The Hornet Whisperers
The Weidert family has removed Humboldt stingers for decades, and probably saved lives
Cover Story
The Hornet Whisperers
Tuesday afternoon was chaos at the Service house, in Eureka. In the backyard, 25-year-old Ryan Weidert, in a beekeeper-type netted hat, blue rubber gloves and a blue jumpsuit, the pockets, pantlegs and wrists snugged tight with duct tape, was kneeling in the grass as enraged hornets flung themselves at him. He slowly waved a vacuum…
Reggae News Times Two
– Death of Dancehall Star leads to changes in Reggae on the River line-up – Reggae Rising “Postponed” First some sad news: As reported in the Jamaica Observer, “Godfather of Dancehall” Lincoln “Sugar” Minott died on July 10, at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew, JA. He was 54 and according…
Pennisi Tree-Trimmer: ‘I Did The Job I Was Hired To Do’
Tom Head, owner of Coastal Tree Service, called into the Journal this morning to give his side of the illegal clearcut that happened last month on the Trinidad Bluffs, at the top corner of the city-owned archaeological site known as Tsurai Village and directly beneath the home of Trinidad Planning Commissioner Sam Pennisi and his…
Poems for Sale
My first encounter with the Poem Store was last summer in a grassy area just outside the main Portland Farmers’ Market. Jacqueline Suskin was sitting on a folding chair in the shade wearing a vintage dress, typing away on a vintage typewriter — clickity click. A handmade sign announced, “Poem Store, Your Subject & Price.”…
Ginger Bros Times Two
This week, the Sequoia Park Zoo will finally detonate a massive fuzzy, red, cute bomb on the citizens of Humboldt County. After over a year of jumping through accreditation hoops, fundraising and habitat construction, red panda brothers Shifu and Sumo will make their North Coast debut on Friday. Let me kill the suspense for you…
Days of Swauger
There’s no way of predicting when you’ll find yourself watching Access Humboldt. It’s not an activity one plans in advance. But on occasion, some “show” may lure in a channel surfing-passerby with the promise of giving you a “guess what I saw” conversational item to pass on at your next gathering. That’s what I’m doing…
Shyamalan: A Ding-Dong
Previews The summer of 3-D continues with Despicable Me, a CGI cartoon based on a story idea from a Spanish animator, written by an American, rendered and directed by French animators. The despicable one is Gru, voiced by Steve Carell, an evil genius with many minions (cute ones) and a scheme to steal the moon.…
Summer on the River
Type the word Summerfest into Google and you’ll find they’re all over the place. Summer is festival time after all, and people want to dance and party in the great outdoors. We had one east of here for a few years with an emphasis on heavy rock and hip hop — it went down for…
Culling Bluffs
Was it a misunderstanding or a premeditated assault on a sensitive tribal archaeological site, currently the property of the city? That’s the question Trinidad is asking itself as the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigates whether Sam Pennisi, a member of the Trinidad Planning Commission and a former Arcata City Councilmember, hired a landscaping service to…
Lords and Ladies
Monday afternoon, at 2:10, the big white tour bus bearing 33 nobles and scholars from 11 different countries, including The Hon. Sir Richard Storey and his wife, The Hon. Lady Virginia, of England, finally pulled into the parking lot of the Bigfoot Gas Station, in McKinleyville. The tourists, members of the International Dendrology Society, were…
Yip Yap Yaphank
Editor: Both from a musical standpoint and from the standpoint of the lyrics, I like “The Star-Spangled Banner” much better than Joseph Byrd does (“National Anathema,” July 1). “O say” is a marvelous conversational beginning, and there is an electrifying tension in the vision of prisoner Key straining his eyes from the foredeck of a…
Joys of Cowtown
Editor: Today, as I was standing in the middle of southbound 101 just north of Hookton Road working with a total stranger (Cynthia, you were inspiring!) to somehow protect and get ahold of two stray California milk cows, who were very confused about traffic rules in general and the Loleta Hill in specific, I realized…
Bees
Bees, honey, hive, nectar Oh wonderful bees. Bees,…
Everyone In
Editor: Thank you, Ryan Burns for writing on the new health care law (“Checkup,” June 24). Oh, yes, it’s true: It is “better than nuthin.'” But wait! Doesn’t any one stop to wonder why we should settle for such a pittance when our economy, our health and often our very lives depend on finding a…
Hitch-22: A Memoir
Christopher Hitchens is an enigma. At the conception of his socialist activism he decided to no longer answer to Chris, for dropping one’s aitches is a sign of the lower class. Currently, despite being an Iraq War enthusiast, he still considers himself a Marxist, though no longer a socialist, which he confesses with the shame…
Strawberry Nirvana
Oh, strawberries. As the opening day of the Farmers’ Market in Arcata approached in April, so did my anticipation of the first local strawberries of the season. How delicious this time of year can be after a dark, cold winter. Bright red, delicate and sweet, what better way to hail the time of warmth? As…
At Echo Lake
The term “lo-fi” has often been used of late as a loose tag, category or reference to a scene within the independent music scene. Even though bands such as Guided By Voices, Pavement and Sebadoh became the poster children for the term (among others), it goes back to a special D.I.Y. tradition in ’50s R&B/rock…
Friday, July 9, 6-9p.m.
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at more than 30 participating locations in Arcata. Visit www.artsarcata.com for even more information about the event or call 822-4500. 1) AMPT Skate Shop 1040 H St. Local Skateboarders, mixed media. 2) Arcata Artisans 883 H St. Joy Dellas, painter &…
Clowns
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A Billion Bikes
The bicycle population of the planet is about one billion, two bikes for every car. It’s easy to see why they’re so popular: They’re cheap, human-powered, low-maintenance, easy to repair,and super-efficient. In terms of energy expenditure, if humans could drink gasoline for fuel (admittedly an apples-to-oranges comparison), a cyclist would get 1,000 miles per gallon.…
Fresh Meat
Despite the persistent northerly gusts compromising the sun’s effectiveness, a certain stubborn balminess permeated Old Town Eureka throughout last Saturday’s Arts Alive! event. At long last, summer had arrived, bringing with it not only the usual hordes of event attendees, but an extra-special party down on the waterfront — the North Coast Journal’s birthday/relocation celebration.…
