Cover Story
Summer of Fun
Arcata Camp Combo. Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. City of Arcata, Arcata. Ages 5-14. Register for mornings at Redwood Day Camp, Mini Movers Dance, Dance, Skate, or Theater Camps (9 a.m.-1 p.m.), then choose from: Art, Young Creators Art, Pee Wee Sports, Young Explorers Science, Marsh Explorers Science, Adventure or Skate for the remainder of the…
Watson Hanging up His Robe
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge W. Bruce Watson is leaving the bench. Watson’s six-year term was slated to run through the end of next year, but he announced today that he will be retiring in January, after 23 robed years in the Humboldt County Courthouse. The governor will appoint a replacement to finish out Watson’s…
Arcata Moves Forward on Marijuana Zone
The Arcata City Council voted unanimously tonight in favor of a proposed “Medical Marijuana Innovation Area” to be zoned on West End Road at the site of the former Humboldt Flakeboard Mill and a nearby city-owned property. The approval starts a public hearing process at the Planning Commission level, where there will be further discussions…
There’s a New Theater Owner in Town
The Minor Theater is in new and, it sounds like, good hands. David Phillips and his wife LouAnna put the theater on the market several years ago, 40 years after purchasing the then-defunct building that was slated at one point to be leveled for downtown parking. The theater celebrated its 100th anniversary in December of…
Who Bombed Judi Bari? 25 Years Later, We May Find an Answer
Twenty-five years after a bomb exploded on an Oakland freeway, shocking the environmental community, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is mulling launching a criminal investigation. Capt. Gregory Van Patten said police have received some “new information” related to the May 24, 1990 bombing of Earth First activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney, and are reviewing…
Former DA Candidate: Arcata Homicide Verdict Brings Accountability
Juan Joseph Ferrer could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for the 2013 stabbing death of Douglas Anderson-Jordet, after a jury found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter Monday. The jury acquitted Ferrer of a greater charge of second-degree murder, but also found him guilty of personally using a deadly weapon, which adds…
Tonight’s Setlist: Kickass Psych Punk at Siren’s Song
One of the reasons I rarely interview bands is because I prefer to assess the possibilities of enjoying their live shows based on their music, not their childhoods. Another reason is because once you start talking to them, there’s always a chance you may ask some inane question like, “So, how did you come up…
HSU Walks: A photo Essay by Mark Larson
Under a cool, overcast morning sky, the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences held the first of three Commencement 2015 ceremonies at Humboldt State University on Saturday, May 16. The undergraduate and graduate students receiving their degree walked out onto the vivid green artificial turf of Redwood Bowl, with friends and family clutching flowers…
Rutabaga Ballin’
The newest member of the Kinetic Grand Championship court was crowned Rutabaga Queen during the Rutabaga Ball on Saturday night at Redwood Raks Dance Studio in Arcata. Former queens showed up in force and in gilded crowns to welcome 2015 queen Gloria Kiddnetica into their ranks. In case you were trapped in the garage welding…
Flat Out
You think you’re happy with the damp circle of particle board that is a packaged tortilla. And maybe you are. But a fresh, handmade corn or flour tortilla with its uneven edges and its delicate chewiness is to the hard-edged pre-packaged kind as a crackling, oven-warm baguette is to a slice of Wonder. Sure, there’s…
“Let It Burn”: Enviros Push for Return to Traditional Klamath Forest Management
Controversy over a proposed salvage logging operation in Klamath National Forest seems poised to leverage the National Forest Service into restoring historic stewardship rights to the Karuk tribe. Environmental groups have accused the NFS of “fast-tracking” the Westside Fire Recovery Project, which was proposed in October 2014 as a response to massive summer wildfires across…
Tonight’s Setlist: Steve Poltz, More Than The Usual
Sometimes you might glance at a listing and say to yourself, “Oh, another talented, engaging guy with a guitar. Do I really need to go see that? I’m still trying to catch up on Mad Men … Maybe I should just stay in.” Stop right there. Because Steve Poltz is not just another talented, engaging…
Game of Thrones
Rutabaga queens technically reign for a year, but it’s a lifetime duty. A queen’s job is, along with general zaniness, to show up for Kinetic Universe events to host, cheer and turn the crazy up just a little more, especially for the Grand Championship race. It is not a post for the shy. On Saturday,…
The Great Bike Helmet Debate
Hey Barry, where’s your helmet?” called out the city council member as I cycled past her on Seventh Street this morning. She’s certainly in tune with conventional wisdom, which holds that biking without a helmet is dumb, like driving without a seatbelt. Truth is, I rarely wear my helmet around town during daylight hours, while…
Warmed Over and Heartwarming
Reviews HOT PURSUIT. Road comedies are an easy go-to for Hollywood during the lull between award and blockbuster season. They follow a basic formula and they’re relatively cheap to make. Other than coming up with a few original slapstick gags, the only thing they really require is good casting. Hot Pursuit had neither of these…
Throw Like the Irish
When I think about Ireland, step dancing, Liam Neeson and Guinness beer come to mind. Just recently I’ve become aware of another Irish export: road bowling. As I researched Irish road bowling, it became apparent that it is destined to become the next rage on the empty country roads of the North Coast. Already, competitions…
Dam Lies
Editor: “Upstream Battle” (May 7) makes the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) sound so great, a drunkard’s dream if I ever did see one. Just get those dams out and everything will be hunky-dory. Crispen McAllister did say he doesn’t care for the plan but that statement wasn’t really followed up on. The key sentence…
Working for Each Other
Editor: Spouted again are woes of trying to balance a budget while outrageous public employee retirement plans are bankrupting the county! (“Reckoning Day,” May 7.) There’s no mystery here: The county begins negotiations with each of its bargaining units and lays the groundwork to, again, balance the budget by pushing a continuing decline in its…
Underground Menace
Editor: I enjoyed Kurt McCanless’ response to Genevieve Schmidt’s story on gopher control (“Mailbox,” May 7). If she ever gets the big country garden of every veggie grower’s dreams, she’ll find herself revising the kinder and gentler approach that works well enough for a couple of screen-bottomed raised beds. Susan Nolan, McKinleyville
Just Needs a Coat of Paint
Editor: Instead of tearing down the Devil’s Playground someday (“A Dangerous Playground,” April 30), why not turn it into the “Devil’s Playground Graffiti Park?” Clean it up, fill the holes, place a bench or two. Graffiti artist could practice their craft all day long. I would love to sit on a bench and watch them…
Bummmmer
Editor: Who in their right mind would believe that this was a safe thing to do? After many years of going to the 420 park (“Party On,” April 23), I stopped going — after the police started taking names and numbers. I have memories of sitting for five hours — laughing at all the people…
Third Friday McKinleyville Arts Night
A celebration of local art and artists with music, food and fun. McKinleyville Arts Night is open for all McKinleyville businesses to display the work of local artists on the third Friday of the month. Call 834-6460 or visit www.mckinleyvilleartsnight.com for more information. 1) CALIFORNIA REDWOOD COAST AIRPORT 3561 Boeing Ave. View artwork by Humboldt…
Restitution
Restitution In the tidal pool I hopped gingerly from stone to stone, caught up in the cozy staging of it all: the lazy water lapping at my sneakers, the colors of each trapped little creature magnified as if from baubles behind glass in some salty storefront. I peeled one tenacious dweller from a submerged perch,…
You Should Totally Stay Home This Week
Life is weird. Have you noticed that? When you’re a kid, you think you have it all figured out, then you get older and realize you don’t know much at all, then you think realizing you don’t know much is some sort of sign that you’re ahead in the game, but then something comes along…
Weeder’s Digest
If you visit Humboldt County newspaper racks (and, since you’re reading this, I assume you do) with any regularity, you’ve almost certainly picked up a copy of the Emerald Magazine — the glossy, colorful lifestyle monthly that popped up in Arcata couple years ago. If you’ve gotten used to the breezy business features it contains,…
Smoke it if You’ve Got it
Store-bought bacon, especially the high-end stuff, is so delicious that there’s little point in making it at home, except that homemade bacon is even better. I know it’s hard to imagine bacon being improved, but it’s more flavorful, fresher, more unctuously crispy and not full of unnecessary bletch. Curing your own pork belly is an…
Homicide by Police
Several cases involving police use of deadly force have received widespread scrutiny during the last year: the July 17 strangling death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York; the Aug. 9 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; the April 4 shooting in the back of Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina; and…
‘This Devaluation of Human Life’
Humboldt County homicides are continuing at a rate unprecedented in recent history. Arcata police responded to the 2000 block of Eastern Avenue at about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, May 9, to find 38-year-old Trevor Mark Harrison bleeding from a gunshot wound to the shoulder. As detectives processed the crime scene — where police say a pre-arranged…
Relativity
Wrestling with formulas and smacking at the chalk dust on his sleeves, could Albert Einstein have conceived of the impact of his work on humanity? For example, without his theory regarding time travel, we might never have experienced the 1980s teen comedy brilliance of Back to the Future. It easily dwarfs his smackdown of the…
