Outer Space is Losing Its Space
The Outer Space Collective announced today via Instagram that it will have to find a new home in a month’s time. The 1110 M St. building where the organization has held performances, workshops and community meetings and events since 2017 has been sold, and members are in the process of hunting down a new location,…
UPDATE: Cullen Arrested With Help of SoHum Citizens, County Workers
Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies took Robert Joseph Cullen into custody this afternoon near Tooby Park, confirmed Samantha Karges, spokesperson for the office. A citizen “saw him walking in the Sprowel Creek area and called it in,” she said. This marks the second time in two days that community members have worked to helped law enforcement…
FIFTH UPDATE: Wanted Felony Warrant Suspect Arrested
BREAKING: Robert Cullen has been arrested, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Another man, 53-year-old Gregory Michael Benson, and 18-year-old Gabrielle Marie Jensen were also arrested following a pursuit that began just after 2 p.m. Tuesday when deputies on patrol in the Garberville area attempted a routine traffic stop on Sprowel Creek Road for…
Greek Pizza from the Irish Place
The pizza restaurant that once was Eureka’s Big Louie’s, then Marcelli’s, has been repainted an eye-popping green and reopened as Shenanigans (1604 Fourth St.). Given its name and pedigree (owner Kelly Erben runs Gallagher’s Irish Pub), you wouldn’t be crazy for thinking this is an Irish bar, but it’s a pizza joint. Listen, the Romans…
Sneaker Wave Threat Comes on Heels of Trinidad Rescue
The National Weather Service office in Eureka is warning of an increased risk of sneaker waves Thursday and Friday, a threat that comes on the heels of four teenage surfers — including one who is a state parks lifeguard — rescuing two swimmers off the shore of Trinidad State Beach yesterday. According to the weather…
SECOND UPDATE: Teen Surfers Rescue Two Swept Out by Rip in Trinidad
Four teenage surfers came to the rescue of a 15 year old and 20 year old who were in severe distress Nov. 11 after being swept out by a rip current off Trinidad State Beach. According to Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Samantha Karges, a call came in around 1:30 p.m. reporting that the swimmers,…
County Sends Nearly 500 Cannabis Warning Letters
Last week, Humboldt County’s Commercial Cannabis Cultivation unit at Code Enforcement sent out about 470 warning letters to residents suspected of unpermitted cultivation activity. As a result, consultants who help farmers through the permit process say they received multiple calls from panicky growers, with one saying in exasperation that the county has “carpet-bombed our community…
‘Armed and Dangerous’ Suspect Sought After Pursuit
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a man suspected of striking multiple patrol vehicles during a pursuit in the Seely Creek area yesterday. According to a press release, law enforcement lost sight of Robert Joseph Cullen’s vehicle during the pursuit that began around 3:30 p.m. when a deputy attempted to pull the 30…
HumBug: Spiders at School
I recently did some walkabout lectures at a local middle school. The format was to walk around the campus for about 45 minutes and discourse on the various organisms we encountered. I did this six times with different groups. Aside from the stationary trees and plants, the organisms we encountered most reliably were the little…
Donate to Toys for Tots and see ‘Red Tails’ for Free on Veterans Day
Wondering what to do with your Veterans Day? How about a night at the movies honoring those who’ve served while helping kids in need? At 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, the Eureka Theater is joining up with Toys for Tots to show Red Tails (2012), the World War II action drama about the Tuskegee…
Coastal Comforts at Los Sinaloenses
Maybe you’ve sat in the maroon vinyl booth seats at 1134 Fifth St. in Eureka before — when it was a Mexican restaurant, then a barbecue joint, then another Mexican place. But for the last month, it’s been Los Sinaloenses. It’s named for the people of the coastal region of Mexico just inside the Gulf…
CDC Reports Links Vaping Lung Injuries to Vitamin E
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified vitamin E acetate, an ingredient used to cut cannabis concentrate oils, as a “very strong culprit” in the rash of vaping-related lung injuries across the nation that now include more than three dozen deaths. The CDC report released today does not rule out the possibility other…
Pasta Luego Says Ciao
At the end of this month, sandwich and fresh pasta purveyor Pasta Luego is shutting its doors in Arcata’s Jacoby Storehouse. Owner Nicole Maki started working at the shop in 2013, a few months after it opened, and bought it from restaurateur Bill Chino in 2016. Three years later, after struggling with the combination of…
Suspect Sought in Arcata Credit Union Robbery
At approximately 2:30 p.m. today, a man robbed the Northern Redwood Federal Credit Union, which is located in the Valley West area of Arcata on the 1200 block of Guintoli Lane. According to Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn, the suspect walked up to a teller and presented a demand note. “[He] said he had a…
Eureka City Manager Contract, Emergency Declaration Approved
With little fanfare, the Eureka City Council this week approved a $170,000 contract for incoming City Manager Dean Lotter, who is scheduled to take over the job from a retiring Greg Sparks by Dec. 20. Other than a question about the extent of his background check from Councilmember Kim Bergel, who commented that she was…
North Coast Night Lights: A Trail to the Moonset
Scenic Drive in northern Humboldt County, California, offers beautiful western vistas over the Pacific Ocean. Extending from Moonstone Beach at the south end to Trinidad in the north, the drive itself is rough and in areas may require a car with good clearance, and sometimes four wheel drive. The road may not even go completely…
When Restaurants Go Dark
It hasn’t been an easy year for restaurants in Humboldt County. Ask managers and owners how it’s going and you’ll likely hear that profits are down in the already risky business. Plenty of them will tell you the tightened margins of legal cannabis is part of it but pretty much all of them will also…
Questions to Ask Yourself When the Power is Out
Who am I, when it’s overwhelmingly dark? Who am I, alone in this expanding gloom? Who am I, staring at weakly flickering candles? Who am I, writing in this otherwise unlit room? Who am I, untethered from the global clatter? Who am I, in this quiet city amid stark and present stars? Who am I,…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.arcatamainstreet.com, check out the Arts! Arcata event on Facebook and Instagram, or call 707-822-4500 for more information. ALCHEMY DISTILLERY 330 South G St. Shawn Griggs, oil paintings. ANGELICA ATELIER 1101 H St. #2 Fashion POP UP…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries psychologist James Hillman said we keep “our images and fantasies at arm’s length because they are so full of love.” They’re also quite flammable, he added. They are always on the verge of catching fire, metaphorically speaking. That’s why many people wrap their love-filled images and fantasies in metaphorical asbestos:…
Grief, Loss and Parallel Universes
Rabbit Hole When we hear the phrase “going down a rabbit hole” today, we tend to think of the endless distractions dangled in front of us by the internet. But there are many other less voluntary reasons people dive down rabbit holes and the loss of a loved one is the one playwright David Lindsay-Abaire…
All Hail
Reviews DOLEMITE IS MY NAME. To fans who identify Eddie Murphy by his early movies — 48 Hrs. (1982), Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Coming To America (1988) — and/or his legendary if, in hindsight, occasionally lamentable stand-up specials Delirious (1983) and Raw (1987), and his run on Saturday Night Live (1980-84),…
Crossed Lines
Imagine police are responding to a report of a man with a gun. Three officers pull up to find the man standing on a sidewalk. They all exit their patrol cars, raise their firearms, holding the man at gunpoint, and simultaneously begin shouting orders. “Hands up!” says one. “Get down on the ground,” yells another.…
Unlicensed and Open for Business
The California Attorney General’s Office announced earlier this week that, under its leadership, the multi-agency Campaign Against Marijuana Planting has eradicated almost 1 million cannabis plants from 345 unlicensed grow sites throughout the state this year. Additionally, it reports it has seized 168 “weapons” and arrested 148 people as a part of the campaign. “Illegal…
‘Insane’
Editor: It’s insane that the local power plant is not hooked up to the local area, only the grid (“Blackout,” Oct. 17). This is something that PG&E should be forced to do now, not study. The state should never have allowed the power plant to just be hooked up only to the grid to save…
‘Keeping the Lights On’
Editor: What I don’t understand is this: 1) Why hasn’t anyone begun a class action suit against PG&E on behalf of all the seniors who have no extra money to spend on replacement groceries, candles and the like? 2) What haven’t our legislators in Sacramento passed emergency legislation to forbid PG&E from doing these blackouts?…
‘Big Ball of Low Entropy’
Editor: In his Oct. 31 comment (Mailbox) on my “Mirror Universes” column (Field Notes, Oct. 24), Charles Davy writes, “… the universe is not tending toward chaos at all, but rather is highly ordered and organized.” The Second Law of Thermodynamics (about as much of an actual “law” as we’ll ever get) says otherwise; the…
‘Ludicrous’ Speed
Editor: Over a week ago I spoke before the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, expressing my concerns over the county’s “hurry up” handling of the proposed Terra-Gen wind farm project to be located on Monument and Bear River ridges, south of Scotia (Mailbox, Oct. 31). The county has allowed Terra-Gen to take several shortcuts on…
‘Ecologic Catastrophe’
Editor: The Oct. 24 Journal articles were a great follow up to Jennifer Savage’s exhortation to the media (‘Hey Reporters! The Environment is Everything,’ Oct. 3) to keep the environment front and center: the growing plight of wildlife and dedicated work of groups like the Marine Mammal and Wildlife Care centers; the restitution to Native…
‘Root Causes’
Editor: I completely agree with your Oct. 31 editorial (“In the Dark and On Our Own”) calling out PG&E for criminal negligence of its transmission lines and putting profits for shareholders ahead of safety for residents. Without minimizing the company’s culpability at all, we need to look more deeply at the root causes of the…
‘Somewhat Dismayed’
Editor: I am surprised and somewhat dismayed that no one has mentioned supplying our power locally, as do many communities in California. I know this was discussed several years ago with Redwood Energy as consultants. What happened? Crescent City has its own supply, I believe, as do several other communities down south. We are really…
Paolo Todd
During a late-night broadcast in February of 2018, the Humboldt Free Radio Alliance, a long-running independent F.M. radio station, played an audio recording from the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the Kurdish military forces commonly known as Y.P.G. “My name is Paolo Todd,” came a man’s voice, calm and clear. “I’m from California. My Kurdish name…
Gratitude
Editor: As lead organizer for Rockin’ Ramen and on behalf of Taiko Swing Humboldt (“Taiko Swings up to Humboldt,” Sept. 12), we express our deep appreciation to nearly 100 volunteers, donors and sponsors who helped make our event, Rockin’ Ramen, such a successful fundraiser. We raised more than $7,000 for local performances of Swingposium on…
A Communications ClusterKerfuffle
It was about 4:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, when, just hours removed from a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff that had cut power to the entirety of Humboldt County for about 36 hours, the county Office of Emergency Services sent out an alert. “PG&E advises that ALL customers in Humboldt County will lose power…
Loving the Alien
Despite some of the disapprobation I get from the public as feedback for a few of my hotter takes in this column, I am not a particularly “woke” person nor do I have much interest in being one. The only reason I talk about politics so much in a local music column is that I…
How to Win $1 Million
It’s simple. Prove the Goldbach Conjecture: Every even integer greater than two is the sum of two primes. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Figure it out and you’ll win a cool mil from the Clay Mathematics Institute, and you’ll probably get a Fields Medal — the math equivalent of the Nobel Prize as long as…
