Cover Story
Breaking the Cycle
For the third time in 15 months, the medical director of the Mental Health Branch of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services has resigned. The latest resignation, by Dr. Raja Dutta, comes just two months after the local medical society called for a grand jury investigation into the department’s ongoing staffing crisis,…
HumBug: Lacewings
A couple of days ago I was cleaning up storm debris from my yard when a tiny creature fluttered daintily by. I recognized its flight pattern immediately as one of the prettiest and most delicate things I know: a green lacewing. It brought a smile. The order Neuroptera (“nerve winged”) has some really dainty insects.…
Fair Association Ordered to Pay $45K in Attorney Fees
A local judge has ordered the Humboldt County Fair Association to pay more than $45,000 in attorney’s fees to a Davis lawyer who successfully represented Ferndale Enterprise Publisher Caroline Titus in her public records lawsuit against the association. Titus filed suit in April seeking access to the association’s financial records after multiple requests under the…
UPDATED: Officer-involved Shooting Suspect Wanted for Murder of David Ganfield
2nd UPDATE: EPD Chief Andy Mills has confirmed that the man shot by DA investigators this morning was Nickolas Ryan Joseph Johnson, a suspect in the April 28 deadly assault of David Dwane Ganfield. Johnson has been wanted in connection with Ganfield’s death since April 2015. Mills said DA investigators had “him on the run” and…
County and City of Eureka Meet Tomorrow to Discuss Long-Awaited Report
It has taken months for the respective orbits of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the Eureka City Council to align, but tomorrow they will finally sit down to discuss the estimated 844 people who sleep unsheltered in Humboldt County. The majority of those people are in Eureka, which has borne the brunt of…
Yurok Tribe Declares Emergency After Rash of Suicides
The Yurok Tribe has declared a state of emergency after seven young tribal members took their own lives over an 18-month span. The tribe is working with tribal, state and federal agencies and developing a “broad, collaborative plan to identify the root causes of this epidemic,” according to a press release. All of the suicides…
PlanCo Shelves No Confidence Vote, Denies Westhaven Cell Tower
The Humboldt County Planning Commission backed away from a proposed no-confidence vote in planning staff Thursday night, and instead unanimously approved forming an adhoc committee aimed at improving staff-commission relations. Specifically, the committee will see two yet-to-be-named commissioners meet with interim Planning Director Robert Wall and County Counsel Jeffrey Blanck in order to clarify procedures…
UPDATED: Birders Flock to Great Gray Owl
UPDATE: Local birder Rob Fowler was kind enough to send out some directions to the Great Gray Owl’s current location, as well as some tips to follow to make sure the bird stays happy and safe during its Humboldt visit. Find Fowler’s tips copied at the bottom of this post. PREVIOUSLY: The Humboldt County birding…
Eat, Sleep, Fish
Wishin you were fishin? Wish no more. Humboldt Steelhead Days makes it run Jan. 23 through Feb. 6. Two weeks of regional events filled to the gills with fishing, food and fun. From the Trinity to the Eel, here are some highlights to hook you: In the Willow Creek area (Trinity River), things get jumpin’…
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Jan. 8 would have been Elvis Presley’s 81st birthday, and every year around this time, fans gather at parties, tributes and theme nights to celebrate the King of Rock and Roll. This weekend sees the Big E in action on screen and onstage (in spirit) at two hip-shakin’ events. It’s Elvis, Elvis, Elvis in Girls!…
Is the Dodo Effect Dead?
In 1936, American psychologist Saul Rosenzweig published a paper in The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry that made waves still felt 80 years later. Reviewing the various types of talk therapy available at the time, he noted that “no type of psychotherapy is without cures to its credit,” and the “dodo effect,” as he called it,…
Champing at the Bit
Reviews MUSTANG. Five sisters, on the last day of school in their coastal Turkish village, wander down to the beach in their school uniforms, splash in the water and play chicken with some of boys from the school who have trailed them down there, laugh and squabble, and then head for home. But when they…
Medicinal Flowers
I am primarily a food gardener, but there are a handful of flowering medicinal plants that I always include in my garden. Not only useful for home remedies, they provide beautiful cut flowers, improve soil and attract beneficial insects. Many of the plants listed here are commonly bred and cross-bred to produce ornamental variations, so…
The Best Medicine
I was not in a light mood the damp Monday afternoon when I headed over to the Om Shala Yoga Center in Arcata to attend my first laughter yoga session. It was two days after the Paris attacks, and the troubles of the world, not to mention my own private worries, hovered over me. That…
Good Riddance, KBRA
Editor: Your article about the demise of the KBRA exemplifies the distorted thinking that promoted this deal (“Uncharted Waters,” Jan. 14). Proponents claimed it was necessary to guarantee water for industrial agriculture because no dam has ever been removed without a negotiated settlement. The era of dam removals has just begun, so there are only…
What’s So Funny ’bout…
Editor: Thank you, Chip Sharpe, for reminding the Journal and its readers about the significant story of the relaunching of the first peace boat, The Golden Rule, and its home harbor here in Humboldt (“Mailbox,” Jan. 7). As I read more of last week’s issue of our free weekly newspaper, it made me realize how…
Play it Safe
Editor: While I was happy to see the Van Halen “no brown M&M’s” tour rider mentioned in your featured article (“Creature Comforts,” Dec. 24), which I found funny, for the record, I wished the author had noted the reason why Van Halen mentioned “No brown M&M’s” in the first place. This came about for a…
Plan Fray
Since the beginning of January, the board of supervisors has been working diligently to cobble together a medical marijuana land use ordinance from a slew of parts: a year-long private drafting process, multiple planning staff drafts, dozens of hours of public comment, and a month-long planning commission review. As the supervisors narrowed in (they were…
Scrimshaw
A seascape of luminous ivory scrimshaws itself into view. As if they were the dusk of the gods, rolling fog and sea spray entwine like Canova’s Three Graces. In the harbor, fishing boats bob and sway at anchor, moored in a milky tableau vivant; water slaps gently against the hulls. A bell buoy clangs elsewhere,…
Keepin’ It Real
What separates good art from bad art? What is an underlying characteristic of art that lasts through the ages? What is it that makes a painting worthy to hang indefinitely at a museum? What is it that ensures a song will be played on the radio for decades as opposed to dying a quiet death…
This Old Grow House
According to the latest Humboldt County Economic Index, local home sales have dipped slightly, while mortgage prices have risen. Median home prices — while at nowhere near pre-recession levels — have been climbing steadily since 2012, when your financially secure friends were snapping up starter homes for pennies on the dollar. And quite a few…
Fried and True
The British are not really known for creative additions to the world’s culinary scene, but fish and chips became traditional pub fare for a reason. And few dishes go better with a warm fire in the wood stove on a rainy North Coast winter night than a hot, crispy batch of fish and chips. There…
