Reinventing Scotia
The “last company town” will soon gain its independence, for better or for worse.
Cover Story
Reinventing Scotia
In the middle of the storybook lumber town of Scotia, right at the elbow of Main Street between the stately Scotia Inn and a row of quaint bunkhouses, there’s a building that looks like a Lincoln Log replica of the Lincoln Memorial. The Scotia Museum, with its robust columns, gable roof and decorative pediment, is…
Flunking the Vote
Browsing the individually scanned ballots from Humboldt County’s Nov. 3 election, as suggested by my esteemed colleague, can be tedious and, frankly, a bit disheartening. Turnout was reportedly less than 22 percent, which makes these head-scratching fuck-ups all the more painful: Were the instructions unclear? (There’s a shit-ton like the above, BTW.) Okay, seriously, WTF?…
NPR Part 2: ‘The Green Rush’
Here’s part two of NPR’s story on the Humboldt grow scene. (Part one here.) Some highlights: California narcotics agent Jack Nelson gives a racial breakdown of grow styles (“White-boy grows” — small and high quality; Hispanics grows — cornfield-sized on private land; Asian grows — steep land in National Forests). Humboldt County Sheriff Department Sgt.…
Our Nov. 3 Ballots Up Close And…
a bit boring, actually. Except for the occasional write-ins. But go on, twiddle some time with the Humboldt County Election Transparency Project’s ballot scans from the Nov. 3, 2009 election . You know you want to.
Richmond’s HSU Budget Update
HSU President Rollin Richmond sent out this “Campus Budget Update” earlier today pinning the blame on “elected officials,” questioning the wisdom of a cut in enrollment and basically begging for cooperation: Colleagues and Students, As we near the end of the fall semester, I want to update you about the campus budget situation. Budget cuts…
NPR Does Arcata Pot Scene
NPR Does Arcata Pot Scene: You had your “Pot City: USA” — now the dulcet-toned National Public Radio is set to do its piece on medical Mary J. The story is set to air on the afternoon news magazine Small Things Considered tonight after 5 p.m.; here’s some text to go along with it. NPR…
No Pasaran
marijuana. Terrence McNally, de facto leader of Say Goodbye to the Arcata Eye (Boycott advertisers) — SGttAE(Ba) for short — has been ousted by the militant Jason Robo in a coup de Facebook . This is the worst thing to happen on Facebook since I forgot to water my Farmville crops. We will not let…
Pot School
Pot School: From the NYTimes, a story about Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, Mich. where they teach the fine art of growing medical
Bounty Killer – UPDATE – show cancelled (again)
Previously from Lara & Brian Cox – Arcata Theatre Lounge Bounty Killer show cancelled: In support of the community who have expressed great concerns over the message and lyrics of this performer, we will be canceling the Bounty Killer Nov. 28th show. We have in the past shown our support for the gay community and…
On the Lake and Beyond
The heron stands?stock-still blue waiting?sharp-billed and smoky?like a…
Own up
Editor: I cannot think of proper, print-friendly words to represent what came to mind when reading the recent update on the mishaps of the RREDC (“Zander’s Continuing Adventures,” Nov. 19). Not only were we caught with our pants down in the global economic situation (think: potential window for applications of grant monies) but we were…
Meany-Face Marcy
Editor: In regard to Marcy Burstiner’s piece in the Nov. 5 issue (“Media Maven”), there are many points with which I disagree. For one thing, it’s not like when you turn 50 you suddenly don’t count. Everyone counts. Second, the reason folk shows have been running on KHSU for 40 years is because people have…
What Will We Be
The 28-year-old singer/songwriter Devendra Banhart has been the figurehead for the wave of “New Weird Americana,” also simply termed, “Freak Folk.” Now, under the banner of a major label, Banhart, whose persona seems to put the “freak” into folk, finds himself in an interesting crossroads. Banhart had reached an artistic pinnacle with 2004’s Niño Rojo,…
am I being kind
Michael J. Chase is known as “The Kindness Guy.” As the founder of The Kindness Center, based in Maine, Chase is an inspirational speaker and author of am I being kind, available at TheKindnessCenter.com. The book has a 100 percent life back guarantee: if it doesn’t change your life, you get your old life back,…
Giving Thanks
Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that you’d think the mere fact of existing would keep us all in a contented dazzlement of surprise. — Lewis Thomas It should be easy to be happy by the simple act of waking up in the morning, Yeah! I’m still here!…
Thick in Dickens
What the Dickens is going on around here? North Coast Repertory Theatre in Eureka is currently staging a relatively faithful version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and this coming weekend Dell’Arte opens A Commedia Christmas Carol, while Ferndale Repertory Theatre opens Oliver! – the musical version of Dickens’ Oliver Twist. All while a "performance capture"…
Food Stamps and You
Shocking, totally shocking. According to a Saturday, Nov. 21, Times-Standard story by Donna Tam, "More than half of the residents in Humboldt County eligible for the federal food stamps program don’t access it." What? In these ever-more-harsh times of unemployment, school budget slashes, incremental closures of state parks, threats to shut down the Healthy Families…
Once Bitten
Previews Opening Wednesday, Nov. 25, is the stop-motion animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the book by Roald Dahl, written and directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore). The story centers on Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his conflict with three nasty farmers. Also featuring the voices of Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien…
Zapped
When the late great Frank Zappa died in 1993, he left behind a massive body of work that’s not easy to play for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, his quirky compositions use complex melodies and time signatures, drawing on his love for avant-garde composers, jazz and good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll to create…
Mushrooming?
A few days before a voracious mob jostled into the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society’s 30th Annual Mushroom Fair at Redwood Acres in Eureka, Ann Marie Tedeschi was prowling around Big Lagoon with a friend, hunting for mushrooms. They found some king boletes. They also found a big, fluttery branch-like mushroom resembling a pale yellow sea…
Line’s End?
The North Coast Railroad Authority, the public agency that controls the long-dormant train tracks between Humboldt County and the Bay Area, is on the verge of running out of cash. It’s been 12 years since any trains have made the trip from the city up to our area, and though it looks as if freight…
