That Van Life
Dream big, live small: Why living in vans is taking hold in California
Cover Story
That Van Life
A young man in a black windbreaker perches on the roof of his Dodge Sprinter van, looks out at the sunlit creek, and thinks about getting dinner started. The 31-year-old, who goes by Travis Wild, has been living out of the van for the last three years, ticking off daily to-do lists in his tiny…
SECOND UPDATE: Reports of Shots Fired Has McKinleyville Neighborhood Sheltering in Place
UPDATE: According to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office all safety restrictions have been lifted and residents are allowed to move freely in the Reasor Road area. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact law enforcement. There were no injuries at the scene and no gunshot wound victims have been reported at local…
No Service: The Removal of a Long-Unpopular Cell Tower on Trinidad Head Poses Connectivity Issues
For decades a large cell tower has dominated the top of scenic Trinidad Head, providing service to users of Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, but also creating much displeasure among some local residents. While most people have and use cellphones, many local residents wished the communications companies could find a less conspicuous location for their infrastructure.…
King Crabs
The Crabs welcomed the West Coast Kings to Humboldt County for the first time with a series sweep. Ten more games left in the season and we’re sitting pretty at 26-13, riding a nine-game win streak. Friday night’s game was one of the more competitive and exciting games of the year. The Kings looked razor…
North Coast Night Lights: A Milky Way Time-Lapse Medley
One can sit beneath the stars and watch them as they slowly traverse the skies; it merely requires your patience. But are we actually sensing them move? Or is it that our glance from time to time notes only that that the stars have changed position? Our perception moment by moment is that they are…
Mandibles and Mosquito Catchers
Like any collector, I have my unicorns. Near the top of my list was Holorusia haspera, the western giant crane fly. Looking like the biggest mosquito you ever saw, this is an impressive critter. I grew up calling them “mosquito catchers.” As a larva, they live near water, feeding on decaying vegetation in the moist…
Huffman Helps Pass Minimum Wage Bill; Legislation DOA in Republican Senate
North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman joined a majority of his House colleagues this morning in voting to gradually increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an to $15 an hour over the next six years. If approved by the Senate and signed by the president (both of which seem unlikely), the legislation would increase wages…
Coastal Commission to Re-hear Trinidad Hotel Project in August
The California Coastal Commission will again consider whether the hotel development proposed by the Trinidad Rancheria on the bluffs above Scenic Drive is consistent with state coastal protections when the commission meets in Eureka next month. On June 12, an obviously conflicted commission voted 6-3 to object to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ determination that…
Patchwork Victories for the Crabs
Humboldt Eagles – Tuesday Night We’ve got some ball players up here in Humboldt County, I tell you. Due to some scheduling issues, Tuesday’s game, originally scheduled against the Redding Ringtails as part of a two-game series, was played against the Humboldt Eagles under-19 team (back to back bird-themed teams). They are, if you are…
A Show of Respect
Editor: I recently had the honor to be part of a funeral procession of a Korean War hero who had been missing in action (NCJ Daily, June 20). It was a touching event to see people lined up along the roadway with flags showing their respect. There was even two Highway Patrol officers saluting as…
‘Too Great to Hate’
Editor: I feel so grateful to live in a place where attempts to recruit our young people to the side of hatred is not tolerated (“EPD Identifies Juvenile Responsible for Hate Group Fliers, Says no Immediate Threat of Violence,” posted July 11). While it may have been shocking to many people to read about the…
‘Thoughtful and Responsible’
Editor: Thank you for your responsible coverage of the white nationalist recruitment fliers posted in our community (“EPD Investigating White Supremacist Group’s Local Recruiting Efforts,” July 10). You chose to crop out (though at first unsuccessfully) the social media and email contact information so as not to give this hate group free advertising. That was…
Apollo Plus Fifty
“… this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon … No single space project in this period will be … more important for the long-range exploration of space.” — JFK, May 25, 1961 “I’m not that interested in space.” — JFK, Nov.…
Collateral Damage
It would appear Humboldt County remains a cannabis trendsetter. Leafly is reporting that Humboldt County’s controversial strategy of dealing with illicit grow operations through civil code enforcement abatement notices and fines of up to $10,000 per day, per violation has caught other jurisdictions’ attention. A similar program is already in place in Sonoma County, according…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): After analyzing unusual animal behavior, magnetic fluctuations, outbreaks of mayhem on Twitter, and the position of the moon, a psychic has foretold that a moderate earthquake will rumble through the St. Louis, Missouri area in the coming weeks. I don’t agree with her prophecy. But I have a prediction of my…
Panic Room
The immediate appeal of an escape room is the allure of a real-time, interactive game. It’s the closest I can get to a holodeck without investing some real dough in a virtual reality rig. As immersive virtual gaming becomes more ubiquitous, the brick-and-mortar entertainment industry has to up its game to get you to leave…
Clam Beach Hike
Beautiful walk along Clam Beach shore Scampered over dunes and grass and more Driftwood wet upon the sand Placed there gently by ocean’s hand A misty day, no sun is seen The water a pale metallic green No voices heard, nor others this day Save a man, his daughter, their dog at play The mighty…
‘Outside the Box’
The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 5-1 on July 11, with Commissioner Alan Bongio dissenting and Commissioner Noah Levy absent, to move an ambitious draft Housing Element update on to the Board of Supervisors. The board is slated to review the draft update — which dubs the local housing situation a “crisis” and identifies drastic…
Midsommar Blues
I started out this week’s column by just underlining in my notebook a bunch of punk shows happening around the bay. But my notebook, full of fliers and Cy Twombly-esque scribbles that pass as notes, tends to take on a stochastic process once the week gets fat and my deadline ripens, so I just let…
Zucchini Days of Summer
Just saying the word “zucchini” evokes summer and the celebration of abundance for which zucchini plants are famous. I get inspired by the different varieties of zucchini and summer squash, which results in my often coming home from the farmers market with a large amount. But I never have a problem using up my purchase.…
The Filmore to Hunter’s Point
Reviews The Last Black Man in San Francisco. The movie opens on a school-aged African American girl skipping happily down a street next to the bay. Inches away, be-hazmatted workers gingerly remove debris from the area around her feet. The scene is Hunter’s Point, a rarely talked about neighborhood of San Francisco where the U.S.…
Dog Whistles and Racists Among Us
Over the past week, we’ve heard two dog whistles blown loudly, one via the bulletin board at a local coffee shop and the other through the Twitter account of the president of the United States. At least locally, the backlash was swift after someone — later determined to be a teenage boy — posted fliers…
Straight from the PALCO Playbook
An ember of the old Timber Wars is still smoldering in the woods near Rainbow Ridge in the Mattole. There, a stand-off between forest defenders and Humboldt Redwood Co. is heating up. It is like 1997 all over again — tree-sitters are blocking road construction and logging operations, the sheriff’s office and private security are…
