Cover Stories
From Orleans to the Capitol
I never forget watching a crew starting a prescribed burn in the woods near my neighbor’s home back in late spring 2008, in an era when wildfires were just starting to get crazy and often unstoppable. I remember Will Harling handed me a drip torch and told me where to safely light the undergrowth, so…
The View on the Ground at a Prescribed Burn
The test fire is about to start in a meadow encircled by woods on the flattest piece of terrain anyone can remember walking here in the Klamath River Basin. Are the hoses charged? Is the pump in the river working? Are all resources staged and in their places? A test fire is a term fire…
Picking Up Their Torch
I lay in bed at 3 a.m. unable to sleep, mind on fire with a thousand loose ends from planning another crazy prescribed fire training exchange (TREX) event. My youngest, Rory, nestled beside me looking angelic in the dappled Alameda streetlight. I am not at our Klamath TREX for the first time since its inception…
Building The Road to Resilience
Most of the seven stress-busting strategies the California Surgeon General’s Office have identified to help reduce toxic stress feel so simple, like being out in nature, eating a balanced, nutritious diet or getting sufficient, high-quality sleep, but they work. So when Mary Ann Hansen was looking through applications for the 2021-2022 First Five Humboldt and…
UPDATED: Five Years Later, Charges Brought in Eureka Teen’s Homicide
One day before the fifth anniversary of 18-year-old Jennika Lee Suazo being found dead in a P Street residence where she lived, the Eureka Police Department announced 34-year-old Anthony Lee Hamilton has been charged with her murder. According to a news release, Hamilton has been in custody on unrelated charges since 2017. The Eureka Police…
HumCo Records Another COVID-19 Death, 35 New Cases
Humboldt County has lost its 120th resident to COVID-19, Public Health reported today, while confirming 35 new cases of the virus and one new hospitalization. The resident who died was in their 70s, according to Public Health. The county also reported today that 1,162 additional Humboldt County residents have become fully vaccinated since its last…
Earthquake Swarm Off the Oregon Coast
If you haven’t heard, there’s a whole lot of shaking going on off the coast of Oregon. Over the last 24 hours, a swarm of more than 50 earthquakes have been recorded on one of the region’s most active faults, including two magnitude-5.8s and six magnitude-5.5s, according to USGS. The Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group…
Why is California’s Redistricting Commission Under Increasing Scrutiny?
California’s independent redistricting commission is taking a lot of heat for the congressional and legislative maps it’s drawing to beat a Dec. 27 deadline. But it’s not just the at-times confusing product that’s under the microscope. It’s also the commission’s messy process — with accusations of secrecy, complaints about public input and now questions about…
Public Health Confirms 20 New COVID-19 Cases, Three New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases today, while reporting three additional hospitalizations, as well. In a presentation to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors this morning, Health Officer Ian Hoffman said no cases of the new Omicron variant have been confirmed locally, though he said he “fully expects” that to change. “We…
Photos: ‘Tis the Tuba Season
The melodious and distinctive sound of TubaChristmas was back after a year’s absence in Eureka’s Old Town on Saturday, and TubaChristmas director Fred Tempas welcomed a large crowd of tuba fans gathered under chilly, foggy skies at the gazebo. This local version of the nation-wide tuba-playing performances of TubaChristmas first started locally in 1988. The…
Is ‘Right to Housing’ a Solution to California Homelessness?
The law says that every student is entitled to a free public education. What if it said the same about housing? That’s what Darrell Steinberg, the mayor of Sacramento, believes to be the key to addressing California’s homelessness. He recently proposed an ordinance that would require the city to provide at least two housing or…
Public Health Confirms 80 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health reported this afternoon that it confirmed 80 new COVID-19 cases with one new hospitalization since Friday’s report. Public Health reported the new Omicron variant has now been confirmed in about a third of the United States. While there are not yet any known cases in Humboldt County, health officials are asking…
Active Shooter Drill Today at Humboldt State
If you see something going on at the Humboldt State University campus today, don’t worry. It’s only a drill. HSU Police and other first responders will be conducting an active shooter drill in Gist Hall from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. that will include actors, ambulances, fire engines, police vehicles and responders clad in tactical…
From Maggots to Sex Abuse, Nursing Homes Sue California to Overturn Citations, Fines
Already paralyzed from a stroke and suffering from COVID-19 pneumonia, the 65-year-old man contracted a serious infection and landed in the hospital. The California Department of Public Health, which regulates nursing homes, investigated and in September 2020 fined the nursing home $60,000, concluding that the patient’s care at Longwood Manor Convalescent Hospital was so deficient…
Athleen Grace Baker: 1948-2021
Athleen Grace Baker passed away November 3, 2021 in McKinleyville at the age of 73. Athleen, herself, wrote the following on November 24, 2013, noting additions to her family along the way. I’m writing this myself in preparation for the inevitable! It also saves my family from this chore. I have had a good life! …
Public Health Confirms 34 New COVID-19 Cases
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 34 new COVID-19 cases today but reported no new hospitalizations. The county also reported today that since Nov. 19, two deaths and 11 hospitalizations have been recorded locally, with both deaths and 10 of the hospitalized residents unvaccinated. Public Health reported that the first known case of the new Omicron…
Eureka’s Lord of the Rings Ring Stolen in City Hall Burglary
A limited edition The Lord of the Rings ring that was gifted to the city of Eureka by its New Zealand sister city, Nelson, was one of the items stolen during a Nov. 29 burglary at city hall. According to a city news release, the Eureka Police Department responded to the scene around 6:20 a.m. One…
Coastal Flood Advisory: The Tides are High This Week
It’s that time of year again, when the alignment of the gravitational pull between the sun, moon, and Earth creates very high tides — also known as King Tides — bringing minor coastal flooding to low-lying areas. Running through Dec. 6, tides upward of 8 feet are expected, including a high of 8.72 feet just…
Scared of Santa (Or Not) Photo Contest
Voting is now live! Vote for your favorite here from Dec. 12-19. We’ll announce the winner on Christmas Eve. The winner will receive $150 cash and a $150 gift certificate to the Toy Box in Henderson Center, Eureka.
Humboldt County Correctional Facility’s Inmate Holiday Art Contest
This is the fourth year for the Humboldt County Correctional Facility’s (HCCF) Inmate Holiday Art Contest. Inmates in HCCF dorms are given art materials and are asked to work together to paint a holiday scene. Inmates that create the winning painting receive a special Christmas movie and popcorn. The voting ballot is here. Voting is…
Public Health Confirms 22 New COVID-19 Cases, Two Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 22 new COVID-19 cases and two new hospitalizations today. Public Health reported that the first known case of the new Omicron variant was confirmed in the United States yesterday in San Francisco. While there are not yet any known cases in Humboldt County, health officials are asking doctors to ask their patients…
Ex-Rohnert Park Cop Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Extortion
The former head of the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department’s drug interdiction team pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of conspiracy to commit extortion under “color of law,” falsifying records in a federal investigation and tax evasion. Ex-Sgt. Brendan “Jacy” Tatum and his former partner, Joseph Huffaker, were both indicted by a federal grand jury…
From Salmon to Steelhead: Transition Time for Coastal Rivers
With very little rain over the past couple weeks and the rivers on the drop, the end is in sight for the late, fall-run salmon season on the North Coast. The season has been somewhat of a disappointment to fishermen, as only a couple storms hit the coast and dropped enough rain to keep the…
In the Fight
BRUISED. With a few exceptions, fight movies are the realm of men, with women on the periphery, inspiring, pleading and worrying, sometimes as emotional surrogates for taciturn male leads. Halle Berry’s directorial debut Bruised, in which she stars as a broken down MMA fighter, skips that route, though it treads some familiar ground, like struggle…
‘Courageous’
Editor: I found Kathryn Travers’ letter (“The Simple Solution”) in the Nov. 25 edition of the NCJ a courageous and justifiably tragic plea for human sanity. Intransigent greed, selfishness, violence, corruption and an irrational reliance on primitive concepts are unsustainable in the closed environment of the Earth and have brought us to the brink of…
NASA’s Origami Telescope (Part 1)
The scheduled Dec. 22 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana will be the culmination of a quarter-century of designing, building and testing the most complicated thing ever built by humans. Webb, 25 years in the making, will succeed Hubble as NASA’s flagship project. Before reading more, I encourage you to check…
Seismic Sea
I awoke at the bottom of the ocean. Loss of words, and little motion. A breath under water was hard to compare, to the taste of thick and earthy air. My heart began bubbling its own little beat, as algae paved pathways for my untampered feet. With each stroke I soared through the silkiest waves,…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): It’s a favorable time to get excited about your long-range future—and to entertain possibilities that have previously been on the edges of your awareness. I’d love to see you open your heart to the sweet dark feelings you’ve been sensing, and open your mind to the disruptive but nourishing ideas you…
It’s Cold Outside, Let’s Make Soup
Late fall at the farmers market makes me think of the fourth movement, Finale, of Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony (No. 45, dated 1772): During it, one by one the musicians leave the stage until at the end only two violins are left to play the final notes. One by one, the summer markets have…
First Saturday Night Arts Alive
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Our galleries, museums, theaters, bars and restaurants are open once again. However, an emphasis on COVID safety precautions to keep patrons and staff safe requires everyone to wear masks indoors during the event. ART CENTER SPACE 620 Second St. Huge selection of local art. BELLE STARR 405 Second St. Jenifer Sherman-Ruppe,…
Sea to Summit: Schoolhouse Peak
I woke up later than I meant to, which has been the case for most of my days on this earth. I’m always trying to squeeze too much into a day but I’d rather have the bucket overflow than be sitting still, wondering what to do. Even when I’ve been without a job, I’ve always…
