Cover Story
The Recyclable Journey
It’s a Sunday afternoon in late July, and Janet Smith stands in her kitchen, surrounded by oak cabinets, shiny black appliances and flying-saucer looking chandeliers. When she opens the Macy’s box on her table, white packing peanuts spill out, no longer needed to cushion a small package of Estee Lauder bronzer. Smith has wondered about…
More Hazing Penalties
The other shoe has dropped for women’s soccer players at Humboldt State University. Their team is being suspended for three games because of hazing, the university said in a press release. The full release is here: A Humboldt State University investigation has found evidence of hazing at a women’s soccer team party earlier this month…
LaRue Out At Redwood Curtain
In the aftermath of his alcohol-fueled confrontation and arrest on Aug. 18, Eli LaRue has relinquished his half-ownership of Redwood Curtain Brewing Co., the business he co-founded with Drake Mollberg in 2010. In a phone interview this morning, Mollberg said LaRue’s behavior is unacceptable. “Eli has a drinking problem. He needs to focus on himself and…
Hops On Zee Bull
If you missed the sudsy action at Hops in Humboldt this weekend, first of all, shame on you. There was beer. In addition, this year’s festivities were enhanced by the presence of a bucking, gyrating mechanical bull. Many an event attendee took advantage of their liquid courage and embarked on a futile attempt to tame…
UPDATED: ‘Terrorized’: Arcata Planning Commissioner Accused of Drunken Door-Kicking
UPDATE #3: LaRue has relinquished his co-ownership of Redwood Curtain Brewing Co. UPDATE #2: On Friday evening, LaRue sent a statement to the Journal, saying in part: I wish to offer my sincerest apologies to the two women Jen Ables and Maral Attllah [sic]. I would like to assure them that I meant them no harm,…
For Safe Reggae
Editor: The Mateel Community Center would like to respond to the “Make Reggae Safe” letter in the Aug. 9 Journal. The letter refers to an alleged sexual assault at the Cooks Valley Campground, but links it directly to us and our event, Reggae on the River. We were appalled and dismayed when we learned of…
Uh-Oh
Editor: Ryan Burns’ cover story, “Occupy Broadband” (Aug. 9), somehow omits any mention of a huge downside of wireless broadband — adverse health effects from the radio-frequency microwave radiation (RF/MR) emissions. Just last year the World Health Organization classified RF/MR as a Class 2B carcinogen, in the same category as lead and DDT. This year…
Go, Meat!
Editor: Ms. Ashley’s assumption (“Eeeeuuu, Meat,” Aug. 9) that vegetarianism is more sustainable or environmentally conscious is ridiculous considering the significant resources used in propping up today’s agriculture system. Journal readers might seek out The Vegetarian Myth by Arcata’s own Lierre Keith. In it she dispels the most commonly held beliefs about vegetarianism. Of course the…
Gory Days
Reviews THE EXPENDABLES 2. This latest installment in Stallone’s geezers-with-guns franchise is unabashedly overblown, irresponsible macho horseshit — and I kind of love it. I may be the bull’s-eye of the target audience for these movies. I cut my teeth on the crass, ultraviolent Hollywood action movies of the ’80s and ’90s, so I don’t…
The Election That Wasn’t
When it comes to city council elections in Humboldt County this year, well, most don’t even qualify as “elections.” Local municipalities have a serious candidate drought on their hands: Five of the county’s seven incorporated cities won’t see any competition on their November ballots: Arcata, Blue Lake, Ferndale, Rio Dell and Trinidad each qualified just…
Sell That Fish Oil
Editor: Just an addendum to Linda Parkinson’s fine letter this week (“Pelicans Worth Saving,” Aug. 16). Apparently someone from the Bay Area is making money off fish oil, driving trucks up to collect fish remains. Why not a local person to do this? Less of a negative “footprint” environmentally all around! If we can collect food oil…
Get Schooled
It’s official: College is back in session. Are all of you new students ready to party? Better get ready, because the HSU campus music machine has a full slate of shows for you (and the “community”) as the new CenterArts season gets rolling with a couple of shows next week, and Associated Students Presents throws…
Stealth Brewery Unveiled
You knew this was beer country. But did you know that the newest brewery in Humboldt plans to grow all its own barley and hops? And that it will sell shares of its production just like some farms sign up subscribers for boxes of fruit and vegetables? And that it will be pouring at…
Pelicans with Benefits
There are certain benefits to being a pelican, no doubt. A big old lunchbag of a bill. Happy hours spent soaring, wave-like, in the peloton with one’s fellows. The suspension mid-air, followed by the savage, falling strike into salty sea — exhilaration! And sardines. Herring. Small, crunchy goodnesses. There are disadvantages, however, that come…
Diamond Rugs
Maybe Deer Tick’s leader, John McCauley, doesn’t like to be alone. In ’94, McCauley had initially intended to write songs and perform as a solo artist, but Deer Tick has evolved into a bona fide band. Diamond Rugs, McCauley’s new side project, was intended as another solo project but also quickly morphed into another band.…
The Monk’s Tale
Four centuries after being burned at the stake on an otherwise chilly February morning in 1600, the freethinking Dominican monk Giordano Bruno is still creating controversy. Actually, it’s formation of the lunar crater named for him that’s causing all the debate, although I’ll be discussing Bruno’s prescient cosmological ideas in another column. According to the…
Gage Canal
We walk dog slow The old man, his…
Going to seed
The expression “gone to seed” usually has a negative connotation, meaning disheveled, declining or otherwise post-prime. When vegetable or herbs go to seed, or “bolt,” they quit being what you planted and become gangly towers looming over the garden. In this respect they’re more like teenagers than elders, but anthropomorphisms aside, the plant’s formerly…
Sleep Tight
Sleep Tight
Correction
Last week’s cover article, “River Robbery,” incorrectly reported 2009 winter flows on the Eel River. The correct figure is 20,000 cubic feet per second.
The Real Blackout
Editor: I am dismayed at the sophism in your publisher’s latest missive concerning the rails/trails issue (“News Blackout,” Aug. 16). She presents a false dichotomy. The real “blackout” is her failure to acknowledge the arguments of her opponents. She would lead readers to believe that those who wish to preserve the Arcata-Eureka prism as a…
