‘Innocent People Don’t Want Attorneys’
Detectives spent years hunting leads, witnesses and suspects in a SoHum slaying, but they may have crossed the line and jeopardized their case
Cover Story
‘Innocent People Don’t Want Attorneys’
Shortly after noon on Sept. 10, 2008, a San Francisco man named Reetpaul Singh Rana made one of his last phone calls. A marijuana broker by trade, Rana regularly made the drive up to Humboldt County to purchase pounds of weed that he’d take back to the city, package and send to places where less…
Welcome Back Wailaki: An Extinct Native Language Rebounds
There is no hello in Wailaki. The traditional greeting, “en tchong, en tchong shun da” translates to “Good, good my friend.” The language, part of the Athabascan linguistic family and spoken originally by Native Americans in the Eel River Valley, has been considered extinct for close to 50 years. Now, thanks to the efforts of…
Dancing with the Dems
Local Democrats gathered on Sunday for “Chicken By the Sea,” an annual fundraiser for the party. Hands were shaken, photos taken and chicken grilled to tender perfection, but the real action didn’t start until the dessert auction, with Sen. Mike McGuire calling. Bids for pies and pastries started at a cool $40 and quickly skyrocketed…
Wilde Gets Life for ‘Cold, Calculated, Premeditated Murder’
An apparently defiant and unrepentant Mikal Xylon Wilde will spend the rest of his life in federal prison for the 2010 murder of one of his workers at a Kneeland marijuana farm. Wilde, 33, was sentenced by a federal judge to serve life plus 35 years in prison after a jury convicted him on March…
Rio Dell Cop Arrested on DV, Gun Charges
Humboldt County District Attorney investigators arrested a Rio Dell police officer today on suspicion of domestic violence. Kevin Harralson, a six-year veteran of the force, was taken into custody without incident on two counts of battery on a cohabitant and one count of exhibiting a firearm (both misdemeanors) stemming from alleged incidents in August and…
Boathouse Barbecue
Barbecue has gotten a little esoteric. At once secretive and boastful, the macho hype surrounding the grill can make you long for the simple sweetness of pork cooked low and slow without all the fuss. This is a good time to swing into King Salmon for hole-in-the-wall Polynesian barbecue at Sammy’s BBQ & Catering (1125…
County Rainfall Totals at a Glance
As the water year creeps to a close, on the heels of Humboldt’s third driest year on record, it seems a good time to dust off the Journal’s rainfall chart to take stock of where we stand. Humboldt’s 2014-2015 water year (July 1 through June 30) has been wetter than the past couple, filling Ruth…
Tonight’s Setlist: ‘Young Girls,’ Monster Women, Island Queens
Mad Catchy at the Logger Bar Let’s start north and work our way down. At the Logger Bar, Let it Fever, led by the talented and prolific Ellis Wallace – dig the latest track, “Young Girls,” below and don’t be surprised when you’re singing it all day – along with The Monster Women and the Lost Luvs,…
On Pointe
Sitting in the velvet seats of the gorgeous Arkley Center for Performing Arts is such a pleasure that you could watch somebody push a broom on stage. Lucky for you, North Coast Dance’s Spring Show is there instead on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, June 7 at…
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I have a bunch of extra tickets to The Mountain Goats,” my friend posted to Facebook. “Who wants to go?” “I do!” I commented, joking — she’s in Portland and I’m in Manila. “Get your ass up here!” she replied. I laughed — well, posted a laugh-y emoji — and said, that’s crazy and I’m…
Out of the Gallery
Looking at artwork in the studio is special. It’s like glimpsing a bird in the wild instead of studying a captive specimen or seeing a racecar on the factory floor instead of in a showroom. Otto Von Bismarck famously observed that no one wants to know how laws and sausages get made. However, the growth…
Hooray for Carrots — for Once
Have you ever been excited to find carrots at the farmers market or in your CSA share? Have you ever picked up a bunch of carrots by the stems and smiled at the uncombed ponytail of greens? Until a couple of years ago, I would have answered a puzzled no to both questions. Getting excited…
Arts Alive
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, phone Eureka Main Street at 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org. HUMBOLDT ARTS COUNCIL at the Morris Graves Museum of Art 636 F St. Performance Rotunda: Music by SquarPeg. William Thonson Gallery: “Here…
Trinidad Arts Night
Trinidad Arts Night Friday, June 5, 6-9 p.m. Upper Trinidad SAUNDER’S PARK (start of Patricks Point Drive). “A Fire Fusion Extravaganza!” dance by Circus of the Elements and Tribal Oasis at 8:45 p.m. Music by sambAmore. Skate ramps provided by Trinidad Skatepark Alliance. TRINIDAD MUSEUM 400 Janis Court at Patricks Point Drive. “J.Goldsborough Bruff Sketches,”…
Naturals and Disasters
Reviews ALOHA. The word “aloha” means hello and goodbye, making it an appropriate title for a movie that leaves about that strong an impression. I’ve been quick to defend writer/director Cameron Crowe over the years, thinking of him by default as some kind of modern American auteur. But looking more closely, I think I’ve been…
A Recipe for Popularity
Though I think of myself as a reasonably pleasant person, I don’t attempt to fool myself as to the source of my popularity every summer. No, it’s not my vivacious personality or sparkling wit, but the profuse abundance of cut flowers with which I bless my friends and acquaintances come June. Though most gardeners find…
Easy, Tigers
Tiger by the Tail Looking out my window I saw a large, yellow and black striped butterfly, the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). The family papilio includes the zebra, black, spicebush, anise, pipevine and pale swallowtails. The tiger is the largest and most common of them all with a wingspan of 4 or 5 inches. Their larvae…
Grr, Pensions
Editor: Reading of the local judge retiring (“Vacancy on the Bench,” May 28), I would encourage a change when writing about any government employee retiring, to put the amount they will get when leaving the job in the article. Realize that the public servants’ unions have done their best to shield this actual info from…
Don’t Pick on Police
Editor: Congratulations to reader Tom Dammann for taking the Journal to task (“Mailbox,” May 21) for publishing the views piece “Homicide by Police” (May 14), an obviously biased piece supported by half truths and innuendo. I, too, expected the Journal to have higher standards. I would be quite interested to read what Media Maven Marcy…
Trinidad Fish Festival Evolves to Keep from Floundering
Name a seafood-themed festival on Father’s Day weekend whose popularity has stretched the boundaries of its small-town infrastructure. Nope, not the one you’re thinking of. Last year’s Trinidad Fish Festival was marred by annoyed drivers, blown fuses and at least one injured drunk. This year, organizers say they’re not only building it better, they’re building…
My son looms stretched beneath
My son looms stretched beneath the redwood trees Black Irish Black American Native American history of foster care surging through his blue veins like the sap steadfast in these ambassador giants stalwart in the ancient fog here in our NorthWest territory long before Columbus sailed and conquistadors conquered there was peace in the forest and…
Gavin Newsom Photobombs Garberville
Just about every name in North Coast weed was there, packed into a sweaty, crowded theater for a glimpse of California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. Selfies with the photogenic former San Francisco mayor weren’t the only reasons Garberville’s Redwood Playhouse was standing room only the afternoon of May 29 — it was the first substantial…
Who started it? Who cares?
One of the most frequent complaints we therapists hear is about one partner not initiating sex as much as the other. It often sounds something like, “Our sex life is pretty good, except it’s always me who starts it. I’d really like it if she/he would show some interest once in a while.” Often, the…
Pony Up
Dust off that big ol’ hat, fasten that even bigger belt buckle and pull on them boots. It’s the first week of June, y’all, and for the horse-loving town of McKinleyville, that means one thing: Pony Express Days. The event, named for a courier-style horse race that was once the festival’s main draw, rides in…
