Rain to Cause Rising Rivers; Localized Flooding, Slides Possible
One storm down and three more to go. Humboldt County is expected to be rainy through the weekend with the heaviest of the events arriving on Sunday, according to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service. There is also a wind advisory for today, with southerly wind gusts up to 45 to 55 mph…
Public Health Confirms One COVID-19 Death, One Hospitalization, 23 New Cases
Humboldt County Public Health today confirmed one new COVID-19 death in a resident in their 80s, one hospitalization of a resident in their 60s and 23 new cases. Today’s death brings the county’s cumulative total to 108 after Public Health removed two deaths from the count yesterday as one was determined not to be COVID-related and…
Newsom Declares Drought Emergency Across California
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California, as conservation efforts continue to fall far short of state targets. Newsom also authorized California’s water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks, and directed his Office of Emergency Services to fund drinking water as…
Public Health Reports Another COVID-19 Death, Five New Hospitalizations
Another Humboldt County resident has died of COVID-19, Public Health reported today, while confirming 42 new cases of the virus and five new hospitalizations, including one of a child under the age of 10. The death — the county’s 107th due to the disease since the pandemic’s start, after Public Health today removed two previously…
Arcata Council Set to Select a New Mayor, Vice Mayor
Arcata Mayor Brett Watson has not submitted a resignation letter but the city council is scheduled to select his replacement and chose a new vice mayor during a special meeting tomorrow. The item on the 5:59 p.m. agenda just before the regularly scheduled meeting states simply: With a mid-term vacancy of the mayor’s position, the…
Two Storms Heading This Way
Another round of rain is headed this way, with the first in a one-two punch of storms expected to hit this evening, followed by a stronger front later in the week. The heaviest showers are forecast to hit over night in both cases, with most areas in the region seeing a half inch to 1…
Former County Building Inspector Sentenced to One Year in Jail, Two Years Felony Probation for Soliciting Bribes
Patrick William McTigue was sentenced to serve one year in jail, two years of felony probation and ordered to pay restitution to his victims after pleading guilty to one count of bribery and two counts of felony grand theft while working as a county building inspector a few years ago. Throughout 2017 and 2018, McTigue used…
Public Health Confirms 56 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that it has confirmed 56 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, with no new related hospitalizations or deaths. The new cases come after laboratories processed 511 samples with a test-positivity rate of 11 percent. After recording a test-positivity rate of 10.1 percent in July — the highest for any month since…
Port Backlogs Sum up California’s COVID Crisis
The extent to which California’s — and the country and world’s — challenges are interconnected was exemplified by President Joe Biden’s Wednesday announcement that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will move toward 24/7 operations to help unsnarl massive supply chain backlogs. Still, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Sunday during a CNN…
Here Comes the Rain … and Snow
A cold front is ushering in a taste of winter this afternoon, with moderate rainfall possible and even snow at higher elevations, according to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service. The rest of the week is also expected to be wet. Highs for today are forecast to be 10 to 20 degrees cooler…
NCJ Preview: Vaccines and County Staff, Police Shooting Footage and Restoring the Eureka Theater
This week we’re looking at why the board of supervisors declined to require vaccines for county employees, going for weekly testing for the unvaccinated instead. We’re also going into what’s on newly released footage from last month’s police shooting of a suspect on Mad River Road, as well as how law affects what’s made public…
Public Health Confirms 10 New COVID-19 Cases; FDA Recommends Emergency Authorization Use of J&J Booster Dose
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 10 new COVID-19 cases, with no additional deaths or hospitalizations reported. Public Health also reported that an advisory committee voted unanimously to recommend the FDA authorize emergency use for a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for adults 18 and older and authorize Moderna boosters for certain high-risk groups.…
Hospitals Brace for Strikes as California Workers Protest Staff Shortages
As weary health care workers across California enter the 19th month of the pandemic, thousands are walking off the job and onto the picket line, demanding more staffing. The strikes and rallies threaten to cripple hospital operations that have been inundated by the COVID-19 Delta surge as well as patients seeking long-delayed care. More than…
County Marks 9,000th COVID-19 Case
Public Health confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases today, pushing Humboldt County past a total of 9,000 cases, while also confirming a new hospitalization. The new cases come after laboratories processed 168 samples with a test-positivity rate of 11.9 percent. After recording a test-positivity rate of 10.1 percent in July — the highest for any month since…
Humboldt Residents Could See a Change in Representation Under Draft Redistricting Maps
Humboldt County residents’ representation on the board of supervisors, in Congress and in the state Legislature is on the line as two commissions look at redrawing boundaries of those districts. The process happens ever 10 years after the federal government publishes census data to ensure the populations of the districts are evenly distributed. The last…
Huffman, Ocasio-Cortez Hosting Town Hall on ‘Build Back Better’
North Coast Representative Jared Huffman will join fellow Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at a virtual townhall on Friday afternoon with a focus on the “Build Back Better” plan now before Congress. The $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill would also provide for social services, including free childcare, and add dental coverage to Medicare, as well…
Moving Forward on Priorities for Indian Country
When President Joe Biden nominated me to be the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, I felt the profound importance of what that moment meant for Indigenous peoples in our country. I knew then, as I still feel now, that we’re at the beginning of a new era where Indigenous knowledge in our work to combat…
More changes needed
Happy for Sue-Meg to have its place name restored officially, but one still must travel on Patrick’s Point Drive to get there (“Sue-Meg Restored,” Oct. 7, 2021). Let’s do the whole job and give the road a better name, too. North Scenic Drive would be just fine. Carol Moné, Trinidad Related Stories
Increased risk
With the city of Eureka and Humboldt County combining to spend $1 billion over the next decade on pension debt, a $1 billion loss of funding for services, (Mailbox, Sept. 9, 2021) at what point does leadership in law enforcement and other governmental leaders acknowledge the significant negative impact pension costs (increasing current costs and…
Salty over Sea Pickles
Captain Brunch, the saltiest of our local old salts, agreed to take me on a sea pickle expedition. But first, he sized me up with his one good eye and said, “Aye, lad, do ye have the guts to face the treacherous sea pickle, yar?” I explained I get a little seasick but wasn’t concerned…
His Hummingbirds (Calypte anna)
Tiny fencemen perched upon pickets At rest, armed, armored, readied, coated In colors of the realm Vert, sanguine, argent Their ladies, less elaborately clad than they Hovering nearby, favoring their fellows With discreet flashes Of corresponding color The prize has arrived Sky-mounted goblet Of immortal nectar Awaits he who proves worthy The slightest of salutes…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to my understanding of the upcoming weeks, life will present you with unusual opportunities. I suspect you will find it reasonable and righteous to shed, dismantle, and rebel against the past. Redefining your history will be a fun and worthy project. Here are other related activities I recommend for you:…
Moderne Beauty
Living inside a movie theater is a fantasy many cinephiles have surely entertained, but few have indulged. George M. Mann, builder and original proprietor of the Eureka Theater, was one of the few. Mann worked from the 1920s through the 1940s to build a chain of movie theaters that would eventually span from Klamath Falls…
Under Submission
A professional misconduct case against two county attorneys accused of serious ethics violations for their handling of a local right-to die case is now in the hands of a California State Bar Court judge. Blair Angus, who retired in 2019 as assistant county counsel, and Deputy County Counsel Natalie Duke each faces a series of…
Arcata Police Video Captures Fatal Shooting
The 35-year-old Eureka man fatally shot by a California Highway Patrol officer last month on Mad River Road fired at least one round at officers before the officer returned fire, video of the incident released Oct. 8 shows. Having followed Charles David Chivrell, who had a pistol holstered on his hip and a briefcase in hand, for…
Cooking for the Feast
The farther back you walk into the Portuguese Hall Association, past the rows of people young and old sitting at long tables covered in red gingham cloths, the stronger the aroma of meat, onions, peppercorns and allspice gets. And there behind the divider is its source: a team of volunteer cooks and servers dishing out…
Bulb Planting Time
Now that we’ve harvested the fruits of our labor and cleaned up the garden — you have cleaned up the garden from spent plant debris and fallen apples, right? — it’s time to think ahead to what to plant. I know, I know, we’re just barely into autumn and here I am talking spring. But…
Klamath Adult King Harvest Quota Filled
If you’re looking to harvest an adult Chinook salmon in the Klamath basin, the Trinity River is your only option as of Tuesday. On Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the recreational fall-run Chinook salmon catch will have met the Upper Klamath River adult fall-run Chinook salmon quota (of 208) below Iron…
Culture
THERE’S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE. Is a slasher movie ever just a slasher movie? Probably not. Go back and watch a few of the genre’s prototypes from the ’70s and ’80s, and you’ll find — more easily with the distance afforded by time — some recurring themes and popular mores fairly leaping from their stories…
