Compleat Wrks Opens at NCRT
In 2020, Hell itself breathed out contagion to the world, thus shutting down North Coast Repertory Theatre’s Hamlet on the very eve of its opening night. Thankfully, cast, crew and theater persevered, and have set the stage for the return of their production July 31-Aug. 22. But before that, you have a chance to brush…
Public Health Confirms 27 New COVID-19 Cases, Two New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 27 new COVID-19 cases today — making 96 so far this week — as well as two new hospitalizations. Today’s cases — which come after the county confirmed 84 new cases last week amid a recent surge in virus activity — were confirmed after laboratories processed 106 samples with a…
Photos: Baduwa’t Festival Gathers the People
Last Wednesday through Sunday, a memorable Baduwa’t Festival: A Gathering of the People (formerly known as the Mad River Festival) took place in Dadiqhoughuk (Blue Lake) at Dell’Arte’s outdoor performance spaces. To the chagrin of a few turned away at the door, a well-publicized policy required a vaccination card or proof of a recent negative COVID-19.…
The Megadrought is Just One Factor Driving Up the Price of Your Bread
A perfect storm of trouble—extreme dry conditions, a volatile commodity market, and climbing expenses—have millers and bakers passing on rising costs to customers. Last spring, pandemic-related supply chain issues led to too little flour on supermarket shelves, just as cooped-up consumers turned to home baking for comfort. The problem was never a shortage of flour…
Public Health Confirms 23 New COVID-19 Cases, Three New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 23 new COVID-19 cases today — making 69 already this week — as well as three new hospitalizations, including one of a resident in their 40s. Today’s cases — which come after the county confirmed 84 new cases last week amid a recent surge in virus activity — were confirmed…
Blue-Green Algae Found on Trinity River
Officials are urging people recreating on the Trinity River to exercise caution after a dog’s recent death led to the discovery of a harmful algal bloom on the river. According to the State Water Resources Control Board, staff responded to a report of a potential toxic-algae related dog death and collected samples July 7 at…
Four Jail Inmates Saved from Fentanyl Overdoses
Humboldt County correctional deputies used the overdose reversal drug to save four jail inmates who had appeared to overdose on the highly potent opioid fentanyl over the weekend. “On all four occasions, deputies located the inmates unresponsive and exhibiting signs of opioid overdose,” a press release states. “Each incident required multiple administrations of Naloxone. Also…
Thieves Are Stealing California’s Scarce Water for Illegal Cannabis Farms
One day last spring, water pressure in pipelines suddenly crashed In the Antelope Valley, setting off alarms. Demand had inexplicably spiked, swelling to three and half times normal. Water mains broke open, and storage tanks were drawn down to dangerous levels. The emergency was so dire in the water-stressed desert area of Hi Vista, between…
Call for Submissions: Coloring Book Art
Hey, artists! Team up with NCJ for our first-ever collaborative coloring book project. Proceeds from sales of this book will be shared between the contributing artists and NCJ to support local artists and local journalism, both of which are vital to our Humboldt County. Send us your black and white drawings and we’ll create the…
Yurok Tribal Council Unanimously Rejects Proposed Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement
The Yurok Tribal Council voted unanimously last week to oppose the proposed bankruptcy settlement agreement and restructuring plan for OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, saying it amounts to a “sweetheart settlement” for the billionaire Sackler family, which owns the pharmaceutical giant. “There is no justice in this settlement,” Tribal Chair Joseph James said in a press…
Pitching Prowess Leads Crabs to Hard Fought Victory
The Crabs might have lost their nine-game winning streak on Saturday against the West Coast Kings but that didn’t stop them from enjoying a well earned series win against the visitors on Sunday behind a shutdown performance from starting pitcher Owen Stevenson. Following another midweek set of blowouts where the Crabs took 10-3 and 12-1…
Public Health Confirms 46 New COVID-19 Cases as Test-positivity Rate Continues to Rise
Humboldt County Public Health reported today that it has confirmed 46 new COVID-19 since Friday, as well as a new hospitalization, as local infection rates continue to climb. The cases announced today, which came after a total of 84 new cases were confirmed last week, were reported after laboratories processed 345 samples with a test-positivity…
California Moves to be First State to Fund Pilot Universal Basic Income
Universal basic income was championed by Martin Luther King Jr., promoted by Silicon Valley citizens as the “social vaccine for the 21st century” and endorsed by 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang, but it has never really caught on. Now its time may have come. On Thursday California lawmakers approved the nation’s first state-funded guaranteed income program.…
Who’s Running in Newsom Recall? Politicians, Activists, Californians of All Stripes
California’s second gubernatorial recall election in history is shaping up to be pretty different from the first. Just 41 candidates filed all the paperwork necessary by the 5 p.m. Friday deadline to run to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in the Sept. 14 recall — a field that includes GOP politicians, a reality TV star,…
NCJ Preview: Vaccine Decisions and Conversations
The Vaccination Issue is on stands and we’re sharing stories from our readers about why the got vaccinated and what the experience was like for them, physically and otherwise. We’re also sharing some personal stories about talking to our friends and family about their vaccine hesitancy — how a conversation with a single person can…
Public Health Confirms 19 New COVID-19 Cases, Rural Health Officers Call for Vaccinations
Humboldt County Public Health confirmed 19 new COVID-19 cases today — making 84 this week — after laboratories processed 210 samples with a test-positivity rate of 9 percent. For the second consecutive day this week, no new hospitalizations were reported. According to a state database, six people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 locally, including two under…
Coroner Identifies Four Killed in Yesterday’s Plane Crash Near Dinsmore
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has identified four people killed in yesterday’s small-plane crash near Dinsmore, while the cause of the crash remains under investigation. The four people whose remains were recovered at the crash site have been identified as Henry Punt, 69, of Los Angeles County, Steve Sanz, 63, of Orange County, Jacquie Ann…
Huffman: Automatic Child Tax Credits Will Fuel Economy, Help Struggling Families
Families with children under the age of 18 who have filed their 2019 or 2020 tax returns are slated to begin receiving monthly tax credit payments this month as a part of the American Rescue Plan. North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman sent an email to constituents today informing them of the payments and offering details…
Public Health Confirms Nine New COVID-19 Cases, No New Hospitalizations
Humboldt County Public Health reported nine new COVID-19 cases today — making 65 so far this week — after laboratories processed 56 samples with a test-positivity rate of 16 percent. For the first time this week, no new deaths or hospitalizations were reported. According to a state database, seven people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 locally,…
UPDATE: Multiple Fatalities Suspected in Small Plane Crash Near Dinsmore
UPDATE The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports that multiple people are believed to have died in the small plane crash near Dinsmore shortly before noon today and no survivors have been located. “A deputy coroner is responding to conduct a death investigation,” the agency posted on Twitter. “Multiple fatalities are believed to have occurred, however,…
Don’t Make Me Tap the Sign
I’ll cop to it: I view the world materially and holistically. Things are connected. And I don’t just write about music for a living, I also build things. I come from carpenters and I can recognize designs and patterns. So when live music goes away for more than a year because of a disastrously unprepared…
The Logger Bar Comes Back to Life
Kate Martin, owner of Blue Lake’s Logger Bar, didn’t hibernate during the pandemic. She’d shut down the bar in accordance with shelter in place in March of 2020 and put the historic bar up for sale three months later. (She admits a bar you can’t open is a tough sell in a pandemic.) She might…
Drought Gardening
It’s no secret by now that Humboldt County (along with all of California and many other western states) is in trouble when it comes to general lack of rainfall. While the entire county is in a moderate drought, portions are in severe drought and some are even experiencing extreme drought. To find out drought conditions…
Salmon Smolts Being Shuffled Between Klamath Hatcheries
Due to extremely poor water conditions and high risks of fish disease on the Klamath River, California Department of Fish and Wildlife hatchery managers were recently forced to truck more than 1 million smolts out of Iron Gate Hatchery into two other hatcheries in the Klamath watershed. This is the first time in its 55-year…
Longshadr Emerges from the Shadows
Michael Fields is at pains to point out that Longshadr, his newly unveiled theatrical venture, is not a production company. Rather, it is project-based, existing solely for the purpose of putting on theater. The intention is not to compete with existing theatrical ventures but to expand the universe — a version of Blue Ocean Strategy…
Behind the Music
SUMMER OF SOUL (… OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED). Intimates might wonder (fairly) at my desire to watch and ramble on about a concert movie. I’ve shared freely my general discomfort and occasional disappointment at the live music experience with those unfortunate enough to have to listen, for years beyond counting. It’s…
Across Dueling Realities
To many of us, it feels like spring in Humboldt, like almost overnight everything has come to feel brighter and warmer. But instead of emerging from winter into a world that feels new, we’re emerging from a pandemic-induced isolation into a world of old habits, in which we can once again hug our friends, host…
Across Miles and Borders: Ripple Effect
By Iridian Casarez We had just finished eating our plates of mole Poblano and rice when my abuelita began telling us of her recent month-long trip to Mexico. She began by showing us videos of her house, freshly remodeled and furnished. She told us about the chiles ahogadas and the feast she and three of…
Across Miles and Borders: A Friendship, Vaccination and Worry
Coming from a long line of people who leave the towns and countries where we were born, I’ve always been comfortable with separation (the exception being my husband, without whom, across an ocean for months, I was a goddamn wreck). I don’t mean estrangement, though my family has those chops, too, but distant affection. Mostly…
‘Bless and Comfort’
I’m saving page 5 of the July 1 NCJ. The poem by Dave Holper, “First Farmers’ Market After the Pandemic” continues to bless and comfort me, giving form and substance and spirit to our communal experience. Thank you for making me take notice. Chip Sharpe, Bayside Related Stories
‘An Inexcusable Disservice’
In my opinion it is an inexcusable disservice to our community that the NCJ prints full-page and double-full-page advertisements for cigarettes (July 1 and July 8). I for one will stop reading the print version where these ads appear, and so will not see any of the other advertisers’ promotions either. NCJ advertisers, take note.…
Correction
A story headlined “Dishgamu Humboldt” in the July 8, 2021, edition of the North Coast Journal inaccurately identified one of the entities who will be appointing members to Dishgamu Humboldt’s board. The Wiyot Tribe will appoint four of the board’s seven members, while Cooperation Humboldt and Full Spectrum Capital Partners will appointment one member each.…
The Log Connection
“… an admirable artifice which, by reducing to a few days the labour of many months, doubles the life of the astronomer, and spares him the errors and disgust inseparable from long calculations.” — Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827) on logarithms At the start of the pandemic — seems so long ago! — the media showed us…
Vaccine Stories
A couple of months back, as vaccine eligibility was rapidly expanding, and the conversation in Humboldt County quickly began to shift from availability to hesitancy, we asked readers to share their stories. We wanted to hear people’s motivations and fears, how it felt to get the shot and what came after, what felt different and…
DROUGHT
In my garden buds go limp before they bloom– wishful thinking on a tired stalk. My hose snakes out but we can’t bring the real relief they crave. Down deep and dry the rich earth sleeps under a tightfisted sky. Carolyn Lehman
‘Blood Money’
Charmaine Lawson still hasn’t cashed the $200,000 check that came as a part of her settlement agreement with the city of Arcata. She says it took her four days to even open the envelope it was mailed in and it has now sat for weeks atop her son’s urn. Filed in November of 2018, the…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his poem “Litany,” Aries poet Billy Collins testifies that he is “the sound of rain on the roof.” He also claims to be “the moon in the trees, the paper blowing down an alley, the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table, and the shooting star.” He does make it…
