Fear vs. Hope
Debating the merits of Measure P, a ban on growing GMOs in Humboldt County
Cover Story
Fear vs. Hope
On a recent Friday night in September, less than two months from election day when voters will decide whether to ban the growing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Humboldt County, Mark Wilson stood between a bright screen and his audience inside a lecture room at Humboldt State University. Wilson, a professor of microbiology and…
A Star is Born and El Pulpo be thy Name
Humboldt County’s most famous flaming octopus has fully arrived on the national stage. El Pulpo Mecanico, the brainchild of Kinetic hall-of-famer Duane Flatmo, has for years been appearing at Burning Man, an arts festival in the Nevada desert, and has become a favorite of its cult-like following. But now, the fire spewing machine is going…
Primary Collision Factor = Booger Flicking
Forget about text messaging, there’s a new vehicular menace on the streets of Eureka: booger flicking. Shortly before 9 a.m. on Sept. 21, a Eureka police officer was dispatched to Fairfield Street, where a vehicle had crashed into a parked car. From EPD’s collision report (which, may be the best ever written): “(Driver-1) stated that…
Zombie Invasion!
A group of walking dead gathered at the Humboldt County Courthouse Saturday evening and lurched its way to Old Town, where zombies mingled with the living in general peace and art-loving harmony. It was a sight to behold. If you missed it, local photographer Mark McKenna was there to capture some of the sights. No…
Great Dame
As Raymond Chandler wrote, “She was worth a stare. She was trouble.” Sure, Audrey and Marilyn were swell, but Lauren Bacall was one helluva broad. The Humboldt County Library is all over her films like a cheap suit with October’s Based on the Book Film Series, “Just Whistle” (free). Maybe you’ve got Tuesday nights free…
Chalk It Up
It was a real scorcher in Arcata today — mid 70’s — making for a sweaty Pastels on the Plaza as dozens of local artists plied the plaza pavement with chalk. It’s a colorful affair. If you didn’t make it today, the sidewalk art should linger for some time.
Supes to Take up Campaign Finance Reform Tuesday
The governing board for Montgomery County, Maryland, recently voted unanimously to establish a system of partial public funding for county elections. Why do you care? Well, in case you missed it, campaign finance reform has been on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ front burner lately (a draft ordinance is scheduled to come before the…
At Long Last, You Can Put That Cartoon Hair of Yours To Use
(h/t Because Coffee)
Flash Fiction Contest!
Inside your brain is a very tiny story (but it’s BIG, baby, real big). We want to read it. Our judges want to judge it. Fame, publication, a prize — these could be yours. So get the thing out of your head, make it 99 words or fewer, and send it to the North Coast…
‘A Platform for a Cause’
Forget about the alleged murder of a Guatemalan man at a Kneeland marijuana farm. Tony J Serra wants to put federal pot laws on trial. The eccentric San Francisco defense attorney who has become a cult figure in the legal profession is defending Mikal Wilde, a 32-year-old Kneeland man accused of gunning down two of…
Humboldt Insider Fall 2014
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Trinidad Art Night
This is the final event this year. For more information on openings, exhibitions and events, visit trinidadartnights.com. Upper Trinidad SAUNDER’S PARK (start of Patricks Point Drive). Circus of the Elements performs fire dancing at 8:45 p.m. OCEAN GROVE 480 Patricks Point Drive. Afterparty at 9:30 p.m. Funk by River Valley Mud ($5). TRINIDAD MUSEUM 400 Janis Court at Patricks Point Drive. “The Trinidad…
Hum Plate Roundup
Slow Mocha Is that rain? Quick, run into Café Mokka (495 J St., Arcata), slide into a window seat and watch the back garden get all misty. We can’t afford to waste wet days anymore, so make your mocha a double ($3.10). There is no pit crew of headset-wearing baristas, and you are not going…
Worldly Matters
Humboldt! We have many things happening. A really big show Many readers know famed violinist-singer-songwriter Jenny Scheinman launched her stunningly successful career from the wilds of Petrolia. Within those homestead beginnings, a major talent was cultivated. Scheinman moved to Brooklyn in 1998, her album 12 Songs ranked among the New York Times’ Top Ten Albums…
One of Them
To be one of the trees, Mistaken for one of them. Unnoticed in their midst, They include me without thinking. I grow tall, Stretch down into the earth Where my roots hold hands with theirs. I’m just as still. And silent. Unless, caressing the wind, We sigh and sway.
A Clarification
Editor: In my letter to the editor (“Hey Big Spender,” Sept. 18) I mistakenly gave figures from the county assessor’s department saying they were Auditor/Controller’s office. My bad. For clarity, a further change would be the word “budget” and substitute the word “revenues.” In other words, the assessor department was proposing spending $1,780,425 over its…
The College Try
Editor: Both the Journal and Times-Standard have recently run stories regarding the retirement of the president of College of the Redwoods (“CR Prez to Retire,” Sept. 18). Mentioned in the Times article was the fact that the current incumbent is the 6th president in the school’s 50 year history. Not mentioned, however, is the following:…
Mike’s Right
Editor: As a Cloverdale city council member, I have had the pleasure of working with Mike Newman on several occasions over the last four years. We currently serve together on the League of California Cities, Redwood Empire Division, Legislative Committee. I have always found Mike to be a hardworking and dedicated person who truly cares…
Fortuna’s First Friday
The Fortuna Downtown Business Association invites you to a fun-filled night of art, music, refreshments and merchant specials on the first Friday of every month. Enter to win $50 in Fortuna Bucks by picking up a “Passport to Downtown” at a participating business and getting it stamped at 10 more shops. BARKY DOGZ BATHHOUSE 1041…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening rec3eptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, phone Eureka Main Street at 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org 2. HUMBOLDT ARTS COUNCIL at the Morris Graves Museum of Art 636 F St. Performance Rotunda: Music by Lemon Lemon Cherry. William…
October Gardening To-Do List
Autumn seems to be coming earlier this year, with the spring and summer drought causing deciduous plants to show fall color and drop leaves about a month ahead of schedule. We also seem to have gotten a jump start on our rainy season, which means the time we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived:…
All Boxed Up
Reviews THE BOXTROLLS. Laika Entertainment first entered the mainstream conversation with Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005), subsequently producing Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012) and now The Boxtrolls. Like Burton’s movies, Laika’s output is defined by gorgeous design, painstaking attention to detail and whimsy. Those aspects of its creations are, without fail, a delight. However, the studio…
A Bay in the Life of Humboldt
Rocky, man-made shores echo with barking dogs and squawking riparian life. Inky waters bob with seals, kayaks, porpoises and sputtering boats. Cyclists challenge 18-wheelers; hikers meet the homeless. High tide to low tide, day in and day out, Humboldt Bay is host to recreation, mariculture, economy and life. “Simply by dint of its geographical power…
When Bicycles are Outlawed …
When it comes to clinging to the past, there is perhaps no better illustration of the divide than the looming closure of Eureka’s post office sorting facility. Here is an institution that loses $64 quadrillion per quarter (approximately), whose junk-mail delivery trucks dispense ads for pizza and credit cards and don’t even bring us NetFlix…
A False Sense of Reform
As a scholar of voting rights and constitutional law, I’m opposed to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ proposed campaign finance reform ordinance that would restrict individual campaign donations to $1,500 for county offices. I generally support campaign finance reforms because most contemporary campaign funding undermines the very purpose of elections. However, these reforms must…
Gray Matters Fall 2014
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Apples and Apples
If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, you may not see yours for some time after the Apple Harvest Festival in downtown Fortuna. The fruity fun starts early on Friday at 6 p.m. when the McLean Foundation hosts Taste of the Harvest, a night of cider sampling with music by Cliff Dallas and…
