‘Powerful’
As Humboldt heads to the polls, officials of all stripes tout local election integrity by Thadeus Greenson
Cover Story
‘Powerful’
As the chair of the Humboldt County Republican Central Committee, Susan Moxon may not be above partisan rhetoric. A day before voters nationwide headed to the polls for Election Day, she shared to the local chapter’s social media account a prayerful post: “Dear Lord, Please make it TOO BIG TO RIG. Amen.” Forty minutes later,…
Kenneth “Joe” Shepp: 1950-2024
Kenneth “Joe” Shepp, 74, passed away Nov. 4, 2024, in Lakeport, California. Born on May 16, 1950, in Bay City, Michigan, Joe was a dedicated husband, a steadfast father, and a cherished member of the Southern Humboldt community. He will be remembered for his bold spirit, self-made success and unique sense of humor. Joe spent…
Malcolm Terence
After 83 years of exuberant life, Malcolm Terence died in August of 2024 the way he’d hoped, peacefully at home with Sue by his side. Malcolm’s positive, willing spirit showed up in whatever he endeavored. In typical fashion, he baked bread for neighbors two days before he died. You can find his recipe for bread…
John Nunes August 29, 1957-October 20, 2024
John Nunes, a beloved figure in the Ferndale and Fortuna communities, passed away peacefully on Oct. 20, 2024, at 10:25 am, walking into a friend’s home with the usual smile on his face, preparing to cheer on his undefeated Minnesota Vikings. He was 67 years old. John was born on Aug. 29, 1957, to Tony and…
Wiyot Tribe Celebrates Return of Digawututklh
The Wiyot Tribe held a private ceremony and celebration today to mark the official return of Digawututklh, a 350-acre section of ancestral land in Samoa with significant historical and cultural importance to the tribe. “This place has traditionally been used for food harvesting such as clams and surf fish, it was also a ceremonial place…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Nov. 13
Speaking of Vegan Slaughterhouse, the band is playing again tonight, this time on the undercard of what looks like it’s going to be a real banger over at the Siren’s Song Tavern at 7:30 p.m. Swiss and Dutch duo The Sex Organs comes down from the Alps and up from the continental low country to…
Zoo Welcomes Red Panda Saffron
Last week, according to a press release from the Sequoia Park Zoo, a young red panda named Saffron moved into new digs here in Humboldt. As part of the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s species survival plan, the little tyke, born in July of 2023 (a Cancer? a Leo?) at Garden City, Kansas’ Lee Richardson…
Two Killed in Fortuna Motorcycle Crash
The California Highway Patrol is investigating a motorcycle crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Fortuna on Sunday afternoon that left two people dead. According to a press release from the CHP, a 41-year-old Fortuna man was driving a 2007 Harley Davidson Road King northbound south of Main Street with a group of motorcyclists when, for…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Nov. 12
Nashville’s electro-punk and dance act Terror Pigeons settles down at the Outer Space tonight at 7 p.m. for an evening of sound loops and confessional bedroom rock music. Also on deck is Swirlhood a trio of singers and strummers who have carved out yet another divot in the world of DIY songwriting and performance. Local…
Music Tonight: Monday, Nov. 11
Connecticut rapper Ceschi is teaming up with Canadian producer, DJ and collaborator Factor Chandelier for their Final West Coast Tour. This one rolls through Humbrews tonight at 8 p.m., where you can also enjoy the musical recitations of opening guests AJ Suede and Miles Bullen. I’m not going to pretend to be well versed in…
Music Tonight: Sunday, Nov. 10
Again, speaking of things which started in 2017, Orphic Percussion is a quartet of off-roading, free-ranging mallet-wielders whose sonic palette includes traditional chromatic instruments like marimbas and vibraphones, along with drums of various descriptions, and found items from the metallic world. Contrapuntal coordination galore is at work in this act’s sets and worth your time…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Nov. 9
The huntsman’s horns are calling out a familiar tune, for those with the ears to hear. Some old rituals are returning to our lands, bringing a warmth to this increasingly cold season of mists. I am referring to the return of metal show at the Eureka Veterans Hall, where after the doors open at 6…
County Releases First Post-election Results Update
The Humboldt County Elections Office has issued its first post election report, adding about 2,539 votes to the tally, with 33,956 votes counted thus far, representing about 40.07 percent of registered voters. The elections office reported yesterday that about 34,000 ballots remained to be counted, saying it will release updates Fridays until all votes are…
Music Tonight: Friday, Nov. 8
In seven years — as of October — on this beat, not to mention my affinity for music before I started writing about it, I have gathered a lot of notes on how artists sound live. Too many notes to be of any real use, but I still defer to them from time to time.…
NCJ Preview: Humboldt Voting Process, What’s Good?, and Local Election Results
On this week’s NCJ Preview, News Editor Thadeus Greenson talks about the integrity of the elections process in Humboldt County and this week’s cover story “Powerful.” Arts and Features Editor Jennifer Fumiko Cahill then talks about the delicious things you can find at Old Town’s Taco Town Fruteria and the Fieldbrook Country Kitchen. Finally, Greenson…
Eureka Man Sentenced to Life for Brutal, Random Stabbing Spree
A Eureka man who pleaded guilty to stabbing four strangers — two of them fatally — was sentenced Nov. 1 to serve four life sentences in prison by Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Killoran. According to a press release from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, Wesley Lee Starritt, 26, had pleaded guilty to…
The Banana Slug Slithers in as California’s Official State Slug
Humboldt County’s favorite slimy, sluggish friend just got a promotion from redwood resident to California state symbol. The banana slug was one of three state symbols signed into legislation by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month. Alongside the fruity look-a-like, the more delicious Dungeness crab and the embattled black abalone were also officially instated as state…
Send in the Clowns
Due to the nature of deadlines and the passage of linear time, I have far less insight into the winner of the presidential election than you, dear reader, as I am writing this on Election Day. And I don’t want to make any predictions about it, either. I view coin-flipping as a byproduct of nervousness…
What’s Good? Back to Summer and Fieldbrook
Fieldbrook Country Kitchen When the Fieldbrook Market (4636 Fieldbrook Road) closed, Paddy O’Dwyer was among those who grieved. “We used to come here a lot on the weekends,” he says. “It was pretty sad when it closed — it kinda’ preyed on me. Every time I’d drive by, I’d think what it would take to…
Through the Electoral Fog
As I write this in the limbo of Election Day, I know I’m not the only person who’s gone through the past week or longer feeling off. This day has loomed on the horizon, growing as it neared, and its shadow seems directly over us at last. I have found it hard to make plans,…
Absolution Falls Short
On the eve of whatever is to come, I briefly struggled with the notion of dragging myself to another Robert Zemeckis experiment in “cutting-edge” technology paired with increasingly staid, conventional, didactic storytelling. In the case of Here, his latest, the conceit, as I understand it, is that the camera remains static through eons of time,…
‘Curtailed Free Choice’
Editor: The recent opinion piece by Dr. Kim Ervin, “The History of Obstetrical Care in Humboldt County” (Oct. 24), should serve to focus our attention on how healthcare insufficiency has touched us here in Humboldt. The corporate takeover by the huge Catholic entity, Providence, has curtailed free choice and availability for women’s health care. The…
‘The Fire-breathing Elephant’
Editor: Every article I see about housing costs (“Why California Housing Costs Are So High,” Oct. 24) ignores the fire-breathing elephant in the room: the profit motive. These articles always seem to omit the effects of house flippers, the anonymous LLCs buying up mobile home parks and apartment buildings and jacking up the rents, and…
Re: ‘An Underhanded Political Tactic’
Editor: Kudos to the authors on this topic (Mailbox, Oct. 31). It can’t be a bad practice to be skeptical of what we read and hear. Social media is no better than gossip and not to be trusted. I believe it is the responsibility of the public to do its due diligence with the media…
Welcome to Nothing
Editor: Welcoming Mitch Trachtenberg’s entry (Mailbox, Oct. 31) into the Barry Evans inspired (“Plenty o’ Nuttin,” Oct. 10) philosophical debate regarding “nothing,” I begin with a quote from Mr. Trachtenberg’s entry: “The computer representations consist of ones and zeros, but the things being represented (50, 0, pi, null) don’t depend on being represented in order…
‘This Fairytale’
Editor: Regarding Rex Bohn and the RCRC, GSNR’s fairytale that this idea is good for the environment is laughable (NCJ Daily, Oct. 31). Follow the money and the only winners here are Drax, RCRC and GSNR. A 100-mile radius of forest will be in the hands of the principles that are creating this fiasco. They…
‘Bet my Bippy’
Editor: I read with interest the letters about the barred versus spotted owls in the Oct. 24 NCJ (Mailbox). Based on the tone and the content, I’d bet my bippy that Ken Burton is the only professional biologist/naturalist among the commenters. When we went to college together, I knew him as hard working and well…
Cosmic Distances
Looking up and around during the day, it’s easy to understand why the ancients believed that we live under a great dome of sky. Extrapolating to the night sky with the stars apparently rotating overhead, the sixth century Greek philosopher Anaximenes may have been the first to imagine that we live under a vast, rotating…
Mouth of the Klamath
While October holds its breath, the salmon masses, yearning to spawn, yearning for death, pace, undulating and patient, at the blocked river’s mouth, their bodies tasting the freshness of water that waits, still and impotent, on the other side of the summer-structured sand bar. Tight-skinned orcas arc their bulk through the bulging waves, gorging on…
