Last Call for Coho
An iconic species is on the brink in the Mattole Valley and beyond
Cover Story
Last Call for Coho
Scores of young fish gleam like sparkling confetti as they swirl around in a submerged metal box. Volunteers and employees of the nonprofit Mattole Salmon Group are tallying fish as they migrate from the Mattole River’s headwaters toward the ocean. The workers briefly trap a percentage of the young fish, count and measure them, then…
Who’s Your Supervisor?
That’s easy, you say? Don’t be so sure; the boundaries are about to change. Every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, the county is required to redraw the lines to balance the population. With extra people showing up in both the Fifth and Second Districts this past decade, you can expect the borders to shift…
Kevin Hoover Announces End of the Eye
Hidden beneath the fold of last week’s Arcata Eye, in a small front-page story about digitizing the newspaper’s archives, owner/editor/publisher Kevin Hoover casually slipped in some startling news: The community weekly will cease publication on Feb. 14, 2014. Reached by phone this morning, Hoover said he has both personal and professional reasons for his decision.…
To Journal Crossword Lovers In Crisis…
… the pain can stop now. 7/7 NCJ Crossword Supplement!: Down 60. College QB, often 61. One of a trio on “Seinfeld” 62. Checked out 64. Flow out 65. Sign of summer 66. Raggedy ____ The Journal regrets the error.
If It Ain’t Country…
…it ain’t nuthin’. But it was country, and it was something: The Memphis Exchange. Last night, boardwalk, fifth of the Summer Concert Series. Every Thursday evening. Y’all come back, now.
Bad News and No News
As we celebrate Independence Day it is important to remember that we wouldn’t be independent were it not for an unfettered press. Troublemaking writers such as Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine and John Dickinson rallied reluctant colonial citizens to fight a government they believed oppressive. But should we impose our ideas of a free press on…
Go Mad on the River
It really is summer — even if the sun doesn’t always come out on the coast. Head east just a little way and it should be shining bright for the Third Annual Mad River Summerfest this Saturday, July 9. The sun always comes out for this free, family-friendly event, a labor of love for prime organizer…
How Much Wood?
Wood. I love it. You love it. As I type, I have my feet propped up on some of it. Great stuff. Bless you, trees. But as much as I dig wood, I can’t hold a candle to the folks at the Humboldt Woodworking Society — nor would I want to, since its members are…
Julia’s Secret
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON I had read some relatively positive comments about Dark of the Moon, the third in this series, so I actually went to it with some faint positive expectations. You’d think I might have learned by now. I found the film to be mind-numbingly tedious. Directed yet again by Michael Bay, the…
Firing Fireworks
Editor: Eureka City Manager David Tyson and the Eureka City Council can’t have it both ways (“Why Was Garr Fired,” June 30). Mr. Tyson fired Chief of Police Garr Nielson with the council’s blessing, but no one wants to talk about it, so they are calling it a confidential personnel decision. But Chief Nielson was officially…
Catcalls, petitions and chief still gone
Eureka City Manager Dave Tyson listened on Friday while Mayor Frank Jager announced that the council voted 4-1 to endorse his decision to fire Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen. Tyson gave a wan smile and shook hands with a few supporters before heading for the door. The lone vote against his decision, Councilmember Linda Atkins,…
Fair Weather Friends
Among the many acts playing this weekend’s Oregon Country Fair outside of Eugene is a band called 7 Walkers, which actually owes its existence to that venerable hippie festival. While attending the fair a few years back Bill Kreutzmann, one of The Grateful Dead’s famed “Rhythm Twins,” met dreadlocked New Orleans bluesman Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne,…
Lance’s Lungs
Lance Madsen didn’t realize how serious his lung problems were until one of his doctors used the word “transplant.” It was last summer. Madsen, a former Eureka police officer and current community liaison for the Humboldt County Housing Authority, was on his way home from his latest appointment at the Stanford University Medical Center.…
Greed’s the Problem
Editor: I’m not a renter, but I am something of a landlord. We bought our home in 1995 as first-time homebuyers and yes, we were then and still are “low income,” at least as described in your article. One of the main selling points was the mother-in-law unit, an 800 sq. ft. separate apartment that we thought…
Into the Storm
Plowing through the wet gray We headed south…
The Fate of Greenland: Lessons from Abrupt Climate Change
In late June, U.S. government scientists announced that more of Greenland’s ice melted in 2010 than in any year since comparable measurements were first made in 1958. Melting of the vast ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are major determinants of how high the oceans will rise along the world’s coasts. But as this book…
Everybody Wah
At the conclusion of a long conversation with my friend Candace, a music aficionado who lives in Memphis, she recommended checking out Bosco Delrey’s Everybody Wah, which was recorded in her musically-rich city. “Who?” I wondered. She repeated the name in her deep Southern twang, adding, “It’s T. Rex mixed with hip hop.” In fact…
Your Friends Have More Friends Than You
…on average, that is. In these strange times of online social networks like Facebook and Twitter, you can actually count your online friends (or followers on Twitter), and even count their friends. I don’t recommend it, if you’re at all anxious about your popularity. Chances are, you’ll discover that your own roster of friends is…
Robert Mitchum: Bad Preacher, P.I. and Sheriff
Humboldt County Library’s based-on-the-book film series for July is titled “Baby, I Don’t Care: The Films of Robert Mitchum.” The four film run actually started last Tuesday with Mitchum in creepy mode as the villain Max Cady in Cape Fear. The screening Tuesday, July 12, hosted by Journal film critic Charlie Myers has another dark…
Zucchini Season
Seeing freshly picked zucchini at the Farmers’ Market gets me into a celebratory mood. I admit that I get excited about many kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables, each one for a different reason. With zucchini, it is a desire to make amends. I did not get along with zucchini during the first part of…
