Cover Story
Red Gold and Greenwashing
Do you want to see me hug a tree?” We are trotting behind an ebullient Neal Ewald, who was recently promoted to senior vice president of Green Diamond, formerly known as the Simpson Timber Company. The tree about to be hugged is a second-growth redwood, about 30 inches in diameter and approximately 32 years old.…
Brunch for Lunch
T’s Café has taken over the old Crosswinds location in Arcata (860 10th St.), whispering the three words we all love to hear: breakfast all day. And breakfast, as tipsters promised, is indeed the thing to do. Manhole-cover pancakes (banana pecan, apple cinnamon) went by as we waited for the Green Omelet ($9.50) and biscuit…
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
Yesterday we held a contest on Facebook for four tickets to Humboldt Roller Derby’s opening bout on Jan. 25. We ran the numbers through our 1970s, room-sized computers, built a robot to execute our random number generation and did a bunch of advanced math on an oversized chalkboard. A few gallons of blood, sweat and…
A Tribe in Mourning
The Yurok Tribe is mourning the death of longtime Tribal Councilmember Bonnie Green, who died Saturday. Green served six terms representing the tribe’s south district on the council, and another as vice chair, and was intimately involved in a host of tribal issues, including battles over fishing rights, management of tribal forest lands and healthcare…
Who Wants Free Humboldt Roller Derby Tickets?
The ladies of Humboldt Roller Derby are the epitome of “I am woman, hear me roar.” They’re fierce, formidable and downright foxy. Roller Derby isn’t a sport for the weak or the timid; it’s fast paced, hard hitting and adrenaline filled. If you’ve never had a chance to see The Humboldt Roller Derby in action…
Get Ready to Run
Lace up and warm up — Saturday the 25th is the Trinidad to Clam Beach Run. You have another 30 minutes or so to register online, or you can get it done in person between 6-9:15 a.m. just before the 10 a.m. race. If you’ve run it before, you know about the hills, the sand…
We Flunk, Mostly
The American Lung Association has released its State of Tobacco Control 2014, a report that “tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the state and federal levels” according to the executive summary. The intent is to see how well jurisdictions are doing in protecting people from tobacco smoke. Counties and cities are graded, too, in…
Billboard Butcher Caught on Camera!
The image of the vandal responsible for the third billboard toppling this month was captured earlier this week on a camera installed by a now thrice-bitten local sign management company. Peeved by the nighttime saw-wielding maniac’s previous crimes and anticipating further demolition, All Points Signs installed infrared wildlife cameras on a sign west of Highway 101…
Bullock Will Stand Trial for Murder of Eric Freed
A Humboldt County judge ruled today there was enough evidence to hold Gary Lee Bullock to answer for the torture and murder of St. Bernard’s Pastor Eric Freed on New Year’s Day. Bullock will be held to answer for vehicle theft and attempted arson charges as well, stemming from an alleged attempt to burn Freed’s…
From the Hum
All-girl Seattle surf band La Luz plays a free show at the Palm Lounge on tonight. When they last performed at The Works, I described them thus: “… this is not your average Link-Wray-meets-The-Ronettes nostalgia. That’s only the launching pad for a reverb-filled musical stratosphere heavy with sunshine and hooks you can’t resist.” Still true.…
From the Hum
Introducing the outlaw country of The Abigails. I opened up Spotify for a listen and immediately fell under the dark honky-tonk spell of the band’s 2013 album Love and Despair. With a voice somewhere between Country Dick (RIP) and Mark Lanegan, singer Warren Thomas sings about hell and love — and sometimes both — in…
From the Hum: Fabulous Folk
Tracy Grammer brings her flawless alto back to Humboldt tonight. A legend in the folk music world, Grammer originally rose to acclaim in the late 1990s as one half of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer. All three of the duo’s albums topped folk charts and in 2002, Carter and Grammer toured with Joan Baez, both…
Humboldt Style
Musician, model, dancer, artist and fashion inventress Lilith, spotted in Old Town, says she “tries to do something different every day.” And she’s not afraid to be outrageous — open toe shoes in January!
NPR Barred Owls vs. Spotted Owls
Photo by Zach St. George Remember “Shooting Owls,” Zach St. George’s award-winning story detailing the spotted owls vs. barred owls dilemma? Killing owls to save owls? NPR covered similar ground today on All Things Considered: In desperation to save the rare northern spotted owl, biologists are doing something that goes against their core — shooting…
Who All Dunnit?
Feel like a little True Grit meets true crime? Mozy over to the Bayside Grange for the Clark Historical Museum’s third annual Murder Mystery night at 5 p.m. on Saturday ($50). It’s an Old-West-themed event, and a chance to get in full dude drag — you don’t have to, but come on. You know you…
EPD’s Harpham calls it a career after 56 years
Today, for the first time in 56 years, Eureka Police officers took to the streets without Murl Harpham in their ranks. “It’s really the end of an era for the department,” said Mayor Frank Jager, marveling at Harpham’s career, which spanned six decades and saw him fill in as the department’s chief on four separate…
Short and Sweet
Movies keep getting longer. Nobody blinks at a 3-hour tour of Middle Earth or Wall Street anymore. Even kids’ movies are epic length, and yet theater seats aren’t any comfier and the drinks at the concessions stands keep growing — a recipe for discomfort and/or disaster. What relief to see the art of short filmmaking…
From the Hum: Karaoke Night
Confession: I came late to appreciating karaoke. After spending several years tending bar in live music venues, I’d slogged my way through so many open mics and bad opening acts that the idea of deliberately going out to hear people sing badly sounded as appealing as shoving an ice pick into my eardrum. But over…
Third Friday McKinleyville Arts Night
A celebration of local art and artists, music, food and fun. McKinleyville Art Night is open for all McKinleyville businesses to display work from local artists on the third Friday of each month. For more information, call 834-6460 or visit www.mckinleyvilleartsnight.com. 1. SILVER LINING 3561 Boeing Ave. #D (at the California Redwood Coast Airport). Landscapes…
A Blank Approach
The heaviness of a chalkboard sky With the sharp angles of a pessimistic view cutting Off every escape I say Screw it And start anew with a mint leaf Under the tongue I thought A blank approach to life Might not be so bad I mean Maybe being glad for what I have Ain’t so…
A Quarry Quandary
A recent decision by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors left environmental groups fuming and a local landowner feeling he’s been singled out amid a flurry of allegations of hypocrisy, dishonesty and good old boy politics. Playing out over two meetings spread across two months, the board ultimately voted 4-1, with 3rd District Supervisor Mark…
Nerves
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted Jan. 7 to adopt a ban on new marijuana dispensaries — a continuation of a moratorium enacted in 2011 under mounting pressure from the federal government. U.S. attorneys at that time were making all sorts of noise about prosecuting city officials and staffs that created civic and county…
School Daze
Editor: Ryan Burns’ article “Unequal Opportunities” (Jan. 2) reads more like a McCarthy-era witch hunt than a researched article about discrimination in our public schools. As a substitute teacher of over four years in the district, I know Eureka High has school assemblies on stopping racism and sexism. In classrooms and hallways you will see…
WWJD?
Editor: I accept your challenge, Robert C. Van Fleet, to tell you what Jesus would do regarding the homeless issue you referenced (“Mailbox,” Jan. 9). I consider myself to be qualified, since I’ve known Him for 34 years. He would not be vitriolic and judgmental toward Arkley or misrepresenting and impugning Arkley’s issues and intentions…
Beached
Editor: You never know which edition or piece in an edition will become an instant classic, a yellowing clipping on an anonymous bulletin board. That’s how I felt about “Be a King Tides Groupie” (Jan. 2). “King tides are exciting: the ocean creeps up and up into our faces, higher than usual. … ” Well,…
What the Pho?
If we count the Toni’s Taste of Thai truck in front of Toni’s diner in Arcata (1901 Heindon Road), there are eight Southeast Asian restaurants in Humboldt. That’s only one fewer than the number of sushi restaurants, mathematically proving that Southeast Asian cuisine is pretty damn popular. If you doubt, ponder this: There is a…
Lost and Found
Before we launch into this week’s live music picks, a clarification regarding the Where’s Queer Bill Dance parties: Although Nocturnum’s closing means the end of the monthly events at that no-longer-existent venue, the good people behind WQB intend to keep the booty-shaking happening. Stay tuned for the return of Where’s Queer Bill in February. We’ll…
The Rise and Fall of Dyerville
This year marks the centenary of the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad link between Eureka and San Francisco. The four-span bridge across the Eel River, just 40 miles south of Eureka, is a picturesque reminder of the once and no-future railroad. Driving south, as you approach the Honeydew/Founder’s Grove exit, look to your left.…
January Gardening To-Do List
This is certainly the coldest winter I can remember since I’ve been in Humboldt County — so chilly that even plants I think of as being hardy are showing serious damage from frost. Though we have all of January’s usual tasks (pruning, pruning and — oh yeah, pruning!), we should give our plants a little…
Intelligence
Reviews HER. Almost 15 years are gone since Spike Jonze brought his sweetly cracked sensibility to the big screen with Being John Malkovich in 1999. In the intervening period, Jonze directed a second Charlie Kaufman screenplay (Adaptation, 2002) and adapted Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (2009). This is the first time he’s directed…
