Robert’s Vow
Claudia Pedreros’ husband remains devoted as she stands trail for the murder of their young daughter
Cover Stories
Robert’s Vow
Robert Parker stood before a small group of reporters, his round shoulders slumped at his sides and his brow knitted in misery. “I’m Robert Parker,” he said in a quavering voice. “I’m Sophia’s father. I’m Claudia’s husband.” He lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut. The 47-year-old Parker, a tall, unassuming man with close-cropped…
Robert Parker’s letter of thanks
[On June 2] I attended a memorial service that I never imagined I would attend, a memorial no parent could imagine attending. The passing of my daughter Sophia touched and affected so many people, from law enforcement and search-and-rescue personnel … to Sophia’s day care providers, her friends, [and] people who only knew her from…
Gov. Brown vetos budget
from the Governor’s office: SACRAMENTO – In a YouTube video and veto message released today, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. announced that he will not sign Senate Bill 69 and Assembly Bill 98, which together comprise the state budget passed by the Legislature on June 15, 2011. The full text of the veto message is…
Q Street Goat Dairy Plan Shelved
After a heart-to-heart with its neighbors, Arcata’s internationally notable goat cheese producer, Cypress Grove Chevre, has agreed NOT to try to buy land on Q Street near its current operation to construct a goat dairy. A couple of small protests have broken out in front of the cheese maker’s Arcata Bottom outfit in recent weeks,…
Claudia Pedreros’ Brother Says Husband Was Abusive
In an interview with Chilean newspaper El Patagón, Marcos Pedreros says that, prior to her arrest, his sister Claudia had been suffering domestic abuse from her husband, Robert Parker, and her father-in-law, Robert Parker Sr. Claudia Pedreros, 30, has been charged with murder and child endangerment for allegedly drowning her 2-year-old daughter Sophia in the Trinity…
Eureka High Mural Unveiled — Finally
“Our history defines who we are. It shapes us into this moment, the present…” So begins the inscription on a mural by former Eureka High School student Hannah Larkin, set to be unveiled at the school cafeteria Wednesday morning. One thing you can say about Eureka High: It has history. Founded at the end of…
Smoke Weed with Willie in September
Crazy! CenterArts and KHUM just announced that the used-to-be-Red Headed Stranger — no stranger to heartland-y farmers — is on the road again and will serenade the Cow Town on Sept. 9! Note, Humboldt: Tickets go on sale on Monday, June 20 — one week from today! Here’s the deets: http://www.humboldt.edu/centerarts/
Early Morning Fog
Monday morning fog – photos by Barry Evans
Transitions
Next week Carrie Peyton Dahlberg will take over as editor of the North Coast Journal. I’ll tell you a little more about Carrie below. But first I’d like to acknowledge and thank the entire Journal team for weathering the past several months of transition. In particular, I’d like to single out acting editor Ryan Burns…
Un-Dead
For those not “on the bus,” as Ken Kesey put it, it’s not easy to fathom the allure and lasting influence of the Grateful Dead. Originally founded in the mid-’60s as a hippie jug band, the group morphed into The Warlocks, then, as The Grateful Dead (or just The Dead) became arguably the most successful…
Samoa 2.0
The small company town of Samoa has a eclectic array of people in its hundred-year-old homes. Pensioners, surfers and college students are drawn to Samoa for its quaint appeal. The town is accessible only through a private road, is serviced by its own volunteer fire department and has one of the greatest views of both…
Barry Good
Editor: As an ex-pat from Humboldt County who is hooked on Humboldt (graduated from Eureka H.S. and HSU, left for graduate school and then sent two children through HSU, one of whom still lives in McKinleyville), I read the North Coast Journal online pretty much every week. I always enjoy it, but Barry Evans’ column…
Bob Dylan: Like A Complete Unknown
Music critic and professor David Yaffe, who seems to have made a mini career writing about Bob Dylan, has produced a carefully considered and basically fair-minded set of essays that offer some provocative perceptions and stylish writing. He apparently did not interview or even casually speak with Dylan or anyone else. So his insights and…
Table Nasties
Editor: I wrote a letter a couple of weeks ago about the gentleman who had had a painfully obvious urinary problem (“Ick! Ew!” May 26). I suggested that separate wiping cloths be used for tables and seats in restaurants. Since then I have talked to restaurant employees about this subject. Only one restaurant manager agreed…
Bakesale (Deluxe Reissue)
Shortly before being dismissed from Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow, a burgeoning yet insecure singer/songwriter, began teaming up with fellow singer/songwriter Eric Gafney on home recordings, creating Sebadoh. They released the band’s first official full-length recording, Freed Man, in 1989 (the same year Barlow left Dinosaur Jr.) on Gerard Cosloy’s Homestead label. Sebadoh joined Guided By…
Flag Day
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Charmed by Chard
As the season progresses, a wider variety of fresh fruit and vegetables becomes available at the Arcata Farmers’ Market. But from the very first day, Swiss chard could be purchased from several farmers. If you managed to walk all around the Plaza last Saturday and go home without any chard in your basket, you’ll have…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at more than 30 participating locations in Arcata. Visit www.artsarcata.com for even more information about the event or call 822-4500. 1. AMPT 1040 H St. TBA. 2. Arcata Artisans Cooperative 883 H St. Oceana Madrone, quilter, fine beadwork sculpture; Kim Harris,…
Feed Me, See More!
Feed me — more data, that is. My insatiable brain hungers to see and understand more. Minutes after getting out of bed in the morning, I’m online, checking my computer for emails, responses to my column and fresh blog posts; guiltily reading favorite comics (my love affair with Opus is undying); and printing out the…
Two Dogs
Pursed blooms of manzanita and blood-red buds of…
Shtick Figures
The Government Inspector, Nikolai Gogol’s mid-19th century surreal satire, has been called the greatest play in the Russian language by no less than mid-20th century prose stylist Vladimir Nabokov. Over the decades it’s been translated and adapted many times in many countries, but it seems particularly popular right now. A version that’s just opening in…
The Original
You’ll see them roaring down 101 as the weekend approaches, big ole bikes, their riders in leather and denim wheeling their way to a party in the woods. There were hints that they might not return this year. Prior to the 2010 Redwood Run, the organizers of the annual biker blast proclaimed that it was…
Round ’em up
Editor: Hopefully someone from Child Protective Services read the news reports about the start of the Kinetic Grand Championship Race and launches an investigation into the actions of Alice and Al Krause, the “parents” who tried to force their children’s entry into the race (“Know Your 2011 Kinetic Sculptures!” June 2). From the news reports,…
(Most Of) Our Best Stuff
Being from a sparsely populated and isolated region, you can understand why Humboldtians get excited whenever we’re noticed by outsiders. “OMG! Did you hear Humboldt got name-dropped in the (insert name of reputable media)?!” C’mon, you know you get excited. It happens fairly regularly. In the last several years, HumCo has been significantly highlighted for…
A note from the editor
You’re probably looking at this web page because you expect to find something worthwhile here. Maybe it’s calendar listings or columns. Maybe it’s arts coverage or a deeper look at the news, explored in ways that give you something to think about. I’m not going to mess with that. As the new editor of the…
X: Rated Third Class
Reviews X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. I suppose it had to happen. OK, I’ve been getting the geezer discount at various local stores for a while now and servers mostly call me “sir.” But to see my advanced age memorialized in print raises the issue to a new level. After all, if Andrew Goff is the “junior…
