Shovels Ready?
Digging up projects for Obama’s stimulus bonanza
Cover Story
Shovels Ready?
"Be prepared," goes the Scout Motto, and it’s good advice for government agencies, too. After all, you never know when a new president might decide to inject $787 billion into the economy. President Obama’s massive economic stimulus bill — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) — has officials at every level of…
State of the Bird
Western Meadowlark. Photo by Donald Metzner, courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology The news is not good for the avian bunch. According to The U.S. State of the Birds , a report released today on bird populations, almost a third of the 800 species of birds in the United States are in deep shit. Said…
Cows For Fish
The Nature Conservancy has paid $14.2 million for 4,543 acres of the Shasta Big Springs Creek Ranch in Siskiyou County, Calif., where it plans to restore about 20 miles of stream. It has secured a conservation easement on the ranch’s remaining 407 acres, where the rancher will continue to live and work. The Shasta River…
The Big Tongan Boom
Department. There was a massive 7.9 earthquake in the vicinity of Tonga just a few minutes ago; here’s info from the USGS . There has been NO tsunami alert issued for our region. Repeat: NO TSUNAMI ALERT FOR HUMBOLDT COUNTY. There’s been tons of seismic disturbances in that area recently , it seems. Check out…
S&P Lowers Credit Ratings on General Growth
S&P Lowers Credit Ratings on General Growth: The parent company of the Bayshore Mall — and 200-some others — has been downgraded to “D,” as in “default.” They’re left “hoping holders of … past-due bonds will forgo filing an involuntary bankruptcy petition,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Today their stock is trading at 57…
Hurwitz on Trial
Hurwitz on Trial: The Chron reports that federal District Judge Claudia Wilken has ruled that the qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit against Maxxam and CEO Charles Hurwitz may proceed. It’s scheduled to go to trial April 20. The suit, which was filed in early 2007, alleges that Hurwitz’s Maxxam fudged numbers during the Headwaters Forest negotiations…
General Plan Alternatives Charts!
Cowabunga! The county’s just released its “Plan Alternatives Comparison Charts” for the draft General Plan Update for the sections covering growth planning, urban and rural lands and land-use classifications. Ah, nobody cares about this stuff…. Right. Go here. Also, planning commission public hearings start April 16. Here’s the sched.
HSU: Top Surfing School
Tibet.HSU: Top Surfing School: Congrats to HSU, the #9 surfing school in the nation! Hurts to be beaten out of number 8 by the University of Rhode Island (?), but never mind that.
Mama Speaks: Lisa Monet – “My Best Friend” (win one)
day.Mama Speaks: Lisa Monet – “My Best Friend” (win one): Local musician Lisa Monet’s latest CD is reviewed on this moms’ blog – and they’re giving away a copy. (No, you can’t win a best friend – that requires something else.) Deadline to enter is
The Chezz and Tibet
The Chezz and Tibet: The SF Chronicle highlights Assembleymember Wes Chesbro’s role in tabling (and probably killing) a legislative resolution in support of
Creamery Suspends More Payments
The Humboldt Creamery just issued a press release announcing that it will suspend payments to its noteholders and owners of the “preferred equity shares” it was selling in January and February. “While we continue to talk with our lenders, we feel that the interest and principal payments on the Notes you hold must be suspended…
Stupid E-mail Disclaimers
woods.Stupid E-mail Disclaimers: There are plenty of Humboldt County power residents who append quasi-legal instructions to every e-mail they send, forbidding dissemination upon penalty of the law. These instructions are not only unenforceable and therefore futile — see a patient deconstruction at the link — they’re actually counterproductive. Generally, the first thing that someone does…
The Kindest Cut – from Los Angeles CityBeat
The Kindest Cut – from Los Angeles CityBeat: A friend from SoHum passed along this tale of pot trimming in the Humboldt
Safety Board Investigates Plane Disappearance
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the events surrounding the disappearance of a single-engine DA40 airplane near Trinidad Head the night of March 1. Pilot Vladislav Milushev (pictured) and passenger Rick Gustafson are assumed dead after plane debris washed ashore on a nearby beach. (See story here .) NTSB Investigator Kurt Anderson said his…
Rivers, Roads and Rails
Humboldt County radio listeners were assaulted last week with a series of advertisements so paranoid and goofy that they put one in mind of the failed Maxxam-led recall effort against District Attorney Paul Gallegos five years ago. From these ads, it would seem that a small, sinister cabal of shadowy individuals wants to destroy the…
Mad River Lore
The first time I kayaked up the Mad River Slough, which empties into Humboldt Bay about three miles west of Arcata, I was told that this was the old Mad River channel. Of course, the Mad empties into the Pacific directly now, across from Arcata airport, but if you look at the accompanying map, you’ll…
Art on the Town
Old Town Eureka shimmered with energy, as it typically does the first Saturday evening of each month. Hundreds of people swarming the streets, absorbing not only the art but the ambiance, the thrill of being out and about in a creative community. The north wind didn’t chill enthusiasm in the slightest. Arts Alive! is as…
A "Victory" Garden in Ferndale
My neighbor is planting A "Victory" garden, Behind…
Chefs on the Tube
Celebrity chefs are not new to television. Back in the day you had Julia Child, Jacques Pépin and Jeffrey Smith, aka The Frugal Gourmet. BBQ king Bobby Flay and the ragin’ Cajun Emeril Lagasse (from Massachusetts) have been around for a while. Same with the globetrotting New Yorker Anthony Bourdain with No Reservations (a favorite…
Themselves
The Hunter Plaid Gallery was packed. There was a tall woman with a white flat top, short women with short skirts and an innumerable number of average height, nondescript men with mid-length hair, beards and beanies. With a $10 "suggested donation" cover, it paralleled a high-society column of fandom: A veritable Arcata gala, the open…
Dark Was The Night
On the occasion of its 20th year, the Red Hot Organization, an AIDS fundraising and awareness group, has released Dark Was the Night, a two-disc (or a three-disc vinyl) compilation with a "who’s-who" of indie rock of the past decade. Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National worked with Red Hot founder John Carlin to…
Hallelujah?
Previews The reinvented Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as "The Rock," stars in Race to Witch Mountain, itself a "reimagining" of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. Johnson is a Las Vegas cab driver who teams up with an astrophysicist (Carla Gugino from Watchmen) to rescue siblings (Anna Sophia Robb, Jumper and Alexander Ludwig) who…
Willow Creek’s Catch-22
To the fear of some and joy of others, Willow Creek is destined to make one of those "top 10 small towns you must move to now" lists any minute. In the last year alone, Willow Creek has seen the expansion of the swanky Coho Cottages, the grand opening of River Song Natural Foods, the…
Second Friday 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. Adventure’s Edge 650 10th St. (44) Andrew Johnson, age 8. Arcata Artisans 883 H St. (13) Wine served to benefit Breast…
The LA Influence
Editor: While reading Marcy Burstiner’s "Subscribe ’til It Hurts," I noticed what I consider an error in the article ("Media Maven," March 5). She used the phrase/term "The 101" — referring, of course, to our north-south highway. Now, I don’t know how this came to be, or why it is an error, but I do…
Hint, Hint
I was struck by your latest report concerning the embattled Humboldt Creamery; specifically, by interim CEO Len Mayer’s statement that "at least one person, and probably less than two," were involved in fraud ("Creamery in Curdle," March 5). Leaving aside grammatical quibbles, that announcement does clarify things somewhat — apparently we can eliminate all potential…
Change U.
Monday was a fine and blustery spring day, a perfect time for a little hope and renewal. And, not to be too rich about it, that seemed to be the mood inside the Kate Buchanan Room at Humboldt State University, where about 150 faculty, staff, administrators and students gathered at noon for a public forum…
Remember Sabra
Editor: Charlie Myers’ review of Waltz with Bashir waltzes around an important element in the story about the 19-year old Israeli soldier’s inability to recall the events surrounding his participation in the massacre of over 1,000 Palestinians in the Beirut refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila ("Filmland," March 5). According to the review, what appears…
Oneness
For fans of African music, Senegalese kora player Youssoupha Sidibe was the highlight of last summer’s Reggae Rising, strumming intricate melodies on his 21-sting harp. Born in Dakar, Youssoupha did not follow the usual path to kora. Traditionally in his culture, sons learn from fathers in the musician caste. Famous players like Toumani Diabaté came…
Unseal the Record
Editor: I’d like to respond to Carolyn Coke’s letter regarding current adoption practices ("Mailbox," March 5). Coke missed my point completely. I am not surprised at all, as it is her job to sell the public on the "sunny, rainbow-filled" aspects of adoption. It’s very clear from her letter that adoptees drop off her radar…
Lost
The disappearance of a small, single-engine aircraft off the coast of Trinidad the stormy night of Sunday, March 1, has prompted many questions. Foremost among those is what became of the plane, passenger Rick Gustafson (not to be confused with the local man of the same name) and 30-year-old pilot Vladislav Milushev, a Florida man…
