North Country Fair Turns 50
By Mark Larson and Jennifer Fumiko Cahill
Cover Story
North Country Fair Turns 50
Under bright, sunny skies, the North Country Fair, an Arcata tradition created by the Same Old People organizers in 1974, featured the All Species Parade on Saturday and the Samba Parade with Samba da Alegria and Samba do Mar on Sunday. This year’s party featured 175 art and craft vendors, interactive toys and playgrounds for…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Oct. 3
It’s the first night of the Redwood Coast Music Festival, which will be centered around the Adorni Center, with satellite shows throughout the general waterfront neighborhood of Eureka. Too many to name, but tonight’s entertainment includes Dave Stuckey & the Hot House Gang, The Navy Band Northwest, Freshwater Jazz Band, Redwood Dixie Gators and more.…
A New Beginning on the Klamath (With Slideshow)
The largest dam removal project in the nation’s history was officially completed today, marking the end of an era and a new beginning for the Klamath River, now flowing wild for the first time in a century after being released from the chokeholds of the Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle and Iron…
Conflicted RCEA Board Passes on Nuclear Power
After a lengthy discussion that was at times circular, a divided Redwood Coast Energy Authority failed to reach a decision on whether to accept an offer of free nuclear power from the Diablo Canyon Power Plan in San Luis Obispo. By default, the board’s inaction means the agency will pass on the state-mandated offer for…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Oct. 1
Four-plus decades since its formation and one name change that is the antithesis of the original, San Francisco’s Lazy Giants has a sound that hits a lot of the right spots for me. Martial drums over moody, melodic bass lines and space-punk guitar sounds with a great vocal mix up in front of the fray,…
Music Tonight: Monday, Sept. 30
Though many things have changed since the height of COVID, some things have come trickling back, often with a new paint job to complement rather than cover up the old familiar faces and feelings. One such joint is the Ocean Grove just north of Trinidad, where I am happy to say, not only have the…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Sept. 29
It’s the 21st anniversary of the formation of Portland’s premier marching band MarchFourth and over years of high energy shows and steady touring, this now 15-person line-up has forever minted its legacy as the dance show to go to as though the circus is in town. They’ll be spiking up the tent, so to speak,…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Sept. 28
Two ensemble shows, each at roughly the same time, and within walking distance of each other. First up at 7:30 p.m. at the Outer Space, talented rock duo Silver and Nails will be joined by “adult contemporary soft metal” act Throw me the Whip, which I can only assume is a reference to the Raiders…
EPD Investigating Fatal Crash
The Eureka Police Department is investigating a fatal crash on W. Harris Street this morning that left a pedestrian dead. According to a press release, Humboldt Bay Fire personnel responded to a report of the collision to find a man unresponsive in the roadway, and he later died at the scene. An initial investigation indicates…
NCJ Preview: Fentanyl Fatalities, Restaurant Openings and Festival History
On this week’s episode of the NCJ Preview, Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill talks about the three new restaurants coming to Arcata. And California Journalism Fellow Kelby McIntosh covers News Editor Thadeus Greenson’s story on the decrease in fentanyl deaths in Humboldt County. Read all this and more in the latest issue of…
Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 27
The mighty Zepparella is back in town, hosted, once again, at Humbrews, a good venue for this act. What is this act exactly? It’s pretty simple, really. An all-female Led Zeppelin tribute band, focusing on a lot of the power of the erstwhile band’s bombastic sound which has more or less ruled the world of…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Sept. 26
A cool, early-hour experimental music night is happening at the Miniplex at 6 p.m. Australian/Los Angeles duo Stevie Richards and Mike Meanstreetz bring the traveling sound to the stage, where they will be supported by two local acts, synth-popping maestros Elegant Humanoid and sound-blaster, tone bender IDYL. $5-$10 sliding scale, and if you stick around…
‘A Tyrant’
Editor: Free speech is an inalienable human right that is essential for human dignity, and is protected by the First Amendment because our rights disintegrate without free speech. Censorship is a government tool used to silence critics and to control and manipulate its population. It is a form of political violence. Tyrants use censorship. The…
‘Inexplicable’
Editor: The teamsters’ failure to endorse the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in memory seems inexplicable given the audio of the Republican candidate and Elon Musk laughing about Musk saying he’ll fire any striking workers and the Republican candidate giggling and agreeing. I will give the same consideration to teamsters if they are…
‘No on O’
Editor: Measure O proposes to raise the sales tax by 1 percent countywide. Eureka has a 9.25-percent sales tax, and Arcata is poised to follow. If approved, our sales tax would be 10.25 percent, on par with the highest in the U.S. Measure Z (the 2014 half-cent increase) was promised as a solution to budget…
Correction
A story headlined “‘Bringing Balance Back'” in the Sept. 19, 2024, edition of the North Coast Journal inaccurately stated the reason California Coastal Commissioner and Third District Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson recused himself from a discussion and vote on an application for modifications to a permit for the Wiyot Tribe’s work to restore ceremonial…
HumCo Fair Sees Two Horse Racing Fatalities, Sparking Concerns
Two racehorses were euthanized after being injured in races at the Humboldt County Fair this year, making it one of the deadliest on record in the race meet’s 128-year history. The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has described the horses’ deaths as “preventable,” raising concerns both about the safety of a sport that has caused…
Rio Dell Launches Neuter and Spay Voucher Program
Getting pets spayed and neutered just got a lot cheaper for Rio Dell residents, with the city partnering with a new local clinic to start a new program. Residents of Rio Dell can now go to the city’s resource center to receive vouchers based on their income and pet’s needs. Humboldt Humane and Critters without…
Soon…
Autumn’s sneak preview In cloudy skies And chill showers. In layers of browning foliage Trimming redwood branches. Hints of yellow Peeking out on maple leaves. A mob of wild turkeys Blocking the road By golden meadows. In the long evening shadows When late sun breaks through. The aroma of rain And dried grasses. Fall is…
The Cost of Loneliness
“Our [Stone Age] brains evolved to prioritize togetherness, and conversely to generate an anxiety response when we failed to find it.” — Matthew Shaer, The New York Times Magazine, Sept. 1, 2024 Two years ago, the Journal of the American Heart Association published a study 40 years in the making that quantified the mental and physical…
A Trio of Arcata Soft Openings
Chef Gori Igarashi wears a tall ballcap with a cannabis leaf embroidered on it and a thin towel tied around his neck as he hunches over a burner, tossing fried rice in a wok. A pair of men pinball between stations in Susukino Ramen Bar’s (1504 G St., Arcata) open kitchen, ladling out broth, checking…
Wardance
This week’s title song comes from the debut album of one of my favorite bands as a kiddo, Killing Joke, so don’t come to me about the spelling. Welcome to autumn, and also football season, our national performative war dance ritual, other than our too-long election cycles. I’m not going to spiral about the actual…
Trinidad Art Night
This town-wide walk includes music, artist receptions, face painting, skate ramps, pop-up sales, oyster, cider or wine tastings. Trinidad Art Night coincides this month with the annual Fisherman’s Feast and Trinidad Civic Club Dessert Cafe, happening noon to 5 p.m., with the Arts and Craft Faire vendors in Town Hall from 11 a.m. to 8:30…
NCRT’s Sweeney Todd Stays Sharp
Sometimes the uncanny ability that live theater has to evoke jouissance is more a product of the audience than the production. On the night I attended North Coast Repertory Theatre’s Sweeney Todd at the 5th and D Street Theatre, people clutching flowers waiting to reward months of their friend’s commitment to the show, new-to-theater locals…
Never Let Go‘s Tenuous Bonds
NEVER LET GO. Let me begin by opening myself up to scorn and ridicule: We need to give Halle Berry another crack at the role of Catwoman. Her action work in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and Bruised (2020), in which her fighting chops (in her damn 50s) were equaled by her portrayal of…
Just Flip It
Editor: I read that Security National Properties Holding Company, LLC (SNPH), has donated over $1 million into the “Yes on F” campaign and Eureka residents have now received two fliers from SNPH addressing the issue of alleged cheaters. Although these fliers overtly address the cheaters, their purpose is clearly also to encourage more individuals to…
‘Fooled’
Editor: Who doesn’t believe in the need for more affordable housing? So, when a young, personable woman knocked on my door many months ago asking me to sign a petition to convert Eureka City Schools’ vacant Jacobs site into affordable housing, I asked, “Who could possibly be opposed to the measure?” She said that the…
