Cover Story
Slip, Sliding Away
Mother Nature is just not on Last Chance Grade’s side. Caught between an eroding coastline and three massive landslides on unrelenting marches toward the ocean, the long-failing highway section with an ominous name doesn’t seem to stand a chance. Battered by deluges of rain in recent months, the already geologically-challenged portion of U.S. Highway 101…
Talking Transparency
Sunshine Week, that celebration of journalistic freedom and the public’s right to know, may be well over, but you can keep the spirit going. If you missed Access Humboldt’s March 20 “Transparency and Privacy Roundtable” hosted by Sean McLaughlin and featuring Shahid Buttar of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills and the Journal’s own news editor Thadeus…
Employee Calls Police After Alleged Dispute with Public Defender
One of Humboldt County Public Defender David Marcus’ employees filed a report with the Eureka Police Department yesterday alleging that he verbally assaulted her in the office after learning that office employees had sent a letter to the Board of Supervisors alleging he is unfit for the position. EPD Capt. Brian Stephens said officer Abraham…
Arcata Council Hopefuls to Take Questions at Forum
The seven hopefuls seeking to fill the remainder of Mark Wheetley’s term on the Arcata City Council are set to take questions at a candidate forum tomorrow at city hall. Three Arcata planning commissioners — Jason Akana, Robin Baker and Judith Mayer — as well as educator Michael J. Hart, Minor Theatre owner Joshua Neff,…
Huffman Talks Last Chance Grade in Crescent City Town Hall
About 75 percent of the seats in Crescent Elk Auditorium in Crescent City were full for a town hall style meeting with North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman Monday night. In his opening comments, Huffman touched on many local, state and federal issues of concern to residents. He said he is hopeful Congress can soon work…
Music Tonight – Wednesday, April 12
In case you missed Piet Dalmolen playing with Joanne Rand’s supergroup this past weekend, you have a chance to hear his solo guitar work at the Mad River Brewery at 6 p.m. tonight for free. Leave him a tip while he does his guitar looping magic for you. Merrick at The Miniplex tells me that…
Claim Seeks $1.44M From County in Right-to-Die Case
Years before Dick Magney was admitted to St. Joseph Hospital suffering from a series of life-threatening conditions, he had spent time at a local nursing home while recovering from leg surgery. That experience left the former truck driver who for decades battled constant pain and chronic illness determined to never again find himself in the…
Supes Evaluate Public Defender as His Office Sends Another Blistering Letter
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors issued a press release after emerging from closed session today, reaffirming its support for embattled Public Defender David Marcus. “During this meeting, Mr. Marcus reaffirmed his commitment to carrying out the mission of the Public Defender’s Office, which is to provide aggressive, competent and ethical representation to indigent…
Music Tonight – Tuesday, April 11
I haven’t heard of a show happening at the Eureka Municipal Auditorium in a while, so I was glad to hear that not only is something going on tonight, but from As Lions out of the United Kingdom. They just put out their debut album Selfish Age in October so expect to hear these new…
Karuk Tribe Restricts Fishing
The Karuk Tribe announced today that it is restricting subsistence fishing on the Klamath River, a reaction to predictions that this year’s run of Klamath Chinook salmon will be the smallest in history. On March 25, the Yurok Tribe announced it would suspend commercial fishing for the second year in a row. The Yurok Tribe…
Serious Stuff with Comedian W. Kamau Bell
W. Kamau Bell has a big laugh. It’s full and deep over the phone, inviting you to laugh with him — maybe at a joke he just made, maybe at him, maybe at an awkward moment, like hanging out at a white nationalist convention as an African American man. The laugh is part of what…
HumBug: The Birth of a Giant
Today, near the end of my walk along the Van Duzen River, a little tangle near the tip of a naked willow sprig caught my eye. At first I thought it was a bit of storm deposited flotsam tangled on the end of the branch, but there was a “legginess” to it. Experience told me…
TL;DR: There Are No Easy Answers to Last Chance Grade
Didn’t have time to read this week’s cover story? We understand. Life can get hectic. To help out, here are some takeaways from this week’s feature, which delves into the complicated tangle of issues surrounding Last Chance Grade and efforts to move the roadway inland. Long story short, there are no easy answers to finding…
Music Tonight – Sunday, April 9
It’s Big Day OUT! at The Mad River Brewery this afternoon starting at 1 p.m. It’s a LGBTQ family friendly dance day with free tunes courtesy of DJ Goldylocks. A Green Week Pre-Party is happening at The Jam tonight at 9 p.m., where you’ll get the Deep Groove Society vibe with locals Jsun and Marjo…
Community Choice Energy Coming in May
Community Choice energy is rolling out in Humboldt County next month, bringing customers cleaner electricity at a lower price. Redwood Coast Energy Authority recently sent out notices to PG&E customers letting them know that in May their services will switch over to Community Choice. Monthly bills will still come from PG&E, but the program will…
Huffman to Town Hall Set for Monday in Crescent City
Congressman Jared Huffman will host another stop in his town hall series on Monday, this time in Crescent City, where he will take questions and talk about his priorities for representing the North Coast region in Congress. According to his office, interested constituents are being asked to RSVP by visiting this Eventbrite website. A similar…
Music Tonight – Saturday, April 8
It’s A Night at the Museum at the Clarke Historical Museum at 6 p.m. and outside of checking out what’s in the museum — along with locally made food and drink — you’ll be treated to Humboldt’s own Cajun band The Bayou Swamis, who’ll be playing at the $20 event. The artists formerly known as…
PowerPoint to the People
We’ve never been this excited for a PowerPoint presentation. On Monday, April 10 at 7 p.m., W. Kamau Bell brings his comedic lecture The Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour to the Van Duzer Theatre ($15, $5 HSU students). Sounds like a tall order, but the “socio-political comedian” and dad’s CNN show United…
Huffman: Trump Should Have Sought Congress’ Approval for Air Strike
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman issued a statement this afternoon blasting President Donald Trump’s “erratic, inconsistent and unilateral actions” and his decision to launch airstrikes on Syria last night. In response to a chemical weapons attack reportedly launched by the Syrian government that killed more than 80 people on Tuesday, Trump authorized the firing of…
Drumroll for CNPA Awards
Kind of a long drumroll, in fact. The California Newspaper Publishers Association has announced its finalists for first or second place awards in its 2016 Better Newspapers Contest and the North Coast Journal is up for seven. But we won’t know the final results until next month. But while we’re waiting, here is the list…
#Blessed
Humboldt’s mac and cheese tour would also have to stop at Bless My Soul Café (29 W. Fifth St., Eureka), where the dish tauntingly appears on the appetizer menu ($7.95). Bring help. The overflowing cauldron of cheddar jack macaroni and cheese pushes the ratio of pasta to cheese to the very edge of reason. It’s…
Music Tonight – Friday, April 7
It’s National Beer Day — because Humboldt really needs a day to celebrate beer — and should that be enough to twist your arm into guzzling some suds, head to the Mad River Brewery Tap Room at 6 p.m. to celebrate for free with the country stylings of Cadillac Ranch. At 8 p.m., Cafe Mokka…
La Nueva Ilusión
La Nueva Ilusión brings traditional Mexican dance music to Fortuna on April 8 at 7:30 p.m. ($10). Known as the “Kings of Cumbia,” the group promises party beats for a night of fun at the Fortuna Monday Club. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. — wear your dancing shoes.
Arcata Affirms Commitment to All Residents, Stops Short of ‘Sanctuary City’
The Arcata City Council last night threw its support behind a California bill that would bar the use of state and local law enforcement resources for federal immigration enforcement, but stopped short of taking on the designation of “sanctuary city” — for now. After hearing from a steady stream of speakers overwhelmingly in favor of…
Jane Doe and the Rabbit Hole of Sex Trafficking
I’ve been a supporter of the Jane Doe in Wonderland project since playwrights Grace Booth, Erin Johnston, and Kate Tobie, in collaboration with Humboldt sex trafficking survivor Elle Snow, first presented it as a reading at Dell’Arte just about a year ago. Since then, it’s matured into a powerful piece of theatre that journeys deep…
Diane Ferlatte
It’s story time, kids (and adults). On April 8 at 2 and 7 p.m., the Arcata Playhouse hosts Diane Ferlatte, a Grammy-nominated storyteller ($15 for adults and $10 for kids, 12 and under). She’ll tell tales, myths, legends and fables, using music, song, sign language and audience participation to inform, entertain and inspire.
After Hours
Food, drinks, music and A Night at the Museum should make an exciting weekend evening, even if the exhibits don’t come to life. (They don’t, right?) On Saturday, April 8 the Clarke Museum opens from 6 to 9 p.m. for a historically good time ($25, $20 advance, free to kids 12 and under). While you…
There’s No Way Around It
As you’ll read in this week’s cover story, Last Chance Grade — the failing 3-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 just south of Crescent City — sits on what’s called a broken formation. You have fragmented shale, siltstone and thick bedded sandstone that are being thrust upward as two tectonic plates collide hundreds of miles…
The Old You
Reviews DONALD CRIED. For a small group of us who began refining — or at least establishing, as refinement may or may not have anything to do with it — our cinematic palates in the 1990s, this movie will carry with it some familiar modes and tones. Borne of the same non-movement that would eventually…
Plotting Out Your Garden: Part 2
Last month we talked about the importance of planning out a garden design on paper to create a beautiful space that is easier to maintain, more abundant and, at the end of the day, better connected to the surrounding environment. We left off by working through the first half of a step-by-step system I developed…
Sailing on Big Lagoon
Growing up surrounded by fishing families, I regarded the local waterways not as playgrounds but as parts of a great wilderness in which some people risked their lives. And so I scoffed at the idea of taking a recreational sailing class through Humboldt State University’s Center Activities. But my husband is far more adventurous. He…
Reason to Reconsider
Editor: The saga of the flawed hiring of the flawed county chief public defender continues. In the latest episode, all nine of the county public defenders signed a letter stating that David Marcus is unqualified to be their chief public defender (NCJ Daily, March 30). Mr. Marcus was hired by the Board of Supervisors, and…
Confusion Flows
Editor: Ken Bates’ letter in the March 30 Journal, “It All Flows Downriver,” confused me. First, he reiterates the damage to our fisheries that is caused by marijuana farming in local timberland, and then advocates continuing it. I read Stephen Sungnome Madrone’s column in the March 23 Journal, “It’s What, Not How, You Grow,” (I…
Anonymous Returns
Editor: The poem in last week’s Journal by Te-geen Albers (“I am the Dammed Klamath River”) gives us the name of a small book of poetry, I Know the Way of the Current, featuring 32 students at Orleans Elementary School. I like all the poems and always appreciate students’ work, though I venture to say that Te-geen’s is among the…
Naming and Blaming
For as long as the public eye has been on the woes of Humboldt County’s skilled nursing facilities, all but one of which are owned by the same company — Brius Healthcare Services — there has been a question of where to point the finger of blame. In the last month alone, Brius facilities have…
Alternatives to Last Chance Grade
Alternative A1 (Rudisill Road to LCG Tunnel) This alternative, which includes a 2,000-foot tunnel under Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, is 3.2 miles long at a cost of $680 million and would impact old growth redwoods. Project timeline: three years. Alternative A2 (Rudisill Road to Damnation Trailhead) Also 3.2 miles, this route goes through…
Parties, Pre-Parties and Celebrations
Thursday Get your string thing on tonight — sounds dirtier than I planned it — down at The Jam in Arcata where local string bands Thursday Night Bluegrass and The Gatehouse Well take the stage around 9 p.m. for a $5 show. Be prepared to cut a rug. At the famous Logger Bar in Blue…
Hum Plate Roundup
Date (and Bacon) Night We initially missed the bar tucked away in the back of the Diver Bar and Grill (2830 F St., Eureka) and despite the name and the diving helmet logo, it’s not a seafood place. But given our current socio-political climate, is this really the biggest shock you’ve had lately? Shake it…
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms?
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman is co-sponsoring legislation introduced to the House last week that would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act and regulate it like alcohol. The bill, not so creatively dubbed the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, would place the plant under the purview of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and…
Consciousness
What matters Is not matter. Nothing is Created Nor destroyed. Thought has Always been The language of Quantum Mechanics. Who’s on first?
Music Tonight – Thursday, April 6
Get your string thing on tonight — sounds dirtier than I planned it — down at The Jam in Arcata where local string bands Thursday Night Bluegrass and The Gatehouse Well take the stage around 9 p.m. for a $5 show. Be prepared to cut a rug. At the famous Logger Bar in Blue Lake,…
Eureka Symphony’s Natural Wonders
Want to listen to the music of our landscape? The Arkley Center for the Performing Arts presents Eureka Symphony’s Natural Wonders on April 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. Along with violinist Otis Harriel, a musical and video tribute to the National Parks is sure to be inspiring.
