Last Rites
The Humboldt County Coroner’s Offices days as an independent agency may be numbered
Cover Story
Last Rites
Humboldt County Coroner Dave Parris sounds tired. Usually reliably chipper and upbeat, Parris’ voice is worn with exhaustion as he speaks with the Journal on Sept. 17. The topic of the day is a persistent rumor running through county circles that Parris — re-elected to another four-year term just three months ago — has accepted…
EPD Chief: Shooting Appears Justified
The preliminary findings of an ongoing multi-agency investigation indicate Eureka Police officer Stephen Linfoot was justified when he shot and killed 22-year-old Thomas “Tommy” McClain shortly after midnight on Sept. 17, Police Chief Andy Mills said at a press conference this morning. Mills said McClain was defying officers orders and reaching for a replica handgun…
There’s Retro, and Then There’s Retro
They say if you hold onto an outfit long enough, it’ll come back in style. Here’s some of the antique chic people were working at the Excalibur Medieval Festival and Market Faire this past weekend. Two Ren fair runways are on for this Saturday, Oct. 4 and Sunday, Oct. 5 with the Excalibur festival at…
In Plein Sight
Are you out on the beach every weekend with your easel, or was the backyard fence the last painting you did? Beginners, pros and looky-loos can all indulge their artistic impulses during the Plein Air at the Lost Coast festival in Shelter Cove from Wednesday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 5 (free to attend, $65…
Eureka Will Cease Prayer Breakfasts, Pay For Lawsuit
Eureka will discontinue prayer breakfasts as part of a settlement stemming from a 2013 lawsuit seeking the separation of church and local government. The Times-Standard reports that, in addition to no longer sponsoring or endorsing the prayer breakfasts (which Mayor Frank Jager conducted specifically in his capacity as mayor), the city will pay $16,500 to…
About Those Numbers…
Editor: As Humboldt County’s Auditor-Controller, I was surprised to read Mr. Brennan’s letter in the Sept. 18 edition of the North Coast Journal (“Hey Big Spender”) that alleges that my office was over budget by $1,780,425 in 2014. I don’t know where he is getting that figure. My office was over budget by $1,639.99 at…
TV or Not TV?
Several blocks from where a royal henchman cleverly castigates Shakespeare to his face in Redwood Curtain’s Equivocation (“Unequivocal Success,” Sept. 11), some contemporary Americans (and a distinguished ghost) are conflicted about the Bard in the 1991 comedy I Hate Hamlet, now onstage at the North Coast Repertory Theatre in Eureka. After the TV series that…
Love
Love A slither from my brain tries to tame the people that I meet I was taught better but can’t seem to stretch it my careful thought blows in the breeze and catches a warm flower and there it is plain and simple — Matt Bryant
Salmon Mountain: Humboldt’s Highest
Around 170 million years ago, in a period geologists call the Middle Jurassic, huge reptiles ruled the seas and skies: quarter-ton pterosaurs above, killer whale-size pliosaurs below. On land, shrew-like mammals were rapidly evolving as they dodged several new species of predatory dinosaurs. Meanwhile, some 20 miles below what we now think of as northeastern…
Lost Boys
Reviews THE MAZE RUNNER is a tightly paced sci-fi/horror flick for the tween set, a dark and violent mystery that doesn’t gloss over the child murder so popular in films these days. But while the twists and turns are thrilling, the film’s resolution isn’t unlike that feeling when your pencil tip escapes the newspaper labyrinth:…
Officer Involved
“Shots fired. One down.” Those were the four words yelled into a Eureka police radio shortly after midnight on Sept. 18 after a 22-year-old man was shot and lay dying on the front lawn of his cousin’s home. Those words also initiated a complex protocol for what essentially will be three parallel investigations: the first…
Ghostbusters
It’s been a banner year for pot busts, if you’re rooting for that sort of thing. Last year saw its fair share as well — the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has averaged more than one a week countywide since January 2013. The follow-through? Not so much. A sheriff’s office spreadsheet provided to the Journal shows…
Hill of Beans
The farmers market is a source of roiling internal debate. On one hand, there’s the glory of fresh, delicious chard and peaches; on the other, I dread the Battle of the Strollers and small talk with tan people in Tevas. This time of year the cons are definitely outweighed by one giant pro: fresh, unshelled…
Things Get Serious
I hope you took my advice and checked out El Ten Eleven on the HSU Quad. It was pointed out to me that the first time I saw the mindblowing duo — the first time they played here — was seven years ago in the infamous corner of the Alibi. This I-saw-them-when story exists in…
Whose Election?
Editor: I only hope that the citizens of this county wake up to the difference between words and actions and start demanding real, substantial changes in the out-of-control funding of local elections (“‘The Peoples’ Election,'” Sept. 18). I was outraged by the mealy-mouthed words from Bohn and others of the Gang of Four. Bohn, recipient…
Not Cool
Editor: Shame on Linda Stansberry and her column “Slugfest” (Sept. 18). Banana slugs are native to California and our old growth redwood forests. They eat fallen leaves, mushrooms and dead animals. They replenish the soil and are an important part of the survival of the forests. These are not a pest like the European brown…
More Merv
Editor: Nice article about Merv George (“Merv’s World,” Sept. 11). I admire multitalented individuals, which he obviously is. In addition to inherited abilities, being multitalented usually requires “tears, toil and sweat” (to quote W. Churchill) along with dedication and old-fashioned hard work, which were factors in his appointment, I’m sure. — Bruce Haston, Trinidad
No Room at the Trough
Editor: Regarding Mr. Kinch and his letter (“Pensions Still Running High,” Sept. 10) and specifically the comment that “a government job is much more secure than in the private sector” — sorry, but I and 38 others would beg to differ. In December of 2012, 20 fellow coworkers of mine were forced into early retirement…
House Excalibur
If this century is getting you down, throw on some Dark Ages drag and get thee to the Excalibur Medieval Tournament and Market Faire at Mad River Community Hospital at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27 and Sept. 28 and the following weekend, Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 ($8, $5 kids, free to…
