2021 in Pictures
It’s been a pandemic year of daily walking for my wife and me, and we never left Humboldt County. From January through April, we continued to explore our local trails and enjoyed the wildlife and emerging spring flowers without attending any events or gatherings. Once we got our Moderna vaccination shots No. 1 and No.…
Eureka Council Slated to Confirm New Interim Police Chief
The Eureka City Council is slated to approve the city manager’s appointment of an interim police chief at its Jan. 4 meeting. Todd Jarvis, who retired as executive assistant chief of the San Diego Police Department in November of 2019, is slated to start his new post a day earlier, according to the city’s news…
Public Health Confirms 48 New COVID-19 Cases, One Hospitalization
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 48 new COVID-19 cases today, as well as one new hospitalization. Today’s cases — which make 807 so far this month — come after laboratories processed 247 samples with a test-positivity rate of 19.4 percent. After recording a test-positivity rate of 10.1 percent in July — the highest for any month…
Storm Roundup: One-way Traffic on 299, Thousands without Power, 96 Still Closed
While State Route 299 reopened last night, Caltrans reports there will be sections of one-way traffic between Blue Lake and Willow Creek as crews continues to work to restore power and tackle downed trees. State Route 96 remains closed to all but emergency vehicles and local traffic due to downed lines and trees. Officials are…
State Route 299 to Reopen Tonight
Caltrans plans to re-open State Route 299 at 6:30 p.m. today after crews worked throughout the day to clear the roadway of trees and power lines downed by days of snowfall over the weekend. According to Caltrans, the road will be open to two-way traffic from east of Blue Lake through Willow Creek, but people…
Officials Hopeful Jail COVID-19 Outbreak is Contained
Officials are hopeful they have the COVID-19 outbreak at the Humboldt County jail contained. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges told the Journal in a Dec. 27 email that while a total of 36 inmates have tested positive for the virus amid the current outbreak, all were from a single housing unit and no one else…
Public Health Confirms 23 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 23 new COVID-19 cases today, with no new hospitalizations. Today’s cases — which make 759 so far this month — come after laboratories processed 201 samples with a test-positivity rate of 11.4 percent. After recording a test-positivity rate of 10.1 percent in July — the highest for any month since the…
Honsal Declares Local Emergency Due to Storm, Work Continues to Open 96, 299
Sheriff William Honsal has declared a local emergency due to the winter storm, which has created life-threatening conditions in some areas and caused damaged across the county. In a Facebook announcement last night, the sheriff’s office said the declaration “allows for the county to seek state and federal reimbursement for damage repairs and other associated…
Public Health Confirms 178 New COVID-19 Cases, Five Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health announced this afternoon that it has confirmed 178 new cases of COVID-19 locally since its last report Wednesday, with five new hospitalizations, including four of residents in their 40s. Today’s cases — which make 736 so far this month — come after laboratories processed 1,048 samples with a test-positivity rate of…
We Have a Winner!
The votes are in and the winner of the Scared of Santa (Or Not) photo contest presented by the North Coast Journal and The Enterprise is Ngan Ho. The moment captures a young Santa visiting with 6-month old Maximo. This was his first time meeting Santa Claus and he was not a fan. But…
THIRD UPDATE: Winter Weather Closes Highways, Thousands Without Power
THIRD UPDATE: Emergency work along state routes 299 and 96 to clear snow, downed trees and power lines has both roadways still closed Tuesday, according to Caltrans’ QuickMap site around 9 a.m. State Route 299 is shuttered from Buckley Road to State Route 96, which is closed to post mile 4.6. State Route 299 is…
NCJ Preview: Flash Fiction, Ponche, Counsel Cleared and a Jail Outbreak
It’s time for our annual Flash Fiction Issue. We’re chatting about reading, judging and what Humboldt’s been writing. We’ve also got a conclusion to the saga of a right-to-die case, as a pair of county attorneys have been cleared of misconduct charges. Over at the county jail, a COVID-19 outbreak has created upheaval. We’ll get…
Local Mushroom Hunters Come Out of the Woods on NPR
Put down that forkful of chanterelle pasta for a minute. If you’re a fungi fan, you already know the stars and weather have aligned for a bumper crop of mushrooms this year. And if you’re dialed in to the Mushroom Hunters of Humboldt Facebook group, you may have already seen Dan Gebhart and Jordan Anderson’s epic…
Winter Wonderland: Snow Down to the Sea Level Possible, Thunderstorms Forecast For This Afternoon
Dreaming of a white Christmas? This could be your year, even on the coast. The Eureka office of the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather watch that is in effect from tomorrow afternoon through Monday morning as a series of cold storm systems make their way through the region, which could bring snow…
UPDATED: Fatal Trinidad Fire Under Investigation
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division is investigating a Dec. 23 fatal fire that killed a woman who was in a trailer parked behind a residence on Teh-Pah Lane on the Trinidad Rancheria. Fire personnel responded to the scene around 9:14 p.m. to find the trailer engulfed in flames and the woman was…
The Winter Hotel
When recovering after surgery, I was faced with a dilemma: Where to go for a gentle walk that was long enough without tempting me beyond limitations, yet interesting enough to keep hardened hikers happy, as well as amply benched for when the spirit was willing but the flesh needed to take a load off? On…
Extensions Coming for Low-flow River Closures
At its December meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission acted on several issues affecting California’s natural resources. One of the items of interest was to extend the locations and expand low-flow closure periods for rivers along the north and central coast. The changes will prohibit fishing in specific rivers due to drought conditions, to…
News from Abroad
THE FRENCH DISPATCH. From an overwhelmingly auspicious beginning, I find my relationship to Wes Anderson’s work has become surprisingly complicated. Whether due to overexposure, the calcification of my own perspective and penchants or the increasingly distilled products of his vision, I find my level of engagement to the work to be highly variable. From Bottlerocket…
‘Not a Good Hand’
Editor: “A Paradigm Shift,” in the Dec 16 issue, told us of new and important medical diagnostic procedures. Truly important work, and then that work is undercut by calling Traumatic events ACEs. “Oh Look! Little Sally was often hungry, was abused, the abuser was then often in prison and whoever raised her screamed at her…
The Two-Envelope Paradox
A lifetime ago — March 11, 2010 — I wrote in this space about a curious paradox I’d stumbled upon (“A Pair of Paradoxes”). It originated, near as I can tell, in a 1953 book by Belgian mathematician Maurice Kraitchik called Mathematical Recreations. Paraphrasing from my column: Over coffee, Alice and Bart decide on a…
More Than Enough
Hope as a strategy is not enough Time to stand tall and be tough Guns strike like empowered thunder Killing innocents by the number Pain and panic plague modern man Giving gun violence the upper hand The days of the Lone Ranger are past Adios to gun toting romance at last Common sense dictates intervention…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You may become a more audacious storyteller in 2022. You could ripen your ability to express the core truths about your life with entertaining narratives. Bonus: The experiences that come your way will provide raw material for you to become even more interesting than you already are. Now study these words…
Flash Fiction 2021
The Journal’s annual 99-word Flash Fiction Contest reminds us how we live moment to moment, not always in big stories or epics, but in little scenes and memories — funny, terrifying, haunting or everything at once. Steadfast judges joining me on the emotional roller coaster this year include: JoAnn Bauer, retired children’s librarian; David Holper,…
‘Exonerated’
A California State Bar judge has exonerated two Humboldt County attorneys of allegations they committed serious ethics violations during their handling of a local right-to-die case that resulted in a $1 million settlement. In a 45-page written ruling filed Dec. 20, Judge Phong Wang found that Deputy County Counsel Natalie Duke and Blair Angus, who…
Get Festive with a Punch Like No Other
Holiday drinks are as much a part of the celebratory season as Christmas trees, blinking lights and presents. At my house, Mexican Christmas punch, ponche navideño, is part of my festive repertoire. Ponche (pronounced “pon-chay”) is a hot sweet and sour punch served with or without alcohol during the holiday season in many Mexican and…
