Cover Story
Murals Under the Bridge
On the evening of Thursday, Aug. 4, a couple dozen people gather in the Pacific Outfitters parking lot for a guided walk, ready to take in the sights of murals underway for this year’s Eureka Street Art Festival. Leading the tour is organizer and local artist Jenna Catsos, who has been directly involved coordinating the…
Red Flag Warning: Increased Risk of Fire Starts
A swath of interior Humboldt County, and surrounding counties, is under a red flag warning today from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., the Eureka office of the National Weather Service reports. The culprit is an upper level disturbance that will move through the region and mix with “monsoon moisture and an unstable atmosphere,” the NWS…
Back to School: California Republicans Bet Big on Local Board Races
When California Republicans gathered in Anaheim this spring, attention focused on candidate speeches and endorsement battles as the party tries to win its first statewide race since 2006. But a little-noticed, hour-long session in a small conference room at the Marriott could very well be more consequential for the state GOP this election. The meeting…
Meet the New Condor Cohort: Introducing A4, A5, A6 and A7
Mentor bird No. 746 is no longer alone in the enclosure at the management and release facility in Redwood National Park with a new group of young birds arriving today for him to teach the ins and outs of what it means to be a California condor. The new cohort of A4, A5, A6 and…
Flooding Raises New Concerns for Spring Chinook
Nearly 300 wild spring Chinook salmon made the 85-mile trip to cool mountain waters for spawning this year, up from a mere 90 last year. While still far below, according to the Karuk Tribe and Salmon River Restoration Council, the numbers were at least moving in a positive direction. But soon after the count was…
Suspense File: Which Bills did California Lawmakers Kill?
On most days, California lawmakers deliberate, debate and decide bills out in public for every Californian to see. Aug. 11 was not one of those days. In simultaneous marathon hearings, the appropriations committees in the Assembly and Senate rattled through hundreds of bills in a single discharge of rapid-fire legislating. Many proposals lived to see…
New Cohort of Condors Set to Arrive in Humboldt
Another cohort of four California condors is scheduled to arrive Aug. 16 in a Yurok Tribe-led effort to bring back the endangered bird they know as prey-go-neesh to reestablish a population on the North Coast. This new group of the largest birds in North America, which boast a nearly 10-foot wingspan and the ability to…
NCJ Preview: Murals, Fire, Fish and Gyros
This week we’re craning our necks to look up at all the murals from the Eureka Street Art Festival. We’ll talk about how the festival’s artists ended up paining the pillars of the Samoa Bridge and how you can take a tour. And if you’re looking for lunch, we’re talking about the new Gyro Shop…
Humboldt’s First Obon Festival this Sunday
Humboldt Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity (HAPI) present Humboldt’s first Obon Festival, Sunday, Aug. 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. in front of Arcata Playhouse. Obon is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. The festival at the Playhouse will include a blessing by a Buddhist priest, stories and Obon…
Safety Issues Prompt Closure for Part of Harris Street in Eureka
At the request of CalFire, following issues with speeding cars and a “near-miss” incident in which a firefighter was almost struck by a vehicle, Harris Street between Hubbard Land and Viale Avenue is now restricted to protect the safety of those at the Six Rivers Lightning Complex base camp at Redwood Acres. “Due to the…
Initial Candidate Filing Period Drawing to a Close
The door is closing for candidates interested in entering a slew of local races in the upcoming November election, with dozens of seats on the boards of special districts and school boards across Humboldt County, as well as city councils, going before voters. The candidate filing period ends today unless an incumbent chooses not to…
Public Health Set to Vaccinate Those at High Risk from Monkeypox
Humboldt County Public Health will soon begin vaccinating people at high risk of contracting the monkeypox virus, the county announced today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified those at a higher risk as people who are gay, bisexual, transgender and cisgender men who have sex with men or transgender women who meet…
UPDATE: New Evacuation Zone, Hazardous to Unhealthy Air Near Six Rivers Complex as Fire Continues to Grow
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services has announced a new Evacuation Order due to the Six Rivers Lightning Complex fire in the HUM-E063-B zone south of Willow Creek but states there is “no immediate threat to Willow Creek proper.” The OES also announced that zone HUM-E057 has been downgraded to an Evacuation Warning,…
Vaden Earl Jantz Jr. : 1950-2022
Vaden Earl Jantz Jr. was born in Arcata on August 11, 1950, where he enjoyed a happy childhood with his three brothers and sister. But even as a child Vaden wanted to work! He realized his ambitions at age 10, milking cows at the Arcata Creamline Dairy across the street from his home on the…
On the Waggin’ at Woofstock
It’s the biggest dog day of summer! Sequoia Humane Society’s annual Woofstock Festival takes over Halverson Park , Saturday, Aug. 13, from noon to 6 p.m. ($5, $10 family of four). Humboldt’s largest dog party is an all-day play date with a mutt strut, dog-centric booths, crafts, water games, microchipping, a grooming station, food, beer…
Six Rivers Lightning Complex: Where to Get Help and How to Help the Helpers
UPDATE: The free food distribution scheduled for tomorrow by Food for People in collaboration with Pay it Forward Humboldt and the American Red Cross has been moved to Dream Quest, 100 Country Club Drive, and we’ve updated this story accordingly. PREVIOUSLY: In the face of tremendous need, with hundreds of residents displaced by a series…
Martinis by the Bay Tonight!
Shaken, stirred, dirty, neat. To twist or not? However you like yours, Martinis by the Bay has got a cocktail for you ($50 for a quintet of tastes). Join members of the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka on Thursday, Aug. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Wharfinger Building for the sipping soiree —…
Six Rivers National Forest Implements Emergency Closure Due to Wildfire
The U.S. Forest Service announced yesterday that it is closing all roads, trails and land on in the Six Rivers National Forest Lower Trinity Ranger District immediately and indefinitely in an effort to protect the public and firefighters responding to the Six Rivers Lightning Complex Fire. “Extreme fire behavior and fire perimeter spread are unpredictable,…
PlanCo Certifies Fish Farm EIR, Moves Project Forward
Nordic Aquafarms took a giant step closer to its goal of building a fish-rearing facility on the Samoa peninsula Aug. 4 when the Humboldt County Planning Commission unanimously certified the company’s Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and also granted it a Coastal Development Permit and a Special Permit. The commission listened to one last brief…
‘A Long Battle’
About 100 residents from the Willow Creek area crammed into a small church on State Route 96 on Monday, where billows of smoke could be seen from a large, pane glass window spiraling into the sky across the Trinity River from the Bremer Fire as it continued to encroach on Willow Creek’s eastern edge. They…
Make It So
Cicero, writing a couple thousand years ago in a now dead tongue, wryly noted the habit among the wealthy men of Rome of copying the ostentatiousness of a great man’s sumptuous villas, while showing no interest in imitating his fine personal virtues. Ain’t that the rich for you? Then, as now, money could not buy…
Elemental Eating at Gyro Shop
The menu above the counter at Gyro Shop (1731 G St., Arcata) is as pared down as the place itself, with its metal chairs and narrow wooden counters. There’s the headliner gyro, chicken shawarma, falafel, all of which can come on plates or wrapped in warm, thick pita bread, along with seasoned fries and a…
Arts! Arcata
Celebrate the visual and performing arts in Downtown Arcata during Second Friday Arts! Arcata. Enjoy a lively night market of local art displayed in downtown stores. This month the center of the plaza will be converted into a beer garden and will feature music from Los Amantes del Mañana. There will also be a variety…
The Children and The Unstrung Harp
THE CHILDREN. It was a dark and stormy night … when Rose (Rae Robison) let herself into the cottage occupied by her old friends Hazel (Pam Long) and Robin (Gary Sommers). The reunion gets off to a rocky start when Hazel hits Rose over the head, thinking she is a burglar. Thus begins The Children…
Otterly Advice
After witnessing one of her own mowed down by a car in April, a local river otter asked me to share her advice to otter spotters and others on visiting wetlands, lagoons and rivers. Here’s what she had to say. Start early and notice the ducks. We’re hungry all the time but especially first thing in…
Pacific Halibut Season Closes, Boats Turn to Tuna
One of the better Pacific halibut seasons came to a close Sunday with boats catching some nice fish right up until the final buzzer. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Sunday’s closure late last week with the expectation that quota would be exceeded if the season remained open. And I don’t think they…
Bullet Trainand Prey Ride the Summer Wave
I hate to sound optimistic (ask anybody), but I’ve been developing a theory that, in spite of literally everything, Summer 2022 has become a pretty good movie season. This is due in no small part to my constant, chiggerish contrarianism, which I’ll address momentarily, and to my sadistic satisfaction at the movie-industrial complex maybe finally…
The Rise and Fall of Klamath County
Living, as my wife and I do, in Old Town Eureka, we’re very aware we’re on the land of the Wiyot, whose territory once extended from Little River to the Bear River ridge south of the Eel. Tribal borders were strictly adhered to — especially if the neighboring tribe was unfriendly — but it took…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Tips to get the most out of the coming weeks: 1. Exercise your willpower at random moments just to keep it limber. 2. Be adept at fulfilling your own hype. 3. Argue for fun. Be playful and frisky as you banter. Disagree for the sport of it, without feeling attached to…
