Drugs in Disguise
Herbs and supplements tweak your biology, but fly under disclosure radar
Cover Stories
Drugs in Disguise
The chants of Krisha Das thrum like a heartbeat. White sage and palo santo inhabit the air. A mother pushes her 7-month-old slowly back and forth in his stroller as she browses between the tinctures and the books. Her son always seems calm in here, she confides, tucked inside Moonrise Herbs on the Arcata Plaza.…
Online Resources
A meta-list of resource links compiled by the USDA (May 2011) http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=2&tax_subject=274&topic_id=1331 Medline (a service of the US National Library of Medicine/NIH) list of herbal supplements with summaries of known use, effectiveness and risk. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb_All.html FDA consumer updates on dietary supplements http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm153239.htm The University of Maryland Medical Center Alternative Medicine Index http://www.umm.edu/altmed/…
November Wine
If you were bumming around Old Town the last couple of days, hopefully you were quiet on the set. ‘Cuz we’s makin’ moovees. Local filmmaker Maria Matteoli (seen above with cinematographer Andy Rydzewski) and a team of 30-odd cast and crew were occupying various E-town locations shooting scenes for The Wine of Summer. The film…
Thompson and Chesbro to Endorse Huffman for Congress
California State Assemblyman Jared Huffman will announce tomorrow that he’s nabbed two major endorsements in his run for U.S. Congress, the Journal has learned. Namely he has acquired the backing of fellow Democratic Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, who represents us here in the First Assembly District, and U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson. Thompson’s 13 years representing the…
When Winter Met Summer
“Kissing fish” by Joel Lueders We always knew there was something peculiar about our Eel River steelhead — those two “standoffish fish clans,” as writer Sid Perkins refers to the Eel’s winter run and summer run steelhead in a story this week in Science Magazine’s online edition. They don’t mingle, they hang out in different…
Guest Post: The Trey McIntyre Project
Stephanie Silva, who writes about dance for the Journal, was able to watch the Trey McIntyre Project dancers rehearsing and performing on Wednesday, Nov. 9. She writes: For decades, contemporary dance has favored a high-tech, high-gloss style, with astonishingly athletic dancers performing lightning quick choreography, filled with Olympian jumps and daring lifts. The Trey McIntyre…
Occupy Eureka Wiped Out (PHOTOS)
… at least for now. The most elaborate encampment constructed on the Humboldt County Courthouse lawn by Occupy Eureka to date — a society that lasted from Friday afternoon until early Monday morning — has been removed by the Eureka Police Department. Monday morning, the police taped-off area was heavily protected by EPD officers. New…
Mushroom Protest! Updated
UPDATE: Orleanser Rhonda Olson (aka Grandma Rhonda) emailed us to say the new mushroom picking permit policy is “insane at best,” and she suggests it might even backfire: “It encourages people to have to pick more mushrooms than they need for a meal just to pay for the permit.” And if you don’t want to spring…
No to Thugs
Editor: In a recent issue, (“For a Friend,” Nov. 3) Bob Doran mentioned my email to Arcata City Council members, warning of the potential for violence at a Mavado concert. If he was going to mention my email at all, he really ought not have ignored the most directly relevant article I was bringing to…
Hiking in the woods
When I was young I followed my Brother…
Disruptive in Manila
Editor: I would like to correct an assertion in your “District Fever” story (Nov. 3). Heidi Walters quotes Manila CSD board member Dendra Dengler as saying an audience member made a comment at a meeting that the president of the board (me) didn’t like and that I wanted to call the police. The fact is…
Unnatural Highs
“Natural high” usually refers to the endorphin rush associated with running, or perhaps the buzz associated with Humboldt’s major export crop. But speaking literally, nature’s “highs” include Half Dome, Grasshopper Peak and the summits of Whitney and Everest. Then there are your unnatural highs that elevate us artificially from our relatively flat (but confined) two-dimensional…
Food Fights
Editor: Thank you, Ari LeVaux, for your excellent article on GMOs and the Just Label It campaign (“Just Label It,” Oct. 27). This initiative is crucially important because it’s part of a much larger issue. Food rights themselves are under attack. Unknown to most people, public health departments all over this country have been engaging…
The Great Leader
Jim Harrison has written a police procedural? The author of historical family sagas like Legends of the Fall, whose last novel was entitled The English Major? Like that one, this new novel is about a solitary man in his 60s dealing with his changing life, but here he’s a retiring detective obsessed with one last…
Ode to Heidi
Editor: This letter is long overdue to express my admiration of Heidi Walters’ writing. I was moved by the story of the young Albers-Supahan family (“In Karuk,” Oct 27), who are raising their children as native speakers of Karuk. In the many years writing for NCJ — I think she is senior writer now –…
Apple Season
Seems like everyone in these parts has an opinion about what Humboldt needs to make it truly great. A railroad. A trail around the bay. A general plan. A Wal-Mart. A Trader Joe’s. One grand, vitally important addition or improvement that would change everything. I agree that Humboldt is lacking in one critical area, but…
And Thanks to Barry
Editor: Thank you Barry Evans (“Blind Luck,” Nov. 3). We, too, “feel grateful” for “winning the lottery of life.” You gave us a whole new perspective on the “mere fact of existing.” Sweet. Suzanne and Neal Crothers, McKinleyville
Slow News is No News
When does a story have legs? That’s the question the media industry grapples with these days when it reports or fails to cover the “Occupy” demonstrations. The problem is that we, in the news industry, gave ourselves a bad name. We called ourselves the news industry. That seems to promise the public that we will…
Racism Kills
Editor: In terms of motive in this case (“A Quiet Life,” Oct. 27), isn’t the perpetrator’s belief in white supremacy enough? Racism is real, it’s present, and it’s dangerous. We have a long way to go. Chessey Henry, Arcata
Bad as Me
When Tom Waits was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, he noted, “They say I have no hits and I’m difficult to work with, and they say that like it’s a bad thing.” For his first studio album of new songs since 2004’s Real Gone, Tom Waits seems to…
Plaza Occupiers
Plaza Occupiers
Not a Hater
Editor: I was correctly quoted (“Why Do People Hate Kirk Girard?” Nov. 3) as saying that Mr. Girard was guilty of “either callous disregard of the truth or malicious lying.” I stand by my earlier statements and presented the Board of Supervisors with the needed information to allow them the opportunity to review the recorded…
Harold & Kumar Likable, Heist Hopeless
REVIEWS A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. I’m kind of a sucker for Christmas movies. And buddy comedies, and stoner pictures. So, despite the fact that I checked out of the Harold and Kumar franchise shortly after being nonplussed by the trip to White Castle, I was prepared to enjoy this one, even if…
Intertribal Elders Dinner!
It’s one of the biggest parties of the year, and it’s not hard to figure why. First, the beautiful purpose: The Northwest Intertribal Gathering and Elders Dinner honors elders and veterans, those strong and oft-gnarled trunks without whom the young folks might flutter and drift into an aimless future. Second, the food and entertainment: This…
Humboldt’s Weed Stereotype in Event Form
We’ve all said it. “I’m from Humboldt County.” That phrase, when uttered outside the Redwood Curtain usually generates one of two responses. One, “Where?” And two, “Weed!” I’ll usually play along to a degree by informing people that, no, I didn’t bring any ganj with me but if they’d like to lick me like a…
Occupy Checking Account
At first blush, last Saturday’s Bank Transfer Day seemed like a great idea — a beautifully simple way for consumers to take revenge (finally!) on our nation’s sinister and impersonal mega-banks, the financial behemoths whose predatory lending and sleight-of-hand derivatives effectively turned our economy into the largest pyramid scheme ever devised. And when it crumbled,…
Soul!
There’s some major talent coming to town this week, but in my book no show can top next Wednesday’s visit by neo-soul masters Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, filling The Depot (of all places). Raised on a mix of gospel and James Brown funk, Ms. Jones is a tough cookie who worked for years as…
Who Killed ACRC?
Editor: I am writing to express my concern for the imminent closure of a community icon (“So Long, ACRC,” Nov. 3). A major contributor to the economy of Humboldt County of $2.5 million to $4 million annually, not to mention other community benefits including an education program. I am talking about the Arcata Community Recycling…
