building, with policymakers at the state and federal levels rolling out proposals seeking to provide diabetics some long-awaited financial relief. The questions now: What will materialize…
NCJ Preview: CalFresh Benefit Cliff and Hassle-free WIC Shopping
This week we’re looking at how the CalFresh supplemental nutrition program has been a lifeline for many — particularly during the pandemic — and what it means now that the end of expanded benefits nears. At the same time, an all-WIC shop has opened in the Bayshore Mall. We’ll talk about how its owner started…
Third Student Alleges Inappropriate Behavior by Fortuna Math Teacher
Another Fortuna High School student has come forward to make allegations against the math teacher arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting two students. Gary Landergen, who’d returned to Fortuna High School this year, where he’d previously taught in the 1990s before leaving for Argonaut High School in Amador County, was arrested on a Ramey…
Fortuna Concert Series Presents Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter
The weekend of spectacular live performance continues when Fortuna Concert Series presents an evening of traditional instrumental music by multi-instrumentalists Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter on Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 at Fortuna Monday Club ($10). The concert features traditional instrumental music from Sweden and Ireland, as well as original compositions featuring Celtic harps, Swedish…
Suspect Named in Kneeland Homicide
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has deemed the death of a 28-year-old woman in Kneeland on Saturday to be a homicide and obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect in the case. According to a press release, investigators have obtained an arrest warrant for Austin Michael Medeiros, 27, of Warwick, Rhode Island, in the case,…
Catch Eureka Symphony’s An Extraordinary Evening this Weekend
Enjoy a night on the town with dinner at one of the area’s fine dining establishments followed by Eureka Symphony’s An Extraordinary Evening, which features Humboldt pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough and his partner soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon. The concerts are Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9 at 8 p.m. at Arkley Center for the…
Coastal Commission Votes to Move Forward with Humboldt Offshore Wind Exploration
The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously today to conditionally concur with a federal determination that allowing energy companies and organizations to study a proposed offshore wind farm area on the Humboldt County Coast is consistent with the California Coastal Management Program. The highly technical and bureaucratic vote clears the way for companies interested in purchasing…
Fortuna High School Teacher Arrested for Alleged Sexual Battery of Students
The Fortuna Police Department has arrested Fortuna Union High School math teacher and wrestling coach Gary Landergen on allegations he sexually assaulted at least two students. According to a press release, “at least two students” came forward to report they had been the victim of “inappropriate and unwelcome groping and/or fondling by Landergen.” The Fortuna…
About that CAP
Editor: Months after a draft was released by Humboldt County and made available for a very limited time before being withdrawn and hidden from view, the North Coast Journal finally offered coverage of the mysterious Humboldt Climate Action Plan (“Where’s the CAP?” March 31). It was refreshing to see some informed coverage of the bizarre…
The White Sands Footprints
Anyone with even a passing interest in the peopling of the Americas will know that the Clovis First hypothesis has long been put to rest. The idea — that the first humans to come to the “New World” arrived around 12,500 years ago were the same people who fashioned fluted stone Clovis points (after Clovis,…
Slingshot
i could tell you what this or that wave means, but it wouldn’t matter – and that’s best. watch Orion into the dark of night. we slingshot together just like we did on the cup and saucers, flung and spun. no tickets needed. each of us knows this and yet it eludes us. Monte Merrick
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): To provide the right horoscope, I must introduce you to three new words. The first is “orphic,” defined as “having an importance or meaning not apparent to the senses nor comprehensible to the intellect; beyond ordinary understanding.” Here’s the second word: “ludic,” which means “playful; full of fun and high spirits.”…
A Symbolic Censure
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to censure Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez during a special April 4 meeting after an outside investigation sustained findings that she engaged in “retaliatory, harassing and/or bullying behavior,” and made financial decisions that “resulted in increased staff workload and financial losses to the county.” The board’s 5-0 vote…
Once More, with Feeling
All right, here we go again. We’ve got a lull in the pandemic wave action and, for better or for worse, live music is being made with a few minor protective caveats. I hope the COVID-19 Joint Information Center shutting its doors on April Fool’s Day is not an augury of human folly, and I…
Sea to Summit: King Peak
I left the house at 6 a.m. to pick up Natalie and drive south for the tenth and final Sea-to-Summit Challenge. She is a great adventure partner, always up for anything. If you’ve been following this series, you might remember she was my companion for the 90-mile Grasshopper Peak challenge (“Sea to Summit: Grasshopper Peak,”…
Parents Nutrition Center’s Shame-free WIC Shopping
It began with some old-fashioned check-out line rudeness. Jessica Rebholtz says she was using her WIC card to buy groceries, including infant formula she needed due to some lactation issues, when the woman behind her in line made a comment about how long her transaction was going to take and having to wait behind “these…
Ocean Salmon Seasons to Be Set This Week
Back in mid-March when the recreational salmon season alternatives were released to the public, it was a pleasant surprise to see some fairly generous season options on the table. And one of these options will be selected at the Pacific Fishery Management Council Meetings being held this week in Seattle. Currently, the three alternatives within…
Arts Arcata
Celebrate the visual and performing arts in Downtown Arcata during Second Friday Arts! Arcata April 8 from 4 to 8 p.m. Welcome potential Cal Poly Humboldt families for Spring Preview at a lively night market of local art vendors, music and fun in the plaza center circle, and celebrate arts and shopping local in stores…
Meta Adventures
THE BUBBLE. It was almost — only? — two years ago that The King of Staten Island, Judd Apatow’s last feature, was released. It felt noteworthy because Apatow’s comedies are events (albeit minor ones for most) in and of themselves and because it was a starring role for Pete Davidson, the anointed one. But it…
A Seat at the Table
Reading her ruling overturning the firing of Humboldt County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Daniels, it’s clear arbitrator Bonnie Prouty Castrey considered many things (“Embedded in the Culture,” March 31). She reviewed the pertinent sheriff’s office policies and procedures, as well as the county’s sexual harassment policy, considered Daniels’ “many awards” and “record of accomplishments.” She took…
It’s Time for Government Investment in Urban Indian Communities
Strong urban Indian communities today are the legacy of survivors who refused to let the colonizers win. Tribal people from across our lands were sent to boarding schools and forced to relocate to cities, all in the hopes of disconnecting them from family, home and culture. Generations of U.S. politicians worked to slowly “kill the Indian,…
Infill or Sprawl?
Editor: I am writing in support of the projects now being considered by local governments to create more dense, taller, walkable housing: the Arcata Gateway Project (Mailbox, March 31), development in Eureka’s downtown parking lots and the proposed McKinleyville town center. A 2009 Health Impact Assessment of options under consideration by the Humboldt General Plan…
An ‘Existential Threat’
Editor: I want to thank the letter writers who have written about the cost of gasoline and climate change in the past few editions of the NCJ. The existential threat caused by our addiction to, and abuse of, fossil fuels seems to have been entirely overlooked by a seeming majority in the USA and worldwide who are concerned only about…
