On the Covers
Two decades of Humboldt County history through the North Coast Journal’s pages.
Cover Story
On the Covers
“Movers & Shakers,” by Judy Hodgson. July 1990. It started out innocently enough. A Humboldt State professor, volunteering for a nonprofit, wanted to know who were the most powerful people in the county. This information could be useful in fund-raising, for instance. Jerald Krause oversaw the research by his students. He first ran a survey…
Hark, Another Pulp Mill Lawsuit
Just as Bob Simpson and his Freshwater Pulp partners have crept a bit closer to their pulp mill-revival dream, here comes a new whuppin’, of sorts, from CATs — the Eureka-based org helmed by toxics warrior Patty Clary — and company. OK, it’s delivered to the EPA. And it’s regarding all kraft pulp mills. From…
Machado Arrested on Child Porn Charges
Eureka resident Cole Machado, a familiar face in Humboldt County political circles, was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges, according to a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The release states that the investigation, which resulted from a “report from a concerned citizen,” is ongoing. In 2007, Machado, 24, ran for a seat…
Baykeeper, EPIC Sue Eureka Over Balloon Track Ballot Measure
… and the lawsuits keep coming! According to a just-issued press release Humboldt Baykeeper and the Environmental Protection Information Center have filed suit against the City of Eureka for sponsoring a ballot measure that would change the zoning of the Balloon Track — the old railyard where Security National wants to build its Marina Center…
Eureka Approves Medical Marijuana Ordinance
Medical marijuana proponents Laura Benedict, Ian Hammon-Hogan, Bob Wiener and Charles Davy outside the Eureka City Council chambers last night. Council chambers erupted with applause when the Eureka City Council unanimously voted to approve the city’s first medical marijuana ordinance last night. The ordinance regulates land use for patients, who grow for personal use, and…
Reggae on the River Sold Out!!!
This just in from the Mateel Community Center: Greetings Reggae Fans – We wanted to let you know, Reggae on the River 2010 is Officially Sold Out! There will be no tickets sold at the gate. Thank you all who bought tickets in advance. This year is going to prove to be one to…
Gaia takes on Reggae Phoenix
An announcement sent out yesterday adds a new twist to the operatic saga of Reggae Rising. A new festival is coming to the North Coast next year, not far from the Humboldt/Mendo border, and it’s on the same weekend as Reggae Rising. Looks like Mother Gaia is coming after the Reggae Phoenix. If you watched…
Chris Durant Has A Posse
Chris Durant is crazy. In April, after years serving, at various times, as the Times-Standard’s court reporter, Northern Lights whip-cracker, homeless ambassador and Fat Guy on Whatever, Durant left Dean Singleton’s supple, life-sustaining teat to strike out on his own. What cushy gig lured him away? No, it wasn’t a lobbying position with NORML. The former…
Douglas Does Doom
Previews Opening Friday, July 16, is The Dark Knight-director Christopher Nolan’s Inception, which has to be my pick for most intriguing trailer of the summer, at least. If you haven’t seen it, imagine a city folding in on itself. Pretty eye-popping stuff. Nolan has been coy with plot details, but as Inception’s release date approaches…
Noblesse Oblige
Editor: Heidi Walters’ article titled “Lords and Ladies” (July 8), about the International Dendrology Society (IDS) meeting to honor Fred M. van Eck, focuses on the class and wealth of the attendees, but misses the point. The article failed to note that the IDS members could be doing other things with their time and money,…
Deliberate
Dennis Mayo set his burly forearms on the bar and ordered a drink. “Yeah, I’ll take one of those raspberry beers,” he said. “Just a glass.” The place was noisy — 10 minutes before last call — but Mayo has one of those voices that carries. He’d just come from the latest meeting of the…
Role Models
Four decades have passed since John Waters made his first transgressive cinematic assaults on good taste. His comic trash sensibility, so daring in the midnight movie heyday of the ’70s, has become so commonplace that his most recent films show the strain of trying to shock an audience that’s become more jaded than he is.…
Court of Relief
Shortly after lunchtime, an assortment of small-time scofflaws began to gather outside the St. Vincent de Paul dining hall in Eureka. Some were dressed nicely; most were in casual clothes, tidy and clean, and a couple were street-bedraggled. A man and a woman hanging around the open back end of a camper-shelled pickup, parked in…
Wig!
Peter Case has always fashioned himself a musical troubadour, even before his time with rock ’n’ roll outfits in the mid to late ’70s, joining The Nerves and then forming The Plimsouls. In 1973, he was part of a bourgeoning street musician/cabaret scene in San Francisco, which included Allen Ginsburg, among others. After the breakup…
Buzzing Questions
Editor: I have a question for Jim Weidert on scientific nomenclature for what appears to be actually three species of yellowjackets or wasps (“The Hornet Whisperers,” July 8). The first mentioned is the aerial jellowjacket, “Dolichovespula arenaria,” which nests mostly above ground. The second mentioned is the common yellowjacket, but was not given a genus-species…
July 15-31, 2010
July 15: It is a new tradition among garden bloggers to photograph the garden in bloom on the 15th of every month and post the photographs online. In honor of Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, try this trick: Stand on a ladder and look down on the garden to take your photograph. You will soon regret…
McKinleyville Arts Night
Join us for our community’s celebration of local art and artists for music, food and fun. You can find more information about the artists and venues and see additional images online at www.mckinleyvilleartsnight.com. 1) The Front Gallery & Gifts, 1181 Central Ave. Various artists: glass, sculpture and more. 2) Pathways Trading Company, 1183…
Our Neanderthal Connection
Calling some obnoxious dude a “Neanderthal” no longer has the insult value it once had, since a team of German researchers discovered that most of us carry between one and four percent Neanderthal DNA in our genes. This wasn’t news to many archeologists, who have been arguing for some time that fossil evidence shows evidence…
Observation
The quiet forest is just fine thank you…
I Want Candy
HOLY SMOKES I AM SO EXCITED. At long last, a small but profound earthquake has shaken up the candy world, which lo these many years has been mired in increasingly desperate combinations of chocolate and peanut butter. Now don’t get me wrong — I’m a red-blooded American. No one can accuse me of not supporting…
Believe It
They’re back. Los Payasos Mendigos, the quasi-Spaniard beggar clowns in striped spandex, return to Blue Lake this weekend for a resurrection of sorts as Los Payasos Mendigos Rise Again. Listo! Formed seemingly eons ago, the troupe of death-defying acrobats parted ways some time back (for reasons shrouded in mystery) and have literally gone international: Yahoo,…
Pon the River
It’s Reggae time again. And this year that means just one thing. With the fall of Reggae Rising 2010 due to failure get a permit, the Mateel’s 26th Annual Reggae on the River is the River is Humboldt’s undisputed major music festival of the summer. Bumped up to two days this year, it’s bigger and…
Embedded in a Rhythmic Universe
Once upon a time there was a band called the Grateful Dead. Ahead of the curve in many ways, they became the most successful touring band of all time and invented the very notion of the jamband. Legendary sets spun into extended improvisation that would shift from interstellar excursions by guitarist Jerry Garcia and the…
Celebrating Writers
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, two weeks ago we threw a party on the Eureka waterfront for Journal readers that included some amazingly good food and a terrific concert — all of it free. It was our gift to you. (Sorry if you missed it.) We often thank our advertisers for funding this newspaper, but…
