‘Chipping Away’
Already short bodies and funding, Arcata Fire contemplates Cal Poly Humboldt and the city’s tall plans
Cover Story
‘Chipping Away’
If you get in a wreck or have a heart attack, chances are the first rescuers on the scene will arrive in a big red firetruck. And if you live in Arcata or McKinleyville, at least one of those rescuers may well have been on duty for 72 hours straight. Hopefully, they will have had…
Natural Fiber Fair Happening this Weekend
Up your fiber intake this weekend with the Natural Fiber Fair happening Saturday, Sept. 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Arcata Community Center (free admission, fee for workshops). What happens at a fiber fair? Here’s the bulk of it: a whole lotta knitting,…
Garden Party – HBG’s Annual Fundraiser on Saturday
Spend an afternoon taking in the beauty of the Humboldt Botanical Garden, now in its lush, late summer bloom, as well as enjoying local food, wine, art and music at the garden’s main fundraiser, the Garden Gala, happening Saturday, Sept. 10 from 1 to 5 p.m. ($100). There among the deep greens and bright colors…
Cruz’n Eureka Events Kick off This Thursday
Cruisin’ for a cause. It’s time for the annual September thrill, Cruz’n Eureka, three days of car-themed activities raising money for the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods. This year’s event takes place Sept. 8-10 and includes a poker run, cruise, several show & shines, a movie, music and more. Things kick off Thursday,…
Public Health Reports Another COVID Death, Eight Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that the county has confirmed another COVID-19 death since its last report Aug. 31. Eight new hospitalizations were also reported and, according to a state database, 13 people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, none of whom are under intensive care. The death reported today is Humboldt County’s…
Paul Reiser is Back at the Mic
Paul Reiser started with stand-up, prior to his roles as the jaded Modell in the cult classic Diner, the era-appropriately smarmy villain Burke in Aliens, dotingly awkward husband Paul Buchanon in the series Mad About You and, most recently, Dr. Owens, the better of two evil scientists in Stranger Things. He’s also contributed to the…
Fatal Fire North of Eureka
Humboldt Bay Fire found the body of a dead man at a residential structure fire in the 5100 block of Woodland Way, a rural area off Myrtle Avenue north of Eureka, yesterday afternoon. According to a press release, the department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at about 2:15 p.m. and responded…
I Block Parties On
Shut down the street, light up the barbecue, turn up the amps. Say, “catch ya next year” to summer and help raise money for the Arcata-Camoapa Sister City Project at the 35th annual I Block Party, taking place Monday, Sept. 5, from noon to 6 p.m. in front of Los Bagels in Arcata (free). This…
NCJ Preview: Fire and Real Estate, and a Chili Contender
How will the already stretched Arcata Fire District manage with proposed expansion of Arcata’s population and housing in light of the university’s shift to a Cal Poly? We’ll talk about what the costs and obstacles for keeping people safe. Speaking of Cal Poly Humboldt, we’ve got a story on the university’s high-priced land purchase. We’ve…
Planning Commission Sends Schneider Permit Back to Staff
The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted unanimously last night to send the issue of local developer Travis Schneider’s permits back to staff in an effort to find a path forward that will be agreeable to local tribes and the California Coastal Commission. While Schneider and Commission Chair Alan Bongio expressed deep frustration at a meeting…
Sandwiches Past and Present at Grotto
You’ve likely had your last dollop of blue-green Chicago relish in Humboldt for a while, as Chicago Dog House has left the building — specifically the one formerly occupied by Deo’s in Henderson Center (428 Grotto St., Eureka). But the spot didn’t remain vacant long. Paula Harris has lately opened Grotto there, with a stacked…
Catch a Taste of the Cove on Saturday
Heart of the Redwoods Community Hospice’s annual Taste of the Cove is back and ready to show you what makes Shelter Cove so special this Saturday, Sept. 3, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Mal Coombs Park ($10-$30). The 19th annual event showcases the best of the area’s food, drink, art and entertainment. This year’s…
UPDATE: Planning Director Disputes Developer’s Account as More Permit Problems Arise for Schneider
UPDATE: Planning Director John Ford followed up with the Journal this afternoon after publication of this article to say he’d checked his records and wanted to clarify the timeline surrounding his Jan. 19 conversation with developer Travis Schneider. Ford was adamant that he did not undermine what county planner Cliff Johnson had relayed to Schneider…
COVID Cancels This Weekend’s Performances of Midsummer at NCRT
Heads up, theater-goers, North Coast Repertory Theatre announced today that it is canceling this weekend’s run of A Midsummer Night’s Dream due to a COVID outbreak in the cast, but, swords crossed, hope to be up and running for the show’s final weekend, Sept. 8-10. Read a review of the show here. In the same email…
Rize Up, Reggae Fans
If you’re a fan of reggae star Nattali Rize and haven’t seen her live since Reggae on the River in 2017, don’t miss your chance to catch her this Saturday, Sept. 3, at Mateel Community Center ($25, $20 advance). Rize is back to raise the roof and the vibes with her six-piece band from Australia…
PlanCo Staff Recommends Approval of Schneider Permit; Documents Shed New Light on Contentious Meeting
A couple weeks after the matter spilled cantankerously into public view, Humboldt County and Building Department staff is recommending the Planning Commission approve the permits necessary to allow a local developer to continue construction of his family home, with some revised conditions, at its meeting tonight. The issue arose after Travis Schneider violated the terms…
Cal Poly Paid Triple Appraised Value in Land Purchase
Two months after officially becoming the state’s third polytechnic university, Cal Poly Humboldt signed a March 22 purchase agreement for a 16-acre vacant lot on the eastern edge of the Arcata Bottoms, putting down a $54,000 deposit on what campus officials have described as a “strategic” investment. The parcel was apparently considered essential enough that…
A ‘Critical Milestone’
The Klamath River and the tribal communities that depend on it got some welcome news this week, as what would be the largest dam removal project in U.S. history took a significant step forward. Two decades after poor water quality on the river triggered a massive fish kill that left tens of thousands of salmon…
Night Riders
It’s Virgo season, which, for an astrology heretic like myself, basically means “smokey summer/early fall.” Last weekend was also my baby brother’s b-day, so many happy returns, dear Tyler. This is a time of year when I like to take long evening drives out to nowhere, playing music loudly, with the windows open because, for…
Batch No. 5
Under the Humboldt County Fair horseracing grandstands, behind an unmarked door flanked by uniformed police, is an ersatz bar with plywood walls. There, under bare fluorescent lights, Guy Fieri puts aside an unlit cigar he’s been nursing and briefs a “Last Supper” arrangement of 12 judges on scoring entries for the fair’s Homestyle Chili Cook-off…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
Eureka Main Street presents First Saturday Night Arts Alive on Sep. 3 from 6-9 p.m. Our galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants are open. Some businesses continue to require everyone to wear masks and follow other COVID safety precautions to keep patrons and staff safe. Please respect the standards set by individual businesses, be kind…
Dreaming Big
From the moment Managing Art Director Calder Johnson took the opening night stage to introduce A Midsummer Night’s Dream at North Coast Repertory Theatre, clad in an outfit out of a Hunter S. Thompson book, I knew this production was going to be different. The first fully rehearsed production in more than two and a…
This Land Is Their Land
Editor’s note: The following was written and submitted in response to last week’s cover story, “Broken Trust.” Most of us know that what we call Humboldt Bay was part of the territory of the Wiyot people. And most us of know of the terrible mass killing that occurred in 1860 on what was called Indian…
The Chase
To “chase” in birding is to drop what you’re doing and look for a bird that’s been reported, usually a rarity of some sort. The majority of chases, at least for me, end in abject failure — birds have wings, after all, and hardly ever sit around waiting for throngs of admirers to show up…
Glad You ‘Came Out Fine’
Editor: Are you quite sure, Cathy Seitz (Mailbox, Aug. 25) that you “came out fine” after treating COVID-19 with “herbs and supplements?” I ask because 500 more Americans died from COVID yesterday. If we had vaccinated immediately — the way we did when the Salk vaccine ended polio — COVID might be history. But since…
Kings Starting to Show on the Klamath
The fall-run of adult king salmon are now making their way through the lower Klamath in pretty decent numbers. Despite the water still being off-color, catch rates improved dramatically upriver of the U.S. Highway 101 bridge last week and over the weekend. Boats fishing from the Glen to Blue Creek are catching a mixed bag…
‘Real Problems’
Editor: It may be hard for the local readership to garner much sympathy for an affluent developer building an 8,000-square-foot home, but I have real problems with the quote from Wiyot Tribal Chair Ted Hernandez’s quote that “… it’s our land, but we’ll work with you” (“Broken Trust,” Aug. 25). So now the precedent is…
Waiting for the Letdown
THE REHEARSAL. Noted deadpan Canadian weirdo Nathan Fielder, under-appreciated cringe-lord and spelunker of the depths of interpersonal awkwardness, is perhaps best known for his previous television series Nathan for You (2013-2017), wherein Fielder put to work his perhaps questionable business education and acumen to assist struggling, real-life small businesses. Thanks to his, shall we say,…
‘Never Fear!’
Editor: Jennifer Fumiko Cahill laments the lack of availability of traditional Italian sausage sandwiches in Humboldt County (“What’s Good at the County Fair,” Aug. 25). Never fear! The Sons and Daughters of Italy’s festa and bocce tournament is coming right up on Sunday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Redwood Fields in…
Yes, They Are Racist. What Now?
Progress often provokes a vicious response from those who wish to maintain the status quo. Much as the election of this country’s first Black president fueled the retaliatory rage of right wing white supremacists, leading to Trump’s election and an increase in racist attacks, it is clear that the progress this community has made toward…
Correction
The story headlined “Broken Trust” in the Aug. 25, 2022, edition of the North Coast Journal incorrectly stated the date of a Humboldt County Planning Commission meeting in one reference. The meeting was held Aug. 18. The Journal regrets the error
Stillness
How lucky am I To bear witness as I sit Beside the lake, its glass-like waters Mirroring the sky, as the brown pelicans Move like a gang in flight Dwarfing the usual winged inhabitants. A great egret on the south side bank Tips back its head and swallows An edible delight, while the pelicans Now…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his poem “Autobiographia Literaria,” Aries-born Frank O’Hara wrote, “When I was a child, I played in a corner of the schoolyard all alone. If anyone was looking for me, I hid behind a tree and cried out, ‘I am an orphan.'” Over the years, though, O’Hara underwent a marvelous transformation.…
