Cover Story
Casinos are Open
On May 12, staffers received word from their manager at Bear River Casino Resort saying it would be opening in 10 days and employees were expected to attend a May 18 training at the casino. The plan was to open for high rollers and VIPs on May 22 and to the general public two days…
Arcata’s 7 FEMA Trailers Still Unused
When news broke that Gov. Gavin Newsom was providing seven trailers to the city of Arcata as part of a statewide program to shelter vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a win for the city. Most of the project’s 1,309 trailers were headed for larger municipalities, but Arcata had presented a strong case for its…
Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich Issued Supplement to Shelter in Place Order
Humboldt County Public Health Officer Teresa Francovich issued a supplement to the shelter-in-place order that adds the recently reopened businesses to the allowable services list and outlines safety measures for those businesses to take during the COVID-19 pandemic. The order also clarifies the requirements hotels, lodging and short-term rentals have to take in case a…
HSU Independent Review of UPD ‘Uncovered Organizational Issues’ Within the Department
The Office of Independent Review group completed its independent review of the University Police Department and allegations against then Chief of Police Donn Peterson and Lt. Melissa Hansen and found “there were broader problems within the department that need to be addressed,” including communication and leadership at all levels, internal division, and organizational dysfunction.” Last October,…
Le Monde Makes Way for Manzanilla
On March 20, after the county’s shelter in place order began, Le Monde owner Alex Begovic posted on Facebook that the Henderson Center restaurant would be closed until further notice. The restaurant was already up for sale that month but, according to Begovic, the sale fell through amid shelter in place and by April he’d…
Countywide COVID-19 Case Goes Up One as Public Health Confirms New Case
Humboldt County Public Health announced one new COVID-19 case, bringing the countywide total to 108. According to today’s report, today’s case was acquired through community transmission. To date, 108 local residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and four people have died of the disease, all were residents at Alder Bay Assisted Living, which saw a…
CHP Investigating A Vehicle That Nearly Collided with Pedestrians During Last Week’s BLM Protest in McKinleyville
The Humboldt Area California Highway Patrol is asking the public with information about a silver Hon da Pilot that nearly collided with protesters during last week’s “Stand Against Racism and Police Brutality” protest to contact them as the agency is investigating the incident. According to a release, a video showed a silver Honda Pilot traveling…
Two Feathers Native American Family Services Hosting Virtual Conference: ‘Walking the Red Road Together’
Two Feathers Native American Family Services is hosting a virtual conference geared toward native youth that will focus on substance abuse prevention and early intervention. “The goal of the conference is to bring awareness to ways of healing and thriving in Native communities. This often means preventing substance abuse in our communities,” Virgil Moorehead Jr.…
College of the Redwoods Receives Humboldt Area Foundation Grant for DACA Students
Humboldt Area Foundation granted College of the Redwoods $20,000 to support the school’s DACA students, a.k.a. “Dreamers,” who are living in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. According to a release, the grant will provide $325 in direct payment stipends to each of CR’s DACA students, who were excluded…
Miles Slattery Named Interim Eureka City Manager Through Feb. 2021
Community Services Director Miles Slattery will be taking over as Interim Eureka City Manager through February 2021. “We are happy to have Director Slattery at the helm for the next eight months and we are confident in his abilities to lead the City of Eureka. His knowledge of the City will carry us through with…
HCDTF Arrests Suspect Who Already Has 13 Pending Cases
After weeks of surveillance, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office arrested Casey O’Leary Menanno on suspicion of possessing narcotics for sale. Meananno had already been alrady arrested three times this year and has 13 other pending cases from local law enforcement agencies where he’s suspected “in weapons, narcotics and…
Hit and Run on Avenue of the Giants, CHP Asking for Help Identifying Driver
The California Highway Patrol in Garberville is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the driver of a 2011 GMC pickup that crashed into a car and a power pole and later fled the scene. According to the report, around 2 a.m. a 2011 GMC pick up truck that was traveling north on Avenue of…
Wildberries Tells Customers an Employee has COVID-19
Wildberries Marketplace in Arcata is advising customers that one of its employees has tested positive for COVID-19. “We were immediately in contact with the Humboldt County Department of health and are following all recommended guidelines from the CDC,” reads a post to the store’s Facebook page. “As a response to protect the health and safety…
Photos from Sunday’s Black Lives Matter Vigil in Eureka
People gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse on Sunday, June 14, to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and to speak about the racism they’ve experienced. See photos from Sunday’s vigil by Mark McKenna.
ABC Denies McKinleyville Dollar General’s Application to Sell Beer and Wine, LoCo Reports
The Lost Coast Outpost is reporting that the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control denied McKinleyville Dollar General’s application to sell beer and wine. Read the full story here.
Public Health Confirms One New Local COVID-19 Case
Humboldt County Public Health announced this afternoon that it has confirmed another COVID-19 case locally, just the second since June 3, bringing the countywide tally to 107. The current lull comes on the heels of a streak that saw 49 new cases confirmed over the span of 25 days. Today’s case is believed to be…
PG&E Pleads Guilty to 85 Counts of Involuntary manslaughter, agrees to pay $25.5B to Camp Fire Victims, T-S Reports
The Times-Standard is reporting that PG&E has pleaded guilty to 85 counts of involuntary manslaughter and has agreed to pay $25.5 billion to Camp Fire victims. Read the full story here.
Pop-Up Free COVID Testing in Redway on June 23
According to the HumCo COVID Facebook page, free COVID-19 testing will be available to Southern Humboldt residents on June 23 at Redway Baptist Church. Residents who would like to be tested must call to make an appointment as the testing site cannot accommodate walk-ins. To make an appointment call 268-2503. Read the full Facebook post…
The Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program to Resume in July
The Humboldt County Sherrif’s Work Alternative (SWAP) program will resume on July 6. The program that gives low-level offenders an alternative to incarceration by letting them work off their sentence closed due to COVID-19 concerns but will resume with health and safety precautions. SWAP participants can work at the Sheriff’s Wood Lot or Farm, the…
The Benbow Inn Will Reopen Friday, June 19
The Historic Benbow Inn has announced that it will reopen on Friday, June 19. The Inn had closed on March 22 due to COVID-19 concerns, much earlier than most lodging businesses in the county. “We chose to close earlier than most lodging properties before the virus contaminated the Inn & staff,” John E Porter, managing…
Body Found on Safety Corridor Last Week Identified
The body that was found at the center of the Hwy 101 corridor has been identified as 66-year-old, Eureka resident, Robert Alan Wolf. According to an email from the California Highway Patrol, the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has determined he was not involved in any type of traffic collision and his cause of death is…
Online Oyster Fest’s Menu
Like the mollusk itself, much of the information about this weekend’s Arcata Bay Oyster Festival developed in secret. But now, on the cusp of its opening, the slow rollout of details is complete and all is revealed, including the players and schedule for this first virtual iteration of the annual food festival. A press release…
County Approves Hotels, Short-Term Rentals and Personal Care Services to Reopen
If their reopening plans are certified by the county’s Emergency Operation Center, hotels, short-term rentals and personal care services like nail salons and tattoo parlors can reopen as soon as Friday. “Places like nail salons, piercing shops and massage studios require close physical contact, often face-to-face, and hotels and other types of lodging bring non-residents…
Justice for Josiah 38th Month Vigil; Charmaine Lawson Petitions AG to Take Over the Case
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse holding signs that read Black Lives Matter, asking for justice and demanding action in the unsolved killing of David Josiah Lawson. It has been 38 months since Lawson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Humboldt State University, was fatally stabbed April 15, 2017, at an off-campus…
Public Health: No New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed
Humboldt County Public Health announced no new COVID-19 cases today, leaving just one confirmed case locally since June 3. The current lull comes on the heels of a streak that saw 49 new cases confirmed over the span of 25 days. To date, 106 local residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and four people have…
Two Correctional Deputies Assaulted Over the Weekend in Separate Incidents
Two Humboldt County correctional officers were assaulted this weekend during two separate altercations within the Humboldt County jail. On June 12, while a deputy was conducting an inmate count he noticed a “compliance violation” and asked Damen Carlson who was in the cell to resolve the issue. Soon after Carlson allegedly charged the deputy and…
Construction on Blue Slide Road June 17
Humboldt County Public Works will be constructing a retaining wall to restore two travel lanes on Blue Slide Road (by Eel River) at post mile marker 3.24 on Wednesday, June 17. According to the release, stop signs will be in place to control single-lane traffic through the construction site until the project is completed. The…
New Streaming Link for Humboldt County Budget Hearing
Due to construction at Access Humboldt, there’s a new link to view today’s Humboldt County Budget Hearing. Please click here to join the webinar. Password: 435881 “When the Board of Supervisors announce the agenda item that you wish to comment on, call the conference line and turn off your TV or live stream. Please call…
HumCo COVID: Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes Talks About The Rio Dell COVID-19 Volunteer Corp
Watch Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes talk about the Rio Dell COVID-19 Volunteer Corp on the HumCo COVID Facebook page. The volunteer group sends out meal packages, hand sanitizer packages to seniors and people in need. Watch the full video below. Related Stories
A Peaceful Protest and Paddle Out
On a clear-skied Sunday morning, more than 150 people gathered in the tranquil, sandy cove south of the Samoa Peninsula’s Coast Guard station for the Paddle Out for Peace. Although many masked surfers, kayakers and standup paddle boarders arrived with signs to support racial justice, this was more than a protest. (See the slideshow below…
Show, Tour Canceled but the Humboldt Rose Society Still Promotes the Bloom, T-S Reports
Just as sweet. The Times-Standard has a story about the Humboldt Rose Society — whose annual rose show would typically be held this weekend but was cancelled due to the coronavirus — and ways to enjoy beautiful rose blooms throughout the county. Read the full story here.
Structure Fire in Cutten
Firefighters at the scene of a fire in Cutten. [All photos by Mark McKenna] At approximately 1:15 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to a fire in the 4100 block of Excelsior in the Cutten area of Eureka near Sundial and Rachel. At 1:30, the Incident Commander requested the category of the fire be moved up to…
Body of Missing Kayaker Recovered
The body of missing 19-year-old kayaker Nick Brunner was recovered this morning, according to a friend of the family. Jae Wood, a family friend who has been helping with search efforts, posted on the Humboldt County on Alert Facebook page about 10:50 this morning, “It is with a sad but grateful heart I can say…
Fire Destroys Two Buildings in Phillipsville
A structure in the 500 block of Phillipsville Road in Phillipsville burned to the ground this morning. Firefighters received the call about 6:25 a.m. According to CalFire spokesperson David Esteves, two outbuildings were completely destroyed in this fire. While normally outbuildings are not considered residences, he said, “People were living in the outbuildings. [There were]…
Gas Station Robbed in Blue Lake
This morning, about 7:50, two white male adults possibly in their twenties wearing “blue and white hoodies” robbed the Blue Lake Patriot station on Blue Lake Boulevard, according to scanner traffic. The two fled the scene on foot possibly up the hill toward State Route 299. However, later, one hoodie and a bandanna believed to…
A Huge Thank You to Our Supporters
For nearly 30 years, the North Coast Journal has been covering the stories and people you care about in Humboldt County. We’re proud to share our coverage in print and online for free so everyone — with or without internet access or the means to subscribe to a paper — can stay informed, especially during…
Fort Bragg City Council to Discuss Town Name Change, T-S Reports
The Times-Standard is reporting that Fort Bragg City Council is looking to change the town’s name because of the history of its namesake, Confederate Army general Braxton Bragg. Read the full story here.
Two Trapped in Vehicle After Crash by Redcrest, Extrication Needed, Air Ambulance Requested
A single-vehicle crashed off Hwy 101 north of Redcrest near the southbound offramp about 5:13 p.m. There were four people trapped in the car, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. Now there are reported to be two trapped and needing extrication. Reach 18 is going to rendezvous with a ground ambulance at the…
McKinleyville Kmart Closing
A store manager at the Kmart in McKinleyville has confirmed that the store is closing. When the Journal emailed the company’s public relations department to ask when and why the store was closing, Larry Costello, PR Director for Transformco declined to comment. However, USA Today reported in February that Transformco had acquired Kmart and Sears…
Justice for Josiah Vigil Planned for Monday; Charmaine Lawson Fundraising for Legal Fees
The Justice for Josiah Committee will hold a vigil for David Josiah Lawson on Monday, June 15 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse. The committee has asked people to abide by social distancing guidelines and wear facial coverings to the vigil. The vigil will be held on the 38…
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Investigating Body Found on Hoopa Valley Reservation
A body of a man was found at the south end of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, according to a Hoopa Valley Tribal Police community debriefing post on Facebook. According to the post because of the unknown cause of death, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will be taking over the investigation. Read the full community…
An Air Ambulance was Requested and Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue Called After Vehicle Went Off HWY 101 Just South of Garberville
One southbound lane of Hwy 101 is blocked after a vehicle went off the road just south of Garberville about 1:36 p.m.The vehicle is approximately 150 feet off the road after hitting the guardrail and sending that into the roadway, according to a report over the scanner and on the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page.…
Update: Officials Suspend Search and Rescue Operation of Missing Kayaker
Update: The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search and rescue operation for Nicholas Brunner who went missing while kayaking yesterday at Trinidad Harbor. “Suspending a search is not a decision we make lightly,” Capt. Mark Hiigel, Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay commander said in the release. “It is only after we have over-saturated every…
Humboldt County Democrats Donate $2,500 to Food For People
The Humboldt County Democrats recently gave a $2,500 donation to Food for People.
Trinidad Rancheria Asks for Pipeline Extension to Get Water Via Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, LoCo Reports
The Lost Coast Outpost is reporting that the Trinidad Rancheria is asking for an extension to find a way to get water through the Humboldt Municipal Water District. Read the full story here.
Traffic Backing Up on 299 After Head-On Crash
A head-on crash on Hwy 299 near Trinity Dam Blvd at approximately 4:41 p.m. blocked the entire road for about 40 minutes, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. According to Jarron Courville, who said he was in the sixth car on the scene, “One lady was trapped in the SUV, jaws of life…
Flights To and From SoCal Returning this Summer
Flight service to and from Southern California will return this summer with new health guidelines to ensure the safety of passengers and airport workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve been working closely with our Department of Health and Human Services’ Public Health branch and the County’s Emergency Operations Center to make sure we are ready…
College of the Redwoods to Review Basic Law Enforcement Academy Curriculum
College of the Redwoods is establishing a committee, the Basic Law Enforcement Academy Advisory Committee, that will enhance its ability to train future law enforcement officers that reflects the culture of equity and inclusion and is inviting residents to become committee members. “We are going to start by bringing key constituent groups together to review…
Public Health Confirms One New COVID-19 Case
For the first time in four days, Humboldt County Public Health has confirmed a new COVID-19 case. Today’s news breaks a lull in cases that had seen just one confirmed since June 3, after a streak that saw 49 new cases over the span of 25 days. But the lull in cases also coincided with…
HSU to Have Limited Face-to-Face Instruction; Lays Out Its Reopening Plan
Humboldt State University has been approved to offer limited face-to-face courses this fall. “Learning by doing is a key element of Humboldt State University’s educational approach, and we’re grateful to the CSU for allowing us to move forward with those courses that really need to be taught face-to-face,” HSU President Tom Jackson said in the…
Humboldt Bay Fire Station 1 Reopens to the Public
Humboldt Bay Fire Station 1 will reopen on Monday, June 15. However, the fire department is encouraging residents to continue conducting business like bill pay, plan review, weed abatement, and engine requests through their website or calling into the station. Masks will be required and social distancing practices will be applied. Other services like car seat…
Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich Updates Travel Guidance
Humboldt County Public Health Officer Teresa Frankovich has updated the county’s travel guide to include non-essential travel. However, Public Health is advising county residents to refrain from visiting areas with high cases of COVID-19 and that residents who do travel should quarantine or isolate themselves for 14 days after returning to the county, as traveling…
Humboldt Bay Generating Station Ready to Provide Power Locally If Needed
Pacific Gas and Electric says the Humboldt Bay Generating Station is able to provide power to customers directly if needed, during PSPS and emergencies. “This is part of the company’s continuing effort to reduce impacts on its customers during a PSPS event and other wide-spread power outages,” the press release states. Twenty cities and towns…
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Eureka Police Department (Partly) Bans Chokeholds; 8 Can’t Wait Campaign Policies
On June 11, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office issued a departmental directive suspending the use of the chokeholds and strangleholds by deputies. “The decision to suspend the use of carotid restraint will be formally documented in an upcoming update to our use of force policy,” the press release reads. The Eureka Police Department also banned…
Fire in Rio Dell
Black smoke is pouring from a structure in the 200 block of Center Street in Rio Dell. Reports over the scanner indicate that the fire which began around 9:30 a.m. is in danger of spreading to other structures. UPDATE 9:59 a.m.: Witnesses are reporting that the smoke is dying back and firefighters appear to be…
Hundreds Gathered for Black Lives Matter Protest in McKinleyville
Several hundred protesters marched from an empty lot at the corner of Central Avenue and Pickett Road in McKinleyville to Pierson Park Thursday afternoon. The protest came as a wave of Black Lives Matter protests that emerged throughout the U.S. after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25. Check…
NCJ Preview: Casinos, COVID-19 and Carotid Holds
Casinos on sovereign Native land in Humboldt County are reopening ahead of state and county shelter in place regulations. This week, we’re talking about why some employees aren’t convinced it’s safe yet for them or patrons to return to the slots and tables. Also, civilian oversight and banning carotid “chokeholds” are recurring topics around police…
Public Health: No New COVID-19 Cases Confirmed
For the third consecutive day, Humboldt County Public Health reported no new confirmed COVID-19 cases. Today’s news extends a lull in cases that has seen just one confirmed since June 3, after a streak that saw 49 new cases over the span of 25 days. But the lull in cases also coincides with a decline…
Sexual Assault Hearing Raises Privacy Concerns (UPDATED)
A Humboldt County Superior Court judge ruled today there is sufficient evidence to hold David Bernard Anderson II to stand trial on charges he drugged and raped a 16-year-old girl in 2018, but not that he committed attempted sex trafficking. Deputy District Attorney Stacey Eads is prosecuting the case, with local attorney Michael Acosta representing…
Campgrounds, RV Parks Cleared to Begin Reopening Process Once Cleared by EOC
Private Humboldt County campgrounds and RV parks have been cleared to reopen once their Business Reopening Plan has been cleared by the Humboldt County Emergency Operations Center as early as tomorrow. However, public campgrounds that are operated by the county, state and federal government are still closed. “We’ve been tracking the progression of this virus…
Dell’Arte to Operate at Reduced Capacity Over the Summer
Dell’Arte International announced Wednesday that due to the impact of COVID-19 and the cancelations of the school’s Mad River Festival, Summer Intensive and other events, it will be operating at a reduced capacity over the summer in an effort to remain financially viable. In a press release from the school, Managing Director Alyssa Hughlett says, “We…
HSU Offering ‘Early Exit Program’ for Employees to Match Projected Enrollment Declines and Minimize Layoffs
Humboldt State University is offering an Early Exit Program for its employees as an effort to reduce the size of its campus workforce and balance the budget to match projected enrollment declines and minimize layoffs. According to the release, the program offers a payment of six months’ salary of up to $70,000 for employees. Employees…
EPA Announces $300,000 for Additional Humboldt Bay Cleanup, Reuse Effort
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted $300,000 in supplemental funding for ongoing redevelopment work on the Humboldt Bay. Humboldt County is one of 25 successful Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) grantees throughout the nation. According to the release the funds will be used to complete the cleanup of five sites at the historic railroad…
Update: EPD Suspect Surrenders, in Custody and Being Evaluated by Mental Health
Update: Eureka Police Department responded to a report of a male vandalizing a wall on Waterfront drive near the Blue Ox Millworks building. When the first officer arrived, the suspect was allegedly swinging a machete “wildly.” He later barricaded himself near the Blue Ox Millworks after police found a backpack with a machete and an…
HSU’s Small Business Development Center Receives $7 Million to Expand Services
Humboldt State University’s Small Business Development Center received $7 million in federal emergency funding to expand services by hiring additional part-time and full-time staff members to handle the higher volume of calls and new clients, expanding the Finance Center, and launching an outreach campaign for business communities for which English is a second language. Read the…
Civil Grand Jury Finds SoHum School District Lacks Vision, Plan Amid Budget Crisis
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury released a report yesterday detailing the hefty challenges facing Southern Humboldt Unified School District, from mountain budget shortfalls to a lack of stable leadership. The report, prompted by an apparent laundry list of complaints from families and staff in the district, details how declining enrollment, the formation of a…
21 Days in the Park
In late March, as the COVID-19 pandemic’s stranglehold on New York City strengthened, with cases totals doubling every couple of days, the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods began to empty. By the tens of thousands, people sent mail-forwarding requests to the U.S. Post Office and left their homes in Manhattan or the Upper West and Upper East…
Playing with Tradition
As a homesick Humboldt State University student away from his Southern California family for the first time, Esteban Castillo called his mother for recipes to replicate the comfort foods he missed. But, he says, “trying to get recipes out of my mom was … it just didn’t work.” Like so many home cooks, she didn’t…
Building Trails and Resilience
Humboldt County has come a long way from the days when railroads dominated the conversation about economic development and few local politicians saw trails as a community priority. It took trail pioneers working for many agonizing years to complete the Hammond Trail. And the Bay Trail seemed forever mired in a mountain of feasibility studies…
Nothing in the Vault
CAPONE. From what I gather, Josh Trank had big plans from the beginning: to spring forth fully formed and become a big-budget big deal, a Director of Note. Given only Chronicle (2012), his big-screen debut — co-written by then-prolific, now-canceled Max Landis — I’d have given pretty good odds that he might pull it off.…
‘The Anti-Lincoln’
This week, thoughtful leaders in my district and around the country are doing their best to de-escalate violence and channel our national outrage into peaceful demands for change. This moment should be about confronting our country’s original sin — racism — and ending the systemic police abuse that has fueled it for decades. Unfortunately, President…
Of Course I Care
Of course I care But my kid’s ADHD And my mom has Alzheimer’s Of course I care I’m working 60 hours a week Where’s the time? Of course I care Look, my wife has cancer Give me a break Of course I care Don’t be silly I donated, remember? Of course I care But I…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During her 90 years on the planet, actor and singer Marlene Dietrich reinvented herself numerous times. She had superb insight into the nature of shifting rhythms, and a knack for gauging the right moment to adapt and transform. Good timing, she said, came naturally to people like her, as well as…
‘I Can’t Breathe’
In the weeks following George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, as protesters have taken to the streets in droves to decry institutionalized racism and police violence, Floyd’s last words — “I can’t breathe” — have become a rallying cry. Floyd uttered the phrase at least 15 times during his deadly encounter with Minneapolis…
Policing the Police
When protesters convened in front of the Eureka Police Department headquarters June 1 for a far-reaching dialogue, there were calls for increased transparency and accountability, but one of the few tangible suggestions floated was implementing some form of civilian police oversight locally. It’s far from a new idea The topic most recently gained traction in…
