Cover Story
‘The Hollow Men’
Before the arrest and the sobering cell, long before the civil rights lawsuit or the $2.5 million verdict, there was a call for help. It was shortly after 2 p.m. on June 13, 2014, and 42-year-old Daren Borges was in a bad way. Near the intersection of Seventh and D streets in Eureka, just down…
UPDATE: Coroner’s Office ID’s Man Found in Trinity River
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has positively identified the man as Russell Dean Graeber, 53, of Hoopa. His cause of death has been determined as freshwater drowning. Previously (posted on Sept. 12, 2017): The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is looking for help in identifying a man whose body was found in the Trinity River…
Correction
The Legal Notices section of the Sept. 7, 2017 edition of the North Coast Journal mistakenly substituted an old Property Tax Default (Delinquent) List from the Humboldt County Treasurer-Tax Collector, when that office had provided us with a current one. The treasurer-tax collector’s office sought to run a new 2017 listing in the Journal but,…
House Says No to Sessions’ Asset Forfeiture Plans
The House of Representatives has just said no to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ attempts to lessen restrictions on taking money and property from people suspected but sometimes never even charged let alone convicted of a crime — a practice called asset forfeiture. Read the Journal’s previous coverage about the controversial legal procedure in the…
Stanford Project Looking For Humboldt Voices
Across the vast swaths of California, there are different tells — certain turns of phrase or inflections used in everyday conversation — that can reveal quite a bit about where a person was raised. From the, like totally, stereotypical rising lilt of Valley Girl speak (along with the gratuitous use of the word “like”) to…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Sept. 12
Jazz is the genre that owns the beginning of this week with The Low Notes at Mad River Brewery at 6 p.m. tonight for free. Over at Humboldt State University, the Redwood Jazz Alliance just so happens to be opening its 2017-2018 season tonight at 8 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room with Honey and…
Police Chief on Shooting: Suspect Was Wanted, Officer Lucky to be Alive
Twenty-six-year-old Ervin Eugene Sweat Jr. was wanted on a pair of warrants and facing imminent arrest when he stepped out of a Ford truck and opened fire on police officers, initiating the gunfire exchange that killed him, Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman said at a press conference this afternoon. According to Chapman, Sweat fired at…
Music Tonight: Monday, Sept. 11
New York jazz is on tap at the Palm Lounge in Eureka at 7 p.m., courtesy of locals Brian Post & Friends. Looks like it’s a free one tonight and, if so, don’t be afraid to tip the band. These are musicians who’ve honed their chops so thank your lucky stars they love playing out…
All That and a Pile of Gaufrettes
Maybe you are among the economically wise and self-disciplined folks who bring lunch to work. Even you, my fiscally responsible friend, will slip eventually — oversleeping, running out of bread, spending more than your usual 15 minutes gazing into the existential abyss of your closet — and head out without your brown bag/reusable beeswax cloth…
TL;DR: What You Need to Know About the $2.5 Million Verdict Against the County
Busy week? We’ll help you catch up on the basics of this week’s cover story, which touches on Humboldt County’s jail, homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness. Read the full story here before you dive into a Facebook comments debate. This week the Journal took a deep dive into the recent $2.5 federal court verdict against…
Arcata Police, Witnesses Describe How a Fight Erupted into Gunfire
Officers were approaching a parked car that they believed contained a man suspected of brandishing a firearm early this morning, when a 26-year-old man exited the vehicle and allegedly fired at least two shots at them, hitting a Humboldt State University officer in the leg and prompting the officers to return fire, fatally wounding the…
Music Tonight: Saturday, Sept. 9
If you’re familiar with Lawnstock, you’ll know it’s an annual music festival put on by the Zwerdling family to benefit a local child with medical needs. This year the festival is helping Kiarra Plante, who has type III hereditary angioedema, and making its public debut at Perigot Park in Blue Lake at 11 a.m. with…
Officer Wounded, Suspect Killed in Arcata Plaza Shooting
A shootout in front of bar row on the Arcata Plaza around 2 a.m. left a Humboldt State University police officer wounded and a suspect dead. The officer’s injuries are considered serious but not life threatening. According to an Arcata Police Department press release, an APD officer was with the UPD officer investigating a report…
Eureka Condemns ‘Heroin Hilton,’ Displacing 20
UPDATE: Eureka City Councilmember Kim Bergel has informed the Journal via Facebook that she was told the city has offered all 20 or so displaced residents of the condemned buildings the option of staying at the local Motel 6 until Monday, when relocation funds are expected to be made available. The Journal hasn’t yet been…
Ferndale Concours on Main
Pardon us, but would you have 100 pristine cars available for public viewing? But, of course. The Ferndale Concours on Main happens Sunday, Sept. 10 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Ferndale Main Street (free). This is your chance to see up to 100 collectible vehicles in the historic Victorian village. Word is it’s…
Woodshock Premiers at the Minor
Don’t miss a special screening of Woodshock at the Minor Theatre. Filmed in Humboldt County, this drama starring Kirsten Dunst plays twice on Saturday, Sept. 9. The first showing at 6:30 p.m. is a catered, red carpet affair hosted by the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission ($30), and the second at 10 p.m. is just the…
Wild at Heart Drag Show
Wondering where the wild things are this weekend? Swing by Synapsis Nova for the Wild at Heart Drag Show on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 8:30 p.m. ($5 suggested donation, fur-suiters get $1 off, veterans free in uniform or with ID) to find out. See performances by Nova Six, Anita Lemonparty, No Mistakes, April Shower, Davinya…
Music Tonight: Friday, Sept. 8
Arts! Arcata is in full swing tonight starting around 6 p.m. so you’ll be able to check out plenty of fine local musicians hawkin’ their sonic wares. Over at Wrangletown Cider Co. — remember the old recycling center? — you’ll get your first dose of local electric Americana band Rogues’ Gallery around then. At 6…
Garden Gala Celebration at the Humboldt Botanical Gardens
The Humboldt Botanical Garden celebrates its 25th anniversary this year — what better way to honor that achievement than with its annual Garden Gala Celebration happening Saturday, Sept. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. ($60, $50 members, children 6-21 half price, under 6 free)? In addition to savoring the sprawling, lush scenery and miles of…
Figgin’ Delicious
My dad says he doesn’t like figs and it makes me want to club him over the head. How can you not love figs? Rich, heady, creamy flavor, absolutely bursting with sweet, summery juices, their smooth shape making them a joy to eat out of hand, figs are the luxurious summer eating experience. I look…
Hit the Lawn
Thursday Cruzin’ Eureka’s Poker Run meets up this evening at Vista Del Mar in Eureka at 6 p.m. and there’s local music to welcome the cruisers. You’ll find well-dialed blues-rock band Cold Blue Water in the parking lot, jamming away along with Ghost Train in front of some pretty fine looking classic cars. Check it…
Freedom for a little dog
Simple, isn’t it. To run and hide from master’s voice. A little hole where It’s hard to fit. It seems a long way off For a man to really be free. Especially when the place you live, Has bars. For trees you’ll never see.
The Best and Worst of Us
In the face of natural disaster, the very best of humanity has been on display in Houston, Texas. People formed human chains across floodwaters to reach a man in his submerged car and pull him to safety. Pictures went viral of police officers carrying kids through waist-deep water, of everyday people trudging through with beloved…
Unwrapping the Past
If you happen to be a time-traveler, do avoid Italy’s Bay of Naples on Aug. 24, 79 AD. That’s when Mount Vesuvius, dormant for 800 years, blew its top, completely engulfing several nearby Roman cities in a thick layer of volcanic ash. The disaster turned out to be a boon for future archaeologists. The most…
Seven Plus Plus
I went to Arcata’s Creamery District on foot before the heat wave broke to lay eyes on the new work of public installation art I’d heard about. It turned out to be easy enough to find. On L Street between Eighth and Ninth streets, you could see from far off that the chain link fence…
‘Tipped Over the Edge’
When city officials released a salacious, unsubstantiated, third-hand allegation of impropriety against the city’s most notorious landlord, Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks says the action was meant to impart a message. “We thought that it just added some gravitas in terms of what we are dealing with when it comes to Mr. Squires and his…
Resisting Reparations
Twenty days before he went on KINS Radio’s “Talkshop” program and touched off a public firestorm by grumbling about the city of Eureka’s “giving away” Indian Island to the Wiyot Tribe, Robin P. Arkley II had some questions. An email dated July 11, sent from Arkley’s company Security National to Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.facebook.com/artsarcata for more information or call 822-4500. ARCATA ARTISANS 883 H St. George Bucquet and John Wesa, artwork. Wine pour benefits the Breast and GYN Health Project. ARCATA EXCHANGE 813 H St. David Walker, abstract acrylic…
Dark Turns
Reviews INGRID GOES WEST. As a person mistrustful of social media and the vast, false fabric it represents, one might guess I would enjoy a prickly, misanthropic movie about lives both at the hot center and the colder fringes of swipe/like/love/#AMAZING. One would guess correctly and Ingrid Goes West is just such a thing. After…
Correction
The article headlined “Looking at a Statue Looking at the Stars” in the Aug. 31 edition of the Journal contained inaccurate information. John Hylton’s show at Piante Gallery runs during the month of October. This month, the gallery features the photographs of Joseph Wilhelm. The Journal regrets the error. Related Stories
Dream to Desperation
Editor: Thank you, Ms. Cahill and Mr. Greenson for your reminder (“#ThisIsAbsolutelyUs,” Aug., 17). Unfortunately, you are speaking to the choir. Those who need its illumination reside in a darkness never reached by the Enlightenment. There is hope, obviously as exemplified in the letters by George Clark, Ellen Taylor and Will Bell (Mailbox, Aug. 17).…
Things Have Changed
Erika Morlan made a hard decision. Fed up with the noise from the generators and fans, the odor of diesel exhaust, the rapidly disappearing meadow around her home, she did something that’s just not done in Honeydew: She blew the whistle on her neighbor’s grow. Morlan, who goes by the nickname “Squeaky,” has lived in…
Cruz’n Eureka
Get your motor running, it’s time for Cruz’n Eureka, the coolest, chromi-est fundraiser benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods. The annual event is back Sept. 7-9, filling the streets of Eureka with hundreds of car aficionados and owners ogling classic cars, showin’ and shinin’ their rides, and cruising through Downtown and Old…
Music Tonight: Thursday, Sept. 7
Cruzin’ Eureka’s Poker Run meets up this evening at Vista Del Mar in Eureka at 6 p.m. and there’s local music to welcome the cruisers. You’ll find well-dialed blues-rock band Cold Blue Water in the parking lot, jamming away along with Ghost Train in front of some pretty fine looking classic cars. Check it out…
