BLACKOUT
Humboldt County emerges from 28 hours of darkness to confront an uncomfortable reality.
Fortuna Police: Evidence Indicates Students had the ‘Means’ to Carry Out Attack
The two male Fortuna High School students arrested yesterday afternoon for allegedly plotting to harm fellow students may have had the means to carry out the attack, Fortuna Police Chief Bill Dobberstein told the Journal after a press conference this morning. “There is some evidence that they did have the means,” Dobberstein said, adding the…
Alleged Plot to ‘Harm’ Students Thwarted at Fortuna High School
Two minors are being held at Juvenile Hall after Fortuna police and Fortuna High School thwarted what they believe was a plot to “harm other students,” according to a joint press release. According to the release, the high school received information of the possible plot yesterday afternoon. The two students were quickly detained, with “information…
Endangered Sea Turtle Recovering After Washing Up in Humboldt
An endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle is recovering at a Sausalito veterinary hospital after washing ashore at Bunkers Beach in Humboldt County, hundreds of miles north of its home. Marine Mammal Center spokesperson Giancarlo Rulli tells the Journal that Donatello, as the adult female turtle has been dubbed, is currently receiving supportive care, which includes…
Duluwat Island is Returned to the Wiyot Tribe in Historic Ceremony
With five words, it became official — Duluwat Island is being returned to the Wiyot people, for whom it is the physical and cultural center of the universe, a sacred piece of land with the power to bring balance to all else. “Unanimous yes vote. Motion carries,” said Eureka City Clerk Pam Powell, drawing a…
Humboldt Not Currently Included in PG&E Outage Warning
PG&E is warning of another round of Public Safety Power Shutoffs due to expected dry and windy conditions Wednesday and Thursday, but does not include Humboldt County on its list. In a Facebook post, the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services acknowledges the “healthy skepticism” local residents may have about the company’s announcement “since we…
HumBug: Late Bloomers Get All the Action
Flowers being few and far between lately, nectar-sipping insects are also scarce. A few straggling rabbit brush plants concentrate relict butterflies, having completed their reproductive cycle living out their lives on instincts alone. I saw five species today, only two of which allowed me to get close enough to take their pictures. Tattered wing margins…
EPD Arrests Tennessee Man on Suspicion of Murder
Eureka police have arrested a 22-year-old Tennessee man on suspicion of the murder of Brett Keiling, who died after a Sept. 26 assault near the 400 block of Third Street. Eureka detectives, working in conjunction with the city’s Community Safety Enhancement Team, identified Connor Whited as a suspect in the case, obtained an arrest warrant…
Moonstone Grill Changes Hands
The iconic beachside restaurant Moonstone Grill, formerly owned by the same group that operates Plaza Grill and the Basement (formerly Abruzzi), is now a part of another cluster of establishments owned by the Tanski family, along with Gabriel’s Italian Restaurant and the Wine Cellar. According to Likhi Tanski, general manager at Gabriel’s, “It’s kind of…
CalFresh Recipients Given Extra Time to Replace Food Lost to Blackout
The deadline for local CalFresh recipients who lost food during the Oct. 9 power outage to apply for replacement benefits has now been extended until Nov. 8, according to the California Heath and Human Services Agency. Humboldt County residents can call (877) 410-8809 or go to the county Department of Health and Human Services office…
Author Chag Lowry to Talk About Yurok WWI Book at Multiple Events
Formerly local author Chag Lowry, whose graphic novel Soldiers Unknown was the subject of the Journal’s Sept. 26 cover story, will be speaking at a couple local events this weekend. Lowry, whose book tells the story of three young Yurok men drafted to serve in World War I, will be speaking at Humboldt State University…
Jim Hamm, Survivor of Mountain Lion Attack During Park Hike, Dies
Jim Hamm, the former Fortuna resident who along with his wife Nell made international news in 2007 when she used a pen and a branch to fight off a mountain lion who attacked him during a hike in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, has died. He was 82. Nell Hamm told the Times-Standard that her…
Large Power Outage in SoHum
UPDATE: Power was restored around 10:50 a.m. PREVIOUS: A widespread outage in Southern Humboldt has left 4,200 PG&E customers without power and forced Southern Humboldt Unified School District to shutter its campuses for the day, with power expected to be out until this afternoon. Power went out last night at 11:09 p.m. to almost all…
No Time to Waste
Editor: Thanks to Jennifer Savage for the compellingly written “Hey Reporters!” (Oct. 3). The underreporting of the looming climate catastrophe has been nearly as criminal as the politicians and industries knowingly responsible for it — sort of making us all unwitting accomplices as we blithely continue our greenhouse gas-producing and carbon-sequestration destroying habits. Reports of…
Duluwat Island
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Winter Residents Return
Forty black brant in league with the moon dropped from the evening to the bay. We did not dive in to the gold night sea, the dog and I. Monte Merrick
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “We can’t change anything until we get some fresh ideas, until we begin to see things differently,” wrote Aries psychologist James Hillman. I agree. And that’s very good news for you Aries people. In my view, you are more attracted to and excited by fresh ideas than any other sign of…
BLACKOUT
It was 5:22 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, when Dorie Lanni’s cell phone rang. It had already been a hectic 36 hours for Lanni, the county’s emergency services manager tasked with running the three-person office that coordinates major emergency responses in Humboldt County. The prior Sunday, she’d joined a 6 p.m. conference call hastily assembled…
A Dark Day in Humboldt
My husband and I were fully prepared. We have a generator, extra gas, lanterns and extra batteries, plenty of food and water, a barbecue, a propane stove and water heater, power packs for the cell phones and a battery powered radio and scanner. Because of this, we could enjoy my having a day off of…
‘A Brady Cop’
The rift between Willits Police Chief Scott Warnock and Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster over Willits’ hiring of a former Eureka Police Officer continues to escalate. As we reported last month (“Badly Tainted,” Sept. 26), Eyster penned a scathing, incredulous 2,400-word letter to Warnock expressing dismay at the chief’s hiring of officer Jacob Jones,…
Change in the Masthead
Chuck Leishman, who helped guide this company for most of the last six years, is leaving the Journal, entering a well-deserved semi-retirement after more than 40 years in the business. Chuck will continue to be available as a private contractor for special projects for the Journal and other members of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia,…
The Week in Review
Like everyone reading this, I survived the blackout PG&E inflicted upon us. Sitting in the dark, reading books by candlelight and headlamp, gave me ample thinking time, so I have decided to review some of last week’s events, both worldly and personal. One thought came to mind: Public utilities should be publicly owned, and the…
Forewarned
Ignorance is no longer an excuse, if it ever was. In the wake of the PG&E blackout that darkened Humboldt County for some 28 hours last week, two things should be abundantly clear: The bankrupt power company is not going to be a reliable community partner going forward and we as a community are woefully…
Humboldt’s Food Business Meltdown
Shortly after 2 a.m. on Oct. 10, employees at both branches of the North Coast Co-op were doing what nobody wants to do: throwing out food. Some worked 12-hour shifts through the evening, pouring out milk, throwing out cheese and tofu, hauling legs of lamb, ox tails and cartons of eggs to the Dumpsters out…
Blackouts and Tokage Fees
When darkness cast its PG&E-sized cloud over Humboldt County on Oct. 9, some among us were not willing to go quietly into the night. “Even though the lights aren’t lit, that doesn’t mean you can’t be,” pronounced Ray Markland, company manager at EcoCann dispensary in Old Town as his staff worked to open the shop…
The Night the Lights Went Out
I grew up in a home off the grid. We moved there when I was a kid, starting with no electricity at all and using kerosene lamps for light. We built on that continually, and, long before I went off to college, we had set up solar power and hydro power. And if needed, we…
First They Came for the Truckers Parade
Editor: A letters submission decried the recently restored Truckers Christmas Parade as a waste of fuel (Mailbox, Oct. 10). It is a much loved family friendly event but some find fault with events they don’t personally enjoy while enjoying others that also waste resources. The kinetics race is a good example. Not the contestants but…
Meeting Your Connection
Reviews JEXI. Writers have been trying to get a handle on the notion of artificial intelligence — giving it an assortment of names, down the decades — for, oh, the better part of two centuries now. (I think it’s fair to include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a very early example and I don’t care to…
‘A Powerful, Deeply Moving Movie’
Editor: I’d like to provide a different perspective on From Wounded Knee to Standing Rock, the Kevin McKiernan film that was reviewed in last week’s Journal (Through the Eyes of Native Activists, Oct. 10). This is a powerful, deeply moving movie. It links together stories of Indian suppression by the federal government that go back…
What is Eureka’s Homelessness Plan?
Editor: Required for some funding, Eureka needs to finish its Housing Element. The current draft contains innovative approaches for housing, big projects and tiny ones. The approach for homelessness needs work. The draft identifies Housing First as one strategy, not as the adopted policy for addressing homelessness (“The Jury is In,” Aug. 22). The Housing First…
Wind Power Now
Editor: The power blackout of Oct. 9 was a wake-up call for Humboldt County (“County Officials: Prepare for Days Without Power,” posted online Oct. 8). People scrambling to get basic supplies, waiting in gas lines for hours and those with medical conditions requiring power to run their oxygen machines or refrigeration to keep their medicines…
