‘Did Your Check Clear?’
Mazzotti’s closure leaves employees unpaid and adrift By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Cover Story
‘Did Your Check Clear?’
As word spread of the abrupt closure of the Arcata Mazzotti’s, there were the usual responses: laments and nostalgia, criticism and speculation. Longtime patrons shared memories of dinners and celebrations going back decades, lamenting the loss of a Humboldt institution, echoing the response that followed the 2019 shutdown of the restaurant’s 42-year-old Eureka location. Conversations…
Cynthia Gail Hebard: 1954-2023
Cynthia Gail Hebard, Cindi
Robert William Astrue: 1928-2023
With gratitude and deep sadness, we share the passing of Robert William Astrue on Feb. 19, 2023. He taught Physics at Humboldt State University for more than 35 years, and contributed uncommon talents, intelligence and energy to this community. We will gather to remember him at Trinidad Town Hall on March 2, 2024, from 1…
Music Tonight: Friday, Feb 9
Portland, Oregon’s Fox Medicine is a metal band with bright imagery, referring to their genre as “bubblegum doom.” Which is fairly on the mark, as far as I can recall from the last time I caught their act when they rolled through town. Tonight these glossy blitz-makers will be posted up at the Siren’s Song…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Feb. 8
The Basement hosts one of Humboldt County’s musical oddities this evening at 8 p.m., a little trio-plus called The Blueberry Hill Boogie Band. I say “trio-plus” because in addition to the fine musicians on hand, there’s a homemade jukebox that allows the audience to pick tunes from the group’s expansive songbook of pop, rock and…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Feb.7
Multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado is a perfect fit for the catch-all water basin genre of Americana music, as he plays just about every stringed instrument in the American roots songbook, and he plays them very well. He also possesses a voice capable of carrying the tune for the blue hills and far into the dappled valley…
Wildwood Waffles Heads North
The sweet smell of Wildwood Waffles has left Rio Dell. After a final weekend of waffling, owner Harry Smith has packed up his irons for Gig Harbor, Washington, where another branch is already in business. “This isn’t my choice to leave that place,” says Smith, nor did he want to leave Rio Dell. But after…
Sushi Spot’s Tipping Point
The social media response to Sushi Spot posting its new policy regarding gratuities was swift and nuclear, with Facebook posters and commenters largely deriding the announcement, some even swearing off patronizing the business for good. But the plan itself, the automatic addition of an 18-percent “equity fee” for dine-in and 10 percent for takeout to…
CHP IDs 2 Adults, Child Killed in 101 Crash
The California Highway Patrol has identified the three people killed in a Jan. 21 crash on U.S. Highway 101 as Arcata resident James Baker, 55, and Rio Dell residents Christina Freitas, 42, and Neveah Beyer, 9. According to a news release, the crash occurred shortly before 10:45 p.m. just north of Rio Dell and minutes…
Comedy Tonight: Monday, Feb. 5
Savage Henry Comedy Club’s Sunday open mic has been moved over a day to accommodate some live music. Not a problem, right now more than ever we need all-ages venues filling up their event calendars. If you’re one of the regular or aspiring mic-ers, roll through at 9 p.m. Free.
Music Today: Sunday, Feb. 4
Speaking of jazz, the Sanctuary is offering a French Toast Jazz Brunch this morning at 10 a.m., which basically boils down to free offerings of the eponymous food, with a $10-$25 cover for the folks in the band, who include trombonist James Zeller and Gabriel Lubowe who is trading in the sticks and skins for…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Feb. 3
David Ambrosio is a New York City bassist at the helm of a group called Civil Disobedience, which is a quintet dedicated to playing the politically charged music of the 1960s from noted jazz label Blue Note Records. These pieces are steeped in the battles and political incursions of its tumultuous birth decade, with the…
Mazzotti’s and the Jacobs Property Mystery
This week we’re talking about the workers scrambling for unpaid checks in the wake of Mazzotti’s closing, and the pattern of unreliable pay staff say went back years. Also, we’re still following the mystery of who is behind the purchase of the Jacobs property from Eureka City Schools. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on Humboldt…
Blue Lake Celebrates Joan Schirle Day
The city of Blue Lake celebrates the late Joan Schirle, award-winning and beloved theater pioneer and founding artistic director of Dell’Arte International, on Sunday, Feb. 4. Events for Joan Schirle Day (as proclaimed by the city in November of 2023) include breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. at Mad River Grange, Joan Schirle videos from…
EPD Identifies Deputies who Fatally Shot Suspect
The Eureka Police Department has released the identities of the two Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies who fatally shot a suspect during a standoff Jan. 22. The deputies, both members of the SWAT team, were identified as Johnathan Waxler and Colton Ross, who have five-and-a-half and six years of experience, respectively, according to a press…
Humboldt Cannabis Grower to Pay $750,000 for Violating State Water, Wildlife Regulations
A Humboldt County cannabis grower has agreed to pay $750,000, remove unpermitted ponds and restore streams and wetlands after state officials accused him of violating regulations protecting water supplies, wildlife and waterways. Of the total, $500,000 is a record penalty for a water rights violation in California. State officials say the violations by Joshua Sweet…
Inked Hearts Tattoo Expo Opens Tomorrow at BLC
The Inked Hearts Tattoo Expo takes over Blue Lake Casino & Hotel, Feb. 2-4, featuring tattoos, contests, live entertainment and vendors. Open Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., this weekend of artistic expression is your chance to see an array of artists at work,…
‘How Much Better It Would Be …”
Editor: One of the issues that the California State University system faculty strike underscores is the fact that a large part of labor negotiations involve the protection of health benefits for employees (“Cal State Faculty Ends Strike After Reaching Tentative Contract Agreement,” posted Jan. 23). This issue repeats itself in just about all labor-management disputes. For…
Vote!
Editor: Measure A has two main goals: cap the total acreage for cultivation and have that limit enshrined in the county plan, constraining the board of supervisors. Why limit acreage? In 2021 the south fork of the Eel River was no longer connected to the rest of the river. No matter how important the cannabis…
A Not So Boring 2024
At first blush, the number of the year we’re living in, 2024, sounds pretty uninteresting. First off, it’s obviously not prime (a prime number being only divisible by 1 and itself), unlike, for instance, prime years 2017 and 2027. I like prime years for their individuality. Same with my age: Two years ago, 79 was…
Spokespeople Mum as to Who is Behind Mystery Offer for Eureka Schools’ Jacobs Property
More than six weeks after a newly formed LLC emerged seemingly out of nowhere to enter into a $6 million deal to acquire an 8.3-acre property from Eureka City Schools, the identities of those involved remain a mystery. Spokespeople for AMG Communities — Jacobs LLC, which filed articles of incorporation with the California Secretary of…
See No Evil
A funny thing happened the other day. I was sitting in my truck, birdwatching at the slough and thinking about really nothing much other than the overflowing banks, and an obnoxious bag of trash floating several yards out in the deep water. A weird “Eureka!” moment crept up on me like that garbage flotilla I…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
Eureka Main Street presents First Saturday Night Arts Alive Feb. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants are open late for your enjoyment. 4TH STREET MERCANTILE 215 Fourth St. Various artists. Open until 8 p.m. ART CENTER FRAME SHOP 616 Second St. Jimmy Callian, photography. ART CENTER SPACE 620 Second…
Mud
Dancing in puddles Digging in mud The things that all toddlers Do with great love. And we have a toddler All covered in fur Who dances And prances And burrows in mud. He runs for the house And sneaks in the door Tossing and smearing His mud on the floor. We give chase with a…
Won’t Fade Away
Poetry is a discipline that escapes my writing and, like anything out there minted in a different factory than my own creative forge, intrigues me. Looking through the windows at the production line, I’ve seen quite a few shapes of blurry contradiction that seem to make up the important qualities of the form, once you…
Trinidad to Clam Beach Run
Congratulations! You survived the 10 darkest weeks of the year, and now it’s time for the 58th annual Trinidad to Clam Beach Run. Running or walking the 5.75 miles from Trinidad to the finish line at Clam Beach is a great opportunity to have a little fun, experience some of the best of our Humboldt…
Monsters of Our Own Making
POOR THINGS. Yorgos Lanthimos — born of the glorious, unholy, chimeric union of Luis Buñuel, Ken Russell and Terry Gilliam — has spent much of his storied career exploring parentage, innocence and humanity’s baser impulses through the bleak and delightful lens of his particular brand of absurdism. And now, having joined in a bizarre and…
‘With Bladders and Needs’
Editor: Please join me in asking Caltrans to install a porta-potty in the Herrick Avenue Park and Ride in Eureka (“In Search of Safe Crossing,” Sept. 28). A beautiful new stretch of trail has opened that runs between Herrick and Humboldt Hill Road that is used by many people, all with bladders and needs. Caltrans…
‘Stigma Reduction’
Editor: As a former mental health director, I was pleased to see that Humboldt County continues to work hard to impact the lives lost due to suicide (“Aiming for Zero,” Jan. 18). However, I am saddened to see that language used in the current article unfortunately, and without intent, conveys blame on the person who…
