California Renovation
Our government is broken. Here is a blueprint for fixing the mess that is California.
Cover Story
California Renovation
The California Constitution is no work of art. It’s more like the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Lots of little rooms, stairs that lead nowhere, doors that open onto blank walls and windows set into the floorboards. “We keep adding rooms, but the hallways don’t connect together,” says state Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, of our…
St. Joe’s nurses fired
The four St. Joseph Hospital ICU nurses and one clinical supervisor accused of over-sedating patients and ignoring proper medication schedules while maintaining a “party-like atmosphere” during night shifts (see previous post here) have been officially fired, according to Wes Thornton, one of the terminated nurses. Hospital administrators stated in each termination letter that they “may”…
Marsh booty
Two odd things found at the Arcata Marsh of a Thursday afternoon: A federal reserve note worth ten dollars American, right in the middle of the path with no one in sight. A malformed dog licking the crank of a partially dismantled bicycle. Granted, it was my dog, but still…odd.
Bike Librarian update
Bike Librarian update: Remember Bill Burton of Arcata Bike Library fame? After leaving town angry that his space was taken over by a marijuana clinic, he’s back with some new used bikes from Lyon, France. He bought a shipping container full and had them brought to the West Coast via the Panama Canal (a more…
The Banducci Challenge
Pete Nichols, chair of the board for the fiscally strapped Northcoast Environmental Center, issued the following press release, promising T-shirts and bumper stickers to folks who help match the Banduccis’ benevolent benefaction of five large: Don and Maggie Banducci, long-time supporters of the NEC, have generously offered $5,000 challenge grant to help out the NEC…
CGB vid
circle). From the Redding Record-Searchlight (see below).
Redding loves the Crab Grass Band
Redding loves the Crab Grass Band: When the Crabs played Redding, the band followed — and drew praise. My favorite quote: “Arcata is a true music town. There’s always a drum circle somewhere.” Video included (of CGB, not of a drum
Suspended St. Joe’s nurses accused of over-sedating patients
[Corrected] Four nurses and a supervisor, who nearly six weeks ago were placed on administrative leave without cause from Eureka’s St. Joseph Hospital, have been accused by hospital administrators of over-sedating patients, disregarding medication schedules and spending too much time on the Internet — all while maintaining a “party-like atmosphere” during night shifts, according to…
Reforms lost in a pot cloud
Reforms lost in a pot cloud: This blog entry from The Daily Beast makes a compelling case that a 2010 ballot initiative to tax weed might overshadow, and therefore jeopardize, more important but less sexy measures. “California, [a political analyst] notes, has a history of campaign cycles in which social-issue initiatives—such as a stem-cell-research measure…
Killer spores in McKinleyville
non-solution.”Killer spores in McKinleyville: Scientists looking into the spread of Sudden Oak Death were baffled when they found spores in Mill
State Recycling Board Terminated
State Recycling Board Terminated: S.J. Mercury News reports that Gov. Schwarzenegger has succeeded in his plan to eliminate the state’s Integrated Waste Management Board, shifting its staff to the Dept. of Conservation. A Guvernator spokesman describes the move as, “a victory for California taxpayers,” that will “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.” Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, who…
The NEC’s Subprime Mortgage
Real estate deals may not have impoverished the Northcoast Environmental Center, but they sure didn’t help By now we’ve all heard plenty of stories about people who bought houses they couldn’t afford, at the top of the market and with no money down. Those luckless homeowners, many of them foreclosed upon long ago, will forever…
Shipping News
Humboldt County is an insanely political place, but off-year elections are not usually very exciting. You’ve got your school boards and your community services districts — important stuff, but not usually interesting anyone who isn’t immediately affected by the work of such bodies. With rare exception, they generally don’t inspire the countywide heat that your…
Bullets to Spare
Editor: Heidi Walters wrote a wonderful article on reintroducing condors (“Fixing the World,” July 16). The Bucksport employee’s salient remark that a lot of hunters stockpile ammo helps explain their resistance to switching to lead-free bullets. (However, it was startling and distressing that one of the scientists working on the restoration hasn’t yet made the…
My God
Editor: Surprisingly, I find myself writing my first letter to an editor – not about some hot-button political issue, but regarding the biological “Field Notes” column by Barry Evans in the July 16 issue. This is a well-written article that deals with some very profound philosophies. While I would have to agree with his final…
Grovewashing
Editor: I write to applaud the publication of the cover story “Here, There, and Everywhere” (July 9). The issue of corporate “greenwash” and “localwash” is a relevant topic for the maintenance of community here in Humboldt County. This is not new material for the North Coast Journal, yet it does set a standard for future…
Q+A with DJ Jonathan Toubin
How did you find that the format of using 45 RPM/7" records was your bag? Was it the genres of music (and the format limited to 45’s) that attracted you? Good question Mark. I’ve always loved the sound, feel, and look of 7" records, but I didn’t really become an exclusively 45 DJ until the…
Myth of the Invisible Ships
Have you heard of the invisible ships phenomenon, cited in several new-age books and movies? It goes like this: When Captain Cook/Columbus/Magellan (depending on the version of the story you’re hearing) arrived at the coast of Australia/Cuba/South America, the native people completely ignored them, presumably because huge ships were so alien to their experience that…
Alhambra Love Songs
In the mid-1980s I witnessed avant-garde saxophonist, instrumentalist and composer John Zorn literally clear a room at St. Mark’s Church in NY’s East Village during an annual New Year’s Day poetry/performance marathon. At the time, it was not surprising to be assaulted by Zorn’s confrontational, post-No Wave style: loads of honks and screeches produced from…
Snoop Dogg/Stephen Marley
The first of two big summer shows at Eureka’s Redwood Acres Fairgrounds brought the much-anticipated return of Snoop Dogg to Humboldt County. This past Wednesday (probably two Wednesdays ago by the time you read this), our North Coast hip hop devotees donned their hippest duds and headed to the Fair. Stephen Marley shared the bill…
Keeping Up the Front
A certain earnestness goes a long way at the Social Services office. When sitting in those plastic chairs, filling out endless forms, surrounded by posters supposed to be motivating, but really rather menacing — "Those who don’t ride the wave are crushed by it" — what one should try to convey is, "I’m a good…
Vocal Locals
Cornerstone Theater generated some high-wattage alums: movie and TV star Amy Brenneman was a founding member of its acting ensemble, and Bill Rauch, its founding artistic director in 1986, now runs the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But Cornerstone became legendary for its collaborations with local communities on grassroots productions in North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, West Virginia…
Dust on Vinyl
You won’t see NY-based DJ Jonathan Toubin carrying around crates of 12" singles or LPs to a gig. You won’t even see him scratch the needle back and forth. Toubin carries around 45s, 7" singles, nearly 150 of them to each gig. And for the past several years, Toubin has averaged over 25 DJ gigs…
The Flumes
As we walk together for the first…
T.E.A.’d Off
The most immediately noticeable difference between the liberal dissidents of the Bush years and conservative protesters like the Humboldt TEA Party Patriots is their outfits: Liberals — who knew what they’d wear? Tie-dyed Mumia T-shirts? Nappy hemp ponchos? Maybe a drowsy baby in a Jamaican flag papoose? Conservatives, on the other hand, are coordinated: For…
Mild About Harry
Previews Opening Friday, July 24, is Disney’s 3-D mix of live action and animation G-Force about a team of government-trained guinea pigs out to save the world. With voices of Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz and others. Rated PG for some mild action and rude humor. 120m. At the Broadway, Fortuna and Mill Creek. Opening to…
Thrilla in Manila
Here are the facts of the matter, as best as they can be ascertained. Michael Fennell, a member of the board of directors of the Manila Community Services District (MCSD), was elected to a two-year term of office in 2007. However, his seat will not be up for election again this November. Instead, following decisions…
