Elk Crossing
Agencies look to protect famous herd while leaving them free to roam By Kimberly Wear
Cover Stories
Elk Crossing
A herd of Roosevelt elk living around Stone Lagoon has been getting a lot of attention lately. It’s not the usual adoration heaped upon the animals from tourists driving along U.S. Highway 101 near Stone Lagoon who are taken in by the frequent sight of bulls bearing candelabra-esque antlers grazing in a sunlit meadow with…
Initiative Pits Housing Against Parking in Eureka
Robin P. Arkley II’s parking lot war against the city of Eureka has moved into a new phase. An outspoken critic of the city’s plan to convert downtown municipal parking lots into affordable housing developments, Arkley is attacking the city on multiple fronts, through two lawsuits challenging the city’s plans and threats to move his…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Aug. 26
It’s local rock night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, with a trio of homegrown talent scorching the stage. Starting at 7 p.m., you will find Phosphorus (hence the scorching reference), Drastic Gnarly’s, and the young upstart winners of 2023 Fernstock, The Critics. All of this music for the low price of $10, and half that…
Music Tonight: Friday, Aug. 25
The Outer Space is putting on an indie folk show tonight at 7 p.m. The lineup is full of musicians who work with the gentler side of the sonic palette, with touring Colorado duo Frail Talk bringing the colors from the furthest blooms little Arcata. Speaking of blooms, Your Local Flora will be playing a…
Festival of Dreams – Whimsical Fun
There’s a new, colorful event happening in Eureka this weekend, “celebrating everything that is whimsical, weird, and wonderful about the community and world we inhabit.” That’s according to the press release for The Festival of Dreams, happening Aug. 25-27 in the Eureka Cultural District (Halvorsen Park and Old Town). The event, developed and funded by…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Aug. 24
The magnificent musicians in local Dead-ish group Magnificent Sanctuary Band are putting on a groovy, all-ages get down at Fieldbrook Winery at 5:30 p.m. No cover, but consider purchasing provisions.
Super Blue Moon Set to Rise
The second full moon set to rise in the sky Aug. 30 will not be just a “blue moon” — as the two-in-one calendar month lunar phenomena that occurs every two to three years is known. No, it’s going to be a “super blue moon.” According to NASA, so-called blue moons — and the accompanying…
CA Officials Respond to Tropical Storm Hilary, Ojai quake and Wildfires with the Possibility of More Lightning in the Forecast
California received a one-two punch from Mother Nature as Tropical Storm Hilary unleashed torrential record rains and flooding across Southern California, and an earthquake struck near Ojai — all during what has historically been the state’s wildfire season. The wild weekend prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to head south, declaring a storm state of emergency even…
Repairs to Grandstands Ready By Humboldt County Fair Time
This year’s Humboldt County Fair horse racing season took off from the starting gates Aug. 18, one week after emergency repairs were completed to prevent one of the annual event’s major draws from being scratched, which potentially could have put Ferndale’s spot on the racing circuit in jeopardy. But the repairs — including the installation…
Duane ‘Tiny’ Kempf: 1961-2023
Duane Harry Kempf, a life-long resident of Humboldt County, passed away peacefully in his family home in Loleta on June 5 after a long battle with illness at the age of 61. The eldest child of Donald and Doris Kempf, Duane was born on July 30, 1961. He graduated from Fortuna Union High School in…
59th Annual Klamath Salmon Festival on Saturday
The salmon may be absent from the plates this year, but they’ll certainly be in the hearts and minds of all who attend the 59th annual Klamath Salmon Festival taking place Saturday, Aug. 19, starting at 10 a.m. at the Yurok Tribe Headquarters (free to attend). The festival’s theme this year surely makes for one…
Saucy Time in Bridgeville
Have a fling at BridgeFest 2023, coming to a small town on earth near you this Saturday, Aug. 19. Gather with friends from near and far from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bridgeville Community Center for the festival’s 27th trip around the sun. Enjoy live music from Attila & the Hunz, Knights of the…
Buddy Brown Blues Fest This Saturday
The thrill is ON at the 21st annual Buddy Brown Blues Festival happening this Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Perigot Park ($15, $12 members, $5 children). The all-day blues, barbecue and beer fundraiser for Humboldt Folklife Society features a who’s-who of local blues musicians, including Oryan Peterson-Jones, Willow and the…
EPD Looks to Close ‘Dark Chapter’
An outside auditor that reviewed the third-party investigation into the text messaging scandal that rocked the Eureka Police Department in 2021 found the city’s response was “appropriate” and held “most involved in the misconduct accountable,” noting the department has made strides in changing the culture and policies that enabled this “dark chapter.” “The investigation revealed…
Carrying the Fire
Patrick and Audrey Ramer were planning to get a water truck, not a food truck. They would sell their home in Sacramento and return to Humboldt to work fire seasons from Hoopa, where Audrey was born and raised on the Hoopa Valley Reservation. But when Patrick, who grew up in Eureka, went ahead to start…
The Return of ‘30,000 Salmon’
In mid-September of 2002, tens of thousands of fish (mostly Chinook salmon) turned up dead on the Klamath River. Attributed in part to low water flow from the Iron Gate Dam, the devastating fish kill left an enormous impact on the local community, artist Becky Evans included. A self-described “land-based artist,” Evans tends to let…
A Bird in Hand
You’re strolling around the neighborhood one morning when something odd catches your eye. You take a closer look and find a bird in the grass. It looks like a young one: Some of its feathers are stubby, others fluffy, and it hops along as if unsure how to fly. You’re worried it might end up…
Vampires on a Boat
THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER. Before the title character in Bram Stoker’s 1897 epistolary novel Dracula drinks his way through England, he travels there on a ship called the Demeter, as detailed in the chapter titled “The Captain’s Log.” Not to spoil a 126-year-old book further than the movie’s title does, but it’s a…
A Heretic Reflects on Spiritual Compassion
Last month, I happened on an article in the Times-Standard headlined “Pastor Cites Violent Tale” and written by Sage Alexander. The article was about Tyrel Bramwell, the controversial anti-gay pastor of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Ferndale. The article referenced a monthly periodical produced by Bramwell called the Ferndale Fortitude, so I decided to look…
‘Access Barriers’
Editor: It’s almost fair time (“Supes Pony Up $1 Million in Effort to Save Horse Racing at the Fair,” July 6)! There are dozens of ADA access barriers that the fair board has neglected to take care of. The paved parking area at the front entrance of the Humboldt County Fairgrounds has “HCFA Director Parking”…
Storm in a Port
Editor: I always read Elaine Weinreb. I count on her broad vision and grasp of detail to inform my understanding of life in Humboldt. I also appreciate NCJ’s recent knowledgeable and penetrating letters to the editor on Elaine’s July 27 article “Port of Entry,” underscoring the complexities of what would otherwise seem an enticing win for carbon reduction and…
‘Shocked’
Editor: Arcata residents, please make your voices heard! I have been talking with people for almost two years now about the Gateway Plan and the effects it will have on our small city and am constantly shocked by how few people know what is going on (Mailbox, July 27). There are multiple aspects of the…
‘Dancing Feet’
Editor: My dancing feet are so happy to have the music grid back in the paper again (Nightlife, Aug. 10). No more missed shows! Robbin Kohn, Arcata
‘Humbled’
Editor: Thank you Humboldt County (“Best Of Humboldt 2023,” Aug. 3). I took over ownership of Eureka Happy Dog in November of 2018. Since that time we have strived to be the very best in doggy daycare and boarding for Humboldt County. We have been remarkably humbled by your response and want to take the…
Correction
A story in the Aug. 10, 2023, edition of the North Coast Journal headlined “Harbor District to Talk Labor Agreement Amid Requests for Delay” misquoted Hooven & Co. Vice President Tim Hooven. Speaking about the Project Labor Agreement for the Humboldt Offshore Wind Terminal Project, Hooven said he was concerned it would force non-union members…
Vulcan: Missing in Action
Vulcan was the Roman god of fire; he was also ugly. The good news is that he somehow got to marry the goddess Venus, who was something of a catch. The bad news is she was constantly unfaithful. Although sounding like a bit of a loser, Vulcan had the last laugh, giving us our word…
