Cover Story
‘Grab it by the Horns’
One of the many things that have been made abundantly clear since Jan. 20: Much-needed shifts toward environmental and community sustainability will not be coming from the top down. Not anytime soon. In the last three months, the new administration in Washington has taken steps to nix protections for clean air and water, institutionalize climate…
Pressed for Cuban Sandwiches
The plot twists and sudden shifts of international politics have never come at us with such breakneck speed. Sure, you can hop a flight to Cuba now but who knows in a month or two? Stockpiling Cohibas in your bunker humidor now might not be a bad idea. And you’ll need a local back-up supplier…
UPDATE: U.S. Highway 101 Now Open
2nd UPDATE: U.S. Highway 101 is once again open north of Leggett, with one-way, controlled traffic passing by the slide that closed the highway for the better part of two weeks. Caltrans crews got the stretch of road re-opened last night but urge folks driving through the slide area to exercise caution and keep an…
Music Tonight – Wednesday, April 26
A free show is on tap at 6 p.m. at the Mad River Brewery Tap room with the RLA Jazz Trio with Paula and Don. They’ll be playing until about 8 or 8:30 p.m., and you can catch their jazz chops while enjoying some John Barleycorn. Leave the band a tip, or get ’em a…
Music Tonight – Tuesday, April 25
Speaking of supporting recordings, Minnesota’s The Cactus Blossoms are on the road for their release of You’re Dreaming. Brothers Jack and Page have made stops at the Newport Folk Festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to name a few and have a busy year in front of them. With well-constructed harmonies and haunting guitar lines, these…
Update: Names Released in Apparent Murder-Suicide at Caltrans Yard
Update: The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has released the names of those involved in this morning’s incident. From the press release, “The deceased male subject in this case has been positively identified as Terry Allan Hayse, age 57 of Rio Dell. The female subject has been positively identified as Annette Kaleialoha Brooks, age 61 of…
Science!
Local scientists, students of all ages and other advocates for science-based decision making joined more than 600 other March for Science events in cities around the U.S. to both celebrate Earth Day on Saturday and protest the Trump administration’s policies and positions with regard to climate change and other issue. The largely non-partisan Humboldt March…
Music Tonight – Sunday, April 22
An early show this afternoon sees PianoVoce at the Trinidad Town Hall at 3 p.m. This recital, I’m told, is based on From the Bohemian Forest composed by Dvoák and then Carlisle Floyd’s Pilgrimage: Solo Cantata on Biblical Texts. PianoVoce is comprised of Annette Gurnee Hull and Nancy Correll on the Hall’s Steinway piano, Carl…
Music Tonight – Saturday, April 22
The father-sons of Doug Fir & the 2x4s are at it again at the Mad River Brewery Tap room around 6 p.m. They bring the classic rock sound to covers and originals and it’s a free gig, so you’ve got nothing to lose —except perhaps sobriety — by checking it out. Floyd fans are probably…
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Don’t miss one of the most honored dance companies in the world when the stylish Paul Taylor Dance Company (led by the legendary dancer/choreographer who’s been the ensemble’s artistic director for 63 years), brings its sensuous, provocative and humorous dance pieces to the Van Duzer Theatre on Sunday, April 23 at 8 p.m. ($46).
Community Gathers to Mourn Slain HSU Student
Katauri Thompson, a member of Humboldt State University’s Brothers United and close friend of David Josiah Lawson, asked all of the club’s members to join him on stage during a Thursday vigil for the slain 19 year old. Fighting back tears and holding one another, the group made their way up from the second row…
101 Closed Until at Least Next Week; Rain Forecast to Return
Caltrans is estimating a possible reopening of U.S. Highway 101 sometime mid-to-late next week and is warning travelers to expect detours of up to seven hours until the roadway can be safely reopened. The initial slide that closed down both lanes north of Leggett on April 16 was followed a few days later by another…
Music Tonight – Friday, April 21
The Moonshine Bandits will be in SoHum with their unique blend of hip hop and country music supporting their latest album Baptized in Bourbon. Based out of California’s Central Valley, the Bandits take influence from Southern Rock, Country, and lyrical hip hop. They’ll stop by The Mateel at 9 p.m. and $30 gets you into…
Science and History
You know it’s a sad day for progress when we have to march for science — when citizens have to take to the streets to remind those in power to listen to the lab-coated experts trying to keep our environment healthy and our society from slipping back into the Dark Ages. Now might be a…
Pitch and Pour
Meeting a journalist in a dark parking garage is so Nixon era. Besides, it’s far less creepy to meet up with the Journal’s editors over a beverage. On Thursday, April 27 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. share your hot leads and a cold beer with news editor Thadeus Greenson and arts and features editor Jennifer Fumiko…
HumBug: Mystery Markings
I can’t say how long it’s been since I first noticed many of the honeybees in my backyard appeared to have been marked. Their thoraxes looked white and dusty on top. At first I thought they might have been branded by the owner of their hive. A tiny brush near the entrance to the hive…
Music Tonight – Thursday, April 20
It’s Humboldt’s unofficial holiday today and if you still don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it. I don’t see why today can only be celebrated with rasta-tinged reggae or hip hop speaking the praises of “Jah’s plant,” so feel free to celebrate with The Compost Mountain Boys up at the Mad River…
Party for the Planet
This Earth Day, head over to Sequoia Park Zoo for a free day at the zoo during Party for the Planet, Saturday, April 22 from 12-5 p.m. (free). Check out cute critters, learn about their habitats, make fun crafts, peruse cool eco-exhibits and make a pledge to leave the earth a better place with a…
Lights, Camera, Cows
New York City-based filmmaker Jacob Cooney grew up in Ferndale, framing shots in his head long before taking off for the big city. Now Cooney is coming home for the Northern California premiere of his film, Pitching Tents on Saturday, April 22 at 8 p.m. in The Old Steeple ($10). Pitching Tents, “an ’80s coming-of-age…
Tough to Defend
Editor: Thank you for your efforts to keep us taxpayers informed regarding the hiring of the public defender for Humboldt County (NCJ Daily, April 13). Your coverage underscores the crucial necessity of a free press and I appreciate your persistence. Also, I commend the deputy public defenders and non-legal staff who have demonstrated their commitment…
Foul Ball
Editor: On KINS last week, County Supervisor Rex Bohn defended the supervisors’ hiring of public defender David Marcus (“Let’s Talk About Rex,” April 13). Rex said he met with Marcus one-on-one and heard from attorneys who say that Marcus is doing a good job. Fair enough. What wasn’t fair was Rex saying that the weekly…
Earthquake stories wanted
Two Days That Shook Humboldt: With the 25th anniversary of the Cape Mendocino earthquakes coming up next week, the Journal invites our readers to share their memories of those two days in 1992 when it almost felt like the earth would not stop moving. The magnitude-7.2 temblor followed by a series of strong aftershocks, including…
The Butterfly Effect
Daniel Viellieux stepped out onto the Arcata Plaza followed by his friend and partner Joseph Ferber. The pair walked counter clockwise around the square and pointed to different plant species featured in raised garden beds surrounding the square. They stopped at one corner and began to pull weeds as they discussed their shared dream. Ferber…
Easy Steps to Reduce Your Food Footprint
In the grocery store: Look for labels like “grassfed,” “pastured” and “animal welfare approved” for meat, eggs and dairy products. Be wary of labels like “natural,” “humanely raised,” “cage free” and “free range,” which have shallow implications for environmental and ethical practices. Seek out local and certified organic produce, meat and dairy whenever possible. For…
Swift thou shouldst be living at this hour
America has need of you. We are a swamp Of muddled, mangled meanings. Corrupted people Say whatever works The words uncoupled from the truth Jobs are actually tax cuts Healthcare is actually tax cuts Freedom is the right to die The baby whom sarin kills matters The child washed up on the shores of the…
Turning the Page on Native Plants
If you’ve been wanting to learn more about native plants, here are reviews of seven of my favorite books on the subject (all available in the Humboldt County Library). Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (2009): If you only read one of the books in this column, choose this one…
4 + 20 More
Humboldt has its own complicated and multifaceted relationship with its best-known cash crop. Whether you are hip enough to call it cannabis or still call it “the dope,” it’s tough to fully appreciate the extent of its influence on our county. I don’t have the space/time/patience to go into depth here in this column but…
Bad Sea Rising
Last week, we looked at predictions for Global Sea Level Rise, GSLR, which average out to between 3 and 8 feet by 2100. The scientific consensus is that all contributions to GSLR can be traced back to increasing air temperatures, caused by the release of vast amounts of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Carrying…
A Hearty Belgian Mash
I learned as much about growing cabbage, corn and zucchini as I did about my neighbors while volunteering at the Happy Forever Community Garden in Berkeley 10 years ago. Calling the 12-by-18-foot traffic diverter on a side street a community garden was a bit of a stretch but the barren diverter-turned-food-producing island taught me a…
Timber War Stories
Sometimes a book invites a reader’s favor. Darren Frederick Speece’s Defending Giants seems like a love affair for those concerned with protecting ancient forests. The book cover entices readers with a powerful image of an activist with his hand up blocking a truck, and the back features a glowing blurb from 350.org climate activist Bill…
Hypocrisy Now!
As residents of Humboldt County, we often pride ourselves on being environmentally conscious. Many of us are already taking steps toward living more sustainably. Perhaps you ride your bike (or kinetic sculpture) to school or work, take shorter showers or bring your water bottle wherever you go. Maybe you’ve introduced a compost bin into your…
Cannabis and Carbon
You may drink your locally sourced tea out of a Mason jar, have gone vegan and hung up your car keys in an effort to combat climate change, but have you estimated the carbon footprint of that dab? Let’s break it down. The average dab — a form of highly concentrated cannabis — contains about…
Escape/Escapism
REVIEWS THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE. Period drama can, and in this case does, provide a respite from the breakneck editing and handheld camerawork that have subsumed the modern cinematic lexicon. It can give its creators an opportunity to focus on details of set design and costuming and language that, in a contemporary setting, might not merit…
Earth and Space Discovery Day
Celebrate Earth Day at Earth and Space Discovery Day on Saturday, April 22 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the HSU Natural History Museum ($5, $2 members, free to adults accompanying kids). Kids can look at the sun, moon and Venus with Astronomers of Humboldt, explore the solar system, make a light spectrum and…
Humboldt Slackliners
About 40 feet up in the air, Matt Paris took another step on a 1-inch slackline that stretched 400 feet across the redwood forest. The line began to bounce and shake. He swung down about 5 feet and back up again as he approached the middle section with the most give. Paris squinted, his breath…
