Cover Stories
The Race to Rep Humboldt’s County Seat
Humboldt County’s Fourth Supervisorial District stands apart from the rest. First and foremost, it’s the most urban district in the 4,000 square miles that make up Humboldt County and it encompasses the city of Eureka, where most county services are located and many of the county’s most entrenched problems — from homelessness to drug addiction…
A Fierce Fight for the Fifth District
The race to represent Humboldt County’s sprawling Fifth Supervisorial District is in full swing, with accusations and hard feelings aplenty. The campaign pits two-term incumbent and California Costal Commissioner Ryan Sundberg against longtime Humboldt County resident and Mattole Salmon Group Executive Director Steve Madrone. On the campaign trail, Sundberg has largely touted his experience and…
Humboldt’s Dancing CCC Supervisor’s Binge-worthy Show
If you’re looking for something to binge watch that might restore your faith in humankind (no small thing these days), you may want to hit up Wild Jobs, an online series from Animal Planet that’s streaming now. Recognize host John Griffith? Yup, Humboldt’s own dancing California Conservation Corps guy took his moves on the road…
Kinetic Finish Line Photos
All over Humboldt County, Kinetic Grand Championship racers are likely still icing their quads from the 50th annual three-day human-powered sculpture race over land and water that ended on Ferndale’s Main Street on Monday. In the end, the Grand Championship trophy went to Team Trilo Bike and its diner on wheels. But ACE awards (for…
Capital & Main Takes a Hard Look at Homelessness at HSU
Capital & Main, an online nonprofit publication, published an article yesterday spotlighting housing insecurity for Humboldt State University Students. The article, which cites a Dec. 2016 article in the Journal by HSU Investigative Reporting students, is part of a 10-day series exploring homelessness in California. According to report released by the California State University system…
Arcata Police Chief Forum Tonight
The city of Arcata is hosting a public forum tonight (May 30) to take input on what residents would like to see in their next police chief. “Public input is crucial to selecting the best individual to lead Arcata’s police department. I encourage all interested residents to attend the upcoming forum to share their thoughts…
County Building Inspector Suspected of Taking $100K in Bribes
A county planning and building inspector was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of taking upwards of $100,000 in bribes to expedite projects after a seven-month investigation, according to a news release. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports Patrick William Mctigue, 47, was taken into custody in Old Town Eureka on a felony warrant after multiple victims…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, May 30
There are a couple of fun ones tonight at 7 p.m. to appeal to a wide spectrum of tastes with distortion-driven sweetmeats, low-end chunks and sweet, old twang. Local metalhead Sam Bryson celebrates his birthday at The Siren’s Song as his band Dullahan gets in on the fun with Oakland metal legends Necrot. Burning Hash…
Four Local Starbucks Close in Nationwide Training Effort
Four Humboldt County Starbucks locations are closing at 2:30 p.m. today (May 29) for racial sensitivity training as part of a nationwide effort by the company following the highly-publicized arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store after the manager called 911. In an open letter to customers, the company’s Executive Chairman Howard Schultz…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, May 29
Band O’ Loko plays some real hot surf rock numbers near the freshwater breaks at the Mad River Brewery at 6 p.m. (free). Catch the warm rays of May and ride the wave of sweet spring eventide.
Splashdown! Photos from Kinetic Day 2
Hang onto your paddles, the Kinetic Grand Championship’s 50th annual Humboldt Bay crossing made a splash with the amphibious leg of the race yesterday. Photographer Mark McKenna was there to catch the flipping, floating and fun. Enjoy the highlights in the slideshow below — from outside the splash zone. Related Stories
A Country to Call Home
It’s 8 a.m. in Ioannina, (pronounced Ee-Yah-neena) a college town of about 100,000 people that dates back to the 6th century in the Epirus region of Northwestern Greece. The town is situated next to picturesque Lake Pamvotis with the snowcapped Pindhos mountains as its backdrop and a centuries-old Byzantine Castle perched on its western shore. Ioannina…
Music Tonight: Monday, May 28
Australia and Canada are in the house tonight at the Miniplex. Melbourne’s Carla dal Forno with her detached, deadpan but heavy vocals snake through tight songs of concentric darkness and flashbangs. She is touring in support of her debut solo album You Know What It’s Like and will likely put on a great show. Opening…
Rolling Through: Photos and Video from Kinetic Day One
On Saturday, May 26, crowds gathered on the Arcata Plaza to see the blend of art, engineering and madness that is the parade of Kinetic Grand Championship teams and their wild rides. Around midday, after a kind of show and shine with spectators checking out the amphibious marvels and their brave crews, participants looped the…
Kinetic Party People
If you’re going to come up with a wacky theme and wild costumes for your Kinetic Grand Championship team, you want to make the most of them. This year, on Friday, May 25, the eve of the human-powered sculpture race, the bold and bewigged donned their gear and put on a show for the Kinetic Thrills…
Music Tonight: Sunday, May 27
The Outer Space presents an evening of performance art, stop motion animation and interactive illustrated storytelling. 7 p.m. ($5). Artist and local treasure Violet Crabtree brings a new panel-animated musical adventure to the stage with her group The Comix Trip. Genderqueer artist Llano River Blue’s sci-fi web series Chenille Stems & the Dream Machine will…
McKinley Draped in ‘Justice for Josiah’ Banner in Dual Act of Protest
The thousands of people who descended on the Arcata Plaza this morning to watch the Kinetic Grand Championship race begin were greeted by an unusual sight. The McKinley statue in the plaza’s center — the source of months of public debate — was shrouded in a white sheet painted with the words “Justice for Josiah”…
Music Tonight: Saturday, May 26
While the mighty moving statues of the Kinetic Grand Championship make their revolutions from pavement to sand in the fog-belt, you can find yourself far from one madding crowd and deep into another scene down in Redway as KMUD celebrates its 31st anniversary with its annual block party at noon (free, but donations to the…
Go Muddin’
Celebrate community radio and good times with KMUD at the station’s annual Block Party, Saturday, May 26, from noon to 9 p.m. (free, donations gladly accepted). Join the folks at the KMUD studio for a lively day of music, food, drinks and dancing. Plus the station’s biggest music sale. Organizers have dusted off stacks of…
Will We Ever Get Out of Here? A review of Dell’Arte’s Let Me Out!
Let Me Out! explores what happens when theater meets role-playing game meets escape room, wrapped up in a murder-mystery evening that may or may not be trapped in an endless repeating cycle. The outcome of a year of research and development by Dell’Arte graduates Eric William Jones, Marguerite Boissonault and Linnea Ytterlid, Let Me Out…
CHP, State Parks Officer Rescue Kidnapped Woman
A Eureka man is in custody after allegedly kidnapping a woman and evading law enforcement officers. According to a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, John Luther Leslie, 35, forced a woman he had been dating to leave her Eureka home early Wednesday evening and drove her north to Trinidad. The woman made an…
State Steps in Amid Surge in HIV Cases
The California Department of Public Health is stepping in amid a dramatic rise in newly diagnosed HIV cases in Humboldt County and officials believe there are at least 35 people in the community who may not be aware they have been exposed and may be infected, according to a Department of Health and Human Services…
Music Tonight: Friday, May 25
There’s a nice pre-race Kinetic kick-off party tonight at the Outer Space at 8 p.m. ($4). It’s all brass music, baby, featuring the marching meters of Bandamonium and LOUD neighbors. Come get a piece of it. An hour later there are two shows, one in Eureka and one in Redway, perfectly showcasing the aesthetics of…
Glory Days: The Kinetic Grand Championship
It rolls, floats and treks around just once a year, but the planning, prepping and giddy anticipation of this Memorial Day weekend juggernaut goes on year-round. The Kinetic Grand Championship, the art/engineering mashup marvel that covers sea, sand, mud and land is here, May 25-28, and dedicated teams are going for the glory, glory. Hallelujah.…
Arcata Official: FBI Agent Tom Parker Unlikely to Return to Lawson Investigation
With several attendees expressing frustration over a lack of concrete steps to come out of previous events, Thursday night’s Community Dialogue on Race at the D Street Neighborhood Center was marked by a barrage of questions at the two city officials present: City Manager Karen Diemer and City Councilmember Paul Pitino. The questions largely revolved…
Mother of Slain HSU Student Expected to Call for Reinstatement of Investigator
The city of Arcata’s Community Dialogue on Race series, which began after the fatal stabbing of Humboldt State University student Josiah Lawson last year, continues tonight with his mother expected to call for the reinstatement of an outside investigator brought on to help solve the case. According to a release from the family, Charmaine Lawson,…
Federal Commission Approves Advisory Panel for Klamath Dam Removal Effort
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a proposal from the nonprofit organization formed to facilitate removal of the four hydroelectric dams clogging the Klamath River to form a panel of experts to help guide the process. Mark Bransom, executive director of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, praised the commission’s decision in a press release.…
Music Tonight: Thursday, May 24
Jazz pianist and Grammy-nominated composer Pascal Le Boeuf presents his work at The Sanctuary tonight at 7:30 p.m. ($20, $10 students). Joining him for a recital of his newest piece “Ritual Being” is the Friction Quartet, featuring Arcata High alum Otis Harriel and that’s just right.
‘Crocodile Tears’
Editor: There are many ways unscrupulous politicians will misguide their constituents. One nefarious way is through appointments. Many local officials have the authority to appoint members to powerful committees, such as the planning commission — appointees whose predilections they know full-well in advance of the selection. These nominees often have well-established track records. Like those…
Vote Sundberg!
Editor: I am writing to express my support of Ryan Sundberg in the upcoming election. Ryan is respectful, kind, practical, hardworking and accessible. I have worked with Ryan during his two terms as Fifth District supervisor on projects that focus on improving the lives of the most vulnerable people in our community, including children, people…
Vote Bass!
Editor: Experience counts! Virginia Bass has demonstrated an ability to secure broad-based support for many economic and social programs as Fourth District supervisor. Her accomplishments and experience have been recognized by the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), where she currently serves at first vice president. CSAC is the preeminent state organization for advocacy of…
Burkhart, Madrone, Paz Dominguez!
Editor: I have been dismayed by the misappropriation, mishandling, misplaced funds and corruption in this county, along with the “appointments” made for big money donors. We have grassroots progressive candidates running who do not have the big pockets of their opponents but we do have our voices! I applaud the humanity, science and logic of…
Vote Paz Dominguez!
Editor: Karen Paz Dominguez, that name has been thrown around in fury and spite, but do you know Karen? I have had the privilege of knowing Karen. I watch a strong, intelligent and compassionate woman who has taken on the world of numbers and accountability; and the world of wife and motherhood with integrity, honor…
Hold My Oreo, There’s Weed to Smoke
With little fanfare, the state of California released its revised cannabis industry regulations last week. The updated regs are largely seen as a baby step between the initial rules released late last year and what will become the final regulations later this year. The latter are largely considered shrug-worthy. “The first step that Neil Armstrong…
Crescent City is One Enormous Cosmic Tidepool
Nature raves in Crescent City The rain beats a drumroll on the earth The ocean eats the coast The wind tears the great trees limb from limb The waves hammer the seastacks into sand The human presence clings like      a limpet to a rock, crying      please, please           let me stay
New Tricks
In the wake of a lunch rush, prep at Masaki’s Kyoto Japanese Restaurant starts anew. Pop music plays as the staff slingshots back and forth behind the counter in the narrow galley kitchen, cold rolling station on one side, gas range and grill at the other and a beefcake calendar open to a shirtless man…
A Real Answer to the Single-Payer Debate
We pay taxes and local fees for water, sewage, garbage and protection, for essential services and infrastructure — an expected, rational cost for the common good. But there is one area of overlooked expense, one fraught with irrationality and inequity; namely, the literally millions of our local dollars going to buy health plans, including some…
Art, Motion and Sound
It’s Memorial Day weekend and the sweet days of Kinetic Madness await all you lucky kiddies by the bay. I’ll be in another bay area missing the sculptured fun but making up for it by celebrating the 97th birthday of a very special lady. So I wish you all a spectacular time behind the magical…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): A critic described Leonardo da Vinci’s painting the “Mona Lisa” as “the most visited, most written about, most sung about, most parodied work of art in the world.” It hasn’t been sold recently, but is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Today it’s kept in the world-renowned Louvre…
Franchise in Anti-hero’s Clothing
Reviews Deadpool 2. We live in a weird, expanding world of sequels. Defined by diminishing returns, they have also become a certainty: Anything that generates revenue on a certain scale will be quickly followed by as many follow-ups as the market will bear. This newly risen reality can be exciting (more of a good thing,…
Thesis Festival Time
May is always an exciting month at Dell’Arte. It’s when the multinational class of graduating students stages its final ensemble creations — the culmination of the school’s three-year MFA program. Each of this year’s thesis pieces has been written, performed and directed by the students and brings together Dell’Arte’s signature theater of place with their…
Vote Madrone!
Editor: How my dad got the name Stephen SunGnome Madrone is a favorite family story. His last name had already been changed when his mother was remarried, so my parents decided on a new family name: Madrone. Chosen for its far reaching branches and deep roots, Madrone could not be more fitting for our family.…
About Those Endorsements
Editor: I like to look at who is endorsing candidates to help me decide who to vote for, but in my district’s board of supervisors race, three major Native American tribes are endorsing non-Native American Steve Madrone, and Democrats Huffman, McGuire, and Wood, are endorsing non-Democrat Ryan Sundberg. I’d suggest people read the op-ed piece…
Excerpt: ‘The Recipe for Chimichangas, or How I saved the Commune’
I promised more about the commune. First thing to understand: As a crowd of people intent on building a utopian community in the wilderness, we didn’t bring much baggage. I mean physical baggage, like tools and working trucks. There was no shortage of what we call psychic baggage and some fraction of it was useful.…
