Cover Story
Humboldt Outside
With December comes the freeze. Moisture settles as fluff on the high peaks and passes, slicks roads and parking lots, frosts rooftops and windshields and, on occasion, bounces pellet-like onto the coastal landscape. Night-dark comes early; headlights barely pick out that elk herd clustered on the highway shoulder, or the thick-furred bear racing across a…
Jason Singleton Responds
The most hated man in Humboldt, whose recent threat of an American Disabilities Act lawsuit was blamed for the closure of Porter Street Barbecue in Arcata, reached out to the Journal with a rebuttal this morning. Jason K. Singleton, who practices law in Eureka, was the subject this week of a viral wanted poster. Calls for vengeance circulating…
Another Venue Falls: Nocturnum to Close in 2014
From the Regret-To-Inform-You Department, Eureka’s losing a bit of its sparkle with the pending closure of Nocturnum night club. Among other shows, the venue has hosted a monthly LGBTQ night for the past three-and-a-half years. Appropriately, Where’s Queerbill is throwing a final big bash on Saturday, Jan. 4. As noted on the event page: Sad…
ACLU Suing Eureka City Schools for Racial and Sexual Discrimination
Native American and black students face racial and sexual discrimination from students and staff in Eureka and Loleta according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the National Center for Youth Law. The suit alleges that top officials in the Eureka City Schools District…
Leon Berliner Has Left Us
On Sunday, December 15th, Leon Berliner, owner of Berliner’s Cornucopia in Old Town, Eureka, died at age 78 after a brief battle with cancer. Leon was a man of many titles: Holocaust survivor, staunch Democrat, music lover, baseball enthusiast, card sharp, pool shark, doting grandfather, loving father and dedicated husband of more than 50 years…
Bunting Hunting
A diminutive, pudgy, winged visitor has set Humboldt County’s birding community all atwitter. The little bunting has decided to show its beak in the fields of McKinleyville, and, according to a Godwit Days mailer, “hundreds of birders in California and — even from the East Coast and other states — have changed their weekend plans…
Body Found On Murder Mountain Identified
A body found buried near Jewitt Ranch Road in late November has been identified as Garret Rodriguez, a San Diego man who was reported missing in April. Rodriguez told his father he was coming to Humboldt County to work on a marijuana farm in the SoHum area known as “Murder Mountain.” The identification confirms rumors that…
Don’t Let Your Tuesday Be Snoozeday! El Vez, Rosie Flores and the Lost Luvs tonight
Not everyone has a rip-away gold lamé suit on display at the Smithsonian. But when you’re legendary Chicano Elvis impersonator El Vez, it just stands to reason. For 25 years, the Elvis translator has elucidated Chicano history by highlighting the musical connections between classic pop, rock and punk songs as filtered through Mexican and Afro-Caribbean…
St. Joe’s Gets Backup in Cancer Fight from Stanford
St. Joseph Hospital today announced that it will have some top-notch help in tackling cancer care, research, training and education. Stanford Medicine is partnering with St. Joe’s to provide a variety of services including telemedicine conferences with experts, training for local clinician staff and access to clinical trials. That last item could eliminate some frustrating…
Angry Town
This is floating around, a special “get-out-of-town” for Jason Singleton, the Eureka-based attorney whose Americans With Disabilities Act lawsuits have led some businesses in Humboldt County and elsewhere to shut down under the crushing costs. Instead of being considered a hero for the disabled, Singleton is un-revered by many — a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,”…
Meowsers! A Tag Sale for Cats!
On Sunday, Dec. 15, the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds is holding a rummage sale to raise money for the 30+ barn cats that occupy the grounds. The event coordinator and kitty saver, Deedra Alexy, explains that throughout the years, the grounds have amassed quite the collection of cats. “They’re self-sufficient,” she explains. Whether the cats have…
The New Guy: Thadeus Greenson to Join the NCJ
He won’t be moving into his new job until sometime in the new year, but we’re happy to let you know that Thadeus Greenson will be taking over as the North Coast Journal’s news editor. There’s a lot work to do — he’ll have help from Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (above). They’ll…
From the Hum: Friday the 13th, some history and a sizzling bunch of shows
A historical note re: Friday the 13th According to National Geographic, Friday the 13th is rooted in ancient, separate bad-luck associations with the number 13 and the day Friday. Take, for example, the Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there,…
Symphonious Holiday Cheer
The Humboldt State University Symphony will be performing at the Fulkerson Recital Hall at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. The afternoon’s performances will feature the Tchaikovsky favorite, “The Nutcracker Suite,” Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture, four movements of Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances and a portion of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. The entire day’s performance is directed…
Chris Kerrigan to Run for Eureka Mayor
Looks like former Eureka City Councilman Chris Kerrigan is ready to pursue his second act on the city’s political stage. Kerrigan, who was just 20 years old when he was first elected to represent Eureka’s 4th Ward back in 2000, tells the Journal that he’ll be running for mayor next year, challenging incumbent Frank Jager. “I…
Convoy
Do you still have the urge to pump your arm at passing big rigs to hear those horns? Of course you do. You’re a red-blooded American. So dust off the lawn chair, fill the thermos with something hot and bundle up the kids for the lighted truck and tractor parades this week. Fortuna’s Main Street…
Carless? Portland-bound? Bring a Pillow.
This is amazing/vexing. Journal homie Jonathan Webster put together this graphic (with inspiration from John Chernoff) illustrating the difficulties of traveling north from behind the Redwood Curtain without a car. Unless you’ve got a good amount of cash, you’re looking at 20 hours of travel minimum. You could watch every episode of Portlandia twice in…
From the Hum: Traffic’s Dave Mason, Funky and Uplifting Basslines at ATL
Hall-of-Famer Dave Mason, co-founder of seminal rock group Traffic, appears with his band at the Garberville Theater tonight. After two albums with Traffic, Mason struck out on a solo career, recording the rock classic Alone Together and going platinum with 1977’s Let It Flow — you may know the hit single “We Just Disagree.” The…
Save the Fortuna OB
Editor: Last week’s forum on the proposal to eliminate Redwood Memorial OB drew more than 400 people to the River Lodge (“Fortunans: Don’t Close the Baby Department,” Dec. 5). Mothers, longtime Fortuna residents, doctors, midwives and businesspeople voiced their anger at a plan that would extend the drive for laboring women from Southern Humboldt to…
Dear Departed
Editor: Your very brief, almost hidden, mention of Carrie Peyton Dahlberg’s departure as editor surprised and disturbed me (“Transition,” Nov. 21). After several years of serial editors and wildly varying quality the Journal seemed to have settled in and found its ground, again. After a period of ambivalence I once again found I was turning…
Pondering Pot
Editor: In his always excellent reporting, Ryan Burns (“Weed Killers,” Nov. 14) might have included deer and elk in his discussion of animals affected by outlaw grows, especially since they are often directly in the human food chain. Not only might they incidentally ingest many of the toxins involved, but they might actually like marijuana…
Man the Barry-cades
Editor: I would like to express my appreciation to Barry Evans for his wonderful columns that appear in these pages. Evans combines intelligence, curiosity and a mischievous joie de vivre with the ability to write gracefully and clearly. His is a rare configuration of gifts; for where else can we find a person who can…
Correction
The “Filmland” review of Delivery Man mistakenly indicated that the Vince Vaughn vehicle was a remake of a New Zealand film. The original was, in fact, a French-Canadian production. Nous sommes désolé.
Rate Hikes Hidden in California’s Glowing Obamacare Reviews
During a meeting last week, officials at Covered California, the state’s much-touted health insurance marketplace, made a pretty stark admission: Half of the approximately 1 million consumers whose health plans are being canceled will pay more under the Affordable Care Act. The numbers, it seems, have been overshadowed by other, more positive headlines. First, the…
Heaven on Earth
When it arrives Will we be ready? Sustainable prosperity Is no longer a pipe dream Billowing towards ceilings Stained in haunting images, It resides in waste piles And the unfettered minds Of brilliant young scientists Modernizing environmentalism. Who is to say What we do next?
Rough Waters
Faced with a shrinking pool of funding, local environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper is in the process of dramatically downsizing its organization. The office staff was reportedly laid off recently, and last week Executive Director Jessica Hall learned that she, too, was being laid off. Only Policy Director Jennifer Kalt, whose position has been reduced to part-time,…
Blah, Humbug
Did Black Friday break you? Are you getting a little Grinchy around the edges? Maybe you need to regroup and get into the spirit of the season. You can’t swing a Tickle Me Elmo without hitting a Toys for Tots donation bin. (Don’t actually swing one — the Marines don’t have time for your shenanigans.)…
Branded
Earlier this month, the Sacramento Bee quoted Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn pushing to promote Humboldt County’s weed cachet post-legalization. “Although he’s no advocate of his county’s most infamous product,” the Bee said, “he is lobbying to make it a brand.” Savvy entrepreneurs have been doing that for years, and not just with the plant…
Holiday Gift Guide
Humboldt has the best stuff, including holiday gifts. Click to see it all.
Laughing, Dancing and Drooling Cats
“It’s getting harder and harder to make people laugh or smile,” says multimedia artist David White. His wacky, comical characters have a life of their own. Somehow, though, we can all relate to them, laughing with instead of at them. White likens it to theater, noting that “through laughter, you can slip in a truth.”…
Second Friday Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at more than 30 participating locations in Arcata. Visit www.artsarcata.com for even more information about the event or call (707) 822-4500. ARCATA ARTISANS 883 H St. “Season of Light,” themed group show with work by members of Arcata Artisans. ARCATA CITY…
There Will Be A Light
Despite the cold and the dark, mid-December’s a great time of year to go out. In addition to the usual fun, festivities around this time tend to glow a little brighter. Something about all the giving, the traditions, the friends and family, the love, causes people to radiate that certain holiday joy. Unless you’re in…
Beans and Greens
Loyal readers may recall my rant from a few years back concerning my dizzying plunge into penury. Thank goodness I adjusted comfortably and today can happily report that good food is not dependent upon full coffers. In this interim of gift buying between Hanukkah and Christmas, I have been pinching my pennies more than the…
December Gardening
December usually alternates between stretches of cold, clear weather and weeklong downpours, so there’s usually plenty of time for both indoor planning and crafts as well as some of the normal outdoor garden care. Here’s what to do in the December garden. Protect tender plants. This December has shown us some of the coldest weather…
Down for the Count
Normal people look forward to the holidays as a time to indulge in creature comforts that take a back seat the rest of the year. Birders, seldom mistaken for normal people, anticipate the three weeks around Christmas and New Year’s as an endurance test of predawn-to-dusk forays into the outdoors, whatever the weather, in search…
American Underbelly
Reviews OUT OF THE FURNACE. As with his last feature, Crazy Heart (2009), co-writer/director Scott Cooper explores classic themes of America’s underbelly. Last time out, he directed Jeff Bridges to a well-deserved Oscar as Bad Blake, an alcoholic outlaw country singer sliding down the backside of a storied career. Thanks mostly to Bridges’ fearless, barely…
