Cover Stories
Cheap Dates
Listen, it can’t all be Netflix and chill. Yes, your charming company should be enough and your wallet is making that whooshing wind-through-the-Dustbowl sound, but come on. Whether wooing a crush or spending time with someone with whom you share a legally binding commitment, you’re going to have to leave the house sometime. Frankly, not…
Free Advice
We got a number of great suggestions while putting together our “Cheap Dates” story but friends, we need to draw the line on penny-pinching entertainment somewhere. Not denying the guilty pleasure in a paper cup that is the Costco sample gauntlet, but scooping heat-and-serve brown rice with a miniature spork is not a date. If…
Food Sovereignty, Tribal Sovereignty
When the Northern California Tribal Courts Coalition (NCTCC) was awarded a grant to improve tribal health last year, it didn’t hesitate in identifying food as the keystone. Spearheaded by Program Director Cynthia Boshell, NCTCC will roll out its first Tribal Youth Food Sovereignty Camps later this month. The all-day camps will consist of hands-on education,…
Valentuned In
Contrary to popular belief, not all of us here at the Journal are hardened, loveless cynics. Some of us work in production and graphic design, like Jonathan Webster. Witness his Valentunes serenading by fresh-faced members of the ArMack Orchestra/Arcata High Madrigal Choir at the behest (and paid order) of his girlfriend, Kira Weiss. The singers and…
The Real ‘Dude’ Doesn’t Roll
Karen Smith held up a dark green bowling ball. She lined up her last second shot to get a spare. She walked to the line and released the ball, it barreled down the lane leaning left and nailing the last pin to get the spare. “I saw this event come up and I said ‘dude’…
Eureka Rallies Behind Planned Parenthood
The Humboldt County Courthouse lawn was filled Saturday with more than 200 people waving signs and chanting in a show of support for Planned Parenthood, which has come under threat with the new administration and Congress. Many passing motorists honked and waved in shows of support, though some offered a thumbs-down condemnation. Local photographer Mark…
Paris is Burning
Learn the history of Voguing at a screening and discussion of Paris is Burning, a documentary chronicling the drag ball culture of New York, on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in HSU’s Founders Hall Room 125 (free). Then werk it like your house mother taught you at the Age of AQUEERius Ball on Friday,…
HumBug: Winter Pygmies
Today, on the front garage door was the tiniest grasshopper you are ever likely to see, its body measuring about ½ inch long. Its general body shape, short antennae, and large hind legs, were unmistakably those of a grasshopper (sub order Caelifera). Its size, coloration and the fact that it was out in the middle…
Erica Botkin’s Mail Art Valentines
Erica Botkin’s long-running mail art valentine project involves the artist posing for pin-up photographs to be sent through the mail as valentines. The photos feature Botkin posing seductively in attitudes ranging from corny to kittenish to risqué. The dose of zany running through it all testifies subtly to Eureka native Botkin’s affinity for deep Humboldt…
Valentine’s Day Child Care Fundraiser
Parents, drop your kids off at the Valentine’s Day Child Care Fundraiser on Tuesday, Feb. 14, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. at Four Square Faith Center (donation). Relax knowing the kids are enjoying activities and pizza while the two of you escape on a romantic evening on your own. Before you set off, bid on…
Journal News Editor Wins Freedom of Information Award
The Society of Professional Journalists Northern California officially announced yesterday that Thadeus Greenson, the Journal’s news editor, won a James Madison Freedom of Information Award. It’s an award Caroline Titus of the Ferndale Enterprise took home in 2016, and the Journal’s then staff writer and editor Hank Sims and Emily Gurnon won in 2005. Greenson…
Building a More Inclusive University
Richard Boone walked back and fourth in front of a group of campus community members who gathered in Humboldt State University’s Goodwin Forum on Thursday. Behind Boone, the university’s dean of natural resources and sciences, was a large projection screen that read, “Campus wide discussions: Inequalities, justice and inclusion.” Boone, who was recently appointed to…
Almost Famous
No word yet on when that movie filming in Eureka will be in theaters but An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, — directed by Jim Hosking and starring Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Craig Robinson and Emile Hirsch — is hitting quite a few Humboldt locations with vintage vibes. When we do finally get to see it, keep…
Downey Set to Retire in May
Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey is stepping down from his elected office in May. In a brief press release making the announcement today, the county said Downey, who was first elected in June of 2010, “is humbled and honored to have served as the Sheriff of Humboldt County for the last 6 years.” Downey’s term…
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Salmon
A U.S. District Court judge has sided with those trying to protect coho salmon in the Klamath River, ruling yesterday that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the National Marine Fisheries Service must release more water from the Klamath dams. The release of the water is intended to mitigate the death of coho from a…
Peak of the Run BBQ
Don’t miss Humboldt Steelhead Days’ Peak of the Run BBQ, Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Sequoia Conference Center ($30, $15 kids, $300 table for eight with two bottles of wine and HSD swag). It’s serving up tri-tip dinner and barbequed oysters, plus a silent auction, raffles, prizes, steelhead photo slideshow, fine art show, beer and…
Hold My Drink
Every year, in the heart of winter, hundreds of “perfectly normal people” take a running leap off a short pier straight into the Humboldt Bay. It’s a cold, wet and sometimes stinky endeavor. So why? Well, there’s the Bloody Mary and hot tub soak after, plus free lunch and T-shirt to take home for those…
The Alt Fact Trap
Editor: In her piece, “Unfactoids” (Jan. 26), Marcy Bustiner has inadvertently fallen right into the “alternative fact” trap. In her attempt to proffer a response to the “alternative facts” of the day, Ms. Bustiner winds up recommending a misguided “see it to believe it” approach to fact verification. Unfortunately, this leaves us right back with…
Vote Burke
Editor: As a voting McKinleyville resident, I enthusiastically support Mary Burke for our new board member of the McKinleyville Community Service District (MCSD) Board of Directors. I am a retired business woman and member of group that has been working to identify capable leaders in our community to chart the future of McKinleyville. In our search, we discovered many fine…
‘Dick Move’
Editor: I think wearing “pussy ear” caps is a dick move, not to get too wrapped up in mixed metaphor here (“Largest March in Eureka History,” Jan. 21). They look silly and lack shock value. The women wearing them look like they’re going to a fourth-grade birthday party. Susan Dodd, Eureka
Partnership, Stat
Humboldt State University and College of the Redwoods both confirmed this week that they are busily working toward partnering to offer a program that would allow working nurses to continue their education, a program that would fill a dire need on the North Coast. Efforts to create the new program are still in their infancy…
Private Icons
A visual journal and a scattering of open letters kick off the Sanctuary’s 2017 exhibition season. Concurrent exhibitions by Luke Forsyth and Molly Schaeffer provide a chance to contemplate the evolution of second-wave feminist catchphrase “the personal is political.” Both artists are prepared to blur the boundary between public and private in some arenas, while…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.facebook.com/artsarcata for more information or call 822-4500. ANGELICA ATELIER 11th and H streets, in the Pythian Castle. “Lingerie in Bloom,” meet and greet florist Devon of Moonstone in Bloom. Oil paintings by Jacqui Langeland. ARCATA ARTISANS…
Heartbreak Forward
He made the mistake Of attempting to Tweet about The mountain We must climb With all our hearts. When the sun rises And first dew drops Mark starting points, Our iPhones Are worthless.
Arts! Arcata and Beyond
Friday Arts! Arcata gets us into our weekend and although I’m checking out the weather forecast here more than 20 minutes in advance, it looks like we should have a rather sunny weekend. Starting tomorrow that is. Brave the rain and wind — or whatever we get — to circle around the greater Arcata Plaza…
Ringing Hollow
Reviews RINGS. Much has been made of Rings being the sequel no one asked for. I’m not opposed to sequels and I fondly remember The Ring (itself a remake of the Japanese original): It was dark, mysterious, original and terrifying — probably the scariest movie I’d seen up until that time, largely because of the…
Juice(d) Cocktails
The ethical undertones of the New Year implore us to take the temperature of our overall health and issue a progress report. But as the weeks tick on, we grow accustomed to scrawling 2017 in the corner of our proverbial notebooks. Timeworn routines sneak their way back into our lives (they were only hiding in…
Give Up
When you reach a certain age and are still unattached, saying the words “I believe in love,” sounds affected and masochistic. Love is a rough deal, and if — like me — you’re still dating in the third decade of your life, the following things have probably happened to you: Your heart has been melted…
Weed and Prejudice
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a musical group visiting Humboldt County must be in want of getting very, very high. Who hasn’t been to a show here where the singer opens by complimenting our cannabis? Sunday’s highly anticipated Run the Jewels concert was no different, with DJ Nick Hook starting his set by…
Foresight and Part Timers
Editor: First, Uri Driscol says that “… planning on horizons 50 to 100 years in advance is unprecedented” (“Humboldt Harbor: The Heart of our Community,” Jan 19). What? Businesses used to do that routinely before they became beholden to quarterly profits. Other examples include English ship builders who groomed oaks so their grandchildren would have ship timbers,…
Make America Safe Again
Editor: So diversity or security? Please pay attention to the refugee crisis in Europe. Terrorists using trucks to “mow down people like grass” per terrorist instructions. A Turkish “security” guard pumps eight bullets into the Russian ambassador on a live TV news show. London is planning a “ring of steel” around its skyscrapers. After last…
The Great Abide
Activist, filmmaker/distributor, writer and speaker Jeff Dowd, inspiration for Jeff Bridges’ character in The Big Lebowski takes it easy, but he’s no slacker. The Dude’s here in Humboldt to help raise money to promote Dell’Arte’s award-winning documentary Mary Jane: A Musical Potumentary. On Friday, Feb. 10, knock down a few pins and pints (maybe a…
