‘In the Interest of Justice’
After 17 years in a cell, Steven Dinsmore’s ‘restart on life’ is incarcerated, at least for now by Thadeus Greenson
Cover Story
‘In the Interest of Justice’
It’s a Wednesday morning and Steven Dinsmore is in the visiting hallway on the sixth floor of the south side of the Humboldt County jail, talking to the Journal by a two-way phone through a Plexiglass divide. Clad in an orange jumpsuit, small beads of sweat begin to form on his clean-shaven head as he…
Paul “Pablo” George: 1948-2023
Paul George passed away Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, after a brief battle with an aggressive form of cancer, a few days after celebrating his 75th birthday surrounded by family. Born in 1948, Paul grew up in Pasadena, California, with his parents and four siblings. A surfer and two-sport athlete in high school (football and baseball),…
Christopher Gurin: 1952-2023
Christopher George Gurin was born in Pontiac, Michigan, Nov. 26, 1952, and died in Eureka on Aug. 24, 2023. Chris lived in Michigan until a teenager, and after the death of his father, he, his mother and sister Cynthia moved to Florida. He graduated from high school in Florida and shortly thereafter joined the U.S.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Oct. 19
Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jeff Landen, of local fame via his group the Bayou Swamis (howdy to bandmate Kate and thanks for the lovely letter), is playing a free solo gig tonight at the Logger Bar at 7 p.m. Expect lots of thoughtful covers, good energy and some fine singing chops.
Movies Tonight: Wednesday, Oct. 18
Movie night! Two features but you have to pick one because the 7:30 p.m. showtimes clash. The Arcata Theatre Lounge is playing Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which is a certified kult klassic. Get there a bit earlier if you want to snag a seat, and 6 p.m. is a good time to settle in…
Hoopa Tribal Chair Calls for Federal Involvement in Police Shooting Investigation
Hoopa Valley Tribal Chair Joe Davis has asked that the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services be involved in the ongoing investigation into a California Highway Patrol officer’s fatal shooting of a tribal member last month. “Our federal partners are still gathering information,” Davis wrote in an email to the Journal. “They have…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Oct. 17
Oh boy, this one’s a delight to announce. To his many fans gained over his decades of rap innovation, he needs no introduction, but for everyone else, listen up. Kool Keith is in town tonight at 8 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. With his incredible discography filled with plenty of guest spots and aliases…
Music Tonight: Monday, Oct. 16
Hey ho, let’s go, hey ho, let’s go. Another Metal Monday at Savage Henry, an all-ages gig, too, I.D. to drink. A $5 to $10 door fee, at 7 p.m. now, I can’t keep this up though, the Blitzkrieg Bop. Yeah, enough of the novelty of trying to fit this entry into the cadence of…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Oct. 15
Hanneke Cassel has returned to our area with her band. What does this mean for the listening public? Well, quite a lot if you have an interest in hearing the Cape Breton fiddle-style of Gaelic folk reels mixed with the soulful Americana of traditional string sounds found everywhere from the Canadian Maritimes to the Cajun…
Dance to the Undercovers for a Great Cause
Any pooch will tell you balls are for fetching. All the cool cats know it’s hip to snip. So, get with the spay/neuter program and help pet overpopulation by attending Humboldt Spay Neuter Clinic and Companion Animal Foundation’s Spay-Ghetti and No-Balls Dinner happening Saturday, Oct. 14, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Arcata Community Center…
Missing Eureka Woman Found Dead in Impounded Van Driven by Son
UPDATE: An autopsy performed Oct. 14 on Christine Ann Randolph’s remains found no obvious signs of foul play, Capt. Gregory Van Patten told the Journal, adding final findings remain pending toxicology results and the case remains under investigation as a suspicious death. PREVIOUSLY: The body of a Eureka woman reported missing earlier this week after…
Shutting Down the Ritz
After a short run of less than eight months, the latest incarnation of the Ritz in Old Town is closing. Owners Concha Alvarado, José Licona and Fernando Licona, formerly of Calico’s in Garberville, opened the Mexican-Italian-burger restaurant in the storied corner location Feb. 28, and they plan to close their doors today or Saturday, and sell…
Incarceration Limbo and Eco-friendly Takeout
This week we’ve got the story of a man released early from prison only to be send back when a judge’s decision was appealed. And if you’re looking for options for reducing takeout packaging, we’ve got the rules for using your own container to bring food home from restaurants and food trucks. Hit subscribe for…
‘A Bit Confused’
Editor: I enjoyed Meg Wall-Wild’s piece about David’s Chair providing access to Prairie Creek State Park for those with mobility issues (“David’s Chair Blazes Accessible Trails in Prairie Creek Redwoods,” Oct. 5). I was a bit confused by her statement about “1,000-year-old deciduous conifers” because I’m not aware of any in that park. Please correct…
‘Might Have Survived’
Editor: You have to wonder how many of this COVID-19 season’s vax deniers who will die might have survived if they had just read Jennifer Fumiko Cahill’s “I Love Fall and COVID is Not Ruining It, Dammit” (Oct. 5). Gordon Inkeles, Bayside Related Stories
Humboldt Bay Timeline
Humboldt Bay (Wigi, to the Wiyot people) is actually a lagoon, the largest protected large body of water between San Francisco and Puget Sound. It’s about 14 miles long and varies in width between a few hundred yards and 5 miles, with an area between 11 (low tide) and 24 (high tide) square miles. What…
Untitled
last week’s respects to august warmth are paid and spent and in october’s deepening chill boletes pop emboldened from beneath the backyard meanwhile undrowning in an airborne lake of fog hawthorn pomes crimson and we with what structures we have built might aspire to anchor the webwork of orb weavers who wait silent in the autumn…
Newsom Signs ‘Overhaul’ of Mental Health System
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 10 announced he signed the first of a series of bills aimed to transform California’s mental health system. Depending on who you ask, this transformation represents a long overdue humanitarian response — or a worrisome step backward on civil liberties. The governor’s Oct. 10 signature loosens long-standing rules about who…
Horrorville
There are so many shows this week that I had to be a lot more discerning than usual and carve my list down to a manageable size. An embarrassment of riches I’ll gladly take. My social battery isn’t where it used to be but it’s slowly recharging, and beyond everything else, I’m sure we could…
BYO Takeout Container
Over three years of pandemic-era takeout, we’ve reused the plastic containers from curries and quesabirria tacos to share leftovers, distribute cookies and trap the occasional errant spider. But we needn’t have accumulated quite so many of them. In July of 2019, Assembly Bill 619 passed, updating California Retail Food Code to allow businesses to fill…
Anna Oneglia: Humboldt’s Traveling Artist
“Humboldt’s weather is great for making art,” says Arcata artist Anna Oneglia. “I love rain and even fog makes for good long studio days.” As she spoke via Zoom, Oneglia was sitting on a porch, iridescent green fronds swaying behind her under an ironically blue, cloudless sky. She was house sitting in Hawaii, far from…
Character Star
REPTILE. There are character actors and there are movie stars, and in between is Benicio Del Toro. Like many, I first became fully aware of Del Toro with The Usual Suspects (1995), written by the now-anointed Christopher McQuarrie and directed by the lately canceled Hollywood monster Bryan Singer. Standing out among a cast of standouts,…
‘Where They Are Native’
Editor: In response to “In Mourning” (Mailbox, Sept. 28): For many years since 1977 I have driven past the eucalyptus trees on U.S. Highway 101 between Eureka and Arcata at least twice a day. I love these plants: the unique bark on the eucalypts is still a pleasure to see. Many years ago, we visited…
‘The Much-Improved View’
Editor: Just want to say how much I appreciate and am enjoying the much-improved view of our beautiful Humboldt Bay along the U.S. Highway 101 corridor between Arcata and Eureka now that those hideous eucalyptus trees have been removed (Mailbox, Sept. 28). Could still do without the billboards but maybe a winter storm or some…
