Cover Story
Building a Better Corridor
Newcomers to Humboldt County, especially those arriving from more urban areas, are often amused when locals complain that driving from Arcata to Eureka, or vice-versa, is just “too far.” And they have a point. That four-lane stretch of U.S. Route 101 is barely six miles long. Seems longer, right? Maybe that’s due, at least in…
From the Hum: Seriously, Tuesday?
Well, look at Tuesday with its not one, not two, but three interesting options. 1. At the Arcata Playhouse, Buenos Aires guitarist Gonzalo Bergara celebrates his new release, Walking Home. Bergara mixes “a cascade of arpeggios” with the sounds of Django Reinhart’s Paris and Bergara’s own native Argentina to forge his own style of progressive…
From the Hum: Oh, and Then There’s Monday
If you thought fun ended with the weekend, wrong! Make an afternoon pot of coffee because Monday night invites you to the Siren Song, where local bad boys Drifter Killer play with San Francisco’s appealingly gloomy Owl Paws (owlpaws.bandcamp.com). The gig is free – bring some dollars for the tip jar – and starts around…
From the Hum: Your Weekly Sweat-inducing Punk Gig
San Diego’s Dead on the Wire hits the Alibi tonight, bringing shades of the Ramones, The Lazy Cowgirls and Rancid. If you appreciate 1970s punk rock – and judging from the fact that Iggy Pop & the Stooges are currently touring America, lots of people do – you will enjoy the hell out of this…
From the Hum: Helping out Doug Green
Another benefit takes place tonight, this one for Doug Green, who is currently suffering from cancer and the avalanche of medical bills associated with treatment of the disease. Green originally conceived of and spearheaded the construction of a concert venue at French’s Camp, producing the Garberville Music Festival in 1980 and 1982, was a founding…
From the Hum: Due for some Good Luck
The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit Just in time to cheer a person up with some sweet, sweet Americana comes The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit. Give a listen to the “The Very Best” off the band’s No Excuses album and be transported to a sunny back porch, homemade wine and good friends singing a…
From the Hum: ‘Not so gospel’ Friday the 13th
Jenni & David On the theme of faith, community and hope, we have the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir, a veritable Humboldt County institution not necessarily all about gospel. Like most musical organizations, the choir has to pay for practice space, event space and many other obligations, so the group is holding a “Not So Gospel…
Eureka Names New Police Chief
After a frustrated withdrawal by previous front-runner Michael Johnson, Eureka City Manager Bill Panos today announced that Andrew G. Mills, a former commanding officer in San Diego, is slated to be the next chief of the Eureka Police Department. The Eureka City Council plans to confirm Mills at its Oct. 1 meeting, according to a…
School Trustees Ask for Dan Johnson’s Resignation
After nearly an hour of tense — and at times downright chaotic — comments about a plagiarized graduation speech and its subsequent handling, Northern Humboldt Union High School District trustees voted 3-1 this evening to ask Dan Johnson to resign. Johnson sat calmly as his fellow trustees voted, and said nothing afterward about whether he…
Sonny Wong Paints Live in New Chuck Johnson Video
Local videographer extraordinaire Chuck Johnson produced the above video of artist Sonny Wong performing live art and discussing his craft.
Caltrans Commits to Bay Trail
Perhaps nervous about Thursday’s Coastal Commission hearing, Caltrans has agreed that construction on the proposed “Eureka-Arcata 101 Corridor Improvement Project” won’t begin until funding is secured for a bay trail along the same stretch. And it has reiterated a promise to throw in $1 million of its own funds toward the trail. Now, cynics might…
Dimmick Ranch Sold
The Dimmick Ranch, the foreclosed battlefield on which Reggae Rising made its last stand against Reggae on the River, has finally sold. J.J. Hanley, a San Francisco tech industry businessman, signed papers for the property on Aug. 30, along with five partners, Ben Bleiman, Duncan Ley, Mark DeVito, Matt Klyce and Mike Naugle (all of…
Crossbow Murder Suspects in Custody
The suspects in Sunday’s crossbow shootings, which left one man dead and another injured on the Samoa peninsula, have been detained. Here’s the press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office: On 09-09-13, approximately 3:15 p.m. both suspects in the below case were taken into custody. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office received a call from…
Suspect Named in Weekend Crossbow Murder
A 29 20-year-old transient man named Phoenix Triton King and an unidentified 16-year-old girl are wanted on charges of murder and attempted murder after yesterday’s brutal crossbow attack near Manila, which left one man dead and another injured. A 44-year-old man was fatally shot in the face with a crossbow arrow yesterday afternoon while a…
Updated With Video: Coast Guard Chopper Rescues Sinking Fishermen
Update: The Coast Guard sent us this overhead video of the rescue, showing the helicopter crew lower a basket and pull the fishermen to safety. All that training pays off. Coasties pulled two men from a sinking fishing boat Friday, 35 miles off the coast of Punta Gorda. A rescue swimmer hoisted the crew of…
Water Theft in Honeydew, Too
Claire Trower on Wilder Ridge reports that the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department has been forced to remove the faucet handle of its pump after some less-than-ethical agricultural entrepreneurs stole several barrels of water from the VFD’s reserves. Boo. It’s only the latest of several recent SoHum water thefts.
Bay Trail Dealt a Blow: Arcata’s TIGER Grant Application Not Funded
Bad news for those hoping to see a bike and pedestrian trail built between Arcata and Eureka: The City of Arcata today got shot down in its application for a $2.7 million grant from the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. As this week’s cover story mentions, the city — and county —…
Dig in
The best thing about the local food movement is how it lends political, nay, moral weight to indulging in the pleasures of eating. Get ready for some righteous noshing, because September is Local Food Month! All over Humboldt this month, everybody and their local farmer is putting on some sort of event to help us…
Gear Heads
If you’re into two wheels instead of four, the Tour of Trinidad might be more your speed. On Saturday morning, cyclists can put on those clickety shoes and ride through the beachside town and beyond, starting at Trinidad Elementary School, enjoying the gorgeous views. Show up at 7:30 a.m. to register or sign up online…
Gravy Train
The V & N Burger Bar in Arcata gets instant street cred for only serving chicken fried steak for breakfast ($9.25). It’s the best part of fried chicken — the crispy, salty crust! — on something like a thin Salisbury steak. What cut of beef exactly? It’s early — stop asking so many questions. Thick,…
Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Ends
Sixty days after it started, a hunger strike organized by inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison to protest prolonged solitary confinement ended today, according to state prison officials and various media reports. Lawmakers have reportedly agreed to hold hearings to further review conditions in the Security Housing Units, or SHUs (seen above). The strike began…
Get the Lead Out! (Bullet Exchange Tonight)
If you hunt and you still use lead bullets – well, we get it. Lead, as Yurok Tribe biologist Mike Palermo tells the Times-Standard today, is “very dense and very malleable … [t]hat’s what makes it a fantastic projectile. When it hits a deer, it expands and mushrooms out.” But you really should switch to non-lead…
Firefighters Shift to ‘Direct Attack’ on Corral Complex
Nearly a thousand firefighters this week are going on the offensive in their battle against the Corral Complex wildfires burning in the Six Rivers National Forest, just east of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. After two weeks of road-clearing, bulldozing and other “indirect” efforts at containment — and with milder weather forecast through Friday —…
Dog Pickle
Editor: So … a man’s brother dies, leaving three dogs adrift (“Dog Fail,” Aug. 29). The man takes the dogs in and cares for them for six months, then has to move to the East Coast. Driving 3,000 miles across the United States in the heat of summer with three dogs in a packed truck…
Bad Advice
Editor: Giving advice to the lovelorn and others is a great newspaper tradition, and I thought the new feature was a fun addition to your paper, until I read one of the replies (“Hey McGuinty!,” Aug. 29). The writer complaining about cell phone issues received poorly worded advice on how to deal with unwanted interruptions:…
Hey! Grower! Leave Those Rats Alone
Editor: I’ve read repeatedly about the use of rodenticides on marijuana grows (most recently Ryan Burns’ “Weirder and Weirder,” Aug. 22) and the effects to the forest food web by the poisoning of prey species that ultimately impact top predators (e.g. spotted owls and Pacific fishers). In addition to chemical applications, other methods are used…
LINES Ballet
Alonzo King LINES Ballet brings two new pieces to the HSU Van Duzer Theater on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. Humboldt dance aficionados regularly travel to San Francisco to see the latest LINES programs. If you enjoy classical or contemporary ballet, or the fusion of different art forms, don’t miss this opportunity to see…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive!
Presented by the Humboldt Arts Council and Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and/or performances are held the first Saturday of each month. Phone (707) 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org for more information or to have an exhibit or performance included. 1. EUREKA INN 518 Seventh St. Lauren Cogan Jones, mixed media. 2.…
Trinidad Art Night
1. Trinidad Trading Company 460 Main St. “Heart of Old,” Natia Natwick, needle felted creations and mixed media jewelry and art. 2. WindanSea 410 Main St. Featured local art and gifts. 3. Trinidad Museum 400 Janis Court at Patricks Point Drive. “Large Baskets from the Permanent Collection,” “Photographs of Native Americans of Northwest California.” Lee…
Fortuna’s First Friday
Find art, music and fun in downtown Fortuna on the first Friday of every month, 6-9 p.m. Artists interested in participating should contact fortunadowntown@sbcgobal.net. 1. BARTOW’S JEWELERS 651 12th St. Breanna Ponci, photography. 4. DAKOTA’S DESIGNS 1040 Main St. Acrylics, oils, photography and live painting. 5. EEL RIVER BREWING COMPANY 1777 Alamar Way. Sonny Wong, live…
Elk in the Surf
One morning this past July, Louisa and I were sipping coffee in our camper van. We were parked on the remote Usal Beach in the Sinkyone Wilderness when they emerged from the early morning fog like ghostly apparitions — a stately parade of five bull elk on their way to the beach for a morning…
Fish On!
The young fisherman stood, stunned, on the wet, soft sand cliff above the churning blue-and-green river channel. His fishing pole strained before him in a got-a-big-lunker bow. His friend hopped on the sand beside him, chattering excitedly: “I almost fell in! I almost fell in!” An older fisherman walking by, gear in hand, smiled. “You…
Cut Bait
Reviews BLACKFISH. It’s often hard to separate the power of a documentary’s content from the quality of its presentation. The substance of Blackfish is heavy-hitting, devastating and dramatically eye-opening; however, much of the presentation is distracting and poorly devised. Blackfish tells the story of a male orca whale named Tilikum. You may remember this particular…
Just Cuz You’re Paranoid …
“This is the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition.” That’s what a Denver dispensary owner told the New York Times last week in response to what’s being called (by some) a historic memo from Attorney General Eric Holder. In his long-awaited response to the legalization of weed-for-fun in Colorado and Washington, Holder said the…
Between the Black and White
Emotions and identity are tricky. They’re even trickier when attempting to put them into words. It’s one reason why art exists — it allows people to describe the human experience in ways that words don’t, giving voice to the often conflicted, contradictory and complicated nature of living and being. For artists Thaddeus Zoellner and Michael…
States of Plays
As we pause after the traditional end of last season and before the start of the next, here’s a retrospective question: Where do the plays we see on the North Coast come from? For many decades the answer would have been easy: New York. But that’s no longer true. Back in the mid-1980s I interviewed…
Shows Big and Small
Those who work in entertainment media tend to fall into one of two camps. The first camp tells people about what they already know and enjoy, the idea being that the public likes the comfort of familiarity. The second camp figures that people prefer the thrill of discovery. I’m hoping you’re adventurous types, so I’m…
Sushi for the Gluten-challenged
That tiny protein that holds wheat together is a lot easier to avoid than it used to be. As long as you’re willing to spend a bit more, even mainstream grocery stores carry a handful of gluten-free items. Local co-ops and health food stores are a practical wonderland of gluten-free delicacies. But dining out is…
Fall Light
The light is bending With the last rush of Warm summer winds Brushing up riverbed, Rippling gentle current, Lifting gorged shorebirds Braced for winter. Leaves rustle nervously Knowing their time has come, In a co-evolutionary signaling That dwarfs the printed word. On a rare coastal day Without a cloud in the sky Change becomes us.
Banging on Everything and the Kitchen Sink
When was the last time you left the theater with everyone around you blown away? Last night, the performance ensemble Stomp delivered at the Van Duzer Theater. Whatever you thought Stomp was — it was more. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. Yes, this is the popular group that turns everyday actions like sweeping…
Sweet Ride
We love us some vintage here in Humboldt, and nothing says vintage like the rolling roar of a classic car. If you’re still jonesing for the smell of diesel after the Fortuna AutoXpo, Cruz’n Eureka is here to help. This auto-obsessed fundraiser for Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods hits the road with a…
