Cover Story
Dishing it Out
How is everything over here? We asked career restaurant servers in Humboldt the same question — and a few more — they ask us every day. We spoke to men and women working in fast food, family and high-end restaurants about how they got into the business, what they love and loathe about the job,…
Let’s Hear it for the Redwoods
Humboldt County’s natural beauty is once again garnering attention with the travel guide Frommer’s giving the region’s tall trees a shout-out in a slideshow and National Geographic featuring the short film Redwood about — as you might guess — Redwood National and State Parks on its website. National Geographic’s team, which is curating cinematic fare…
Tattoos and Suspension: Photos from the Native Ink Expo
Needing a break from the North Country Fair late Saturday afternoon and looking for an opportunity to renew my interest in our daughter’s profession as a tattoo artist, I headed south to the first (promising to be annual) Native Ink Tattoo Expo event at the Bear River Casino Resort. The event ran Friday through Sunday.…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Sept. 19
Austin-based decade-and-a-half-old anti-folk players Origami Ghosts will be haunting Eureka tonight with deconstructed — or perhaps decomposing — acoustic melodies for those lucky and wise enough to creep into the Siren’s Song tonight at 8 p.m. (price TBA). Along for the ride are neo-folksters Boo Hoboo and local oddity merchant mister moonbeam.
‘Grief and Despair’
Judge Kaleb Cockrum on Tuesday sentenced Marci Kitchen to eight years in prison for driving drunk and running down two 14-year-old girls, including her own daughter, saying he didn’t believe her version of events and felt the actions she took following the 2016 crash warranted a prison term rather than probation. Calling her behavior “several…
Kitchen Sentenced to Eight Years in DUI Manslaughter Case
Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced Marci Kitchen this afternoon to eight years in state prison for fatally hitting two teenage girls, including her daughter, while driving drunk on July 12, 2016, ending an emotionally charged case that has spanned more than two years. Cockrum handed down the sentence at the conclusion an emotional hearing that spanned…
Stolen Semi Crash Leads to Arrest of Eureka Man
A Eureka man was arrested on suspicion of a series of charges Sunday night after allegedly crashing a stolen semi-truck into a tree on Herrick Avenue then running through the Elks Lodge parking lot with a rifle. Residents in the area were asked to shelter in place while police searched for the suspect, according to…
Firefighters Responding to Structure Fire off SR 255
A structure is burning off State Route 255 west of Jackson Ranch Road and the city of Arcata as of 9:40 p.m., according to Jonathan Beck, a passerby who called in the fire. Beck said, “The fire looks like it is in one of the old buildings that they used to cut the logs into…
Photos from the Samba Parade
The second day of the North Country Fair wrapped up a summer of festivals on the Arcata Plaza with the drumbeats of the colorful, feather-topped Samba Parade. Spectators lined up beside vendors and put the kids high on shoulder to see dancers and drummers make their way through the street with sparkle and style. Photographer…
Dozens Gather to Remember Josiah Lawson at Beach Vigil
Approximately 30 people gathered in Manila yesterday to celebrate the life of David Josiah Lawson, the Humboldt State University sophomore fatally stabbed at an off-campus party April 15, 2017. Seventeen months later Lawson’s killing remains unsolved. Saturday’s vigil was led by Lawson’s mother, Charmaine Lawson, and was held at his favorite local beach, near the…
Tastin’ Trinidad
Is there anything more sublime than Trinidad in September? Pair the beauty of the coastal hamlet with delicious food and drink at Tastin’ Trinidad. Thursday, Sept. 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Saunders Park ($20, $5 kids). Sample the best of area food and drink producers, watch artists painting en plein air, enjoy bocce…
All Species Great and Small
As the North Country Fair kicked of its weekend of music and revelry on the Arcata Plaza, the All Species Parade drew costumed marchers and crowds of onlookers. Once again, the Same Old People organized the zero-waste, two-day party with arts and crafts, vendors, dancers, jugglers and lots of animal ears. Photographer Mark McKenna was…
Offshore Wind Energy Project Inches Forward on the North Coast
Efforts to build a wind energy farm off the North Coast took a substantial step forward this week, when the Redwood Coast Energy Authority and a consortium of private companies submitted a lease application to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The application seeks site control of about 70 square miles of ocean approximately…
Sheriff’s Office Reminder After Pipe Bomb Found: Don’t Pick It Up
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents not to pick up suspicious devices but to instead immediately call law enforcement after a woman drove around with a pipe bomb she found in Blue Lake before making a report. According to a HCSO release, deputies responded to the Blue Lake Casino parking lot around 8…
North Country Time
It’s time for Arcata’s most colorful and well-attended community event — the North Country Fair, happening Sept. 15 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Arcata Plaza (free). The theme for the event, now in its 45th year, is Resilience — “a nod to the current political environment and our unified strength…
Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 14
Vocalist, violinist, and Beirut native Georges Lammam brings his group — appropriately called the Georges Lammam Ensemble — to Fulkerson Hall tonight at 7 p.m. to present an evening of Arabic music and dance. Musicians in the ensemble will play traditional instruments like the delightfully expressive chordophonic oud — have I ever told you that…
35 Positions Eliminated at St. Joseph, Redwood Memorial Hospitals
Thirty-five positions were eliminated at St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial hospitals this week in what the workers’ union calls retaliatory firings in the wake of a rally on staffing levels but the administration describes as workforce realignments that are part of changes “to provide a more efficient and value-based care delivery system.” Of the 35,…
Warning: Back Away From the (Sports Harvested) Bi-Valves
The California Department of Public Health is advising against eating mussels, clams or whole scallops that were recreationally harvested in Humboldt County due to dangerous levels of domoic acid. A similar warning was already in place for Del Norte County, along with one advising against eating sports harvested razor clams from both regions. According to…
Students Rally, Plan Vigil for #JusticeforJosiah
A few dozen people gathered on the Humboldt State University quad yesterday as a part of a rally to bring attention to diversity and inclusion issues, standing in solidarity with the mother of slain HSU sophomore David Josiah Lawson as she addressed the California State University Board of Trustees in Southern California. The HSU rally,…
California Indian Days
Join Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria for California Indian Days, Saturday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Tish Non Community Center (free admission). They’ll have dance demos, art and craft vendors, an elders honoring, traditional salmon dinner, Indian tacos and a youth and adult three-on-three basketball tournament.
The Mod Squad
Blue Lake no longer has the market cornered on tattoo expos. Bear River Casino Resort’s Native Ink Expo is here and bringing the big guns Friday, Sept. 14 through Sunday, Sept. 16 from noon to 11 p.m. at Bear River Recreation Center ($50 weekend pass, $25 Friday, $25 Saturday, $20 Sunday). There’s a lot for…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Sept. 13
Lyle Lovett brings his Large Band to the Van Duzer tonight at 8 p.m. for an evening of Texas-flavored cowboy swing delivered by the best in the business. Having pursued his craft for longer than I have been alive, Lyle will likely put on a great show. As for the $89 ticket price? Well like…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.arcatamainstreet.com, Arts! Arcata on Facebook, or call 707-822-4500 for more information. ANGELICA ATELIER 1101 H St. León Villagómez, photography. ALCHEMY DISTILLERY 330 South G St. Essence of Humboldt, jewelry. Tastings by Alchemy Distillery. ARCATA ARTISANS GALLERY…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Anne Carson describes part of her creative process in this way: “Sometimes I dream a sentence and write it down. It’s usually nonsense, but sometimes it seems a key to another world.” I suspect you might be able to benefit from using a comparable trick in the coming days. That’s…
Remembering Flight 93
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Fish, I Might Be
Hi there. I’m your friendly neighborhood pufferfish from the family of fishes called Tetraodontidae. You’d probably like to learn something interesting about me. For example, my family has the fewest genes of any known vertebrate animal. However, I’m not actually from your neighborhood, I’m not at all friendly and I don’t give a crap about…
The Price of a Burger
How much should your burger cost? Unless you’ve worked in the restaurant business, your sense of what your food is worth is largely intuitive, a range drawn from what you’re willing to pay for it and what you’ve paid before. Did the whole experience of the burger — looking at it, tasting it, feeling satisfied…
Back to Reese Bullen
Maybe geography is destiny. At any rate, the natural world remains a touchstone for Humboldt State University artists: Natural places and their wild inhabitants figure repeatedly in HSU’s new faculty and staff exhibition, which opens this week. Examples range from the inhabited landscapes in Dave Woody’s fine-grained photographs to a tiny cormorant portrait by illustrator…
Changes
OK, I am back in town and happy to say that in my absence none of you managed to burn the place down. And in this new reality of having a permanent fire season — the smoke from which I drove through in two separate states. I am not really joking and, looking at the…
Seeking Confirmation
Editor: I have just scoured the AM and FM radio dial to find the live broadcast of the most important hearing of current political time: the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to sit in a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The statements by the Senate Judicial Committee provide the most illuminating lessons in basic…
Zoology: A
Amy ant ambled but Bobby baboon bounced ‘cuz Cathy cat caterwauled as Dougie dog dawdled then Ellie eel embarked while Freddie falcon flew – Gerald grasshopper gamboled and Harold J. Harold hare hopped! Izzy iguana immigrated. Jessie June bug jumped when Katie kangaroo kicked-it with Larry lizard leaping left because Moe marmoset merely meandered. Norbert…
‘Getting Worse’
Editor: Regarding your article, “Static at KHSU,” (Aug. 30), I find it ironic that Craig Wruck, one of the HSU administrators who signed off on the precipitous firing of long-time employee, Katie Whiteside, is calling for a KHSU Strategic Plan. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of developing a Strategic Plan. I’m just saying, this from…
Remembering Richard Guadagno, passenger 19A on Flight 93
September is an especially difficult month for Diqui LaPenta. On Tuesday, she marked 17 years since her boyfriend Richard Guadagno was killed amid the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His birthday will soon follow. Guadagno was just two weeks shy of turning 39 when he died, believed to be one of the passengers and crew…
Healthcare Gratitude
Editor: Congratulations on the successful NCJ insertion this week of the Physicians for a National Health Program publication, “What If,” that describes the benefits of a publicly financed, privately administered, universal healthcare system (see advertising insert). Our group, Healthcare for All/PNHP—Humboldt Chapters, which sponsored the insertion, hopes that your readers will read, save and share…
Dispatches from the Commute
Editor: I just finished reading your wonderful column, “Biking the Humboldt Bay Trail” in the Sept. 6 edition. The trail and safety corridor are my regular commute, so I really loved reading about your experience. I completely agree about the lack of signage; a few weeks ago I was headed to work and found a very confused couple…
‘Extremist Views’
Editor: The letter by Rick Brennan (‘Manipulated,’ Aug. 30) seems to turn the facts on their head. He has taken everything that could be reasonably attributed to right-wing positions and leveled them against the left. How can he twist things so egregiously? For example, how does he reconcile previous Republican animosities toward Russia with his new…
Clarification
It has come to our attention that a cartoon that ran in the Aug. 23 edition of the Journal titled “Christie Ranch Entry at the County Fair” may have caused some unintended hurt feelings. The cartoon was intended as a commentary on the criminal allegations currently facing local rancher Ray Christie and was in no…
In the Prime of (Artificial) Life
Anyone who’s spent any time online in the last few years has undoubtedly encountered a chatbot — that helpful cyber-entity that’s always ready to (try to) answer your questions. Now imagine that chatbot — and its self-limiting conversational skills — has left cyberspace and moved in with you, taking on the holographic form of a…
Peppermint’s Not So Fresh
PEPPERMINT. Due to the recent and ongoing action movie renaissance, there is in every new shoot ’em up the hopeful possibility of transcendence, or at least a couple of entertaining hours. But for every Atomic Blonde (2017) there must of course be a Peppermint and the pattern of hope despoiled continues. I cite Atomic Blonde…
Steam Punk Ball, Ya’ll
Anachronistic technology meets swing dance at Redwood Raks World Dance Studio when Monday Night Swing Presents the Steam Punk Ball, Saturday, Sept. 15 from 8 to 11 p.m. ($10). Steampunk the night away in your goggles and corsets starting with an introductory Charleston lesson followed by electro, vintage, modern and pop swing tunes by DJ…
