Cover Story
The Affordable Care Act Turns 1
The debate over the Affordable Care Act has covered all angles, both nationally and locally. Some have decried it for reaching too far in some corners, and not far enough in others. Some have lampooned it as an administrative cluster kerfuffle, and others have praised it as a monumental tweak of a system in dire…
City to Shutter Squires’ Blue Heron
Following a standoff with defiant property owners Floyd and Betty Squires, the city of Eureka is condemning the couple’s Blue Heron Lodge, a 15-room motel on the south side of town. Eureka Chief Building Official Brian Gerving said the couple — who for years have faced allegations of providing substandard housing in their more than…
Kayaker Drowns in ‘Terrible Tragedy’
A 24-year-old San Francisco woman drowned Sunday morning while kayaking on the Eel River with a group of friends. Humboldt County Deputy Coroner Roy Horton said the woman, identified as Samantha Dweck, originally from Carlisle, Massachusetts, was with a group of about two dozen people that are members of a San Francisco running club that…
EPD Investigating Fatal Broadway Crash
A senior citizen was killed Sunday evening when he walked into traffic on Broadway and was hit by a Ford van, according to Eureka police. Oudom Douangdoa, 72, of Eureka, was believed to be walking westbound across Broadway about 40 feet north of the intersection with McCullen Avenue at about 6:18 p.m. when he was…
Arson Suspected in Summer Street Fire
Humboldt Bay Fire investigators suspect arson was the cause of a blaze Saturday that destroyed a home in the 800 block of Summer Street, and has forwarded the case onto the Eureka Police Department. Chris Emmons, a battalion chief with Humboldt Bay Fire, declined to discuss the specifics of how his department deemed the fire…
EPD Officers May Start Wearing Cameras
As the ripples of last year’s national and local police-involved shootings reverberate through the country, Eureka’s police department is considering outfitting officers with wearable cameras. Chief Andrew Mills supports the idea, but said much needs to be sorted out before it will happen. Mills’ plan is to repurpose $60,000 currently earmarked for police car dashboard…
Policing the Police
The way Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills sees it, his department took a “big, bold” step toward transparency and accountability on Jan. 15, when he convened a community review board to look at the death of Thomas “Tommy” McClain, who was shot dead by an officer last year. Others, however, see the review as, at…
Sharp Shooters
Reviews AMERICAN SNIPER. After the elegant train wreck of J. Edgar (2011) and the incomprehensible Jersey Boys (2014), some of us harbored concerns about Clint Eastwood’s directorial career. The former succeeded aesthetically but crashed narratively. The latter made no sense at all. It might have signaled the desperate, flailing end of a storied career. But…
Before You Sacrifice Your Health
1. Floss. Seriously. There is literally no more important advice I could make you take. You know those rare times you slide the waxy string between your teeth and are amazed at what comes out? Gross, right? Now think of all the nights you go to bed without flossing and those food bits are eating…
Rash Decisions
Exactly why I was thrashing around in the brush behind a trailer park south of Alton is a story for another day. But suffice to say my adventure did not come without a price. On Wednesday I was itchy. On Thursday I was scratchy. On Friday I was blotchy. By Saturday I looked like the…
Take it Outside
The gym: That altar to fitness, that sanctuary where we’ll transform our flabby triceps into taut, tight muscles. Surely, at the gym we’ll achieve the gleaming body of our dreams! Well, maybe. Recent studies show, the gym may be an actual obstacle to fitness. Why? It turns out that overall accumulated activity in the course…
The Faces of Obamacare, A Year Later
Back in March, when we first reported on the Affordable Care Act’s impacts on several individuals and providers in Humboldt County, we came away with a mixed picture of relief and frustration (“Faces of Obamacare,” March 6, 2014). Some folks were able to get health insurance after being previously denied or unable to afford it,…
Woefully Inadequate
It’s been a year since many people discovered that the lists of doctors accepting Anthem Blue Cross’ and Blue Shield’s Covered California plans, both locally and beyond the borders of Humboldt County, were wildly inaccurate. Many of the doctors and specialists that the insurance companies promised policy buyers would accept their new government mandated insurance…
About, Among Other Things, God Too
The archetypal housewife clad in apron, home surrounded by Sycamores, pantry filled with home made jam— She calls to her children come. come home and these words pressed into the pulp fibers of our grandmother’s lungs, rise rise within me like the dust of a Midwestern mentality suspended in the vast grandeur of great skies,…
Obesity – How’d THAT Happen?
Low Fat Makes You Fat. Bad Cholesterol — a Myth. Peanuts Cut Diabetes Risk, Hunger. It turns out magazine headlines like these are all true. But in case you don’t trust the reading material at the supermarket, how about the New York Times March 17, 2014: “Study Questions Fat and Heart Disease Link.” The article…
Selling the Thizzle
What’s that sound? Ah, yes. The melodies and beats announcing we’ve transitioned from the early January doldrums to the more thunderous drums of live music giddiness. Thursday — Rock ‘n’ roll 1, band 0 Some day we will understand the impetus behind Roland Rock, but for now let us just enjoy knowing that Arcata boasts…
A Good Start
If we think of January as the morning of the year, then breakfast is a perfect topic to consider now. I can see the words “New Year’s resolutions” blinking bright red in your mind, but that’s not where I meant to go: I am thinking more in terms of “New Year’s suggestions.” Step into my…
What’s up, Doc?
I got my 215 card on a drippy early afternoon. It took about an hour and a half, but a good portion of that was spent in the waiting room — even though I had an appointment. The whole business felt doctory and friendly — if a little rougher around the edges than your average…
Well, This is Awkward.
Awkward Family Photos — the dated hair, forced smiles, uncomfortable poses and embarrassing fashion choices you’ve been enjoying online since 2009 — comes to the Morris Graves Museum of Art from Jan. 21 through March 1 ($5, $2 seniors and students, free to kids and members). You needn’t wait for the big opening reception during…
Sax Stories
Like their namesake, the saxophonist and band leader Billy Tipton (only discovered to be biologically female after his death), there is more to The Tiptons than meets the eye. With four sax players and a drummer, the band zigzags across genres from jazz to bluegrass and gospel to Balkan. So it’s no surprise that The…
On the Hook
Grab your tackle for Humboldt Steelhead Days starting with the kick-off party on Friday, Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. at the Mad River Brewing Company (free). But don’t stay out too late — hooks hit the water at 7 a.m. the next day. In the taproom, mingle with fellow anglers, swap fish stories and register…
