Cover Story
Best of Humboldt 2015
Each year, as we flip through the results of our annual Best of Humboldt voting, Journal staff members shrug, nod, raise skeptical eyebrows and shake fists at the sky. The fist shaking is a bit much. But like you, dear readers, we have our favorites and our priorities (see turnout numbers), and seeing our county’s…
Eat Your Spaghetti
If not the smell of the sauce (or “gravy” as they used to call it), the huge portrait of the owners with a tuxedoed Marlon Brando and young Sophia Loren that hangs in the back room of Roy’s Club (218 D St., Eureka) should tip you off that you’re in an old-school Italian-American joint. Like…
Humboldt Made Shakeup
T. Aaron Carter, the executive director of Humboldt Made who was hired at the beginning of the year and led an effort to reshape the group, has left the position. “It just got to a point where I felt like I did what I needed to do,” he says. “I couldn’t justify continuing to pay…
Light on the Water
A lantern-making workshop gathered a larger than expected crowd on the Arcata Plaza on Saturday, Aug. 15 in preparation for that evening’s 33rd annual Lantern Floating Ceremony at Klopp Lake in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. (See slideshow below.) Adults and children alike sat in the warm morning sun as they made their personalized…
Evanesco! Daniel Radcliffe Vanishes
If you were stalking around Humboldt on the hunt for selfie with the Harry Potter star, you can return to your home now. The actor and the rest of the out-of-town crew filming Swiss Army Man hopped on the old Nimbus 2000 and blew town yesterday after wrapping six days of filming, according to Cassandra Hesseltine…
Sheriff: Falling Death at College Cove
A 46-year-old Colorado man fell to his death near College Cove recently, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. A Coast Guard helicopter helped retrieve the body of Anthony Wayne Hodson on Saturday, Aug. 15 after the sheriff’s office was notified. Officials believe Hodson fell about 75 feet from cliffs above where he was found.…
HumBug: Jumping Spiders!
Even people who do not like spiders can find much to love in the red backed jumping spider. First of all they are cute.(well, cute for a spider). Stocky and fuzzy, with eight eyes positioned across a broad face, they are somehow a little less spidery-creepy than a black widow. If you are impressed by…
The Reluctant Cyclist, part 5
Number of miles ridden: 21 Time traveled: 2 hours 05 minutes 31 seconds Number of times scolded for not wearing helmet: 1 (the scolding worked) Number of times actively feared for life: 3 Due to my bike needing repair and then some time out of town, I hadn’t ridden other than when I pedaled out…
Gray Pride
The truth is out there. Sometimes it’s so out there that it happens in Bridgeville. Things get spacey this Saturday, Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as BridgeFest, the town’s annual flying floppy festival welcomes you and 50 (or more) shades of grays to the wackiest party this side of Solaris. Does anybody…
Here’s How to Show Some Love for Our Firefighters
Fires are still raging in Gasquet, Hayfork, Alderpoint, Ruth Lake and many other locations. If you want to help firefighters and evacuees, Pay It Forward Humboldt is coordinating donations of non-perishable food, sleeping bags, tarps and N95-certified breathing masks. They ask that people do not donate clothes, but consider donating directly to volunteer fire departments in…
Eureka! Find it
Do you dream of getting your passport stamped in beautiful ports of call, historic cities and lands of sweeping natural beauty? Has the cost of travel, getting time off, or rounding up someone to watch Fuffy and Fido put that dream on hold? Well, don’t give up yet. The folks at the Clarke Museum have…
Services & Stuff 2015
Antique/Vintique Store Shipwreck Thrift Store Discovery Shop Pawn Shop Humboldt Bay Trade & Pawn Head Shop Stuff & Things Liquor Store John’s Myrtlewood Liquors & Cigars Clothing Store for Adults Hot Knots Clothing Store for Children Lots 4 Tots Plus the Clothing Closet Shoe Store Annie’s Jewelry Store Holly Yashi Musical Instrument Store Wildwood Music…
Seeking a Partner
Editor: At an Arcata City Council meeting, the California Clean Power principals told us they’d learned how to set up CCA systems by setting up Sonoma County’s (“Arcata Eyes Costly Divorce,” July 30). They did that as county officials. But the model they’re urging on us is not that model; it adds a new layer…
Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation 2015
Artist Duane Flatmo Art Gallery Morris Graves Museum of Art Tattoo Artist Brian Kaneko, Henry Krüger Beer Festival Hops in Humboldt Wine Festival Art in the Park Cannabis Festival Emerald Cup Music Festival Summer Arts and Music Festival Food Festival Oyster Fest Craft Event North Country Fair Fair/Expo Humboldt County Fair Karaoke Blue Lake Casino…
Circle the Welcome Wagons
Several weeks ago, Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills got a call on a Sunday night from an irate citizen complaining about a homeless man sleeping beneath the “Welcome to Eureka” sign. He drove to wake the man up, telling him “I don’t think that’s a good spot, let’s find a different spot.” This story, told…
Food & Drink 2015
Bar to Take a Date The Speakeasy Dive Bar The Shanty Sports Bar Humboldt Brews Bartender Laurel at The Speakeasy Happy Hour Plaza Grill Bloody Mary The Alibi Martini The Speakeasy Brewery Lost Coast Brewery Local Beer Mad River Steelhead IPA Redwood Curtain Brewing Co. IPA Specialty/Seasonal beer Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat Humboldt Spirit Humboldt…
The Casino Con
The Yurok Tribe says it fell victim to a conman named Duke who bilked the tribe of $250,000 as it pushed to finance the opening of its new Redwood Hotel and Casino in 2014. In a letter last month to tribal members, Tribal Chair Thomas O’Rourke Sr. explained that, in an effort to fund staffing…
Best Milkshake and Best Onion Rings (2015 Staff Pick)
Toni’s Wondering where all the boys are? They’re in Toni’s yard, where the thick spoon-and-straw milkshakes have summoned them. You’re going to need a minute to choose — boysenberry, mocha, chocolate malt — the flavors are legion. Normally stoic Journal News Editor Thadeus Greenson speaks of the peanut butter chocolate shake with wide eyes. Indeed.…
Music in the Time of Infernos
Many musicians will tell you that summer in Humboldt County can be a rough time of year for working bands. Nothing stops completely on the coast, but it sure slows down a lot. With the mythical Humboldt State University student back home in San Diego showing off his or her new Bernie Sanders shirt and…
Best Eatery on a Budget (2015 Staff Pick)
Smug’s Smug’s is the only place in the world where standing in line is OK. When you see the line bulging out the door, that’s a good sign. It moves fast. The whole time you can peer over the queue into the little pizza carousel, hoping the slice you’ve been eyeballing doesn’t get scooped. It’s…
Chile vs. Chile
The chile relleno — a chili stuffed with cheese, battered and fried — is deceptively simple. So, too, was our bracket-style competition, in which regional winners duked it out for the title. As soon as we announced our hunt, a tide of nominations came in the form of emails, Facebook messages, comments and intense conversations.…
Best Karaoke (2015 Staff Pick)
Blue Lake Casino Amateur crooners have their pick of karaoke venues around the county and this year they voted for Blue Lake Casino as the place to grab the mic. On Thursdays and Sundays, you can peruse master of ceremonies KJ Leonard’s songbook and hop up on an actual stage (lights! microphone stand!) to belt…
To Toke, or Not to Toke
Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders made quite a splash on his southward West Coast tour last week, packing speaking venues in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles and whipping up a fervor over his anti-corporate barbs and leftie proposals. Bernie bashed Wall Street and income inequality and found cheers of support for his proposals for free…
Festival Mash-up We’d Most Like to See (2015 Staff Pick)
Sometimes there’s just too much going on and heavy-hitter events are piled up on for the same weekends. Why split the audience when we can combine fests and crank up the fun? It struck me as last year’s Pride parade made its rainbow route past Paddlefest (losing a few sparkly wigged participants to a kayaking…
Disquiet on the Mobile Home Front
Humboldt County heard from four of its five supervisors in reaction to the request that the issue of a mobile home park lot fee stabilization ordinance be placed on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda (see “Mobile Home Owners Rally over Rent,” Aug. 6). Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace has said he would like to help…
Moonstone Beach — Bonus! 2015
Ok, I get it. Moonstone’s beautiful. Little River provides an ideal splash zone for kids and plenty of damp sand to mold into castles. There are steep bluffs, a rock for climbing, scenic sea stack formations and a cave on the north side. There’s even a restaurant up the hill that we hear is perfect…
Best Clothing Store for Children 2015
Lots 4 Tots Plus the Clothing Closet Plenty of people forget that second moniker, to the great cheer of bargain-hunters who don’t want their secret spot picked over. The awesomeness of a quality place to outfit your ever-growing progeny on a budget notwithstanding, the family-wide appeal is what really makes this place worth a stop.…
Staff Picks 2015
Buffest Supervisor While his signature campaign logo — those orange-emblazoned baseballs — may be round, District 1 Supervisor Rex Bohn has gotten a whole lot more angular, thanks to his new exercise regime. Every morning Bohn can be found sweating “with the kids” at Humboldt Crossfit. As of press time, Bohn was running unopposed for…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at various locations throughout the city. Visit www.facebook.com/artsarcata for more information about the event or call 822-4500. ARCATA ARTISANS 883 H St. Susan Bornstein, paintings; Michael Pierce, ceramics; Jeannie Fierce, mixed media metals. ARCATA CITY HALL 736 F St. Works of…
Alice in Photography Wonderland
In an age of smartphones and selfies, it’s hard to imagine the challenges involved in creating a photograph in the pre-digital, pre-film era, when it took hours to capture an image, not a fraction of a second. Between 1827, the date of the first surviving photograph (rooftops from a window in Bourgogne, France by Nicéphore…
Gift and Re-gift
Reviews THE GIFT. I first became aware of actor Joel Edgerton when he starred opposite Tom Hardy in Warrior (2011), a brother-versus-brother fighting movie that, so far, hasn’t gotten nearly the praise it deserves. After that introduction, I went back and checked out Animal Kingdom (2010), an Australian crime family saga that, despite style and…
Park Disservice
Editor: The selling and buying of manufactured home parks is an ongoing disaster for residents (“Mobile Home Owners Rally Over Rent,” Aug. 6). By nature, corporations are soulless entities driven by only one thing: profit … at any cost to residents. We residents have already seen that our local McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee has abandoned…
Rock, Paper, Glitter
August is a disunited month in a college town. Summer’s heat may have reached its peak, but minds are already shifting back to school. Many galleries take an August break to prepare for the fall season’s September kickoff. However, this month two local businesses feature one-woman shows worth your while. Cool off with dynamic visions…
Race Baiting
Editor: My letter is written in response to Michael Tout’s letter, entitled “A Familial Vote,” which was published in the Aug. 6 edition of the North Coast Journal. I agree with Mr. Tout’s letter about the noise pollution from “Race Day” at Redwood Acres. My husband and I live off of Buttermilk Lane near Sunny…
Bonus Round 2015
Place to People WatchFarmer’s Market Arcata Place to Take a First DateMoonstone Grill Locally Made ProductCypress Grove Chevre New BusinessSlice of Humboldt Pie Vista that Never Gets OldTrinidad Head HSU ProfessorMelinda Myers CR ProfessorCindy Hooper Place to Take Your DogMoonstone Beach Medical Marijuana DispensaryHumboldt Patient Resource Center Skateboarding SpotArcata Skate Park Myth/Conspiracy/Urban LegendBigfoot Public GardenHumboldt…
Not a Crime
Editor: I am getting very tired of listening to the usual discussion on homelessness. Of course the countsz of the homeless are not accurate (“The Numbers are Out and the Jury is In,” July 16). Of course the beds in shelters are never enough. Naturally, illegal camps get trashy and upset nearby merchants and residents.…
