Suing Squires
The Legal saga of trying to bring Eureka’s most notorious landlord into compliance
Cover Story
Suing Squires
The apartment complex at 833 H St. in Eureka has seen better days. Nearly a dozen broken windows dot the walls of the two-story building and overgrown shrubs encase tendrils of blackberries that reach out toward the sidewalk. Curtains fluttered behind the fractured panes on a recent afternoon. Some of the peeling blue window frames…
DA: CHP Officer Acted in Self-Defense
A District Attorney’s Office review found a California Highway Patrol officer acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man after a routine traffic stop turned into an exchange of gunfire on a Eureka street last November. In a news release today, District Attorney Maggie Fleming said she has spoken with the family of Killian…
Dancing in the Streets
Featuring good barbecue, local microbrews and live music from The Latin Peppers, SambAmore, Lizzy and the Moonbeams, and Timbata, the 31st annual I Block party attracted a large crowd in Arcata on Monday. The family-friendly event had face painting, pastel chalk supplies and a popular water-pump demo from Engineers Without Borders for the children. The…
Three Homicide Victims over Weekend
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three homicide cases this week after two men were discovered dead at a large marijuana grow operation near Hyampom and an August robbery victim died of his gunshot wounds over the holiday weekend. Deputies were called out to the Hyampom scene by the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office on…
Pedestrian Killed in Alleged DUI Crash
A 24-year-old Arcata man is behind bars after an alleged DUI accident left a pedestrian dead yesterday evening. According to Arcata police, officers responded to a report of the crash around 7:15 p.m. and arrived at 14th and H streets to find a 55-year-old man dying in the street. The vehicle allegedly involved in the…
HumBug: Missing Giants
The last couple of nights I’ve been running an experiment to answer a question. When I was a kid, I could leave the porch light on almost any night and there’d be a bunch of insects around it in an hour or so. Lately, I’ve been noticing that there don’t seem to be nearly as…
DHHS Wants You (to Foster Parent)
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services is desperately seeking some good homes looking to make a difference. Humboldt County has nearly double the state rate of children in foster care —1.2 percent of children ages 0-17 compared to .68 percent statewide, according to Kidsdata.org — and the high rates have been stretching…
Cars, Cars, Cars
Car enthusiasts, this week is guaranteed to get your motors running. From tricked out muscle cars to elegant vintage autos, Humboldt is gearing up to be a hot rod haven. On Saturday, Sept. 3, the Clarke Historical Museum holds the grand opening of its Cars, Culture and Humboldt County in the 1950s exhibit during Arts…
Arcata Woman Arrested for Assault, Death of Child
Arcata police arrested Ewa Misztal, a 28-year-old Polish national, for the death and alleged assault of her 2-month-old daughter. According to Arcata Police Sgt. Todd Dockweiler, officers responded to a call of an “unresponsive child” on the 400 block of Union Street at around 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 27. “The child was transported to Mad…
Feds Find Improper Care After Fisher Death at HSU
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently found that Humboldt State University failed to follow laboratory protocols as staff observed the declining health of a dying fisher for nearly a week without calling a veterinarian. The routine inspection report dated Aug. 3 includes a daily log kept by the animal’s caretakers in the days before the…
Pride and Joy
Most Pride parades commemorate the Stonewall uprising in June, but September (when students return) is our time to shine. Back in my day (popping teeth in mouth), it was half an afternoon with four or five speakers and one sister with a guitar singing protest songs. We waved tiny rainbow flags and went home. That…
EPD Shooting Case Heads to Trial
SAN FRANCISCO — Parents who say a Eureka policeman shot their son to death though his hands were in the air can take their case to trial, a federal judge said Wednesday. Twenty-two-year-old Thomas McClain was shot to death by Eureka police officer Steven Linfoot on Sept. 17, 2014, his parents say in the lawsuit…
Wisconsin Man Found Dead in Eel River
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the identity of a 26-year-old man found in the Eel River Tuesday evening as Joshua Deyo from Wisconsin. Deyo was found floating face down at Bear Canyon Bridge, near Garberville. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3. “We are actively investigating the incident,” says Selena Zorrilla-Mendoza of…
Adrenaline on Wheels
My hands squeeze tight on the wheel. Other parts of my anatomy are following suit. Tunnel vision has limited my focus to a half-mile strip of blackened concrete running north into the Samoa dunes. The smell is a funky mix of sea air and car exhaust. My race face is a quivering attempt at motorized…
DA, Police Chiefs Mull Video Policy
Humboldt County may become just the second county in the nation to adopt a uniform policy governing the release of police officer-involved shooting videos, a move officials hope will increase transparency and trust between law enforcement and the local community. But just as Humboldt is beginning work on a draft policy, the one it’s modeled…
Under the Tuff Gong
Big Numbers The Aug. 23 deadline to register existing commercial cannabis activity with the county of Humboldt has come and gone, and the planning and building department is staring down a giant pile of paper. A final count, conducted partially by hand, came up with a total of 2,259 registered grows. Steve Lazar, senior planner…
The Fruit of Your Labor
For nutrition alone, the call to capture the summer windfall of blackberries is strong. Blackberries are frequently hailed as a “superfood,” a media term which simply means blackberries are really, really good for you. That same deep purple color permanently stained on our childhood memories is proof that blackberries have some of the highest antioxidant…
Début – young woman who has ‘come of age’
They say that sunsets are like fine wine. I’ve never tasted fine wine. I am not old enough. I have drunk of an autumn evening And found the heady sense of the divine: Refreshment in the wind, Austere mellowness in gold-laced branches, Stillness in the teardrop Moon, …
What’s in a Name?
In my brief musical career, I’ve always been a part of the rhythm section, far from “frontman” status. Partly due to my lack of charisma and over-active sweat glands, I’ve never had a problem with this. Occasionally I’ll feign that I’m giving the lead a run for his or her money, but that’s just to…
24-hour Arty People
This solstice, 24 Eureka photographers came together to document the day’s passage for 24 Hours, 24 Photographers. Humboldt State University photojournalism professor (and freelance photographer for the Journal) Mark Larson, who organized the project, invited each photographer to shoot during a prearranged hour-long time slot. Any type of film, digital camera, and/or lighting was permissible…
Arts Alive!
Presented by Eureka Main Street. Opening receptions for artists, exhibits and performances are held the first Saturday of each month. For more information, call 442-9054 or go to www.eurekamainstreet.org. ADORNI CENTER 1011 Waterfront Drive. Erica Botkin, photography; Paul Rickard, watercolors; Barbara Saul, pastels. ALIROSE 229 F St. Susan Strope, floral paintings. AMERICAN INDIAN ART GALLERY…
Trinidad Art Nights
BEACHCOMBER CAFE 363 Trinity St. Art show featuring a collaboration with Rebecca Crow and son Kagan. Music by Sand Fleas. Free face painting by Tess Kraus, free art supplies provided by Westhaven Center for the Arts. BERGERON WINERY 359 Main St. Charles Klabunde, black and white and color pencil etchings. THE LIGHTHOUSE GRILL 355 Main…
Genre Blind
Reviews DON’T BREATHE. Director Fede Alvarez weathered the gaze of my red, watery eye when he remade Evil Dead (2013), surpassing my low expectations with skill, imagination and reverence for the source material. I wouldn’t have called myself a horror fan then (I’ve since come to terms), but Alvarez and his talented young cast overcame…
Going Nuclear
Editor: Led by his belief that “this is what legalization looks like,” I can’t help but ask if Lost Coast Outpost editor Hank Sims has put people in harm’s way by publishing the personal information of county residents in the cannabis business (“Growing Pains,” Aug. 25). Consider three parts of his “article.” First, in giving…
Recognizing Reality
Editor: Thanks to letter writers Laura Madjedi and Robert C. Van Fleet (Aug. 25) for sharing personal elaboration toward greater community consciousness of end of life options in Humboldt (“End of Life Options,” Aug. 18). As a community, we seem to be like the Buddha as a young prince, coming out of the palace of…
A Public Apology
Editor: On behalf of Living Styles Furniture, I would like to issue a public apology for an image that we inadvertently used in a print advertisement that published in the Aug. 18, 2016 edition of the North Coast Journal. We have put in place a new approval process to ensure this does not happen again.…
