‘Breathing Room’
Local guaranteed income pilot program marks a milestone By Kimberly Wear
Cover Story
‘Breathing Room’
A year has passed since a group of local residents first began receiving payments from a guaranteed income pilot program aimed at providing them with financial support during the crucial months before and after having a baby. Since then, more than $1.4 million has been distributed to 150 recipients living across the county through what’s…
Harmony Noel Sellers
Harmony passed after surgery and an extensive hospital stay, shortly after her release. Harmony was very multi-talented, acting in several high school plays, directing and acting in her mother’s Western film. She managed a deli in the San Luis Obispo airport and completed some college. She started her own business twice with partner and father…
Jane Young DeHaan
Jane Young DeHaan, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on Feb. 11, 2025, at the age of 85 in Chico, California. As we mourn her loss, we celebrate her extraordinary life and the immeasurable impact she had on her family, friends and community. Jane is survived by her devoted husband of 63 years,…
William Shane Hill
With a heavy heart, we announce the passing of our beloved son William Shane Hill. Born on Aug. 21, 1970. A little star was born. Who was taken from us too soon on Dec. 4, 2024. He brought immeasurable joy and light into our lives with his kind heart and great smile and endless love.…
All is Chaos but Oyster Fest is On
Mark your festival calendar for June 14, as the official announcement for the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival is out. As is tradition, the Saturday before Father’s Day will see crowds, vendors and live music all over the Arcata Plaza from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. like hot sauce on a grilled Pacific. The strong of…
Piak Sen Weather
February’s wet and windy exit is hardly the last we’ll see of chilly weather. Well, fine. The edge of cold and dampness makes hovering over a bowl of hot noodles and broth just a little more pleasing. Ramen has lately popped up on more menus to challenge the near noodle monopoly pho had previously held…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, March 5
Portland, Oregon’s Rose City Band is a big sound/small stage experience, where founder Ripley Johnson turns the notion of the afternoon backyard jam into a massive landscape of sound, conjuring vast vistas filled with the inscrutable symbols of untamed nature. It’s really gorgeous stuff and a perfect band for a perfect venue like the Miniplex,…
Federal Funding Freeze Hamstrings Wildfire Prevention Efforts
Local wildfire resiliency efforts have already been stymied by federal grant freezes and budget cuts, with some fearing badly needed fuels reductions efforts in vulnerable communities that had been funded and in line to be complete by the onset of severe fire season will not get done. Not yet two months into the second presidency…
Access Humboldt to Host Sunshine Week Event
Access Humboldt will host a Sunshine Week event, featuring a panel discussion, an award presentation and reception, at the Eureka Theater from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on March 20. The event — dubbed Illuminate 2025 — is free and open to the community. Organized by Access Humboldt and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, March 4
The Old Steeple and the Eureka Chamber Music Series have come together to present the Balourdet Quartet, an award-winning group of musicians who will be both performing a program of music and curating a panel talk about music, art and freedom in society. The evening’s musical centerpiece is avant garde composer Steve Reich’s “Different Trains,”…
Follow the Trompo
Whatever I crave or plan when I walk up to a taco truck so often goes out the order window when I catch sight of a trompo. All that spice-reddened al pastor sizzling and dripping on a vertical spit is nearly impossible to pass up. And in the nighttime glow of the Tacos Don Paco…
Theater Tonight: Monday, March 3
Πr2 is a multi-media performance of dance — aerial and otherwise — and theater performed solely by women, a trio of international performers, Catalina Nicoletti, Pia Nicoletti and Borja Caraval, all of whom have been crafting their art for most of their lifetimes. It certainly looks like an interesting event, and 8 p.m. isn’t too…
Theater Tonight: Sunday, March 2
In deference to different voices and live theatre, I will mention two gigs happening today, Terry Baum’s Lesbo Solo: A Gay History Play at the EXIT Theatre at 3 p.m., and Rebecca McGlynn’s Asexuality: The Musical at the Arcata Playhouse at 7 p.m. Both shows are $20, and might provide a nice counterpoint to the…
Music Tonight: Saturday, March 1
The Siren’s Song remains open and as long as that remains the case, I will be discussing the gigs there, as we need to hang onto our quirky venues for as long as we can. Once gone, they don’t tend to return, nor does the gap left in their wake ever seem to be sewn…
A Boost for Families, New Orleans Flavor and Executive Chaos
This week we’re checking back in on a pilot income program in McKinleyville, as well as how Trump’s executive orders are impacting employment and services locally. We’ve also got a recipe for a twist on jambalaya that comes with a soundtrack. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on Humboldt stories.
Music Tonight: Friday, Feb. 28
The Westhaven Center for the Arts presents a birthday bash for local singer/songwriter Linda Faye Carson. The show will feature two groups she is associated with, LodeStar and 7th Generation Rise, both chock full of talented musicians and on that vibe that spans the expressway from the deep roots of the earth and out into…
Still No Racing Decision, but Fair Will Seek Meet Dates
February’s regularly scheduled board meeting of the Humboldt County Fair Association included an announcement from Junior Livestock Auction Chair Mandy Marquez that the committee has added three new members (Lee Chamberlain, Charlie Anderson and Breanna Cahoon), a decision for revised fair dates that will allow for the possibility of an open show and a report…
Fair Board Violates Brown Act in Deciding Fair Dates
The Humboldt County Fair Association violated California’s open meeting laws when deciding to advance a seven-day fair calendar during closed session Feb. 18. The amended fair dates — which will see the fair start Aug. 16 and close Aug. 24 — were formally approved by the board at its regularly scheduled Feb. 24 meeting after…
Movies Tonight: Thursday, Feb. 27
It’s the last night of the Lost Coast Film Festival, a nearly month-long event that has been showcased among various SoHum and Shelter Cove venues. Tonight’s finale will be at 7 p.m. at the Gyppo Ale Mill. According to the press materials, submissions remain open to encourage local talent to flourish. I’m not sure if…
‘It’s Just Chaos’
Now a month into the second Donald Trump presidency, we’ve seen a daily barrage of headlines documenting executive orders, funding cuts and layoffs, though how those are trickling down to the North Coast has been hard to decipher. Journal attempts to get hard numbers of local federal employees fired and local funding streams frozen or…
Mirrors in the Mirror
I’m chopping away at this on the last Monday in February, all the while considering, however far in the back of my head, that I’m about to, God willing, hit another birthday next week, on the first Wednesday of March. All night I’ve been listening to Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s gorgeous Spiegel im Spiegel, one…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
Experience the vibrant atmosphere as galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants extend their hours for your enjoyment. 4TH STREET MERCANTILE 215 Fourth St. Various artists. ART CENTER FRAME SHOP 616 Second St. Sandra Henry, Sara Starr, Lynne Bryan, and Judy Lachowsky, watercolors. ART CENTER SPACE 620 Second St. “Gravitas,” Georgia Long, oil painting, mixed media. BELLE STARR 405 Second…
The MonkeyGets Weird
THE MONKEY. My close reading of Stephen King — now three quarters of a lifetime ago, was defined by morbid curiosity — a fascination with the seemingly endless, dark wellspring of the author’s imagination. The books were scary, sure, but they were also compelling for their weirdness and perversity and examination of Evil as an…
‘The Scourge’
Editor: So, it turns out that the scourge of cats killing wildlife might now be as bad for cats as it is for wildlife. According to Tanya Schrum’s article in last week’s NCJ, “cats appear to be the first extra-host to suffer the most significant mortality” from avian influenza (grammatically nonsensical, but it sounds scary). Will…
‘Most Disappointing’
Editor: I found Robert Argenbright’s letter (Mailbox, Feb. 20) to be yet another example of muddled thinking and fear-filled scapegoating. I’m most disappointed when people like Robert propose that his fellow humans be treated like livestock, lacking the right to make our own medical decisions. Furthermore, it is perplexing to observe the cognitive dissonance embodied…
Fix the Roads!
Editor: It is my opinion that Measure O funds should be directed toward its primary intention, as described in the load of marketing materials I received from Humboldt County during the last election (“Election Results,” Nov. 6). That marketing said while funds could be spent on anything, the breadth of it stated the goal was…
‘Immoral’
Editor: Inefficient, ineffective, illegal and immoral. That describes the first month of the new administration (Mailbox, Feb. 13). It’s inefficient to have workers dismissed midday or on a Friday night and then oops, “not you, nuclear safeguards,” prison guards, firemen, park rangers, etc. If only we knew who they were and how to find them!…
‘Angst and Dissonance’
Editor: This party in power is moving fast to shred the fabric of our society and nature (Mailbox, Feb. 13). We’ll all be living homeless in tatters, stranded, awaiting the flying saucers to another planet. Communication is forced to yield to silence or petty retribution and surveillance. Culture is dismissed as elitism. But whether it’s…
‘Trump’s Alternative Facts’
Editor: During Trump I, Kellyanne Conway famously called falsehoods “alternative facts.” Now, with Trump II, alternative facts are in vogue again. An example is in the news today (Feb. 19). Despite abundant evidence to the contrary, Trump claimed in an executive order that everybody is either male or female. Today, the NY Times reports that JFK Jr. is claiming…
Salvaging Firewood and Thinking Politics
The truck bumps along hillside after hillside of charred, scarred and twisted trees in this ghastly fire-defeated forest. Prickly stickery burrs in the meager undergrowth are caught between sharp rocks and dry fractured mud. As a soft-shelled creature requiring the smooth sensuality of common sense to survive, this hardscrabble landscape is a horrible host offering…
Big G’s Jambalaya Balls
Some families pass down heirlooms — my family passes down recipes. I come from a long line of Sicilian Louisianans, a people who know a thing or two about bold flavors and good food. My great-great-great-grandfather fled Italy in the late 1870s, coming through the Port of New Orleans, where he laid the foundation for…
Edging the Precipice
San Francisco-based artist Tamera Avery’s larger-than-life paintings on view at the Morris Graves Museum of Art through March 9 feature an idiosyncratic cast of characters, with every piece offering figurative representations that range between the whimsical, absurd, nihilistic and fantastic. The exhibition statement cites Avery’s optimistic appreciation for young folks as emerging champions of change,…
