Portrait of a Prairie
After years of planning, the Yurok Tribe breaks ground on its first grassland restoration project By Kimberly Wear
Cover Story
Portrait of a Prairie
About a decade ago, ecologist Joe Hostler set out to better understand how Yurok lands have changed over time in an effort to protect them into the future. What he learned helped lay the groundwork for the tribe’s first foray into grasslands restoration at a project currently underway on 60-acres of a site known as…
William (Bill) Howard Welliver
Bill died peacefully in his sleep next to his wife Susan, after a four-year journey with lung cancer. Bill was born in Elmira, New York, to Arthur Scott Welliver and Ann S. Clute. Sadly, his mom died young. His father later married Nancy Beecher, who was a second mom to Bill and nine siblings. He…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, April 23
It’s a hump day metal night over at Savage Henry Comedy Club, where the evening has a definite blackened and death-ridden sonic theme. Seattle’s Veriteras sets the dungeon scene and will be walled into the crypt with the likes of fellow travelers Rohirrim and Lazarus. Local hardened, thrashed-out punk act Image Pit will be on…
Another Commercial Salmon Season Closure is Expected
The California commercial ocean salmon season is set to be closed for a third year but recreational fishing opportunities, albeit severely limited ones, look likely in state waters for the first time since 2022 under recommendations from the Pacific Fishery Management Council. A final decision is expected from the National Marine Fisheries Service in mid-May.…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, April 22
The world is often a mixed load of contradictions and sorrows wrapped in the taffy of pleasure and good fortune. Tonight’s gig is a perfect example of that phenomenon. The Opera Alley Cats, one of the finest jazz ensembles on the West Coast, is still playing its regular free 7 p.m. slot at the Speakeasy.…
Global and Local Talent Shine at Humboldt Film Festival
Celebrate global and local creativity at the world’s oldest student-run film festival when the Humboldt International Film Festival returns April 24-27 to the Minor Theatre ($12). Now in its 58th year, HIFF showcases more than 30 international short films, including standout entries from local Humboldt County filmmakers. Enjoy a dynamic mix of storytelling, a panel…
Prairie Revival, Fears in Manila and Good Greens
For our annual Green Issue, we’re looking into the Yurok Tribe’s efforts to bring back prairie lands and all the flora and fauna that come with it. And if you’re looking for new ways to eat your greens, we have a great recipe to change things up. We’re also talking about a convicted serial rapist’s return…
Music Tonight: Sunday, April 20
Gruff Rhys was, once upon a time in my youth, known as one of the fine minds behind ’90s Welsh rock act Super Furry Animals. He has since gone on to move his muse into different neighborhoods, becoming a writer, filmmaker, composer and artistic odd-man, following a warm line of connections between his homeland and…
Frederick Ernest Ahboltin
On March 7, 2025, Frederick Ernest Ahboltin departed for the hereafter from his home in Eureka, watched over by his beloved wife Dorie. Fred was born in Oakland, California, in 1950 to Fred and Monica (Job) Ahboltin. He grew up in at-the-time somewhat rural San Leandro with his older brother Marvin. In his school years…
Music Tonight: Saturday, April 19
Portland, Oregon-based Native musician and Saddle Creek Records artist Katherine Paul, better known by her stage name Black Belt Eagle Scout, is a marvel of post-rock innovation, blending fuzzy after-grunge sparks with the sounds of her heritage with a result which rises higher than the sum total of its ingredients. I highly recommend this show…
Music Tonight: Friday, April 18
It’s another night of reggae and toasty tunes, this time at Humbrews at 8:30 p.m., when Jamaican-American singer and deejay Chuck Fenda and the Purity Attack Band roll through the northern 707 all the way from Brooklyn, NYC. Along for the ride is Jamaican artist Lawgiver the Kingson born in (where else?) Kingston and now…
Brothers Shot By Police Sentenced for 2023 Crime Spree
Two brothers were sentenced to life in prison today by Humboldt County Judge Steven Steward after being found guilty last month of the attempted murder of a peace officer and robbery, as well as other counts, for a crime spree in Eureka that left several people injured and ended with both men shot by police.…
Dance to the Bayou Swamis this Friday
Let the good times roll with the Bayou Swamis on Friday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at Trinidad Town Hall ($5–$20 sliding). This lively Louisiana-inspired band serves up swampy originals and Cajun-spiced tunes with Jeff Landen on guitar, Randle Lundberg on button accordion and fiddle, Kate Koemel on rubboard and T-fer, Marla Joy on bass…
Godwit Days Festival Lands in Arcata
Celebrate spring migration at the Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival, April 17–20 at the Arcata Community Center. Enjoy nearly 100 field trips, lectures and workshops, plus a free bird fair with live raptors, artists, vendors and family activities. Friday, April 18, at 6:30 p.m., catch Keynote Speaker Michael Kauffmann presenting: “The Klamath Mountains: A…
Music Tonight: Thursday, April 17
It’s the beginning of a two-night duet of reggae pleasure for all of you high-steppers out there looking for some top-class grooves to get down and scoot around to. The Bermudian by way of New Orleans singer and dancehall darling Collie Buddz is back in town, returning to the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight at 7…
Seeking Soros Money
Editor: I attended the April 5 rally at the courthouse. I saw you there doing your journalistic duty — while I was there doing my civic duty (NCJ Daily, April 10). Although I was glad to do my part protesting the fascist, misogynist, racist, mean, greedy, grifting, narcissistic, adolescent people running this country, I was…
‘Advantage Deutschland’
Editor: Many commentators have suggested that Trump is or may become another Hitler, but I find the comparison strained (NCJ Daily, April 10). Yes, they’re both men of mediocre intellect with a noxious “charisma” that convinced large numbers of voters to support their quests for dictatorial power, but is it fair to say they’re the same just…
Rx Tariff
Editor: Humboldt County is aging more rapidly than the U.S., which itself is steadily growing older. Apart from statistics, it’s obvious that there are a lot of us seniors around here. It follows then that we need a lot of medications. Most of them are imported. For instance, 80 percent of our antibiotics are imported from China. U.S. pharmaceutical…
Trump the Autocrat
Editor: In late 2023, candidate Trump said he would be a dictator, but only for one day. Now after 80 days, President Trump’s behavior is still autocratic (NCJ Daily, April 10). Executive orders (EOs) give presidents authority to act within their purview if the actions don’t conflict with the U.S. Constitution. Trump signed 26 EOs…
‘A Turnabout by Mexico?’
Editor: Since the tyrannical Trump regime is internationally infamous for creating truly insane public policies (specifically in this situation, foreign policy) based upon isolated incidents where an American citizen was killed by an undocumented immigrant from another country (usually Mexico), wouldn’t a turnabout by Mexico’s government be fair play? Of course it would. Mexico should…
Milankovitch Cycles and Climate Deniers
Talk to a climate denier — someone who believes global warming has purely natural causes — and chances are you’ll soon hear the phrase “Milankovitch cycles.” These, not humans, are responsible for climate change, they’ll say. Actually, this is what your regular climate denier will claim. In the extreme version, some of these benighted souls deny…
Internet Scams on the Rise
Not long ago, I received and opened my first-ever smishing text message on my smartphone. The message purported to be from a Bay Area road-toll collection agency claiming I had unpaid toll charges and threatened fines if I didn’t pay up immediately by clicking on the link included in the text message. While way more…
Green Destroyed
This column’s song title comes from the highly influential — in my formative years, at least — album Human=Garbage by the anarcho crust punk band Dystopia. Lines like these were once attractive to an angry and borderline nihilistic young man: “Humanity is diggin’ its own grave From the master in the high rise To his…
Versatile Dark Leafy Greens, 2025 Edition
Today I continue an informal tradition I seem to have established in recent years: celebrating Earth Day with a recipe that uses dark leafy greens, which are nutritious and overall good for our bodies. In 2022, I argued in favor of consuming radish greens, overlooked in favor of the colorful, spicy roots and often discarded…
There’s Magic in the Redwoods (Even for Beginners)
Gina Venturino recalls that when she started out playing Magic: The Gathering in high school, when her family owned the former NuGames in Eureka, “I was often the only female in the room and it took me a really long time to ever actually start becoming comfortable just going to a game store and playing…
Department of Forest Efficiency
Thank you all for tromping out into the woods for this press conference. Let’s get started so we can all return to the safety of fluorescent lighting as soon as possible. As you know, this administration is very concerned with the environment, particularly our forests. And together with the Department of Government Efficiency, headed up…
The Amateur‘s Lukewarm Revenge
THE AMATEUR. The old adage is that if you set out on a path of revenge, you ought to dig two graves (perhaps a dozen, if you’re Hamlet). The self-destructive aspect is part of our fascination with tales of vengeance, along with the burden of justice. What if, instead of carrying on with the maddening…
