Bombshell
At the 11th hour, the Humboldt County Civil Grand jury waded into the auditor-controller race
Cover Story
Bombshell
In an unprecedented move, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury interjected itself directly into the county’s auditor-controller race less than a week before Election Day. On June 2, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury poured gasoline on what was already considered the county’s most contentious political race, issuing a scathing report stating incumbent Auditor-Controller Karen…
A Winning Road Trip and a Bounce Back at Home for the Humboldt Crabs
Another week of Humboldt Crabs baseball came with something the team hasn’t had much of since the last pre-COVID season, a road trip. The Crabs started the week on the road traveling up to Oregon to take on the Medford Rogues for a two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday that saw the Crabs take both…
HumCo Confirms 148th COVID-19 Death
Public Health reported today that Humboldt County has confirmed another COVID-19 deaths since its last report June 8, a resident over the age of 80. Two new hospitalizations were also reported today but, according to a state database, 16 people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including three under intensive care. The death reported…
UPDATE: Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Arcata Field
A small plane made an emergency landing in the Arcata Bottoms this afternoon near Sun Valley Farms, with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office stating no injuries were reported from the unexpected stop in a field. Four people were aboard the private aircraft that originated in Southern California and was heading to the Arcata-Eureka Airport in…
Dozens Attend March For Our Lives Event in Arcata
The Arcata Plaza was flooded with people Saturday afternoon in solidarity with nationwide March For Our Lives protests to demand lawmakers work to enact new gun control measures in the wake of yet another mass school shooting. The local march, which was organized by March For Our Lives Arcata chapter leads Jasmine McKnight, Astreya McKnight,…
Collision Kills Two on 101 Near Myers Flat
Two people were killed Monday in a late afternoon crash on U.S. Highway 101 near Myers Flat when the driver of a vehicle apparent crossed over the median and collided with two motorcyclist riding in the opposite direction. Both of the motorcyclists, who were traveling southbound with a group of three others, were ejected from…
Crash Closes 101 Near Myers Flat
Caltrans is reporting that U.S. Highway 101 is fully closed near Myers Flat due to a traffic collision. The estimated time for reopening is currently 11 p.m. A detour is available via Avenue of the Giants (also known as State Route 254) for northbound and southbound traffic, the agency reports. Travelers are asked to use…
Topsy-turvy Top-two: Is California Primary System Keeping Its Promises?
If you need an example of just how befuddling California’s top-two primary system can be, consider the case of the $50,000 mailer sent to voters across 13 California counties in early June. The mailer’s message: In the crowded race for a state Senate district that sprawls from Modesto to Truckee to the Owens Valley, the…
NCJ Preview: Election Recap and Happy Lao New Year
The June 7 election is wrapped up — almost. We’ve got a rundown of who won what and how close the races are that still haven’t been called. That includes the landslide in the auditor-controller race and the 50 percent Natalie Arroyo clings to in the supervisor race. We’re also doing an after-party revel in…
Latest Election Results: Arroyo Gains Ground, Nielsen and Cervantes Poised for a Runoff
The numbers changed but not the overall status of local races in the latest round of election results released today. In the Fourth District contest, Natalie Arroyo buoyed her lead to 50.85 percent of the vote, followed by Mike Newman at 34.51 percent and Kim Bergel at 14.66 percent. If Arroyo can stay above 50…
Local Native Teens Win Big at Youth Business Competition
Local high school students won big at a youth business competition at the Reservation Economic Summit (RES) produced by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) last month in Las Vegas. As part of a program through Two Feathers Native American Family Services, Emma Sundberg, a Wiyot junior from McKinleyville High School, Jordan…
SECOND UPDATE: Sheriff’s Office Issues ‘All Clear’ in Bomb Threat Investigation at Loleta Elementary School
SECOND UPDATE: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office report an “all-clear” was issued in the Loleta Elementary School bomb threat investigation, saying no explosive device located. As a precaution, all students and staff were evacuated off campus. UPDATE: The sheriff’s office reports it is investigating a bomb threat. “All students and staff have been safely evacuated from…
Arts! Arcata
Celebrate the visual and performing arts in Downtown Arcata during second Friday Arts! Arcata. We want to welcome all our community members to come out and visit with us for a lively night market of local art vendors, music and fun in the plaza center circle, and celebrate arts and shopping local in stores across…
Get to Know Your Weeds
This week, I’m turning my focus to a problem that most gardeners are dealing with this month, thanks to the intermittent rain/sun/rain/warmth/rain/wind we’ve had over the past two months. You may have noticed that you have to mow the grass more often right now, but it’s not just the grass that’s growing like, well, a…
Pacific Halibut Takes Center Stage
With the closing of the first part of our salmon season, offshore anglers now have their sights set on Pacific halibut. And since Monday, there’s been a slew of them coming over the rails for both the Eureka and Trinidad fleets. The Eureka boats have had a little tougher go on account of the abundance…
Communing with Comedy
JERROD CARMICHAEL: ROTHANIEL. Despite its boom and bust popularity, stand-up comedy is an elemental art form. Combining obfuscation and transparency, truth and illusion, tragedy and hilarity, it’s all about vulnerability. There can be triumph, even dominance, but the prerequisite is for a spiritually naked person to climb into a spotlight with a microphone and communicate…
‘Unhinged’ Kudos
Editor: The June 2 edition of the North Coast Journal is dynamite, from Mark McKenna’s cover photo and others inside to Thadeus Greenson’s very informative and very necessary editorial, “Why Brett Watson Needs to Resign,” Jennifer Fumiko Cahill’s well-worded column, “It Might Be Time to Get Totally Motherfucking Unhinged” and Linda Stansberry’s “Bad Women Like…
Power of Wind
Editor: Fossil fuels have led to unsustainable cost volatility, and the current surge in fuel prices continues to impact prosperity, affect consumer pricing and remains a burden, which is difficult for both households and businesses to bear. By 2050, the energy needs of California are expected to more than double. Strategic electrification, and accompanying efforts to decarbonize,…
Fact vs Fiction
Editor: I would like to thank the North Coast Journal for responding to the Acrid Commentary letter to the editor (Mailbox, June 2). It is simply appalling that there is an extremely vocal minority of this population that does not believe in actual facts anymore and would rather use alternative facts, i.e. made up total…
The Mystery of the Wiyot and Yurok Languages
Take a look at the accompanying map, which shows the extent of the so-called “Algic” superfamily of Indigenous languages. (Algic from Allegheny + Atlantic.) Most of these belong to the Algonquian family of about 30 languages, all descended from the Proto-Algonquian that was spoken about 3,000 years ago and whose speakers are now found from…
An Owl as a Cowl
An Owl as a cowl – offered – refused – What pose could be Struck with Claws such as those? a Cowl such as that – unesteemed at Home – Vestment of Feather, hollow of Bone. There’s no prize for devotion – no praise for what’s Feral, not a glad hand extended for one who…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “It takes a spasm of love to write a poem,” wrote Aries author Erica Jong. I will add that it takes a spasm of love to fix a problem with someone you care about. It also takes a spasm of love to act with kindness when you don’t feel kind. A…
Truth and Healing Commission Subpoena Authority Becomes Sticking Point
Efforts to create a federal commission to explore the legacy of the nation’s Indian boarding schools has hit a stumbling block. Subpoena authority is triggering warnings in a key House subcommittee as backers hope to advance a bill establishing the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools. The top Republican on the subcommittee said…
Land of Living People
Well, here we are, a few blinks away from the halfway mark of 2022. At least that’s how it seems to me, though I’ve been reckoning time very oddly this year. Things seem to be speeding up while staying in place. Nationally, there’s a sense of acceleration in stagnation, as if the engine is overheating…
Back Together for Lao New Year
There’s a bit of a traffic jam at the wide doorway to the Humboldt Grange kitchen as men with traditional Lao checked sashes stop to talk — some on their way in to sample the buffet of home-cooked Lao dishes, others carrying full plates. A handful of women, some in bright silk sinh dresses, shift…
