Cover Story
‘Everybody’s Gotta Bring Their Skills’
Just before noon on March 28, the sidewalk in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse was packed with protesters who covered the curbs along Fifth Street for three blocks. Costumes that have become familiar in the last decade — red-robed handmaids, a camouflaged Uncle Sam, a pair of inflated unicorns — dotted the throng, along…
Poisonings Spike Amid Toxic Mushroom ‘Superbloom’
The state has seen a spate of mushroom poisonings in the last several months, including one in Humboldt County, amid what the California Department of Public Health describes as a “superbloom” of the highly toxic death cap and western destroying angel varieties. “Environmental factors including early fall rains followed by a warm, wet winter have…
‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’ Live Again
Classes consistently bludgeon young directors to simply tell the story of theater works — stick to themes, find rhythms, push characters’ objectives and explore consequences. Then you’re given a work like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, forcing you to question or challenge those teachings. After all, theater, like life, doesn’t come with rule books…
Overture
I am running down a deadline and the music I’m listening to while writing has just shifted to Rachmaninoff, so time is ticking away along with the score. For those of you wondering if there is a contradiction when I mention a different act I’m listening to while writing in the text below, there is…
Hmong-Japanese Fusion Magic at Alchemy
On Thursday before her three-day pop-up dinner weekend at Alchemy Distillery, Pangnou Vang had plenty to do but only one worry: mustard green pickles. “I’ve been pickling it since Tuesday,” she said, a process that normally takes three or four days, depending on the weather. “I’m just hoping and praying it turns out like I’m…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
4TH STREET MERCANTILE 215 Fourth St. Various artists. ART CENTER FRAME SHOP 616 Second St. “Send Nudes,” Chris Henry, watercolors and mixed media. ART CENTER SPACE 620 Second St. Jill Sarrab, oil painting, mixed media. BELLE STARR CLOTHING 405 Second St. Christina Anastasia Jewelry, pop-up studio. Music by Jeff Smoller. BY NIEVES :: HANDMADE NATURAL…
‘Just Asking’
Editor: Maybe I missed it but is anyone else running for governor of California but Tom “Is Name Recognition Enough” Steyer? And is anyone else getting tired of being constantly bombarded by his advertising campaign? Just asking …. Dick Bruce, Trinidad
‘Undertone’ Underwhelms
UNDERTONE. In the photograph Mary Todd Lincoln sits laden in the heavy black garb of formal Victorian mourning, with only her round pale face and clasped hands visible. Behind her is the transparent form of her deceased husband, his spectral hands on her shoulders. This photograph was one of many staged by infamous “spirit photographer”…
‘A Lot to Offer’
Editor: Spot on, George Clark! (“Unsustainable,” Mailbox, March 12). Our communities need seniors in our neighborhoods for the every hour/everyday happenings that are so important to keep our communities healthy. We have a lot to offer. By separating some of this element from our communities, we lose a part of the glue that holds us…
A Question
Editor: Epic query. There’s a question that’s been bugging me for a long time, so I thought I would pose it here: Do you think President Trump knows how to say, “Thank you?” I personally have my doubts. From everything I see, I believe he just demands or expects things with gratefulness not being part…
‘Gravity of the Moment’
Editor: Trump’s recent remarks claiming he is engaged in talks with Iran are deeply troubling. Watching these statements broadcast around the world is increasingly embarrassing for our country. What once drew laughter now risks drawing pity, for him and for us, as his public comments grow more detached from reality. It is alarming that no…
Bear
An open doorFuzzy bear in hand,He wanders outHis sister once went thereHe remembers her faceDimpled, laughing, framed with grace,Her mane flowing in joyArms embraceVibrant garden flowers. Now he scramblesOver concrete and cobbles –fruits of mendacious power –o see her laughing againBear still clutched tightlyAgainst his tattered shirtEyes scanningDefiled landBlossoms face downIn ashes and dirt. Little…
Correction
In the March 26, 2026, Seriously column “Prominent Male Public Figures Who are Not Sexual Predators,” the Journal mistakenly included Garfield the Cat, whose actions toward Arlene the Cat clearly make him ineligible for the list. Not cool, Garfield. The Journal regrets the error.
