‘Please, help me find them’
One Native woman’s experience grieving a missing loved one amid the MMIW crisis
Cover Stories
Nonprofit Spurs ‘Exhaustive Search’ for Risling
This past weekend, 20 volunteers, two search dogs, boats, all-terrain vehicles and personnel from three law enforcement agencies conducted the largest search to date for Emmilee Risling, scouring miles of rugged, remote landscape along the Klamath River near Pecwan. The search came up empty, finding no signs of Risling, a mother of two who was…
My Cousin Emmi
Editor’s note: According to the Sovereign Bodies Institute, there are 183 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in California, including 18 reported last year alone. One-hundred-and-seven of those women and girls are from Northern California. This is the experience of a single family member of one of the missing, illustrating the reverberating…
Photos: Celebrating Charlie Moon, Chinatown and the Year of the Tiger
The rain held off Saturday afternoon as a grateful crowd gathered by Dave Kim’s mural “Fowl” on E Street between Fourth and Fifth streets for a ribbon cutting ceremony for Charlie Moon Way. The street sign on the alley bisecting the block where Eureka’s Chinatown stood pays homage to Moon, one of the Chinese residents…
NCJ Preview: The Search for Emmi and the Relief of Rage Runs
May 5 was a day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2 Spirit People. For contributor Cutcha Risling Baldy, it’s personal, as her cousin Emmilee Risling is among the missing. This week we have Risling Baldy’s personal account and how a nonprofit brought resources for a massive search that isn’t over…
Bruce Miller: 1943-2022
Bruce Miller, born July 10, 1943, in Missoula, Montana, was a man with a lot of passion and strength. He fought off two bouts of cancer – 2004 (throat), and 2018 (bladder). His third bout with esophagus cancer took his strength and his life. Bruce went to his heaven peacefully on Easter Sunday. His last…
Voter Guide Contains Error on Arcata City Council Race
Heads up, Arcata voters. There is an error in the Voter Information Guide instructions for the single Arcata City Council seat up for grabs on the June ballot. Instead of saying, “Vote for One,” the guide mistakenly has, “Vote for no more than THREE candidates.” “The instruction is correct on the Vote by Mail ballots…
California Democrats Lean into Abortion Rights as ‘Defining Issue’
When a draft Supreme Court ruling that would overturn the constitutional right to abortion leaked Monday night, Democratic leaders in California reacted swiftly with shock, grief and fury. It didn’t take long for the personal devastation to turn political. By Wednesday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for re-election this year, had already cut…
Auditor-Controller
Editor: I have known Cheryl Dillingham for over 10 years. I am extremely grateful she is running for office to be our Humboldt County auditor-controller. Cheryl is an experienced leader who has all of the qualifications necessary to properly perform the duties of this very important office. She is a good person who has dedicated…
The Race for City Hall
The race for a single seat on the Arcata City Council is making a special appearance on the June ballot with a crowded field of candidates vying to fill the opening left when former Vice Mayor Emily Goldstein stepped down earlier this year for family reasons. The winner-take-all election will see the top vote-getter of…
Fifth District Supervisor
Editor: With over 20 years in community service and now with a term as supervisor, Steve Madrone is setting the stage for an incredibly productive four more years. Sustainable community development and ecological restoration efforts are being flooded by funding from state and federal agencies; and Supervisor Madrone has experience and a proven track record in…
Vaya con Dios
One aspect of this gig that I haven’t relished over the years is reporting when another member of the Humboldt music scene has passed away. I try to keep things light here (mostly) and there is generally nothing light about death, particularly the death of an artist. And despite my own especially mordant sense of…
Arts Alive
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Our galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants are open. The indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people has expired. However, many businesses continue to require everyone to wear masks and follow other COVID safety precautions to keep patrons and staff safe. Please respect the standards set by individual businesses, be kind…
Superior Court Judge
Editor: Judges seeking elective office have to campaign a little bit. Otherwise, nobody can form enough of an impression of their characters to confidently make a choice. They are limited, however, in a way other office-seekers are not: They can’t express political opinions or make observations about historical cases that would give voters a chance…
District Attorney
Editor: The Journal doesn’t endorse. That’s fine. Me? I’m for AK4DA: Adrian Kamada for district attorney. You’ll see it in my lawn signs. But please, look beyond the candidates’ signs. It’s serious deciding whose leadership will best safeguard our community, ensure crimes are properly investigated and prosecuted, and help restore lives affected by crime. Open…
‘Maintain Respect’
Editor: As we enter the last month before elections, I worry about the culture wars: a term new to me in the few years, describing the exaggerated reactions to exaggerated differences in people’s ideals and beliefs, mirroring the rise of marketing media, which feeds us virtual over real, competition over cooperation, emotion over reason, hostility over…
Running Angry
I never liked running. As a chubby teenager, I signed up for track hoping to emerge from the season more like my friends, the whippet-like McCann sisters who glided through turns and sprang across the long jump pit. Instead, I ambled like a corgi on shin splints, scoring only forfeit wins from teams whose hurdlers…
Cruising for Snails
I just gave some cruise ship passengers a tour called The Humboldt Culture and Beachcombing Experience. The first question from my busload of cruisers was: “Are you serving rum punch?” I said, “No. This isn’t the Caribbean. Our first stop is the Arcata Plaza, where I encourage you to experience our culture by mingling with…
Weather Slows Eureka King Opener
With no advance scouting, the dozen or so Eureka boats struggled to find schools of salmon during Sunday’s opener. In a typical year, we’ll see rockfish and Pacific halibut open a few weeks prior to salmon, giving anglers some clues on where the bait is stockpiled and where the birds are spending their time. But…
Childhood Afterimages
Tree at Glen Paul catching on fire slight lisp blurring my words Overbite from birth I stare at the sun until it hurts Red maple leaves stir memories of lost kin I shut my eyes tight afterimages from sun too bright dance like mirages set on fire Lex Valtenbergs
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Poet Jennifer Willoughby writes, “I am so busy. I am practicing my new hobby of watching me become someone else. There is so much violence in reconstruction. Every minute is grisly, but I have to participate. I am building what I cannot break.” I wouldn’t describe your own reconstruction process during…
Cock and Bull Stories
WHITE HOT: THE RISE & FALL OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH. Why is White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch on Netflix a poignant documentary? Was it supposed to be a piece of expository journalism explaining the nature of the brand? I was waiting for a surprise, a twist, a revelation but the…
