‘Blue on Blue’
How pledging loyalty to the same gang put two Humboldt teenagers on a homicidal path.
Cover Story
‘Blue on Blue’
It was a drizzly Monday afternoon in mid-December of 2014 when Maria Romero and her daughter Jennifer Garcia-Romero ventured down to Eureka’s Cooper Gulch to meet Jesus, Romero’s 14-year-old son. He’d called a few hours earlier, saying he needed money to buy shoes. He didn’t sound like himself. Jesus had been spiraling for a couple…
Big Rig Rollover Blocks 101
An ambulance has been requested at a big rig rollover that has blocked U.S. Highway 101 near the Big Lagoon Park Road north of Patrick’s Point, according to the scanner and the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. A witness at the scene reported to emergency dispatch that the driver was out of the vehicle. According…
A Gift of Glasses: Three Eureka Men See the World in a New Hue (Video)
When Brendan Hartsell put on the red-tinted EnChroma glasses for the first time, he didn’t say a word. He simply looked around — first down at the green bushes nearest to him then at a pair of blue and pink balloons tied to a sign. A nervous grinned spread over his face. Hartsell was one…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, December 12
Ahtziri Ramirez Quintana will be performing her senior flute recital at 8 p.m. at Fulkerson Hall. In the interest of promoting the burgeoning artists who are being molded into professional musicians up in the music department of Humboldt State University, I suggest you enjoy this evening’s performance.
Photos from the Arcata Playhouse Holiday Show
The spirit of holiday panto (British traditional winter musical comedy theater) is alive and well at the Arcata Playhouse again this year with Robin Hood – Knight of the Stars: A Space-Capade. A second weekend of shows at 7:30 p.m. will be performed on Dec. 13, 14 and 15 at the Arcata Playhouse ($12, $10…
Three Dogs Stolen From Fortuna Animal Rescue
Officials are hoping the public can help find three dogs that were stolen from Miranda’s Rescue. Deputies were called to the Fortuna shelter around noon Dec. 8 on a report the animals had been taken from their kennels. One is a pitbull mix named “Lucy” and the other two are 4-month-old Rottweiler/Mastiff mix puppies. Read the…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, December 11
It’s Taco Tuesday at Richard’s Goat, which means that next door at the Miniplex you will find the salsa and cumbia dance party curated by DJ Pachanguero. Come dance to the sounds of hot Latin rhythms starting at 9 p.m. but going well into the night (price TBA).
Supes Set to Consider Large-Scale Zoning Changes
The Mad River Grange meeting hall in Blue Lake was packed with about 100 worried residents on the evening of Dec. 6 who intently watched three county planners explain proposed zoning changes in Glendale. The small, unincorporated community between Blue Lake and Fieldbrook along the Mad River, near where the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District’s…
Last Week’s Fatal Shooting Victim ID’d
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man fatally shot Dec. 7 on State Route 36 as Anthony Joseph Calderone of Trinity County. He was 47. According to a brief release, his autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday but no other information on possible suspects or any arrests were included. Calderone was found by deputies…
Fortuna Facing Water Woes After Main Break
If you live in Fortuna and are having some water issues, here’s what’s going on. Workers are tackling a broken main on Smith Lane that will leave some residents without water access for most of the day, while others may experience discoloration due to hydrants being flushed, according to the city’s Facebook page. Residents are…
Alarms Leads Deputies to Apparent Hash Lab Stash in McKinleyville Storage Facility
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies discovered components of a butane hash oil lab and nearly 330 pounds of pot after responding Saturday to a “duress alarm activation” at a McKinleyville storage facility on Sutter Road. According to a release, deputies found a storage locker with the keys in the lock but no one who appeared…
Music Tonight: Monday, December 10
Dell’Arte has a free show for you this evening, you lucky critters. At 7:30 p.m. Arcata High School will host the Dell’Arte adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days. Past seasonal performances of the troupe’s productions have been held at the amply seated but currently under renovation Van Duzer Theatre so,…
HumBug: Macro Mania
From time to time, someone asks how I got this or that shot and what gear I used. Like most technical people, I suffer from gadgetitis, and have an array of cameras and accessories for various tasks. The more or less formal dividing line for “true macro” is a 1:1 magnification, meaning that a 1-centimeter…
More Than Half of California Nursing Homes — Including Humboldt’s — Balk at Stricter Staffing Rules
More than half of California’s nursing homes, including four in Humboldt County, are asking to be exempted from new state regulations that would require them to spend more time directly caring for their patients. The state’s new staffing requirements for nursing homes, quietly passed in last year’s budget bill, seem universally unpopular. Patient advocates say…
Music Tonight: Sunday, December 9
Louisiana is in Eureka tonight as Baton Rouge/New Orleans DIY metal act THOU rolls through the Siren’s Song. This band has an interesting personal legacy for me because even though I found one of its members to be tedious to the point of caricature during my musical days in NOLA, I still enjoyed the band…
North Coast Night Lights:The Covered Bridge of Elk River
Humboldt County is home to a number of noteworthy bridges, two of which are wooden covered bridges built in the 1930s. Both of these are still in service out Elk River Road and I’ve thought for a while that catching an unusual view of them beneath the stars would be interesting. Earlier this year I…
Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir Holiday Concert
The Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir Holiday Concert gets into full swing Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. at Arcata Presbyterian Church, performing rousing and joyous songs for the holiday backed by a full band. The AIGC Youth Choir opens ($15, $12 seniors/students, free for kids 5 and under).
Music Tonight: Friday, December 7
The Eureka Chamber Music Series presents an evening of music performed by world-renowned players, specifically cellist Jennifer Kloetzel and pianist Robert Koenig at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvary Lutheran Church ($30, $10 senior, $5 students). On offer tonight will be pieces by Faure, Brahms and Beethoven, as well as a world premier piece by the…
Music Tonight: Saturday, December 8
The Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir shares its holiday concert tonight at 7 p.m. at the Arcata Presbyterian Church. Director Kristin Kirby (also a Journal contributor — hey, Kristin) will present a playlist of sacred and secular holiday favorites arranged for the chorus of voices and a full band. Opening the night’s celebrations will be a…
Chanukah Celebration
Join Temple Beth El for a Chanukah Celebration on Sunday, Dec. 9 from 4:30 to 10 p.m. at Bayside Community Hall ($5, $20 family). Bring your own menorah and candles for the menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m. with Rabbi Naomi and the Temple Beth El Choir. Plus, singing, dancing, dreidl games and latke dinner.
Zooey Deschanel Really Likes Eureka
When actor Zooey Deschanel — star of New Girl and the perennial Christmas classic Elf — was asked about a must-go travel hot spot in California during a recent interview with Travel + Leisure, her answer was short and local: Eureka. Deschanel, according to the online piece, is teaming up with Capital One on The…
Fish and Wildlife Says the Crab Aren’t Ready Yet
The North Coast’s crab woes continue as local crustaceans just aren’t fattening up enough for the commercial season to begin, prompting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue a second delay in opening day — which is now slated for Dec. 31. According to a release, results from the Dec. 4 quality test…
Father of Faith Tsarnas Turns Self in for Ferndale Hit-and-Run
The father of Faith Tsarnas, the teenage girl killed while skateboarding with her friend by her friend’s mother Marci Kitchen, has turned himself in for a Nov. 27 hit-and-run crash that severely injured a woman. According to a release, Jeffry Tsarnas, 54, of Myers Flat came to the California Highway Patrol office with the vehicle…
Body Found in Eel River May Be Missing Santa Rosa Man
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is looking into whether the body found earlier this week by a wildlife photographer in the Eel River is that of a Santa Rosa man who was last seen heading home after a trip to Eureka in November. A release states that the missing man’s family contacted the MCSO after…
McGuire Re-introduces Trump Tax Return Legislation
North Coast State Sen. Mike McGuire has followed through on his promise to re-introduce legislation that would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to make it onto the primary ballot in California. McGuire vowed to reintroduce the legislation — a prior version of which was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown last…
UPDATE: Man Killed in State Route 36 Shooting
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office confirms that a homicide investigation is underway into the early morning killing of a 47-year-old man who was shot in head. According to a release, deputies were sent to the scene just before 3 a.m. and found the man gravely wounded in a truck that showed “damage consistent with…
O Honk, All Ye Faithful
This is the weekend for illuminated holiday parades on the North Coast. Grab your kids, coats, chairs and cocoa and plunk yourselves down on the curb for some slow-moving, Santa-waving, horn-honking cheer. We’ve got a twinkling you’ll like these. Some of the decorated vehicles in our local holiday light parades are so over the top…
Winter Arts Faire
Support local makers by doing your holiday shopping at the 42nd annual Winter Arts Faire this Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mateel Community Center ($5, free for members). Browse artisan booths, enjoy musical entertainment and bring a glow to your tiny tots’ eyes with kid’s activities and a…
The Cafe is Done but Bless My Soul is Still Catering
If you’ve driven past Bless My Soul Cafe, you may have peeped the “for lease” sign in the window. The Creole restaurant, which was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, closed its doors in September but is still catering and operating as a private party venue for now. Owner and chef Marie “Sweet…
McKinleyville Man Attacked, Robbed of Pot by Masked Assailants
A McKinleyville man was attacked early yesterday morning by masked assailants who hit him on the head with metal bats and stabbed him in the chest while demanding money and cannabis, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the scene on the 2600 block of Bolier Avenue in McKinleyville around 3 a.m.…
‘This is a Human Being’: A Volunteer Rescue Team Dropped Everything to Recover a Body Found in the Eel River
The recent rains had pushed the waters of the Eel River higher and the sound the cold current rushing over rocks was loud when Southern Humboldt County Technical Rescue team member Thomas Norris met up with Talia Rose yesterday near the Humboldt-Mendocino county line. “She had messaged us on Facebook about 12:45,” explained Norris, a…
Hometown Holidays
O little towns of Humboldt, when and where do your festivities lie? Our calendar has most of the events but here are some holiday highlights: In McKinleyville, where horse-drawn carriages have the right of way, the Christmas Celebration takes place Thursday, Dec. 6 from 5 to 7 p.m. at in McKinleyville Shopping Center (free). There’ll…
Music Tonight: Thursday, December 6
A Reason to Listen spoken word collective presents its first Thursday of the month Humboldt Poetry Show at the Siren’s Song tonight at 7:30 p.m. ($5). This installment is near and dear to me as the featured artist is none other than my middle brother and near-Irish twin Ian, who will be rapping his way…
Huckleberry Scones
The sun was still warm on a crisp November afternoon. With buckets and gloves, we were on our fourth huckleberry picking trip of the season. Surrounded by fresh air and natural beauty, I felt so fortunate to call Humboldt my home. Living on the North Coast, we can start picking the huckleberries as early as…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I write a horoscope for you, I focus on one or two questions because I don’t have room to cover every single aspect of your life. The theme I’ve chosen this time may seem a bit impractical, but if you take it to heart, I guarantee you it will have…
Let the Music Lift You
A dear and lifelong friend of mine died unexpectedly last week and, without any premeditation, he put me in the middle of a beautiful Eastern Orthodox funeral service that I saw from the church to its end at the grave, where I served as an ad hoc pallbearer. I will absolutely write more about him…
Physics’ Beautiful Crisis
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ — that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” — John Keats, from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” What works for old pots doesn’t necessarily work for physics. In fact, the search for “beauty” has stymied progress in physics for the past 40 years, according to…
Dark Horror, White Christmas
Reviews CAM. As excited and outspoken as I’ve been in recent years about contemporary horror movies, the genre’s groundswell of creativity and renewed excitement at the theatrical experience, this weekend gave me pause. Because as much as I genuinely believe that the horror genre, at least as defined by the best contemporary examples, may well…
Fra-gee-lay Nostalgia
Taking place just after the Great Depression in a small Indiana town, the 1983 movie A Christmas Story tells the tale of one young man’s fevered quest for a toy firearm. It’s quaint, blackly funny and a yule-tide classic. The musical reworking, A Christmas Story: The Musical, currently showing at the Ferndale Repertory Theatre, carries…
The Darkness Garden
As the first autumn rains soak into the earth, here on the home farm we are beginning our darkness gardening routine. As the growing season winds down, we tidy up the remnants of autumn harvests and prepare for the winter planning and planting season. Now is prime time for cultivating high-flavor culinary gems in the…
‘You Won!’
Editor: Congratulations, Trump supporters. You won! Trump won (Mailbox, Nov. 29). He won the fight to delegitimize the free press, an essential pillar supporting our democracy, by repeating the big lie, namely, that the mainstream press is nothing but “fake news.” Trump won the unraveling of the inner workings of every major governmental agency by…
Fleecing the Planet
Editor: Joining New Zealand snails (“The New Zealand Invaders,” Nov. 29) in the assault on our environment is an inanimate contribution from our very own closets, drawers and kitchens: microplastics. Too small to be filtered out by waste treatment plants, microfibers are found in a third of aquatic organisms, two-thirds of aquatic species and an…
Return to Indian Island
Related Stories
‘A Miracle Didn’t Happen’
When the California Fish and Game Commission took the unprecedented step last year of shutting down the North Coast’s 2018 red abalone season, the idea was to give the last vestige of the state’s once great fishery some time to bounce back. The decision came in the aftermath of what scientists call a “perfect storm”…
Distress
(For Suzanne) I drove by your home today Your flag out front appeared amiss “Erika, the Red” still in the driveway Was the flag a sign of some distress? Perhaps for the country you swore to defend In 2016 the returns came in You spoke with pride as a veteran Celebrations aside, the world turned…
Testing and Taxes
The state of California is in the midst of its first large-scale cannabis testing scandal. Sequoia Analytical Labs, based in Sacramento, was one of just 44 licensed testing facilities in the state until it surrendered its license to the state last week after it was discovered the company’s lab director had been falsifying test results,…
Don’t Let Access Humboldt Go the Way of Net Neutrality
Humboldt is in grave danger of losing its public access television station. Operated by Access Humboldt, the station is the sole outlet for the artist who creates her own video programs, the teacher who wants to show his class a special documentary, the scientist describing her most recent discoveries and, most important for our democracy,…
