‘Don’t Bother Coming In’
Why is the county paying employees hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay home?
Cover Story
‘Don’t Bother Coming In’
In 2011 and the first half of 2012, Humboldt County spent more than $700,000 on salaries and benefits for people who weren’t coming to work — they were on paid administrative leave. Department heads order these leaves to protect employee rights while an investigation is conducted. That can happen for a variety of reasons: a…
Local Students Vote For Obama
More than a thousand students from a dozen Humboldt County schools participated in a statewide student mock election, and the local voters of tomorrow preferred President Barack Obama to Republican challenger Mitt Romney by a landslide. Obama earned 58.1 percent of the vote (673 of 1,159) among participating students from local elementary, middle and high…
![Details Emerge About Gruesome Shark Attack [Victorious Shark-Punch Update]](https://i0.wp.com/www.northcoastjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sharkbite.webp?resize=600%2C450&ssl=1)
Details Emerge About Gruesome Shark Attack [Victorious Shark-Punch Update]
UPDATE #3: The surfer has been identified as Scott Stephens, a 25-year-old from Manila. Rumors of his death and errant intestines appear to have been exaggerated. He’s looking good today and apparently feeling well enough to give KIEM an interview. Stephens reportedly told reporter Kelly May that in order to escape the shark, which researchers believe…
Seven Revelations From Rob Arkley
Eureka kazillionaire Rob Arkley made some surprising revelations yesterday in a radio interview on KINS radio. Here are the biggest ones: 1) What Marina Center? “Frankly it’s not my priority right now given the east-west rail,” he says. 2) Arkley’s company — not the City of Eureka — is the lead agency on the east-west…
Ocean Grove to Host More Murder Music
Undaunted by public outrage stirred up by the furtive Capleton concert earlier this month, the Ocean Grove Lodge in Trinidad has booked another dancehall performer whose lyrics explicitly call for the murder and brutalization of gays. This time, in a concert scheduled for Election Day, the performer is Beenie Man, a Jamaican dancehall icon with a…
Announcing the Sunday Bus Schedule
Good news, public transportation fans. Your weekend bus options are about to expand. Here’s a press release from the Humboldt Transit Authority: Beginning Sunday, November 4, 2012, the Redwood Transit System (RTS) will operate on Sundays. RTS travels between Trinidad and Scotia with stops in Rio Dell, Fortuna, Eureka, Arcata and McKinleyville. Sunday Service was…
County Appoints Hamblin as New Planning and Building Director
Press release from the county: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors announced today the appointment of Kevin Hamblin to the position of Director of Planning and Building. For the past three years, Mr. Hamblin served as the Community Development Director for Del Norte County. Prior to that, he was the Director of Community Development with…
Rapacious Weed: News Outlets Eye Enviro Costs of Humboldt’s Pot Farms
Two news stories this week, the first from the Sacramento Bee and a follow-up from Mother Jones, examine the environmental impacts of large-scale outdoor marijuana grow operations, which have exploded over the rural hills of Northern California in recent years. Both stories point out how the conflict between state and federal laws has effectively stymied attempts to…
Painting Into The Night
They started in the daytime and painted into the night, light flickering from a campfire merging with spotlights to show their handiwork. And the scene emerging on the large canvas was no surprise: an expression, oft repeated, of the keenest desire of many in our region, including members of local tribes, to see the Klamath…
You Call That Scary?
Reviews PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4. I don’t really go in for horror movies. I can enjoy one if it’s well made, but those are pretty thin on the ground. Add to that tendency my increasingly fervent dislike of found-footage movies and you’ll have a pretty clear picture of my bias regarding any sort of Paranormal Activity.…
Raising the Dead
Humboldt is a place where day-to-day fashion statements, say wearing kitty ears and a tutu when you go to the store, make it seem like it could be Halloween year ’round. But toward the end of October the admonition to dress up for seasonal events ramps up. This year, with All Hallows Eve falling on…
Two Deaths, Many Questions
Scorched by the attention that followed a slaying in Hoopa and a fatal hit-and-run crash, Humboldt County prosecutors have begun opposing every single request for release under a legal deal called a Cruz waiver. The temporary stance, which could last a few weeks, is aimed at giving prosecutors time to decide whether to set new…
Censorious
Editor: Over decades I’ve been associated with several periodicals that have published a (free?) cover story each year from Project Censored (“Project Censored,” Oct. 18), but this time my annual irritation requires expression. Though the topics summarized in these stories may be “underreported” (which is all the project now claims in the small print) by standards of journalism…
Shadows and Fog
You were a strange boy in the presence…
Stand Up and Paddle
It’s raining again. After a glorious September and early October, the fog is rolling in and the days of peek-a-boo sunshine are back. For me, this means my running season is over, and my climbing is going mostly indoors. But there are still a few ways to enjoy Humboldt that do not include whining about…
King Arthur, Part 1: The Matter of Britain
Arthur long sustained his sinking country, and roused the broken courage of its citizens for war. Deeds of the Kings of the English, William of Malmesbury, c. 1125. I used to give one-evening community college classes on such eclectic topics as “The Seven Wonders,” “Dinosaurs,” “Mars,” and “King Arthur.” Attendance was unpredictable … except…
Your Guide to Humboldt Zaaambies
The new season of The Walking Dead has arrived, so it’s time to love zombies again. And, in fact, there is more undead activity in HumCo than you might suspect. We got a call from zombie Angelique Perrott who was a little worried that there could be impending community confusion. It seems that while…
Halloween Masks
Halloween Masks
Sweet Parenting
Like Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve, Halloween is one of those misbehaving holidays that doesn’t fall on a convenient three day weekend-enabling date. Also, reputable employers/schools tend not to give you any time off around it either. You can choose to be bummed by this. Or … This year, Halloween falls on a Wednesday,…
Vote for Life
Editor: Thank you for the excellent explanation of Propositions 30 and 38. However I wonder if your readership understands the graver issues that Prop. 34 addresses? The Buddhist Peace Fellowship (Humboldt Chapter) strongly endorses Prop. 34 as a way to end the death penalty in California and probably reduce solitary confinement housing. Currently in California…
Schools Need You
Editor: Thanks for covering the Proposition 30 and 38 initiatives (“Propping up Schools,” Oct. 4). I would like to add my thoughts to the discussion. Prop. 38 would also increase the personal income tax rate on all but the lowest bracket through 2024. All new revenues from Prop. 38 would be dedicated to K-12 except during 2016-17,…
Round Right Signs
Editor: I was going to write about the Joe Bonino signs a couple of weeks ago. Then I saw your article “Watching Ward 2” (Oct. 11). This is what I was thinking: Something is smelling a little bad in Eureka. Notice the signs from Rex Bohn, all made up and expensive looking, and so many…
Green Mistake
Editor: I’m writing in response to Kathy Berry’s and Dana Silvernale’s letters (“Jolly Greens,” Oct. 11) urging people to vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president. I believe in Stein’s platform and if we had ranked choice voting, she would be my first choice. The Green Party is circulating a petition to…
Bagging It
Editor: I just loved Mitch Trachtenberg’s article about the big bag “tadoo” (“Bag by Bag,” Oct. 11). Of course we all want to do the right and good thing, and he has ferreted out the information we need to make an intelligent decision, but at 0.3 percent of the “waste-stream,” plastic bags are a minascule part…
Dispiriting Law
Editor: Synchronicity? On Sunday Oct. 14, John Tutuska died (Blog Jammin’, Oct. 18). On sunny days, Tutuska could often be seen sitting and meditating on the sidewalk next to the Clarke Museum in Old Town. According to your obituary: “Shop owners and workers in Old Town remembered Tutuska fondly on Monday, telling stories of his…
