Light into Dark Places
Humboldt’s first police misconduct records released under new transparency law
North Coast Night Lights: Eel River Stargazer
Not far from anywhere on the North Coast the dark skies and solitude of nature quietly await. People travel great distances to come here to camp and hike in it, enjoying the beauty of our forests, beaches, rivers, and amazing night skies. It’s a wonderland to them, and here we are living right in it.…
Huffman Calls Congressional Oath to God “Unconstitutional,” “Preposterous”
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman is again making waves as Congress’ only proclaimed “humanist.” During an interview on the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s Freethought Matters program, Huffman, a lawyer by trade, said he believes requiring Congressional witnesses to pledge an oath to God is unconstitutional. “It’s unconstitutional to require a witness in congressional testimony to…
Eureka Sinkhole Leads to Major Construction on Myrtle
Work to repair a “rapidly-developing sinkhole” on Myrtle Avenue near Eighth Avenue revealed that a nearly 100-year-old storm drain line had partially collapsed and had “multiple joint and other failures,” according to the city of Eureka. To protect the road, city officials determined that the best course was to abandon the pipe and install a…
Whitethorn Man Killed in Morning Crash
A 33-year-old Whitethorn man was killed this morning after his car ran off Briceland Thorn Road, hit a bridge railing and overturned into McKee Creek, the California Highway Patrol reports. The driver, whose identity has not been released pending notification of family, was pronounced dead at the scene. He had been using a seatbelt. According…
Coasties Save Two From Eel River Island
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued two men from a small island near Crab County Park this weekend after they became stranded when their watercraft became disabled on the ocean side of the Eel River. According to a release, a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted one of the men around 8:30 p.m. Sunday…
Crash Closes Down Broadway
A little after 1 p.m., a driver lost control of his vehicle on Broadway near Seventh Street. His vehicle struck a power pole shearing it off at the base and dropping a live line across Broadway. Northbound lanes are being diverted at West Grant Street and southbound lanes are being diverted at West Washington Street.…
HumBug: Butterflies vs. Moths
One of the most common questions I get as a bug guy is, “What’s the difference between butterflies and moths?” Although most consider them separate clades within the order lepidoptera, another answer is “maybe nothing.” Some authorities regard butterflies as a day flying sub group of moths. Their lifestyles are very similar. Starting life as…
A Boozy Flavortown Meat Party
For the second year in a row, I ventured beneath the grandstands at the Ferndale Fairgrounds to check in at the “Judges Only” bar. Eighteen of us — mostly strangers who all clearly love meat — gathered to judge Guy Fieri’s sixth annual Surf and Turf BBQ Competition at the Humboldt County Fair. Lined up…
Warning: Dam Releases Mean Swift, Cool Waters on the Trinity
With Labor Day weekend marking the official end of the summer season, the National Weather Service is asking those headed for one last hurrah at the Trinity River to use extra caution. Flows will be running higher and colder than usual this time of year, starting Sunday, due to scheduled releases from the Lewiston Dam.…
UPDATE: Victim in Fatal Rio Dell Shooting ID’d
UPDATE: The man killed last night in a Rio Dell shooting has been identified by officials as Johnny Mack Renfro. According to a release, video surveillance cameras captured the incident and police are searching for a suspect driving a dark colored car that is believed to have one or more broken or missing windows. PREVIOUS:…
North Coast Night Lights: Tule Fog on Humboldt Bay
Apparently, the term “tule fog” is specific to a particular seasonal low fog in the Central Valley, but we sometimes see a similar blanket of ground fog around the lowlands and bottoms of coastal northern Humboldt County. Low and mysterious, the veil of mist hugs the contours, it pools in pockets and reduces visibility to…
Charter Schools, Unions Call a Truce in an Epic Battle as Newsom Brokers a Deal
Gov. Gavin Newsom brokered an agreement Wednesday on a high-profile charter-school regulation proposal at the center of this year’s contentious battle between teachers unions and charter advocates, removing a key hurdle for its passage this session. The compromise on Assembly Bill 1505 comes after months of lobbying by the state’s two most influential education interest…
Do These People Not Matter?
Editor: Three mass shootings in a week, all committed by white men. Headline after headline about white nationalism, domestic terrorism, men who hate women, white racists, Trump’s bigotry and, flowing through it all, the numbers: By the Journal’s own count, 257 mass shootings in America this year (“31 Points,” Aug. 8). The implication being that crazed…
Heard on the Deck, 5 a.m.
From our silent little home between the sea and the bay We hear the waves; we almost hear the spray A light mist comes around to drizzle and drip Nearby, winds in spruces whisper and whip Down the road, Japanese roosters cry kokekoo American cockerels call cock a doodle doo Our Korean rooster replies kokioo,…
With Housing Element Passed, Staff Pushes Forward on Tiny Houses
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson absent, on Aug. 20 to approve its Housing Element update, a bold new plan to address what county staff has identified as an affordable housing and homelessness “crisis.” Drafted by the county Planning and Building Department, the update is designed to…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Here are examples of activities I recommend you try in the coming days. 1. Build a campfire on the beach with friends and regale each other with stories of your most interesting successes. 2. Buy eccentric treasures at a flea market and ever thereafter refer to them as your holy icons.…
Living with Cancer
“It may be tough to convince patients, even those with an incurable disease, that the best approach is not to kill as many cancer cells as possible but as few as necessary.” — James DeGregori and Robert Gatenby, Scientific American, August, 2019 When his wife, Nancy, was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, veteran science reporter George…
Betty Chinn: Activist
It’s not a title Betty Chinn ever sought out, or even one she thought fit. In fact, when an author got in touch with Chinn to ask about including her in Girl Activist, a children’s book aimed at inspiring girls to make a positive impact in the world, Chinn wasn’t inclined to do it. “I…
Bienvenidos
As an ad hoc cultural ambassador to the region and self-professed “music bozo,” I’d like to humbly welcome the assorted students of the area back to the academic grind. I won’t waste your time with a bunch of flutey language and annoying BS; I will instead direct your no doubt divided attentions to this big…
Add Melon
Great news: Melon season is in full swing. The list of melon varieties I encountered during recent visits to the Arcata farmers market and the North Coast Co-op is 16 names long, some lovely, like Swan Lake or Snow Leopard, others intriguing, like Toad Skin. We are fortunate a number of farmers grow melons in…
Micro-farming a Kitchen Herb or Succulent Garden
Late summer, and the weather continues to be fine with warm days and long evenings. Here on the home farm, we’re straightening up our culinary herb garden bed to enjoy stepping out the back door and snipping a few sprigs of fresh herbs to add to farm kitchen sauces, salads, soups and stir-fried veggies. Cucumbers…
Fucking Rich People
Review READY OR NOT. It did not escape me that David Koch, half of the political juggernaut that was the Koch brothers, died the same sunny Friday afternoon this film about the viciousness of an uber-wealthy family opened in Humboldt. The impact of the fictional Le Domas dynasty, built on family-friendly board games, is nothing…
A Reckoning in Rohnert Park
It seems something was very rotten in the city of Rohnert Park. Lawyers representing the city agreed Aug. 20 to pay a Texas man $415,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that Rohnert Park police unlawfully seized 3 pounds of legal marijuana during a 2017 traffic stop outside city limits. The settlement came just a…
Would You Like a Danish?
Editor: The Danish government has scoffed at President Trump’s reported interest in buying Greenland. Though we don’t have more recent tax information, he lost $1.17 billion in just the years 1985 through 1994. The president obviously isn’t the business wizard that has been portrayed. The Danish government may wish to reconsider dismissing out of hand…
Sue ’em!
Editor: The long, winding, seaboard highway connecting Eureka to Arcata is the road most at risk from global warming in the entire state of California. It’ll cost an estimated $31 million to patch up that stretch of U.S. Highway 101 until about 2030 or so, at which point those patches will probably need replacing. Experts…
Save the Spartina!
Editor: The recent Coastal Commission hearing in Eureka was indeed fascinating (“Ground Zero,” Aug. 15). As part of the Caltrans approval, the Coastal Commission demanded Caltrans study sea level rise and report to the commission every year on how it plans to address it. What I found particularly ironic was the construction project included the…
The Astrologist Was Wrong!
Editor: The astrologist Rob Brezsny says that putting plastic in the recycling bin “makes it far less likely that it will end up in the oceans” (“Free Will Astrology,” Aug. 22). Far less likely than what? Throwing it in the bushes? Well, yeah, maybe. Throwing it in the trash? Actually, no. If you throw a…
It’s Still Racist
Editor: I read with both interest and amusement the Week in Weed commentary, “Illicit Markets and Cultural Insensitivity” by Thadeus Greenson (Aug. 15). First, as regards the continued discussion of the origins and intentions of the term “marijuana,” let me note that I am a proud affiliate of Humboldt State University’s Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research, which is…
Light into Dark Places
Eureka Police Officer Jacob Jones had been on the force about a year and a half when, shortly before 6 p.m. on May 25, 2018, he was dispatched to a report of a potential weapons violation. About 40 minutes earlier, a 46-year-old man had opened the back door of his Eureka residence to call in…
