Search and Suspend
When an Arcata High junior wore this shirt to school one day, administrators brought down the hammer
Cover Story
Search & Suspend
On the morning of Feb. 22, 2010, Carlos Espinosa, a junior at Arcata High, was just getting ready to start his second period class when his teacher asked to have a word with him. The sweatshirt he was wearing, she asked — did he really think that was appropriate? The shirt was a stoner’s spoof…
Tom Abate Joins NCJ Staff; New Editor is SF Chron Alum
EUREKA, Calif. – The North Coast Journal has tapped veteran San Francisco Chronicle reporter Tom Abate to lead an ambitious expansion that will fuse the paper’s weekly print edition with its continuous online coverage. The goal is to develop a hybrid form of journalism to better serve readers and advertisers in Humboldt County and perhaps…
Bigfoot A La Mode
Yes, dearies, our stylish hairy man hit the runway during Paris Fashion Week to show those fashionistas how to dud-up (with help from Adam Kimmel). Gushes the L.A. Times: The major inspiration behind Kimmel’s Pacific Northwest collection was artist Dan Attoe, a painter and sculptor (and founder of the Paintallica art group) whose work taps…
Jeff for the People
Editor: You and your competitor have not been accurate about when Jefferson School closed (“The Council that Kicked the Hornet’s Nest,” Jan. 13). Each time it makes me question my reality! The school staff was notified of the school board’s closure vote before the Christmas break in 2005, but the school actually closed in June…
Antiteutonism
Editor: While reading Mr. Sims, I was reminded of how bendable the rules of PC journalism can be (“Town Dandy,” Jan. 13). As he made fun of the former Governor’s way of speaking, I was reminded of my childhood in post-World War II Denver. I can still hear the neighbors mocking my German-born, Austrian-educated father…
Taking Stands
Editor: Simona Carini’s husband can’t understand why people stand drinking coffee in Italy (“Table Talk,” Jan. 13). I’ll tell you: It’s much much cheaper. Sitting is a luxury and sold at a premium. Standing allows for a greater flow of coffee lovers. I have gotten great caffé and wine, standing, for as little as 50…
You’re Welcome
Editor: “The Daycare Drought” (Jan. 6) was a thorough and well written article exploring just one facet of our ever-deteriorating social infrastructure brought on by decades of general neglect and years of specific Great Recession budgetary neglect. “Un-Natural Foods” (Jan. 6) was also a great look into the (d)evolving world of healthy eating. Our “organic”…
A Few of My Favorite Things
As you may have gathered, I like to cook. That goes hand in hand with my love for eating. This week I’d like to share some ideas for cooking some of my favorite things to eat. We’ll start with — liver. This is possibly a risky way to introduce a column of favorite foods, but…
McKinleyville Art Night
Third Friday McKinleyville Arts Night Friday, Jan. 21, 6-8 p.m. is presented by members of the McKinleyville business community. Receptions for artists, exhibits and/or performances are from 6-8 p.m. on the third Friday of each month. Phone 268-1800 for more information. Plaza Design McKinleyville Shopping Center, Julie Doerner, watercolor paintings; Redwood Empire Quilters; Music by…
Preparing for Climate Change
As a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research for more than 20 years and a lead author of one of the UN climate reports, Stephen Schneider was known for his ability to explain the intricacies and the meaning of important and complex issues, especially the climate crisis. As such, he was the go-to…
Quit Your Whining
Happy New Year! Perhaps in all the holiday madness, you failed to notice the Economic Policy Institute’s December report on the gap between rich and poor in the United States. The upshot? Said gap is at its largest since the survey began in 1962. Notably, the richest one percent of American households has 225 times…
Bizarre Basque Humboldt Connection
OK, I admit that this is a pretty lame attempt to follow His August News Kontroller’s prime directive: “Keep it local!” The Humboldt connection with the Basque language is that the older brother of the guy for whom our county is named established that Basque is the only non Indo-European language in Western Europe. While…
A Soldier’s Wish
It began with a soldier’s dying wish. 31-year-old Staff Sergeant Robert Toland, told his cancer was terminal, went home to upstate New York to spend his last days with his wife and kids. Staying out of hospitals and care homes meant adding a downstairs bathroom to his two-story house, which friends arranged with help from…
Undercard
Let’s keep it straight. The Mountain Goats primarily consist of John Darnielle, that group’s songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. In 2001, Darnielle and singer/songwriter Franklin Bruno collaborated on a project together (Martial Arts Weekend), under the name of The Extra Glenns, sharing songwriting and instrumental duties. Since then Bruno has been a consistent and key musical…
Nob Hill
A huge truck is high centered, just west…
Further and Further Back
Founded 15 year ago in San Francisco, The Crooked Jades have carved out a niche playing dark, slightly twisted old time music. Guitarist Jeff Kazor explains that the band name comes from “crooked” music, “meaning that the measures are uneven so it sounds a bit odd.” “To make it a little more clear,” said Kazor,…
Out of the Woods
It’s getting harder to remember, but there was a time when Humboldt County’s cash crop wasn’t the ganja. Weird, I know. Maybe you’ve noticed those other big plants majestically covering our hillsides — biggest in the world, baby. Yeah, we used to cut those down. All the time. Of course, I’m admittedly too young to…
Spanks for the Memories
Wild, crazy and funny as hell, Asylum Street Spankers got their start 17 years ago busking on the street that leads to the nuthouse outside of Austin. After taking their madcap, mostly acoustic madness around the country and even to Broadway, the band is embarking on the “Farewell Tour.” That’s right: A.S.S. are calling it…
A Ring-a-Ding King
Previews NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Rom-com from veteran director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Legal Eagles, Dave) stars Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher as old friends who vow to have a strictly sexual relationship, no strings attached. Not hard to guess where things go. 110m. Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material. Starts Friday at…
Southern Discomfort
He did not mosey into the southern Humboldt hills 10 years ago just so that he could start raising a ruckus with his neighbors. Rather, like many before him, CetanSka David Sky retreated to the balm of rural isolation in order to recover from the ruckus and rebuild himself into a quieter, truer soul. To…
