‘Icons of Preparedness’
Why the sun might be setting on Humboldt County’s tsunami siren system
Cover Story
‘Icons of Preparedness’
Troy Nicoloni was still at the Woodley Island office of the National Weather Service before dawn on March 11, 2011, after what had been a long night for the then warning coordination meteorologist who was monitoring updates after a massive rupture of the subduction zone off the coast of Japan. Later upgraded to a magnitude-9.1…
HumCo Confirms 141st COVID-19 Death
Humboldt County Public Health reported the 141st local COVID-19 death today — of a resident over the age of 80. This marks the county’s 19th COVID-19 death of 2022. According to a state database, five people are currently hospitalized with the virus locally, including two under intensive care. Find the full public health press release,…
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the Logger Bar’s New Ownership
What? Somebody bought The Logger Bar? It better not be some out-of-town, big-money developer who’s gonna — what’s that you say, it’s Michael Fields (formerly) of Dell’Arte? Well, OK then! As Fields takes the helm from long-time owner Kate Martin, the beloved watering hole is throwing an Irish Ceilidh (Gaelic for “party”) this St. Patrick’s…
Time to Test for Tsunami Preparedness
In just the last few months, Mother Nature has sent out a few reminders about the North Coast’s seismic vulnerability, including two earthquakes separated by seconds in December — a magnitude-5.7 and 6.2 — and the tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption near Tonga in January. While Humboldt County was largely spared in both cases…
Californians Used More Water as State Braces for Another Dry Year
Californians used 2.6 percent more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back. The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack…
Photos: The Ink People Celebrate Libby Maynard in the Street
Libby Maynard, co-founder of the Ink People for the Arts in Eureka back in 1979, retired recently after 42 years as its executive director. She was offered much love and appreciation from a wide range of community members at the Ink People Street Party and Celebration of Libby Maynard at the Synapsis space in Eureka…
Auditor Controller’s Report Didn’t Make Supes’ Agenda
Those waiting for a public vetting of the allegations of fiscal mismanagement Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez made at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors’ March 1 meeting will have a bit more waiting to do. After hearing Paz Dominguez report the “findings” of her ongoing review of the county’s finances, which included a laundry list…
NCJ Preview: Tsunami Sirens and Eureka’s Drive-thru Dilemma
Is it worth it to fix Humboldt’s tsunami sirens? This week’s cover story looks at the cost and the payoff, as well as whether sirens are as effective as cellphone alerts and other warning systems. And as a petition circulates to keep Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine from being converted into a Starbucks, we’ll talk about what…
Here’s How State Lawmakers Want to Help Californians with High Gas Prices
There’s a collective groan, rippling across California, as drivers pull into gas stations and see prices above $5. Gas prices per gallon are getting higher across the U.S., but prices in California are soaring higher than any other state according to the American Automobile Association. Thursday, the average price of gas in California was $5.69…
St. Patrick’s Day Pick-up Dinner and Irish Music Event
Enjoy Celtic music performed by Evan Morden and Dominic Romano and a delicious meal at the St. Patrick’s Day Pick-up Dinner and Irish Music event happening Thursday, March 17 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Clarke Historical Museum ($10-35). On the menu is corned beef and cabbage, vegetables and soda bread (vegetarian option available) crafted by Brett…
Time to ‘Spring Forward’ this Weekend
The twice a year ritual of changing the clocks arrives at 2 a.m. Sunday, as we “spring forward” again to begin daylight saving time, which means darker mornings and losing an hour of sleep. Seemingly right on cue, Congress is once again debating whether it’s time to end to what many consider an outdated practice…
Street Festival this Saturday in Honor of Libby Maynard
The Ink People Center for the Arts invites you to a street festival this Saturday to celebrate the arts, culture and Executive Director Emeritus Libby Maynard’s incredible career as an artist, community organizer, arts administrator and friend of the arts. The Ink People Street Party and Celebration of Libby Maynard, happening Saturday, March 12 from…
Humboldt All-Stars Perform at the Fortuna Monday Club
Harken back to the swinging ’20s, ’30s and ’40s with Humboldt’s premier Dixieland band, the Humboldt All-Stars, on Saturday, March 12 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Fortuna Monday Club ($10). Members of the group have played with countless jazz and Dixieland groups, from the Hall St. Honkers to the Jewish Wedding Band to the…
Newsom, Unions Eye $50k Bonuses for Juvenile Prison Workers
As the state prepares to close its youth prisons, workers for the Division of Juvenile Justice could receive up to $50,000 bonuses to stay on the job until then, CalMatters has learned. If approved, the bonus appears to be among the largest offered by the state to retain a group of employees. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s…
‘Too Late’
Editor: Gas Prices have soared in recent weeks and seem poised to go even higher. Locals are screaming bloody murder, as we have some of the highest prices in the entire U.S. I’ve seen speculation in print here and elsewhere that in order to mitigate global warming, gas prices will have to at least double.…
‘Vital’
Editor: Working as an administrative officer for Eureka Natural Foods, I have always supported sustainable fishing practices and our local fishing fleet, where more than 200 commercial vessels list Eureka, California as their home port. In 1989, the global fishing industry hit a high point when approximately 90 million metric tons of fish were taken…
‘Little in Return’
Editor: Nordic Aquafarms wants its fish factory bad. They will need a whole lot of cold, clean water. They will take it and turn it into warm, dirty water — all the while using vast quantities of fossil fuels. They have no intention of working with us as requested by our local environmental protectors —…
Love I Language
“With this ring, I thee wed.” These words are spoken some 2.5 million times a year in the U.S. — or up to twice that, when both parties to a marriage give rings. Notice anything odd about that sentence? “I” is the subject (S), “thee” the object (O) and “wed” the verb (V), for an…
KIEV, 2022
She’d had to leave her graying mother whimpering in the basement, withered hands clutching a worn plaid blanket to her chin. She’d heard there were women learning to shoot, had to do something, not just cower with panic-stricken wives, mothers and children sheltering there in sleeping bags, petrified with every ear-shattering bomb blast. praying for…
End of School Mask Mandate Looms, Leaving Districts to Decide
Toddlers and preschoolers who have mostly known a school life with tiny masks may be in for a big lifestyle change after Friday, when the state mask mandate for kids ends at midnight. While wearing masks is still strongly recommended, some medical experts worry removing the state mask mandate could be risky, especially for tots. …
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Isak Dinesen defined “true piety” as “loving one’s destiny unconditionally.” That’s a worthy goal for you to aspire to in the coming weeks. I hope you will summon your deepest reserves of ingenuity and imagination as you cultivate a state of mind in which you adore your life just…
Eureka’s Appetite for Fast-food Chains
The peeling exterior of Annie’s Cambodian belies its bustling interior, decorated with paintings and carved wooden statues, and warm with the smell of dishes cooked with lemon grass, anise and kaffir lime leaves that have won it a steady following. It’s a customer base used to seeing Chin and Annie Chau, as well as their…
Cycling Along the Water
Driving south from Trinidad, I got off at the Crannell Road exit and parked at the north end of Clam Beach Road. As I set up the bicycle, my gaze glided over the dunes — still in the shadow at 9 a.m. in mid-January — and the ocean, then rose to take in the pale…
Ocean Kings More Abundant in 2022
The number of adult fall-run Chinook salmon forecast to be swimming off the coast of California seems to be trending upward from last year. That was the good news delivered at last Wednesday’s annual Ocean Salmon Information meeting hosted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The number of Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon…
The Batman Back in the Mud
THE BATMAN. Despite the time, space and vitriol I’ve maybe/probably/definitely wasted bloviating about the state of movies in the shadow of the comic book-adaptation monolith, I’ve been a Batman shill for longer than I’d like to admit. Being of a certain age, I saw Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) in the theater with my parents and younger…
Cut Out the Middlemen
Editor: As the recent Views piece on Medicare Advantage (MA) and Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs) clearly illustrates, it is only original Medicare that remains a public good (“Is Medicare a Public Good or a Market Commodity?,” March 3). MA and DCEs are already market commodities. Why is it not obvious that simplifying payment for health care…
‘The Corporatization of Medicare’
Editor: The Views piece I wrote with Dr. Corinne Frugoni in last week’s NCJ (Is Medicare a public good or a market commodity?”), signaled the growing privatization of traditional Medicare by Medicare Advantage programs and DCEs (Direct Contracting Entities). Since writing that piece some weeks ago, the public outcry to HHS (Health and Human Services), CMS…
‘An Attempt to Downplay’
Editor: Anyone who thinks that Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez is solely responsible for the county’s financial mess should read the 2019 Civil Grand Jury report (“Opportunities for Fraud,” March 3). One finding is that there is a “high risk of fraud in a number of county departments due to their poor cash handling policies and…
‘Profit-driven Greed’
Editor: This letter is written in response to “Almost Universally Terrible” in the NCJ’s March 3 Mailbox. Nourishing food is important for good health. Seventy percent of one’s immune system is located in your GI tract, aka “gut.” Because the immune system is intricately related to the gut microbiome, if it is exposed to bacteria-stripping…
