Cover Story
#Eureka24hr
When local photographer León Villagómez announced his new project on social media recently, explaining that he would spend the entirety of June 25 — all 24 hours of it — exploring and photographing the people, streets and sites of Eureka, he was surprised by the response. “I just found it so negative,” explained the unflinchingly…
Who Gets a Vote in Eureka? Ballot Measure Set For November.
Eureka voters and their representatives appear to be fairly fired up about democracy, although they have a different opinions about how that democracy is best expressed. This was apparent in Tuesday night’s city council meeting, in which the council voted 3-2, with Marian Brady and Melinda Ciarabellini dissenting, to put an item on the November…
It Came from Outer Space
In the 1950s, with the Red Scare and alarming advances in technology, American brains were going nuclear. It was a time of us versus them, fear of the unknown, mind control and invasion. Americans needed escape and a place to sort it all out — like the movies. The Classic Film Series at the Eureka…
Two Parties on the Fourth
A large crowd of all ages enjoyed the warm afternoon sunshine and the family fun at the Fourth of July Festival in Eureka along five city blocks in Old Town. Informational and food booths lined Second Street, along with classic cars and electric vehicles. A children’s petting zoo, face painting and a bevy of rides…
HumBug: Three Critters on the River
Since I started writing this blog, it has been my intention to be as current as possible so that anyone in the area might have the opportunity to see the critters I was talking about. On my recent trips down to the Van Duzen River, I’ve seen an increasing number and variety of “bugs” as…
Coroner IDs Motorcyclist Killed in Tuesday Crash
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified the man killed in a motorcycle crash Tuesday afternoon on Alderpoint Road as 21-year-old Austin Brady Williams, of Eureka. Williams was traveling westbound on Alderpoint Road, according to the California Highway Patrol, when for unknown reasons he lost control of his Yamaha in a right-hand curve. Williams slid…
Eureka Mulls Going True Ward
The Eureka City Council will consider Tuesday whether to scrap its long-maligned electoral system. Currently, Eureka has a kind of hybrid system. Each of the council’s five members represent a ward of the city, within which they were required to reside when they ran for office. This provision has seen a lot of council hopefuls…
(UPDATED) Arrest Made in Fatal Shooting of 19-Year-Old
UPDATE: The Eureka Police Department has identified the victim in Thursday’s fatal shooting as Rhianna McKenzie, 19, of Eureka. Police still haven’t released a motive for the slaying, but some posts to the Facebook page of the alleged killer, Maxx Carson Robison, indicate he was going through some emotional turmoil in the days leading up…
Make Them Care
With all the craziness happening around the country and globe, I find I don’t focus on what goes on in my own geographic world. But one recent story popped out: Humboldt County’s scary spike in cases of hepatitis C. The news came from a report Humboldt County Public Health Officer Don Baird made to the…
The Sweet Spot
It was Benjamin Franklin who famously wrote in a 1789 letter that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Well, California pot farmers have largely skirted the second of those for decades and now fear the looming certainty of taxation may bring death to their businesses. The Humboldt…
Some Like it Hot
The Fourth of July is nearly upon us and, as a red-blooded patriot, I quested to write something about music, America and perhaps Brexit. After long thoughts about John Phillip Sousa, Donald Trump and David Cameron, I realized I was not up for the task. My mind wandered to a scene I came across last…
Humboldt on Tap
This is a story about marketing, glassware and how your brain loves you and wants you to be happy. Let’s start in 2001, when a French study used food coloring to dye white wine red. People who should know a little something about wine (in this case, enology undergrads in France) described its flavor notes…
Argumentative
Can police videos recorded on body-worn and patrol car cameras by considered confidential police officer personnel records and hidden from public view? That’s the question three justices with the California First Appellate District spent about a half an hour wrestling with in a San Francisco courtroom June 23. It was clear from their questions that…
We lost the war
Editor: I have seen the future for the Emerald Triangle. It ain’t pretty. Corporations and other rich cretins have and are driving prices sky high. This noted speculator (“The Curious Case of Parcel 106-101-054,” June 23) is a prime example of greed making folks do stupid things. Sadly, we regular residents will pay the price…
Poetic praise
Editor: Full marks to Tamara Jackson for last week’s poem, Of Leaves, Dew, Me and You (June 23). It is reminiscent of the singular thought of the Tao De Ching: “Setting aside the self, we are perfectly fulfilled.” Ms. Jackson writes, “no needs, no mind, no calling out for a name to all this wonder.” In…
Cuts Like a Knife
An early work of language art by Jenny Holzer reads: “With all the holes in you already there’s no reason to define the outside environment as alien.” Sebastopol-based artist Brooke Holve’s show, Cuts Make You, about sliced and broken surfaces, brought that phrase to mind. The exhibition’s name sounds like a joke about collage but Holve…
Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org. ADORNI CENTER 1011 Waterfront St. Paul Rickard, Barbara Saul, Steve Coach and Belinda Arnold. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan Strope, floral paintings. ARKLEY CENTER FOR THE…
Trinidad Art Nights
Shuttle Service available with several pick-up and drop-off locations throughout town. Join Marna Powell and members of the Community Arts Trinidad team for a shuttle ride tour starting with cocktails at Sunset Restaurant at 6 p.m. BEACHCOMBER CAFE 363 Trinity St. Art TBA. Music by Sand Fleas. Face painting by Tess Kraus. BERGERON WINERY 359…
Sunk Cost Fallacy
“Every garage sale is a funeral for someone’s sunk costs.” — David McRaney How do I deceive me? Let me count the ways … number one would be my belief that I make rational decisions. If only life were that simple. My decisions — and yours, unless you’re a robot — are tainted by a…
Hate Couture
THE NEON DEMON. Following Drive (2011) — which I found revelatory and some dismissed as over-reaching genre trash — director Nicholas Winding Refn re-teamed with Ryan Gosling for a crimson tour of Thailand, viewed through the frame of one particularly hideous organized crime family. Only God Forgives (2013), a contemplatively-placed study in vengeance and loyalty,…
Pursuit of Happiness
The work is daunting. As we struggle with each step, One hand is clapping.
