Cover Story
Duane Flatmo Wants to Wow
Standing in the glow of El Pulpo Magnifico — artist Duane Flatmo’s massive, motorized, flame-shooting, scrap metal octopus — is a physical experience. As anyone who’s encountered it in the desert plain of Burning Man or its December Arts Alive appearance in 2022 will recall, the plumes of propane flame turn its silver body a…
Targeting the Sharpshooters
When the Humboldt County Department of Agriculture put out a call for assistance to help recover grape vines potentially harboring an invasive insect never before detected in the area, the community responded. The result of a Fresno-based nursery breaching protocol meant to prevent the pest’s expansion, a total of 60 plants with glassy-winged sharpshooters possibly…
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
There’s a certain magic about waking up in an unfamiliar place at an unusual time. Even when pain and confusion are involved, there’s still a special glow surrounding the experience. One that I suspect serious alcoholics and other addicts simply register as standard turbulence in the regular flight logs they file in pursuit of those…
Brews for a Cause at the Homebrew Festival
In the years before the pandemic, the festival filled Arcata’s other, much larger, community center. This felt intimate and back-to-basics with maybe 20 brewers, several dozen brews of various kinds, with hard-driving band The Mojovators performing multiple sets. It’s like the difference between a recent Platinum Edition Ford pickup and an F100 from back in…
Open Studios 2026
In case you missed a chance to visit some of the studios and galleries of the 150 local artists participating in the 26th annual North Coast Open Studios event last weekend, no worries. There’s still time to visit many of their studios and galleries located between Eureka and Trinidad and east to Willow Creek this…
Crabs Walk Off Eagles, Then Sweep Storm
After handily sweeping through week 1, the Humboldt Crabs opened the second week of the season Wednesday night, challenged and pushed to the brink by a somewhat unlikely opponent. The Humboldt Eagles, a team made up of local high school and junior college players showed up to Arcata ballpark, and they meant business. The Eagles…
Drawn to Water Troughs? Read This
A day after I roto-tilled the garden we had a warm spring rain, after which I saw many long, thin worms on the loose soil. Each was waving its body in the air in a circular motion. What surprised me was not the worms’ behavior, but the number of them — this small garden plot contained…
“Tow” Might Be Good for You
TOW. Is a judicial system, ostensibly built to protect the citizenry but susceptible to the manipulations of commerce and greed, inherently cynical? Possibly. Is a movie, replete with marketable stars, that explores an individual’s struggle against such a corruptible system, also cynical? Hopefully not. What about the critic who, in the face of such an…
To Susan and Susan
Editor: How sweet to see one of my favorite poets (Susan Pahl) writing about one of my favorite librarians (Susan Parsons) — “There Is a Story,” June 4, 2026. Susan Parsons: Thank you for all your years of love and service at the Arcata library. You have made that space a lively, loving place, and…
Stardust
Listening matters,More than religious dogmaConfusing us all. God speaks directly,Revealing best paths forwardIn every breath. Stop agonizingOver what we do not know,And start accepting Our best path forward,To what we should be sharingEach waking moment. — Kirk Gothier
