The Fight of the River People
The generational push that brought Berkshire Hathaway to the table and put dam removal back on track
Jene McCovey Memorial Included in Zero to Fierce Festival
Longtime activist and Yurok elder Jene McCovey died in February, leaving behind an impressive legacy of environmental, Indigenous, disability and women’s activism and accomplishments. A memorial for her will be held Sunday, March 14 from 3 to 4 p.m. online as part of the Zero to Fierce Festival. There, you can join others in remembering…
Redwood Region Audubon Society Presents Online Raptor Lecture
Soar with the eagles during Redwood Region Audubon Society’s latest online presentation How to ID Raptorial Masters of the Sky – Eagles, Hawks and Falcons in Flight on Friday, March 12 from 7 to 8 p.m. at www.rras.org/home.aspx (free). Learn tips and tricks about raptor identification on the wing and at a distance, as well as…
You’ve Got Time for This: Dorsie the Porcupine’s Snacktrack
Who makes chewing, smacking, eating-with-your-mouth-open noises delightful? This little guy over at Sequoia Park Zoo. Dorsie, a North American porcupine, enjoys a healthy and musical breakfast of veggies — and illustrates that a certain cuteness factor can override the effects of misophonia, a disorder where people have abnormally strong and negative reactions to sounds like chewing. At…
10 Years Later: The Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
One decade ago, after the Tohoku earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated a wide swath of Japan’s Pacific coast, Futoshi Toba — the mayor of Rikuzentakata — sent out a haunting message to the world: ”We do not want to be forgotten. This is our hope.” His city was one of the hardest hit as waves…
One Minute Dances, Allison Russell at Zero to Fierce
While you’ve got a minute, spin through the One Minute Dances presented as part of the Zero to Fierce Festival, featuring live and pre-recorded pieces by dancers, actors, musicians and performance artists on Friday, March 12 at 7 p.m. ($5). And if you dance along, who’s to know? Along with the zillion other offerings you…
Breaking Down a Dizzying Week of COVID-19 and What it Means for Humboldt
When Humboldt County Health Officer Ian Hoffman sat virtually before the Board of Supervisors on March 9 to offer an update on the local COVID-19 response, his tone was cautiously optimistic. “It feels like we’re really at a point of palpable change in this pandemic,” he told the board, noting that case rates and hospitalizations…
Public Health Announces 10 New COVID-19 Cases, 9% of Population Now Fully Vaccinated
Public Health confirmed 10 more COVID-19 cases today, making 60 so far this week. Today’s cases were reported after laboratories processed 120 samples with at test-positivity rate of 7.5 percent, bringing the county’s case count to 3,317. The state of California, meanwhile, updated its COVI-19 risk tiers yesterday, keeping Humboldt County in the red “substantial”…
Huffman Votes to Pass ‘Historic’ $1.9 Stimulus Bill
North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman joined a majority of his colleagues today in passing the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, sending the landmark legislation on to President Joe Biden’s desk. According to a press release from Huffman’s office, the package — if signed into law, as is expected — will…
Native American Curriculum Aims to Bring Culturally Informed Education and Representation to Humboldt County High Schools
Save California Salmon, along with the Blue Lake Rancheria, the Yurok Tribe’s Visitor Center, Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District’s Indian Education Program, Humboldt State University’s Native American Studies Department and the Hoopa High School Water Protector’s club created a curriculum that meets California standards and responds to the state’s “urgent water, climate and educational crises” and…
Fire Destroys McKinleyville Home, Battalion Chief Says Station Closure Hampered Response
A Mckinleyville home was destroyed in a house fire last night, with the Arcata Fire Protection District reporting that its firefighting efforts were hampered by rotating station closures necessitated by budget cuts after a tax measure failed last year. A fire crew and chief officer dispatched from the McKinleyville station to the 1700 block of…
County Records 34th COVID-19 Death, Nine New Cases
Another Humboldt County resident has died of COVID-19, making 34 so far through the pandemic, Public Health reported today. Public Health also confirmed nine new COVID-19 cases — making 51 so far this week — and another hospitalization. Today’s cases were reported after laboratories processed 120 samples with at test-positivity rate of 7.5 percent, bringing…
Humboldt Still Seeing Red; County had been Prepared to Stall Move to Purple COVID-19 Risk Tier
Humboldt County will continue to remain in the “substantial” or red COVID-19 risk tier for at least another week in what was apparently a close call. State data released at noon shows a local case positivity rate of 2.3 percent and 6.6 cases per 100,000 compared to the California average of a 2.8 percent positivity…
Snow Possible on 101 Near Laytonville Tonight, Winter Weather Advisory in Effect
A winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service office in Eureka now includes elevations above 1,500 feet across much of the region and snow will be possible tonight on parts of U.S. Highway 101 near Laytonville. The advisory remains in effect until 10 a.m. Wednesday. Snowfall rates of up to 1 inch per…
County Confirms 42 New COVID-19 Cases; State to OK Live Performances, Sporting Events with Restrictions
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that it has confirmed 42 new COVID-19 cases since Friday and that the state has issued new guidelines for outdoor live performances. The 42 new cases were reported after labs processed 737 samples with a test-positivity rate of 5.7 percent, bringing the county’s case count to 3,308. The county…
Book Drive Promoting Equity and Boosting Local Bookstores
February is a short month so it’s only fair the Eureka branch of the NAACP is extending its Black History Month book drive through March 15. The drive, which aims to put books featuring Black and African-American history, arts, stories and illustrations into the hands of local K-12 students is a double-duty donation opportunity, asking…
Oh, Hail. Winter Weather Set to Stay for a Few Days
The National Weather Service office in Eureka has issued a winter weather advisory for mountainous areas beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting until Wednesday, with snow at higher elevations as a front is expected to bring showers, hail and possibly a thunderstorm or two to other areas of the region. Snow accumulations of 4 to…
A Year Apart: Share Your COVID-19 Experiences
It has been nearly a year since Humboldt County Public Health issued a shelter-in-place order that required local residents to stay in their homes except for essential outings to slow the spread of COVID-19. Few could have predicted what the next year would bring, the myriad ways it would change our lives (and us) or…
Zero to Fierce Womxn’s Festival
Playhouse Arts presents the 5th annual Zero to Fierce Womxn’s Festival 2021, happening Monday, March 8 – Sunday, March 14. The festival is chock full of (mostly) Zoom events showcasing local and out of the area performing and visual artists, scholars, chefs, faith leaders, and social activists. As with years past, the festival will break…
NCJ Preview: Klamath Dam Turning Point and New Food Trucks
The agreement to remove the Klamath dams has never seemed so promising but it’s taken generations of Native activists and organizers to get here. We’re talking about the behind-the-scenes moves, protests and a showdown on the river with Berkshire Hathaway executives, and how they impacted the fight. Also, a trio of new food trucks are…
Bird Walks Are Back
Lace up your boots and strap on your binoculars, birders, the Redwood Region Audubon Society bird walks are back. This Saturday, March 6, join walk leader Janelle Chojnacki at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary for an Arcata Marsh Birding Field Trip from 8:30 to 11 a.m.(free). Visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines beforehand then…
Public Health Reports 20 New COVID-19 Cases, Making 87 for the Week
Public Health confirmed 20 new COVID-19 cases today — making 87 for the week — and reported one new hospitalization. The positive cases were reported after labs processed 268 samples with a test-positivity rate of 7.5 percent, bringing the county’s case total to 3,246. The county also reported that while a new resident has been…
Drive Through Dinners at the Mateel
Looking for a quick, easy and oh-so-tasty dinner option tonight? The popular Mateel Drive Through Dinners offering delicious dishes prepared by local chefs are back this Friday, March 5, with Chef Sean DeVries of SH BBQ preparing “woodfired grub,” available for pick up between noon and 6:30 p.m. (note the new time) at Mateel Community…
First Johnson & Johnson Vaccines Expected to Arrive in HumCo Next Week
Public Health confirmed 16 new COVID-19 cases today and reported it expects the county to receive more than 5,000 vaccine doses next week from the state, including Humboldt County’s first batch of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine. The positive cases were reported after labs processed 445 samples with a test-positivity rate of 3.6 percent, bringing…
Humboldt Brewing Co. Back in Humboldt
After decades of out-of-county ownership as far away as South Carolina, Humboldt Brewing Co. is back in local hands. Andy Ardell, owner of Humboldt Brews, has bought the operation with his brother David Ardell. Starting this week, Carlos Sanchez, who brewed the company’s original Red Nectar pale ale 30 years ago, will do so again…
California Upends How It’s Divvying Up Scarce Vaccines; More May Land in Humboldt
Another sudden shift in state policy has triggered an array of concerns and confusion today about how California’s still-scarce COVID-19 vaccine supplies will be divvied up. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health official, announced that 40 percent of California’s vaccine supply, starting with 2 million doses, will go to the poorest and most diverse communities.…
How to Trust Strangers
We live in a society in which we interact with thousands of other individuals we don’t personally know, yet we have to trust those interactions. Every time we use a credit card, for instance, we’re relying on a network of anonymous people to ensure the payment we’re sending is, in fact, made honestly and free…
On Seeing Haliaeetus leucocephalus in Flight
Most unjustly I deprecated you For being on coins, flags, insignia Feathers plucked from someone else’s headdress For depicting an us that is not us A bald figurehead hatching lie after lie But I never really saw you, did I? Their flattened likenesses were never yours Now, I see you hovering above me, now Nobody’s…
Fight of the River People
It was a Friday in late August when four jet boats made their way up the Klamath River under a cloudless blue sky. The boats carried three tribal chairs. From the Karuk Tribe, there was Russell “Buster” Attebery, who’d found pride as a boy catching salmon from the river and bringing them home to his…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In late April of 1969, Cambridhgeshire, UK hosted the first-ever Thriplow Daffodil Weekend: a flower show highlighting 80 varieties of narcissus. In the intervening years, climate change has raised the average temperature 3.24 degrees Fahrenheit. So the flowers have been blooming progressively earlier each year, which has necessitated moving the festival…
Humboldt in the Middle
With so many believing the little glass vials of COVID-19 vaccine are the ticket to a post-pandemic life, people are understandably anxious for their turn to get the shot and, in some cases, frustrated the process isn’t moving more quickly. It’s also easy to watch news reports of large drive-through vaccination clinics in urban areas…
Truck Stops
A person could get the idea the only new food in town is the KFC luring cars into its Broadway drive-thru like sailors onto the rocks. Not so. A trio of trucks have made their debuts this month, navigating pandemic restrictions and appetites with grab-and-go and outdoor seating options. Laissez le Shanty Truck rouler No…
Citizen Scientists Outdoors and Online
Imagine wandering around in woods or streams, identifying fungi, plants, insects, wildlife — anything alive. This is what’s known as citizen science: amateurs observing and documenting nature. And if you like being alone or sharing observations from a distance, it’s the perfect activity during a pandemic. Of the active citizen scientists I spoke with, all…
Fewer Salmonin the Seain 2021
The news wasn’t pretty at Thursday’s annual Ocean Salmon Information meeting. Not only are the Klamath salmon stocks struggling, the Sacramento stocks took a nosedive, as well. The Klamath River fall Chinook ocean abundance forecast in 2021 is 181,500. This is slightly higher than the 2020 forecast but still well below the long-term average. California…
Minari Flourishes Out of Season
MINARI. There was a time, in the ever receding past, when I was fascinated by and cared about awards, or at least the Academy Awards. I’ve since come to see them as a self-congratulatory popularity contest that frequently attempts to right the cultural and economic wrongs of its own capitalist enterprise with too-little and too-late…
Bob Hager’s Long Walk Home
We are sad to report that Robert “Bob” Hager — a U.S. Army veteran who detailed his journey from homeless to housed for the Journal — has taken his last walk. Bob died of a heart attack July 24, 2020, alone but surrounded by four walls in his own home, the Journal has learned. He…
‘A Big Thanks’
Editor: Just got my second COVID-19 vaccine (NCJ Daily, Feb. 25). A year ago all the experts said a vaccine within a year was impossible. Getting an effective vaccine was years away, according to the science. Thank God we had a president who was a leader, not a politician. Today, we have three vaccine options that will…
How About It?
Editor: I find the, perhaps necessary and perhaps defensible, Lucky Strike ad in the last issue (Feb. 25) to be singularly repugnant and depressing. Back to the bad old days? I began to wonder if all the people, like me, who love the NCJ would be willing to subsidize this precious resource in our community and eliminate…
