UPDATED: Two EPD Officers on Leave, Investigation Underway into Report of Offensive Text Exchanges
Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson placed two officers on administrative leave Wednesday after the Sacramento Bee published an article about obscene, denigrating and sometimes violent texts reportedly exchanged by them and others in their squad over several months in 2020. In a letter to the community, the chief said he had not been aware of…
Going Big
Humboldt County’s largest cannabis trade organization has come out in opposition to a proposal to construct a 23-acre cannabis farm in the Arcata bottoms, largely on the grounds that the project is just too big. “Historically, [the Humboldt County Growers Alliance] has supported many cannabis projects before the Planning Commission, while remaining neutral on others,”…
County Records 35th COVID-19 Death
A 35th Humboldt County resident — a person in their 70s — has died of COVID-19, Public Health reported today. The Joint Information Center also reported that Public Health has confirmed 11 new COVID-19 cases after labs processed 217 samples with a test-positivity rate of 5 percent. The county also updated its vaccine numbers today,…
Democrats Have Newsom’s Back as Recall Campaign Ramps Up
Gov. Gavin Newsom officially launched a campaign Monday against the effort to oust him from office, as fellow Democrats closed ranks to support him and his opponents plan this week to submit the last batch of signatures needed to trigger a recall election. Since Newsom’s flashy State of the State speech last week that looked like…
McGuire Hosting COVID-19 Town Hall
State Sen. Mike McGuire will be hosting a virtual town hall for California’s Second District focusing on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The town hall will feature Timothy Brewer, a professor of Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Geffen…
HumCo Remains in Red Tier, Confirms 14 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 14 new COVID-19 cases today — making 35 so far this week – after labs processed 127 samples with a test-positivity rate of 10.2 percent. The county also announced today that it has sworn in 23 new disaster health care volunteers — making 156 to date — to help with…
UPDATE: 101 at Last Chance Grade Reopens After 3 Workers Injured by a Falling Tree
UPDATE: Caltrans reports U.S. Highway 101 has reopened at Last Chance Grade but motorists should expect 30-minute delays. The Times-Standard reports two contractors and a Caltrans worker were taken to the hospital after being injured by the tree fall that closed down the roadway south of Crescent City earlier in the day. They’re condition was…
Yurok Broadband Project Connects Reservation’s Most Remote Areas to High-Speed Internet
The Yurok Connect Broadband Project team finished installing a new 150-foot tower in Wautec yesterday, linking one of the remote parts of the Yurok Reservation to high-speed internet. “Access to high-speed internet will significantly improve the everyday lives of Yurok citizens and non-Indian reservation residents,” said Yurok Tribal Chair Joseph L. James. “This project will facilitate progress…
Public Health Confirms 21 New COVID-19 Cases, One New Hospitalization
Humboldt County Public Health has confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, the county reported today. One new hospitalization was also reported. Today’s cases were reported after laboratories processed 443 samples with a test-positivity rate of 4.7 percent, bringing the county’s case count to 3,370. Additionally, the county reported that it will partner with local…
HSU Women’s Basketball Team Opts Out of Competing This Season
After Humboldt State University announced that student-athletes would return to competition this season, members of the women’s basketball team released a statement on their collective decision not to compete due to health and safety concerns, including injuries. HSU’s women’s basketball coach Michelle Bento-Jackson, who’s been coaching collegiate sports since 1992 and has been head coach…
Laissez le Shanty Truck Rouler
No shade on the long-ago Shanty hot dogs but the solid food offerings have leveled up recently. A peek at the Shanty’s (213 Third St., Eureka) adjacent lot finds a lit patio built by a friend of the bar and a red truck with a sandwich board menu that will allow the bar to stay…
It’s Time to Spring Forward
It’s that time of the year again to set our clock’s one hour ahead for daylight saving time beginning Sunday at 2 a.m. Although we’ll lose an hour of sleep, we’ll have one more hour of sunlight at the end of the day to enjoy the North Coast. In 2018, California voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition…
NCJ Preview: The Breakdown on COVID-19 and Vaccines, and Asian Takeout in Hoopa
It’s been a week full of news about Humboldt’s new COVID-19 cases, risk tier, and vaccine availability and distribution. We’ll give you the rundown on where things stand right now. We’ve also got a story about how a Native family food business is thriving at the Hoopa Trading Post, bringing Southeast Asian home cooking to…
Former Rohnert Park Officers Face Charges in Alleged Shake Down of Drivers for Cash, Cannabis
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California unsealed charges today against two former Rohnert Park police officers suspected of conducting undocumented traffic stops to shake down drivers for cannabis and cash. According to a news release, Brendon Jacy Tatum and Joseph Huffaker are facing conspiracy to commit extortion under color of office…
Humboldt Sees 14 New COVID-19 Cases, More Business to Open Under New State Guidelines
Humboldt County Public Health reported 14 new COVID-19 cases today, making 69 so far this week. Today’s cases were reported after laboratories processed 343 samples with a test-positivity rate of 4 percent, bringing the county’s case count to 3,349. The California Department of Public Health announced today that a benchmark of distributing some 2 million…
St. Patrick’s Day Drive-By Dinner & Irish Music at the Clarke Museum
Feelin’ green because you’re not celebrating your favorite holiday at the bar this year? Have a hankering for homemade shepherd’s pie and a fat shamrock cupcake from Ramone’s? Maybe you’re missing those lively nights at Gallagher’s when Seabury Gould and Evan Morden kept your toes tappin’ as you downed fish and chips with pints and…
Public Health Confirms Nine New COVID-19 Cases; County to Receive 5K Vaccine Doses Next Week
Humboldt County Public Health reported nine new COVID-19 cases today, making 69 so far this week. Today’s cases were reported after laboratories processed 255 samples with a test-positivity rate of 3.5 percent, bringing the county’s case count to 3,335. No new hospitalizations were reported. The county also reported today that the first vaccination clinic for…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Artist Richard Kehl tells this traditional Jewish story: God said to Abraham, “But for me, you would not be here.” Abraham answered, “I know that Lord, but were I not here there would be no one to think about you.” I’m bringing this tale to your attention, dear Aries, because I…
Feeding Humboldt’s Hungry
Who feeds the hungry in Humboldt County? And how are they managing to fulfill their mission during this time of job loss and lockdown? Prior to the pandemic, 20 percent of Humboldt County households lived in poverty, and that’s before COVID-19 restrictions put scores of residents out of work, sending the unemployment rate skyrocketing to…
Remembering Denver Nelson: 1941 to 2021
If you ever had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Denver Nelson, chances are the retired neurosurgeon and staunch environmental advocate known for a proclivity to speak his mind left an impression. Whether it was during one of his many lunches at the Ingomar Club, in print or before the dais, Nelson could…
Takeout from the Trading Post
If you’re looking for a bowl of khao poon noodles, pad thai or even basic Chinese beef and broccoli, Hoopa might not be the first place you look. But Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to around 7 p.m., it’s not unusual to see a line of cars, some from Willow Creek and Orleans, pulling…
Quarterback Rich Mayo
With the local high school football teams scheduled to begin amid these strange times, it seems like a good time to reflect on a Humboldt County football legend. Raised on the fringes of Eureka out past Redwood Acres on Bettencourt Ranch, Rich Mayo grew up on a dairy and worked hard as a kid. He…
River Conditions Look Excellent for The Weekend
As we move toward the end of the winter steelhead season on the coast, river conditions are shaping up nicely for the weekend. All the rivers, except for the main Eel, should be some shade of green. The catching, on the other hand, may be a different story. It’s been a struggle all year as…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in downtown Arcata, Friday through Sunday, the second weekend of the month for 2021. Due to COVID-19, there is no gathering, and attendees are asked to keep safe distances, wear facial coverings and observe guidelines in each location. There…
Lost in Transit
COMING 2 AMERICA. It probably seems a little silly — and probably is, actually — but I wanted and still want this movie to be great, important even. This won’t be the first time but it says something of my age/generation to say Coming to America (1988) was one of the formative pop-cultural experiences of…
Reward Water’s Worth
When you think of shipping Humboldt’s Finest in Ziplocs to Southern California, you’re not thinking of bags of river water. But, putting Humboldt’s water in giant baggies on a boat to Southern California was a plan actually taken seriously in 2003 to encourage more water use. Humboldt historically has an outsized allocation of water from the state because the former…
Reporting Grants, Awards!
Editor: As Judy Hodgson noted in her Feb. 11 publisher’s column “The Journal in Time,” nonprofits play an increasing role in journalism. Around the country, nonprofits are taking ownership of existing media, creating new media outlets or collaborating on special projects. These efforts are driven by the recognition that a well-informed public can build and…
Correction
The story “Under the Table” in the Feb. 25, 2021, edition of the North Coast Journal contained an error. While Especiales Meals and Catering has been operating out of a permitted commercial kitchen, the business itself was not permitted or in compliance with California Retail Food Code. Owner Sherrie Bazan has since contacted the Department of…
The Monkey and the Pipefish
I enjoy beachcombing for many reasons but walking in sand isn’t one of them. So I hired an out-of-work circus monkey named Frank to help me. He’s super cute in his clown suit, doing tricks on his tiny dirt bike, and he’ll do anything for some banana. I couldn’t understand why the circus would fire…
Good Morning
The ache in my arm Welcomes me back, To the world we shared For almost 7 decades. As the sun enlightens Trees I have known In all ways imaginable, Plum blossom promises Have never been More inviting. Kirk Gothier
