Cover Story
Robert Durst’s Ghost
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000, shuttle driver Ross Vitalie, the owner of Door to Door Airporter, Inc., in Eureka, picked up his fare — a slight figure in his early 50s with an odd, gruff manner of speaking and peculiar facial tics — at what was then known simply as the Arcata Airport. The dark-haired…
UPDATE: Death behind Bayshore Mall
The Eureka Police Department has confirmed that Kenneth Eldeen, who was found unconscious in the encampment behind the Bayshore Mall on June 24, died from an overdose. His death was originally deemed suspicious because of an alleged altercation Eldeen had with another marsh resident earlier that evening. Eldeen, nicknamed “Hillbilly” by his friends, was originally…
Omigod is That… ?
If you think you saw a Hollywood actress around town, you probably did. Rowdy Kelly, who is scouting locations for the production company Woodshock LLC, won’t confirm or deny whether Kirsten Dunst is in Humboldt for pre-production visit (and neither will Cassandra Hesseltine of the Humboldt Del Norte Film Commission), but the film’s IMDB page…
Tonight’s Setlist: Goth Karaoke
Yes, goth karaoke. At Siren’s Song, with a selection that includes Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, Nina Hagen, Bauhaus, Sex Gang Children, the Cure, Virgin Prunes, Xmal Deutschland, Specimen, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 45 Grave and what more do you need? Event organizers note that the Siren’s Song bar…
Camp On, Camp Off
Police Chief Andy Mills denied Monday that his department is wholly scrapping plans to create a temporary city-sanctioned campsite for Eureka’s homeless. Instead, Mills said, the plan has been put “on a back burner.” “We ran into several issues with oversight and funding. Unfortunately, this is just one of those deals where it’s tough to…
Tonight’s Setlist: When Descriptions Win
An unusual show at Richards’ Goat features Shelter Death, best known for an ability to “utilize alien programming, heavy electronics and pained instrumentation that makes for a tragic and austere peal.” Do with that what you will. Also performing: Pod Blotz and Glochids, plus Humboldt’s DL Mathias doing “synthesizers for shut-ins” and DJ interludes provided…
Chile vs. Chile: Eureka
Our epic quest to find Humboldt County’s best chile relleno got underway this week, with gustatory explorations on Tuesday and Thursday. Our criteria for a good relleno? Stem in, naturally. Poblano pepper or nada. Good ratio of batter to cheese to pepper, with no one aspect reigning supreme. And whatever the Spanish version of je…
Tonight’s Setlist: Wrap Your Weekend With Some Reggae Chill
The Green’s latest album, Hawai’i ’13, opens with a chant because, according to guitarist, vocalist and one of the band’s five songwriters JP Kennedy, “From the times of ancient Hawaii and even up to present day, chanting has been a part of our culture. It’s a way to start something important. When we chant, we…
Tonight’s Setlist: Demons and Monsters
Locals night in A-town The Mother Vines bring the surf-psych punk rock and Super Demon delivers the Macktown math metal at the Alibi. Music at 11 p.m., $3 cover, 21-and-over. Here’s The Mother Vines auditioning for NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts: Eureka delights Austin’s magnificently eerie-folky-rocky Technicolor Hearts play with local favorites The Monster Women and…
Sheriff: $26 Million Worth of Marijuana Eradicated on Island Mountain
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office served search warrants on eight properties during the course of its Island Mountain raids this weekend, seizing or eradicating 23,000 plants, 4,000 pounds of marijuana, 15 pounds of hash, 16 guns and 50,000 rounds of ammunition from seven of the properties. The office estimates that was $26 million worth of…
Ready for Your Close Up?
Have you always dreamed of being on the silver screen, your name splashed in bold letters in a dark theatre next to “Woman No. 3,” “Boy in Ice Cream Shop” or “Man Crossing Street”? Well, your big break is here. On Sunday, June 28, several independent movies filming on the North Coast this summer are…
Tonight’s Setlist: Altered States, ’80s Greaties
Mild High at Blondie’s The weekend proper starts off with a full evening of psychedelic alt rock as L.A.’s Mild High Club and Hemingway play Blondie’s, along with Humboldt’s Something Simple. First, let’s take a moment to appreciate the fine play on words: “Mild High” Club — ha! Okay. The Club is the musical output…
Humboldt Celebrates Love
“When I was seven years old my mother told me that sooner or later the United States was going to have to recognize gay marriage. I am 78 now. I have been crying and laughing all morning.” Ginger Olsen has been with her partner Diana Livingston for 22 years. They married in the State of…
Raise the Ruff
The Humboldt County Fairgrounds bounces to furry, fluffy, wet-nosed life as pure-bred pooches and their owners strut their stuff at the Lost Coast Kennel Club Dog Show from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 28 (free entry, $5 parking).…
Fair Play
Small-town, summertime fairs are the birthplaces of many potent childhood memories — from first kisses to first-place ribbons, to winning that coveted stuffed animal to the thrill of sitting high above the crowd on a Ferris wheel. The lights, sights, smells and sounds are magical. And folks, the first fair of the year is here.…
How to Win at Oyster Fest
At 10 a.m., sitting around a window table at Mazzotti’s, we got our instructions (no alcohol, score everything), got our multi-colored ballots and started eating. This year, the 25th anniversary of the Arcata Bay Oyster Festival, was my first time judging. There were some 19 entries for raw and cooked oysters to award up to…
Requiem for a Dream
Hello. Happy summer. Please go outside, report back, then attend some of these fine shows. Friday A gentle hit The weekend proper starts off with a full evening of psychedelic alt rock as L.A.’s Mild High Club and Hemingway play Blondie’s, along with Humboldt’s Something Simple. First, let’s take a moment to appreciate the fine…
Move Over PG&E?
There’s no omnipotent god of electricity, even in Pacific Gas & Electric territory. Ask your off-the-grid friends. But, the rest of us now tethered to the two- or three-pronged outlet in Arcata — and perhaps Humboldt County in its entirety — may have the opportunity to cut the PG&E umbilical cord for a smaller, cheaper…
Emotional Rollercoaster
Reviews INSIDE OUT. It all makes so much sense now, how at times we’re steamrolled by anger, buoyed by joy, puddled by sadness, paralyzed by fear and/or caught up in disgust. Never has a movie described the inner workings of our emotional lives with as much clarity, charm and poignancy as Pixar’s latest, Inside Out.…
Pride and Politics
My favorite word is “quiddity.” It refers to the defining characteristic of someone or something — that which makes something what it is. A play is an opportunity to explore and hopefully express the innate essence of a person or place. Humboldt County has many defining attributes — the rugged coast, the ancient redwoods, an…
Tomato Roulette
Editor: Heather Flores says that since tomatoes are self-pollinating, you can save the seeds and know that next year’s tomatoes will be the same (“Humboldt Homegrown Tomatoes,” June 18). Most currently grown tomatoes, though, are hybrids, developed for characteristics like disease resistance, flavor, texture, or — uh — tough skins; and hybrid tomatoes won’t breed…
Ugh, People
Editor: Reading Barry Evans’ synopsis of climate change (“Climate Change 101,” June 11 and 18) brings to mind a rush of thoughts. Climate change is of course a convenient euphemism for the destruction of our earth. Petro Man, not fully human, always in a hurry, largely self-interested above all else, cannot bear the thought of…
Dividend Disparities
Editor: The article “Discipline Disparities” (June 18) points out some glaring truths. “American Indian/Alaska Native students in the district ‘have a higher risk of being suspended compared to all other students, while white and Latino students have a lower risk of being suspended compared to all others.’ African-American and multi-racial students were also at a…
Lupine
flash mob at the guard rail, each purple staffan ascendingexclamation of joy.
Road Rage
I drive an old Honda hybrid that gets little power on the road. But lately, I’ve been borrowing my husband’s fancy Audi. It gets great power. It is amazing how differently I get treated on the road. No one ever bothered me as I puttered in the next lane in my Honda. But when I…
Marijuana Notables in the Year’s First Big Raid
The largest law enforcement operation against Humboldt County marijuana growers of the year was underway just a day after summer began. Officers from the Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity county sheriff’s offices descended on Island Mountain, a remote region at the convergence of the three counties where marijuana growers have operated for decades, serving search warrants…
