Can’t Swim
Pool closures leave many Humboldt swimmers gasping for a solution. Not all is gloom, however.
Cover Story
Can’t Swim
Monday, 6:30 a.m.: Swimming instructor Jan Carroll sits on a table at one end of the 25-yard, six-lane Eureka High School pool going over paperwork. She’s been here half an hour already, shepherding swimmers in her Eureka Adult School class as they do their laps. Light filters through the swampy bank of windows on one…
The “Joint” News Release and unanswered questions
To quote the much heralded Heraldo, there was ” Little new info on pot busts ,” yesterday, and as a result (and because Hank was not around to man the front lines), the Blogthing was quiet. The couple of dozen or so agencies involved in the big sweep issued a “joint” statement, which you’ll find…
Order Up!
A quarter of crow First of all, it must be said: Massive props to our new info-overlord, Heraldo , for scooping everyone with the tip that a massive federal drug bust was coming to town this week. Respect is due. However, let me take a moment to play the boring old-school pedant, here. A massive…
In Other News…
Final election results are in. No big news, really — Mark Lovelace slipped a bit in the Third District, but he still won the election outright. In the second, the late Roger Rodoni increased his lead a bit against close second-place challenger Clif Clendenen. The only real change is that Journal favorite Jake Pickering actually…
LA Times Story
Here. Officials said the raids did not involve legitimate medical marijuana clinics or growing operations, which are allowed under state law but not recognized by federal agencies. “Medicinal marijuana is supposed to be medicine and not a large-scale business operation,” said narcotics bureau spokeswoman Sara Simpson. “When large quantities of cash begin to change hands,…
‘Operation Southern Sweep’
The Eureka Reporter puts name to face.
‘Multi-Day Operation’
Lt. George Cavinta from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office tells the Journal that the FBI action will not end today; there’ll be at least a few more days of action to follow. There are apparently 29 warrants to serve, Cavinta said — 27 federal and two state. They’ve only done a few of them so…
Down in SoHum
The bulk of the action seems to be down there. Kym K has a photo of agents in Salmon Creek. Eric Kirk is monitoring KMUD. Busts in Redway, including one witnessed by Eric himself. Also there’s apparently a good deal of action out near Whale Gulch.
Bust in Sunny Brae
An indoor grow is being broken up in Sunny Brae right now. To reiterate, the FBI insists that this operation is targeting a single individual or group of individuals, and is not an all-purpose sweep of grow houses. UPDATE, 9:31 a.m. : Bob Doran is at 1658 Virginia Way, Arcata, where three federal agents in…
FBI Spokesman on KSLG
… a FBI spokesperson on the ground in Fortuna just spoke with John Matthews on KSLG. He said: This is the culmination of a two-year investigation. This is a bust of “large-scale commercial grows.” NOT medical marijuana. Agents from a variety of federal and state organizations — including the IRS and the Postal Service –will…
From The Sheriff’s Office
“I’m not in a position to make a comment right now because the operation is underway,” says Lt. George Cavinta of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. “The FBI has the command post, and it’s all the FBI’s warrants.” Cavinta said that someone — either his office or the FBI — will likely make a statement…
GO TIME
These screengrabs don’t quite do it justice, but they’re all ready to roll down there at the River Lodge. 5:40 a.m. UPDATE, 6:05 a.m. : They’ve moved out. UPDATE, 8:26 a.m. : See here .
Feds: Real
Something is definitely happening. There’s a whole bunch of tight-lipped people at the Fortuna River Lodge right now. They’ve got satellite trucks. (Check the web cam here .) John Matthews of KHUM went down to try to get people to talk this afternoon; he was unsuccessful. But they did check his ID. Supervisor Johanna Rodoni…
Robbins Video
Missed Saturday’s festivities in Blue Lake? Here’s a clip from Dell’Arte’s presentation of the “Prize of Hope” to Tim Robbins and the Actors’ Gang. Warning: The sound is pretty bad for the first few minutes, but once you get to Robbins everything sorts itself out. UPDATE: And when I say “clip,” I mean an hour…
A conversation with Seun Kuti, son of Fela
His father, the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was the godfather of the politically sharp, seriously funky music genre known as Afrobeat. Seun Anikulapo Kuti is carrying the torch forward, blowing sax and singing as leader of Fela’s old band Egypt 80. An album titled simply Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 is set for release…
T-Shirt Update!
The runaway hit T-shirt of late June 2008 has been updated! Now, on the back side, you get the full text of the eye-popping piece of reporting that confirmed the great Arcata DEA raids of late June 2008. Relive the memories every time you do laundry. Three bucks extra, but well worth it. Detail below.…
Dell’Arte Pics
5:16 p.m.: They’re getting ready to hold a press conference over there in Blue Lake — if you zip over to northcoastjournal.com you can catch it. Tim Robbins and his gang will be there. 5:40 p.m.: It’s over now. Check back at northcoastjournal.com at 7:30 p.m. for the Award of Hope presentation , and afterwards…
… And All I Got Was This Awesome T-Shirt!
For the record: No, there weren’t 50 black SUVs parked at the Red Lion yesterday morning. No, there weren’t nine DEA helicopters armed with infrared detectors at Eureka-Arcata airport. No, DEA agents did not storm the pot doc’s place off Giuntoli to pull paperwork. Thanks for the phonecalls, though! The week that Humboldt County’s paranoia…
Reminder: Tim Robbins!
Reminder: If you can’t make it out to Blue Lake for the kick-off of the Mad River Festival tonight, you can catch some of the opening events over at the mothership: northcoastjournal.com . Starting at 7:30 p.m., actor Tim Robbins and his Actors’ Gang troupe will be awarded the “Prize of Hope” — an event,…
Willie Nelson show moves to Ranch
Last week some desperate Willie fan posted a request on Craigslist offering double the face value for tickets to see the country star. If they succeeded, they may be kicking themselves today. As noted in this week’s Hum, People Productions and Tom Dimmick went before the Humboldt County Planning Commission this week asking to adapt…
The Midnight Organ Fight
By Frightened Rabbit. FatCat Records. With their sophomore effort, The Midnight Organ Fight, the band Frightened Rabbit delivers a deft assortment of songs, filled with dark, painful longings, performed with dramatic dynamics and immediacy. Recorded in two weeks with producer and engineer Peter Katis, who worked with Mercury Rev and Interpol, Frightened Rabbit have created…
Lie Down in the Light
Album by Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Drag City. For those still under the spell of Will Oldham’s majestic The Letting Go, or perhaps the superb show at Eureka’s tiny Synapsis Gallery, this latest Bonnie "Prince" Billy album may at first be a disappointment. It enters with a warm, countrified splash of fiddles, banjo, piano and vocal…
Oyster Heaven
Where do good oysters go when it’s their time? If they’re lucky, they meet their end on the Arcata Plaza on Oyster Festival weekend, which, in case you were not paying attention, was last Saturday. There they are sacrificed on the altar of oystermania and consumed in mass quantities by a huge happy crowd lubricated…
‘Hulk’ of Crap
Previews Opening Friday, June 20, is a new version of Get Smart directed by Peter Segal (50 First Dates). Maxwell Smart, played here by Steve Carell, began life in a TV series created by Mel Brooks that ran from 1965 to 1970 with Don Adams as Agent Smart. Chipping in as Agent 99 is Anne…
Our Gas Plight
Editor: Who owns the tank farms in Eureka ("Crude Figures," June 9)? Why are gas prices lower inland, with higher distribution costs? Hint: competition from Redding or Oregon. [Former Humboldt County District Attorney] Terry Farmer started a price-fixing investigation a long time ago. It lasted about a week. Why don’t you do one, and do…
Horse Bites
Editor: You’re too old to continue working? You’re sick and it’s going to be expensive to keep you alive? Why not just send you to the slaughter! It’s a cheap way for your family to get rid of you, and business can thrive by your slaughter. It’s perfect! Did you give birth to a child…
Another Horse Bite
Editor: There have always been a wide range of ways to care for and use horses here in Humboldt County and through out civilization. There always will be. One thing is for certain they, like all of us, must leave behind a mass of flesh and bones at some point. We would all like to…
A Commie Writes
(Ed. note: We received the following handwritten letter a couple of weeks ago, but it was temporarily forsaken and forgotten in the wilds of my desk. Many apologies to Michael Langdon.) Editor: I have a few points I’d like to share with you and your readers. First, I’d like to thank you for running a…
Of Course We Do
When Cheryl Rau and Pat McCutcheon first began their relationship back in the 1980s, they never dreamed that one day they would be married as wife and wife. At that point, the concept of a woman and woman marrying — or man and man for that matter — was ludicrous. The couple describes that era…
Our Mattole Canyon
Just west of Cape Mendocino there exists a submarine escarpment related to the boundary between the Pacific and Gorda plates. It descends into a canyon which exceeds the relief of the Grand Canyon (see profiles). As a consequence, the surface of the ocean off Cape Mendocino is not horizontal! Sailing north across the escarpment with…
Pool Stories
Everybody’s got a swimming story — where they learned, the crazy way they could’ve been buried alive under a pile of wet kids, how it makes them feel to swim: "I grew up in San Francisco. I learned to swim at Fleishacker Pool. It was the biggest outdoor pool, and it was salt water. It…
Early June, 58°, Overcast
Today, it would have been nice to flag…
Old School and New
Well, Rich Somerville, welcome to Humboldt County. Here’s a briefing from The Town Dandy, and don’t say I never did you any favors … I sincerely hope you stay for a while, at least. But if you do end up moving on, please tell your reporters one thing:Don’t sit on the story! — "Town Dandy,"…
No Bubblegum
His father, the late great Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was the godfather of the politically sharp, seriously funky music genre known as Afrobeat. Seun Anikulapo Kuti is carrying the torch forward, blowing sax and singing as leader of Fela’s old band, Egypt 80. While headquarters is still his hometown — Lagos, Nigeria — Seun is currently…
Fire, No Driver
A call came into the Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department last Sunday: There was a fire just past Titlow Hill. Volunteers rushed to the station. And then waited. And waited. After about 10 minutes, someone licensed to drive one of their fire trucks showed up and they barreled off. "We hit the road, but we…
Third Friday McKinleyville Arts Night
Presented by members of the McKinleyville business community. Receptions for artists, exhibits and/or performances are from 6-8 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. Phone 268-1800, for more information. 1: Mirador GlassMiller Business Park on Nursery Way. Bill Twibell, gyotaku prints (nature prints); gypsy jazz music by Tom Toohey. 2.:Conscious HomeMiller Business Park on…
Angels and Insects
Four miles south of Batavia, Ohio and 25 miles east of Cincinnati in a lush green valley formed by glacial deposits, participants, spectators and 17-year cicadas interfaced at Harsha Lake for the 2008 Youth National Rowing Championships held June 12-15. A dam built on the East Fork of the Little Miami River formed this warm,…
The Fest Begins!
This year’s Mad River Festival starts this Saturday with an appearance by Hollywood’s Tim Robbins and several other members of his L.A.-based theatre group, The Actors’ Gang, who are coming to receive the international Prize of Hope. Denmark’s Institute of Popular Theatre has been giving this award since 1987 mostly to European ensembles, but in…
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch
A graphic novel. Story by Neil Gaiman. Illustrated by Michael Zulli. Darkhorse Books. Neil Gaiman’s work in comics has helped transform the medium from one capable only of dealing with grown men and women running around in tights to one that is as flexible in scope and subject matter as the prose novel. Gaiman has…
