Thrift Store Angels
Inside the Arcata second-hand shop that lifts up at-risk youth.
Cover Story
Thrift Store Angels
Mike Deleon will be a father in February. He has his own apartment, bank account and cell phone. In October, he got hired at Baywood Golf and Country Club as a dishwasher. And he works on his passion — music — as much as he can. This may not seem like much to brag about,…
The Kush Life
This image was sent anonymously to the Journal with the message, these stickers are being stuck all over the county by a “grass” roots movement of concerned growers.
Google to the Broadband Rescue?
Today on the official Google blog , the company announced plans “to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States.” Two obvious questions: 1) How fast is “ultra high-speed”? 2) How many babies must we sacrifice to participate? Google says their network will deliver speeds…
Goddamn! Another Lawyer/Plagiarist!
Goddamn! Another Lawyer/Plagiarist!: We have long been fascinated with the topic of attorneys thieving the words of others for use in the public presses, and have a pet theory that something in the professional culture encourages or at least enables such theft. Now Jack Shafer convicts another barrister turned “investigative reporter” — Gerald Posner of…
Delta Bails
Delta Airlines is giving up on the Arcata-Eureka airport. A press release from the Humboldt County Department of Public Works this afternoon announced the bad news. The Atlanta-based carrier started twice-daily regional service from here to Salt Lake City, Utah, just 15 months ago. They were enticed here via a concerted effort from the Redwood…
Ballon Track: It’s On
The sound of one big-ass shoe dropping… PLF sues Coastal Commission for blocking cleanup of contaminated Balloon Track property PLF attorneys represent organization of Eureka citizens promoting environmental cleanup and protection WHAT: Press conference announcing PLF’s lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission for blocking plans to clean up the Balloon Track property along Humboldt Bay…
Separated At Birth?
Graciously leaping into action after seeing our crappy stock photo of Paul Hagen earlier in the day, the candidate’s campaign team sent us a copy of their man’s official portrait. Thanks, guys. But we gotta say, we can’t for the life of us understand what it is you’re trying to accomplish, here. Tom Hagen Paul…
Paul Hagen Announces
Crappy photo of DA candidate Paul Hagen, taken with an iPhone at last month’s EyeBall. Worst-kept secret finally revealed: Former environmental prosecutor Paul Hagen announced today that he will stand for Humboldt County District Attorney in the June election. Hagen joins (announced candidate) Kathleen Bryson and (unannounced but highly probable candidates) Allison Jackson and incumbent…
Mavericks Brand Clothing
NCJ alums Japhet and Yulia Weeks report on a new surf-related clothing venture for the Wall Street Journal :
Code Cops, Not Real Cops
The deed is done. The position of a Humboldt County code enforcement unit investigator has been officially stripped of law enforcement duties. No more guns. No more issuing and enforcing search warrants, although, a CEU investigator will still be able to write a search warrant to hand over to law enforcement to carry out, and…
Arts Alive!
1. WORLD CUP 1626 F St. Aaron Stack, ceramics; music by DJ Kissyface. 2. HUMBOLDT ARTS COUNCIL at the Morris Graves Museum of Art 636 F St. Performance Rotunda: Blue Lotus Jazz; William Thonson Gallery: Redwood Art Association Exhibition; Homer Balabanis Gallery: Morris Graves & Selections from the Humboldt Arts Council Permanent Collection; Knight Gallery:…
Reigning Supreme
Editor: Regarding concern for the Supreme Court’s decision allowing corporate political contributions, the more fundamental issue has to do with the Court’s power to review acts of Congress in the first place (see “Town Dandy,” Jan. 28). This is a power which is not set forth in the U.S. Constitution and only came into being…
MLPA At Sea
Editor: Kudos to the Journal for trying to encapsulate the complex and controversial Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (MLPAI) as we approach the Feb. 1 deadline for submission of the North Coast’s unified external Marine Protected Area (MPA) array proposal (“United Front,” Jan. 21) . I do think, however, that your reporter may have left…
Stash Your Gun
Editor: Courtney Weaver is a friend of mine. And a friend of probably half the people in Humboldt County. So I have to ask, was Courtney recently at war? Was she in an inner city on some well known gang turf? Well, I haven’t been in Arcata for about six months, but I thought Courtney…
Z is for Zucca
I grew up not eating winter squashes, not because I did not like them, but because nobody ever put a dish with zucca (winter squash or pumpkin) of any kind on my plate. When, as an adult, I realized what I had been missing, I resolved to devote the rest of my life to making…
I Am Saami
Editor: I always enjoy Barry Evans’ columns, but I would like to offer a few comments on his article, (“A Skin-Color Enigma,” Jan. 21): First, the correct word is Saami, not “Lapp.” The term “Lapp” is considered derogatory. Second, modern Saami people are no “darker-skinned” than the majority population in Norway, or Britain for that…
Trinidad
Trinidad, the latest photo book by local author Dione F. Armand, gives an insightful view of 100 rich years of Trinidad’s history in less than 130 pages of images. Armand describes the history of Trinidad through the black and white honesty of vintage photographs and refreshingly concise captions — after all, a picture is worth…
Funny Ha-Ha
Editor: First, I love your new feature “Seven-o-Heaven.” I loved “Prodigal Arkley” (Dec. 31) especially. The strip is a great addition to the NCJ. However, I am fed up with all of the serious journalism around here. Down here in SoHum we have three weekly newspapers (including the NCJ), KMUD’s local news, Democracy Now!, etc.…
Moving Chairs
The new offering from Denmark’s Efterklang, Moving Chairs, joins the slew of top-notch recordings released this year. On this, the quartet’s first studio recording since their stunning 2007 offering, Parades, Efterklang uses contemporary pop influences as starting points, creating an engaging spectrum of songs while providing the band’s most accessible record to date. Led by…
Sophie Smells a Shaker
You have undoubtedly seen the YouTube video "My dog Sophie senses the 6.5 earthquake at the Times Standard." Sophie springs into action and rushes to her owner, Jessica Richelderfer, almost six seconds before the serious shaking begins. Sophie’s video is widely invoked to support the notion that animals possess supernatural senses. The sudden failure of a fault at…
Full Disclosure
On Jan. 31, my paycheck from HSU for the first time went straight into my checking account at Bank of America through direct deposit. After I finish this column, I will transfer much of it today to my Bank of America mortgage through electronic bill paying. I need to say that in the interest of…
Sitka
We won’t ever Know How long that sitka…
Fatal Attraction
One of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, Romeo and Juliet, is deceptively difficult to stage. One production I saw at Stratford, Ontario, presented a sparkling surface. The most recent Oregon Shakespeare Festival version illuminated the story. The 1968 Zeffirelli film best portrayed the violent context. Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 movie used post-modern wit to focus the star-crossed…
Out in Front
The recent release of A Friend of a Friend, under the banner of The Dave Rawlings Machine, marks the first studio release from Nashville-based musical duo of Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch since 2006 (with the release of Gillian Welch’s Soul Journey). "For this record and this tour," Rawlings said in a phone interview with…
Thrills! Spills! Apocalypse!
Previews Set in the ’60s, the British coming-of-age film An Education centers on Jenny (in an acclaimed performance by Carey Mulligan), an Oxford-bound student who gets sucked into the orbit of a man (Peter Sarsgaard) twice her age. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexual content, and for smoking. 95m. At the Minor. Based…
Fiber Dreams
There’s a new fiber optic line in the works for Humboldt County, and this time it’s totally, definitely for real according to the San Francisco company working on it. It’s gonna happen. Well, barring any unforeseen permitting or weather issues, of course. But how likely is that? By this point, locals are justifiably skeptical about…
