Champions of the rodeo
While segregation was still the law of the land, two black men helped break rodeo’s color barrier in Fortuna
Cover Story
Champions of the Rodeo
On March 27, 1912, the Fortuna Advance newspaper ran an article headlined, “Black Man Rides White Man Thrown.” The Advance reported that a “bronco busting exhibition given by Jeff Stall the colored dare-devil from Ferndale” took place March 24 “at the old fairgrounds in Rohnerville.” More than 200 people attended and “in return for the…
HSU Reaccredited, Urged to do More to Support Diverse Student Body
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has reaffirmed Humboldt State University’s accreditation for another eight years, praising the university’s efforts to diversify its student body, while also recommending it do more to support students of color once they arrive on campus. In a three-page letter notifying HSU of its re-accreditation, the association’s Senior Commission…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, July 25
Detroit is known for its heavy metal creations, from the Dodge Charger to the Ford F-series trucks to Robocop. But perhaps nothing heavier has come out of there in the last 40 years than Negative Approach, a hardcore punk band whose original run was outlived by the domestic run of the original Pac-Man arcade game.…
Redway Man Killed in Motorcycle Crash
A 38-year-old Redway man was killed just before 6 p.m. yesterday when his motorcycle drifted off Briceland Road and hit a tree, according to the California Highway Patrol. He died at the scene. Brian J. Hemphill was wearing a helmet, officials said in a news release, and the crash remains under investigation. The CHP states…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, July 24
East-meets-west as Bronx-born New Jersey-based rapper Chino XL teams up with San Francisco’s own Equipto to rock their Ladies Night Tour at Live at Humboldt. 8 p.m. ($10.) Both of these guys are very different in style but complementary in ability, so I’d pin this one as pretty crucial for all of you heads out…
Photos from Northern Nights
With temps in the 90s and stage lights ablaze, the Northern Nights Music Festival was a hot ticket this past weekend. If you couldn’t make it up to Cooks Valley Campground — or if you crashed out hard on the Grove Stage beds — here’s Alexander Woodard’s slideshow of some of the DJ and live…
State Route 299 Closed at Whiskeytown Lake
Folks heading east to Redding have a slog ahead of them as State Route 299 is closed indefinitely in Trinity County west of Whiskeytown Lake due to a wildfire. CalTrans reports that the road is closed westbound at Oak Bottom and eastbound at the junction with State Route 3 near Douglas City. There is no…
County Staff: Eucalyptus Removal a Must for Bay Trail
The Humboldt County Public Works Department is set to tell the Board of Supervisors that moving forward with the Humboldt Bay Trail Project is going to necessitate the removal of more than 200 eucalyptus trees along U.S. Highway 101 north of the old California Redwood Company mill. While conceding that it received a host of…
Music Tonight: Monday, July 23
It’s a fun soiree of shadows and storytelling as three different acts convene at the Outer Space at 6 p.m. to give you your micro-drama fix. Rae Red is a visual artist who is presenting her Color Wheel show, featuring shadow puppets and stop motion theatrics on a colorful backdrop of motion and song. The…
HumBug: Underfoot
On a recent walk through a local redwood grove, my young companion, knowing I’m interested in bugs, pointed out a beetle on the path. It was dead and, although it was in the middle of a footprint, externally undamaged. So I collected it. Hey, it was dead when I got there. Interestingly enough, it was…
Music Tonight: Sunday, July 22
Aotearoa, New Zealand’s world traveling reggae band Katchafire brings its Legacy Love Tour to downtown Redway tonight to fill the Mateel with island vibrations. 8 p.m. ($25.) Grooving along tonight are E.N. Young, Imperial Sound and Sons of Zion. Choice.
Bayer Pulling Controversial Birth Control Device from U.S. Market, Bringing Some Closure to a Local Woman’s Fight
Pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced this week that it will cease U.S. sales of the controversial birth-control implant Essure, which has been linked to a smattering of serious health problems. The Journal reported on the device in a March 5, 2015 cover story (“Living Trials”), which profiled Eureka native Tamara Myers’ experience. Bayer said the move is…
Barbecue
The Mattole Restoration Council hosts a barbecue with vegetarian options, a raffle and nursery tours, followed by live music by Lyndsey Battle, Cory Goldman and the Mattole Mudstompers at the Hoophouse Hoedown, Saturday, July 21 from 5-9 p.m. at MRC Native Plant Nursery ($10). The event benefits local restoration. If you bring your own plates…
Double Playbill
In addition to abundant community theater currently entertaining audiences across local stages, two provocative shows come to Humboldt this Saturday. In SoHum, catch the Tony award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe and its new satire, 2018 Seeing Red: A Time Traveling Musical, July 21 at 8 p.m. at the Mateel Community Center ($20, $18 advance/members). With…
The Beat Goes On
Turn it up for two music fests on tap this weekend. At the northeastern end of the county, on the outdoor stage at Willow Creek’s China Creek Cottages, the Unity Music Fest is grooving along Saturday, July 21 from 1-10 p.m. ($25, $20 advance, $5 for kids 5 to 12, free admission to all active…
Music Tonight: Saturday, July 21
Local noise-monger Steven Dugger hosts an album release show for his experimental music project Permanent Casual at the Sanctuary tonight at 8 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding scale.) Filling out the bill will be former Sanctuary artist-in-residence Philip Deniz’s act Comfort Creature and a performance of Blush’s Waltz by the Furniture Ensemble directed by Sanctuarian Daniel Nickerson.…
Trinidad Woman Pleads No Contest in Toddler Death Case
A Trinidad woman will be sentenced to 10 years in state prison after pleading no contest to allegations that she caused the death of her 18-month-old son last month, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office. Alexandrea Raven Scott, 23, was arrested June 20 in Willits after bringing her 18-month-old son, Chergery Teywoh Lew…
County Sues Pharmaceutical Companies
The county of Humboldt filed a federal lawsuit this week against the some of the largest manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids in the United States, alleging they have recklessly promoted their use while downplaying risks of addiction and overdose, according to a county press release. The release notes that Humboldt County has the second-highest…
Music Tonight: Friday, July 20
Local stalwart jazz trio R.L.A. is setting up a good one tonight up at the Westhaven Center for the Arts where a collaboration with Rob Diggins and his homemade five-string electric violin is sure to generate some glorious noise. 7 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding scale.) Meanwhile, over at the Outer Space there is yet another quality…
Pirate Night at the Arcata Ball Park
Arrgh! It’s Pirate Night at the Arcata Ball Park Friday, July 20 as the Humboldt Crabs take on the Ventura County Pirates at 7 p.m. ($9, $6 students and seniors, $4 kids 12 and under). Come decked out in your scurvy best to sing sea shanties with the Crab Grass Band and cheer on the…
Eureka Gem Faire
We be gemmin’. The Eureka Gem Faire tumbles into Redwood Acres Fairgrounds Friday, July 20, noon-6 p.m., Saturday, July 21, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, July 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with rows and rows of fine jewelry, precious and semi-precious gemstones, beads, crystals, gold and silver, minerals and more from all over the world ($5…
Health Officials Issue Blue-Green Algae Warning
Local health officials have issued a warning to watch out for cyanobacteria — more commonly referred to as blue-green algae — in local waterways. Some species of the bacteria can be toxic to humans and animals, with children and dogs the most vulnerable to its harmful effects. The release notes that it is difficult to…
North Coast Lawmakers Question Trump’s Motives with Russia, Introduce Candidate Vetting Legislation
North Coast lawmakers announced this morning a pair of efforts in direct response to President Donald Trump’s widely criticized remarks in Helsinki, Finland, Monday during a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he refrained from criticizing the Russian dictator and cast doubt on whether the country interfered in the 2016 presidential election.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, July 19
Fall Children is a band made up of high schoolers from Ukiah who have garnered a local reputation for playing exciting punk rock with a healthy social consciousness. These cool kids will be joined tonight at 7 p.m. by local solid punk aligned acts The Cissies and Smooth Weirdos at the Outer Space for what…
Tarnation
The roofers pounded through lunch, my weekly soup and book, of a stranger’s poetry, punctuated by summer labor. Reading is always a revolt against schedule, eating at a table the same unhurried rebellion. If it catches on our nation will savor. The tar eyed crew comes down the ladder for their meal. They seem glad…
Punk Rock and the Beetles
When discussing the origin of life in the universe in the company of his peers, the British evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane — perhaps apocryphally — pointed out that the massive number of stars and beetle species suggested that the Creator would appear to be “endowed with a passion for stars, on the one hand, and…
Tradition Demands Tupperware
Fog has socked in the coast and the stunning views of the Pacific Ocean usually visible when driving over the Wildcat from Ferndale to Petrolia are obscured by white. The fog gives the steep ridges with yellow grass of early summer a different feel, like prairies at the edge of the world. Dipping down into…
Inside Out
Imagine for a moment that you live in a world where everyone is born wearing snuggly one-piece pajamas. As you grow, your pajamas tighten until they pop off and are replaced with larger pajamas that fit comfortably. But it takes a couple of days for your skin to secrete your new pajamas. Meanwhile, you are…
Emergency No More
Fortunans might be able to get weed delivered to their doorsteps after all. The state of California released its proposed final cannabis regulations July 13, kicking off a 45-day public comment period for a trio of state agencies to get feedback on the new set of rules, which are planned to usurp the emergency regulations…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” Whenever that quote appears on the Internet, it’s falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I’ll recommend that you heed it in the coming weeks. You really…
Forest from the Water
It’s a gray morning but the sun is already starting to burn through the fog. It’s going to be a warm day. A river otter splashes around in the clear green water as we launch our boats from the rocky shore. I’m in a canoe with my wife while our friends are spread in canoes…
Skyscraper Bites
Reviews Skyscraper A show of hands then, for anyone in attendance who hasn’t seen Die Hard (1988). I’d be inclined to ask you all to leave, as it would seem we have very little to talk about. Seeing as you are the ostensible intended audience for writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s “homage,” though, I guess you ought…
‘A Terrible Legacy’
Editor: Humboldt State University officials seem to continue to think that the hornet’s nest they’ve stirred up will eventually burn itself out (Mailbox, July 12). VP for “Advancement” Craig Wruck, who has apparently accomplished everything else in his job description at HSU, has now turned his micro-managing eye to KHSU and does not like what…
Wilde’s Ernest Wit
Oscar Wilde was a world-class wit, back when such a term seemed more relevant, and he lived just 46 years until his early death in 1900. A poet and playwright, he’s someone whose canon of published and staged works doesn’t live on and endure so much as, well, the things he said and wrote in…
A Pricey Mistake
Editor: Let’s start positive. Former Eureka City Attorney Cyndy Day-Wilson is gone (“Long Overdue,” July 12). On the other side of the ledger, I’m left with two questions and many frustrations. First, why did the former Eureka City Council, who hired her, not realize she had no experience in municipal law? How difficult is it…
‘A Deluge of Expletives’
In the July edition of the Eureka City Newsletter, City Manager Greg Sparks discussed the outcome of the city’s annual strategic planning session. Among the positive accomplishments documented in the session were grants for trails and parks, community forums, financial planning and community events. Among the setbacks were syringe litter, “negative public narrative on some…
A ‘Masterpiece’ Still in Progress
It took more than 14 months and at least 18 court appearances but Christopher “Blaze” Boyle’s criminal case is behind him. Now, he realizes, comes the hard part. It’s easy to mistake the conclusion of criminal proceedings in a case for closure, but there’s none of that in Boyle’s resolution, which will see charges of…
You’re Doing Good
Dear readers, As of Wednesday, I’ll no longer claim the job title “journalist.” It’s not a title I ever thought I’d carry, but my team at the Journal thought I was worthy of it and it’s been a fun few years attaching it to my name. I’m going to a new job where I’ll get…
