HSU to Host Town Hall on Village Housing Project
Humboldt State University will host a town hall meeting Monday to provide information and answer questions about The Village, a large student housing project proposed for Arcata’s Craftsman’s Mall site, which sits across U.S. Highway 101 from LK Wood Boulevard north of campus. Last week, the university announced that it is working to “finalize a…
State-Splitting Initiative Qualifies for November Ballot
An initiative to split California into three states has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, according to multiple news reports. Known as the “Cal 3 Initiative,” the measure is being bankrolled by Bay Area venture capitalist Tim Draper and would create three states: “California,” which would stretch along the coast from Los…
Crow Tests Positive for West Nile Virus
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services reports that a crow has tested positive for West Nile Virus and that local humans should take precautions to avoid the disease. West Nile Virus is spread by mosquito bites and in humans the symptoms can range from none to severe illness and even death. DHHS…
Baykeeper Director Featured in Vanity Fair
While the front cover of this season’s Vanity Fair bears the standard celebrity mug (Emilia Clarke, who plays Game of Thrones’ dragon-riding queen Daenerys Targaryen), on pages 84 through 89 you’ll find an article about efforts to preserve California’s vibrant coast — and one familiar face. Humboldt Baykeeper Director Jennifer Kalt was interviewed along with several other…
Music Tonight: Wednesday, June 13
Nicki Bluhm, formerly of The Gramblers, has gone off on her own in her musical and personal life. Breaking from the alt-country jam folk act she fronted for nearly a decade and going through a divorce, she is touring on her new solo album, appropriately called To Rise You Gotta Fall. She will be playing…
Succulent Poaching Trio Pleads Guilty
Three poachers who operated an international smuggling ring that shipped succulents from Humboldt County to the Asian market have pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges, including conspiracy and stealing plants from public lands. According to a California Department of Fish and Wildlife press release, the trio — Liu Fengxia, 37, of China, and Tae-Hun…
Plane Crash Drill Set for Wednesday
If you happen to see a chaotic scene at the airport tomorrow night, there’s no need to panic. It’s only a drill. A plane crash training is scheduled to take place at the California Redwood Coast – Humboldt County Airport (AKA the Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, just in case the other name threw you off)…
Music Tonight: Tuesday, June 12
My memories of the 1980s are fairly ephemeral eight-bit flickers in a wash of cathode-tube TV sunshine but if there is one idea that locks in from my dayglo childhood it is the perfect pairing of skate culture and punk rock. I may not be Rodney Recloose or Bionic Lester from the OG Nintendo game…
Crabs Cap off Superlative Week with Massive Shutout
Since a crushing shutout on June 3 against the Corvallis Knights, the Crabs have scored 60 runs and ripped off five consecutive wins. On the heels of pouring a 15-run deluge on and eking out a 4-3 victory in the 12th Friday night, inning against the San Francisco Seals, the Crabbies welcomed the Valley Bears…
UPDATE: Police Arrest Previously Barricaded Subject in Fortuna
FIFTH UPDATE: According to a Fortuna Police Department release (see below), Eureka resident Melvin Matthews, 35, was wanted on felony warrants for evading law enforcement and making threats against a police officer, grand theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. He surrendered to the Humboldt County SWAT team after a three-hour standoff. FOURTH UPDATE: The…
Hitting the Water
Humboldt Bay Fire’s water rescue team dove back into action Sunday following a year’s hiatus with a demonstration at the Del Norte Street pier after funding was secured by the department, HBF’s board and HBF Local 652 to bring back the program. HBF RESCUE SWIMMING – NCJ from North Coast Journal on Vimeo.
Pathway Planned for Downtown Petrolia
Petrolia locals have taken on an ambitious project: a one-mile pedestrian path stretching from the George C. Lindley Memorial Bridge to the Petrolia General Store in an effort to make a safer walking environment for children. The project is expected to begin this summer. On May 17, 2017, Petrolia resident Darlene Santner was clipped by a…
Music Tonight: Monday, June 11
KEET/KHSU present a Lost Coast Sessions set by Lord Ellis tonight at the Arcata Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. After a long hibernation, The band is back at it again with a new album in hand to help spread the good word of the bucolic riff-rock gospel. This is a free show with only one band…
HumBug: Back to the River for Swallowtails and Sawflies
As the weather begrudgingly warms up, more bugs are emerging. Lately along the Van Duzen River, I’ve noted pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) and Lorquin’s admiral (Limenitis lorquini) butterflies among others. You can find quite a few stonefly (order Plecoptera) exuvia, or cast off husks, near the water’s edge as naiads emerge, shed their last larval…
A Councilwoman Proposes at the Derby Bout
Rough as this world is, romance isn’t dead. Maybe because it’s wearing a helmet. In the final Humboldt Roller Derby bout of the season last night, just before the Saplings skated on, the ladies in pads and helmets burst into Erasure’s “Always,” complete with synchronized dance moves. Team member Brawn Luc Picard (aka Eureka City…
‘Highway Robbery’: Drivers Allege Rohnert Park Police Illegally Seized Cannabis, Cash
This story was reported in collaboration with the North Coast Journal and independent reporter Kym Kemp. Huedell Freeman was heading south on Highway 101 through Cloverdale and was just over the Sonoma County line when he said a police squad car flipped a U-Turn across a 25-foot grass median and pulled up behind him with…
Music Tonight: Saturday, June 9
The Westhaven Center for the Arts has a good one going on tonight at 7:30 p.m. for all of you no depression, alt-country fans in the 707. Local luthier and Georgia transplant Michael Walker plays with his group The Handshakers to deliver a set of rough-hewn beauties. Close your eyes and hear the stories from…
KHSU Pledge Drive Postponed Amid Community Concerns
A KHSU pledge drive scheduled to take place next week has been postponed in the wake of community concerns about the recent firing of a longtime program and operations manager Katie Whiteside. About 150 community members upset about her departure attended a KHSU Community Advisory Board meeting in May, with several saying they had rescinded…
Music Tonight: Friday, June 8
It’s Trap Night at the Miniplex beginning at 8 p.m. For a mere $10, you can get real deep down to that most modern and perfect hip-hop hybrid, trap, with the instructors from Body High Pole Dance. Blue Lake’s hard country balladeers Barnfire play a free set on its home turf tonight at the local…
Trump ‘Probably’ Will Support State Choice on Cannabis
President Donald Trump is once again breaking with his embattled Attorney General and infamous cannaphobe Jeff Sessions, telling reporters today that he “will probably end up supporting” a bipartisan bill that frees states to make their own decisions on marijuana. Several news agencies — including The Denver Post, Politico and The Hill — are reporting…
Humboldt Rose Society’s 52nd Annual Rose Show
“A Celebration of Roses — America’s Official Flower,” is Sunday, June 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds (free entry). See who wins trophies and ribbons while you stop to smell the many varieties. Rose plants will also be for sale and vendors will be on hand.
Art and Wine in the Park
Make it a lovely day in Fortuna sipping local and Californian wine in the sun, listening to live music and browsing the arts and crafts market at Fortuna Rotary’s Art and Wine in the Park, Sunday, June 10 from noon to 4 p.m. at Rohner Park ($25 with tasting glass, $20 advance, free entry).
HSU Working to ‘Finalize’ Agreement on Massive Arcata Housing Project
Humboldt State University is touting its effort to “finalize a partnership” with a private developer on a massive student housing project near campus that is the subject of a special Arcata City Council meeting tonight. According to President Lisa Rossbacher’s June 6 letter to council members, the university had been receiving information about The Village…
County Announces $7.5 Million Grant for School Mental Health Services
The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services announced today that $7.5 million in grant funding will pour into the county over the next four years to provide additional mental health services in local schools. Coupled with two additional grants, that means more than $9 million in mental health funding will be coming to…
UPDATE: Man Killed in 101 Crash, Passenger Injured, Dog Unharmed
UPDATE: A man driving a Honda SUV at high speeds died today after the vehicle went off U.S. Highway 101 near Stone Lagoon, overturned and hit a tree. His passenger received minor injuries and a dog in the car was unharmed. The name of the man has not been released pending notification of next of…
Elections Office: At Least 1,201 Ballots to be Counted in Fifth District Race
There are at least 1,201 ballots yet to be counted in the neck-and-neck battle for a seat on the board of supervisors representing Humboldt County’s Fifth District, and possibly many more, according to Registrar of Voters Kelly Sanders. Election night ended with challenger Steve Madrone holding a razor-thin, 33-vote lead over two-term incumbent Ryan Sundberg,…
Music Tonight: Thursday, June 7
The Jam continues its YAMS-curated Thursday Pint Night series at 9:30 p.m. ($5). The evening of half-priced beer pints will feature performances by Los Angeles rockers Kaz Mirblouk, Portland indie groove machine Astro Tan and local spacey, jazzy jammers Foxtrot.
Arcata Appoints Law Enforcement Veteran Interim Chief
Arcata will have a new police chief in town, at least for a while. The Arcata City Council voted last night to appoint Richard “Rick” Ehle interim chief of the Arcata Police Department and he is slated to assume the role Monday. Ehle is a 47-year veteran in law enforcement who served the bulk of…
Humboldt Junkies Vintage Market & Trailer Rally
One person’s trash is another’s treasure — and some of it is really exquisite. Discover new ways to use old stuff, peruse piles of junk to design your own DIY treasures and revisit days gone by with a peek inside a vintage glamper. The Humboldt Junkies Vintage Market & Trailer Rally is back June 8…
Lost Coast Fish Festival
Take the drive out to Shelter Cove this weekend for the Lost Coast Fish Festival happening Saturday, June 9 from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Shelter Cove R.V. Campground and Deli ($15, free for kids 12 and under). There’s live music all day, oysters and other food, drinks, raffle, horseshoes, a kids’ fishing…
Look at All These Ads
See that box to the right? That’s an ad. This right here under the headline and byline is editorial content. Easy, right? Mostly. What’s harder to see on the page is the relationship between the advertisements and the paper they support. This paper is free insofar as you didn’t have to pay to pick it…
Election Rundown
Tens of thousands of Humboldt County voters hit the polls Tuesday and when the dust settled in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the county had ushered reform into the auditor-controller’s office, handed an incumbent supervisor a third term, picked a judge in a landslide and, well, was still on the fence in a Fifth…
On Memorial Day
I call my best friend to thank him for his service. “Thank you.” He croons. “But,” I protest, “I didn’t serve.” “Yes you did.” He insists. “You brought us home.”
Peeking Inside North Coast Open Studios
It’s the 20th anniversary of North Coast Open Studios and Monica Topping, the event’s hardworking organizer, is in a hurry. NCOS has 17 first-time participants this year, she says, as well as an impressive roster of “charter artists” — those who have exhibited since the inaugural North Coast Open Studios event two decades ago. “We…
Amp Up and Ramp Up
It’s a packed week of great music so I will keep this intro as lean and mean as a vintage WWF wrestler’s rant track. Here goes: The weather’s fine, the music’s good, so get off the couch ya potatoes (hold the last vowel sound before cutting with the sibilant S) and see some dang shows!…
Facebook Update
Hello. Mark Zuckerberg here with a few announcements about our Facebook community. Call me Mark, though. Many humans call me Mark. Just kidding. About the humans. It’s been a challenging year and if I’ve learned anything from testifying before Congress about fake news, Russian interference in our presidential election and the harvesting of personal data…
Hum Plate Roundup
Since we’re sharing the sausage-making of journalism this week (mmm, sausage), let’s clear up a few frequently asked questions about the Hum Plate column. Why are all the reviews positive? We don’t write reviews in the conventional sense of rating an establishment on quality, atmosphere and service. Doing so according to standard ethical guidelines, like…
A Word from the Lying Media
We live in a media landscape that’s far more complicated than any in human history. Here in Humboldt County — in addition to the litany of national and local newspapers trying to win your attention and provide you information and cable news shows filled with red-in-the-face pundits bending the news of the day to their…
Media Basics for Activists
You have a cause. It’s important. You might think that alone would spark media interest. And yet you find your emails going unanswered, your events uncovered, your press releases evaporating into the ether. Or worse, reporters and local bloggers are paying attention to your cause but it’s all the wrong kind of coverage — weak…
Why We Weed
We hear it when we release our annual cannabis issue — Isn’t every issue the cannabis issue? — and we hear it at some point in just about each of the other 51 weeks of the year — Why do you guys write about marijuana all the time? OK, OK, OK, this obviously needs some…
Arts! Arcata
Arts! Arcata is Arcata Main Street’s monthly celebration of visual and performing arts, held at locations in Arcata. Visit www.arcatamainstreet.com, Arts! Arcata on Facebook, or call 707-822-4500 for more information. ARCATA EXCHANGE 813 H. St. Sarah Fredy, oil paint. Wine pour benefits Breast and GYN Health Project. BELLE STARR 863 H. St. Music by The…
The Young and the Feckless
Reviews In back-to-back news cycles swirling with tenuous international political relationships, a reported death toll of nearly 5,000 Americans in the wake of Hurricane Maria and an investigation into whether Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia, it might surprise the casual observer that the jokes and comments of a handful of female comedians have garnered…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you would be wise to ruffle and revise your relationship with time. It would be healthy for you to gain more freedom from its relentless demands; to declare at least some independence from its oppressive hold on you; to elude its push to…
Lipstick on a Pig
Editor: One can only pity the poor fellow who used (anti-) social media and an answering machine to grossly insult Molly Green (“Business Owner Doxxed Over Utility Box Art Spat,” posted online May 22). Ms. Green simply expressed a legitimate opinion to her town’s council in a public meeting. Mr. Nameless Somebody from Far Away…
‘Unhand Me, You Fiend!’
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Music Tonight: Sunday, June 10
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