Not Enough Subs: California Schools Face Severe Teacher Shortage
Kelly Rhoden, the principal at Nevada Union High School, spent her morning Monday scrambling to find substitutes for her absent teachers. The school, about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento, has 86 teachers. Thirteen were out on Monday. “We have quite a few teachers out either because they’ve tested positive, they’re symptomatic, or they have their…
Public Health Confirms 58 New COVID-19 Cases, Seven New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 58 new COVID-19 cases — making 295 so far this week — and seven new hospitalizations today. Today’s cases — which were confirmed after laboratories processed 531 samples with a test-positivity rate of 10.9 percent — came after a brutal August, which saw more than 2,000 new cases locally, eclipsing the…
Man in His 30s Killed in UTV Crash
The California Highway Patrol is investigating a 4-wheeler crash in Southern Humboldt that left a man in his mid-30s dead yesterday evening. According to a press release, the man was driving a side-by-side UTV at around 7 p.m. on a dirt road on private property near Island Mountain Road when he made an unsafe turn,…
UPDATE: Knob Fire Doubles in Size as Evacuation Orders Remain, Schools Close for the Week, 299 Under One-Way Traffic Control with Closure Possible
UPDATE: The Knob Fire doubled in size overnight to nearly 2,000 acres and remains 0 percent contained, according to a Forest Service update, as crews work to keep the fire on the west side of the South Fork Trinity River. PREVIOUS: Evacuation orders remain in effect for the China Creek and Friday Ridge areas due…
UPDATE: Suspicious Death Investigation Near Herrick Avenue
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports its Criminal Investigations Division is currently investigating the suspicious death of a man found in the area of Herrick Avenue and Elk River Road. His cause of death is under investigation, according to a news release. Deputies responded to the scene just before 7 a.m. today on the…
Public Health Confirms 119 New COVID-19 Cases, Capping Month of Grim Records
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 119 new COVID-19 cases today — making 237 so far this week — as well as two new hospitalizations. Today’s cases — which were confirmed after laboratories processed 511 samples with a test-positivity rate of 23.3 precent — close a brutal August, which saw more than 2000 new cases locally,…
UPDATE: ‘Leave Now for Your Safety:’ New Evacuation Orders for Knob Fire near Willow Creek
SECOND UPDATE: The evacuation order has been expanded again to include areas east of State Route 299 to the Trinity River, south of Butterfly Creek Road to Friday Ridge Road, due to shifting winds and increased fire activity on the northeast flank of the Knob Fire, according to the Humboldt County’s Sheriff’s Office in a…
The Craftsman Series to Star Blue Ox’s Eric Hollenbeck
It appears the restoration will be televised. Magnolia Network, a media venture by Discovery and celebrity house rehabbers Chip and Joanna Gaines, has announced it will air nine half-hour episodes of The Craftsman, starring Eric Hollenbeck of Eureka’s Blue Ox Millworks. A press release from the network describes the series: “Master craftsman and woodworker Eric…
THIRD UPDATE: New Evacuation Orders, Warnings for Knob Fire Near Willow Creek
THIRD UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has again updated evacuation orders and warnings for the Knob Fire burning near Willow Creek. Evacuation orders are now in effect for areas east of Brushy Mountain Lookout Road to State Route 299, south of Butterfly Creek Road to Friday Ridge Road. Evacuation warnings are in effect for…
Public Health Confirms Five New COVID-19 Deaths, 10 New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County has lost five more residents to COVID-19, Public Health reported today, adding that it has confirmed 10 new hospitalizations and 118 new cases since Friday. The five deaths — including those of three residents in their 50s — come on the heels of six reported Friday and make 23 so far this month,…
Fire Updates: Knob Fire Impacting Air Quality; Windy Conditions Forecast in Some Fire Areas
Firefighters battling the Knob Fire near Willow Creek and a series of fires burning to Humboldt County’s east are continuing to face hot and dry conditions with strong winds in some areas. State Route 299 has reopened during the day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with pilot cars leading traffic in both directions from…
Schools Across Humboldt Serving Free Meals to Students, No Application Needed
Schools across Humboldt County are serving free breakfasts and lunches to students at no charge this year. No applications are required to qualify for the meals, which are extentions of the Seamless Summer Feeding Option program. For more specific information, parents or guardians can contact individual campuses, according to a news release from the Humboldt…
NCJ Preview: COVID-19, Street Art and a Recall
This week, we take a closer look at Humboldt County’s current COVID-19 surge, which is fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant and threatening local hospital capacity with reverberating impacts. We also discuss the festival transforming Eureka’s streets with colorful murals, and what voters need to know to fill out their ballots for the upcoming…
Velva Elaine Angell: 1929-2021
Our beloved Mother and “Auntie” Velva Angell passed from this earth on Aug. 14, 2021 at the age of 92. She was proud of her Native American heritage as she was Wiyot, Yurok and Wintun Indian. Velva was born in Eureka, California on April 5, 1929 to her parents, Elizabeth Logan Cooper and Henry Clay…
Fire Updates: Crews Facing Hot, Dry Conditions Today as Smoke Impacts Extend to the Coast
Firefighters battling the handful of fires burning to Humboldt County’s east are facing hot tempuratures and low humidity today as evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for several nearby communities although evacuations due to the McFarland Fire have been lifted in Shasta and Tehama counties. State Route 299 has reopened during the day from…
Eileen “Skye” Bolz: 1924-2021
Skye (Eileen Bolz) lived an unconventional and adventurous life of 97 years and passed away June 3, 2021. Before moving to Humboldt County, Skye lived at Nepenthe in Big Sur and owned a leather shop in Marin, designing and making sandals, purses and belts. She taught art and was herself an artist who was enthralled…
Public Health Confirms Six New COVID-19 Deaths as Hospitalizations Hit Record High
Six more Humboldt County residents have died of COVID-19, Public Health reported today, while announcing three hospitalizations. “Each life lost to COVID-19 is a member of our community, someone’s family member, neighbor and friend,” said Public Health Director Sofia Pereira in a press release. “We grieve these losses for those who knew and loved them…
Newsom Appoints Rio Dell Mayor to Seismic Safety Commission
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes to the California Seismic Safety Commission, which works to reduce the risk earthquakes pose to lives, livelihood and infrastructure. “I am truly honored to be appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission.” Garnes said in a press release. “I…
The Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission Launches Movie App
Here’s something you can do while everything’s canceled, postponed or shut down due to the rise in COVID cases in the area: The Humboldt-DelNorte Film Commission just announced the launch of its Map of the Movies mobile app. The app is based on a printed map brochure of filming locations from the past century in…
Register to Vote by Monday to Get a Recall Ballot in the Mail
The last day to register to vote in order to receive a mailed ballot for next month’s recall election is Monday, according to the Humboldt County Elections Office. The Sept. 14 vote will determine whether Gov. Gavin Newsom, who took office in 2019, keeps his job. Voters are being asked two questions on the ballot.…
Public Health Reports 114 New Cases, ‘Vast Majority’ Hospitalizations Unvaccinated
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 114 new COVID-19 cases today — making 428 so far this week — as well as three new hospitalizations. Today’s cases — confirmed after laboratories processed 400 samples with a test-positivity rate of 28.5 percent — make 1,748 so far this month, to go with 73 hospitalizations and 12 deaths…
Nurse Shortages in California Reaching Crisis Point
In the past month, four emergency room nurses — exhausted by the onslaught of patients and emotional turmoil wrought by COVID-19 — have quit at the Eureka hospital where Matt Miele works. Miele, who has been a trauma nurse for four years, is actively looking for a less stressful nursing position and has colleagues who…
Fire Updates: 299 Reopen During the Day with Pilot Escort
Heavy smoke largely blanketed the handful of fires burning to Humboldt County’s east earlier this week, reducing fire activity and aiding firefighting efforts. Crews reported progress — from increased containment to the implementation of community safety plans — on all four fires, to varying degrees, but drier conditions going into the weekend are expected to…
Mural Makeover
The effort to enliven and beautify Eureka’s public spaces took another leap forward this month, as a dozen mostly local artists took to the streets to transform placid, plain walls along the U.S. 101 corridor, imbuing them with color and meaning. Through its first three years, the annual Eureka Street Art Festival saw more than…
‘Felt Severely’
Humboldt County’s ongoing record COVID-19 surge — which had seen 1,536 cases confirmed through the first 24 days of August as the Journal went to press — is putting an increasing strain on local hospitals, Health Officer Ian Hoffman told the Board of Supervisors. “The hospital impact is being felt severely by our local healthcare…
Do You Recall?
To keep Gov. Gavin Newsom or not to keep Gov. Newsom? That is the question. Upset by the progressive governor’s policies, his handling of the pandemic and his infamous maskless dinner at the French Laundry, about 12 percent of the number of Californians who voted in the last election for governor signed petitions to force…
What’s Good Roundup
All in the Familia When Bandit Savory & Sweet left the oak counters of the ground floor of the Vance building in Old Town Eureka, along with the sadness that has followed so many closures in the last year, I felt a twinge of guilt. While I happily shared in this paper and elsewhere how…
Trinidad Art Night
Venues throughout town will open late for art viewing and music. Please follow updated Humboldt County guidelines and wear a mask indoors and at outdoor gatherings. For the safety of all there will be no fire dancing, boffer ring, vendors or skateboarding this month. Hosted by Community Arts Trinidad, a DreamMaker Project of the Ink…
Get Out into the Fog
If someone had told me 20 years ago that I would come to love fog, to find solace in its soft and moist embrace, I would have dismissed the prediction. As a young adult, for 10 years I lived in Milan, which is located in the Po River Valley, land of impenetrable fog. During the…
Anglers Await Arrival of Fall Klamath Kings
Some of the best steelhead fishing in recent years on the Klamath has kept anglers busy as we await the arrival of the fall kings. There’s been flurries of fish moving in the estuary and below the U.S. Highway101 bridge, but not many are choosing to head upriver as of yet. The water temperatures cooled…
Pop-Op Perfection?
ANNETTE. Received rapturously at the Cannes Film Festival — the standing ovation lasted long enough for Adam Driver to smoke a cigarette — this might fairly be interpreted as the long-overdue arrival of the Brothers Mael. That statement, of course, cannot be made, at least by me, without a few disclaimers/asterisks. First, and perhaps most…
Hypocrisy Kills Salmon
Editor: Missing from the “cascading crises facing Pacific salmon” in “Witnessing the Collapse” (Aug. 5) is any mention of, dare I say it, logging. Wholesale industrial logging of watersheds produces thick groves of young, thirsty trees that dry up drainages and deprive them of water-cooling riparian shading, decimating the fragile salmonid evolutionary cycle. After the…
Humanizing Hesitancy
Editor: My heart was warmed, and frustration pacified, while reading last week’s NCJ. It seems there were a few attempts to humanize the hesitancy some members of our community feel about getting vaccinated (Mailbox, Aug. 19). The snippet from the New York Times article provided useful tactics for reaching the unvaccinated, including a long-awaited sentence, “……
When the Old World Met the New
Imagine this: Of 19 friends, 18 of them die within a few weeks. Horribly, painfully. You and one other friend are the only survivors, one in 10. That’s the extent of the death toll in the Americas, mostly by infectious diseases, starting in 1493. At that time, the population of the New World was probably…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries mythologist Joseph Campbell advised us to love our fate. He said we should tell ourselves, “Whatever my fate is, this is what I need.” Even if an event seems inconvenient or disruptive, we treat it as an opportunity, as an interesting challenge. “If you bring love to that moment, not…
