Cover Stories
Best of Services 2018
Accounting Firm Corsetti Jamie CPA 815 Seventh St., Eureka; 445-3078 corsetticpa.com Second Place: Cunningham Malone & Morton Inc. Third Place: Aalfs, Evans & Company, LLP Accupuncturist Alyssa Melody 780 Seventh St., Suite 10, Arcata; 510-593-7775 acupuncturehumboldt.com Second Place: Stacey Small Third Place: Sheridan Richardson Attorney Kathleen Bryson 732 Fifth St., Eureka; 268-8600 humboldtjustice.com Second Place:…
Best of Cannabis 2018
Budtender Michelle Seelye, HPRC 980 Sixth St., Arcata; 826-7988 hprchumboldt.com Second Place: Savannah Snow, The Humboldt County Collective Third Place: Yukie Prete, Eco Cann Cannabis Nursery Hendrx 840-5667; hendrx.farm Second Place: Wonderland Nursery Third Place: Plant Humboldt Dispensary Humboldt Patient Resource Center 980 Sixth St., Arcata; 826-7988 hprchumboldt.com Second Place: The Heart of Humboldt Third…
Best of Bonus 2018
Bathroom Primal Decor 1908 Myrtle Ave., Eureka; 445-2609 primaldecor.com Second Place: The Speakeasy Third Place: Leon’s Car Care Center First Responder Humboldt Bay Fire 533 C St, Eureka; 441-4000 hbfire.org Second Place: Gannon Chapman, Fortuna Fire Third Place: Deputy Dan Keating Locally Made Product (Non-Food) Queen Bee Naturals P.O. Box 221, Mad River, CA 95552…
Hail to the Best
Unlike the transfer of inherited titles, the breakdown of voting for the elected is always an opportunity for introspection. Best of Humboldt is no different, though less dire. Pride ourselves as we do on individuality, there are some definite trends in our collected opinions. Take for example our most voted category: Best Burger. The hottest…
Best of Drink 2018
Bar The Logger Bar 510 Railroad Ave., Blue Lake; 668-5000 Second Place: The Griffin Third Place: The Jam Bartender Mike Vitiello, The Shanty 213 Third St., Eureka; 444-2053 Second Place: Ross Ault Third Place: Jessica Doyle Bloody Mary The Alibi 744 Ninth St., Arcata; 822-3731 Second Place: Cafe Waterfront Third Place: The Logger Bar Brewery…
Best of Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 2018
Art Gallery Morris Graves Museum of Art 636 F St., Eureka; 442-0278 humboldtarts.org Second Place: Trinidad Art Gallery Third Place: Old Town Art Gallery Band Object Heavy objectheavy.com Second Place: The Undercovers Third Place: Mojave Green Beer Festival Hops in Humboldt Rohner Park, Fortuna hopsinhumboldt.com Second Place: Brew at the Zoo Third Place: Hoptober Fest…
Best of Retail 2018
Antique Store Old Town Antiques 318 F St., Eureka; 442-3235 Second Place: Buzzards Nest Antiques & Uniques Third Place: Anglin Second Hand Bicycle Shop Revolution Bicycle Repair 1593 G St., Arcata; 822-2562 2811 F St., Eureka; 443-9861 revolutionbicycle.com Second Place: Adventure’s Edge Third Place: Pacific Outfitters Bookstore Booklegger 402 Second St., Eureka; 445-1344 Second Place:…
‘Justice for Josiah’ Protest Disrupts Arcata Council Meeting
Wednesday’s Arcata City Council meeting was rescheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday after protesters demanding movement on an investigation into the fatal stabbing of Humboldt State University student David Josiah Lawson took over the council chambers. Video footage from local media outlets showed the group lined up along the aisles of the room and in front…
Bright Lights, Small Town
Editor’s note: With the Humboldt County Fair marking its 122nd opening day tomorrow, here’s a look back at Peri Escarda’s 2017 It’s Personal column on the annual event, the arrival of which means that summer is once again drawing to an end. Growing up in Humboldt County, there was nothing more exciting than the day…
UPDATED: Possible Double Homicide Investigation in SoHum
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office confirmed an investigation into a possible double homicide in Southern Humboldt after two bodies were discovered in a burning vehicle last night. “We are investigating two suspicious deaths in the area of Ettersburg Junction. We are still on the scene actively investigating the incident,” HCSO spokesperson Samantha Karges said. “At…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, August 15
The family tradition rolls on tonight at the Van Duzer Theatre as Ziggy Marley kicks of the 2018-2019 Center Arts season at 8 p.m. Continuing on the path of his father’s legacy, the Jamaican musician has become an icon in his own right. ($66, $25 students).
Humboldt County Fair
The 122nd annual Humboldt County Fair’s 10-day run of old-fashioned community fun starts this week. From Thursday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 26, the Humboldt County Fairgrounds will be open noon to 10 p.m. with all your favorites at this end-of-summer ritual: the carnival, horse racing, exhibits, stunts, shows, food, music and more ($10, $7…
Photos from the Lantern Floating Ceremony
The Saturday morning lantern-making workshop on the Arcata Plaza was busy with people of all ages making lanterns with personalized remembrances or social commentary for that evening’s 36th annual Lantern Floating Ceremony at Klopp Lake in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. The Lantern Floating Ceremony is based on the Japanese Obon tradition of honoring…
‘Unhealthy’ Air Quality in Orleans, Hoopa, Weitchpec
Orleans, Hoopa and Weitchpec will likely see unhealthy air quality conditions today and tomorrow due to ongoing impacts from wildfire smoke, according to the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. People with heart or lung disease, the elderly, children and pregnant women are cautioned to “avoid all prolonged or heavy outdoor exertion,” during these…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, August 14
RampArt skatepark continues bringing the noise with another night of heaviness at 7:30 p.m. This time around it’s a package tour of three bands headlined by the Bay Area’s GWAR-esque death metal act Ghoul. San Francisco’s War Bison fills out the undercard along with Portland’s queercore act Clitterati. Unholy Oriface plays a song of local…
Photos from the Best of Humboldt Party
Some 400 people — winners all, really — showed up in their royal finery at the Inn at 2nd & C Friday night for the Journal’s Best of Humboldt party. They posed on the red carpet, sipped in the bar, mingled in the balcony, danced to DJ Natty P, took selfies on a throne and…
Photos from the Hoopa Rodeo
As it does every year, the Hoopa Rodeo bucked, galloped and kicked up dirt Aug. 3-5. Native riders from California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington state and beyond came to compete. Both adults and young ones only a few hands high rode broncs (or mini broncs), zigged and zagged through the pole bending competition and sped through the…
Coroner IDs Eureka Teen Killed in Fatal Cemetery Stabbing
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office today identified the teenage boy fatally stabbed in Ocean View Cemetery on Aug. 9 as 16-year-old Brandon Brocious of Eureka. The Eureka Police Department has arrested two suspects in connection with Brocious’ death, Lorna Jean Leen, 38, and an unidentified juvenile male. Both were taken into custody without incident the…
Music Tonight: Monday, August 13
The Outer Space hosts an East Coast rock showcase at 7 p.m. as Jersey City’s Long Neck weds its lo-fi sound to the clashing and earnest noises of Brooklyn’s Fern Mayo — whose name was maybe taken from Judy Greer’s character in the late ’90s cult flick Jawbreaker. Fine inhouse trio Blood Hunny is the…
HumBug: A Mixed Bag of Beauties
It’s getting late in the season, the time when all the insects that overwintered as eggs have hatched, grown through their larval stages and are now wearing their adult colors. There were quite a few of one my favorite late season butterflies out today. A fritillary (genus Speyeria) was nectaring on thistle blossoms. I looked…
Music Tonight: Sunday, August 12
Olympia, Washington, is represented at the Sanctuary tonight as bluegrass trio The Pine Hearts opens the evening’s musical entertainment at 8 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding scale). Headlining the night will be fellow Olys The Lowest Pair — I won’t tell you what the eternal child in me thinks of this name — a folky banjo-ed duo…
Deli-ish Delish on 5th Coming to Old Town
The windows are still covered up where the Black Lightning Motorcycle Cafe once revved its engines and panini presses at Fifth and F streets, but not for long. Christine Silver, owner of Humboldt Soup Company, plans to open Delish on 5th sometime in the next couple of months. Says Silver, “It’s gonna be what I’m calling…
Music Tonight: Saturday, August 11
It’s a busy night in Arcata with a few shows to get through, so I’ll take a deep breath and hey-ho let’s go. First off at 7 p.m. at the Outer Space Eureka rock acts Leone and The Tweeners meet up with Arcata’s palm tree pop band The Apollo Era for an early all-ages gig…
Mutt Strut & Woofstock Festival
You wanna go? (Head tilt.) Let’s go! The 23rd annual Mutt Strut & Woofstock Festival is this Saturday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Halvorsen Park ($5, $10 family). Sequoia Humane Society’s day for the dogs features tons of fun and activities for fur-babies and their folks. Play, fetch, eat, drink, browse…
Open House
U.S. Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay welcomes you to its annual Open House on Saturday Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Coast Guard Station Humboldt Bay (free). Meet the crew, tour the historic station building, check out the rescue boats and hear about the heroic measures our Coasties take to ensure all…
Mendo Complex Gets Containment Date, but no Estimate for Carr Fire
While a string of fires continue to burn to the north, south and east of Humboldt County, air quality is expected to be in the good to moderate stage although some inland areas, such as Garberville, will have “widespread haze,” according to the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. Fire officials are now giving…
Woman, Juvenile Arrested in Fatal Eureka Stabbing
Two people were arrested this morning in connection with the death of a young man who was fatally stabbed in Ocean View Cemetery last night, the Eureka Police Department reports. Lorna Jean Leen, 38, and an unidentified juvenile male were taken custody without incident after being located at two separate locations around the 1300 block…
CHP: Eureka Teen Found on 101 Hit by Car
After an autopsy and further investigation, officials have determined that an 18-year-old Eureka man found dead along U.S. Highway 101 on Aug. 1 suffered injuries “consistent with having been involved in a collision with a vehicle,” a CHP release states. Hunter Allen was found in the roadway south of the Humboldt Hill Road off-ramp around…
Music Tonight: Friday, August 10
Kikagaku Moyo — whose name translates from Japanese to Geometric Patterns — is a Tokyo-based psyche band and I know what you are going to say: Japanese psyche bands are a dime a dozen these days, touring liberally since the heydays of the Boredoms and Zeni Geva. However, unlike those glorious noise-mongers, this group works…
Home is Where the Art Is
Painted utility boxes, colorful murals, more artists per capita than any other place in California … Eureka, art has found it! The city by the bay is about to get a bit splashier as local and international artists set upon its streets and liven them up with new murals and art during The Eureka Street…
Cliffs Notes
The coastal town of Trinidad draws and inspires artists of all types to its rugged cliffs and shimmering waters. Look around town and you’ll find art galleries, gift shops, a museum and library all housing some of the inspiration found here. And for spectacular landscape, you are surrounded as far as the eye can see…
Want to Run for Office? The Deadline is Looming
Time is running out for candidates to file their nomination papers to run for council and mayor in cities across Humboldt County — the exception being Ferndale, which closed its nomination period today. All others have deadlines tomorrow. That is unless an incumbent does not seek a return to office, in which case the filing…
UPDATE: EPD: Uninjured Baby Found in Room with Couple Dead in Murder-Suicide
The Eureka Police Department today identified the couple found dead in a D Street home Aug. 3 in a murder-suicide, releasing for the first time that a 7-month-old baby was found on a bed in the same room. Officers responding to a welfare call found the scene around 8 p.m. after forcing entry in the…
Best Seeds
Humboldt Seed Co. humboldtseedcompany.com In prohibition days, the seed-to-sack journey was intentionally mysterious. Post-legalization, hipsters haven’t wasted any time asking, “Is it local?” While plants might be harvested at grandma’s farm, what about their source? Pragmatism and profit have pushed many cultivators toward clones, allowing a jump on harvest and low- to no-cost starts. But…
Best Mimosa
The Greene Lily Café 307 Second St., Eureka In 1925, a bartender in Paris topped a flute of Champagne with orange juice and, voila, the bubbly mimosa was born. Around the same era, Lillian Greene, a mother of 13, surely knew how to flip an omelet. Yet, she dreamed of opening an eponymous speakeasy —…
Best of Food 2018
Bagel Los Bagels 403 Second St., Eureka; 442-8525 1061 I St., Arcata; 822-3150 losbagels.com Second Place: Frankie’s NY Bagels Third Place: Josh Fox Bread Bakery Cafe Brio 1309 11th St., Arcata; 822-0791 briobaking.com Second Place: Ramone’s Bakery & Cafe Third Place: Cherry Blossom Bakery Barbecue Porter Street BBQ 605 Broadway, Eureka; 443-1700 Second Place: Sammy’s…
Best Chinese Restaurant
Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine 1917 Fifth St., Eureka Really? Cambodian is literally in the name of the restaurant, folks. “Our food is similar to Thai food but it’s not as spicy as Thai,” says Chin Chau. “We have a few items that are almost like Vietnamese food,” he adds, noting that Cambodia is situated between those…
The Cannabank of California
What to do with all that cannabis cash is a problem North Coast growers have faced for decades, leading to tales of six-figure sums buried under chicken coops, violent home invasion robberies and stacks of often-stinky hundreds entering the registers at Costco. Well, in many ways, Humboldt’s problems have become California’s, with the state scrambling…
Best New Restaurant
Campground 865 Ninth St., Arcata Campground is on fire. The woodsman-chic “Argentine-inspired steakhouse” has quickly earned a solid reputation. Less than a year ago, owners Pam and Dan Willey, who came to Humboldt by way of Colorado and also run Arcata’s Salt Fish House, expanded their empire only blocks away with chef Michael Aguilera cooking…
Not in Kansas
Director Victor Fleming’s 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, when one thinks about it, may be the most famous ever made. Its characters, lyrics and even throwaway lines have endured as iconic for eight decades, entered the global lexicon and, in some cases, even become rather tired clichés. It’s possible modern audiences don’t…
Hot off the Press
Photographs and video from the Families Belong Together march held in downtown Eureka on July 30 stand out for the snappy graphics of the homemade signs marchers carried from “Zero Tolerance for Human Rights Abuse” to “Stop the Racism! Stop the Deportations!” and “Who’s the Illegal Alien, Pilgrim?” As thousands of protesters marched and made…
Best Buffet
Tandoori Bites 1735 Fourth St., Eureka Gupreet Sohl is no fool. Four years ago, he took over the run-down Indian restaurant in a building his father owned, gave it an interior makeover and opened Tandoori Bites. The hard part about starting an Indian restaurant in Humboldt, however, is getting a chef to move here. Sohl,…
Ten Items or Fewer: Grocery Outlet Edition
Life at Grocery Outlet is like a box of discount promotional chocolates: You never know what you’re going to get or if you’ll ever see it again so you binge and grab twice as much as you came for. Sure, plenty of people turn their noses up at a cruise among the random cans and…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.arcatamainstreet.com, Arts! Arcata on Facebook, or call 707-822-4500 for more information. ALCHEMY DISTILLERY 330 S. G St. Lynn M. Jones, linoleum prints. ARCATA ARTISANS 833 H. St. John Wesa, screen printer; Amy Ellis Taylor, glasswork; Wine…
‘Fair and Impartial’
The last time a criminal trial was moved out of Humboldt County, George W. Bush was president, Barack Obama was just a junior senator and Donald Trump was still six years from recording the first episode of The Celebrity Apprentice. The year was 2002, and Dianna Mae Preston, then a 58-year-old Trinidad woman, had surrendered…
Best Hobby Shop
Good Relations 223 Second St., Eureka So … Best Hobby Shop? In defense of our voters, it does rain A LOT here. And this year’s award might be a better fit than last year’s Best Adult Clothing win. (I guess everybody was thinking adult adult.) But the 35-year-old shop, with its cheeky window displays, won…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa writes that in the Arab world, to say a mere “thank you” is regarded as spiritless and ungenerous. The point of communicating gratitude is to light up with lively and expressive emotions that respond in kind to the kindness bestowed. For instance, a recipient may exclaim,…
Distance Between Us
Before the Big Bang We were all together Taunting form And space In the dance We shared. Then the Stars, Periodic Tables And endless words All got in the way. Who knew?
Best Photographer
Kelsey Marchi Newborn Photography www.kelseymarchiphotography.com Babies. They grow up so fast. Those soft, sweet, fleeting moments of tiny fists, knee wrinkles, fuzzy shoulders and teeny lips seem to slip away right before every parent’s eyes. Local photographer Kelsey Marchi helps preserve the preciousness of those moments by arranging and taking portraits of babies in the…
Music Tonight: Thursday, August 9
“Big” Sam Williams is a trombonist — as I have mentioned in this column before, the eternal child in me prefers the term tromboner — who was a key player for many years in the legendary New Orleans group the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, as well as an ace session man tapped by superstars like…
Best Yoga Studio
Pali Yoga paliyoga.com The allure of Pali Yoga stems from the Eureka studio’s namesake, Rupali Brown, who was born and raised in Mumbai, India. After spending a few years working in an animation studio, work that she found “stimulating mentally” but left her “feeling incomplete and physically unhealthy,” Brown found yoga. In time, she met…
Best of This Week’s Music
There’s a lot of music going on this week and with no real dull times to be had, so I won’t waste your time with a long intro. Sun’s out, guns out, boys and girls. It’s the dog days of summer and there is fun to be had every night after the beaches and rivers…
In Support of HACHR
Editor: Bravo to Thadeus Greenson for giving a human face and heart to HACHR (“Flashpoint,” Aug. 2). They treat some of our most vulnerable outcast citizens with compassion and dignity. Addiction is a terrible illness that strips people of their self-worth. Extending a helping hand to another human being in need is never a bad…
Correction
A story headlined “Flashpoint” in the Aug. 2, 2018 edition of the North Coast Journal contained inaccurate information about the rates of people living with hepatitis C in Humboldt County compared to the rest of the state and the nation. Humboldt County’s infection rates are three times that of California and five times the national…
Eucalyptus sheds?
Editor: Regarding the removal of eucalyptus trees along the future bike trail between Arcata and Eureka, I have an idea for an alternative (NCJ Daily, Aug. 2). Along the railroad line through the Sierras there are structures called “snow sheds.” These are essentially roofs — some quite lengthy — over sections of track that lie…
Vlad, Vampires and Dracula
Don’t think it’s easy being a vampire. Apart from the mundane sunlight/holy wafer/cross-in-your-face/spike-through-your-heart issues, you’ve got to deal with the fact that blood is toxic. A few teaspoons won’t hurt — blood pudding is a delicacy for Brits, as is seal blood for the Inuit — but start drinking pints of the stuff (like real…
‘Outside the Box’
Editor: Much has been said about our community’s iconic eucalyptus trees. They are a touchstone for all of us in Humboldt. I rarely agree with Michelle McKeegan or Bill Pierson; on this they are on point calling to leave those trees alone. Public works is using the scare tactic of falling limbs as a ploy…
Long Lost
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS. There are stories, obscured by the complacency and subterfuge of modern life, that retain the power to surprise and amaze. Some, through exploration, become chilling reminders of what we do not and cannot know about the world and, more importantly, the people around us. Three Identical Strangers has become one of the…
Best Venue / Best Band / Best Musician
The Jam / Object Heavy / Pete Ciotti 915 H St., Arcata Heavy on the brow lies the triple crown. And what dark hand guides the power and ascension of kings? I don’t really know. But for drummer Pete Ciotti, the hand that guides him is a busy one indeed. With a new album by…
Best Tattoo Artist + Best Jewelry Store /Best Bathroom
Luis Lopez (of Primar Decor) 1908 Myrtle Ave., Eureka Maybe we’re just a bit more traditional than we thought, perhaps even a bit prejudiced. Whatever the reason, we’ll own up to the fact that we were shocked when readers weighed in to tell us that a tattoo parlor is home to the best bathroom in…
Best New Business
Arts & Drafts 442 First St., Eureka Humboldt is chock full of artsy types and do-it-yourselfers. It’s our can-do spirit that enables us to survive out in the wide rural unknown. We can also get a little antsy with our artsy, independent selves out here in the sticks. The combo makes us the perfect clientele…
Best Budtender / Best Dispensary
Michelle Seelye / Humboldt Patient Resource Center 980 Sixth St., Arcata At the Humboldt Patient Resource Center (HPRC), the staff has been earning the respect of caregivers and farmers since 1999. While carrying a host of new recreational products, the dispensary continues to work toward higher goals for the community. In 2018, HPRC opened a…
Best Dive Bar / Best Bartender
The Shanty / Mike Vitiello 213 Third St., Eureka As the old saw goes, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the land of the occasionally blind drunk, one wants a just and kind ruler who blends the power of exile with the promise of fair treatment in the…
