Occupy
Staking out the streets and rooting out the 1 percent
Cover Stories
Occupy: At the beginning
Thirteen days after the Occupy Wall Street movement erupted in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, it came to Humboldt County. On Sept. 30, Arcata resident Trish Tillotson went down to the Arcata Plaza with signs she’d made from cardboard boxes scrounged from behind a furniture store. They said things like “separation of corporations and government,”…
Occupy: Humboldt’s 1 Percent
One of the most common digs against Occupy protesters here in Humboldt County has been, “What the hell are they doing here in Humboldt County?” In the unlikely event that the CEO of Goldman Sachs has heard about the encampments in Arcata and Eureka, chances are he’s not exactly shaking in his Italian leather…
Occupy: Through the Night
It’s Veteran’s Day. But for the persistent Occupy Eureka crew — always finding new reasons to feel emboldened — it’s the start of another long, cold night of making a point via presence. Some go home after the traffic ceases its rush. Many stay to hold their territory. I joined them on Friday night, Nov.…
The Face of Deterrence
Update Friday Dec. 2: The dogs are now out, picked up by a friend of their owner. …. Nov. 30: Two black dogs are back in a cage at the county animal shelter today, and the homeless guy who cares for them is in county jail, at a cost of roughly $84 a night. He’s…
Occupy Together? Down Twinkle For Now
Could they all get along? Over 100 people representing Humboldt’s various Occupy groups gathered in HSU’s Kate Buchanan Room Monday night for what was billed as a countywide General Assembly to explore the local movement’s options going forward. Numero uno on the list of topics: should/could/would OccupyHumboldt, Occupy Eureka and Occupy Arcata consolidate their energies…
Humboldt Beacon to Shine No More
After 109 years of reporting news from the Eel River Valley, the Humboldt Beacon will cease to exist after Dec. 8, Times-Standard publisher Dave Kuta announced today. And in another sign of bad times for Denver-based parent company MediaNews Group, the T-S itself will cut back to six editions per week, discontinuing its Monday editions.…
Report Highlights Local Need for Child Care
Have we mentioned before how badass is the California Center for Rural Policy (CCRP)? No? Well, it is. The research center, located on the campus of Humboldt State University, aims to improve the health and well-being of rural people (like us) through the power of data. The center’s previous reports have addressed rural Internet connectivity,…
Sewage Seep?
Pretty little Blue Lake has a dirty little problem. Its aging sewage treatment plant, built in the 1950s for a mostly residential town, is at risk of being seriously overworked by the effluent from newer, bigger users, including a casino and a brewery. Even worse, that effluent burbles through a few treatment ponds that are…
Carnivore Stress
Editor: Mr. Bird is experiencing what is known as “Evolutionary Stress Disease,” (“The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” Nov. 17). He is still part Neanderthal (as are we all), and exhibits the symptoms of stress involved when we consciously choose to evolve to a higher human level. I salute him for his effort. The will to kill is…
Them Dadgum Zombies is Back
We thought the horrific Humboldt zombie plague had been eradicated. We thought we were safe. We were wrong. Last year, shortly after Halloween, the royal family of Kinetic kick-assery known as the Rutabaga Queens delivered such a cataclysmic, WWE-style beat-down on those brain-craving sumbitches, we felt confident they’d never show their stinky, decomposing faces ’round…
Fangs for Nothing
REVIEWS THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN — PART ONE. As I sat in a theater super-heated by the hummingbird metabolisms of 150 tweens, watching end-credits roll, I considered this: I had just sat through my fourth *Twilight* movie in the space of a week. This last is the penultimate installment in the series, the…
Ha.
Humboldt hasn’t laughed in awhile. And it shows. “People are super stoked to hear some funny stuff,” stand-up Sherae O’Shaughnessy says of the Humboldt comedy scene, which is only recently showing signs of a pulse. “But as much as we pride ourselves on being very liberal here, we’re not.” To be fair, the brand of…
I’m With the Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet
As noted in Bill McKibben’s introduction, this collection of 10 stories arrives in the growing shadow of the Climate Crisis. But these are not stories primarily about the Climate Crisis, and only a few mention specific manifestations. Instead they are meant to illuminate (as McKibben says), “not to push us in some particular direction.” Still,…
99 Percent Annoyed
Editor: I drove by the once-occupied Occupy Eureka camp in front of the Humboldt County court house today (“Blog Jammin’ ” Nov. 17), and wondered what the final cost of the camp will be to our cash-strapped city and county. The additional police time to investigate acts of defecation, spotlights atop the courthouse, fencing to…
Half a Trillion Words
It’s been called “Angry Birds for Nerds,” garnering over a million hits on the day of its release. If you haven’t played with Google’s latest data-visualization tool, the “Ngram Viewer,” I heartily recommend you set aside five minutes of computer time. Or five hours. Or five days. Warning: it’s as addictive as catapulting birds. (books.google.com/ngrams/)…
Which Windows?
Editor: As a professional in the energy efficiency industry, I read the article titled “Sun Block” (Nov. 17), with nerdish delight. I appreciate the breadth of the interviews that the NCJ conducted for this article. As if reading a suspenseful mystery novel, I found my opinion on the matter wavering back and forth as successive…
Only in Dreams
When Kristen Gundred (aka Dee Dee) started Dum Dum Girls from her bedroom, her influences were pretty much tattooed on her arm: ‘60s garage, culled from the Nuggets collections, ‘60s girl groups, especially from the Phil Spector/Brill Building hit factory, and ‘90s lo-fi pop. When she released her debut, I Will Be, a collaboration with…
Hype on All Sides
Editor: In reference to your article “Drugs in Disguise” (Nov. 10), I think a few other drug facts are in order. Every year in the U.S., conservative estimates say that around 200,000 people die as a direct result of their doctor giving them the wrong drug, drug dose or drug combination. Prescription drug abuse now…
Building Community One Kick at a Time
Walking around downtown Arcata, it’s impossible to miss the spacious new studio on Eighth Street that houses the Humboldt Capoeira Academy. The large storefront windows are curtain-less, inviting a full view of the dazzling wood floor and the martial arts classes that take place on it. After successfully operating for four years off the beaten…
Apple Happy
Editor: Hooray for Amy Stewart’s “Etter Bomb” (Nov. 10)! It was just last night we were sipping apple brandy with our neighbor and wondering what kind of apple concoction to serve for the winter solstice. Problem solved! Thank you, Amy, for the great suggestions and enthusiastic article! We are kindred spirits! It is odd that…
Tricked
We have forgotten quietness in favor of clamor…
Pot-onomics
Editor: There’s a lot of talk lately about the marijuana business (Blog Jammin, Oct. 20), with some suggesting it threatens our small town atmosphere and values. That got me thinking, suppose the dirty hippies didn’t come here and didn’t create a new resource economy (wink, wink) to replace the old one. Where would we be…
Miso: Japanese Comfort Food
As soon as the mornings turned chilly enough to see your breath, my grandfather, who normally never lifted a chopstick in the kitchen, would commandeer the stove and scowl over a pot to make miso soup for our breakfast. This was not the pale little bowl of cloudy broth and delicate cubes of tofu you…
Thanksgiving
Arcata Plaza…day after Thanksgiving
Where to Occupy?
So many locations! So much time!
What’s it all about?
I shared a quick lunch last week with Journal Editor Carrie Peyton Dahlberg. Carrie’s been on the job now for about five months and we are all still getting to know each other. The question that so many people are asking these days came up: Just what are the protestors, the Occupy Everywhere people, trying…
Murder Most Fun
Though Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time, I suspect most of us now know her stories principally from the many television and movie versions. Christie herself adapted a dozen or so of her stories for the stage, sometimes ruthlessly. She staged three stories starring her famous detective, Hercule Poirot, but eliminated…
