Cover Story
Jimmy Smith 1948-2016
Former Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith — a man revered as much for his kindness as his work ethic — died May 24 at St. Joseph Hospital after a long fight with cancer. He was 67. Smith, who tirelessly served the 1st for more than a decade and had struggled with and largely…
Missing Blue Lake Man Now Wanted for Child Sexual Assault
A Blue Lake man who went missing just over a week ago is now wanted for alleged repeated sexual abuse of a 9-year-old. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office announced last week that the wife of 68-year-old Roy Alan Gibbs reported him missing on May 30 after he went for a walk and didn’t return. The…
3rd UPDATE: Fennell Strolls to Reelection in 2nd
3rd UDPATE: The final election night report is up and shows incumbent Estelle Fennell cementing her landslide re-election bid, having won 77 percent of the vote to challenger Glen “Bud” Rogers’ 22 percent. While there are still votes to be tallied, the final election night count has Fennell finishing with 3,503 of the 4,563 votes…
3rd UPDATE: Mike Wilson Takes 3rd District Race in Landslide
3rd UPDATE: With 100 percent of Humboldt County precincts reporting, the final election night tally has Harbor Commissioner Mike Wilson finishing with 82 percent of the vote to become the county’s next 3rd District supervisor. While there are still votes to be counted, Wilson finishes the night with 5,076 of the 6,204 ballots cast in…
2nd UPDATE: Clinton Celebrates, Eureka Style, While Sanders Holds Strong in Humboldt
Whether you’re feeling the Bern, heading for the Hill or dying to see Trump make Humboldt great again, we realize there’s a lot of interest in the outcome of this presidential primary. And, we figure, you want to see how your neighbors feel about the whole thing. With that in mind, we’ll update this post…
Drowning Near Holmes Flat First of the Year
A Fortuna man was this year’s first confirmed drowning victim, according to the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office. Timothy Hatten, 33, was reportedly trying to rescue two children when he succumbed to the current, according to an interview with Hatten’s family on the SoHum blog Redheaded Blackbelt. The children were reportedly pulled from the water by…
Supes to Planning Commission: “MYOB”
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors took a remarkable step last week: It’s going to tell planning commissioners they have to ask permission to discuss matters that the commission isn’t mandated to take up. That may sound unremarkable, but it plays into a strange power dynamic in place for years and stands as a rebuke…
HumBug: Feed Me, Seymour
Once, when I was a kid, my mom sent me out to the garage to get some hamburger from the old chest freezer. When I opened the lid I was nearly bowled over by the smell. Someone had left it unplugged for weeks and the half side of beef had turned nasty. You may wonder what…
TL;DR: Five Things You Should Know from This Week’s Cover
Busy week? We get it. Here are some highlights from the cover to get you caught up. Former Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith — a man revered as much for his kindness as his work ethic — died May 24 at St. Joseph Hospital after a long fight with cancer. He was 67.…
Eureka Council to Mull Rotating Free Camping Zone
The Eureka City Council will consider amending its recent shelter crisis declaration again Tuesday, this time to allow for a rotating free camping area for homeless people with nowhere else to go. Currently, the city is allowing homeless people to camp in the city-owned parking lot on the corner of Koster and Washington streets during…
Arcata Police Now Carry a Life-Saving Overdose Drug
Arcata police have become the first in the county to carry Naloxone, a life-saving medication that counteracts opiate overdoses. Officers have been trained by county public health officials to identify and respond to people suffering from an overdose. Equipping officers with the drug and skills to administer is a big step in an ongoing effort…
Humboldt Has Given Bernie Sanders Almost $400k
The LA Times just released an interesting report on Bernie Sanders campaign donations, offering a look at the regions that have supported his successful grassroots funding campaign. The data, which was compiled into an interactive map you can explore by visiting their story here, lets you look at donations by ZIP Code, and contains some…
Come on In, the Art is Fine
The North Coast is a vibrant stretch of land, bursting with originals and originators. The salt air, natural beauty, friendly folk and easygoing pace surely serve our ability to recognize and unleash our creative power. And fortunately, North Coast Open Studios, the two-weekend, community art event, affords us a rare opportunity to step into the…
SoHum Sunshine
The Summer Arts & Music Festival, June 4 and 5 at the Benbow Lake State Recreation Area ($40 weekend pass, $25 per day), billed as “the most comprehensive celebration of art and music on the North Coast” and voted 2015’s “Best Music Festival in Humboldt County” by you, dear NCJ readers, is the perfect way…
This marriage
This marriage is like Yosemite Valley. The volume of space invites men to fling steel cables from one side to the other criss cross the wide, open-faced grin, heel of the head pressed back against the other side of the world. You and…
If A Band Plays and No One Hears it, Does it Still Rock?
This past weekend I made it out to a local bar to hear an out-of-town band play — I’ll leave identifying names out to protect the dignity of those involved — and as it happened to be during the Kinetic weekend, the looming potential of almost no one showing up came to be an actuality.…
Trimmigration Sting
Dozens of people scanning Craigslist to find work trimming marijuana got an unexpected reply this week: a stern letter from the Eureka Police Department. EPD Chief Andy Mills said the idea for the sting stemmed from data collected on homeless people who, until May 2, were camping in the PalCo Marsh. Mills said he was…
A Summit for the Future
What are you doing Saturday, June 4? There’s an event that morning in Eureka and I hope you’ll stop by. Yes, I know you’re busy. Just to see how busy, I checked the Journal’s online calendar and there are at least 58 other ways to spend that particular day. It’s the first Saturday in June…
You Have Seen Their Faces
Eurekans, get ready for your close-up. San Diego-based documentary photographer J. Raymond Mireles will be making portraits of people at various locations in and around Eureka on June 3. He’s compiling this photographic portrait as part of an ambitious, self-funded project titled Neighbors, for which he plans exhibitions of photographic portraits of Americans in all…
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, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org ADORNI CENTER 1011 Waterfront Drive. Jamie Kuies, Paul Rickard and Barbara Saul. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan Strope, floral paintings. AMERICAN INDIAN ART GALLERY 245 F…
Trinidad Art Nights
Shuttle Service available from top of the hill down to the bay. APT 5 behind BEACHCOMBER 363 Trinity St. Shane Harmon, art and T-shirts. BEACHCOMBER CAFE 363 Trinity St. Jeff Stanley, paintings; Face painting by Tess Kraus. Music TBA. BERGERON WINERY 359 Main St. Charles Klabunde, black and white and color pencil. THE LIGHTHOUSE GRILL…
E-Cigarettes vs. Tobacco
In the time it takes to read this sentence, seven seconds after inhaling either a regular or an electronic cigarette, molecules of nicotine link up with receptor molecules in the user’s brain. Which is when, for good or bad, the magic happens. Both a psychoactive stimulant and relaxant, nicotine creates feelings of sharpness, alertness, calm…
Time Was
Reviews ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS A sequel, especially when it’s meant to cash in the success of the original and is cut loose from a director with a defined flair and sensibility, can be a bit of a letdown. In this case, director Tim Burton took leave after directing 2010’s box office behemoth Alice…
Gardening Grab Bag
Every spring, the gardening world explodes with an almost overwhelming array of new plants, books, tools and techniques. While most of it isn’t cool enough to bother with (do we really need 14 new Heuchera introductions when ‘Plum Pudding’ is already perfect?), there are always a few gems that take gardening up a notch. Here’s…
Bye, Bye Night Sky
Dear neighbors, We live in a lonely place. When I was a kid, I’d sit on our porch with only the radio for company and let the big dark swallow me up. The mountains that framed the Mattole Valley bit into the star-strewn sky like dark, crooked teeth. That wild land, owned by the Bureau…
Thank a Defender
Editor: Thank you for your article “The Defender,” May 19. We are fortunate to have such dedicated attorneys, investigators and support staff at the Public Defender’s Office. Without their hard work our constitutional rights would be meaningless. It is unfortunate that each defender must carry a caseload far beyond that recommended by the American Bar…
Vote!
Editor: It is with great enthusiasm that I endorse Mike Wilson for Humboldt County 3rd District Supervisor. I have worked with Mike as a fellow Humboldt Bay Harbor District commissioner and have found Mike to be very competent and a problem solver. While Mike was chair of the Harbor Commission he pushed forward the purchase…
Hum Plate Roundup
Have not recent political events and the return of 1980s fashion made us all question our collective ability to make good choices? Take a break from weighing the pros and cons. Have what we’re having. The new Menu of Menus dining guide is on newsstands now with the skinny on new Humboldt restaurants, a visual…
