There’s No Place Like Humboldt
Supervisor hopefuls chart their road to a more prosperous future
Cover Stories
There’s No Place Like Humboldt: Fourth Coming
Humboldt’s 4th District is the county’s most compact in stature. Wrapping around much of Eureka, up to the Indianola Cutoff and across the bay to Samoa and Fairhaven, the district encompasses Humboldt County’s largest urban area, as well as the county seat. While the district shares similar challenges with the rest of the county, some…
There’s No Place Like Humboldt: Wide World of the 5th
Editors note: The Journal attempted to sit down with both candidates for the position of 5th District supervisor for this story. However, incumbent Ryan Sundberg did not respond to at least eight phone calls, three text messages and a pair of emails left for him over the better part of two weeks. We have attempted…
Harbor Commissioner to Stand Trial in Poaching Case
A superior court judge ruled today that there is sufficient evidence to hold Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Commissioner Aaron Newman to stand trial on poaching and perjury charges. Newman was arrested June 8 and has pleaded not guilty to a total of eight charges in the case, which alleges that he lied…
Park Service: Burl Poacher Pinched
An Orick man was arrested recently on suspicion of hacking burl out of redwood trees on public land a year ago and selling them to a nearby burl souvenir shop. Danny E. Garcia is facing charges of grand theft, vandalism and receiving stolen property stemming from the discovery of a badly damaged tree in Redwood…
McKinleyville Man Facing 8 Life Sentences Granted Mistrial
A McKinleyville man was sitting in the proverbial executioner’s chair last week when the power went out. Timothy Floyd Littlefield was facing eight life sentences in state prison without the possibility of parole stemming from convictions on 11 child molestation charges when he stood before Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John Feeney last week at…
Tonight’s Setlist: Hip-Hop For Hope
Humboldtians love to give and that vibe continues with Hip-Hop For Hope, an event hosted by the Children’s Cancer Foundation and The Ink People at the Jambalaya to benefit local families dealing with childhood cancer. Performers include Jeff Turner of TeamBackPack, Hiway, Doe the Unknown Rapper and more. Cover is $8, show starts at 7…
The Revolving Door
If you just got out of prison, chances are you’re going back — and soon — according to a recent study by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. The study — which analyzed recidivism rates of prisoners released in 30 states between 2005 and 2010 — found that about two-thirds of people released from state prisons are…
Del Norte School Board Extends ACLU Settlement
The Del Norte County Unified School District Board voted unanimously this week to extend its settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which stemmed from a lawsuit brought against the district alleging a pattern of racial discrimination against Native American students. The district has made progress under the settlement agreement adopted…
When You’re Good to Mama
How did last Mother’s Day go? How long did it take the hazmat crew to clean up the kitchen after the kids made breakfast? Did you ever get that pancake batter out of the stove vent? Or was the morning spent in a packed restaurant where Mom had to keep shushing the fidgeting kids? You…
Tonight’s Setlist: Outlaw Country and High Crimes (and a show for the kids!)
Before we get too deeply into the many A-town options calling your name tonight, please note this early, kid-friendly event happening with DJ Zephyr and The Lost Luvs at the Arcata Playhouse. Things get going at 6:30 p.m. and the $5 adults/$3 kids 12-and-up cover goes to help the Coastal Grove fifth grade class pay…
Ridin’ Arty
Where do all those grown men and women in bizarre costumes rattling along atop nutty kinetic sculptures come from? Little people in bizarre costumes rattling along atop nutty kinetic sculptures, of course. See how they get started at the Kinetic Classic Kid Powered Art Race on Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m. in the Sacco…
Fur Flies at 12th DA Debate
Humboldt County’s field of district attorney candidates sat down last night for what was their 12th debate in the race and, boy, things escalated quickly. The gloves came off, the nails came out and the fur flew. Held at Humboldt State University and put on by the nonprofit Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights, the forum saw the…
Tonight’s Setlist: Friday folk-pop
The Arcata Playhouse streak stays hot with Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards. The Boston folk-pop darling and her bandmates have just returned from a State Department-sponsored American Music Abroad tour that took them to India, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. They’re trading the international vibe for a West Coast one, but you can expect the…
Council Meeting Prayers OK with SCOTUS
Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this week upholding a town in upstate New York’s right to open its public meetings with a prayer, a local attorney is moving forward with his case alleging the Eureka City Council violated the law when doing the same. Eureka attorney Peter Martin brought the suit last year on behalf…
Son of a Bee!
The Journal mistakenly printed an incorrect location for a honey of an event — the Bee Fest takes place on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. at the Bayside Grange at 2297 Jacoby Creek Road (not at the Wharfinger Building). On Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. the fest kicks off with…
Tonight’s Setlist: HBR at HSU at Noon! EDM and Bluegrass This Evening
Soulful string band fans have a chance to experience the SF-based Hot Buttered Rum in a free noontime show on Humboldt State University’s Quad. Devotees of electronic music, can find no lack of EDM beats at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where Eskmo, Lapalux and Zanapod will infuse the atmosphere with dance-ready sounds beginning at 9:30…
Second Friday Arts! Arcata
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 (707) 822-4500. ARCATA ARTISANS 883 H St. Loryn white, pottery; Jeannie Fierce, fiber and mixed media; Gil Castro, jewelry and ceramics. ARCATA…
DA Decisions
Editor: A district attorney’s office is unlike any other kind of place. The DA is the gatekeeper to the criminal courts; it requires a great deal of a person to do this correctly and well. For 11 years I was a deputy DA in four DA’s offices, serving under eight DAs. I’ve seen good and…
Supes On
Editor: Eureka citizens are concerned about the quality of life on their streets and the future that will be offered to their children. Our current representative on the board of supervisors doesn’t seem to understand what qualities provide for a healthy and prosperous future for the community. The concerns of land speculators and developers do…
Boring Stuff about Banks and Laws
Industrial sites are the hot real estate commodities in Colorado, as would-be pot barons are snatching up warehouses and other properties suitable for indoor marijuana growing. A Bloomberg news story this week led with an anecdote about a Denver broker who offloaded a leaky, 40,000-square-foot warehouse in less than a day to a cash-paying client…
Pucker Up
Just as the weather turns warm and citrus cocktails and desserts beckon, a triumvirate of forces — bad weather, crop disease and drug cartels — have created a lime shortage and skyrocketing prices. Bartenders, chefs and home cooks alike stand in the aisles, green fruit in hand, wondering if the old lemon can do the…
Country Cocktail
Let’s just launch into it, shall we? Thursday three-fer Soulful string band fans have a chance to experience the SF-based Hot Buttered Rum in a free noontime show on Humboldt State University’s Quad. Devotees of electronic music, can find no lack of EDM beats at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where Eskmo, Lapalux and Zanapod will…
Behind the Brown Act
If a representative from Chevron lobbied the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to change a draft ordinance into something more favorable to the company’s interests, would you want to know who he or she was? Now, replace the suit from Chevron with a Southern Humboldt marijuana grower with mud on his jeans. Would that change…
‘Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics’
OK, quick (and ancient) puzzle to get us going, so please cover up the next paragraph before you answer. Alice and Bob take turns throwing seven dice. Alice will win as soon as every die lands the same; Bob will win the first time every die lands differently. Who wins? Alice, right? Since only six…
Answering the critics
There’s the candidate with a state bar complaint, another who’s only practiced law for six years, the one who may be too cozy with law enforcement for the taste of some voters and the man who some see on the wrong side of his 70th birthday. Together, they comprise the field of Humboldt County’s district…
Amazing
Review AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2. Disney bought the movie rights to Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion, and it’s been laughing from atop its pile of profits ever since. Let Mickey gloat; he deserves it. The reboots have yet to disappoint, putting all previous attempts to shame with better writing, directing, casting and marketing. The studio…
Moonrise
A Palace of Fine Arts Fills our windows. Smoldering curves Unbridle the ages. Only a fictional ruin Could hold back, As the moon rises And all decorum Abandons us.
May To-Do List
Ah, can you feel it? Summer is in the air, with the birds tweeting, plants bursting into bloom and that inexorable itch to get out in the garden and plant something — anything! The intersection of fine weather and a little less rain has me dusting off my hori-hori in anticipation of planting all those…
Find a Match
Editor: I have just one question after looking at your “Meet the Candidates” (“Crime Fighters,” May 1) breakdown for district attorney: Am I trying to figure out who to vote for DA or who I’ll match up best with on OKCupid? Pat Grace, Eureka
On Corky
Editor: I had to shout with glee upon seeing Terry Torgerson’s NCJ cartoon (May 1) lampooning Corky Cornwell. If there is a more obnoxious local personality making TV ads, I have yet to come across them. Not only are they terrible the first time they air, but, to add insult to injury, he re-runs them…
Sunny Disposition
Editor: I have been trying to understand a comment in the “The Week in Weed” column (April 17) for a couple of weeks now: “Not that outdoor marijuana is energy-free, by any stretch — Mills’ study indicates lighting makes up only 32 per cent of a grow’s electricity use.” This must be an error or…
