Cover Story
Crossroads
Humboldt County’s Joint Information Center had planned to close for the county holiday on July 3, a move that would save overtime expenses and give most of its employees three consecutive days off for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic breached the Redwood Curtain. Then came the test results. The number of local cases…
Film Crews Coming to Humboldt with COVID-19 Protocols
At the end of June, the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission announced Humboldt was back open for the movie business. And while screens at movie theaters have once again gone dark in California, a pair of small production crews are set to film for a week each on the North Coast this month, with more scheduled…
Judge Instructs County, Blanck to Talk Settlement, T-S reports
County counsel Jeffrey Blanck and the county of Humboldt have been told to find a way to settle their differences by a federal judge, who also blocked the board of supervisors from meeting to consider the status of his employment, the Times-Standard reports. According to the story, Blanck — who filed legal action against the…
Public Health Confirms Eight New COVID-19 Cases, Making 42 This Month
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed eight new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the countywide total to 175 and making 42 cases confirmed since July 1. In a press release, Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich noted the risk associated with travel during a pandemic and the potential for increased spread locally. In fact, she said eight…
PG&E Helicopters are Out Doing Inspections
If you are hearing buzzing overhead, it might just be a PG&E crew conducting transmission line inspections. According to a new release, the company plans to be in the local area with helicopters and drones this week and next. Flights are expected to occur Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. “All the…
Huffman Asks Constituents to Weigh-in on COVID-19 Impacts, Actions Needed
North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman is asking constituents to participate in an online Coronavirus Relief and Recovery Survey to give feedback on the pandemic’s impacts and what actions they believe the federal government needs to take to address the resulting public health and economic crisis. The survey can be found here and will be available…
Emergency Crews Search for Crash Site
UPDATE: The driver has reportedly self-extricated and has an injury to his arm. He has been transported to a local hospital for treatment. PREVIOUSLY: A multi-agency search is underway north of Fortuna to find the scene of a car crash, after a trapped driver called 911 from his cell phone this morning. Emergency personnel are…
Vehicle Over Embankment North of Richardson Grove
A vehicle went over the embankment just north of the Legend of Bigfoot about seven miles north of the Mendocino/Humboldt County line, about 6:21 p.m., according to a report over the scanner and on the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page. The CHP page said that it is a Ford Explorer about 75 feet down a…
McGuire Introduces Bill to Protect Press Covering Demonstrations
North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire has introduced legislation to protect members of the media covering protests and marches, citing instances of journalists being injured or detained during recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations. SB 629 would make it a misdemeanor for law enforcement to intentionally obstruct, detain, assault or otherwise prevent the press from covering…
Supes Approve Genomic Sequencing of Local COVID-19 Samples, T-S reports
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors today approved an agreement with Chan Zuckerberg Biohub to provide access to positive samples from COVID-19 tests conducted by the public health lab in an effort to better understand local transmission by having the nonprofit research organization map the virus’ genomic sequencing, the Times-Standard reports. Based in the Bay…
Two New Cases Brings Humboldt’s COVID-19 Total to 167
Humboldt County’s COVID-19 case total now stands at 167 after two new cases were confirmed, bringing to 34 the number of residents who have tested positive since July 1. “While it may be tempting to think we can make exceptions and attend a celebration or get together with friends, the best way to protect each…
Humboldt to Implement New Statewide COVID-19 Closures by Friday
New statewide restrictions ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state will go into effect locally by Friday, according to county’s joint information center. All bars without permits to serve food will be closed while restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, family entertainment centers, zoos, museums and…
Fire at the Flamingo Motel in Eureka
Humboldt Bay Fire reports the Flamingo Motel on Broadway Street sustained minimum damage to one room today after an individual apparently intentionally set a pile of clothes on fire. The Eureka Police Department detained one person who fled the scene. The call to Humboldt Bay Fire came in just before 11 a.m. and reported a…
PG&E: Future Power Shutoffs to be Shorter, Smaller, Smarter
PG&E is rolling out a multi-tiered plan the company says will translate into shorter, more localized Public Safety Power Shutoffs and better communication with the public before, during and after an event. Prompted by dangerous wildfire conditions, including high winds and low humidity, last year’s massive shutoffs left millions without power for days, putting the…
In-N-Out is Opening, T-S reports
In-N-Out is opening tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. for take-out and drive-thru orders, according to the Times-Standard. The long-planned burger and shake joint is the latest addition to a sequence of new restaurant chains to take up residence on Broadway Street in Eureka. Read more here.
Two Heroin Busts in Southern Humboldt
The Humboldt County Drug Task Force pulled over two vehicles in Southern Humboldt this evening. In one, they located 6 pounds of heroin, and in the other, 2.5 pounds of heroin. At approximately 5:10 p.m., law enforcement pulled over a silver vehicle in the area of Benbow. The trunk of the vehicle was opened and…
CDFW: Online Cannabis Permitting Workshop Happens July 22
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), CalCannabis and the State Water Board will host a free online cannabis permitting workshop on July 22 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., according to a CDFW press release. “The free workshop is ideal for new and existing commercial cannabis cultivators and consultants,” the press release states.…
Sen. McGuire: Indoor Dining to Close in Humboldt, Along with Zoos, Museums and More
State Sen. Mike McGuire has clarified on Facebook what the new state health order means for Humboldt County. The region will face fewer restrictions than Marin and Sonoma counties, where ICU beds are nearing capacity, McGuire states. Essentially, indoor dining in restaurants and indoor service at wineries must close, along with all bars and pubs, movie…
Public Health Announces No New COVID-19 Cases for the First Time in Two Weeks
For the first time in two weeks and just the second since June 18, Humboldt County Public Health announced no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, leaving the countywide total at 165. The news comes after Humboldt County saw 21 cases confirmed last week amid a streak that had seen 57 confirmed since June 18,…
County Officials Awaiting Further Instructions on Statewide COVID-19 Rollbacks
Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcements today about new statewide and county-specific measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, local officials said they’re waiting for more information before taking steps to comply. The Humboldt County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal and Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich are aware but have not…
T-S: Candidate Filing Period Now Open for Humboldt County’s November Election
Anyone planning to run for office in Humboldt County’s November election can now file for candidacy, the Times-Standard has reported. Multiple seats will be open on city councils in both Arcata and Eureka, and the filing period lasts through Aug. 7. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, candidates must schedule appointments with the Humboldt County Elections Office to…
Forest Service: Water Activities Prohibited During Karuk Tribe’s World Renewal Ceremonies
The Karuk Tribe is set to hold its World Renewal Ceremonies in Six Rivers and Klamath national forests from July through late September. In honor of these long-standing tribal traditions, outsiders will be prohibited from entering the water or launching watercraft during the ceremonies, the U.S. Forest Service has announced in a press release. “The…
Some California Schools Delay In-Person Classes as Coronavirus Surges
In the first week of June, a food services employee in the El Centro Elementary School District in Imperial County tested positive for coronavirus. By early July, about a dozen nutrition and transportation workers had been infected. The positive test result briefly halted the meals distribution many low-income students and families depend on and was…
DMV Gives One-Year Extension to Senior Drivers with Expiring Licenses
Folks who are 70 and older with a California driver’s license that expires in 2020 will be granted an automatic one-year extension, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has announced. “The one-year extension for senior drivers is the latest action to help Californians avoid or delay a DMV office visit during the COVID-19 pandemic,” a…
Newsom Orders Bars to Close, Restaurants, Movie Theaters, More to Cease Indoor Operations
At a press conference this afternoon, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will require all restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, zoos, museums and card rooms to close indoor operations throughout the state in the face of rapidly increasing COVID-19 infections. Bars, Newsom said, must cease all operations. Newsom cited a seven-day average of 8,211 new confirmed cases…
FDA: Avoid Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol or Wood Alcohol
The Humboldt County Joint Information Center has warned the public to avoid hand sanitizer products containing methanol or wood alcohol, and posted a link on Facebook to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of dangerous products. Read the content of the post below: Today, FDA warned not to use hand sanitizer products containing methanol or…
Hit or Miss: Californians Describe Vastly Different COVID-19 Testing Experiences
It’s the new conversation starter: Have you been tested? Was it hard to get an appointment? How quickly did you get results? As Californians rush to get tested to reassure themselves and their families they aren’t carrying the virus, many have echoed frustrations: Appointments that are weeks out. Tests being denied. Growing delays for results,…
Safety Corridor Crash Closed 101 Early This Morning
Northbound U.S. Highway 101 was shut down for more than an hour in the Safety Corridor early this morning after a Toyota Tacoma struck a road construction safety barrier. According to CHP, 32-year-old Shaun Radomski of Newbury Park, California, was driving his 2015 pickup north of Indianola Cutoff when it rear-ended a Caltrans truck that…
Former Crab Signs with the Reds
Oh, the places you’ll go, Crabs, go. CSU Bakersfield junior and former Humboldt Crabs MVP Damian Henderson signed a professional contract with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Cue the cowbell. The Humboldt Crabs gave a shout out to their former teammate on Twitter on Saturday and signed off with hashtag #lifeasacrab. Congrats on signing Damian! Good…
Rep. Huffman to Host Town Hall on Climate Crisis Action Plan
Congressman Jared Huffman will host a virtual town hall on the newly released Climate Crisis Action Plan. On Thursday, July 16 at 4 p.m., Rep. Huffman will be joined by former State Senator Fran Pavley and President and CEO of Natural Resources Defense Council Gina McCarthy. Viewers can submit questions in advance to huffmanQandA@mail.house.gov or ask…
Barriers to Care: Why Humboldt’s Latinx Population is Being Hit Disproportionately Hard by COVID-19
Standing in Eureka’s La Pasadita Market on a recent afternoon, Isabel Ortiz says she’s had a hard time getting information on COVID-19, how to prevent its spread and what to do if she or someone she knows starts experiencing symptoms. Ortiz, who works at the market, only speaks Spanish and most of the COVID-19 information…
Humboldt State Contending with $20 Million Budget Shortfall
Contending with a projected $20 million budget shortfall, Humboldt State University is putting finishing touches on its spending plan — with reductions to be spread over the next two years — and more details are expected to be released in August. HSU’s budget director Amber Blakeslee writes in a letter to the campus community that…
Should the State Investigate Police Shootings? California Rethinks Its Resistance
!function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”); If officers shot and killed Sean Monterrosa in Connecticut or New York — instead of in Vallejo, California — a state agency would investigate the June 2 incident, when a police officer reportedly mistook a hammer in the 22-year-old Latino man’s sweatshirt for a gun and fired shots through the windshield…
Food for People Launches Series of Free Drive-Through Produce Distributions
Food for People will launch a series of free produce distributions that will continue through October in an effort to help expand access to healthy foods during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cost scores of jobs and had reverberating economic impacts. The drive-through produce distributions will start this week and are available in Eureka, Fortuna,…
Public Health Confirms Four New COVID-19 Cases, Making 21 This Week
For the second day in a row, Humboldt County Public Health has confirmed four new COVID-19 cases, bringing the countywide total to 165. Of the cases recorded to date, 103 were acquired through contact with a known case, 37 through travel and 23 through community transmission, meaning they caught the virus from an unknown source…
NCJ Preview: The COVID-19 Spike, Solo Swimming and Pie Shaming
This week we’re looking at Humboldt’s recent climb in COVID-19 cases — what’s driving it and where it could lead in terms of reopening. We’re also talking about getting lost swimming in the fog and a what to do with all those ripe summer blueberries and blackberries (spoiler: make a gorgeous tart). Hit subscribe for…
Road Construction Work in Eureka Next Week
The city of Eureka and PG&E will be working on utility reconstruction work on adjoining side streets to Fourth Street (Hwy 101) from O Street to Y Street in Eureka on Monday, July 13, through Friday, July 17. There will be controlled traffic and detours in the area. Drivers should expect short delays. Read the…
HumCo Correctional Officer Tests Positive for COVID-19
A Humboldt County correctional officer as tested positive for COVID-19, the Sheriff’s Office announced this morning. The deputy tested positive for the virus during a routine medical screening and is asymptomatic, according to a press release. They will undergo a 14-day isolation period required by Public Health, the release states, adding that contact investigators have…
COVID-19: Humboldt County Schools Weigh Reopening Plans Amid Funding Threat, T-S Reports
The Times-Standard is reporting that Humboldt County schools are weighing their reopening options and plans as the 2020-2021 school year approaches. Read the full story here.
Humboldt Area Foundation Launches Project to Support Local Media
Humboldt Area Foundation and its affiliate Wild Rivers Community Foundation has invested $35,000 in a pilot project to help support local media in a new pilot project called the Community Voices Coalition that will generate “truthful, courageous and equitable stories covering vulnerable and traditionally underrepresented communities affected by the coronavirus in Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte…
Attorney: Nelson’s Character Led to His Release After Blue Lake Murder Arrest
Mark Anthony Nelson Jr. — a 39-year-old gas station clerk from Eureka — has had quite a week. A man came to rob the gas station where he worked. He shot and killed that man, prompting his arrest on suspicion of murder, possessing stolen property and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.…
A New Raliberto’s Opens on Broadway
Many a dirndl was rent in mourning over the closure of Stuft Potato, the sole local source of spaetzele, jaeger schnitzel and scores of other Austro-German delights. Now at least we may feed our emotions at the Raliberto’s Taco Shop that has sprung up in its place. According to Roberto Hernandez, whose family owns this branch…
California AG and State Public Education Leaders Sue Trump Administration for Policy that Requires International Students to Take In-Person Classes or Risk Deportation
The California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, and California State University Chancellor Timothy White announced that the State of California is filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s “unlawful policy that threatens to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 and exile hundreds of thousands of college students studying in the United States…
The California Fire Foundation and Sysco Corporation Donates $5,000 to Food for People
The California Fire Foundation and Sysco Corporation have donated $5,000 to Food for People as a relief effort to help Humboldt County communities impacted by COVID-19. “As California firefighters are on the front lines of wildfires and other natural disasters, so too are the many organizations supporting families and communities through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said…
Newsom Appoints Yurok Education Department Director Jim McQuillen to State Board of Education
Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently appointed Yurok Education Department Director Jim McQuillen to the California State Board of Education. “I am honored to receive this appointment by Governor Newsom,” McQuillen said in a release. “In this role, I will continue to advocate for our native students and for all students to receive equitable educational services.”…
Public Health Confirms Four New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health has confirmed four new COVID-19 cases, bringing the countywide total to 161. The new cases are confirmed after a county spike that has now seen 51 cases over the past 17 days with 28 confirmed within the last week. Six additional cases were also confirmed from people who were visiting family…
Update: Suspicious Package on Humboldt Hill Revealed to be Vinyl Records (VIDEO)
Update: HCSO Public Information Officer Samantha Karges describes the incident in a video. She says that earlier today, HCSO responded to a call about two suspicious packages, and after checking with residents near where the packages were found and confirming that they didn’t belong to them, the HCSO EOD team was called. The EOD robot…
Civil Grand Jury Releases Report on David Josiah Lawson Case
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury released a report on the Arcata Police Department’s response to the homicide of Humboldt State University sophomore David Josiah Lawson with recommendations to improve the law enforcement agency. “The most difficult question the civil grand jury had to evaluate was the charge of racial bias within the police response,”…
Reminded me …
am here where I live near to that place known to those here before and to them for forever as the center of the world those of us here who can see in George Floyd’s color and because of his color his last breath taken in such a way, ourselves, ourselves and our brothers…
‘The Biggest Challenge’
Editor: I read your article and found it informative. I have been an absentee voter in California for years. The state and county election officials need to be sure they have verified: 1. That you are who you say you are, and 2. That you are a citizen of the U.S. I have been disappointed…
Emergency in the ER
Editor: On Sunday, July 14, at 11 p.m. I needed to go to the emergency room over possible heart issues. I chose to go to Mad River Hospital ER and that was a mistake on my part. It was a busy night. Because my triage put me low on the priority list, I had to wait. The…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “As beautiful as simplicity is, it can become a tradition that stands in the way of exploration,” said singer Laura Nyro. This is practical advice for you to heed in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, you’re scheduled to enjoy an extended engagement with rich, fertile complexity. The best teachings…
Resourceful People
7500. In the first review I ever published in this vaunted publication — years before the collapse — I wrote of Shia LaBeouf that I would “rather watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt make a sandwich or pick up his dry cleaning.” The intervening years (or decades or centuries) have softened both my rhetoric and my feelings about…
Summer, Berries and Baking
The summer sun still shines brightly as it does every summer but this year is missing the sound of children laughing at the playground. Although I can hear the fireworks popping now and then, they are not as festive as they used to be. We are all experiencing this new lifestyle together and we all…
Alone in the Fog
I could feel bubbles of panic on the edges of my mind but I forced myself to concentrate on my breaststroke. Arms parting, arms parting. Focus. I knew if I started worrying about hypothermia, exhaustion or the cramping in my right leg, panic would cause me to shake or flail. Focus. Focus. Ten years ago,…
Important Omission
Editor: The article “Our Sovereign Right” (July 2) about the Trinidad Rancheria omits one important fact. Plans for the Rancheria’s hotel and expansion involve building a new interchange along U.S. Highway 101 just south of Trinidad. This proposed freeway interchange on Highway 101 will involve the widening of Westhaven Drive — the entire length of…
