Cover Story
The Siren’s Song Returns at Jim Dunn’s
In October of 2025, Liz Sibley stood in the shell of Jim Dunn’s Cosmopolitan at 301 Second St., the wood plank floor newly oiled and light from the street slanting in on a half-built stage. The bar’s brass footrail lay at its base, yet to be re-attached. At the center of the triptych of mirrors…
Former HumCo Fair Bookkeeper Sentenced in Embezzling Case
A federal judge has sentenced Nina Tafarella to 15 months in prison for embezzling nearly half a million dollars from former employers, the vast majority of it during her time as a bookkeeper for the Humboldt County Fair Association. In addition, Judge Charles R. Breyer ordered her to pay a $500 “special assessment,” finding she…
The Clever Hounds
This week’s offering is named after a rugged translation of an old Cajun tune whose name percolates back to a galvanic collision between French and colloquial English from the days before electricity allowed such modern alchemy. I guess I’m inspired by the inscrutable story titles of my late hero Edward Gorey, whose 101st birthday clicked…
It’s Time to Make Fourth and Fifth Streets Safe for Everyone
Humboldt County is dangerous for people walking, and U.S. Highway 101 in Eureka is the most dangerous place to walk in our dangerous county. It’s time to do something about it. If you already agree with that sentiment, I’ve got a petition for you to sign. But if you need a little more information, please…
What’s Good? Luxury Fries
Fries, so often a throwaway side, at least in their preparation, deserve attention and appreciation. The potato from the Americas, julienned and immersed in a riot of bubbling fat in France or Belgium — I am not taking the side of one colonizer over another — is in itself an indulgence and, when served truly…
Top Model’s Ugly Side
Netflix docuseries revisits the obvious REALITY CHECK: INSIDE AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. “That is the only way you change. That is the only way you get better: by someone calling you on your shit.” These are the words of legendary supermodel Tyra Banks at the close of Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, Netflix’s…
The Queen Bee’s Winter Visit
When gardening, you have probably seen large, fuzzy, yellow and black bumble bees zipping from flower to flower, collecting pollen and nectar to bring back to their nests. Perhaps you have also seen them in January or February and wondered what business a bee has flying around in winter. Nearly all the approximately 1,600 bee…
Correction
In “Cermeño’s Shipwreck” (Feb. 5), the article misidentified the Miwok people who encountered the ship’s crew near Drake’s Bay. The Journal regrets the error.
‘Successful Collaboration’
Editor: The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County commends the successful collaboration between the sheriff’s office and the county Elections Office, as reported in the North Coast Journal’s summary of the 2024-25 Grand Jury findings (“The Grand Jury Reports,” Sept. 4). Humboldt County Correctional Facility staff reports that 72 inmates voted in 2024, 46…
Correction
In the Kindest Eyes category of the 2026 NCJ Pet Photo Contest (Feb. 19), Ash the cat and the name of Ash the cat’s photo submitter, Andy Caffrey, were misidentified. The Journal regrets the errors
Change in the weather
Change is in the air The clouds gathering Could bring welcome rain, And unwelcome wind. Balance in everything. Even those things so bleak So horrible we feel crushed, Are countered by Events and actions of Bravery and beauty, Compassion and hope. Balance and bravery Make life worth living. Withstand the wind To welcome life giving…
